Updated: 10/28/2008

This goalie thought is a little insight into how some of us cope with the numbers in lights on the end of the rink.

Yes, the score. You see, the score might determine who wins or loses, but it doesn’t tell the story of how it got that way. Nor does it tell the story of how any one team member played. I’ve had some of my best games in net on the losing side of the battle — there is only so much you can do.

So, in talking with other goalies, I’ve noticed how certain goals bother us more than others. We discount certain goals in our own heads (sure, they are real and they go up on the board). In fact, you can go as far a to say that we goalies have our own way of keeping score. The higher the point value, the worse our performance, kind of like the other team’s goal count (we like low numbers, eh?). So, here goes. Continue reading Goalie Thoughts: How Goalies Keep Score

This rant goes out to the mother who decided to change her infant’s diaper right next to us: on the floor, in a crowded coffee shop, as we tried to have a relaxing bite to eat in a sanitary and fairly smell-free environment.

Continue reading An open letter to the woman who changed her daughter’s diaper right next to us as we ate…

Introduction

This whole thing started back on May 17th, 2005. I had casually deleted the email from the Stanford Alumni Association figuring that neither Steph or myself could afford the trip, or that it would be of any interest to either one of us. I was so very wrong! To my amazement, the girl from Florida who had never been south of the equator (let alone out of the country) was seriously considering it (note: this same girl-from-florida also loves sushi and now plays ice-hockey—go figure). We knew that these trips sold out and had to act quickly. Could we afford it? Was the timing right? Could we manage the details? Would we ever have this opportunity again? (Yes, Yes, Yes, Not Really). Within a few days we had our deposit wired and were confirmed for the trip. Within 2 weeks all 30 spots were sold out. We were on the trail 4 months later.

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Well, it took 2 days, but I did it. I beat the odds. I kicked some butt.

Well, sort of.

A couple of days ago, I noticed that my bloody phone at home wasn’t ringing. For all I know, it could have been weeks since it last rang (I don’t get a lot of phone calls and nobody ever leaves me messages, so I had no real way of knowing). Turns out, this time I was waiting for a call and all that I heard was a short blip on the phone. Weird. I could call out, I could use my DSL line. Everything *seemed* fine. So…tried to report the problem to SBC. Don’t ever try to actually call SBC! Waste of time, especially when the poor schmucks on the phone start reading a script and find out you have DSL. To make matters worse, if you have static IP DSL (like yours truly) matters become impossible. Seems like SBC sold a product they can’t script tech support for. But I digress.

Continue reading SBC / AT&T Customer Service Rant

I had a microdiscectomy for a monsterous prolapse (L4/L5 region) a couple of years ago. I had never been under anasthesia or stayed in a hospital before. Here’s a firsthand account of what it’s all about.  I wrote this just after my back surgery and my first ever hospital stay. Although I was hopped up an vicodin and valium at the time, it was remarkably coherent. I have not changed or in any way altered this true story. Enjoy!

Continue reading My First Hospital Visit (nonfiction)