I'm in a hockey mood. Mostly because I may be a tad jealous that
mon chum is going to the game tonight. And I really shouldn't be jealous because today is his birthday. So,
happy birthday, darling, and hopefully the boys win one for you tonight...
Now onto the rant. 7 games in - 2 wins in overtime and 5 consecutive losses. And everyone has already jumped ship because they believe it's sunk. The bandwagon is looking a little empty, and the season is barely 3 weeks old. I take exception to this. You blow a team to pieces and you MAGICALLY expect everyone to play well together, instantly? Have people learned nothing about how championship teams are built? It takes TIME. Alas, in these parts, no one has TIME to wait for the team to be built. Yeah, I know, we've been rebuilding for years - but just because it didn't work last time doesn't mean it won't work this time. It doesn't mean you write the team off 7 games into the season. With another 75 (yes, 75!) games to go, there is so much time for everything to change.
Look at last year: the team started off BLAZING ... then crashed and burned. Barely made it to the playoffs and got swept under the carpet. Everyone shouted to get rid of all of the players. Lo and behold, almost everyone left. Either they were traded away, or they abandoned the team for so-called greener pastures (ahem Komisarek), or were simply not re-signed after many years of loyal service (yes, I am still a little bitter about that one). And now the team is starting from scratch. It's gonna be bad before it gets better. And if it doesn't get better, then I can eat my words. But until then, for the love of Jesus, calm the fuck down. Or find another team to cheer for. Because you are ridiculous.
Rant over.
***
I haven't been a very good blogger lately. I suppose that's because I haven't had anything to complain about. When I stop and think about how petty my problems are in comparison to people who are really down on their luck, I feel guilty that I was even upset about it in the first place. And in the past, I have come here A LOT just to bitch about how much my life sucks. I know that I definitely felt that for most of last year, and, in all honesty, out of all the years of my life, 2008 was probably one of the worst, thanks to all the obstacles and stupid shit I got myself into. But some good came out of it (new wonderful friends, some unforgettable trips, and a long-overdue reconciliation), too, so it wasn't a total write-off.
In the last 4 months (coincidentally, since I was up north), I've turned a corner and I don't want to look back.
This epiphany is further compounded by some reading I did on the weekend. I picked up a copy of Sarah Preston's Master's thesis, printed by the Canadian Ethnology Service in 1986, called "Let the Past Go: A Life History." I wasn't so much interested in the purpose of the thesis than I was in the story - it was an oral narrative as told by Alice Jacob, an elder who currently resides in Waskaganish (and now I wish I had met). The recording was done almost 30 years ago and covers most of Alice's early life, from the 1930s onwards. Initially, I wanted to learn more about the traditional way of life for my own thesis's purposes; instead I found myself captivated by her story.
The hardships she endured had me in tears - from nearly starving to death in the winter months and then almost losing her foot to severe frostbite, followed by being abandoned by her mother, to losing her first child, to almost being killed by "nurses" after giving birth to her 7th child, and, the most heart-wrenching of all, watching her best friend die in childbirth ... this woman experienced more than her fair share of really shitty stuff. And yet she has been able to "let the past go" and move on.
My own life story is nowhere near as tragic, but it does put so much into perspective. And when I'm feeling really angry about some insignificant detail in my life, I stop and remember how much worse it could possibly be ... and am thankful for all the wonderfulness I DO have in my life.
***
That being said, I will continue to rant about stupid people out there. Just because I can. For example: Bob Sirois and his book about how French Canadians are subjected to bias in the NHL. Seriously? Shut the fuck up. Is this the legacy of our province? To always cry about how IT'S NOT FAIR? That is SO 1970. Anyway, Ted Bird
put it best, so I won't even try to compete.
I'll try to make my presence a bit more frequent around these parts, though my slightly erratic post here may have left you confused.
UPDATE: See, you fuckers? THEY WON. IN THE SHOOTOUT. AND PLAYED A GREAT GAME. So shut the fuck up already. (AND YAY GIONTA! We love you.)