Toledo-6 Syracuse-4

We won our first game at the National tournament. We beat Syracuse in a wild, come from behind thriller. Our team led 1-0 after one period of play. In the second period, we completely fell apart in the first ten minutes, giving up three goals to fall behind 3-1... Just when all seemed lost, we got a goal in the middle of the period to pull to within one. And then it started... we scored again to tie things up at three. And all of a sudden, BAM! Three goals in the last four minutes of the period to take a 6-3 lead... Syracuse got a goal in the final period to make it close, but Toledo held on for a 6-4 victory... Game two of the round-robin portion of the tournament is on Saturday at 4pm ET when the Cherokee play the Connecticut Wolves, who got drilled by Twin Cities (MN) tonight... I feel really good. I got in from the road yesterday in the morning and kept going till after practice here in Philly.... then after a quick bite, I went to sleep and slept till just before midnight, typed my previous entry, and went right back to sleep. I slept in this morning till late. I grabbed some breakfast with the team, came back to the hotel and got ready, and went to the arena. we were all on pins and needles as we awaited the start of things... I'm going to bed. Alot of the family and fans that came out to Philadelphia with us want to go grab some beers and party... Me, I'm going to bed. I don't want to wake up with a trash can headache. I'm not here to drink and party, I'm here because I want to win THE RING!!! Talk to everyone tomorrow... Peace y'all...

Today It All Begins...

Howdy from the land of Cheesesteak,
The last 36 hours have been grueling. No sleep. On the road. I'm recovered after getting some quality hotel room shuteye... I drove out to Philadelphia expecting a traffic zoo because of the size of the city. As I drove down I-95, it occured to me that I'm only a short drive away from Baltimore and Washington DC... I got in the hotel about 11 this morning and fell asleep a short while later. I was awakened by a phone call by a player. He said that he and his roommates overslept and missed the team bus that took the players to the ice rink for practice. I don't even remember getting dressed but was on auto pilot as I took the guys over to rink in my car. I was barely conscious but fractured a speed law or two and got them there in time for the practice. But our coach was livid. He was ready to send them home on a greyhound bus. He couldn't believe that they would be so irresponsible. He was furious... but the other players interceded for the guys that missed the team bus and the coach relented... I don't know if they will be benched for the tournament opener today against Syracuse, but at least they'll still remain here in Philly... Well, today everything begins... We play Syracuse today, Connecticut on Saturday, and Twin Cities (from Minnesota), on Sunday... We'll see what happens after that. Right now, first things first... I'm poopin' pickles thinking about Syracuse... I'll worry about the rest later...

The Road Awaits...

I'm tired and I feel like I'm out of gas... and then I think about what tomorrow brings... the road to Philadelphia begins. Then a smile sneaks from my lips and I can barely contain myself. Emotionally I've never been more nervous. The butterflies in my stomach keep me from falling asleep when I should be getting more rest. But it's worth it to me. I can't help it. I'm more nervous than a crack addict in a police line-up... Not that I've been a police line-up or on crack... but you get the sentiment... By the way, we got back to Toledo from St. Louis, yesterday at sunrise... I came home, took a shower, put in a load of laundry, ate, and went to work... Last night right after work, I went to Charlie's for a bite, and then went to the TV studio to tape a sports show interview that featured the coaching staff of the hockey team. It was meant to feature the Cherokee in a four minute segment and the march to nationals... So what is the first thing that Coaches Varga, Tarsha, and Kinsella start talking with Tom, the show host? The team... no. The players?... no. The tournament?... no. Nope, those dorks open with comments about me!!! They knew that I didn't want them to talk about me even though I work for the station... And yet... the wiseacres... They love to see me go nuts when it comes to media stuff. It was a love fest but to me, the most important thing was to talk about themselves and the team and it's accomplishments. It was a lot of fun but I was a tired puppy. I came home and try as I might, I couldn't fall asleep. So instead, I went on the ol' computer and talked to some friends (always worthwhile) and listened to some hockey games online... Work today was long and hard with me fighting to stay awake. Tonight, I did a little shopping for the Philly trip and came home to get some sleep... Of course I started playing with the computer to get it ready for Philadelphia. Of course, it decided to have a mind of it's own and I spent 3 hours getting nothing accomplished. Oh the hell with it... I'm going to bed... But tomorrow... PHILLY AWAITS!!!! I can't even stay in a bad mood long enough to write how beat I am... TO THE NATIONALS JEEVES!!!

Runner-Up In St. Louis...

The team finished runner-up as we had to play St. Louis again, this time with the CSHL playoff championship, the Hurster Cup, on the line. We came at STL and they came at us and at the end of the day, they got the win 6-4.... It was a wild, chippy affair that left both teams banged up pretty good, the week before nationals. As I write this, I'm on the team bus, heading back to Toledo. I won't get back home till sometime early Monday morning, around 4 or 5 to be exact. I have to go to the job, and work till six in the evening. Then, me and the coaches have to go and tape a tv show about the Cherokee. That'll be cool and everything but with no sleep, we will all be fatigued and dragging to say the least. After work on tuesday, I have to go home and do my laundry... after work on wednesday, I have to go home and pack and head to the rink... This time around- destination: Philadelphia... I can hardly wait... I was thinking about everything going on these days... I've been so busy that I don't know which way to turn. I've been so tired and ate like a moose in STL... I'm trying to keep my energy level up...

Philadelphia Freedom

OHHHHHH YEAH BABY!!!!!
The Toledo Cherokee defeated the Motor City Chiefs by a score of 8-1... That, coupled with St. Louis' 5-1 victory over Cleveland, means that Toledo gets an automatic bid to the National Championship tournament to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cleveland still has a chance of qualifying today for a National bid, but I'll worry about that later. Toledo will be in the field of 12 come Friday night... Now we're not done with this weekend yet... Toledo will square off with St. Louis again today for the Hurster Cup... the symbol of the CSHL playoff championship. But since St. Louis has already qualified for the Nationals by finishing the regular season in first place, We get the 2nd bid to nationals since we are playing them in the title game. I can't wait. I'm telling you I cannot wait. For some of our players, this is their last season of their careers, and they have never been to nationals... ever. This is so awesome to see them get so excited about this... I was hugging everyone on the bus on the way back to the hotel... Plus, for our rookies, this is equally an awesome time. Last night, after the game, all of the parents and family members and the coaching staff, went out to tie one on because of the win. I thought about it but since I was starving, I opted to pick up some italian and have it delivered and walked to the bar downstairs and have a couple of pops and relax in my room... I'm exhausted... But ohhh, what a feeling... We're going to nationals.... that's right!!!!! I'm sooooo excited!!!!

Tied Up In Knots

From the highest of highs to baseline... The Cherokee came into tonight's game vs the Cleveland Lumberjacks on an emotional high after upsetting St. Louis last night. Tonight in the first period, we stunk the place up... we fell behind 4-1 before mounting a ferocious comeback to tie it up at four. Neither team scored in overtime so it ended 4-4... So it sets up an interesting scenario for tomorrow... If St. Louis beats Cleveland tomorrow, and we beat Motor City... regardless of what happens on Sunday, the Cherokee will go to the National Championships in Philadelphia... Oh to dream... I'm not allowing myself to think that far ahead. We have had a wild time in the Lou and I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend... I'm sooooo exhausted... but what a blast!

David Slays Goliath

Yessss,
I have such a sense of satisfaction right now. I can't even begin to put it into words. The Cherokee went into last night's game against St. Louis as huge underdogs. We lost every game we played against them this season. They are the 2 time defending National Champions. I was hoping for a close game at best... If we only lost by 2 or 1, I could somehow deal with that. We could still qualify for Nationals. If we only won the goal differential, we could make it. We could lose against a national powerhouse and still qualify... Well, our two biggest rivals in this tournament BOTH LOST! Cleveland whipped Motor City 5-2 and we shocked the entire junior hockey world, by defeating St. Louis by a 4-2 score on Thursday night. Previously during the regular season, St. Louis lost only one time. All year, they only lost once to Grand Rapids a team that did not make the playoffs... So yes, anything is possible. But wow, to beat St. Louis, the best team in the nation... in their own building... wow, I'm still stunned. Now we have to beat Cleveland tonight and Motor City tomorrow, and we are Philadelphia bound... (heading for Nationals)... We beat St. Louis... what an upset!

Cruisin' Holmes...

As I write this, I'm about two hours from reaching St Louis. I sitting on the bus just looking out the window and typing away. I thought about some road stories here to chat about as there are always hijinks aplenty in the world of hockey. The usual practical jokes, the crass juvenile behavior, et al. I thought that maybe I could use that as the focus of my entry... but nooooooooo! Hollywood has to go and enter my life for no real good reason. Of course as many of you know, my day job is working in a local hospital in Toledo, my home town. Now we used to build up how Jaime Farr of M*A*S*H fame was our claim to fame. We also claim Danny Thomas but one really seams to care. People ignore the fact that Gloria Steinem also hails from here. Yawn... of course one half of the infamous 'TomKat' pairing also hails from Toledo... Yep, Katie Holmes is Ottawa Hills born and bred... She's a blood relative of one of the players on the Cherokee... I brought up this fact to the player who just shrugged and said 'yeah, I guess so'... The reason I bring this up is because apparently Tommy Boy set aside a couple of rooms at a couple of local hospitals (including mine) and that triggered off a small firestorm about Katie's status... (delivery status that is). Many national media called us to inquire if she was at our hospital... (she isn't). Entertainment Tonight, US weekly, etc., were ringing us up to find out. I found the whole thing quite amusing. With everything else going on around there... it's a veritable soap opera... what a riot. I went back home where I picked up my clothes that I had forgotten earlier in the morning. I went to the arena, hopped on the bus... and six hours later, here I sit... my behind fallen asleep and thoughts of a maniacal scientologist running rampant in a delivery room... somewhere... Lord, help us all...

Random Thoughts... Ice Chips...

I'm sitting at home, the night before a long bus ride with the hockey team to St. Louis. I'm calm. I'm feeling a calm excitement as I get ready... I haven't packed yet. I'll do that later tonight. I'm not sure what I should be feeling right now. I want to get excited about this but I also know that it will be a tall order to come out of this tournament with a National Championship bid... St. Louis already has a bid to go to Nationals in Philadelphia by virtue of their winning the regular season title. And if they make it to the Hurster Cup final game, they, along with the team they would play, would automatically go to nationals. We are gunning to be in that game. There's a third way for us to have a shot to go also, but that's too complicated to explain right now. I just want to go to Philly... Now, I'm in an okay mood, but I'm tired. I'm beginning to feel like I'm run down. I want to feel good. The lack of sleep has made me a bit sluggish at work during the day. I've got to be up when I'm there... the State Joint Accreditation people are in town and are making all of the management types poop pickles because they're so nervous about getting re-accredited and to do so without any citations. They're here all week. I'm only here till tomorrow and after work tomorrow, I go to the rink, hop on the team bus, and ride 9 hours to St. Louis... oh joy... my butt can hardly wait for this... But it's worth it because I know what's at stake here... Not too often you can be part of a team and be called a 'champion'... Even if we don't win it all, I want to go to Nationals... the top 12 Junior B teams in the entire country will be there... I want to be a part of that... I guess we'll see...

Going slumming in aol journal-land...

Weekend Assignment #103: List the songs you'd play to kick a party into gear. You can choose up to five. And if you want to explain why those five, that's good too. It can of course, be any kind of music from any era -- and it can be any kind of party, too. Hey, it's your party. You're in charge of the jukebox, my friend.
Extra Credit: Name the song to play to start winding down the party.

I dunno, for a party, I'm guessing music you can dance to... I'm going to have to go with:

1 Superstition (Stevie Wonder)- You can never go wrong with Motown and this song is still listenable even today. All these years later, you can still move to it.

2. Ain't Nothin' but a House Party (J.Geils Band)- How can anyone have a party without J. Geils??? If you can't get up for Geils, just go back to bed...

3. You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)- If it's good enough for sporting events

4. Dancing Burritos (Duke Tumatoe)- fans of the nationally syndicated 'Bob and Tom' show will know who this is... the song is 12 years old and if you can't move or tap your toe to this... call the minister for last rites cuz you're done!

5. Run Runaway (Slade)- Everytime I hear this song, I think of a soccer crowd in England jumping up and down. Very catchy

Slow dance song: You Are So Beautiful (Ray Charles)

We Did It... Now On To St. Louis!!!

Yes, I am absolutely ecstatic. I can barely contain myself. My team that I work with, the Toledo Cherokee have eliminated a the team they haven't beaten all year, the Metro Jets from Lakeland, Michigan. We swept them in the best of three series, 2-0.... We advance to the CSHL playoff finals in St. Louis... I can't begin to tell you how insane this is and how happy I am... I'm absolutely delirious... We are now within one series of going to the National Championships in Philadelphia. I can't and won't even allow myself to think that far ahead... I am on cloud nine with this. Yeah, I know it's one step at a time... but doggone it, I AM HAPPY! WE DID IT... TO THE PLAYOFFS JEEVES!!!

He Shoots.... He Scores!!!

Woo-Hoo...
I am absolutely exhausted beyond belief... ohhhh, how sweet it is. Went back to work today for the first time in a week. It felt good to feel some semblance of normalcy... whatever that might be. I went right from work to the rink to get ready for tonight's broadcast of the Cherokee game on local TV. I was more interested in talking with the coaches, with the players, to get involved with the whole playoff experience, than to worry about prep for the TV broadcast. I met my color analyst who was going to work the game with me. He was not happy because he wanted to get more info about the game from the net, but there wasn't a whole lot for him to draw from. He didn't realize that I worked with the team. When he started to complain, I just smiled and looked at him and chirped "don't worry, I got it all covered" He seemed to be relieved. I was soooo pumped about the game. We hadn't beaten Metro during the regular season. I really felt so anxious to play them. I felt strongly like we needed to come out with a sense of purpose and to take it to them. I was in the locker room when our assistant coach addressed the team. He gave a very emotional speech and had tears in his eyes... I was choked up a bit too. Well, it fired up the team as Toledo stomped on Metro with a 5-1 victory. The Cherokee came out and dominated from start to finish. It was awesome. Toledo has taken a 1-0 lead in the best of three series with game two set for Saturday night. If we show up like last night, I want to go crazy in delirious celebration so we can go to St. Louis... which would put us one series away from going to the National Championships in Philadelphia... One step at a time though. No getting ahead of ourselves. Let's start with a series clinching win Saturday night and go from there...

(Weiner) Doggin' It...

Oh my,I am as beat as could be. I slept in this morning... got plenty of rest but since today was a scheduled day off, I went back to work for a few minutes so I could update my boss on what was going on with me, etc., and semi-jokingly to make sure my job was still there. The people in my department were very happy to see me. That was heartwarming. I did a couple of things there and also ran into my 'groupie'. I haven't tried to get ahold of her nor her of me. She looked at me with some distant far away eyes. I know that look. It's a look of 'mik, you hurt me.' But like I said before: 1) you're waaaaay to young and 2) even more important, you have a boyfriend... so I was polite, made some small talk, and cracked a joke to make her smile and I left her on a good note...I came back home and watched a little basketball... it was very entertaining and basketball isn't even my favorite sport...I'm in March Madness mode... Tomorrow is game one of the playoffs for the Cherokee... Nervous? Ohhhh don't you know it. My stomach is in knots. We're playing the Lakeland Metro Jets. We didn't beat them during the regular season. Better to lose then and win now instead of vice versa... Man, that's all I can think about. My co-workers were asking me if I was nervous about doing the game on TV locally. I actually forgot and haven't given it a single thought. I don't get nervous in front of the camera, I just 1) don't want to screw up on the broadcast and 2) am much more concerned with Toledo getting the win.I spent the rest of the evening running some errands and then stopping over at my sister and brother-in-law's house. My bro-in-law was working but my kid sister was home with the boys... and my dog. Well, I guess she's their dog now... She was originally my dog, but when they lost theirs and I was on the road so much that the dog was by herself, I figured that they could 'babysit' my 'Penney', and then I could take her back after the season. Well, what I was afraid would happen, did. They all got attached to her... Penney is a full blooded Mini-daschund... She's my lil weiner dog... so I tell them that she's still 'my' dog. But that they can keep her over there. I went there tonight and when Penney saw me, she went crazy, jumping up and down and when I sat down, she jumped up and was licking my face for 30minutes straight... I was giving my baby hugs and kisses and just spoiling her rotten. My sister looks at me and cracks "should I leave you two alone?" My family is twisted that way. When I left, it was such sweet sorrow (tougher to say c'ya to Penney than it was to my sister and her kids... only kidding). But my goofball sister kept making references to me having a conjugal visit with 'my' dog... Only sisters can crack on you like that... Soooo, I come home and it's very late and I'm going back to work Friday... Enjoy St. Patty's everyone.... whew! I am beat...

The Wrong Number...

Don't think I can't laugh at myself? How's this for a 'it could only happen to Mik' I'm in the bathroom blowing my nose, still trying to shake off the effects of this cold/sore throat that I've been dealing with... I blow my nose so physically hard that my cell phone falls out of my hooded sweatshirt and falls into and down the toilet... How about them apples? It happened so fast, my eyes had no time to get big with the shock of what happened... No but(t)s about it... I still am stunned thinking about it... At first, I was very upset. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that nothing I did could change what happened. So again, I faced a choice. Either I could let something so silly dictate my mood. Or, I could laugh at it and even though I don't have money to be buying new cell phones whenever I want, I would be okay and get another phone and just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet. I chose the latter and I'm doing much better. I wanted to be upset but since I was by myself, there was no one to be angry at... So I closed my eyes and thought about God and saying 'okay, I'm letting go of my anger and letting you deal with it.' I couldn't let go and take it back when I wanted to have a pity party. I had to let it go... completely... end of story... the end. Well, after that, I'm feeling okay. My change of mind allowed me to let God change my heart. I'm still smarting over losing my cell phone. But I am at peace, I'm in control, and I am happy. I am now broke, but I am happy...

Amongst The Living...

Took another day off from work today... My vocal chords are much improved but still pretty sore. The cold has settled into my lungs so I'm feeling a bit ornery on the physical side. I'm resting my voice because I have to broadcast the Cherokee playoff opener on Friday night. It's being televised locally and after two years the TV station has FINALLY given me the opportunity to broadcast my own team's game... Previously, they would assign another broadcast team to do the Cherokee game. They didn't want me to do both the TV and internet audio portion of the game (I'm contractually obligated to do the internet audio... which I love). However, there's someone new assigning the broadcasters to the games that BCSN will cover so they gave me this game since they haven't covered the Cherokee all season. So I'm doing what I can to save my voice for Friday night. My fingers have been doing most of my talking all week... I know it's only Tuesday but work with me here, ok?
Sitting here at home, I've been going a bit stir crazy. The weather outside has been one huge wind bag... literally. We've been hit with 40-50mph (80kph) winds around the clock over the last two days. Even when the sun has been shining, the wind chill has dipped well below freezing. Thank God I've got XM radio (a Christmas gift from my best friend) to listen to... Of course being a media type, I listen to a lot of radio on the net. But when I want to give my computer a break, then it's XM all the way baby!

I Have a Pulse...

I took today off from work. I lost my voice over the weekend and my throat feels like someone took a cheese grater to it... I had my voice start to go during my game broadcasts. I managed to finish the games but it hurt too much to even swallow liquids. I'm just toast right now... My hockey team finished in a tie for third place which is what we hoped for, but in a wonderful snafu by the Central States Hockey League, They gave Peoria the nod for the third slot and put us in the number four seed... the tie breaker between us and Peoria was head to head. We take the tie-breaker there. We played them four times and finished 2-1-1 against them. But the CSHL league commissioner in his infinite wisdom decided that we're the #4 seed. So instead of playing Cleveland, we'll be playing the Lakeland Metro Jets from East Waterford, Michigan. The Cleveland coach is angry too. Instead of bussing an hour and a half to Toledo, they have to bus about 10 hours each way to play Peoria. Metro comes down about 3 hours each way to play us instead of 11 hours each way to play Peoria, which they SHOULD be doing... What bothers me is that we haven't beat Metro this year. We've lost each time we played them. Maybe that will be the catalyst to motivate this team to rise up the occasion and be David as he slays Goliath... We'll see. I'm feeling better, but I should tell you in the interest of full disclosure... I have fallen asleep multiple times during the writing of this post... I started it at 10am this morning.. It's after 5 o'clock in the afternoon... I kept falling asleep at the computer for an hour or two at a time... I'm awake now. So I will function for the rest of the evening...

One Down, One To Go...

I am about as exhausted as I've ever been. My cold and sore throat are much worse now than they were this morning. A couple of times during the broadcast tonight, I hacked and wheezed on the air... yikes. We won however and that always serves as a nice balm for what ails... We spanked the boys from Davenport 8-0... So I had to be really excited. If we beat them tomorrow again, we'll have home ice advantage next weekend to start the playoffs. If we finish third, we'll open at home against Cleveland. If we finish fourth, we'll open with Peoria at home. Now if Cleveland loses to Columbus tomorrow (highly doubtful), then we would play Michigan... Oh I know you could care less about this stuff. For me, I'm just happy that we will most likely open at home. Otherwise, it's a five thousand dollar weekend next weekend somewhere else. But let's hope for a repeat of tonight, tomorrow afternoon. My mind is swimming right now, thinking about a wide variety of things. I've been up and down the emotional rollercoaster and as I sit here by myself, my thoughts are not about my situation. I have the faith to believe that I'll be okay... I'm more concerned about others. I'm too tired to think right now so I'm going to go fall asleep. Only to wake up in the middle of the night I'm sure... making me groggy as I will make the attempt to go to Church in the morning. I have to go to Church and pray for a few friends and a Cherokee victory...

Hi temp 101 (me) Lo temp 30 (outside)

I'm sitting here at home and watching a Gaither's Homecoming tv special. I always looked at that as 'old people' music... I used to think I was too cool to listen to music that was geared toward the 'wrinkle ranch' crowd. But I realized those people can sing their butts off so I shut up in a hurry. It's not my favorite style of music, but for some reason when I'm feeling down, I watch the Gaithers and manage to feel a lot better and my weakened faith grows a bit stronger... I've not been feeling good the last couple of days, saddled with a cold and a sore throat... a lousy inconvenience for most, a serious pain in the rump since I've got to broadcast two hockey games this weekend online... ahhhh I love life sometimes. Ha! I was going to go out tonight, but I just didn't really feel like doing anything. I wasn't so sick that I couldn't do it. I just wanted to curl up on the sofa and mope. I was feeling tired and felt a pity party coming on. Instead of giving in, I flipped on TV and was too lazy to grab the remote and watched the Gaithers. It may have been the most boring night I've ever spent on this earth. And you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it... I felt like I perked up a bit and my spirit, sneeze-filled as it was, felt a sense of peace. The reason is because of the fact that when I feel lonely and hurt and deserted, that the biggest thing I should do is to minister to others. Not as a minister, but as someone who has endured and survived. So I guess that is what I'm meant to do... Be a friend...

Hello, cruel world...

There you go... this is the team I work with... the Toledo Cherokee Hockey Club. I threw a collage of pictures together. I even snuck a very rare picture of me in there. Reason for the rarity of pictures of me? Call it a long battle of many years of low self esteem. I very seldom take pictures... But I've been shooting my mouth off to a number of you about taking risks and having hope and going out of your comfort zone to achieve goals and to risk (heaven forbid) being happy. So I decided that I had to take a spoonful of my own medicine and here I am... I'm the one in the picture with the Dilbert tie on...

Tag-Along...

I have been tagged by Jackson... Five more questions... Five more answers...

1. Do you have a nickname? (other than your blogger nickname). Not an official one outside of 'Mik' (my birth name is Michael, but no one calls me that. Or Mike... I don't like either one.) but you know how when you're around people in a locker room and they make up a name to call you just for the heck of it...


2. If so what is it? Mikster, Mikolus, Peckerhead...


3. What is your favorite memory as a child? Winning a pee-wee hockey championship as a 10 year-old. I never felt anything like it...


4. What relative did you like the most?(Besides your immediate family ex. brother\ sisters\ mom\ dad) Back then it would've been my cousin Henry from Texas. I loved him and hated him at the same time... Now a days, it would be my nephews and my brother in law...


5. Who is your best friend? Wow, I am in a weird position as I have three but they all left town and moved away for better employment opportunities... (at least that's what they told me... HA!) Jim is a CEO in Pittsburgh, Todd is a doctor in Findlay, and Rosi is a registered nurse who lives in Akron. What they all have in common, (besides ME) is that they are not snooty rich people. They are the most normal (simple, easy going, screwed up like me) people I've ever known. I've seen their missteps and learned a great deal from them and from my backround, have tried to apply what I know to help others. I use others words and ideas to better express myself... who better than my best friends...

Who do I tag? Ophelia, Maggs, Riccie, Tony, Tina...

As I Cope, As I Hope...

I'm sleepy... soooooooo sleepy... I don't feel like writing about anything but Sleeping...

Well, I suppose I should write about something so that you nice folks continue to stop by... First, I want to say thank you to all the nice folks that have responded to me in some form or another about last night's post. I really felt good and your kindness towards a strange goof like me was very heartwarming and renewed my faith in mankind... okay, I'm not ready to hit the dating scene anytime soon (my personal target date to go back on the dating circuit: July, 2035... ha!) but I feel like I'm moving on in my life and look forward to spending time with friends and some family and just being a dork... that's what I look forward to getting back to being the most!
That doesn't mean I don't miss my past... but it was for a season and it appears that season is over. So now I have to look forward to the future. I have opined to a number of you about the value of hope... well, it's about time to continue that theme and take some of my own advice... Hope... it's what sustains...

Okay, 5 things I hope for:

1- Spend more time in the Word. I've been doing more of that online and it's helped me considerably... And making friends that believe has also given me strength in my faith.

2- I'd like to see my hockey team make it to the national championship in Philadelphia...

3- I hope the women's football team I work for will actually win a game this year...

4- I wish my ex girlfriend happiness and success wherever she goes or whoever she's with...

5- To continue to grow as a person and hope to be a better friend to those I care about...

Monday Moanings...

In the 'I wasn't expecting that' department:
Today wasn't a bad day. It was actually a pretty good one all things considered. My co-workers and I who worked on Saturday when the entire communication system went down and got through it okay, were commended by our boss and given a whole three dollars to use in the cafeteria... three bucks? I think I'll wet my pants... I guess I shouldn't whine about it... at least my boss noticed. And just before my annual review. I guess I'll be allowed to come into work and actually get paid for it...
Tonight, I went to the restaurant that I like to go to on Mondays. I always order the same thing: a pizza with chicken and pineapple as toppings and an iced tea. I chose to go on Mondays because the pizza is on special every Monday, and my ex-girlfriend's daughter, who works there, always had Monday off... the key word in that last line is 'had' because I walked in tonight and who takes my order but Kelley. I froze for a second, but smiled and said hello. I was polite through the entire meal. She was very nice to me too, but I think that's because it's her job. However, to her credit, she stopped and asked me how I was doing. I said 'fine' and left it at that. I asked her how she was doing and how school was... she took time and told me all about what she's been doing in school etc., and I told her that I was very proud of her. She knew I meant it and she had a big grin on her face. I told her that I usually go there on Mondays and that I never seen her there before on that day. She told me her schedule changed so she'll be working on Mondays now... My head was swimming while she went to refill my iced tea... do I continue to come out on Mondays or should I distance myself from her and more importantly, to keep me from thinking about her mom? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am not going to stop being who I am. I like my chicken and pineapple pizza and that's where I go... I didn't ask her to change her schedule... I'm tired of having to adjust to the ex and her family... the heck with it... Kel will adjust to my being there on Mondays just fine. When she brought my tea back, I asked about her brother and how he was doing. She was very generic in the response and I left it at that. I got up to leave and she said "I guess I'll see you next Monday. " I said 'okay' and tipped her and left. I did not ask(nor do I care to) about her mom. That woman is in a whole other world and I have no desire to be a part of that... In the past when I would come home, I'd think about the ex and be miserable... I came home tonight and am in a pretty darn good mood. I guess I've turned the corner...

A Blonde Moment... (a 'BM' if you will...)

Okay, this is one that has made the rounds but I still find it pretty funny. And unlike most blonde jokes, this one is actually clean...

The Houston Blonde

The plane is on its way to Houston when a blonde in Economy Class gets up and moves to the First Class section and sits down. The flight attendant watches her do this and asks to see her ticket. She then tells the blonde that she paid for Economy and that she will have to sit in the back. The blonde replies: "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Houston, and I'm staying right here!" The flight attendant goes to the cockpit and tells the Captain and Co-Pilot that there is a blonde sitting in First Class that belongs in Economy and that she will not move back to her seat. The Co-Pilot goes back to the blonde and tries to explain that because she only paid for Economy she will have to leave First Class and return to her seat. The blonde replies, "I'm blonde, I'm beautiful, I'm going to Houston, and I am going to sit right here." The Co-Pilot returns to the cockpit and tells the Captain that he should have the police waiting when they land to arrest the blonde woman as she won't listen to reason. The Captain says, "You say she's blonde? I will handle this. I'm married to a blonde. I speak blonde." He goes back to the blonde, whispers in her ear, and she says, "Oh, I'm sorry," and she gets up and moves back to her seat in the Economy section. The flight attendant and Co-Pilot are amazed and ask him what he said to make her move without any fuss. I told her "First Class isn't going to Houston"

It's Sunday Morning... yawn, zzzzz...

Just trying to wake up and get myself motivated...
The Cherokee lost 3-2 last night. It was a very hard fought battle that was decided on a fluke goal to say the least. The puck was shot by a Motor City player and missed the net. It hit boards behind the net, popped straight up in the air, came down and landed on the backside of our goaltender, and rolled back into the net! No but(t)s about it. If we would've won, we would be tied for second place heading into the final weekend of the regular season next week. With the loss, we're in fourth and we have to win the final two games next week just to finish in a tie for third. If we lose either or both games, we'll not have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Ugh!!!!
Anyway, I'm exhausted but know that I've got to wake up here... Just wanted to keep in touch as I get ready for Church. I can hear the sounds of spring outside... seagulls flying in from the lake... can a warm day be far behind??? My day will probably be spent over at my dad's place, checking out the pipes that burst and seeing how much it'll cost to get them repaired. I'm not looking forward to it... but then again, who said life was fair?

Dates and Skates...

Today was a real butt kicker at work as I was pretty busy from the get go. But I had a pretty good day. My start was interesting. I had breakfast at a local restaurant that I frequent. One of the waitresses (very attractive by the way) sees me and begins to flirt. I didn't think much of it because I have a pretty good sense of humor and wasn't going to take it seriously at all. Then she started talking to me about her personal life. She made it clear that she was available and hadn't um, (how can I be delicate about this) had 'intimate relations' in a while. She was really in the mood for it and the guy she was 'kind of' seeing wasn't up to the task and ignored her so she dumped him. This is where it can be difficult being a Christian. The easy way would have been to take her out and 'wine her and dine her' and after a few drinks, move in for it. But anyone who knows me can tell you... I don't like the easy way. Even with a heart that is in 23.3 million pieces from my last relationship, I couldn't bring myself to take advantage. Instead, in typical Mik fashion, I went to plan B... I was reading the newspaper and quickly opened it up to the personals and was reading the ads to her asking her which ones appealed to her. From there it was a lot easier and we proceeded to have a good time. Aside from being 'in the mood', she's actually a pretty nice person. I am no prize or anything to write home about, but I'm not ready for any kind of a romantic relationship for the forseeable future. It was that traumatic. I'm only a good friend right now to everyone and that's about all I've got to offer. I hope that's good enough.
Aside from my non-existent love life, I am the only member of my family that's not sick. I talked with a couple of my sisters and everyone is sick. I told them if they need anything to let me know but that I wasn't going to be visiting for a few days to let them recoup and so that I don't catch anything. Most of them have either the flu or some kind of respiratory crud.
Well, I suppose I ought to keep this entry short and sweet as I have to go back to work in the hospital in just a few hours (middle of the night) and work till saturday afternoon. Then I have to go to the rink and board the team bus as the Cherokee head up to Motor City to take on the Chiefs. If you are bored beyond belief, and want to listen to the game online, just go to my website on saturday night at 8pm eastern, 5pm pacific, 3pm in Hawaii, and 5am early sunday morning in Finland (hi Ophelia). I know there are more exciting things to do than to listen to some guy whose blog you read, talk about people that you don't even know, and listen to a sport that only a few of you even like. But if you want to check it out for a few minutes so you can put a voice with this otherwise anonymous person, feel free and drop me a note letting me know ya listened. Hope you all have a great weekend and I look forward to hearing from you and reading your entries as well...

Love (and other indoor sports),
Mik

40 Winks, 10 Pins, and 3 A's...

I had the day off from work today... woo-hoo! I slept in till almost 9:30 am. Oh did I feel so relaxed. I didn't want to get up and start my day, but I got up and hit the shower... I walked out to my car to go and get some breakfast and the car was coated in ice... I love winter for the most part. But I can not stand freezing rain... I hate it... So I started the car up and blasted the defrost in my car and went back inside to let the car warm up, and turned on my XM radio full blast and was actually jumping around a bit, playing some air guitar. I'm such a dork! But y'know what? I'm okay with that!
Saw my nephew tonight. Haven't seen him and talked with him in a while. He told me that he just got his grade card from school... 3 A's and a couple of B's... the kid did pretty good. I was/am proud of him. My sister said that he got two copies of his grades sent to her house by accident. My sister joked that the school probably sent her two copies because they wanted to make sure she would believe him... I chuckled about that... for the record, my nephew has always been a C average student... He's taken it up a notch and I'm happy about that. He and his friends got together tonight and did what I am beginning to think is the national sport of Toledo... BOWLING! The locals here have a saying... 'hey it's Toledo- let's go bowling!' I've probably been bowling twice in the last 15 years... must've been drinks involved! That's the only reason I can think of for doing it... ha!

Ahhh! Tomorrow is Friday and I am tickled pink... PAYDAY! Need I say more! Yippee-doo!

I Wonder Stevie...

From the "what in the wide, wide, world of sports is goin' on here" department:

As most of you know, I work in a local hospital as my day job. And work in media at night with a local TV station and doing play by play for a hockey team on the internet. While the latter two keep me busy and on the road a lot, the day job is my bread and butter. While many great stories come from the lunacy that is 'life in a hospital', I don't usually write that much about it. But today I thought I'd scribble something about what happened there last night. A bunch of people gather in the front lobby and what was weird was that the only time that happens, is because of a news story of some sort and the local TV news stations are there filming a statement issued by some hospital scribe regarding a local event (a shooting, hit and run, whatever). Not this time. There were no TV cameras nor hospital spokespeople to be seen. Instead, it was an entourage. A couple of body guards come through the crowd and they lead a man who turned out to be Motown legend Stevie Wonder. Yeah, I know what your saying... Stevie Wonder! What in the world is Stevie Wonder doing in Toledo??? And at MY JOB??? Turns out an aunt of his lives here and is not doing well :( So he came to see her... Stevie was in a sweat suit so it must not be good for his aunt... that's a shame... God bless her...
I LOVE his old stuff... 'Superstition', 'I Wish', 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered', 'Uptight, Everything Is Alright', 'Sir Duke'... I just bop around the house when I catch those songs. His recent stuff whizzes but that's okay. Nobody's perfect. He's blind and can play multiple instruments. I have full function of my sight and other extremities and I can't even barely whistle... So I guess I should go suck on that! I am looking forward to tomorrow because I have the day off. That can only mean one thing... SLEEP!!! You can call me 'Mik Van Winkle' zzzzzzz... except that instead of sleeping 20 years, I'd be tickled if I could sleep 20 hours! Yawn...