badger_14

Welcome to the madhouse. Love your username. :)

Several parents have told me this. I think it's probably easier to be patient when you know that you can give the child back to their parent eventually.

Highlights of today's pickup include an ex-college player (who ordinarily does not shoot on me at all - he passes instead) rifling every shot in his arsenal at me, ostensibly to impress his visiting friends. Pro tip: scoring on me is not impressive. However, he only got two by me over the course of an hour and a half in spite of leveling a blitzkrieg at me. (we were playing 3v3 with one sub a side, and defence does what defence can, but I face a LOT of shots.) Also, in keeping with the running joke of "when I am sick, I play my best hockey" my teammate texted me this afternoon: "I hope you're not sick, since you played so well today."

At my gym job (where I work in the daycare), new mom left new kid - just over a year, hasn't been to the gym, hasn't met me - and, naturally, kid has a meltdown approximately .25 seconds after mom leaves. Technically, after ten minutes of screaming/crying, we are supposed to fetch the parent. In practice, this can't always happen since to find parent you must have coverage for daycare, which isn't usually available. But one of the other moms went to talk to her and relayed that kiddle's mom wants him to get used to being left for an hour. Kid screams hysterically for 20 minutes. Other children are upset by the crying. Nearly all my attention is on trying to soothe the kiddle. Eventually, he stopped, but then started up again until his mom came. What a nightmare. Usually, with first-time littles (in particular, the 8 month - 18 month stage) mom or dad checks in regularly, which is helpful, and kind of ease the kid into being at the daycare. Occasionally, like yesterday, I get left with a screaming little one who is firmly convinced that mommy is gone forever. It's exhausting, and his mom was like well, I don't want him to be clingy, I want him to be independent - please he is a year old and having a hysterical meltdown, can we have some compromise here? I mean yeah we all want to get our workout in, and I understand it's difficult to get kiddle dressed, fed, down to the gym, etc. But it's not fair to anyone for the little one to be screaming for most of an hour. (props to parents. I could not do this 24/7. also folks with babies must have the most muscular arms I swear.) I am happy to comfort a crying child, rock a baby for 45 minutes, whatever, as that is what one does, but if the resolution to the crying is 'mommy/daddy returns' then that's something I can't fix myself, and then everyone is sad because not toys, cuddles, music, or elmo is going to help.

Hah, I hear you. Patriots' games (even regular season) always siphon players off of pickup and league games here...

My teammate's older (teenage) son keeps trying to recruit new players to our skate by telling them that I once played for the Boston Bruins. This is technically true, but he's definitely taking the adage "never ruin a good story by telling the truth" to heart. Nice kid.

We got extra ice time this morning (although four players didn't make it ... Christmas hangover?) and I beat my nemesis Ivan Pylon-ov in overtime. My teammate was thrilled with his Christmas gift, and tonight I'm working an ambulance detail for high school hockey, which essentially should mean I get to watch hockey for three hours.

Neither good nor awful today. Only six skaters (small ice) which skews things a bit. Plus there was the big Russian who always (often) scores on me. (he is versatile in his shots and difficult to read, because he can pretty much do as he likes with the puck.) Should have asked Santa for knee pads. Ouch.

Thanks. Last time this happened it cleared in a few days, and the fact that I'm already absurdly flexible helps - easy to stretch things out when your normal range of motion verges on "Dominik Hasek".

I have a whole bunch of muscle relaxants left over from the last time this happened. It helps a lot, but my functional day is still shot, half from discomfort and half from being rendered an amoeba by the muscle relaxants.

Temporarily sidelined with a back spasm. It'll resolve in a couple of days, but for right now I feel like an old man, and I had to take the day off. Ugh.

Had a pretty okay game. I was despairing pretty hard about letting in 10 goals (I counted. I shouldn't count. It's bad juju.) until my teammate pointed out that I had stopped a fairly significant number (he said 40), and he has a point - I was really being pelted, the other side's offense was very strong. Most of the goals I let in were third or fourth rebounds. I still think I might've played better when I was sick, though... Weird thing, someone hit the zamboni doors hard at one point and they came unlatched and swung open. One of the goals I let in was when I was trying to get their attention to point out that THE DOORS WERE OPEN. They kept playing for like 2 or 3 minutes. Overall it was an intense game, fast and competitive, and in spite of despair, I had a good time. It was also nice to have another goalie. I need to work on my positioning because I keep getting dinged off the ribs, where there is no padding. That or get a new chest protector. But it's probably a matter of positioning and keeping my elbows down. It sure smarts. You'd think I'd learn.

That seems like it would be short-sighted of them. Goalies are a hot commodity. If you're having a bad stretch, it doesn't exactly show much loyalty on their part. Sounds like a tough situation and I'm sorry you're stuck in it.

And, naturally, right when I'm sick a flurry of goalie requests for places i can actually get to crops up on the Mass. Goalies list. Of course. I'm hoping I can swap tomorrow's ambulance shift for a detail at a local HS hockey game on Saturday. That'll give me more time to recover without taking yet another sick day and losing hours. And also, HS hockey detail.

Nah, I appreciate the thoughts, I do. You are correct. (One of the reasons I wanted to play was because I have been working so much, and wanted to see some people who were not work-related and/or small children.) I don't even work full time right now, but this is a stretch of the most hours I've worked since getting mowed down by my non-physical illnesses about 5 years ago. One more week of extra shifts and then I take it easier for a while.

Honestly, I didn't think I was all that sick until I got home and spiked the fever. I mean, I've been working a lot, more than I have in a long time, so I attributed the tiredness to that, and the usual early-Saturday-morning-it's-cold-out disjointedness.

I play some of my best hockey when I'm sick. I made a pretty damn good showing today, letting in maybe 5 shots? While in intense pain from infections in both my feet. Went home, spiked a fever, went to the doc-in-a-box and was immediately given a round of IV antibiotics and a course of oral antibiotics and instructions to come back tomorrow. I sent my teammate a photo of the IV to remind him what a determined goalie I am...

Now I have seen the side trigger, it's fine. I just hadn't seen it before, as it was never previously relevant. Pretty much everyone hates the guy, but he's been working for the company forever and is competent enough that he won't get fired. As I'm sure you know, "competent EMT/Paramedic" and "plays well with others" do not always go together.

No no that's not what I mean - the end trigger, that's fine. I can do that in my sleep. Our stretchers, though, have a side-trigger, I guess you'd call it - hidden under the mattress - that can be used if one person needs to lower it, for whatever reason. They didn't show us that in orientation - might've in EMS school, but I can't recall - and I hadn't seen it done because with two EMTs on generally non-emergent calls, there wasn't any need to. See what I mean?

Played well tonight. Got hit in the head six times with the puck, by one person. Six, I counted. He didn't mean to and felt terrible and apologized profusely. By the fourth time I was starting to think it was funny, though that might mean I've been hit in the head too many times. It was a nice pickup, I felt loose and comfortable if a bit tired, let in a couple of rotten ones, had a nice half-hour at the start where I blocked anything that came my way. Better than my last two pick-ups, for sure.

That's not a bad price at all, to skate on NHL ice and then go to the game afterward. How many people was that, 20? 15? I heard the ice at the Boston Garden is actually pretty soft, slow ice. Something about sitting directly on top of a 11-track railroad terminal. Apparently MSG's ice is like that, too.

The Bruins held a raffle last month for an hour's ice-time at the Garden, and they have some vague promotions where if your youth org. sells enough tickets they can have a game, but as far as I know they don't rent it to regular ordinary people, which is a shame. I mean, it would probably be some obscene cost for a 50-minute hour, but people would still pay it. Harvard, Northeastern, BC and BU all rent their ice. Heck, BU rents out both its rinks. I hope they rent out the ice at Gillette around the Winter Classic, like they did with Fenway (actually, they build a rink at Fenway annually now). I'd totally put in to rent that ice.

I never said it had to be an even match-up. They rent the ice to actual people at the Staples center? Very cool.

As BeeDee and Optimus become more experienced goalies, the chance increases that the two will wind up playing against each other at a pickup, and I eagerly await the resulting inevitable posts.

Back pain is the worst. Stretch, apply heat/ice, whatever you gotta do, and if you're not up to Sunday, definitely take a break. Even if your teammates plead.