Pages

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Hockey in Summer?

I was sitting here today contemplating the meaning of life, OK, who am I kidding? No, I wasn’t.

I was actually at the office, talking to someone and looking outside at the beautiful weather and the people enjoying it when suddenly, the oddest thought crossed my mind.

I really miss hockey.

Where in the world did this come from? It certainly wasn’t from looking outside at all the greenery and the people in shorts and t-shirts. The hockey pre-season is a full two months away, and we’re still in the middle of summer!!

Am I going nuts? Some might say I passed nuts a few years ago, but those aren’t my real friends. ;)

I think it might have to do with the fact that the Ottawa Senators were eliminated 3 months ago, thus making this a very long off-season. There are so many things to miss about the hockey season. Here are a few of my favorites.

1. Lyndon Slewidge – The best National Anthem singer ever!!

2. My favorite Ottawa Senators Player – Chris Phillips #4

3. The atmosphere at the games – Yes, even in Ottawa we know how to have fun, at least in the upper level.

4. The Ottawa Senators Goal horn and the accompanying goal songs for individuals – my favorites being “Beautiful Day” for Alfie and “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”, for Chris Phillips!!.

5. Spartacat – The most awesome mascot in the NHL

6. Stuntman Stu – Our PA announcer extraordinaire.

7. I even miss the overpriced pizza, popcorn and pop at the arena.

Now for the other side of the coin, some things I do NOT miss from the hockey season.

1. The horrible wind tunnel at the entrance to the building in winter. As if winter isn’t cold enough already.

2. Living 45 kms away from the rink, making me run to the car after a game so that I don’t end up stuck in the parking lot, so I can get to bed at a decent time.

3. Seeing the hockey rink start emptying a full 10 minutes before the end of the game.

4. Toronto Maple Leaf Fans and Montreal Canadiens Fans invading our rink too many times a year.

5. Never winning the 50/50 or any other contest for that matter.

All in all, I think I will just enjoy the rest of the summer while looking forward to what promises to be an interesting hockey season.

GO SENS GO!!!

Julie / @Flip_4

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Introduction - Why I started this Blog Page

A few months ago I watched a young man live out his dreams on a television show. At that time, I began thinking about my own life and what happened to the dream I had. The show: American Idol. The young man: Lee DeWyze.


My dream, if you are wondering, was to become a sportswriter or a sports journalist.


I grew up in a family that loved hockey, or more importantly, at that time, the Montreal Canadiens. I, on the other hand, hated the sport. My dad would take me to junior hockey games, but for me, it was about spending time with him and had nothing to do with hockey.


As I got older, and the boys seemed to get closer to my age, I started noticing their… looks. Yes, I was becoming a teenager. I went to more and more hockey games and started really enjoying the sport. Now I am an Ottawa Senators Season Ticket holder, and I’m proud of it. I also enjoy a good number of other sports.


So where does the writing come into play, you might ask? Well, another one of my loves has always been reading. I devoured books in school, and they were my favourite gifts to receive. According to the teachers in my school, that was the reason that writing came so easy to me.


I never ventured into writing fiction, or a diary, but I did write letters. Most of them I didn’t give away; they were just a way to express myself. My parents were on the receiving end of some of those letters, since I was always better at communicating in writing than speaking. They always thought I would go into writing because of those letters, which were not always complimentary, btw.


At some point, I figured that I could combine my love of sports with that of writing and make a living that way. Somewhere along the lines, though, plans changed. There were forks in the road that I followed that led me away from writing and into Business Administration. (Yes, right out of left field, if you ask me.)


Many, many, many years later, I graduated from Algonquin College in Ottawa in Business Administration / Information Systems, and I now have a nice Government job.


This brings me back to American Idol and more precisely, Lee DeWyze. I have watched this show sporadically over the 9 seasons it’s been on. I have never “connected” with a contestant as much as I have with Mr. DeWyze. I cannot explain the reason for this, but watching him go after his dream during the show, and now during the tour, has been truly inspiring.


I have now decided to start a blog after much prodding by a certain twitter friend. I will be writing about anything that comes to mind: my interests, my family, my job, my friends, just anything. I hope this little piece of web real estate that I now call “Julie’s Random Ramblings” will somehow entertain you.


Thank you for taking the time to read