Quick Hits: I Call Shenanigans, De'funk, Eyes, NYE, Jaws

So, I've already gotten one "are you okay?" email regarding Dubie's Canadian Team ousting in the Spengler Cup, which means we're about to have too many goalies in Houston, and that means... well... commence heartache.

I've had that old classic "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Love Goalies" in my head since Andrew reported the news about Spengler. Every time I type that I think of Stifler and, naturally, Stifler's Mom. Ha. It's just kinda torture. Your guy is always the hero or the goat and the competition, especially this year, is just unreal. It's frustrating.

It's not like loving a skater who can be up and down and it's okay because there are other guys to pick up the slack for a while. Results are so direct, right in the vein, when you're talking goalies. But also so dependent on the team, yet when it comes down to stats, there's no "but the defense sucked" asterisk, is there?

Oh well. Always room for one more at MCH4HG. Fuck.

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On to happier stuff:

I opened my gear bag from last night at around 5 p.m. today and it smelled like... a bag of fresh laundry.

I'm not kidding. Washing my gear on that Sanitize cycle is the best thing that ever happened in the history of shit happening. Seriously.

Which takes the sting out of the fact that I'm sending my old w/d away with Salvation Army tomorrow and won't get my new one until Jan 12. Given that I'll be playing hockey at least 3, maybe 4 times before the new one arrives, this will be interesting. I've already hit up Coach Stalin for her w/d if I get desperate.

But man, now I know how worth it the wait is. A fresh smelling hockey bag whenever I want it? Oh HELL yeah!

The only sucky thing is that I found a rip in the outer shell of my goalie pants. I can stitch it up, though it's kinda weird. It looks like it was burned, too. Hmm... Sabotage. Am I playing the Senators this weekend?

More difficult will be fixing up the seam rip in the shin pads on my left leg pad. Not a huge problem yet, but I'll need to get it fixed at some point. At least it's not charred.

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I've been doing my eye exercises tonight and boy do I have a headache from it. The strain on my eye muscles is unreal. This isn't going to be easy. But it's kinda fun finding creative ways to do the exercises, because I have to look at two things and try to converge them (like by crossing my eyes). So, it's tail lights on the cars in front of me at stop lights, the clock and AHL logo while watching the (abysmal) Aeros game tonight... good stuff.

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New Year's Eve tomorrow. No plans, though I'd really enjoy just getting sloppy drunk and not giving a shit about stuff for a few hours. Doesn't that sound grand? But we tend to stay in on nights when the drunks are out.

I gamble enough when I'm driving around at midnight or 1 after hockey games during the week. I seriously need a direct line to the Houston police, because I see so much drunk driving on my way home from hockey. Luckily I've usually still got the adrenaline pumping and I'm ready for 'em. Would love to report them though. Assholes.

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Watching Caps/Sharks and saw for the first time the shark gesture the fans make there. Can't believe I've never seen that, but that's kinda cute.

And while he does have 3 5 goals against, I'm impressed with Neuvirth. He's fast and agile. Good stuff. He had one save that was just a beautiful sliding fly pad save where if he hadn't popped his knee up a few inches as he went across, it would have gone in. Very nice, astute save.

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Imma go eat a cookie now. So there.