Sunday, November 25, 2007
Battle at Kruger
This could be one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. This is real stuff, no rehearsal,no setup, 100% natural. It's worth watching the whole thing even though it takes awhile.
So close...
On Friday, I will finally receive the results for an exam I wrote way back in September. To be honest, I can't wait to find out. I think I am prepared to receive the news, good or bad. It's like the flu. You hate waiting for it, but it will feel so much better when it's all over. The only problem is that I cannot just stick my finger down my throat to speed up the process. I have to wait and sweat this one out. It's one of the worst feelings in the world.
I do not feel good about my chances of passing, so when you think about your chances it's like eating some food that you just know you won't be able to keep down. It's helplessness. It sucks because there is nothing I can do or say that would change things. The exam is not forgiving. If I've screwed up, there's nothing I can do for another year.
Before I go dye my hair black and become atheist, I want to say that I am just preparing for the worst. I will be disappointed, but I will be back to my normal self very quickly. It's one of the benefits of thinking negatively. This is the only exam I've ever wrote that has made me feel this way. It's probably one of the toughest things that I will have to ever do. It feels strange to write that, and probably more difficult for you to understand, but where so many of my decisions are dependent on this one exam, it's the reality.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Trade rumors
The latest Sens rumor that I have heard involves "Sugar" Ray Emery. He is the "bad boy" of the Ottawa Senators and it will be interesting to see if the Sens do actually move him.
The rumor shakes down to Anze Kopitar and Jason Labarbera coming to the Senators in exchange for Emery, Josh Hennessey, Ilya Zubov, and Patrick Eaves going to the Los Angeles Kings.
I doubt that this deal will develop as I cannot see the Kings willing to move Kopitar. Kopitar has good size and excellent hands that is a rare find in today's NHL. The Kings seem desperate for a goaltender and "Sugar" Ray may be the goalie that they covet the most of available goaltenders, so who knows?
The Sens would be giving up some quality prospects in Hennessey and Zubov. Zubov has the offensive capabilities to be a top 6 forward in the NHL, but his avoidance of getting dirty along the boards may not sit too well with Sens GM Bryan Murray. Hennessey is a Bryan Murray type of guy, but if Murray can get Kopitar, he should probably make the deal.
I see this deal working too well in favour of the Senators. That being said, I am unsure of the contract situations of all of these players except for Emery. Emery, who signed a big deal this past summer, has made himself expendable by getting injured and getting into the news for all of the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, Ottawa is a hockey town and the margin for error is slim at best, so the fact that Gerber has been playing so well has made trading Emery an option.
The Sens have Brian Elliot and will have Jason Labarbera to backup Gerber. Further down the depth chart is Jeff Glass, a goaltender that led Canada to a Gold medal in the World Junior Championships, not bad for the 4th guy in your depth chart. If I was the Sens, I would pull the trigger on this deal. It appears though that it is the LA Kings that would be the ones that would be pulling the trigger. I just hope that they do decide that they are desperate for some goaltending.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
3 weeks and counting
Okay. It's 2 weeks and 6 days when I find out my results for the UFE. In case you didn't know, I am attempting to become a chartered accountant and the UFE is the final examination of the process. I've already passed 2 exams and I get my results for the UFE on Nov. 30.
On a related, but slighlty off-topic note, I will be going for a "Pre-results" party. Here, I will get so drunk on Nov. 29, I will not feel the pain or pleasure of my results on Nov. 30. Please feel free to join the party and help me get drunk.
Now, I hadn't really been thinking about the results for a long time. I wrote the exam in September and the results are the end of November, so it was hard to be worried during September and October. The results just seemed so far away. Now, when November came, I did not immediately get nervous. It took a couple people to ask me about the exam and a co-writer to mention that they were starting to get nervous.
I had also received, in the mail, a summary of the hours I had completed and the expected date of my experience requirement completion. All of these things have reminded me that the results are soon approaching and it's almost time to worry.
For the record, I will be surprised if I passed. For my second exam, I felt relatively confident in my performance to know that I had probably passed, and I did. This final exam has left me in the dark. The problem that makes this exam pretty nerveracking is the fact that I get a raise if I pass. In addition, if I pass, it means that I do not have to use my vacation days next year in order to study. The results of this exam then ultimately impacts on what I am going to do in the next year.
I would like to take a trip to Europe. I have been to the Dominican twice and Cancun, Mexico once and would like to have a "different" experience. In addition, I need a new car. I drive a 1997 Plymouth Neon. It's a piece of garbage. Finally, I want to move out of my parents house. I love my parents, but Stittsville is no longer my "home". Stittsville has changed so much over the years that I barely recognize it. Most of my friends have grown up and moved out. I would like to have the opportunity to move downtown.
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