I love winter

Why you ask?

Well for one I live in an area of Canada that doesn't get much snow. Having grown up in Ontario, I had to wear a jacket over my Halloween costume because that was the first snow of the season. However, in Vancouver, it tends to snow for one week all year. Which is absolutely perfect to me!

2 cm of snow is enough for playing. It's all we get.

Why I love Vancouver Winter:
1. I love the sound of snow crunching under my feet
2. I get to wear my comfy WARM snow boots...Can't wear them in the rain!
3. I have the clothing for the cold. It goes so unused, so I'm happy when I get to bust it out
4. It's actually not that cold. For Vancouver it is, but for me in my life it's not. It's refreshing
5. It's pretty!!!!!
6. Daisy LOVES it, and who doesn't love watching their dog jump all over snow?

Why I don't like Vancouver Winter:
1. No one else knows how to deal with it. They have only rain boots, or (and this drives me into insanity laughter..yes, I'm laughing AT you) they have umbrellas while it's snowing. IT'S SNOW.

2. They can't drive in it. The minute the snow hits the pavement you get this.



And it really doesn't snow more than 2 cm. However, the city has two plows... I think. I've honestly never seen them, and the salt trucks are just pick up trucks with little sprayers on the back (and I've only ever seen 1). The city just isn't made to be able to handle snow and ice, The side streets never get plowed, so the snow just gets compacts and turns into SUPER slippery snow/ice. Awesome.

3. People still bike in it. Now we all know I'm a cyclist, and I'll go out in about anything, but the minute the temperature is below zero FORGET IT. In a city where it rains every other day and the ground doesn't have time to dry, I'd rather not have my face skid along the pavement when my wee ol bike meets Mr. Black Ice. It seems other people in this city don't know what black ice is, so they are out biking at full speed like Joe Invincible, until they fall...and I just shake my head.

"So that's what a moron looks like!"

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't enough to make me want to move back to Ontario. FORget it. My last year there in one day we got 50 cm... IN ONE DAY. It stayed until May. The snow here? It will be gone in two days.

Back to normal :(

Luckily, I can just take a trip up the mountains any time and frolic in the fluffy stuff until I'm sick of it again!

Sad Monday

Found out a few minutes ago that NDP leader Jack Layton died of cancer.That's the world of breaking news. I really hate cancer. It just destroys lives. I'm really saddened about his death. He was such a charismatic leader, and just a NICE guy. He was going to do some really awesome things in Parliament. Very bummed.

I feel kind of strange posting what I originally planned but here goes.

This is the last week of the Low Car Diet and I'm pretty sad about it! It's been really fun and I'll miss all these vlogs. Maybe I'll try to do more for this blog! I hope we win the grand prize! Vote for us! (when it's time)

Yesterday we walked down to the Kits dog park with Daisy. We've been hoping we could take her and she's really starting to listen and work off leash, so we took her to see if she can swim. It was pretty obvious very quickly that she had never swam before. But of course (being a dog) she picked it up really quickly and was fetching her ball in no time. She even made some new friends.

We've decided she's the weird kid on the playground though...She was far more interested in digging holes on her own 

A long day of play + a bath = le tired..and a bed hog.

We can't wait to take her back. Hopefully the socialization helps her to chill out...and maybe lose the long leash! We're pretty sure she won't run away like she used to...but we aren't positive she will come when we call her yet...but soon...very soon.

I got a new tattoo this week! 

I'd actually been thinking about this for a week so or but was really motivated to go on Wednesday. It has two very special meanings to me and it's just pretty :) 

I guess I'll give you some faves :)

Tattoos! • Family • God • Love • notalwaysright.com • Warmth • New running shoes! (they finally came!) • my wedding rings • pedicures • The smell of Daisy after a bath • Playstation • Fast phones • Support

Would you ever get a tattoo?

Garden is growing!!

Well! Not posting about the garden for a month really gives it time to grow!!!!

Sunflower is really getting up there :D

I went to go wrap the beans around a stick to grow up and look what I found!! BEANS!!!

Grapevine goes up!

So happy to see green on the Christmas tree

I left the lettuce for a white and it really grew! The spinach is still a write off :(

The broccoli appears!! Still little but I love that things are happening!

First little tomato!! We have a cherry tomato plant and the big tomatoes. Very excited!

Nothing much happening with the strawberries....just more leaves.

I thought I took a photo of the the lone surviving cherry tomato plant and the basil...but I guess not. They are both doing well :) 

It's been quite a learning curve for the garden. It needs a good weeding this weekend.

On another note, we're back using SPUD! Last time I ordered from it I just kind of went pellmell and ordered random things which ended up being few items and a lot of money. But SPUD is a sponsor for the Low Car Diet and they sent us a free box of fresh produce. I then discovered I can order just a box of produce, which is exactly what I want to do! Our lives have also changed and we have become those people who don't have time to run up to the store and get fresh stuff! So now, we'll get it delivered each week and just use the rest of the bulk things we get a Costco each month.  I'm really excited!!! I've been missing my vitamins and minerals 

Low Car diet!

So perhaps you remember my post from March about Zipcar, the awesome car sharing company we use. Well I've been selected for a very exciting event with The Low Car Diet!

Basically, it's a challenge in the big Zipcar cities. There are teams of 3 or so and the challenge is go to use alternate methods of transportation for a month! There will be lots of vlogs and tweets and updates on how it goes! It's really exciting. There are a lot of sponsors to help us too! Launch Cams is providing us with little helmet cams so we can document our adventures. New Balance gave us some shoes, YYoga, Steve Nash Fitness World, Travelsmart,  Logmein and SO much more (I get the rest of the start up kit Monday so I'll find out what other goodies there are then)

I'm really excited to get started! I don't think it's going to be a radical change from the life I'm currently leading. We got rid of the car last fall and so have been Zipping, bussing and biking since. But I'm excited to share with people just how EASY it is to live without a car. We really have never looked back about getting rid of the Enterprise, and have no plans in the near future to get a new car. Although, it's thanks to Zipcar that when it IS time for a car (a couple kids might make that a must) we know we want to get a Prius, which is our favourite Zipcar to drive!

Also, at the end of the month, the public gets to vote on what team they want to win the grand prize (and it's a really awesome prize....so please vote for Vancouver!!!)

So make sure you stay tuned to that website for all the updates, follow my Twitter for all the recent news, and watch for the hashtag #lowcardiet to see how everyone else is doing!

Also, if you are interested in joining Zipcar, scroll down until you see the little badge and you can get $25 in free driving for joining through me!

Manic monday!

I know! It's been a while since a Monday post!!! Yay! I also went ahead with a new template. What do you think? Pretty simple, but I feel like being simple right now!

I'm sure you're all wondering how my triathlon went!! Yes you are. David took some photos via Instagram. I'm hoping we can get a really GOOD camera soon...then he won't be taking photos with his iPhone all the time.

The SWIM!

The swim portion was easy for me. I swam for more than half my life competitively. I was the 4th fastest time and it gave me a massive lead over the others.

Getting ready to cycle

I lost a lot of time here. People who finished the swim after me caught up and passed me here. I learned that if I want to keep doing these...I need a tri-suit. The cycle was meh. I'm not super great and it was tough after swimming. There was a good incline which sucked. But I didn't get passed by too many people so yay!

The finish!

The run was TOUGH. I am not a very good runner to begin with (why I keep doing it I'm not sure...) but having swam and then biked before this made it hard. AND I wasn't allowed my iPod...which is what gets me through runs! So I sang to myself the whole time! Strangely enough I came in at my usual 5k time...which is BAFFLING to me....I feel like I went so slow! But go me!

We earned these bottles!

This was probably the biggest challenge I've ever done, and the greatest thing I've accomplished. I'm really glad I had a friend doing the race too. I signed up before her, but when she heard I was doing it she was in too...which is awesome! It was fun to have someone to train with. Actually she came first in our age group and second overall in the women!!! She's GOOD. I hope she keeps doing them! I might keep doing the short ones...but I think I would make a great part of a team in a triathlon. My swim is awesome! It was also amazing having David right on the sidelines cheering me on. Literally right there. He actually ran with me from the swim to cycle transition. All day long he kept going on about how proud he was of me and smiling. I could tell he really meant it and that made me so happy :D!

Since it's Monday I will give you some faves! I had some great posts planned before my hard drive bit it so I'll try to get back on track with those soon :)

Monday faves!

Being a triathlete • my sweet new water bottle and shirt from the tri • post race day eats • Coke Zero • frozen yogurt • bike sleeves! • my new bike • where I live • music • eBay • thrifty shopping • supportive in-laws! (it's fun sharing interests with them!) • the library • my hair

I saw the last Harry Potter movie yesterday. I was SO disappointed...what a let down...that is a WHOLE blog post of it's own though!

Did you see HP7 pt2? What did you think?

Delays

Yes it has indeed been quite sometime since a post. I'm sorry. I have a multitude of excuses, but I won't bore you with them! As a consolation prize, I've uploaded new photos to our Shutterfly Share site :) I also think it's about time for a layout change...don't you?


I don't have garden photos for today. Not toooo much is going on. The tomato plant finally has some flowers on it though! Soon they should be tomatoes! Very excited.

I have my triathlon on Sunday. Very nervous...hoping it will be easy (yea right). After that we are going to go see Harry Potter!! I don't think I've ever waited so long to see on..usually I go opening night or something. It's like torture!! But our schedule just didn't allow for us to go until Sunday! It should be a good reward for the triathlon.

On the somewhat subject of biking. I got a new bike!!! Yes finally! I'm very excited. It's quite different from the Fuji (AKA Daria) that's for sure.

Original ad? Fuji Finest Mark 2, circa 1980

As you can see, Daria is a racing bike. And until two years ago sat unused in my dad's garage. When he shipped it out to me, it even came with the bottle and pump featured in this photo (the bottle was pretty rank and the pump broke shortly after that) However, it was pretty much mint condition. It's slightly too big for me and somehow too small at the same time. It's really strange. Regardless, I was putting a lot of pressure forward when I was leaning on the drop bars and it was causing a lot of pain in my shoulder and back. Also, treating a racing bike like a commuter bike isn't very good for the bike at all. I recently had the entire gear system replaced so I wouldn't be killed in the middle of traffic (which was going to happen) I've added some accessories to the bike so it's not exactly as pictured here but close enough :)

Taaadaaaaa!

This bike is as of yet unnamed, considering I only got it yesterday. It's the Garneau Urbania 1.0 and  is obviously very different. Sitting upright on a bike makes me feel 12 all over again. This bike is the right size for me and as a result I can pedal standing up again! Also it has many more gears than Daria so hills are SO much easier. It still has thin tires which is great. I spent most of last night pimping out my ride. I also finally have a pannier rack! I'm very excited about this! Now I can carry things around! It's all shiny and new and yay! I'll try to get a photo of my exact bike in the future. 

The only problem now is space. David has his commuter bike AND his road bike (he wants to start getting into loooooong bike trips) and now I have my commuter and my racing bike (for all my triathlons.....*cricket*) and we don't exactly have a garage for 4 bikes. I'm sure we'll work it out...it's just annoying that there are three bikes being stored in our storage room that NO ONE is riding. Seriously. The layer of dust on these bikes should be criminal.

One thing I'll add before this post gets terribly long is that I have a new life mantra! (I'm actually not sure mantra is the right word....it's...just a new thing that I do...lol) I'm not paying full price for anything anymore! (Ok, by anything I mean most things)

Since moving to BC, I've gotten way more into the reusing portion of the 3R's. In the past, we've made a lot of our furniture purchases on Craigslist but it was limited to just that. It only recently occurred to me that you can find ANYTHING on there. There is just so much STUFF in the world that it's very easy to not buy new. Combined with thrift ships, consignment stores and general sales, it is SO EASY to not pay full price! Since the beginning of July alone I've saved nearly $500 buying used. I actually only yesterday discovered the wonder of consignment shops. I'm going to live in those from now on.

There are exceptions to this lifestyle. Food for one. I could do couponing and just shop the sales, but I don't have the patience for that. I need food to live. I don't need most of the things I'm buying used to live, hence why saving on those is good. Also exempt are things I can't find used!! I'll generally look for a while, give it a good time to have new items pop up online or scour in case I missed something. Otherwise, it's off to the shop! But so far so good! It's pretty exciting actually. Who doesn't love a deal!

Do you like to shop used?

BUSY weekend!

I bet your thought Sunday was the only busy day I had this week.

NOPE!

Monday we took Daisy to Stanley Park. We've been wanting to do this for a long time and finally we had the time and the drive. She had a BLAST. So much to smell and run and see.

She was observing ducks for potentially the first time.

She had so much fun playing with the ball and running and playing in the ocean. We've found she hates water. She will walk around puddles and hide under the umbrella on rainy days. But once she's wet she doesn't seem to mind it as much...she doesn't like waves though. Those scare her and it's adorable.

Because we let her run pell mell she needed a bath when she got home. And that's when David snapped THE cutest photo of her I have ever seen

She's just so innocent and adorable!!!

So that was a busy Monday. Yesterday we adventured into new territory



Like a fish to water.

 We went climbing with some friends of ours! David was amazing. He went right to the top on his first try! And he really liked the bouldering. I'm thrilled he's found something he likes other than sitting on the couch all day. He worked really hard.

Learning to boulder

Me not so much. I'm not as good as he is for several reasons so I didn't do as much climbing, but I'll work on it. After this we hit up the pool. Okay, I hit up the pool and David hit the hot tub. Turns out I'm not in the swim shape I used to be, and I'm gonna have to swim A LOT more before the triathlon!!

After all that we went to THE most amazing chinese food restaurant I have ever been to. Dinesty in Richmond, we'll be back.

What did you do this weekend?

The aftermath

So it's been a few days now and Vancouver is well into the "healing". I'm not sure what it means when people say that. I know the riot was unbelieveable and really shocking to see such horrible things happen to your lovely city (People in Toronto during G20 can attest to this) but I'm just not sure what we have to heal from. Yes, some jerks destroyed our downtown, but it wasn't an act of aggression against everyone specifically. The people that actually have to heal are the ones who were injured or had their property damaged. The rest of us watching from the safety of our own homes were shocked, yes, but other that than, what needs healing? I'd love some insight on this.

I'm not trying to discredit anyone who feels they need to "heal". I know I was really affected by the things I saw. I am just trying to understand.

I had a chance to go downtown before work the other day and what I saw was astonishing. Despite editing tons of footage post-riot, I had NO idea that EVERY single window of The Bay was smashed.

To give you some perspective, here is a Google street view of what The Bay looks like on a normal day.

View Larger Map

And by all the windows, I mean around both of the corners. The Bay takes up that whole block, and they got every window. There are A LOT of windows. I would say over 50 panes at least. All boarded up. However, I'm sure you've heard about the "wall of sorrows" which is almost more overwhelming than the damage itself.

It's amazing to see all this. Some are positive messages, others are sad, others are upset with the people who did this. Then we have the stuff I'm a big fan of, like this.

The morning after the riot, hundreds of people descended on downtown to just clean up. It was so amazing. They didn't have to do that. It wasn't their mess. But this is their home and they wanted to show what we are really like. There was a photographer who made an effort to photograph as many clean up crew as he could. Someone then took those photos and made these posters, along with various riot shots. I love it. I'm all for getting the faces of those who did this out there. We need to know who they are. On the "Except" posters there are words like "SHAME" and other negative things. The "especially" posters have nice things. That Boston fan even has a big heart drawn around him (I agree). You'll notice on the wide shot that some posters of the "Except" people are missing...guilty parties often return to the scene of the crime.

I think what was really confusing to see was the pattern of the destruction. The Bay was completely smashed, but across the street the H&M and Aritzia were untouched. A few shops down the Blenz was damaged and then nothing. Then a block away, the Louis Vuitton was damaged. Every shop on the same block as The Bay had plywood over their doors. However, across from The Bay going north nothing was damaged. Going south towards the Sears store like Starbucks appeared fine, but the Sears was trashed. It's just very random and I'm sure that why it's a mob and not an organized looting spree, but just strange to see in person.

They have started to ID people from footage and pictures (honestly, did these people REALLY think in 2011 we wouldn't find you?) Reportedly, ICBC will be loaning their facial recognition technology to help. So basically, if you have a drivers license, say goodbye to your innocence. There are several shaming website out there. It gets the names of those confirmed to be rioters on the internet and in public so they can be identified in the future (I.E potential employers etc.) I say confirmed because I only follow a site that does their research and doesn't just post photos and ask people to identify them. I don't think that site just accusing people willy nilly and posting personal details like addresses and phone numbers are acceptable. Doing this encourages people to go out and take matters into their own hands and this makes them no better than the rioters. Let these people be arrested, charged, and forever shamed by having their name publicised as a rioter.

Ok. In OTHER news :)

I've signed up for a triathlon!!! It's been on my list of goals for a while now and there is a mini one happening in my neck of the woods in July! I'm pretty nervous but also excited! It's going to be a real test and challenge for me. I'm confident I can complete all the elements...it's doing them one right after the other that makes me nervous!

I didn't forget that it was Monday and I still have favourite things! (despite all the craziness this past week)

The Canucks run this season (WOW guys. Just wow. Congrats • The fact that the 11/12 season is near! ( GO SENS!) • That David FINALLY has Sundays off!!! So happy • That I'm getting calls for summer sports work • Almond milk • Peanut Buster Parfait (I wish they had mini size) • My super smart cuddly dog (she basically sleeps ON me) • Spa services (I don't get these enough) • parents • the weekend • making my own gifts • parties!

I think that's enough from me today :) I know I missed a garden update last week. I'll try to make an excellent one this week

Will summer ever arrive?

June 15

Well. That was quite a day.

It started off with so much excitement and nervousness in the air. The arena was a whole different place. Hardly anyone ate dinner pre-game...it was just eerily silent as we waited.

At this point there was still so much hope!

I even had a really good shot on TV

Yes...I'm really that happy when I know a camera isn't on me o_O

Of course the game did not go as it was supposed to.

Ahh...my old friend Stanley. How have I touched the cup but the two teams I've worked for haven't. Am I jinxing them?

Boo. Boouins. Go home Boouins.

Of course it wasn't long after this that I checked my Twitter and started hearing reports of hooliganism.. That quickly escalated to insanity. Being in the arena and seeing nothing but news reports I was naturally terrified to leave. The fires were happening only a couple blocks from the arena. How did I know they wouldn't start outside any minute. I delayed leaving for a bit, but things were only getting worse and they police had stated shutting the bridges down (of which I must cross to go home) so I knew I had to go. Fortunately a co-worker was heading out and over a bridge at the same time and thus I had a posse of protection to get me onto the safe side.

It was a safe walk over, nothing bad happened or really presented itself with the chance of happening. However the voyage over wasn't without it's shock.

This is what we saw when we left the arena. We knew there was a fire so snapped some photos

The fire on the right started as we were crossing the bridge. That's when I got a little more panicked. It's one thing to know a fire is going on, quite another to see that others are still being started...and that is A LOT of smoke. As we crossed the bridge we could just see the smoke coming from all over the place. Vancouver was burning.

They're goin' in!

Vancouver Police HQ is immediately on the other side of the bridge we crossed. So this is the view we had. The bridge was blocked but every few minutes another van (yes van...like soccer mom Dodge Caravan) would speed off and over the bridge PACKED with police inside.

I spent the 16th AM editing nothing but riot footage for the morning news show. Sifting through it, I was angry, so upset, and sometimes moved to tears by what happened to some people.

I'm so sad that my memories of the Stanley Cup Finals will be this. It was scary watching the G20 riots from here. It's horrible being in them. I'm so glad that they riots didn't move to the arena or even start there. Minus a man falling from the viaduct onto the ground below, things were ok around the arena.

There were a lot of people that tried to stand up and stop the maddess. People trying to stop looters and vandals. I think most of these people ended up injured. To them: I'm so sorry, thank you for trying, and I really hope you are ok. You were so outnumbered, but you did the right thing.

It's unreal to think that the rioters thought they would get away with it. EVERYONE downtown had a camera or cell phone. It was also JAM packed with media, print and television. I have seen so many faces I wouldn't even know where to being in trying to pass that on to police. Several people have already been arrested and many more have turned themselves in. They will ALL pay. There are so many websites and facebook groups dedicated to bringing these people to justice and making sure they are shamed for their actions. They will not fade into the nigh and live their life out normally. Everyone will know who they are and what they did.

Think before you act people. The consequences will follow you until the day you die.

I have some more finals photos on my real camera. I'll post a link to those when I get them up.

Why did this happen?

Neatness!

A couple of things to share!!

First, meet Lily!

She's the newest addition to our little family! She's so tiny, and we have yet another new fishbowl, but this one was given to us, and has a nifty little light!

Second

David's mom has been having a lot of fun so far! Yes, she got to meet the dolphins at the Aquarium...having a husband work there is AWESOME! The weather definitely hasn't been co-operating. The forecast says sun...but it's just been overcast the whole time. 

I should add David isn't the only one with hook ups. I did win him tickets to game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals....I've never seen him act like such a little kid. He talked about it for days. I was glad he enjoyed it!

Now only if summer would start...I can't believe it's mid-June and I'm in long pants and a sweater. So annoying

Last May Monday

May has been a cold witch. The warmth is finally beginning to show through! I made a very bold decision to put away the winter clothes yesterday...I'm still wearing the few I left out..but this morning was very warm..I might move down to a t-shirt.

Last faves of May!

Space bags - they just vacuum up and save SO much space! • Coffee creamers - coffee makes me ill, but these creamers are soooo goood • David's new bike - he looks awesome on it and it's MEC so it will last forever! • Spring cleaning • my growing garden • that I'm still working hockey in June..AGAIN! • That my sister loves her new iPhone • I finally started up a book club • Getting really plugged in and involved at church • Signing up for runs that are months away but still get me excited! • Clearly Contacts - so cheap! My insurance can actually cover my glasses (when they aren't free!) • Ducklings

My amazing view of all the games 

This was my view right after they won the western conference. Because I stand right behind the home next, I had the perfect view of the Burrows round 1 winning goal and of the conference winning goal. I recall vividly (as might the host who stands with me) seeing Niemi looking around lost after the puck bounced off Sedin's head, and yelling "He doesn't know where it is! He doesn't know!!" I'd say Bieksa heard me cause boom. Goal. Make sure you check out this hilarious vid



I leave you with Monday's cuteness

They're all best friends...when she isn't trying to eat them!



10K Monday!

Well I did it. I ran the Sun Run...first 10k in the bag. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm feeling a little sore today, but nothing yoga can't handle. What a great feeling it was to cross that finish line and know that I just RAN 10k!! The Run Lola Run soundtrack got me through the last 2k that's for sure. But I did it!!! One more 10k in two weeks! Then a 5k, my fundraiser run.

I tweeted some photos during the run! Check my twitter for them! Be sure to follow my Twitter for updates during the TC10k in two weeks, and behind the scenes photos and updates from the Canucks games.

On that note

Being able to run 10k! • Playoff sweeps (fingers crossed) • everyone getting together to watch playoff hockey • new crochet projects • shopping for baby gifts! • the fact that spring is FINALLY here!! • vests • the gifts my employers love to give us :D • having jobs I love to be at, not because I have to make money • long dog walks • grandparents • having so many people cheer me on for my run • Imaq (Farewell!) • Tourism Passport season!!!! • Student free bus and Skytrain season • New and exciting ideas in development

I just had a muffin...I didn't WANT it..but I was just SO hungry...I need to restock my breakfast foods at work. I'll head to the gym today and work it off...no rest for me! Another 10K in two weeks! This one will be in Victoria and I have a friend doing it too...probably not WITH me though..I'm a slow runner, but this doesn't bother me. I ran the whole 10k (10minutes of running, 1 minute of walking) which is a lot more than I can say for most of the people I saw on the route. They were very in the way :( 

I'm very excited to head home and get some rest. It's beautiful outside already so I'll have to take Daisy on a loooooong walk.

What are you going to do with this nice weather?

Inside looking in

Playoffs!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the yeeeeear!

The whole season is just rehearsal for the awesomeness that IS playoff hockey. The game is completely different, SOOooo much better. It's fast paced, hard hitting..every game is do or die. It's really exciting to be in a city that has basically all signs pointing to yes to win it this year.

What is NOT so fun is not really being a fan of the team....Ok I use that somewhat incorrectly.

I'm all for the Canucks. I don't recall in my life having anything bad to say about them. But the fact is I'm a Sens fan. Have been for a while now. Puts me in a tad of an awkward position sometimes. Not this year since the Sens signed off in November, but it leaves me conflicted.

I completely hope the Canucks can go all the way. For SURE! But it's sad to watch all the fans running around town cheering and having fun and looking at them and half wishing I could too.

It's a strange feeling.

I know I won't become a Canucks fan (by definition) I will definitely always want them to do well and be happy when things go great. But I have my team, and I'm standing by them....

What's WORSER...(yes worser) is that Montreal is in the playoffs...I grew up a Habs fan...

So my tale of hockey woe grows longer.

George gets me....

So I grew up a Habs fan....you can't just let something like that go...There will always be an allegiance within me...When they play the Sens it's STILL a conflict for me. I have three Habs jerseys including the first one I got in 1994. I used to have a lot more Habs things but it's departed from me as time went on. I have an assortment of t-shirts still...a flag or two, but most of it I've passed on to fans who would get more use out of it.

As for the Canucks, I have a sweater and hat I got as a gift, and a t-shirt I bought before I moved here when I attended a game and wanted a souvenir. However, I just wouldn't feel right running around town with them on. I think it would be unfair to the real fans. I don't consider myself a bandwagoner, I've been here all year! I'm staying away from the wagon altogether. I really want the true fans to enjoy themselves. I know I'd be kind of phoney enjoying...just running around cheering for the sake of not been able to do that since 2007.



Right after the win...

that was a fun day

I've been to the finals...I know how amazing it can be

 

Truthfully, the Canucks are probably the most fan-centric organization I've ever seen. They are up and down far superior to the Senators. They have so many different ways to interact and encourage fans. The twitter feed alone is full of contests and interactions and other neat things. Blogs, videos, and photos are just a small segment of the extensive website for the Canucks, and their discussion community rivals NO one else's. The Senators discussion board...doesn't have any discussing. Sometimes I'm ashamed of the Senators orgaization for just how poor they are at doing anything. Especially getting a new video board. If they can't handle getting that, there is no way they will be able to master the art of tweetups...

So I'm left with what exactly? Two teams I think highly of are in the first round. Which ever one advances all the way it will still be a conflicting experience. The Sens aren't even IN the playoffs so that makes it different. If they were in there would be no questions.

I'm in the upper left corner.

I wear the shirt I got to work

since I would feel odd wearing it anywhere else.

I look conflicted about something...

And this is just week 1.....

Who are you cheering for?

Canucks photos courtesy Canucks.com