Hockey Memories

As I was cleaning up my room, I came across an old e-mail that I had printed out about two years ago. It was an e-mail sent by my buddy Dean while at Western. We had played one game of street hockey (not actually street, but in a tennis court) before he left for Ontario in late spring of 2002. The last time we played a game was with our high school buddies back in the day. They were great memories and I thought I'd share his e-mail.

May 17, 2002

THE BUILD UP: Remember when we were in elementary school and high school and all we would do on the weekends and all summer long was play roller hockey? It was like 10:00, the sun's up, lets play hockey. Stop at 1:00 for a slurpee and then play some more until we had to get home for dinner. Well, those were the days my friends. No stresses, no school, not a care in the world. The events came with the highs and lows. The highs being playing all day, not having to backcheck, throwing my stick when I didn't score on every shot, having a good time with friends. The lows being "I got 10 people" turned into a one on one, "I'll play goalie" translated into "I'm not going in goal" and "the game starts at 10:00" really meant noon! Remember the times when Tomac would spazz over nothing, Leaky had a stick with a blade no thicker than a toothpick, Brad sucked in net, Chris H was a loser on feet (some things don't change), Arns was learning how to skate, Byron was pretending to be cool because he had the deepest voice (HA), Brad could setup a nice play from anywhere, Dana pissed everybody off because he tried both ways and displayed a second effort, and 2nd captain somehow gave a person 1st pick. AWWW, those were the days!!

THE STORY: Last Saturday, we relived the high school years. We played from 2:00 to 7:00. Arns showed that he studied the way Dana used to play because he was the best defender (it was surprising, everyone is asking for him to come back), I still got pissed off when I didn't score (but this time it was the balls fault, not my stick), slurpee breaks occurred, when someone hit the post he swore it was in (no lie), the goalies were still falling for the same move that used to shatter Brad's confidence, and for your information...hockey balls hurt now way more than they used to! People we don't know come out and ask to play, Arns injures his toe, I slice a chunk out of my foot that brings my mom to tears, another guy leaves early (not because his mom said he had to be home for dinner, but because he and his girlfriend were going out for dinner).

Ah yes, the new memories.

DANA: Eat it man, you wish you were still here.
BRAD: I expect you to come out and play one of these days.
ARNS: Ice the toe man, ice the toe. People are expecting your triumphant return!!

Dean

Funk In Da Trunk

Not really in the trunk, my friend installed a new CD deck for my car tonight. It all started with the factory installed deck not reading my discs anymore. I called up my Saturn dealer and they told me it would cost $700 to replace. That's just for the part. Ouch. I then took a look at some aftermarket CD decks and there were many options to choose from. I asked my friend, Tim, whom I haven't seen too often, for advice. This little project was actually a good thing since I got to connect with him again. We go way back about 19 years of knowing each other. Life just takes you on a different road after elementary school. Here's some advice I was given.

• Do not shop at Future Shop for a car deck or have them install it for you. They do a shoddy job installing the unit.


• Do not buy a deck from Sony. They just plain suck.


• Buy a car deck from shops that specialize in car audio. They have more knowledge and know what they're talking about.


• Buy a deck with a volume knob. It's more handy than holding a button to turn the volume up or down.


• Make sure you buy the proper mounting kit for your car's make and model.


• Do not attempt to install it by yourself if you think it's pretty much plug and play because it's not.

I wasn't looking for the best CD player, but I knew Visions was a good place to start. I actually ran into an old friend of mine from a church I used to go to who works there. He knew exactly what he was talking about and provided me with the proper mounting kit. He suggested one cool JVC deck that was in my budget. I ended up buying the unit and he gave me an employee discount on it.

It was fun learning how to install a deck. It was quite the process. First, Tim took off the instrument panel which was a pain in the ass with an American vehicle. Then, he had to unplug the old deck and figure out the connections. He had to take the power cable from the mounting kit and solder the many wires to the power cable that came with the new deck. Then, he had to mount the new deck onto the specially designed sleeve for my car. He slid it back into the empty slot and reattached the cables. Finally, after testing it out, he put the instrument panel back on.

Now onto some bigger projects.

Peace.

Town For Sale

On my break, I was reading The Province and found a headline on the front page which read "You Could Own a Town for $7 million!" I was like whaaa? Serious. Sounded like something from a game called Monopoly. I flipped to the article and found it a very interesting read. The article stated that the entire community of Kitsault, BC is up for sale. It's a few hours drive north of Terrace and virtually all of it oceanfront.

The town includes 92 houses, 7 apartment buildings, containing 210 suites; 1 fully equipped hospital (Kitsault General Hospital), with a never used X-ray machine; 2 recreation centres, complete with swimming pool, gym, hot tub, racquetball courts, library, theatre, curling rink, and Maple Leaf pub; a brand-new shopping mall that includes facilities for a grocery store, restaurant, liquor store, bank, post office, and several specialty stores; more than 80 hectares of wilderness, including approximately 1.5 km of beach. Power lines, telephone service, and sewage connections are still intact.

The town has been abandonded since the nearby molybdenum mine closed in 1982. The town lasted for only 2 years. Since then, a caretaker and his wife have been the only resident of Kitsault. For 22 years, the town has been kept in good condition and with some upgrades and repairs, it's ready for residents to move in. If an investor bought the town, condos could be sold starting at $14,000 and houses at $70,000.

In The Province, they did a comparison with homes on the market in some affluent neighbourhoods in Vancouver. For $7.9 million, you could own a 6 bedroom, 10 bathroom home with screening room, pool, four-car garage, and landscaping in the Shaughnessy area. But you only get a really nice house.

Peace.

Abandoned

After chillin at my friend Les' apartment watching a couple of Arnie flicks, we found out from his neighbour that the underground parking lot door wasn't working. It was midnight and I wondered if I would have to take the Skytrain or get a ride home because my car was parked in there. Les and I headed to the underground parking lot to see if we could somehow fix the sensor. After playing with the motor's on and off switch, we found a latter to reach up to the sensor. I was praying it would be the wires that needed some adjusting, and then it finally opened. I was stoked.

As I looked around the underground parking lot, I noticed quite a few abandoned cars. It was the strangest sight, but I guess not so surprising being in the city and all. Les pointed out some cars that had been there ever since he moved in. There were like 7 abandoned cars with a thick layer of dust on them. Who would leave such an investment behind? He told me there was a Trans Am at the bottom level with its body and windows smashed in. We went to take a look. Some of the tenants must have used it to take out their aggression. It was in pretty bad shape and must have been there for years. I wondered why the building manager still had these cars, but he must have been too lazy to get rid of them. There were some junk lying around including an old desk and a baby car seat. There were some graffiti on the walls and interesting artwork displayed. We found an old motorcycle too.

I felt like a kid exploring an abandon building that wasn't abandon, just the parking lot. When you're in the city, I suppose vehicles aren't so much of a necessity.

Peace.

Demands

Customers suck. This was my day.

What Customers Really Mean
Anonymous

"I am NEVER coming here again!"
Translation: "See you tomorrow."

"I don't like to complain, but..."
Translation: "If I act like I am just being helpful maybe I can get some free stuff."

"The sign said there was no limit."
Translation: "I never read the sign, I just hope this person is too lazy to go see if I'm lying or not."

"Hello there, how are you doing today!!"
Translation: "Maybe if I'm really nice they won't over charge me this time."

"Are you guys open?"
Translation: "Despite the fact that your lights are on, your doors are unlocked, and you guys are behind the counter wearing uniforms, I'm still not sure."

"I have spent thousands of dollars here. How can you treat me this way?"
Translation: "I have only bought a few things here and I want you to think that I am the most valuable customer on earth. Your business will cease to exist if I don't shop here."

"But it's cheaper somewhere else!"
Translation: "Bow to me, for I am the customer. And therefore, everything in your store must be adjusted to my budget because my lazy ass won't drive to the store that advertised it for less."

"Are You SURE?"
Translation: "I don't like the information I just received because it doesn't go in my favor."

"I don't have enough money on me right now."
Translation: "I have NO intention of coming back at anytime; you'll have to put those back."

"I'm just going to think about it...this is the first store I've been in and I want to look around a little more."
Translation: "It's too expensive, but I don't want you to think I'm cheap."

Peace.

Crap

Last night, I went out for dinner with my buddy, Tom, for some good Japanese food by the sea. We had a good conversation about manhood, theology, education, careers, politics, and girls. I've pondered for a long time about what I want to do with my life and where I want to go with it. Tom asked me what I was most interested in to which I responded, I'm not sure. I think there are many things, but as for a defined one, it's hard to say. For a long time, my dream job was to be involved in missions or become a Canadian Coast Guard officer. I think it's still there. Lately, I've been considering joining the Navy, but I really have to think and pray about that one. The difficulty being handling the corruption and state of mind in service.

After achieving a degree, it takes humility to accept an hourly waged job. I ask myself what the hell I'm doing at Kinko's, but it is a job and an income for me. I believe at this stage in my life God has placed me there for a reason. The reason being that my co-workers have noticed my lifestyle. I've had many spiritual conversations at work. I hang out with my Muslim friend from work quite a bit and we've had deep conversations about faith, love, and life in general.

I hope to find a career that will give me a sense of purpose and fulfillment. I pray I don't end up having a career to buy even more crap I don't need. It slowly creeps on you when God seems further away. Tom and I discussed how in North America we live in a society where we don't have to fight to get our basic needs: food, water, shelter, and clothing. We're past that. Now we fight to show off.

There is a great quote from the movie, "Fight Club" that speaks volumes.

"I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who have ever lived -- an entire generation pumping gas and waiting tables; or they're slaves with white collars. Advertisements have them chasing cars and clothes, working jobs they hate so they can buy shit they don't need. We are the middle children of history, with no purpose or place. We have no great war, or great depression. The great war is a spiritual war. The great depression is our lives. We were raised by television to believe that we'd be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars -- but we won't. And we're learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed-off."

Peace.

Bait and Switch

I've officially made a switch to this so called blogger. I had a complaint filed that comments on my xanga blog could not be posted without registering. No one wants to do that. It also occurred to me that most of my fellow bloggers and friends are on this one. You can read my old posts at http://www.xanga.com/koala27.

I did a couple of quizzes on this website called Tickle (http://www.tickle.com). Here are my results. They're pretty accurate.

What Does Your Room Say About You?

Modern

Sometimes less really is more. A modern style like yours tends to be refreshingly clutter-free and all about simple lines. Maybe you use square, pop-up baskets to hide laundry or have straightforward twill bedding in a monochromatic hue. Simplicity is for you.

While you may get overwhelmed when everyday clutter starts accumulating on flat surfaces (don't we all?), you're also probably pretty organized. Which may be why the people who know you like to congregate in your spare, calm surroundings. Maybe you set the tone with a steel desk lamp and keep disarray at bay with great-looking storage boxes. We're guessing you pretty much have a place for everything and that translates into a room that perfectly reflects your clean, modern style.

Who's Your Type?

Your type is the Girl Next Door

Cute, fun, and sweet, your ideal gal is just a stone's throw away — she's the Girl Next Door. She's Sandra Bullock, Doris Day, and Meg Ryan all rolled up into one. Naturally pretty rather than glamorous, she's unpretentious and generous. She loves animals and children, and is great with both. You're attracted to her strong values and traditional ways. Although she demands a lot of respect, she's not particularly high-maintenance. Her ideal date is more likely to be dinner and a movie than heading out for a night on the town. She's careful yet spontaneous — a little bit of the Guy's Girl, a smidge of Sorority Sister (the nice kind), and just a hint of the Hippie Chick. But she's got an appeal that's all her own, which is why you can't stay away. Her winning smile, bright eyes, and loving nature make you want to hold on tight and never let go.

Peace.