the Girl behind the blog - vlog link up

I know, I'm a bad blogger and I say that every post. I'm working on a post, but I haven't had a chance to complete it, hopefully in the next couple of days.
Today, however, I have something a little different. A vlog!!
I apologize in advance I am weird in front of the camera. But I wanted to participate in the link up, The Girl behind the blog, so I had to record a vlog.

Enjoy! [ps. Mom it's not even 3 minutes long, if you wanted to watch it.]

~believe.

some times all you need is a little street hockey

I know, I know. I haven't posted in forever. I have no excuse. I get up go to work, come home from work, check stuff online, sleep and repeat. I haven't had any great stories to share or anything to really post.
I want to say I've been hiding because the lack of hockey going on. But I haven't even been struggling with that until recently. I've unfortunately let work consume my life. The sad thing is I work at a call centre, I show up on time, do my job and leave when my shift is over. I think it's the early mornings that are killing me.
At any rate this post is not going to be about work. It's going to be about hockey!! or more importantly hockey players!!

Where the heck have I been?!

Hey! So my life got busy, that is the only excuse I have. Last weekend was the first weekend I had off in a couple of weeks and I started this post but I didn't finish it. I have no excuse, but I'm going to post it today!

a milestone post

The next person that reads/stumbles upon my blog will be my 1000th page view!! 

I'm not obsessed with the number of hits my blog receives, but I do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my blog.

I don't really have much else to say, I just wanted to acknowledge this accomplishment and thank my readers!

I have a more meaningful post soon...hopefully. 

Dear Olympics

I've seen these 'letter link ups' around the blogosphere before but I am usually to late and never have letters to write. I think the link ups are usually written on Fridays but the Olympics have inspired me to write today and since the closing ceremonies are today, there is no greater time than now!
Find out who I am writing my letters to after the jump.

I wish the internet had an edit button

I wish the internet had an edit button, I am not saying I am perfect and never make typos or grammar errors. I know I do.
If I double checked my writing I might make less. But honestly when I re-read my work, I find things I want to change and it would take me even longer to post.
However, I wish I could edit other people's work. Again, I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be. I really don't think I could be an editor but sometimes I see things and I just hurt a bit inside.
I usually refrain from posting in the comments something along the lines of 'can you re-write your first paragraph, there are a few errors that are killing me' or 'oh you're going to do this. But your dog can't be left alone.' But alas I don't want to hurt feelings or be rude and there are no edit buttons.
I am guilty of making the you're and your mistake before, when I'm in a hurry and not thinking. But I really try not to. There, their and they're another one. Saw and seen another example that hurts.
See this post is all over the place, just like my mind.
Don't even get me started on the 'text-lingo'.
I will end this little rant here. I just saw an error that set me off. It was the title of a post and I had to read the post to figure it out what it was about. It was then that I wished there was an edit button. [I bet people read my blogs and wish there was an edit button.]

~believe.

Happy 25th Sid!!

Today is 'Sid the Kid's 25th birthday! [I don't often call him Sid the Kid, I mean he isn't a kid.]

It's crazy to believe it has been 3 years since my mom and I were in Cole Harbour, helping him celebrate his 22nd birthday and his day with the Stanley Cup!! [yes, mom it's been 3 years!]

baby you're a firework...

A little Katy Perry anyone?! haha This post isn't about Katy Perry, that was just what came to mind when I started this post and it works, so go with it.
La Ronde and Montreal host this crazy firework competition every summer. I thought the shows took place every Saturday, but they happen on some week days too!
It was a solid half hour of fireworks set to music. I was in a pretty ideal location to watch them but I missed some of the lower ones.  After the jump I'll have pics.

Celeb spotting in the Old Port

...are NHL players considered celebrities?!? They are 'famous' right?! At any rate who could we have possibly met in the Old Port?! Click read more to find out, fyi there are pics! [and a back story, I know! I just have so much to say. OK click now.]

July 19-23

I haven't officially written a bucket list [yet], but since last Thursday [two Thursdays ago, the 19th, I know, I am a terrible blogger] I have crossed a few things off it. [Come to think of it I have crossed a lot off this hypothetical bucket list since moving to Montreal. Maybe I should actually write up a bucket list.]

I guess I could start this with last Thursday [19th]. My sister drove up from NB, Montreal was a pit stop for her on her way to a wedding in Ottawa [I was attending it with her]. This was the first time I have seen a member of my immediate family since I moved here in December [that's 7 months people, but it doesn't seem that long! :s], also it was the first time someone has come to visit and spend the night.
Click read more to find out about the rest of my week...including pics.

Canada Day [I know it was July 1st!]

I realize this is super late, but better late then never, right?! As you can tell by the title of this post, it's my way late Canada Day post. ...I just realized I skipped St. Jean Baptiste day, opps! [Quebec's holiday. I do have some pics from that parade I might post them some time]. But here are some of my pictures from Canada Day 2012!!

My random life.

I know I am behind on posting. I'm working on it. But I just had to share a couple of things I saw today.

Free agent Frenzy!!!

So I don't follow the draft we found that out last post. So it should come as no surprise that the first of July [Happy Canada Day, eh!], I don't spend it glued to my computer or TV for the Free Agent deals. I do, however, never leave home without my cellphone, which includes my TSN updates and Twitter up dates.

NHL #DraftPartyCH 2012

I go through the motions every year. I half pay attention to the draft. If I knew who was being drafted I might actually care...I know with the internet and all I could find out pretty easily but there are 30 teams and at least 7 rounds, I'm not gonna do the math on that but that's a lot of players. Sure the first 30 or so are the most important but even at that, I don't feel like I could know enough about all of them to be interested [if you know about them, good on ya! I have no problem with people that are crazy into the draft.] That being said, a few weeks ago [June 7th] I entered to win a couple of tickets to the draft party at the Bell Centre, I also sent the link to my sister because she is the lucky one. [Did you enter, Gen?!]. At any rate, I entered and forgot about it, which is what I usually do. I don't win stuff but I like to enter and pretend I actually have a chance to win.

Grandprix weekend in the sun [June 8-10]

Yup, I am posting this waaaay late. I've been working on it for a while and the pictures have been giving me a heck of a time. But here it is. haha

Of course this post will be wordy but I also have pictures!! See you after the jump...I hope. haha

from my mailbox!!

I go check my mailbox daily and I don't always have something there but I have received a few things lately that have made me smile. 

the motto

In this post I talk about YOLO and my motto.

The LA Kings are the 2012 Stanley Cup Champions!!

It's obvious that hockey is my favourite sport, so it's pretty exciting for me when the season starts and sad when it ends. But every year I forget just how much I love the night the Stanley Cup is awarded!!

This year was just like every other...only it took a couple more games than I expected [I would have been happy to see them win in 4 games but 6 allowed them to win at home the less and I love those home town wins, especially Stanley Cup wins].

hockey-nearly off season ramblings

I didn't really have anything to say Sunday, so I didn't post. This post will be a bit random though, I've got a few things to say.

Stanley Cup Finals - NHL Playoffs

If we were to go by my previous predictions of the final two teams I would be cheering for the Devils to win it all. But honestly I am torn.
First of all where the heck did the Kings come from?! Seeing them lift the Cup would be sweet.
Then again it would be pretty awesome to see a Brodeur win it as a 40 year old goalie.
I haven't watched any [besides highlights] of the playoff games since the Penguins were eliminated but I think I will tune in to the finals.

People Watching week 4

I haven't seen too many interesting people lately, but that's probably cuz I haven't been out much.
Today I decided to hop on the Metro and go to Parc Jean Drapeau and see what was going on there. Turns out a lot of stuff! haha

The Woodstock Slammers are...

the second best Junior A team in Canada!!!
Since they lost, I wasn't going to write a post but I figured I might as well. I don't really have much to say about them, I only saw a couple [one full] games this season. But that doesn't mean I was cheering for them any less. And second best in all of Canada, isn't anything to be ashamed of!!!

Night time view of the city

No People Watching today, I do have a few more but I will save them for next week. Today I'm going to post a few more pics of the city that I took last week.

NHL Playoffs - Round 3

I wish I was betting on these playoffs...if you are keeping score I only got 2 series wrong!! ...yes, I am going round to round instead of picking my top 2 right off the bat but still! ...also I am not picking the amount of games, but I find that too tough! haha

Here are my previous predictions Round 1 and Round 2.

Super Moon over Montreal

Here are some of the pics I took of the Super Moon, over Montreal.

People Watching week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of People Watching. [If you are new around here, week 1 & week 2.]

And to recap this will be a weekly, or bi-weekly series called People Watching. Since I am usually round the city by myself, I have a great a chance to witness all the interesting people around. I have seen some pretty interesting people. I was originally going make one post and just add to it with the people I see/saw but I figured a series would be easier to follow. I'm going to try and post weekly but I might not have something every week, so I've picked Sundays as post day.
I have a surprise this week, pictures!

People Watching week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of People Watching! If you are new around here or want a refresher, you can see it here: week 1.
And to recap this will be a weekly, or bi-weekly series called People Watching. Since I am usually round the city by myself, I have a great a chance to watch everyone around me. I have seen some pretty interesting people. I was originally going make one post and just add to it with the people I see/saw but I figured a series would be easier to follow. I'm going to try and post weekly but I might not have something every week, so I'm gonna post on Sundays when I have something to post.

Third time's a charm!!

The 2012 Fred Page Cup Champs are none other than my Woodstock Slammers!!!! [OK, so I moved away from Woodstock 2 years ago, but I still cheer for the Slammers and claim them as my team. haha]
The Fred Page Cup is a tournament that determines the Eastern Canadian Junior A Champion. The tournament consist of 4 teams, the winner of the Maritime Hockey League [Woodstock], the Central Canada Hockey League [Nepean Raiders], the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League [Princeville Titans] and a predetermined Host team [Kanata Stallions]. The Winner of the Fred Page Cup goes to the Royal Bank Cup, which determines the Canadian Junior A Champion.

Playoffs - let's start round 2

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs gets underway tonight and I am cutting it close on my predictions. So without further a do [oh wait, I have to mention that I only got 2 series wrong!!! And one of them was the team I really want to win it. Forget who I picked, see it here.]

People Watching week 1

I know, this is the third day in a row that I have posted, it's weird for me too. haha
I am starting a weekly, or bi-weekly series called People Watching. Since I am usually round the city by myself, I get a chance to sit back and watch everyone and all the goings-on. I have seen some pretty interesting people and I was going make a post and just add to it with the people I see/saw but I figured a series would be easier to follow. I'm going to try and post weekly but I might not have something every week, so I'm gonna post on Sundays when I have something to post.

an exciting Friday night, spent at home

So last night, I was doing my usual following the NHL playoffs. More importantly the Penguins game. See just a few days ago they were down 3-0 in the best of 7 series and some of the games had been 'rough'. I predicted [read hoped] that the Penguins would advance to the next round. So I hadn't had a chance to see the games, but followed the activity on twitter [yes, I spend more time on twitter now, it's more up to date and more things going on then facebook]. So for game 4, I had to watch, if the Penguins were going to lose I was going to watch Sidney's last game of the season! Well how I survived game 4, I have no idea, with all the holding my breath and heart stoping action. I somehow managed it and the Penguins beat the Flyers! [I knew they weren't going out that easily.]
So for game 5, last night, I was way calmer. I have no idea why, the Penguins were still down 3 games to 1. But after the Penguins took the lead in the game 3-2, I just knew they were going to win, and they did! Game 6 is in Philly, so we'll see how that goes!

Playoffs-round 1

OK so I am jumping on this bandwagon, with my pick for the playoffs.

I haven't been following hockey too closely this winter so these picks are strictly how I feel/think they'll go down [or how I'd like to see them go down].

in the EAST

NYR vs OTT - I pick the Rangers. I'm not sure why, Ottawa has had some good playoff runs in the last little while but I think I'd like to see the Rangers advance, not that I want to see them take it all, just advance.

BOS vs WAS - I pick the Capitals. ABB [Anybody But Boston] applies here. Again I don't want to see the Caps win it all but I don't want to see Boston win anything so. I say Caps to round 2.

FLR vs NJD - Florida. This is another case of cheering for the 'underdog' [the Devils finished lower in the standings but I say the Panthers are the underdogs].

PIT vs PHI - Pittsburgh, for sure. This should be a good series but I want to see the Pens go far [maybe as far as hoisting the Cup]. I just hope that the Flyers don't beat the crap out of them along the way...

in the WEST

VAN vs LAK - I'm picking the Kings. Maybe it's because I don't want to cheer for a Canadian team, simply cuz they are in Canada. Or maybe it's because I have a soft spot for the Kings. Maybe it's because the Kings' goalie's last name is Quick? haha At any rate I will not be cheering 'LOOOUUU'.

STL vs STJ - This is a tough one, I've liked the Sharks before but I'm gonna pick the Blues.

PHX vs CHI - I'm picking the Coyotes. The Blackhawks have been there done that in recent memory. And Phoenix is always trying to prove themselves, now is their chance. [Also he might not even see the ice during the playoffs but Paul 'Biznasty' Bissonnette. That is all.]

NSH vs DET - Well I was cheering for Nashville before I realized who they were playing. Now without a doubt Smashville!! I've never really been a fan of Detroit so I would have cheered for whoever they were playing but I also read this article which sold me on Nashville.

I haven't thought too much a head to the next rounds or even the finals and like I said I'd love to see the Pens go far [yes, I know for other teams I've said they's gone far in recent memory but with Sid missing most of the season, Malkin playing great, etc. I'd love to see them go far. Call me a hypocrite or whatever, this is just my opinion.].

I saw this and thought it was perfect [maybe if you read The Hunger Games you'd understand].

~believe.

the end of a season

Every spring around this time, 14 teams in the NHL suit up for their last game of the season. Unfortunately for me this year my 'now hometown' team, the Habs won't be appearing in the playoffs. But their last day, game of the season turned out to be pretty good for me.

I got up a little early, for a Saturday. I was waiting to hear from a friend who was in town and I also was planning to go to the used equipment sale at the Bell Centre. Around noon I was ready to head out, the sale was going from 10-3, I didn't want to go early because I thought it would be busy then and if I went too late there wouldn't be anything left. Not that I had plans on buying anything. I remembered going to the AHL Canadiens' sales [or at least one] when I was young and the Baby Habs played in Fredericton. I remember buying a stick with Dad. I forget who it belonged to, but I remember it had a pretty much straight blade with a weird curve at the end.

the week of the HABS!!

So I was going to post about the latest tweetup in my last post but I think it works better here.

Since this was second tweet up I was less nervous to attend. I didn't arrive too early this time but there weren't many people there when I arrived. I sat beside the same guy as last time. But the couple sitting across from us were 'first timers'. The guy writes for AllHabs.net his girlfriend didn't even have a twitter account at the start of the night but that was amended before she left the pub! haha There was a guy that had traveled to Montreal from Ottawa just for the tweetup. Then I met a couple of girls from NB...Fredericton, more specially. They both moved to Quebec for school, one of them lives in Montreal, the other in Quebec City. After talking to them one of them for a while, we decided to try and get tickets to Tuesday's game against Florida. [The Habs lost the game on Saturday, which meant they were eliminated from the playoffs, which meant that I only had 3 chances to see them live before a long summer. So that combined with the fact that we figured that the Panthers aren't a huge draw we figured we could get tickets for a reasonable price.] Also I won 2 tickets to the Habs Hall of Fame, at the tweetup. The questions were about the Habs and Flyers, I have no idea how I won, haha. But I will do research for the next tweetup, there is a lot of history between the Habs and Leafs!

where have i been

I haven't really been anywhere, well aside from around Montreal. haha

Since my last post I went to a job fair. It was at this huge convention centre, in Old Montreal. There were a lot of people there and the exhibitors were offering jobs that I was in no way qualified for! I wandered around a few times and took a few websites but then I left.

movie manners

I love how just before the previews it says to shut off your phone and not to talk during the movie and yet there are some people that just don't listen.

I rarely get phone calls and when I get a text it just vibrates, however, when I go to see a movie I make sure my phone is on silent. I often double check, because that one time I forget, I'm sure someone will call.

this past week

Two jam packed fun weeks in a row would be asking for too much. This week was much much quieter. I didn't do much of anything, saw a movie Tuesday night [cheap night] and did some job searching, but didn't find anything.

Friday night I was getting a little stir crazy but all I ended up doing for excitement was heading up to Loblaws for milk and something for supper. I also got chips and a movie.

what a week! [in a good way]

Ever have one of those weeks where everything seems to go right?!

That was this week for me.

As I already posted Monday was everything [except the actual movie] Goon day!

Tuesday was a down day, that I spent looking up apartments, just in case.

GOON -premiere Montreal

I tried to start this post like 5 times, and I just didn’t know what to say haha…

OK. As I said before, I receive tweets on my phone. Last night I received 2 that excited me. Now I knew that Feb 20, was the première of Goon at the AMC, old Forum. I had entered a contest to try and win tickets, spoiler: I didn’t win.

I’m not sure which one I saw first but one was a retweet from Jay Baruchel saying he was going to be at the Apple store at 4:30, the next day (today). Since I was waiting to hear back from that apartment, I had nothing else to do and if I stayed home, I would have just drove myself crazy.

This city, is my city...and I love it!

Since my last post I've been packing, fighting with my cellphone provider and desperately searching the internet for a place. Not to mention stressing and worrying like crazy!

Last night I found a few places but it was too late to call but I replied via email to one place. Surprisingly she wrote me back last night and I had an appointment for today. Long story short, I put a deposit on it and am wait to hear if I got it or not.

So instead of rushing home to look at different places, I took advantage of the spring like weather and went on an adventure.

same Metro, new line

I love days like today. I had a fairly productive morning [yes, even though I wasn’t up before 10:30 I still managed to be productive before noon]. After checking facebook, my email and the mailbox, I was trying to figure out something to do, the sun was shining and it was warm out. Naturally I found myself looking at the movie listings trying to find a good one to go see. There are three theatres in Montreal that I have been too, the movies playing there I had either seen already or just didn’t want to see. So I started looking at other theatres but none of them had any movies that interested me. Until I stumbled upon the Dollar Cinema, I had seen it before but at the time I wasn’t ready to travel to it. I don’t know what motivated me to go today but I’m glad I did.

Habs Tweetup

Let me start by saying a day doesn’t go by that I don’t check Facebook. If for some reason I can’t check it the next time I can I scroll all the way through to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

While I don’t have the same feeling for twitter (that might change), I get tweets sent to my phone by those that I wish not to miss what they have to say (Facebook probably does something the same but it’s just not the same to me). In case you don’t know, Twitter is a like a micro-blog. You have 140 characters to speak your peace (as you can tell if takes me a lot more than that). I don’t tweet much, I guess it’s because I have a hard time narrowing my thoughts down to 140 characters. (I’m at 550plus and haven’t even started about the tweet up, see what I mean. haha).

I think I would be on twitter more if I have a decent smart phone, but I don’t yet so I’ll just keep doing what I am doing.

old movies on the big screen

I wouldn't call myself a movie buff, but I do enjoy movies (especially on the big screen). This week there was a Digital Film Fest going on at one of the theatres, they were playing old movies. I decided to go to two of them, Spaceballs and Stand by me. I had seen Spaceballs years ago but didn't remember it, I just knew it would be entertaining. Which it certainly was, before the movie started they passed out 'saber rings' they make more sense if you've seen the movie but they too added entertainment. A ways into the movie the screen when black but we still had audio (for real, not at the joke part of the movie). It was then that the saber rings provided entertainment, while we were waiting for them to fix the video.

After the movie we were given a complimentary movie ticket because of the video errors. Then I stayed to see Stand by me, which I hadn't seen before. It was good too and amusing at times, at least I thought it was. It stared Wil Wheaton and as a fan of The Big Bang Theory, I couldn't help but laugh.

~believe.

edit:

On Friday, I went to see Star Wars Episode 1. It was the first screening at this particular theatre and it was probably not even half full. But those who were there were fans, clapping when the Lucas logo showed up and then when some of the characters showed up on screen and of course at the end. It was fun to experience it in 3D. I've seen all the Star Wars movies before, but I don't remember them really. After seeing episode 1, I want to watch the others again. But that will have to wait for another time.

early mornings that turn into a good day

A good day in my books, doesn't usually start until about noon. However, sometimes getting up early has it's advantages.

Like today for example, I set my alarm for 7:30 and planned to be out the door by 8...well it was closer to 8:15 by the time I was out the door. So I rushed to the Metro, which was full of people. After I was nearly down the 3 flights of stairs/escalators I saw that there was a train already there. Instead of rushing to get it, I figured there would be another along shortly. It was hot and starting to get crowded again, so I looked at my watch to see that it was nearly 8:30. Usually I have nothing but time but today I had to at the VIA train station for 9:05. I knew it would take a good 15 minutes to get to the Peel station and then about 10 to get me to the VIA station. So I was starting to panic a bit.

birthdays

Birthdays are funny. A day to celebrate you, a day to celebrate your life and a day to just be you.

When you’re little they are an exciting day, usually involving a party with friends, gifts and cake.

With a birthday in early February, my parties centered around the snow and ice. Which was fine with me I love skating and the snow. [Come to think of it, that might be the reason that winter is my favourite season and might explain why I love hockey so much. In fact I’m sure it plays a huge part in it.]

After all the 'kid birthdays' they start to be the same. Usually parties centred around booze, in my case around the SuperBowl as well [I'm not a football fan, never was and probably never will be, but I've kind of embraced SuperBowl weekend and shared the stage].

let's go to the movies

I have been to a few movies since I've been in Montreal (at least two a week). Why you might ask. Well it's sort of an easy way out. It's a relatively cheap activity, lasting about an hour and a half to two hours. I can get completely lost in a movie, which I could do in this city I guess, the later being more dangerous. haha. I usually learn something, about myself or it just makes me think. I've thought about becoming a movie critic, but I don't think I know enough about the actual movies, I'm sure it's something I could learn but that would take time. I've also been able to go as often as I have because I am still unemployed, I'm sure as soon as I become employed I will have less time to go or less cash to go. Unless of course I get a job at a theatre, which I have applied.

Another thing I like about the movies is the previews! Sometimes after seeing the previews I feel like walking out, cuz I feel I've seen the best show already. (did that make sense? haha) What I mean is that, I get so excited for the coming attractions that I forget what I am actually there to see and feel like it will be less than I expected.

on this date in 2007

Five years ago I was in Pittsburgh, PA witnessing my first (and only so far) live NHL hockey game with my sister. The game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins was broadcast live on Hockey Night in Canada, so my parents were able to enjoy it too. I don't remember all the details about the game (I have it written down, don't worry) but the highlight of the night wasn't the game. After the game we went down to the locker room area, I don't think we were that close to the locker room but that is irrelevant. We were waiting down there for the best player in the NHL, Sidney Crosby!

5 weeks & Habs

As of today I have been living in Montreal for 5 weeks. I know it's been a while since my last post but I haven't really done much. I went to the Bell Centre to look around and take some pictures. There was a scalper, I assume the same as the last time I was there. This time he was following me, I was the only one around, and kept saying that he had hockey tickets. I finally acknowledged him and said no and that is when he left me alone. The Habs Zone seemed closed so I didn't go in (probably for the best, haha).

Last weekend, a few friends from back home were in town. So I got to hang out with them. We played laser tag and just hung out in their hotel room. It was probably the best night I have had in the city and it was nice to have people to talk to.

~~ The following is all Habs related, I won't be mad if you are not interested and stop reading here. ~~