The news well is dry

Still haven't heard squat in the where-will-Mathieu-be-next-year department. I heard some deals were being considered, but that was weeks ago and nothing since.

So, since there is nothing to report, here is a picture of Vincent Lecavalier surfing in Hawaii.


Ok, seriously. Something needs to happen. I'm running out of random Vinny vacation images.

Alaskan adventures

Same writers block, different adventure. Last Friday, I got back from an Alaskan cruise with my roommate from college, and since then I have been trying to summarize my experiences into something eloquent. As with Montreal, I fall short.

So, in lieu of something more creative, and with no attention to grammar, sentence structure, and tense, and in not particular order, here is a list stuff experienced and learned on my Alaskan adventure:

• We started the adventure by flying up to Seattle, where we would board a boat for a 7 day cruise through the Inside Passage.
• Accidentally left my Mathieu Schneider jersey at home. It is a key part of my flying superstition. Luckily, had a Brad Richards jersey in my luggage. Not the same, but at least we didn't crash.
• Southwest Airlines lost Alisha's bag. We bought 7 days worth of clothes as a back up, but luckily it was found and returned... at 2am. Alisha spent the next morning returning her purchases.
  
• Visited Archie McPhee, superstore of the odd, unusual, and totally awesome. I bought pickle shaped band aids. It was awesome.
  
• The Underground Tour of Seattle was really cool. Learned all about Seattle's early days of sewage disasters, excessive drinking, and whores.
• Our boat, Holland America's "luxurious and elegant" Zaandam, was awesome. And christened by the Olsen twins when they were young and cute.

• Formal nights were cool. Gave me an opportunity to dress up and try out real table manners.
• Full body exfoliation and other spa treatments are amazing, and I could really get used to that.
• The hugeness of Alaska, while cliché, is simply awe inspiring.
• The wilderness is breathtaking.
• The glaciers... what can be said really? You have to see them to believe it. Our last remnants of the Ice Age, and disappearing rapidly.

• Rented the original Poseidon Adventure from the ship's library. It is even better than watching it at home.
• Saw a submarine.
  
• I really, really enjoyed the solitary walks around the ship at night. A welcome and needed break from the never-ending socialness.
• Saw a momma bear and her two cubs at the Mendenhall Glacier.
• Watched the sun set into nothing
• Got blown over, literally, by the wind on the bow of the ship.
• Lounged by the pool while we were cruising around Glacier Bay. Ice filled the bay, but the weather was sunny and warm.

• Saw more salmon then I'd ever imagine. It was prime spawning season. You could grab the suckers out of the water with your hands there were so many.
• Ate a lot of salmon. (Wait... that's bad juxtaposition)
• Bald eagles are like pigeons up there. Everywhere!

• Ate a baked Alaska every night, save for one, for desert.
• Had a beer in the famed Red Dog Saloon in Juneau.
• Learned that shaving one's legs in a rocking cruise ship is not an easy task.
• Was going to wave bye to Sarah Palin on her last day in office while in the capital city, but she was in Anchorage giving that bizarre, rambling farewell speech.
• Bought cool Russian stuff in Sitka, including an awesome hat for the eldest nephew that he still hasn't taken off.
• For the first time in my life, I look out and saw nothing. It was a weird feeling.
• Never did get used to the getting dark at 11pm thing.

• Saw more stars than I ever knew existed.
• Spent a good 30 minutes looking over the side of the boat, yelling "jellyfish!" every time we saw a jellyfish. We are easily amused.
  
• 7.5-12 foot swells on the way to Victoria. Whoa...
• Got nauseous a couple times, but never too bad. I did kind of like being rocked to sleep at night.
  
• Saw Victoria, B.C., from the boat. We never got to dock there, but it was only supposed to be a 4 hour stop anyway. I'll just need to go back to Montreal for a Canada fix.
• The bus taking us back to the airport in Seattle broke down on the side of the road, proving Seattle hates us.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip and another amazing experience. I'd love to do it again, and the other cruises mentioned in the brochure they hand out sound intriguing: Baltic states, Scandinavia, South America. But then I come back to reality and look at my bank account. Maybe I can hope for a Caribbean or New England/Canadian Maritimes cruise some day.

If you want to see the rest of my pics, check them out:
Part 1 (Seattle, Juneau)
Part 2 (Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan)


I took over 500, but I narrowed them down quite a bit.

Have my swimsuit and my flippy floppies... and a heavy coat

Mathieu still hasn't signed anywhere, and if he does in the next week or so, y'all are on your own for finding out about it.

My summer of adventure continues and I head north again, this time to see Sarah Palin leave office. Ok, it just is coincidence that I'll be in Juneau on her last day. Really, the college roomie and I are going on an Alaskan cruise. Woo hoo!

So, until I return next week...

no news

Absolutely nothing to report. No rumors, not mutterings, no hints, no nothing. Zilch. Zippo.

So.... here is a picture of Vinny Lecavalier and some zebras.


If you're curious what the hell is up with these random pics of VL4, they are from an article in the St. Petersburg Times a few years ago about Vinny's adventurous off-season excursions. They seem rather appropriate to pull out again during this loooooooong summer vacation...

And I really hope this doesn't restart the recurring dream about Vinny eating all my orange sticks. Thankfully, I have not had that dream in awhile. But that reminds me, I need to add orange sticks to my shopping list. I'm all out. =(

Montreal musings

I've tried for two weeks to sit down and put my thoughts to paper, er, keyboard, er, screen... whatever! I keep waiting for a flash of eloquence and brilliance. Yeah... it's not happening. So in lieu of a brilliant masterpiece, here are my random thoughts, observations, and experiences from the best 5 days of my life, also known as my trip to Montreal for the 2009 NHL Draft.

• Saw real life cowboys on my flight to Calgary
• Got a stamp on my very bare passport
• Experienced a real Montreal thunderstorm (if only for the 10 minutes it lasted)
  
• Met awesome Twitter folks: Amanda, Amy, Brian, Charlotte, Dani, Joe, Julie, Kate, Katherine, Kimberly, Kuyaz, Kyle, Rick, Sarah, Silvana... I'm sure I'm forgetting someone
• Met some awesome bloggers, too, including the mysterious Eklund. Special props out to Brandon of Defending Big D. Awesome guy!
• Went into the Bell Centre. What a place! I regret that I didn't look around more. I'll need to go back to Montreal for a game.
• Witnessed, in person, the first round of NHL Draft, including John Tavares, get selected by their new teams

• Saw B-Rad's name on the Lady Byng trophy that he won in 2004 (I'm not sure the Conn Smythe trophy was there, so I didn't get to see his name on that; the Stanley Cup was around, but I didn't get to see it. I last saw it in person 10 years ago, so I got to see Mathieu's name, but it was obviously before B-Rad had his name was etched on that bad boy.)
• Played ball hockey
• Scored the first goal of the ball hockey game
• Ate poutine! It was as awesome as I've heard
• Ate a whole lot of Timbits

• Ate smoked meat (but not from famed Schwartz Hebrew Delicatessen. Yet another reason I need to go back)
• Drank lots of beer
• Had a beer with Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau (seriously)¹
• Slept probably an average of 5 hours a night (including one "night" I didn't get into bed until it started to get light; but it starts getting light there at about 4am this time of year)
  
• Rode the metro
• Went to the Biodome and saw the beaver habitat (but the beavers were sleeping; I was highly disappointed)

• Visited the Olympic Stadium
• Saw Alexander Ovechkin's mom's name on one of the plaques outside the stadium (she was on the USSR's 1976 gold medal winning basketball team)

• Sat through a Catholic mass in French in an amazingly beautiful cathedral (I was able to follow along pretty well; Father Sal at work will be so proud of me)
• Dropped by both McGill and Concordia Universities. The academic in me sees colleges as cathedrals of knowledge and must-see places on vacation.

• Actually joked with a very pleasant US Customs agent; usually they are so dour
  
• Flew on the smallest plane I've even been on from Montreal to Chicago (Bombardier CRJ 700), and on the biggest plane I've ever been on from Chicago to San Francisco (Boeing 767-300). I'm kind of a plane nerd.

Oh, and for the big one that needs more narrative

• I had lunch with my second favorite player of all time.

Years ago on the old Unofficial Mathieu Schneider Home Page, I had an "About Me" page that, short of anything more creative, I had listed things I've done in my life and also things I still want to do. On the accomplished list, I had "met my favorite player, Mathieu Schneider." On my to-do list, I had "meet my second favorite player, the now retired Enrico Ciccone." I didn't think much of it. Fast forward to a year ago, on my 30th birthday of all days, I get an email from the real life Enrico Ciccone (great birthday present!). He had seen that and said to me that if I was ever in Montreal, he would take me to lunch.

When I found out last month that I was going to be going to Montreal, I wondered if I should bring it up. He seemed sincere. After debating it for awhile, I decided to just send back the original email with a brief "did you mean it, because guess where I will be in June" message. If he responded, then cool. Sure enough, he wrote back suggesting a time and place. I would be meeting him at one of his favorite downtown restaurants (which luckily was close to my hotel), just a few hours after landing in Montreal.

And from here, I will plagiarize myself and cut and paste the note I already put up on Facebook:

I had directions from MapQuest to the place and headed out into hot and muggy Montreal. Those who know me know that I'm not a fan of heat, and, being the pessimist that I am, I was already anxious if he was really going to show up. Plus, I hadn't eaten since a small sandwich at SFO the previous night and I had been awake for the past 30 straight hours. Anyway, I got lost. Badly. And started to get really nervous. At noon sharp, my phone rang, and it was Enrico asking if I was lost. He talked me through some directions before realizing that I was way off. He told me to grab a cab, I gave my phone to the cabbie, they talked, and 3 minutes later I was there.

Side story: I'm weird, and I know this. I keep random currency in my wallet. It's a cool conversation piece, and you never know when you'll end up in Ecuador and need to buy a newspaper. Anyway, among the currency oddities, I have a Canadian $2 bill, which haven't been used in years. Also, I always keep a toonie. Not expecting to take a cab, I had very little Canadian cash on me. The fair was $4. I only had $20s from the ATM on me and a handful of Canadian quarters in my pocket. I could have given him a twenty and gotten change, but I wasn't thinking clearly. So, I did the unthinkable. I spent my $2 bill and toonie!

So... I get out of the cab at the corner and hear someone say "Sarah?" I look up to a sea of suited business men and women on their lunch break, and there was Cicco. Even though he was suited like the rest, he's kind of hard to miss. I mean, dude is 6'5!

I really can't begin to do justice to the next hour. I'm not the best conversationalists, but wow, it was one of the easiest lunches I've ever had. Every once and awhile I'd look up and think "holy crap, I'm sitting here talking to Enrico Ciccone." Even now, I think I'm still a bit shell shocked. Did that really happen? It had to have happened. I have the photo and the gift he gave me as proof. And I'll have those memories...

So, um, yeah, those 5 days were some of the best of my life. I had an amazing amount of fun, met fabulous people, and had experiences that can never be taken away from me.

If you are one of those people that actually likes to look at other people's vacation photos (actually, I am one of those people), you can see the rest of my two collections:
Around Montreal
2009 NHL Draft and Draft Tweet Up

I already can't wait to go back!

---------------
¹The Bruce Boudreau story? I'll save that one for later. =)

Thank you Joe Sakic

So the great Joe Sakic officially retired today. I would feel like a bad hockey fan if I didn't take a break from the regularly scheduled summer nonsense to join the millions of folks who have more eloquently and gracefully said "thanks Joe!" Really. Great player, and by all accounts a remarkable person. Good luck in all that you do Joe, and again, thanks for the years of awesomeness.

And hey, while I'm here, let's make some Joe Sakic connections.

Joe was one of two three active players who was drafted in 1987 (15th overall). Now, the only active players from that draft year is are Brendan Shanahan (2nd overall) and Mathieu Schneider (44th overall). [edited 7/13/09: special thanks to a reader for the heads up about Brendan Shanahan; that initial tidbit came from an article written early last season before Brendan returned to playing, so he wasn't included and I totally forgot about him. Oops, sorry Brendan.]

Joe inspired many youngsters, and is listed by slew of current NHLers as there own favorite player and idol. One of those is Brad Richards, who also wore Joe's #19 (until he came to Dallas, were the number is retired and had to flip to #91).

A very young B-Rad with an ageless Joe Sakic

no news, and a true confession

Six days of free agency are gone, and Mathieu remains teamless. I've been monitoring all news sources, and there is nothing, not even rumors, out there right now.

Since there is no news to report, let me take this opportunity to make a confession and hopefully unburden my soul so that I may again get a good nights sleep....

I think I'm being punished. Ever since I posted that picture of Vincent Lecavalier riding a camel, I've been having a weird recurring dream that he lives in my apartment. It is like we live parallel lives in my place. I hardly ever actually see him, and we never speak or interact. Except... he keeps rearranging my furniture and eating all of my Trader Joe's chocolate orange sticks.

Now, Vinny isn't exactly nightmare material. Far from it. But it's really creepy dreaming about someone you don't know. And even imagined theft of my orange sticks is too much for me. So maybe by saying this out loud I might be able to free my psyche from this dark torture. Hopefully...

The slow summer begins...

With the season officially open, not much to do until the draft and opening of free agency. Montreal has said that Mathieu was still of interest to them. I haven't heard anything else. Bummer.

So instead of real news, here is a picture of Vincent Lecavalier and some Middle Eastern ruins.

Off-topic: awkward teenage-ness

Being an awkward teenager is no fun. But being an awkward teenager that grows up to be somewhat famous, or at least more publicly known then the average person, must suck even worse. Especially if you were an awkward teenager any time after, say, the mid- to late- 1990s. Why? Because there are pictures! And everyone can see them.

During a hockey-less day last week, I was making due by following the Memorial Cup. Nothing like a little Canadian junior hockey action to fill a gap in NHL coverage. Anyway, the tournament this year was in Rimouski, Quebec. The Rimouski Oceanic team has produced three (potentially 4) NHLers in the last 10 years; the three that are currently in the NHL are, well, kind of big names that you may have heard of before.

Anyway, I was looking around their site seeing who might be the next one to make it big, and some how found the old rosters. And those old rosters had old head shots. I don't know why they cracked me up so much, but they really did. And thus I share with you, 16-17 year old Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, and Sidney Crosby:

Brad does not look that different at all (though I think this was the pic from his last season, so he would have been 18 or 19). Vinny... whew, I would have had to check a birth certificate to make sure he was old enough to even be eligible for juniors. (there is also a weird-- yet striking-- resemblance to my youngest nephew; I don't know what it is, but I showed my mom and she agrees. Either my 10 year old nephew has some unknown French ancestory, or Vinny has some African roots he may never have known about) And Sidney... love the hair.

And in total fairness to the guys, here I am from my high school yearbook (it was junior year, so I would have been an equivalent age):

(I didn't have polka dots; the scan just came out weird)

Looking back, that was not a terrible picture of me at that age. It must have been just after I had gotten my braces off and just before I got glasses. Lucky, my eyes went bad after my teeth were fixed, so I avoided the dreaded brace-face / four-eyes double threat.

I would have loved to include a picture of Mathieu at 16, but, um, the Internet wasn't really invented yet. I'm sure his headshots from Mt. St. Charles Academy and the Cornwall Royals are out there somewhere in a print program or something. I do have one picture of him from about that time that someone sent me, but I swore I'd never post it publicly. And my word is good. =P

Still no news

Still no news. And I had a crappy last few days. So here is a picture of Vinny Lecavalier riding a camel.

No Mathieu news

I'm bored. No Mathieu news to report. At all. I check everyday, several times a day, and nothing.

So, here are random pics of Mathieu Schneider and Brad Richards staring at nothing in particular: