Making our record 4-8-4, we are undefeated in 4 games! Sure two of them were ties, but they’re still points. I managed to stay positive in my +/-. We started the game with an early goal. I got in front of their goalie creating a great screen allowing a good shot by our center. But were quickly, kicked to the ground with 2 unanswered goals by the opposing team. We see-sawed points until the end where it ended 3-3. I had a pretty cool tip where I stood in front of the goal with the blade of my stick angled just right, it came right up as a perfect shot to the right crossbar, but right into the goalie’s glove. Pooh, I’m in a scoring slump. 🙁 I gotta score soon. I was really wired in the game, ’cause for a while I was +2! but then my line was scored on making it a final +/- score of +1. I guess it’s better than my usual -2 or so.

Did I mention I almost missed my game? I was out shopping with moO, we were out looking for stuff, and I forgot my game was at 7:45. For some reason I kept thinking it was at 9. So we were out at Linens ‘n Thinks looking for a bed table, and they were sold out. Damn, it was only $4 there and my sister bought the last one before I could get to it. Good thing too, she was disappointed with the quality, supposedly it didn’t come with screws to put it together. I went across the street to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to look for a similar product. All I could find is a $29 look-a-like. So we bought it. Cool too, it was pre-built. While there, I bought a jar of fake AMINAL crackers. Yesh, I say AMINAL. AMINALS are yummy. Why did I say fake? It isn’t the Barnum’s Animal Crackers (I think it’s Barnum’s), Barnum’s is better, but these knock-offs aren’t so bad, quite nummy.

So… I have 2 weeks to find moO a b-day present. WTF? How do I not know what to get someone I’ve known for 7 years? Anyone have any good ideas? Hahahah If she finds out I got something someone else recommends, she’d probably be mad. Maybe if it cost enough it wont matter =P… Still thinking…

Let me just start with… WE WON ANOTHER ONE!!! AND we managed to actually play the WHOLE 3 periods! I actually found my place in this league. I can’t score goals in this league. I’m the instigator. Of course, I don’t actually start fights and get the ”instigator” penalties, but I do stir up some crazy trouble with the other team. And every time I draw a penalty, I skate to my bench with a big smile on my face. Take today for instance, on Wednesday I already drew 3 penalties from this team + kicking out a player from their team (also causing him not to play this game either), but today I drew and extra 2. On the second penalty I was ahead with the puck and a guy comes from behind. Sensing I can’t do anything I slowed down and he grabs me and I fall to the ground causing my second draw. The goalie bitches that it was a dive, so I go up to him and ask him, ”You have a problem?” blah blah, seconds later I have another guy up in my face, ”What’s with the f’king dive you sh’t, etc…” To which I reply, ”What? I can’t hear you. Huh? What?” hoping a ref would hear and issue an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I’m SO mature. =) Too bad, all I could draw was the holding penalty. My mom said my team was yelling my name to get me to go to the bench and not start any fights, but I’m smarter than that. I just like to talk crap and try to draw something extra. =) So, I just skate to my bench with a big smile on my face. And the greatest thing about it is that we converted it into point! Although I didn’t score the winning goal, I DID draw the penalty for the chance. I guess that’s as good as it gets for now. After the power play our offensive first line scored the ”nail in the coffin” making it 1-3, winning the game which doubles out wins for a record of 4-8-3. Not the greatest, but we’re getting better. Hey, we’re undefeated in 3 game! YAY us!

Now on the bad side. I had a couple REALLY good scoring chances, but couldn’t get it into the net. On was a huge break away, but while dekeing I mishandled the puck and lost it. I should have pulled the trigger earlier. I did manage to get 3 shots. But, obviously didn’t get it in. I think I’m due for a goal soon. Maybe next time!

So, why the heck does Adam have hockey on Wednesday? Well, if you had paid attention and read the webcalendar on the right, or hover the ”Hover for hockey standings.” link, you’d know that I had my rescheduled HP Pavillion game today. Yes, it’s where the Sharks play. So, when I stepped on the ice, it was one of the best ice I’ve EVER seen. The Sharks always complain about how crappy the ice is. At first I was like bah, I’ll skate on it EVERYDAY! Then I thought, well if you have a fan packed sellout crowd in the stands, that’s a lot of body heat to melt the ice. So, I guess their condensers are messed up or something.

On to the game. You’d think that of all odds, we’d win one even by accident. Well, today was our day, starting right from the gates we were up 0-2 somewhere in the last two periods we let one by making it 2-1. And that’s the score it would stay. WE WIN! YAY making our pathetic record 3-8-3. I managed to stay even in the +/- but with a score 2-1, I’d have to feel bad if I was negative. I SHOULD have been positive, but I couldn’t get the puck at the back of the net. I had plenty of chances, just couldn’t convert it.

Somewhere in the mixed, I managed to draw 3 of the 4 penalties ( ”drawing penalties” is when someone on the other gets a penalty and you’re the one they ”attack,” therefore, you draw the penalty.) on was when I was in front of the opposing goal and I was cross checked.

The second penalty was when an opponent and I were skating to the corner, I’m in front of him, I fall to the ground, I get up, and the guy behind me falls and somehow, he’s like wrapped around my legs, all of a sudden I get checked from behind my head hits the boards. He gets a 5 minute major penalty for intent to harm and gets ejected from the game. Shortly after the hit on me, my winger retaliates and gets a 3 minute minor (what a guy!) so for 3 minutes we’re 4 on 4 and after we get a 2 minute power play, and if I recall correctly, we scored on that ”power play”. But after that hit I don’t remember much…

The third penalty was behind the opposing teams goal, I have the puck trying for a wrap around, and I get high-stacked. Wheeee. I hope they don’t record who draws the penalties. I’ve drawn a lot of penalties, not only in this league, but all the time. Heh, this was the second person I got kicked out of the game. The other one was when I was back in the Ice Oasis.

All in all, I have to say it was a good game… finally. I think it would have been better if I could have gotten some points, either goals or assists, I’d take it. There’s always this Sunday, where oddly enough we’re playing the same team! Lame how they schedules it. Well, anyway, if anyone wants to check out the REMATCH, its Sunday @ 9 at Logitech Ice in San Jose, it’s where the Sharks practice!

Let me start with hockey, and then bitch about my week…

Sunday was a fairly good game, normally we come strong and have a solid lead, then give it back the next 2 periods. Sunday was just the opposite. We kinda let it go in the first period, I believe it was 2-1. But as the game progressed we really let ’em have it. Final minute of the game its 4-3 we pull the goalie and as the play is still going we have a 3 on 2, and from the bench our captain yells at the top of his lungs, ”SKATE, GOD DAMNIT, SKATE!” How’s that for motivational speaking? So yeah, we scored the goal to tie it all up and then had to fend off the other team for the remaining time in the period. We managed to actually NOT lose another game! Wheeeeeeee! Once again I did absolutely nothing this game. Except for that 3 minute penalty I got for cross checking. LOL, I deserved it. After the play was stopped, I just skated straight to the penalty box. Heh, Adam’s a 5’3″ goon! The guy I hit was at least 5’7″ something like 175 lbs. Heh, I’m a goon. But, I have fun, that’s what matters.

So, this week was kind of crappy. I started that job at the Stanford Hospital making those trays. I’m not liking it very much. It’s boring but easy. But, I don’t like standing all day, that’s why I hated the Best Buy temp job. My back and my feet hurt not too happy. But, I’m a soldier, I do it and I do it with a smile. Unless I do something like lose my wallet. Yeah, I lost my wallet on Thursday. I stressed the whole day. Luckily, I got it back the next day. Ah, everything is all good

But, that same day, on the way to work, my car broke down. That balljoint bolt that connects to the steering knuckle snapped pressing the lower control arm onto my rim shredding it as I tried to park my car in a safe area. So now my rim is all f’ked up. So this weekend I spent it fixing my car and had to get an alignment ’cause that was all jacked up too.

But to add fuel to the fire, I somehow managed to lose my time card, nice… Last night, at like the last minute, I managed to find it under a pile of papers. I don’t even know how it got there. What sucks is if I’m late I won’t get paid that week and have to wait until the next week to get a pay check, but then I get 2. So maybe it isn’t all that bad

So, yeah, my week wasn’t too fun. Hope yours was better.

My future Laptop…

For the next month I’ll be wearing this…

Damn, I need a haircut!
So, why the hell is Adam wearing scrubs. No, I didn’t just get my Ph.D. I now work at Stanford Hospital. No, I don’t have to touch yucky stuff, but just to be safe they give me scrubs anyway. I work in the Psychological & Behavioral building working with sleep disorders. Maybe I should do some tests on myself, since I never reach R.E.M.

So, what the hell do you do there? Basically, all I do is set up trays, run to the hospital, and set up the sleep rooms; Trays, Adam? Yeah, you know when you go to the dentist the trays with all the tools, toothpaste, picks, and all that other dentist garbage is already on a tray before you got there. Well, I do something like that only I make trays with electrodes, glue, alcohol (not the drinking kind, I wish… It’d make the day go a little faster, maybe even a little more fun… er, fun, period.). Then I go to the hospital to drop off used tools and junk to be sterilized and pick up the previous day’s now-sterilized tools and junk. Then I finish the lame day by setting up the rooms before the next wave of insomniacs and narcoleptic people come… j/k I dunno what type of disorders, but I’m sure a few have come in for those. Today was my second day and I get so tired. My feet hurt really bad. Thank god I already have two days off.

Here are the bad points of this job: I stand or walk around ALL day, my parking spot is NOWHERE near my fricken building (it’s across a semi-busy street), I work 6 days a week (only 6.5 hours a day), it’s so not intellectually stimulating (not that I care about that, I’ll rephrase it to ”it’s NOT fun work”), I got one day of training and the person who trained me left for her vacation (I’m taking her place for the month) and was trained again today but the guy who trained me today went on his 8 day vacation (WTF?), and worst of all it’s a whole month of this! Man I can’t wait for Saturday to come for my day off. It’s a good thing I get New Years Eve and Day off!

Here’s the good: I get money, I can save for my TURBO KIT, I can get moO a better Birthday present this year (at least better than last year’s pencil), I can refund my bank from what I spent on Christmas presents, I get money.

Hrm… Doesn’t sound like a big argument as to which side my scale is at. I know how I feel about jobs, but I know I gotta wait it out a little, maybe it’ll get better…

Thursday was our annual Sharks hockey day. This is where my parents buy me and my brother the family pack Sharks tickets where they host the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. This year my parents, my brother, moO, Shia, my Uncle Ted, and my brother’s teammate’s mom went. The family pack tickets include a ticket to the game and free hot dog and drink (no coke, just crappy pepsi). We all know how expensive those things are so actually it’s quite a steal, but the thing is you pay for parking which is $13. Sure we could have parked at some other parking lot at some bank or something, but I was too lazy to walk and my mom said she’d pay for parking. I’m never going to see that $13 dollars again. This is what I made my brother dress up in. Mind you it’s the SHARKS vs. DUCKS.

I think my sole purpose is to embarass my brother. So, anyway, the Sharks managed to come out on top this game 4-1. Which is good because the sharks aren’t doing too well this season. As of this mandatory holiday break, the Ducks are second and the Sharks are second to last in the Pacific Division. Man, how do you let a Micky Mouse team get higher standings?!

Merry Christmas to all those who care. I hope you all have a safe and happy holidays!

Yeah, we suck. We lost again, this time 4-1. Before the game my Dad yells out my name. I turn around and he points to a big guy in hockey gear. The guy shakes my hand and says something to the lines of, ”Hey, sup. It’s me Neil Beckett. Guess I’ll be playing against you today.” And we went our separate ways. I just have to mention that this guy used to live two doors down from me from since I could remember. He left a long time ago, but his Mom still lives there.

So, during the warm-ups, I might add if it isn’t so OBVIOUS, are BEFORE the game, I managed to break not one but TWO of my sticks. One of the breaks was on the blade and one was on the shaft. I was so pissed at my sticks, but what good does it do to be mad at inanimate objects? The sad thing was that my brother had just returned a stick in the ”pro shop” at the same place I was playing just before I had broken mine. What’s interesting is both breaks were on slap shots, in which I might add; I’m getting a little better at. I wonder if breaking sticks is a good sign or a bad sign. I had to use my Dad’s cousin’s stick for the game, which was a lot stiffer than I was used to, I couldn’t bend it as much as I would have liked to. Plus I was afraid I’d break his too, LOL. When I got home I just stuck the two good pieces together, like-new!

For some reason I lost wind easier than last game but not as bad as an average. I mean I ran a lot on Wednesday so I supposed that didn’t hurt, but I think I should have ran again either on Thursday or yesterday. I won’t have a game until next year (1/5/2003) so I better run a lot on my break. Plus, in addition to the holiday food I’ll be scarfing down, I had BETTER run!

In the first period, after a whistle, I somehow lost my edge cutting to my right and proceeded to slide sideways toward the net. I must have taken out 2 to 4 guys, both the other team and mine; I’m not sure whom. What’s a little funnier is during the game I managed to land on Neil’s stick breaking it in two. Not meaning to mind you, but I have a habit of falling at just the right (wrong) times.

I only had two shots on goal this game, and one being a HUGE scoring chance with a short and quick breakaway, shot on net with my back hand and just missed the post by 2 inches. Pooh…

After the game, Neil came to my bench with another guy and said to me, ”Hey, Adam, you remember Simon?” I was like fo-SHo! How could I not remember him? This guy was in my year in High School and also Neil’s younger brother, I’ve known this guy since like elementary school. Small fricken world. For those that remember him, I hear Simon got married recently.

On the way home we were listening to the radio (98.5 ’cause earlier the Sharks game was on, Tie 3-3) and I swear 4 songs in a row was by Queen. From the time I got in the car to the step out of the car was Queen. What’s sad is it totally reminded me of the Mighty Ducks. The songs in order were Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, and Under Pressure. It kinda was depressing, ’cause we didn’t rock anyone, and we are the furthest things from champions. Kinda depressing in a way.

Man, I don’t even want to talk about it. We suck. We lost again. We were up 3-0 at the end of the first period. Then lost the game 3-6. How the F’K you manage to do that!???? The last period ended up a penalty fest. Two people almost get into a fight (our league there’s no fighting, and the refs break it up before it happens), they both get a penalty. Someone hits someone on our team, gets a penalty. Someone on our team retaliates, gets a penalty. Someone retaliates and cheap-shot checks me from behind, I get REAL pissed. People who know me well know I have the shortest fuse and a mean temper. (yeah people like me and hockey don’t belong together) I was THIS close to taking my stick and slashing his neck, but instead of getting kicked out of the league, I wanted to retaliate too. So I checked him from behind too. I didn’t get a penalty, but he got kicked out for “intent to harm” and/or “unsportsmanlike conduct”. Something like that, I wasn’t paying attention to the refs, they sucked all night. I was busy taunting the other team’s bench to take it to the streets without their padding to protect them. Yeah, not fun. On top of that, I didn’t score any points and managed to keep my +/- at only -2. People say I can’t blame the game on the refs. F that, refs are a BIG part of how people play the game, if we’re getting beat out there and they do nothing, it really does hurt moral. Losing SUCKS. At least we’re not in last place. There’s actually a team who sucks MORE! YAY, go my team!

OMG, this SO looks like Adriene!!!