Rain, Rain, Rain...please stay

So after the last four days of rain, I just want to say that I love it. I mean, I love it when it rains, so this is really nirvana for me. Driving home underneath the lush green trees is a surreal feeling. And I sleep better when it rains, so yeah. This rain is pretty fine for me.

5/4/09 Musings on the IIHF World Hockey Championships

The US lost to Switzerland today, by the final score of 4-3. I'm really dissapointed, as the US hasn't really seemed to be motivated enough. I mean, sure, the addition of various players throughout the tournament hasn't exactly helped, but come on, we're allegedly one of the best hockey playing countries in the world. And while I'm on the topic, the goalie tandem of an ex-NHLer and a former number five overall pick now toiling in the minors for a different team is not doing well. Robert Esche and Al Montoya are decent enough, but come one, are you telling me that there weren't better options available for the US? Fortunately their regulation loss means that they move on, along with my new favorite country of Latvia. The US plays on Wednesday against a new archrival in Finland and Latvia plays the juggernauts in Canada. To round out the quarterfinals, Belarus plays Russia and the Czechs play the Swedes. Good luck guys, and hopefully the Americans win and Latvia pulls out a (highly improbable) win against our neighbors to the north.

AP Exams Just Around the Corner

So I have my upcoming AP US History and AP European History exams this Friday, and my AP English Comp. exam next Wednesday. I honestly feel that I would rather do solely writing, as they are now a strength of mine. Now the multiple choice is a different beast. Oh well, I'm gonna do my best. I figure I've prepared enough for them throughout the year, and heck, I'm not gonna go and blow them now. Bring 'em on!

That Cute Girl.....

As my favorite European history, Mr. Novak, likes to say, "Spring is in the air". And I'm feeling it. With that said, there's this really cute girl that I like, and who happens to be really nice. I'm kinda shy right now, but I really hope to talk to her more. I mean, she's really nice and I admire her ability to be pretty dang optimistic. And I really, really, really love her eyes. Hint: her name is Catherine, last name starts with an 'S'. I especially love her eyes among other things, not that the rest of her isn't already really cute. If only I had the guts to really say something more to her. This is where I hate being shy and quiet. God dang I hate my natural instincts to be shy.

Random Saturday Thought

I really, really, really have the urge to start making more movies than ever. Thanks the the Brad Miller Show on youtube, and me just seeing the school play, the urge to film is greater than ever. I've got so many good/fun ideas (stop me if you've heard that before...) that I just feel should be thrown out into a movie/video. And yeah, I do spend a lot of my free time thinking about these, if you were actually out there, the one or two people that actually know about my blog.

School Play is Pretty Cool

So today is Saturday, May the second. I spent nearly three well spent hours in Lake Braddock's Little Theater watching the theater kids perform A Streetcar Named Desire. And I have to say that it was one heck of a show. The acting was top notch, as the emotion of the characters was well delivered; heck, I even got a bit teary eyed myself at the sentimental parts. Special effects were a treat as always, along with the very well crafted set. The set was rather simple, as the only thing onstage was a huge prop of a house. Minor props were used, as a ton of bottles, which probably cost a lot if the play was performed four times this week. Nice touch though, brought a lot of reality to the various consumation of beer. Nevertheless it was very well designed, so special props to the set designers on that. Another very successful tactic was the use of flashbacks to let the audience gain more insight on the plight of the characters. If any parts caused any audience members to start to get teary eyed, this was it. I felt like "dang, I really sympathize with what she [Blanche] went through with as a youth". I really felt like these scenes really reminded me how to never forget the past and to definitely cherish what I currently have at my hands. Moving on, though this seems a bit sudden as I write this, but the tounge-in-cheek humor was a hit. There wasn't many explicit humorous parts, but I liked how there were some parts of humor tucked into the various scenes. I feel that the acting for this was the best part, as the various characters really contrasted with each other thanks to superb acting. Without the amazing performances of the actors I would not have enjoyed the play as much as I did; that's not to say that it would have been a fun play to watch, just that it was the strongest part of the play, in my opinion. The only gripe I have is relatively minor, and that's just that at a few points in the play was I (temporarily) confused at what was going on. Amazing show all around. Yet another fine performance for the Lake Braddock Theater Department. You guys rock.

IIHF 2009 Thoughts So Far, As of May 2nd

I've been following the 2009 IIHF World Championships with a lot of passion lately. The reason why I didn't say "watch" is because I can't find a place to watch it on, which is a huge bummer. Anyways, it's been pretty good so far. Hungary, despite the fact that they're heavily outclassed, has been playing with a ton of heart; best of luck to their future years of hockey as they're the odds on favorite to relegate down to Division 1. A few of my other favorite teams, the German-speaking countries of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland haven't been doing too hot. Germany is in the relegation round, along with Austria, meaning that they might be moving down to Division 1 too; Germany is hosting the World Championships next year, so they can't move down as next year's hosts, however Austria looks like they are going to be moving out of the world's elite level of hockey. As for the national country, the US has lost their last two, to Sweden in a heartbreaker and to Russia today. They were up 5-1 with about 10 minutes, even less, in the game when Sweden rallied back. And today, they plain just played flat. Not all is lost however. I've been developing a huge crush on the nation of...Latvia. I respect how they've won all of their games except for an early loss the the Americans. I just respect their team play and tenacity, not to mention how Latvian names are amazing. I seriously have a huge urge to buy Latvian team merchandise cause of their success! Anyways, stay tuned for more on the World Championships.