Tuesday, June 22, 2010

On a sad note...

Today the Sharks announced that they are not offering a contract to goaltender Evgeni Nabakov. I think most, if not all, Sharks fans saw this one coming after our recent “trends” in the playoffs. I find myself feeling both sad and optimistic about the news. On one hand Nabby is/was my favorite player on the team. I am so fond of him that I based a character in Home Ice (Alexandre “Sebby” Sebastien) after him. 
       On the other hand (or glove), it was inevitable after his performance(s) during the playoffs. He has been stellar during the regular season and then seemed to tank when we needed him the most during that final push for the Cup. Maybe now San Jose will be one step closer to finally making it happen this year. Here’s hoping his departure is not for naught. 
       Good luck Nabby, wherever you end up. You will always be the original Number 20.

Writer's Block

Knock on wood, I have yet to experience this horrible beast. If anything, I have too many ideas and am constantly scrambling for a pen and scratch of paper to capture them all. 
Mostly, I’ve experienced the phenomena of Writer’s Laziness and Writer’s Distraction. Some days, or weeks (gasp!), I push my characters aside (they don’t always take kindly to that) and focus on anything and everything else. I’ll watch mindless reality television shows for no other reason than that I like to make fun of people from the comfort of my living room. Sometimes I’ll even organize my kitchen or my closet to avoid submersing myself into the fictional world I’ve created. 
My biggest vice, I have to admit, is the SIMS. Now, I l-o-v-e, love this game and have probably racked up hundreds of hours playing it. Which is ironic because in its own way, it’s just another fictional world I’ve created with characters I’ve custom made as well. So, in the end, I’m not really escaping anything at all.
I imagine I would have written a hundred books by now if it weren’t for that horrible, wonderful little game that I wouldn‘t trade for anything. In a way, I suppose SIMS is my ice cream. If ice cream didn’t exist, than I’d be skinny too!

A Picture's Worth

Last week, San Jose Sharks Captain Rob Blake retired from hockey. He wasn’t one of my favorite players on the team, so I wasn’t overly emotional as I would have been if it were, say, Dany Heatley or Dan Boyle hanging up his skates, for example. (Gotta have my Dan(n)y’s!) 
Later, I was cruising around the Shark’s website and came across the photo gallery from Blakie’s press conference. One photo in particular struck a chord with me for several reasons. The photo was a simple shot of the audience, which included some of Rob’s former teammates. Sitting in a row were Patrick Marleau, Evgeni Nabakov, Devin Setoguchi and 3 former LA Kings players to their left. To the naked eye, they’re just six regular guys in an audience. But when I saw the picture, it made me grin from ear to ear. 
First off, Patty looks dashing, yes, I said dashing, in slacks and a polo so fitted that it is barely able to contain his bulging biceps. (I’m not exaggerating, I swear.) 
Next to him, Nabby is wearing jeans and a button down shirt and looking so adorable it makes you want to tuck him into your pocket and keep him with you always. 
Finally, Seto is sporting plaid shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops, the epitome of casual, where everyone at least had the respect to put on real shoes after coming from the pool. You’ve gotta love it because its typical Seto style and I half expect to see his custom guitar slung over his shoulder. The other players seated next to my beloved Sharks are all three wearing almost identical suits. 
       “My boys” looked so incredibly cute in this photo each with their own individuality that I had to say something about it. What can I say? Hockey players have that effect on me.


Here is the link to the photo. (Pic 9 of 16)