fatwabbit

maybe it was kovalchuk71's cat?

Awesome... i love it when you can relate hockey to your studies. Puppy dog Yoda is finding all the right spot to do his business... now if he can stop smashing all the barricades I put up to cordone him into the living area.

Take a cue from the movie Hangover and tell us the results... congrats to you and your brother

hockey season has finally started up again. First night was great, we won the first game, then got asked to stay behind and play another game as one of the teams didnt show.. for free! We played pretty well, but obviously were tired from the first game (back to back with about 5 min to grab some water). Ended up losing, but it was good to be back on skates playing again. Fast forward to this week, we had a number of players missing (one had to pick up his mom from the airport, the other went to the AC/DC concert)... and we only had 6 skaters against a team that averaged about half our age, and had more than 2 full lines. Played a pretty solid game, with us peppering the goalie with about 10 shots in the the first few minutes. I had about 10 shots on goal that night, scoring two low glove side, and one that I batted out of mid air past the goalie. Even the girls on our team were out hussling their guys, and putting their bodies hard into every 50/50 chance... we could have scored more, but ended up 5-2 winners. A LOT of fun, with a lot of good passing done. Playing against Darkbyte's team next week, which should be more than interesting.

Sorry to hear that... its 1 and 1 for me as well... :(

midmight edition... I think Fletch did something similar with his One95, but I think he also colored teh axles blue to match the blue hues in the skate.

Yea... thanks guys. My wife has already called him xiaoxiong in chinese, which means 'little bear'... We had a discussion at home, and he's not going to 'replace' our previous dog... I just thought along the lines that we needed soemthing to keep the household busy together as a family, and he has already made my wife smile many times in the last few hours compared to the tears she's shed for our beloved girl. Never easy, but trying to do whatever I can to make this home happy... anyone else need some gear? Still need to buy a few more things for the dog, and hopefully enough for daddy to buy some new skates that finally fit.

Got a new pup yesterday. "Yoda" is a Maltese/Shitzu crossed with a Australian Terrier. Looks more like an Ewok to me since he looks like a teddy bear, but my son insists on him being named Yoda.

sweet mother of pearl!... those look sexy. Keith, I assume you mounted with 3 rivets at the back?

thanks for the replies... we might have to look around anyway. Having only one child is not easy when they want to play all the time. Also, I think with a move on the cards, my son might miss having all his school mates around and might need some comfort in a familiar furry face. We will look for something different, but it would stil have to be a small dog.

Tough two weeks... got a call last evening during a meeting. Wife was hysterical on the phone, couldnt understand what she was saying. A guy takes over and says 'I'm sorry sir, I just ran over your dog' Cut meeting short, rushed back to find our beloved "fatty" all wrapped up in a towel, eyes glazed over. Wife was in tears, me close to it... we didnt have her long, just over 18months... but she was part of the family. The hard part was breaking the news to our 6yr old son who loved her like a best friend... now we have to think about whether to get another one... How soon is too soon? We might be moving in the next few months across the country, so do we look for one now so that the transition for our son is not as bad, or do we wait till we get there to find one.... She was a loving lap dog.... always wanted to be where everyone was... she'd even come into the toilet while you were there just to keep you company. She would happily sit on your lap and snooze away, and she loved pasta. RIP fatty... we'll miss you lots.

holy smokes batman... great pics of the goalie gear!

Not a vent, just need to post this somewhere. came back for Chinese New Year to visit the family, had our usual family photo taken. Supposed to celebrate my granny's 85 birthday and she passed away... she lead a long life, suffered from Alzhimers for the last 5 or so. Very frail, lost a lot of weight... At least we had almost the whole family in town for the New Year...

Amen to that! I took the plunge to mount sprungs on my skates a few years ago. Not having the right equipment or tools (didnt even have a drill), I had my skates sent to Keith to have him mount them for me. Since then, I've had sprungs on all my skates, self mounted with many hours in the garage (and ranting wife)... Never going to use another chassis... like some have said, i've only considered skates knowing that they can be mounted on sprungs.

ex colleague just walked in to say hello after starting his new job... happy for him, not happy that his company car is a Nissan 350Z

sounds perfect.... cant wait! I've used the Ballistik 52 Cal tapered shaft and its sweet...

Australia Day yesterday, had a small gathering with friends at my place since we could see the fireworks from our living room. When the guests were leaving, some of them found that their shoes were missing from the front of the house.... woke up this morning to find that my car that is parked outside my house was broken into. B@stards made off with about $15 loose change, my company fuel card (which only works with my car), broken calculator, and my prescription sunglasses. NOt exactly in the roughest of neighborhoods either, but we've got that many stupid teenagers roaming the streets these days.

CCM Vector V08 helmet size medium, black and paired up with an Itech Ti Cage Played in this helmet for about a year for dropin, league and Nationals Fit - The helmet does fit me more comfortably than other brands, and I agree that it fits bigger than other helmets. I'm a L in Mission and Easton, but for the V8 I got a medium and its not even at the largest setting. Adjustment of the helmet is really easy, and doenst need to be touched once you have set it comfortably. I must have picked up a lot of christmas fat, since it felt a little more snug yesterday (first time back playing for 2 months). The foam is still soft and comfortable, and was very comfortable again after a minute back on my head. 9/10 Ventilation - Never really had issues with ventilation, but its definitely better than the old mission carbster. I still sweat buckets, but I sweat buckets while putting on my gear so it doesnt matter. Doesnt overheat, even in our hot current weather. 8/10 Protection- Having used other CCM helmets before, the protection seems to be better this time round. I used to have an older CCM HT2 and 692 helmet, and this one seems to hold up better. 9/10 Weight - When I first started playing years ago, I never really wore a helmet except for tournaments. However having played in Australia for hte past 4 years or so, its mandatory to wear one. I've gotten used to wearing a helmet, and this is lighter compared to the older HT2 or 692. Paired with the titanium cage, its a very very light combo. 9/10 Durability - i just chuck the helmet and cage into my hockey bag along with all my other gear, but the black color covers up most of the scratches and scuffs. I do take all my gear and put them on a rack to dry after each use, and so far its held up really well. 9/10 Good helmet... would recommend this to anyone to use. The v10 has the EPP foam, and if you are a size Medium in the V8 you might need a L in the V10 due to the memory pads...

Hey Zach, I'll take the grenade for you... Cant stand it when people are so friendly to you in order for their own success. When I first started working here, there was a service manager who was friendly, always askign you questions and stuff... now that he's been promoted to GM level, he doesnt give a rat's arse or even acknowledge you being the same room. Some people are just so full of shit... btw, I'm typing this while he's talking to a colleague 8 feet away in the next cubicle. Edit... Yup, and there he goes right out the door without saying a g'day or goodbye... Some sneaky b@stards just use others to their advantage.

I hope your best mate nailed her instead!

good god Jeff, what size skate is that? The L chassis looks small on that!

At least you get snow... 37 deg C last weekend, and this weekend will be the same... come back winter! Went to a Regional Rep meeting, and the VP dialed in for the teleconference to deliver 'good news' that we're recovering and will get all our benefits back soon... two days later, email from corporate HQ comes out saying that we're still in the shit, so 1) no bonus; 2) no merit increase (that makes 24months); 3) if promoted you get 5% instead of the usual 10-15%; 4) taking away my company car... promises promises. When we heard the news, we were having a team meeting (just myself, 4 sales reps, and the boss). I said "doesnt make sense that we're all struggling yet we can get promises that are broken 2 days laters, this is really f-ing bullshit". I then walked out of the room to catch up with some others reps in the office.... everyone in the room thought I was just pissed and berated the boss later on for not doing his part.... plus, the boss still asks me to arrange for some meetings in the next few days, while realising that I'm supposed to be on leave for the rest of the year... Take all my compensation and benefits and still ask me to work on my leave days... dont think so mate.

Woke up at 5 when the sun rose (no bloody daylight savings)... made breakfast for the family, no time to eat cause I rushed to the airport to catch a flight... arrive at the airport, said goodbye to the wife and crying 5 year old son (promised him we'd play Modern Warfare 2 when I get back), found out that I'm 5 hours early and checkin doesnt open till 3 hours prior to flight. Tried to call the wife, but her mobile was off. Sat in the terminal (Perth International with two coffeeshops) for 2 hours to pass time. Finally checked in and went to immiigration. Immigration says that something doenst check out, got escorted to another area. background checks clear, but they said that someone with the same name as me has done something wrong, and chances are EVERYTIME i travel I would get checked... Random drug check on my bags, finally into the frigging lounge.... 3 hours to wait for flight.

stupid @#$%^&* skates dont fit.... i think the dozen or so in the last 3 years didnt fit either. Someone suggested One95, another to go with the Graf 7 series of skates... Never thought my feet needed more heel-arch depth, but apparently so... getting rid of all the skates... everything... hoping that with the money I can get back I can get some Grafs or One95...