Mark Farted

I guess Ashley wasn't postitioned quite as optimally as Stefan and I were.Man, I love my brothers.

This was taken about 4 years ago and we still uncontrollably laugh whenever we see it. Classic.

Throwdown Showdown II: The Return

Both Camrann and Steve didn't win their respective fights and it was really hard for me to see that. But really good at the same time. First let me tell you about their fights and then I'll tell you my thoughts on it.

Cam fought before Steve did. He was up against Steven Siler for the featherweight title. Steven is said the be the top Featherweight in the state. Cam was a really good match for him. The pace was furious from the start. They both just unloaded some good combinations on each other. It happened so fast that I can't remember all the details of it. I think Steven got the takedown, ended up in Cam's guard and while Cam was trying to lock him down Steve got some really good throws in. The fight ended within two minutes with Steve taking the win by rear naked choke.

Steve "Razor" Sharp fought Rad Martinez for the Lightweight title. This fight went for five five minute rounds. Talk out brutal! You've got to be beyond human to go that long fighting. The fight took a definite pattern that started with a few seconds of good standup, then Rad shooting in for the single leg takedown up against the cage, Rad ending up in Steve's guard and then Steve locking him down. Steve, in my opinion, is a WAY better fighter than Rad is. Rad is a very accomplished wrestler, but the only thing he could do was take Steve down and muscle his way around. Steve was excruciatingly close to getting an submission by armbar a few times, but Rad defended well against it. Rad won by unanimous decision.

As soon as I saw Cam tap out my heart was literally hurting. The loss sucked some of the life right out of me. It was a surprise to me to feel that way. My body felt achy and I wanted to cry. I kept asking myself why I was taking it so hard. I couldn't figure it out. It just hurt really bad. I felt quite a bit better when Cam was interviewed a few minutes later and he had this huge smile on his face while told us how fun these events are and how he enjoys fighting. I felt hopeful again and when Steve got in the cage I was banking on his win to erase the disappointment that I felt after Cam's fight. When he didn't win I was crushed. The achy feeling came back and little tears starting forming in the bottom of my ocular cavity again. But then I saw Steve run and slide across the cage aided by the sweat that him and Rad left on the mat during their fight. When Steve was interviewed he was not upset at all. He took the defeat like a rock star. My heart recovered once again after seeing that.

On the drive home I started really thinking about why I was so affected by the losses and came to the conclusion that I only identify those guys with fighting. That's what our relationship is based on. Plus, I had never seen them lose before. They were invincible to me. I had unrealistic expectations of them. As I started thinking about them as people first and fighters second, all those feelings of disappointment totally left. All weekend I started thinking about other people and what I identify them with and how it has affected me and my outlook of them. Can you believe that the fights have helped me realize this? Awesome.

Here's a picture of some of us at the show. I guess only the girls and Cam are allowed to smile. I love our team.

Throwdown ETC puts on a pretty great show. The energy is high and the match-ups are good.

The night started out with Johnny "The Mechanic" Miller against Travis "Hatred" Robison, two Bantamweights. The fight was interesting and had a good pace. Johnny looked close to getting a submission a couple of times. The fight got a little screwy when Johnny had Travis in a triangle choke and the ref had them disengage and restart in that position in the middle of the ring. What us spectators could gather from that is that the ref thought he heard the bell and stopped the fight and when he realized his mistake he put them back as they were to resume the fight. When the ref was putting them back down on the ground it looked as if Johnny wanted to stand up and start even though he had an advantageous position. But the ref put them on the ground where Johnny could get an even better lockdown on the triangle and Travis tapped within a few seconds after the restart of the fight. Actually, I don't remember if the submission was by triangle or armbar. While the triangle was on you could see Johnny have a good hold on an extended arm and his hips came up high. Anyway, both corners looked pissed about the situation.

Craig "The Boss" Ross vs. Eddie Pelczynski was the next fight. Eddie won by TKO in the first round. All but two of the fights ended in the first round. The other two were decsions. Eddie came out from California to take this fight.

The next fight between Simon "Sticks" Ioane and Jacob "The Triangle" South was kind of crazy. Simon knocked Jacob down with a few good strikes within a few seconds of the start. Simon followed him to the ground and landed alot of shots to the head and body while Jacob was facedown on the mat. The ref got in to stop the fight and ended up dislocating Simon's shoulder while pushing him off. The fight only lasted 9 seconds.

Ben Fuimaono fought Jordan Smith for the Light-Heavyweight title. Ben should have had this fight but he lost. It was a submission but I can't remember which one it was.

Dayne "Daynegerous" Aristizabal was up against a guy named Pooky "First Blood" Hoots. The fight lasted less than 30 seconds and went to Dayne by rear naked choke. He must have slapped that choke on good because Pooky (I'd change my name if that were me) tapped fast.

I really liked the next fight between DeMarques "Darkness" Johnson and Brandon "The Animal" Olsen. I haven't seen DeMarques lose yet and he has fought in most of the shows that I've attended. I think this fight actually went two rounds. I like watching DeMarques use his long legs to attack. He's got some good ground game. He defended against a guillotine choke a few times. He was really working to get the submission. It finally came by way of a triangle choke.

The fight between Chilo Gonzalez and Court "The Crusher" McGee lasted all three rounds. It was a tad bit boring. Court was in Chilo's guard quite a bit and stayed really close to his chest most of the time. He'd throw a few punches and then huddle down to avoid any strikes from Chilo. Chilo even had his guard open frequently and he could have passed it. But I'm sure it's hard to remember that stuff when your being punched in the face and liver.

Dan "DJ" Gardner and David "Pretty Dangerous" Allred fought between Cam and Steve's fights, so I don't remember too much of it because I was wrapped up in disappointment and anticipation at that time. I do remember that Dan Gardner knocked his opponent out in the last Throwdown show and it was a huge display of power. He also apparently has quite a following as the McKay Events Center erupted when he came out. He ended up losing in the first round by rear naked choke.

So there is a recap of the fights. I can write what I thought but honestly, I have no idea what a real fight is like and can pretty much bet on the fact that it is nothing like the training that I do. So I take my hat off to all those that have nads big enough to enter that cage. Bravo! And once again I want to tell Cam and Steve how much I adore them as friends AND as fighters!

Hey Camrann!

Hurry up and win your fight so we can start having lunch together again!

That's all.

Inappropriate Laughter or Inappropriate Shirt?

I was sitting in a meeting today and looked over across the room to see this...
And then the uncontrolled laughter began. And confused stares in my direction came after that, which was followed by the suppression of the need to explain myself.

VTG (Vanessa the Golfer)

Yesterday Stefan and I entered a golf tournament. The company I work for sponsored the event. The course was up at The Homestead in Midway. I know what you're asking yourself...Vanessa golfs? Hell yeah I do. Fakeout. I don't at all. I played once on my mission and once last year down in St. George with two old men that separated me from my group and made me sit on their lap in the golf cart. But that's a story for another day.

We played a 4 man scramble, where each person takes a swing and then we play from where the best ball lands. You have to use each persons drive off the tee at least three times. I was feeling the pressure. Stefan and I were paired up with two of Nelson's clients. They were super nice and encouraging. And I didn't do that bad for as little as I've played. The team actually used 6 of my drives. Yes, SIX! I was a very good driver and worked pretty well with the 3 wood and the pitching wedge. But I was crap when any kind of iron was put into my hands. And I was totally ROBBED on the longest drive competition. I hit an incredible shot down the fairway and would've beaten the woman with the longest drive by at least 200 feet but my ball rolled ONE FOOT off of the fairway! I was a bit frustrated with that. I would have loved to have won that competition.

Stefan on the other hand carried our team. I was SO PROUD of him. One of the guys we were with worked in a pro shop for 12 years and was asking Stef for advice on every hole. We pretty much used his ball most of the time.

I will say that I don't think that I would do 18 holes again anytime soon. I was getting a bit fidgety when we hit 5 hours of continuous play. The ground was wet when we started and my adorable canvas shoes with little hearts on them were soaking the entire rest of the game. I had to pee so bad by the second to last hole that I was even setting up any shots, I was just whacking it in the general vicinity of the hole in order to speed up the game. It also started raining on us sporadically and I'm pretty sure that by the end of the game I looked and smelled like a drowned cat, and that's when the company wanted a group shot of our team. We also observed a bit of lightning as we stood in a wide open space with a metal rod in our hands.

Here's some shots of Stefan the future pro and Vanessa the perpetual amateur:

I was digging in the golf bag that Stef provided for me and was DELIGHTED when I fished out an Underdog golf ball. It was just one of those stupid little things that for some reason I took great joy in. I referred to my ball as Underdog for the rest of the day.

After a long drive - Hey Stef, did you see where Underdog landed?

After hitting it in the lake - Hey Stef, would you please go in there and find Underdog for me? (And he did!)

After Stef accidentally picked up my ball and played with it - STEF! Did you just take a hit on Underdog!? Sheesh! What kind of brother are you?!

But tragedy occurred at the second to last hole (when I had to pee super badly and was recklessly swinging away). I lost Underdog in some tall grass. The game was over for me at that point.

The best part of the whole event was riding in the cart and leaning out to scoop up the golf balls while Stefan was driving at top speed. And then having him yell at me when I inevitably would miss it. It was awesome. Oh and the second best part of the day was winning a BLUE COOLER with WHEELS and a LONG HANDLE at the drawing during the luncheon. Anyone want to buy it off me? It's pretty classy!

The Superhero Who I Resonate With...

To All Protectors of Justice and Freedom!

You know how in all the superhero TV shows and movies they don't reveal their identity to those they love and care about for fear of jeopardizing their lives? I just want you to know that if you do have an alter ego, you can tell me. I'm tough enough to handle your nemesis. I know that there can be loneliness is keeping such secrets. But I will be there for you. You can trust me.

It's Fight Time Again

The Throwdown ETC is putting on another fight night that takes place at the McKay Events Center on Friday, September 26th at 6:00. Check out the AWESOME fight card here. Contact me if you want to go. I can get tickets at Absolute, which would benefit the fighters that we have in the show.

My pal Camrann, is fighting for the Featherweight title against Steve Siler. I would compare this fight to an Ewok fighting a AT-ST (all terrain scout transport) in the Battle of Endor. The man is mostly machine. I love his picture on the poster above. He's directly to the left of the man in the bottom center. Don't mess.

I made my first real bet the other day. One of the guys I work with used to wrestle and knows Steve "Razor" Sharp's opponent, Rad Martinez, fairly well. They are fighting each other for the Lightweight title. The guy at work was talking real big about how Steve was going to get destroyed. I'm so confident that Steve will take the win that I put $50 down on it! He doesn't know Steve like I do. Sucker.

Ben Fu and Pat Baker are also guys I know that are in the show. I haven't seen them train at Absolute in a while though. I don't know if I would feel confident stepping in the ring without training furiously beforehand. Just saying.

Johnny Miller, Ben's younger bro is once again in this show. He was on the card last time but circumstances were such that he didn't fight. Check out the link I posted to the fight card. The lighting in the pic makes him look like he's got a severe case of jaundice. I'm not calling him yellow though. He may only be 135 lbs, but could probably hand my can to me if it ever came to that.

So if you're looking for something to do next Friday night, look no further. You should come to the fights.

And On To Victory

I'd like to announce that I'm going to be in my very first grappling tournament on November 15th down in Orem. If you are at all interested in seeing what I've been learning the past 9 or 10 months, you are welcome to attend and watch me grapple (no striking involved). It's on a Saturday morning at 11:00am. You can find more info out here. What's really cool about this tournament is that it's a submission only competition. There's no time limit and no points. You win only by submitting your opponent. I can't hardly wait. There is nothing like getting a submission. And there's nothing like coming so close to being submitted and then somehow doing something right to get out of it.

Training is going so well right now. Last month I was showing up a ton and really trying to buckle down and improve my game, but I felt like I was regressing. It was really frustrating me. But then September hit and everything has really been coming together.


I was rolling with Pedro a couple weeks ago and I would tell him how to submit me and he would do it. Eveytime! I knew exactly what was coming and was trying my hardest to defend against it and I couldn't! It was the coolest thing ever. Rear naked choke, triangle, teepee, twister, electric chair, choke from knee-on-belly position, arm bar from the mount, arm bar after pulling guard, kimura...anything! We did this for quite a while. It made me want to work so hard so that someday I can be a black belt too. There isn't a better sport than jujitsu!


This is Ben G, one of my favorite grappling partners. I absolutely love working with this dude. He's super strong and technical. He makes things really tough on me. I learn so much through my failures. I'm lasting so much longer against these colored belts now.

This is Camrann working on some neck strengthening exercises. This guy doesn't quit. He does what he should do to be a great fighter and then he does more.
Here's some shots of a Muay Thai class last week.

Looks like fun, no? Come to a class.

Reject

I did it. I put my heart out on the line. What I meant to say to him was, "I'm interested in you and want to know if you feel the same way because you act like you really care about me and it makes me confused." And it came out as, "I don't really want to be friends with you anymore because I know that you will ultimately reject me and I'll hate that you will still flirt with me making the pain of the rejection last forever." And the reaction I wanted was, "Alex, I adore you and will validate your feelings on this matter with sensitivity and an open mind." Instead I got, "Alex, you're being weird so let's just go home and sleep on it and see if you change your mind tomorrow." And after the conversation I was hoping that I would feel better about the situation because I communicated brilliantly and instead I walked away feeling, you know...retarded. I really need to hire someone to stand by my side and punch me in the face whenever I'm about to do anything really stupid. I might have more success in life that way.

But then I went to Absolute where all the guys in there make me feel like an intelligent and sassy supermodel. I'm not joking about that.

Protecting Justice 525,000 Minutes A Year

I'm Still Mad At My Mother

Sorry. I may have built it up to be better than it is, but here you go...
I was a stupid pilgrim. A pilgrim! Let it be known that I'm not the one that picked my Halloween costume each year. I was forced to wear whatever my mom chose to sew if I wanted free candy, most of what "magically" disappeared once it reached my parents hands. I swear it was extortion.

I hated my 1985 costume. My older brother was a wizard, complete with long white beard. One of my younger brothers was a cool leopard, and the youngest was an adorable little pumpkin. Why did I have to be a pilgrim, you ask? Well, mom thought it would be so cute for me to use the costume a second time that year and serve Thanksgiving dinner in it. Oh man. Please take a minute to picture the look on my face as I brought out a turkey and mashed potatoes to the rest of the family in the hated pilgrim outfit. It wasn't pretty.

I clearly remember having to pose for this picture. Mom was behind the photographer threatening me with every possible punishment if I didn't smile. So I mustered this "Fine I'm going to half-heartedly smile, but I'm only doing this so bars don't go on my bedroom windows and food doesn't come in through a little cutout hole in the bottom of the door" grimace. I just wanted to be a Jedi Knight every Halloween. Still do.

A Giggle For Your Day

You know what I don't like about this picture? It's that I look exactly the same as I did 30 years ago. You can't argue that it isn't absolutely Vanessa.
If you beg real hard, tomorrow I'll post an Olan Mills picture of me in 1985 wearing my least favorite Halloween costume of all time.

And On To A Better Day

I woke up this morning, got ready for church, walked out to my car and nearly barfed from an overwhelming skunk smell. It must have recently unloaded. Holy massive reekage, Batman! I then realized that I left my car windows down last night and I wouldn't have been surprised if you told me that you saw him climb into my car and then lift his tail. It was beyond awful.

I then went to church and was asked to substitute for the CTR class. I hardly make it to Young Women's anymore because Primary is constantly asking me to fill in. The lesson was on being obedient. I don't think the lesson hit home for these 8 year olds. I'd venture to say that it had the opposite effect. I felt like I was teaching circus animals. Oh, and did I mention that there were 9 of them? No? Yes, NINE. How in the hell are you supposed to teach nine 8 year olds? You don't. You feed them fruit snacks and order them to hop on one foot until they keel over from exhaustion. And the best part of the class was when one of them suddenly got a bloody nose from hopping on one foot for so long. His nose became a faucet of blood. I've never seen so much blood gush from a nose before. Ack! It was all over his shirt and all over his scriptures and his hands and the chair. I was going to hurl. That horrible metallic smell was making me so nauseous. I don't ever remember reacting that way to blood. I was dry-heaving just looking at him. So I took him to the bathroom and asked the other kids to sit tight for a sec. When I came back a couple of the boys were "finger-painting" with the blood on the chair. Whaaaaat! I started dry heaving again and took the other boys to the bathroom while explaining to them what blood-borne pathogens were. They were pretty interested in that discussion. Fakeout. They weren't interested at all. What they were interested in was trying to touch me with the bloody hands and laughing hysterically when I freaked out everytime a chubby little bloody finger came near me. I'm starting to heave a little just thinking about the whole situation.

I managed to make it through sacrament meeting without any incident. I then went out to my car and was again overwhelmed with residual skunk smell. I got home and as I was putting my key in the door, I got a whiff of some raw chicken trimmings that have been incubating in the garbage can outside the back door for a couple of days. That was the last straw. I hurled right there near the back door. Lovely Sunday story, no?

What I've Always Wanted to Know But Never Knew That I Wanted to Know It

Thank you Brenna, for doing Super's family history work. He was recently complaining that he felt like he was going to go to hell because of his lack of effort to research his ancestry. It's just that he didn't even know where to begin. This article that you dug up gave him the jumping off platform that he needed to really get down to work and redeem his soul.

Brenna! Thanks for helping me fulfil an important duty here on this earth.

I never would've thought that he was Asian. His coloring just wouldn't suggest that.

Anyway Brenna, if he dies because he has completed his earthly mission I will not be happy with you. I'm just not ready to let go. But it might be a bit easier knowing that he descended from carp. I expected a more noble blood line...such as mine. But whatever.

Ok, so that article was hilarious. I'm a big fan of informative AND funny. And I take a sample of Super's water to work every week and test the pH with the perfectly calibrated pH meter. That must be a factor to his longevity. Super owes me.

To The Ends of The World And Back

Hello readership! It's nice to know that I was missed. Your pleading texts, emails, and comments made me feel like I was really making a difference in your lives with this blog. I knew it would come to that. I just needed to persist.

So no, the neck fungus did not spread over my whole body until I became one massive, walking fungal infection and the inspiration for the nemesis in the next Spiderman movie. In fact, there is no trace of the nasty fungus whatsoever. The soon-to-be Dr. Dayton recommended some Vagisil. I, uh, didn't take his advice. I went with Lamisil instead.

What did happen is that I had a galactic encounter with some Storm Troopers (see evidence below) and they held me in detention block #2187 until Han and Luke came and rescued me. Man, it was intense. Especially the part where Han had to lie his can off about the "weapons malfunction" and the "reactor leak." I knew that those Imperial Guards wouldn't buy it, but he went ahead with it anyway. That's so Han. You can't reason with him.

Fine, so the Storm Trooper story wasn't real, even though I have lived it out in my fantasy so many times that it does seem pretty legit. What really happened is that I went and saw Tropic Thunder on Friday night and imagine my excitement when I walked up to the theater and saw an array of Storm Troopers, Anakin, and even Darth Vader just hanging out! I felt like a little kid that found out that they won the Toys 'R Us Sweepstakes. (Remember that contest where you would have 5 minutes to run around the store and get anything that you want? My brothers and I had our routes mapped out for optimal loot grabbing efficiency in case we ever won. We didn't.) I really, REALLY wanted to have my picture taken with Darth but I was with some people from work that I never have hung out with before (the popular crowd) and didn't want them to think that I was the biggest dork in all of Salt Lake County. But I regret it now because I'm sure that they are going to figure that out eventually so why not get it out of the way immediately. Man, I'm totally mad at myself about that. Talk about leaving something on the table! ARGH.

No, I didn't go into horrible depression after the whole awful birthday fiasco (as some have wondered because of my blogging hiatus). My sanity was recovered with a wicked awesome BBQ at Blake's house the week after. The view from Blake's new house is unreal! Too bad he didn't have this place we were hanging out everyday back in college. It's pretty much the sweetest bachelor pad in the whole bachelor kingdom.

So all you single lady lurkers out there...Blake is an attractive, smart, successful 34 year old with an incredible house that includes an incredible view. And he has a puppy! Do you like what you see here...

He's a winner. Bit of a smart-ass, but a winner.

You're welcome for the plug, Blake.

Jessi, Shanna, and Katie...I love this picture because you look like little celestial angels in white and then there is a looming devil in the center, wearing her telestial shirt. You all shine with the glory of the sun. Very nice. I do take comfort in the knowing that I do not look like I should be holding a cake with the number 30 on it. No way, man.

Hmm, there should be a few more blondes in that picture though.

Anyway, thanks Blake and Shanna for putting together that fantastic BBQ! It was nice to have a bunch of us together again. That doesn't happen frequently enough.

So the real reason for the lack of blogging is that I just wanted to take a break from the internet for a while. That's all. But I'm back...in black.

Oh yeah, and I totally rocked the side ponytail today! Who doesn't wanna be me?!

Therapy

Does waiting 3 hours in line at the DMV-Driver's License Division make you want to punch through a wall? Me too. What about having to do that three days in a row because no one there can give you a clear answer on what exactly you need to do to get a Utah driver's license because your Massachusetts one was stolen on your birthday and you thought that typically a passport and a birth certificate would be valid enough evidence that you are actually you but instead you're sent to the social security office to stand in that line for an hour so that they can spend thirty seconds typing up a little letter saying that you have a social security number and then bring it back to the DMV and wait again in line for them to tell you to come back another day so that they can run a driving check through Massachusetts first? I was a fraction of a second away from grabbing the employee that was "helping" me by the shirt and dragging him across the counter while screaming that I was going to smash his face into a jelly! Did a mention that I'm severely menstrual? I am.

One of my running partners is a 15 year old boy. We talk about everything. Coolest kid. A bit of a punk too. He had a solution to my woes.
Nothing beats hiding in the bushes along the side of the road and hurling water balloons at passing cars to clear your head. Nothing! The guy is a genius.

The World Is Just Awesome

I was going to blog today but then decided against it because I'm super angry and just might get a little belligerent which really wouldn't fare well for anyone. So I went with this little tidbit which put a huge smile on my face. Next goal: get my own show on the Discovery Channel. Lofty, yet AWESOME!

Well Played, Ivan. Well Played.

I received this email at work today from our Metrology manager. Awesome. Check out the link--total time waster.

Vanessa,
It has come to our attention that some people just don’t get parking. (see below) The yellow lines on both sides of a vehicle are to be an equal distance and parallel to the sides of the vehicle that you are trying to park. If there is a yellow line in front of your vehicle, you are supposed to stop so that no part of your vehicle exceeds or passes the forward line. In the case of a vehicle being across the forward line, do not accelerate and try to push the other vehicle back to their side of the line. Try to leave excess room to not only accommodate your entrance and exit, but the entrance and exit of others. For training purposes, please use this online training program:
http://www.hollettgaming.com/games/playgame.aspx?gid=45
I have not sent this as a GP-Everyone because I knew since the BoSox were swept, part of the parking mishap today could be due to driving upset. In the future please try to park and drive courteously or root for a team that doesn’t get swept.
Thank you—Ivan


(Uhm, it was a rough morning)

Heat-Seeking Missiles, Bloodhounds, Foxes, Barracudas...

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. I'm turning 30 on Friday. I'm supposed to have more accomplished at this point in my life. Crap.

Let's reminisce a bit, shall we.

• I completely finished a Deseret News crossword puzzle by myself, without cheating.
• I learned to play "Talk Dirty to Me" on the guitar. Not Guitar Hero, the real guitar.
• I've maintained the life of a plant the entire year.
• I've received 4 black eyes.
• Learned to cook a delicious red curry dish.
• Put up more decorations in my residence besides the Wayne Gretzky poster.

I am a model of progress.

Kidding aside, I will say that I'm a bit nervous to turn 30. I was at the gym the other day, running in the cardio theater, and Miracle was the movie featured. I often think about that scene with Herb Brooks sitting and talking with his wife at the outdoor rink in Lake Placid, NY. It was the day before the US team was to play the Russians. Herb's wife was telling him that there was no shame in losing. Herb told her that he wasn't afraid of losing, he just wanted his boys to play knowing that they left nothing on the table. Win or lose, it didn't matter. He just wanted them to have no regrets about their performance.

I think I'm leaving alot on the table. And it becomes more apparent just how much you leave on the table as you get older. I do know that I've accomplished alot in my life and feel very proud of the person that I've become. But there's more that I can do and be. I get unsettled very easily. Not in the bad way where you are ungrateful for what you have and just have to have more. But in the way where you know that there's something different and wonderful in store for you and you have to be adventurous and work hard in order to get it.

The other scene in Miracle that really resonated with me is when Herb was talking to Jim Craig (the goal-tender) right before the opening ceremony and Herb told him that he's going to bench him. Jim Craig got all riled up and asked Herb if it's because he didn't take the stupid psychological profile test at the beginning of training camp and offered to take it right then if that's what will enable him to get back on the ice. (Jim Craig didn't take the test when all the rest of his teammates did because he didn't see what taking the dumb test had to do with playing hockey.) Herb said that he wanted to see the guy in the net that wouldn't take the test.

I'm the guy that wouldn't take the test. I'm a pretty headstrong girl. I lost that part of me for a while though, but now it's back and I'm going to use it to clear off the table.

As I'm writing this I'm getting more excited about my 30th year. This blog is good for something!