Spring Has Sprung: BOING!
And with spring comes a lot of fun and excitement. Birds are out, bees are having sex with them, or so I've been told...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Springtime, in sporting terms, means a few key things: Major League Baseball is starting, and that hockey is wrapping up. I'm following three teams right now - the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks (who have made it into the Stanley Cup playoffs, starting this Wednesday), and the Vancouver Giants, the local junior team that has been in their own playoffs for about a month now.
Let's talk about them Giants. I don't think junior hockey is a huge ordeal outside of Canada - I may be wrong - and honestly, I didn't realize it was a big deal IN Canada either - but that's mostly because these kids are mostly playing in locales that don't have NHL franchises. Vancouver is one of the few exceptions that has both, and we only have for about eight years or so. Anyway, over the past year, I've been to six Giants games this year, which are always exciting and relatively cheap ($20 a ticket, approx) - and the tickets are actually available, unlike the Canucks down the street.
This past week I've been to two games - both of which were playoff games against the Spokane Chiefs (from Washington State). For Game One, I got in for free - I went with Mike and Katie and she knows the zamboni driver so we got to sneak in for free through the back entrance like a couple of groupies. It was awesome, and the team won 3-1. Then, with the series tied 2-2, I managed to get free tickets from an acquaintance of my father and took a friend from out of town, Sophie, to Game 5, where we were treated to quadruple overtime and lost 3-2. The game started at 7pm and ended at nearly 1am. It was the second longest game in league history and I was part of it - too bad I was falling asleep by the end and too bad we lost. At least I got a sweet deal on a Giants jersey and Sophie made for a lovely pillow.
More on her now - she's a friend that actually contacted me first via Plenty Of Fish a few months back. She's from Kelowna, about 4 hours away, so we didn't expect anything to happen; she just felt the need to comment on how honest my profile was. I responded saying thank-you, and a solid long-distance friendship was born. We always intended to meet if she was ever coming through Vancouver, and that just happened to occur this past weekend.
I picked her up outside of the Hyatt around 5:30 or so on Good Friday evening and took her to the game. She'd never been to a hockey game of that calibre before - in fact she didn't really know the league existed - but she's out of Edmonton and primarily was spoiled by following the Oilers all these years. Spoiled brat, I say!
Anyway the game was fun and she's a delight to hang out with and chat with. So much so that after the game ended late and we had our 15 minute hike back to our free parking location, we went back to her hotel room and chatted some more. It was a gorgeous room too - but then again, anything on the 32nd floor in this town would have an awesome view. I stayed there until about 4am - it wouldn't be polite to force myself to crash there after all - so I went home so we could sleep. The next day she shopped on Robson Street while I was with my buddy Mike getting my new car purchase in order - and after both we got together to go see Observe and Report at the movies together. And it was pretty darn good.
The night ended on a funny note because she was trying to see another friend in town afterwards, meanwhile I'd made a beer date with Mike and Derrick that night; her friends' plans fell through, and she wasn't into travelling an hour back to Tsawwassen to hang with my friends and I. I took too long to decide I really preferred to stay with her - my friends would understand - but it didn't happen. It was a good thing I was having beer later that night because it helped me drink away the short term depression brought on by feeling like such a tool and likely upsetting a lovely woman that came all the way out here to be here for the weekend.
Yeah, we're only friends, which is awesome. But I don't want to disrespect my friends either. But even moreso, it's a shame that we don't live closer cuz she's totally someone I could see myself being very comfortable with. I'm terrified of long distance relationships after how the whole Kat thing went down - it's too stressful for me, even at the best of times - but maybe that's something I should be willing to risk. I really don't know. I wonder if I'm just relationship kryptonite sometimes. Or things are great and I subconsciously do things to screw myself over. I know I have in the past, but I think I still might be doing this now...
...at least we're still talking and we're friendly as ever. My texts and phone call later in the evening - admittedly, I was drunk at the time but still thinking clearly - at least let her know what I was feeling. I think that's a good sign, right?
So today, Easter Sunday, I finally, at long last, made my new car (Bagmobile) purchase. A 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. It needs some detailing - read: CLEANING - and some new floor mats, but besides that, it's good to go. $6500 plus 12% tax - that works out to be about $4000 in savings, minimum, compared to what I'd likely be paying if I got it through a dealer. I'm pretty excited because it's a very nice upgrade from Bagmobile Ver. I, the 1995 Honda Civic. Now all I have to do is figure out how to piece that thing apart and make some money off of it. Mike seems to be interested in the CD player, and I know I can give the rest away for scraps or to a chop-shop dude (like Brad, Mike's friend, off of whom I bought my car) - the question is how much I should get for this? Hmmm...
At least everything is fresh and new for spring, and I'm pretty pumped about that.
Tomorrow I'll post my Stanley Cup predictions. I hope my Montreal-Vancouver dream final comes to fruition...maybe this is the year?
Springtime, in sporting terms, means a few key things: Major League Baseball is starting, and that hockey is wrapping up. I'm following three teams right now - the Montreal Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks (who have made it into the Stanley Cup playoffs, starting this Wednesday), and the Vancouver Giants, the local junior team that has been in their own playoffs for about a month now.
Let's talk about them Giants. I don't think junior hockey is a huge ordeal outside of Canada - I may be wrong - and honestly, I didn't realize it was a big deal IN Canada either - but that's mostly because these kids are mostly playing in locales that don't have NHL franchises. Vancouver is one of the few exceptions that has both, and we only have for about eight years or so. Anyway, over the past year, I've been to six Giants games this year, which are always exciting and relatively cheap ($20 a ticket, approx) - and the tickets are actually available, unlike the Canucks down the street.
This past week I've been to two games - both of which were playoff games against the Spokane Chiefs (from Washington State). For Game One, I got in for free - I went with Mike and Katie and she knows the zamboni driver so we got to sneak in for free through the back entrance like a couple of groupies. It was awesome, and the team won 3-1. Then, with the series tied 2-2, I managed to get free tickets from an acquaintance of my father and took a friend from out of town, Sophie, to Game 5, where we were treated to quadruple overtime and lost 3-2. The game started at 7pm and ended at nearly 1am. It was the second longest game in league history and I was part of it - too bad I was falling asleep by the end and too bad we lost. At least I got a sweet deal on a Giants jersey and Sophie made for a lovely pillow.
More on her now - she's a friend that actually contacted me first via Plenty Of Fish a few months back. She's from Kelowna, about 4 hours away, so we didn't expect anything to happen; she just felt the need to comment on how honest my profile was. I responded saying thank-you, and a solid long-distance friendship was born. We always intended to meet if she was ever coming through Vancouver, and that just happened to occur this past weekend.
I picked her up outside of the Hyatt around 5:30 or so on Good Friday evening and took her to the game. She'd never been to a hockey game of that calibre before - in fact she didn't really know the league existed - but she's out of Edmonton and primarily was spoiled by following the Oilers all these years. Spoiled brat, I say!
Anyway the game was fun and she's a delight to hang out with and chat with. So much so that after the game ended late and we had our 15 minute hike back to our free parking location, we went back to her hotel room and chatted some more. It was a gorgeous room too - but then again, anything on the 32nd floor in this town would have an awesome view. I stayed there until about 4am - it wouldn't be polite to force myself to crash there after all - so I went home so we could sleep. The next day she shopped on Robson Street while I was with my buddy Mike getting my new car purchase in order - and after both we got together to go see Observe and Report at the movies together. And it was pretty darn good.
The night ended on a funny note because she was trying to see another friend in town afterwards, meanwhile I'd made a beer date with Mike and Derrick that night; her friends' plans fell through, and she wasn't into travelling an hour back to Tsawwassen to hang with my friends and I. I took too long to decide I really preferred to stay with her - my friends would understand - but it didn't happen. It was a good thing I was having beer later that night because it helped me drink away the short term depression brought on by feeling like such a tool and likely upsetting a lovely woman that came all the way out here to be here for the weekend.
Yeah, we're only friends, which is awesome. But I don't want to disrespect my friends either. But even moreso, it's a shame that we don't live closer cuz she's totally someone I could see myself being very comfortable with. I'm terrified of long distance relationships after how the whole Kat thing went down - it's too stressful for me, even at the best of times - but maybe that's something I should be willing to risk. I really don't know. I wonder if I'm just relationship kryptonite sometimes. Or things are great and I subconsciously do things to screw myself over. I know I have in the past, but I think I still might be doing this now...
...at least we're still talking and we're friendly as ever. My texts and phone call later in the evening - admittedly, I was drunk at the time but still thinking clearly - at least let her know what I was feeling. I think that's a good sign, right?
So today, Easter Sunday, I finally, at long last, made my new car (Bagmobile) purchase. A 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. It needs some detailing - read: CLEANING - and some new floor mats, but besides that, it's good to go. $6500 plus 12% tax - that works out to be about $4000 in savings, minimum, compared to what I'd likely be paying if I got it through a dealer. I'm pretty excited because it's a very nice upgrade from Bagmobile Ver. I, the 1995 Honda Civic. Now all I have to do is figure out how to piece that thing apart and make some money off of it. Mike seems to be interested in the CD player, and I know I can give the rest away for scraps or to a chop-shop dude (like Brad, Mike's friend, off of whom I bought my car) - the question is how much I should get for this? Hmmm...
At least everything is fresh and new for spring, and I'm pretty pumped about that.
Tomorrow I'll post my Stanley Cup predictions. I hope my Montreal-Vancouver dream final comes to fruition...maybe this is the year?