"'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" - Alfred Lord Tennyson

When you love someone and it goes to waste...could it be worse?

No matter how hard you try doesn't it seem like you can't love someone just part way? Then you feel like an asshole for having given your whole heart away. But is there any way to avoid it? You try to avoid rejection but you can't stop your heart. Stupid heart.

And holy shit does it hurt when you find out that the other person doesn't share your love. You tell yourself that maybe you misunderstood...perhaps he does have feelings for you, he's just scared, he just needs some time. I wonder if this is just a chick thing? Guys must find themselves on the merry-go-round as well, right? But when you find yourself handcuffed to the merry-go-round and you just can't seem to get off...you get more and more dizzy...and even though it seems like he's sending mixed messages you *know* he's just not that into you. But you can't stop thinking about him. So you cling to the hope that he, deep down, is loving you as much as you love him.

Is it worth it? I think that it is important that you love with all your heart, even if you do get rejected in the end. But I can't imagine controlling love and how exactly does a person manage to save themselves from jumping in with both feet? If you don't love all the way then what is the point? If there is anything I have learned in my short life it is that life is about loss. Those that cope best with loss, and can learn something from it, will have an easier time in the grand battle that is love.
Can love be wasted? Or is it like an investment and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose? Am I just hopefully optomistic?

Love is never easy and I wish I could make the hurt go away but I can't. What do you say to a friend who feels they have wasted their love? The only thing I can think to say is, "I love you."

I love ya, Lady.

Song Du Jour: Fix You ~ Coldplay

"When you're too in love to let it go,
But if you never try you'll never know,
just what your worth..."

"Edmonton Gunners claim women's crown...."

On Saturday night my cousin Danielle and her team,The Gunners, won the National Ball Hockey Championship in Calgary. They upset the number one ranked Vancouver Sharks 4-0 and Danny was the MVP of the tournament and brought home the award for Best Forward. Congratulations to the Gunners!!

awwwwwww!

"Why The Great One is leaving Janet home alone to become leader of the dusty desert dogs." -Andy Juniper

Seeing as I can think of anything to babble about just now I will submit this for your reading pleasure, Blogaholics.

Why The Great One is leaving Janet home alone to become leader of the dusty desert dogs.
As a close personal friend of Wayne Gretzky - Wayne and I spent 53 quality minutes together at a crowded sports banquet back in 1979 - I feel it is my duty to utilize (exploit) my unique positioning as both one of Wayne's bosom buddies and as an intrepid (or, in-tepid) journalist (or gymnast) to shed light on why Wayne has officially retired from being retired to become head coach of those dusty desert dogs, the Phoenix Coyotes.
I know that obsessive hockey fans (a.k.a. Canadians) are dying to know what Wayne was thinking because I heard them yesterday on Sports Talk Radio practically having kittens over the issue. (As an aside, may I respectfully suggest that anyone calling a Sports Talk Radio station on any issue take a deep breath and, perhaps, a handful of valium before going on-air with their opinions).Honestly, fans wondered, why would The Great One put his impeccable career and storybook on-ice exploits in jeopardy by coaching the lowly dogs, a team that even a crossed clone of Scotty Bowman and Harry Houdini would have trouble resurrecting? Surely he doesn't need the money, the untold aggravation, the grief?Further, as a self-proclaimed sports fanatic and historian, Wayne surely knows the pitfalls of the profession, and the landmines that await superstar players who try to become superstar coaches (from The Splendid Splinter to quickly disillusioned Magic).Well, sports fans, although I was unable to actually talk personally with The Great One, I did have a chance to chat at length with his pesky lawyers, and once they finished threatening me with incivilities and legal action too pedantic to be mentioned should I fail to leave my good buddy Wayne alone, I got the inside scoop on why The Great One decided to become the new Leader of the Coyote Pack.
1. Wayne loathed retirement. He quickly tired of counting his money. He wasn't really fond of The Early Bird Special at the local Ramada. And while he was thrilled to finally get to spend some quality time at home with his winsome wife, Janet, and his brood, Janet was apparently always after him with honey-do lists: take out the garbage, weed the gardens, fold the laundry, paint the mudroom, dust your trophies, and when you're done all that I think we should spend some time talking about our relationship!
2. Wayne admittedly missed "the emotion" of the game of hockey. Wayne, after all, is an emotional guy. And, without the hockey outlet -- well, let's just say that Janet got a little tired of finding him in front of the TV, in the fetal position, bawling like a baby, every afternoon during The Young & The Restless.
3. During Monday's press conference, Wayne professed to desiring to be "closer to the game." What he didn't say was why he wants to be closer. Wayne, like the rest of us, is aging. Suffice to say, his eyesight ain't all it once was. Truth be told, unless he's behind-the-bench close to the action - or unless he wears his Jiminy Glick glasses, or the NHL decides to make the puck bigger - he simply can't follow the action. Poor guy hasn't really 'seen' a game in two years!
4. Contrary to popular belief, The Great One is not without coaching experience. By his own admission he's coached his son's baseball team. And isn't coaching Little League baseball practically the same thing as coaching NHL hockey?5. Always up for a challenge, Wayne is now intent on disproving, once and for all, the old adage: Nice guys finish last.You know, there is a whack of cynics out there who believe that The Great One has set himself up for a major fall - that by this time next year, his moniker may well have been downgraded to The Pretty Good One, or The Not So Bad One.
As a close personal friend, I just wish him all the luck in the world. Oh, and on a personal note: Wayne, if Janet needs any help around the house while you're off un-retiring, just let her know that I'm here for you (and her!). Because I'm that kind of friend.

Andy Juniper brings us the lighter side of sports. He can be visited at his Web site, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com. Watch for his columns regularly on Sportsnet.ca.

"I see a red door and I want it painted black..."

My Friend GT is on an adventure in Vietnam and I am vicariously living through him so I thought I would post one of his adventures here. I guess I find it funny because GT is a relatively big guy and the thought of him "Shawshanking it" through a tunnel made by the much smaller Viet Cong is actually a pretty funny visual.

We arrived in Saigon aka Ho Chi Min City Wednesday night after a flight delay of 6 hours. Thankfully, our hotel staff in Nha Trang checked the flight schedules before we left and we were able to avoid the wait in the airport. Upon arrival, we were a little bewildered due to the intense traffic and general business of Saigon. We thought the number of scooters in Hanoi was crazy but it was a mere blip onthe screen of motor madness that is Saigon. Of the 8 million people living in Saigon, 3 million own scooters. There are approximately 100 accidents per day resulting in an average of 20 deaths. This is all not surprising when observing a typical intersection in the big city.

Our highlights of greater Saigon took place outside the beehive with trips to the Chu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta. For those unfamiliar, the Chu Chi area is home to the infamous network of underground tunnels spanning 250 km. The tunnels had 3 layers delving as deep as 12 m underground and were home to the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (better known as the American War here). During the tour, we were given a small taste of life underground as we crawled 120 mfrom one entrance to
another. For those, like myself, who are slightly uncomfortable with small sweaty spaces, it was the longest 120 m ever. The tour also included an American War propaganda film circa 1960's that gave an interesting perspective on the US involvement.

The following day was spent touring the Mekong Delta which is the lush, soil rich, southern tip of Vietnam. A nice break from hectic life in Saigon, the Mekong Delta is home to various forms of agriculture and a simpler way of life. The tour started with the Mekong Delta River which, at this time of year, was brown due to the heavy rainfall and runoff between May and October. We took a number of boats from motored to row and visited a coconut/bee farm. We are now in Cambodia seeing the splendor that is Angkor Wat.

"Mike Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick....."

So last night I watched the Falcons beat the Colts at the Tokyo Dome. Although superstar QB Mike Vick played most of the first half (and then sat out the rest) it didn't stop the commentators from only talking about Vick. "Mike Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick, Vick." It makes me laugh.

They gave Schaub and "old balls" Detmer a chance to play...See this is why I like the pre-season. You get to see the players who never play actually get out there and show their stuff. Admittedly this means you also get to see those junk players prove why they shouldn't be on the team, but I'll take that just to watch some of the others who are still *good* players but are relegated to the bench for the season because of outstanding players.
It was cool was to watch the fans in Tokyo because they seemed to get right into it. They had their thunder sticks, made lots of noise, and actually stayed until the end of the game.
Am I the only one who is excited for the Oiler exhibition games to get fired up here? If nothing else there are usually a lot of great tilts and you get to see the rookies prove themselves.

Song Du Jour: Putting on The Ritz ~ Taco

The Birsday lady

My cousin Danielle at her Taco party!!!

Congratulations Bennetts!!

Ryan Jaden born at 8:21 pm weighing 5 lbs 13 ounces and his wee brother, Braden Conner, born at 9:08 pm weighing 5 lbs 9 ounces