It's My Life

PRINCE GEORGE BOUND

Well, I just got off the phone with Dave Paulson, Managing Editor of the Prince George Citizen, with news I got one of two internship jobs in Prince George. As it turns out, the job splits between two newspapers for the duration of the summer. I will be completing articles for both the Citizen and PG This Week, a free weekly publication.

The job starts on May 10. I've decided I will probably leave on Thursday morning and spend a night or two in Kamloops. Magnum's 20 drinks for 20 dollars definetely sounds like a plan for Thursday night. Anyhow, as tough as it is leaving the friendly staff here at the Times, I just can't pass up this opportunity, and it'll be nice to be back at home for four months. Now I've just got to cover the rest of my motel bill.

Although my birthday was yesterday, this is a good belated birthday gift.

Brian Rands: Are you going to be able to stay sober through a round this time Al?

Ah Brian, taking me to be something I'm not. I don't just drink everytime I golf, far from it. Last night I went to men's night for the first time since last summer. I had a good time, it was nice to see the pros at the Alberni Golf Club again, and take out the clubs for the first time this summer. With the uncertainty about the Prince George Citizen job, that might have been my first and last men's night this summer. Nonetheless, it was great to go enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, have a few drinks, and golf.

Speaking of the job, although I still don't know, I've decided if I get it I will leave Port Alberni next Thursday (on my birthday) and go to Kamloops for the night to celebrate. If I don't get it, well I'll have to make the most out of it down here. The Prince George Citizen job would start Monday, May 3.

AL'S ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS:

1 Tampa Bay 4
7 Montreal 3

3 Philidephia 3
4 Toronto 4

1 Detroit 4
6 Calgary 2

2 San Jose 1
4 Colorado 4

NICK'S ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS

3 Philidelphia 1
4 Toronto 4

1 Tampa Bay 2
7 Montreal 4

1 Detroit 4
6 Calgary 2

2 San Jose 3
4 Colorado 4

MIKE'S ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS:

1 Tampa Bay 1
7 Montreal 4

3 Philidephia 0
4 Toronto 4

1 Detroit 2
6 Calgary 4

2 San Jose 4
4 Colorado 3


DOWN TO THE FINAL EIGHT

Call them the Maple Laughs, call them what you want, but they're one of only eight teams still in the hunt for Lord Stanley's cup. Hell, any fan of a team that got eliminated in the first round, or didn't make the playoffs for that matter has so much extra time on their hands due to the time not spent cheering on a team that he/she might as well take it out on other teams. While I will be the first to admit Ed Belfour won them that series against the Sens, the fact is they won more games than Ottawa, and have been rewarded as a result. Well, I guess playing Philly isn't really much an award now is it? Their forwards will certainly be tougher to contain than all those Europeans on Ottawa. They're big on skill, but not on muscle. The forwards on Philly, on the other hand, accel at both. While all you Canuck fans are still dwelling on a first round defeat to Calgary, Toronto finished off Ottawa with a decisive 4-1 victory last night. Therefore, I've got reason to be happy.

MEN'S NIGHT STARTS TOMORROW

For anybody who was still waisting their time reading this crap last year you'll recall some stories about men's night at the Alberni Golf Club. Well, I'm signed up for tomorrow night, so it should be interesting. It'll be my first time taking the clubs out this season. You know what else is nice? People appreciate me down here and were happy to see me back, and liked the stories I produced last year. Everybody remembered me and liked what I did. RCMP officers, the mayor, and others. It's a nice change from being in school and listening to boring professeurs who seem to have nothing positive to say about my work. It's nice to be making money and not working for stupid grades, and spending my time on an essay only to get a C+.

GRADES ARE NOTHING MORE THAN LETTERS ON A PAPER

Really, do grades mean much? I don't think so. I often ask myself why I don't try harder at school, but then the answer blows me right at the face everytime - Because they're just grades! People stress so much about grades when they need to enjoy being young while they still are. Through my whole life a grade has just been a grade. Will a grade find you love? Hell no. Will a grade get you money? Hell no. Will a grade make friends? Hell no. It's never meant much to me, probably because I'd always pass and that was all that mattered. Perhaps if I was a straight A student, I'd have a different feeling about grades. Then I'd like to think they mean a lot because it'd give me a feeling of accomplishment, but I don't get high grades, so this way I still feel fine. How about that?

If you're wondering where the topic of grades came up, I got a C+ on an essay that I'm sure most people did awesome on because it was in Brent Humphrey's class, but as I mentioned before- I DON'T REALLY CARE! Besides, I've been out of school for two weeks now. School is nothing more than an institution to meet people at and learn. I'd probably learn just as much if marks didn't exist. Besides, with marks come complaints about the teaching, teacher and people come to the conclusion there is a bias in the marking. I'll leave all people reading this with a final question

What do grades mean to you?

Feel free to leave your personal opinions under comments.

YOU MISSED BY A FEW INCHES ENG

Wow, what a hockey game last night. The Canucks and Flames battled it out until past midnight mountain time before Vancouver forward Brendan Morrison scored "the silencer" early in the third overtime period.

Mike Eng nearly had the right prediction. He predicted Calgary would oust the Canucks in six games and had Ville Nieminen's shot in the second overtime been another couple inches lower, it would have found the back of the net. Instead, it clanked off the crossbar.

The game had all the elements of a classic hockey game, lots of goals, big time saves, overtime, drama, big hits and plenty of controversy. It was good to see certain players score their first goals of the playoffs. While I thought Daniel Sedin had a strong game, I think Sanderson was even better, and deserving of a star mention over Sedin. The Canucks were clearly getting pushed around and outworked by the Flames for the second half of the game. Like Brendan Morrison said, there were three parts to the game. The Canucks early domination, the Flames second half surge, and the overtime periods, which were relatively even and very entertaining to watch.

What is with people overreacting about the non-calls in overtime? First off, for anybody aware with how an NHL overtime works, the next goal wins. The refs aren't going to be calling as many penalties, if any at all. I thought Ron McLean summed it up best when he said that only penalties affecting the safety of the game and taking away sure scoring chances will be called. The stick shot on Jovanovski wasn't that bad, and he's certainly a player who likes to animate and over-exaggerate everything. Ohlund's was a great call because he was clearly hanging off the jersey of Flames forward Shean Donovan. You have to call that. Rob Shick is a veteran NHL referee who did a fine job last night. I also had the privelage to talk to him for a story last year because he's a Port Alberni native who graduated here.

The defending champion New Jersey Devils are out of the playoffs. I'll be honest, this came as a surprise to me, and Philidelphia is lucky Martin Brodeur wasn't on top of his game. I mean, his .883 save percentage going into yesterday's game against the Flyers is 18th in the playoffs. That isn't getting the job done, and for a player with his playoff experience and success, that has to be discouraging. While the series winning goal by Flyers defenceman Danny Markov was deflected off a skate, Brodeur wasn't out of the net far enough to challenge the shooter.

Both Colorado and Detroit advanced yesterday as well. It appears the first-round upsets are non-existent this year, however I like Montreal's chances against Boston tomorrow. Montreal hopes history is on their side since they beat the boys from Beantown two years ago.

Once the first round ends I'll provide what I thought were the most exciting moments and plays, and predictions for round two. Anybody else is welcome to join as long as the predictions are in before the second round starts.

WHAT A WEEKEND

Yeah, this weekend has been very uneventful for myself. As you'd possibly guess based on this post, I watched a lot of hockey yesterday. Yes I did watch plenty of hockey yesterday, in fact I watched parts of the whole tripleheader, and flipped channels between three different games (Detroit-Nashville, Colorado-Dallas, New Jersey-Philidelphia) in the afternoon.

Staying in a hotel room as been okay, and thank goodness I have cable TV right now or I'd shoot myself. What would I do right now without TV? Go check out the night life in Port Alberni. Hah! What night life? Actually as I discovered last summer, people do know how to have a good time here. I just don't like this uncertainty in my life right now. I find out about the Citizen job in under two weeks now.

Err. I hate blogging on Macs, you can't do anything cool, like make the font bold and all that, but Macs are all I've got right now. I'm not allowed to use this PC at the front of the AV Times anymore which I was using before, so I'm stuck with this. Oh well, tough break.

BACK IN PORT ALBERNI

Port Alberni Mayor Ken McRae (in front of city council): My Leafs won last night so I'm in a good mood.

In all my time spent here last summer I never once found out that the Port Alberni mayor likes the Toronto Maple Leafs like myself. The same man who once offered to help me find a girlfriend is a Leafs fan.

Yesterday was my first day at work and I already found myself given the task of covering Port Alberni city council. For the most part it wasn't too bad. It started at 7 p.m. and finished shortly after 9 p.m., so it was okay. Today I found myself spending lots of time writing a bunch of council briefs, and two stories on top of that - one on a Port Alberni resident taking part in the Boston Marathon, and another on this ICBC Crash Collision Challenge taking place all over BC. I was a little sceptical on what my editor would think of the briefs, but she was happy with them. Maybe in two weeks if I'm still down here I can go cover council again. Actually I don't mind council much at all, I like it more than court.

On Friday I put up awesome time in getting on the island only to eventually be delayed by construction taking place at the hump east of Port Alberni. I remember the sign I'd passed early saying road construction and I thought how bad could it be? As it turned out, I was stuck in the same spot on the road for an hour and a half. They're doing major work in expanding the road, which I'll admit is good. I just wish I had a remote clue of what the roads near Port Alberni were like before leaving Kamloops.

I hit the 1 p.m. ferry to Nanaimo which was real good time. I met with my friend Michelle in Nanaimo, and we went to a pub. I ended up spending about three hours with her because I didn't want to leave town until the Toronto game was over, which they won 2-0 to take a 2-1 series lead. But it was nice to spent the time with her anyways and talk for a while. The game tonight wasn't so good, and the series is now shifting back to the Air Canada Centre with the series notched at 2-2.

I also heard news yesterday morning, ironically my first day at work, that an AV Times reporter has resigned, meaning they're looking for a full time reporter. Too bad I have another year of school left or the job would be mine for the taking.

On a side note, congratulations to Nick Greenizan for getting hired a sports position in White Rock and leaving Peace River. Finally I no longer have to read his blogs filled with horror stories about how bad it is up there. But I'm sure I'd be complaining too. I mean, this is Peace River we're talking about!
Take a look at the website!

Peace River - Where Hospitality Comes First

I think Nick would have something to say about that town slogan. Sorry Nick, I just figure with you leaving that town anyways we can all rip it apart together.

Dave Gracey (on the phone): Hey Al. Come down to Neal's, but pick up a 12-pack of Budweiser first.
Me: I can't. I'm busy cooking.
Dave: What are you cooking?
Me: Sidekicks.
Dave: What's Sidekicks?

MY FINAL DAYS IN KAMLOOPS UNTIL THE FALL

As hard to believe as it is, the school year is over. Tomorrow at this time, I'll be on the road to Port Alberni. While I'm disappointed I can't hang around town longer, I start working at the AV Times on Tuesday, and they need me to start right away. For my sake, it's for the best. I can start working full-time and make more than the $50/week I made as Omega sports editor. Also, with school done and the last Omega issue published, I probably wouldn't be doing a heck of a lot here anyways.

My final days in town haven't been the most exciting, as I'm packing all my stuff up and trying to get in touch with everybody before I go. I played tennis with Neal, Jeff and Silv at Riverside Park yesterday afternoon, then last night I went to Central Station Pub with Carlos and Tara to sing karaoke and have a drink. After running into Dennis from the clocktower lab at a blues pub just down from Magnum's, Tara and I decided to just go home. With the sun shining and another warm day on the horizon, I hope to endulge in some fun outdoor activities one more time before I leave town.

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

Al - Vancouver in six
Nick - Vancouver in five
Mike - Calgary in six

Well, I have to say I'm a little disappointed by the low turnout of predictions. Anyhow, we'll see who is closer, Nick, Mike or myself.

ONE MORE ASSIGNMENT TO GO

Eileen Leier: I'll leave you all with one final question. Do photos make a difference?
Danielle: Yes they do. Alright, let's go (the class erupts in laughter).

Tonight I handed in my final photography assignment in my shortest photography class all term. With that class now over, I'm down to one assignment (my public relations final essay)and a quiz (Jour 430) before the term ends. I'm working on having this essay done by my Journalism 430 class tomorrow, even though it isn't due until Monday. Odds are I probably won't complete it until then. I'm excited about school ending and work starting. I haven't yet picked a day to leave town, but I start work at the AV Times on Tuesday. Finally I'll be making some money, some of which I spent on a new cell phone today, and re-insuring my car yesterday. This summer could prove to be an interesting one. While I'm assured the AV Times job starting on Tuesday, I may leave Port Alberni to work in Prince George should I get this summer reporter job at the Prince George Citizen that I applied for. That job would start at the beginning of May.

FINAL TEMPLATE RESULTS (OUT OF FIVE VOTES)
Who has the best template?

Al - 60%
Shaun - 40%
Dale - 0%
Meghan - 0%

There were actually seven votes, but two of them came after midnight. And had Shaun not used a second vote to pick mine, we'd have to do a tiebreaker. He even asked if he could use a second vote on mine, so of course I'll say yes.

With the NHL playoffs around the corner, and the first-round matchups now decided I'm going to form another poll, this one regarding the first round matchup between the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, since we're in Western Canada and all.

Simply make a prediction on the outcome of the series - who will win and in how many games?



Like the last poll, all you have to do is send your prediction into my comments box. Again, I'll include myself in this contest, which like the other ones I'll set a deadline - by game time on Wednesday, so when the puck drops at GM place for game one your prediction must be in my comments box. After that I won't include any other predictions, but rather post the predictions in my blogger. For the winner of this contest it's really just bragging rights, nothing more. You've got about 70 hours to get your prediction in.

DECISION DAY

It's now been 10 days, so that means it's time to choose who you think has the best template, and if you're Meghan, Shaun, Dale or myself, you're allowed to vote for your own. That way it encourages more votes. Just leave them in the comments box by midnight tonight.

Matt Silver: We'll get some short bald guy to be Gary Bettman and present the Cup.

This morning before my Journalism 430 (Advanced Writing and Editing) exam me, Matt and Mike were talking about hockey this weekend and the possiblity of bringing out John Spigott's Stanley Cup he purchased off E-Bay. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the cup so we'll have to find a subsitution.

Anyways, this weekend marks what will most likely be the last ball hockey of the school year. I'm hoping it's a good showing and not a 'no show' like last week. I sent the e-mail early in the week so there should be no excuse for people not to show on Sunday, unless they're working or out of town.

As far as this template design contest, we're into the final three days. I'll have the results posted this Sunday morning. Remember to check the other three blogs the day you vote. For more information, check my March 24 post. Cheers!