Delusion-Elle

I'm contemplating whether or not to go for a promotion at work. It wouldn't be something happening imminently, but once Fair rolls around and we hire en masse, it'd be nice to be differentiated from everyone else. And I'm responsible. And I've been here for almost 3 years now. Plus, once I pop into work on Sunday, I will be the proud possessor of 2 Spotlight Recognition cards. That must mean that I'm doing something right. I'm also fairly good at working cash, since the most I've been off by this season so far is $0.10. However, in a way, I'm content not having to deal with that extra stress. The pay is only a few dollars more, but generally everything negative that comes to me gets redirected to the supervisor. And with my co-op work term limiting my availability in the Fall, I'm not sure if it's totally worth my while to even try.

Also, my life is being consumed by Pokemon Black. I think I spent an hour today just trying to figure out how to make an awesome team using the pokemon that I have. Though I think I forgot to save that Notepad file. D'oh.

Now that the NHL Awards are over, it's really starting to sink in for me (as it does every year around this time): hockey season is over. Although I don't blog a lot about hockey and the weird fascination I have with it, it is a rather sizable part of my life. That's something that I can't really help; I was raised on it. My dad would tape games and we'd stay up late watching them, partly because I was one of those 2 year olds who couldn't sleep at night and also because my dad apparently loved that he could watch hockey with his daughter. Like, psh, who needs a son when I have a daughter who wears a Habs T-shirt (there is pictorial evidence) and sport Avalanche tearaways? Anyhow...

I've been up since 7:30AM. It's now 2AM and I feel like rambling. I was talking to my mom the other day about how I got that co-op job placement (because I still can't believe it) and she said that my dad had a part in helping me get it. This confused me, but then she reminded me of how he got me into hockey and how I ended up blathering on about hockey and the Canucks and the Bruins and Tim Thomas and the Canadiens during my interview. Yeah, I guess I wouldn't have been able to do that if I didn't live with such a hockey fanatic. So here's a look at my strange relationship with hockey.


Hockey has been a constant in my life. It's been a way for me and my dad to communicate -- he's not so good with words or feelings, and frankly neither am I -- but it's also been a way for me to connect with others. I still like to think of myself as a fairly objective hockey fan. Sure, I can cheer for a team, but I'm not in denial when the team I'm rooting for lands a dirty hit or pulls cheap tricks. Maybe I just like to play Devil's Advocate every once in a while. But during those 17 years of watching this sport, I've come to accept that I am not a "true, hardcore" fan. I don't think that I could ever be. To me, what a diehard "true, hardcore" fan is, is someone who knows the sport inside and out and memorizes stats and facts and figures. I can't do that. Hockey is more than numbers to me. I just like to watch, absorb, and focus on the dynamics on the ice. If I really think about it, hockey has introduced 3 teams into my life which I liken to friends.

Firstly, there are the Habs. Also more widely known to those new to the sport as the Canadiens, I grew up watching them thanks to my dad's undivided loyalty to them. Sure, the Canucks are our hometown team, but my dad's watched hockey from a young age, from before the Canucks were even around. And Montreal has always been his team. The Habs are, collectively, that one old friend that your folks adore. Maybe because that friend is respectful and has always been respectful and your parents like that. This is a friend that's just always been there, maybe not always doing so great, but there nonetheless, and you go way back.

The Canucks are my hometown team. To me, they've always been a team full of superstars that have had a great deal of ups and downs just keeping them away from the coveted Cup. Fitting this team into the friend analogy, I'd have to say that this is the friend that tries so hard time and time, but just can never quite reach that level of being the absolute best. And you support them through all of the downfalls and heartache, though even you sometimes wonder whether it'll ever happen. Regardless, you still support them and every time this friend is down, you pick them right back up to try again. I still don't like Luongo, though. You seriously do not go and blame Sami Salo for "making the puck drop 3 feet" for why you are a human sieve in Boston.

Finally, the Red Wings just kind of exploded into my life. I remember going to my first hockey game back when I was 10 with my dad. It was Vancouver against Detroit. And Detroit won. I remember my second and third hockey games. Detroit and Detroit again, victorious. I even got a puck from a referee at one of these games. The fourth Canucks game I went to was also against Detroit, but finally, Vancouver won. The thing is that I had always respected this team, as did my dad. But seeing them winning game in and game out was... kind of amazing. I was disheartened by Vancouver's losses, but Detroit was sharp on the ice. And they were really fun to watch. In this instance, I'm not sure what kind of friend the Red Wings have been to me. I didn't know them all that well for years, and I didn't like that they were beating the Canucks at all these games, but when I finally got to know them a bit, I was blown away. I don't follow the Red Wings religiously (I watch Habs and Canucks games much more regularly), but perhaps that adds to why I find them appealing -- they're not something I watch all the time, which is like a treat. It makes them a little bit glamourous, which I suppose is a kind of friend -- the one you don't see regularly, yet still manages to capture your attention when you do see them.

Also, it sucks when these teams face off against each other and I have to pick a side. I usually end up sitting kind of silently not celebrating goals for either side, oddly enough.