Speechless

"Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us all without words?" ~ Marcel Marceau

As a writer, it is your job to find the right words.  I think I've proven that it's not the easiest job in the world which is why I have such admiration for those that not only do it well, but consistently.  Nevertheless, there are moments that will leave you grasping at straws, struggling to express yourself, and wishing someone had created a word to describe everything you are feeling at that one moment in time.  If I had to pick one myself, it would probably be 'flabbergasted,' as these moments, good and bad, are usually ones that catch me by surprise.

I'm not sure if you've all been able to tell, but this past month has been full of flabbergasting moments for me on both ends of the scale.  I've never been so lost for words in my life so it's been quite the experience.  The downside is that the quality of writing here has honestly taken a bit of a hit which of course, triggers the guilt.

So while I struggle with finding substantial things to say, I'll take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone that has come by to read something I've written.  Whether you're a faithful reader or accidentally stumbled over once, the fact you came by at all is amazing.  When I started this blog in January, I figured I'd have a handful of followers, most of which I strong-armed into reading.  I never imagined I'd have strangers connecting with posts and readers scattered throughout the world.  In the roller coaster that is my life, this has definitely brought about quite a few highs and I can't wait for them to keep coming as we get ready to kick off the back half of the year!

A Letter to the Canucks

So here it is...a letter to the Canucks.  I tried to write my own, but last night's devastation is still too fresh for me to say what I actually wanted to.  A simple "thanks for an amazing season" just doesn't seem enough for a team that gave as much of itself as it possibly could to this city.  

This was written by a fan at the end of the Western Conference Finals and brought actual tears to my eyes.  With everything that happened yesterday, I want to take this chance to remember the hope and elation that gripped the city a mere 11 days ago. Hopefully TJ's eloquently written wishes will come true next year...

Courtesy of Fort Nucks: Fan Roundup - Volume 6 (Sunday, June 5th, 2011)

The story of a lifelong Canucks fan

When I was 11 years old I watched my idol Trevor Linden take my team on the emotional roller coaster of the 94 playoffs. I remember everything. Every call. Every goal. Every emotion. I remember the way you could walk down the street and get a high five from someone you didn’t know just because you were wearing a jersey. I remember sitting with my Mom, Dad and brother in our living room, watching Pavel Bure blow by the Calgary defense and score the goal that I would later emulate on the driveway of our townhouse with a worn down hockey stick and a tennis ball. I remember the call.



“ This is the greatest moment in Vancouver Canucks History”



17 years. 17 years since Pavel scored that goal. 17 years since Kirk Mclean made “the save.”17 years since Greg Adams scored the OT goal to propel us into the Stanley cup final. 17 years since the jubilation of game 6, and 17 years since the dejected emotional pain of game 7. We were so close.



The pain of coming that close and not winning stays with you. For 17 years.



Last night Kevin Bieksa scored a goal that set off a trifecta of emotions. The first was the shock of seeing a game winning goal in double overtime, in a western conference final. The second was complete joy and excitement. We did it!! We are going to the Stanley cup final! High fives all around people yelling so loud that it hurts, explosions of confetti, and 18 thousand fans screaming in the harmonic unison of an orchestra, “WE WANT THE CUP.”



And finally the realization that we did it. And I was there to see it. To experience it.



Years from now people will tell many stories of the Stanley cup run of 2011. They will talk about Alex Burrows game 7 winner against Chicago. They will talk about the hilarity of the green men. They will talk about Ryan Kesler carrying the team on his back right through to the conference final. They will talk about the Sedins utter dominance against the sharks. They will talk of Bobby Lu’s 54 save performance in game 5. They will talk about Kesler scoring the tying goal with 13 seconds left to send the Canucks to overtime. And of course they will talk about the bounce off the glass that ended up on the stick of boom boom Bieksa.



Years from now I will be telling my son that the year he was born, I bought a Canucks playoff ticket for three times face value and didn’t even think twice about it. I will tell him about the thousands of fans who gathered outside the rink hours before game time to celebrate their team and all its accomplishments. I will tell him about “towel power.” I will tell him about the shinny games outside the arena and that no matter how old you get you are never too old for a game of street hockey.



I will tell him about the atmosphere inside the arena when they brought out the western conference championship trophy, and I will tell him that I was in attendance to watch the single greatest team in the history of the Vancouver Canucks win passage to the Stanley cup finals.



If any Vancouver Canuck reads this somewhere please do me a favor. Go out there next week and win that cup. Win it for every member of the 82 and 94 teams that came within inches and went home empty handed. Win it for Luc Bourdon. Win it for every single fan that has ever bought a ticket, a jersey, a car flag and for every fan that has stood on the corner of the road with a flag in hand just to hear the honking cars go by.



But most of all win it so when my son is born I will have a bedtime story to tell him.



 -TJ Chase

Break Time

With everything that's been going on the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to catch up with something other than work.  It's easy for me to get swept up in all the details associated with my job(s) and let more important things fall by the wayside.

Thankfully, most of my friends are pretty understanding and provide excellent incentive to take a break, like I did last night.  Marathon phone calls (anywhere between 2-5 hours) seems to be a staple amongst my friends and I'm not sure I would want it any other way.

Now that they're scattered around the world, I think it's even more important to stop and recognize just how amazing each of them are, especially for putting up with me over all these years.  Although we don't see each other as often as we would like and life often gets in the way of talking regularly, it's nice to know that they're out there, ready to talk me off the edge whenever I reach it.

Thanks

For knowing that even though chocolate can't fix all your problems, it's an essential life ingredient

For understanding that sometimes the biggest questions don't need to be answered with words

For giving up the secret ingredients to more than kitchen recipes

For well timed hugs

For remembering all our favourites

For everything, big and small, seen and invisible

I can't imagine a more difficult job in the world than being a parent.  It's amazing to realize just how much your life has been affected by mothers; from the ones that brought us into this world to all the unofficial ones that helped shape us into who we are today.  A simple thanks could never be enough but it's a small start.

Weekend Wonder

Oh Saturday, how I've missed you all week!  You're my favourite day to sleep in and relax, closely followed by your twin Sunday. 

A lot has happened since I posted last night and I'm inclined to break it into two parts so I don't end up with a post that is so long none of you will want to read it =( I can't really afford to scare off the four people who officially follow this plus the other eleven I actually know are reading =)  Yay for the 15 of you!  That's more than double my lucky number and about 14 more readers than I thought I'd have so I just want to take a moment to shout out a massive THANK YOU! 

From Vancouver to Oslo and someone from Malaysia that's wandered over 5 times, (maybe by accident but that brings us up to 16!), you all have been amazing with your feedback and comments.  I have to say it's pushing me to try harder to be interesting and find things to say actually worth reading - look at me grow!  So thank you to Shawn, Mel, Sarah, Jen Mac, Marion, Jojo, Avital, Friend...Me, Nicole, Scottie, Jules, Jeet, Char, Kristal, Jamie, and everyone else out there that gave me a chance, even if it was only the one time.  I'm glad that the Internet has made the world quite a bit smaller because it gives me a chance to be a part of your lives even when you're half a world away and vice versa.

Now that I've dispensed the mushy stuff on to the second part of yesterday's post "Friday Night Time Travel."  If you get to Library Square earlier enough, two amazing things happen.  The first is that you miss having to pay cover!  Last night's invite was for 8:00 but Jojo and I were running late and got there at 8:30.  Perfect timing as there was no line and cover starts at 9 =)  The second thing I love watching is the transition from casual dining/pub to drunk tank.  The moment the music shifts to all that 90's goodness, the dance floor overflows to surround the nearby tables and people get sloppy.  A funny observation is that not everyone there is drunk on alcohol.  Some of us, mostly designated drivers, get drunk off the heady combination of good music and even better friends.  Although we had a rocky start to the night dealing with one spilled drink which I got to wear, compliments of the bitch standing at the bar, plus a handful of guys that couldn't take a hint, I still had a great time.  This next part is for Jojo - one of my favourite partners in crime.  She's a dancing fool and we're celebrating her new job with a local event production company MVKA Productions.  Click on the link to see her headshot!  We had one of those interesting nights that happen when you combine a long work week with a bit of alcohol and paranoia.

Ghosts in the office, early cleaning crews, secret shots (thank you Sarah!), back alley deals, I'm too young to be a witness, pizza b*!c#, I almost Palm Bay-ed you, paper towels = good shoe cushions, sorry doesn't translate into a bigger tip, crazy bartenders, Jersey, Stumpy, little girl nugget, Tarp Party, Betsey Spotlight.

I know this didn't make sense to anyone else but a promise is a promise.  If you understood any of the above, congratulations!  It's a tiny glimpse into what a night at the Library can produce =)  We'll actually be there in a couple of weeks to celebrate the slow trek towards adulthood (and ultimately death) known as my birthday.  This year, I'm raising money for Canuck Place so hopefully some of you will make it out to one of the 2 events we're having.  If you can't make it but still want to donate (I know this is a shameless plug but I need all the help I can get to reach my $1,000 goal!) send me an email for details!

Off to write part two...go productive me!