Something to think about

As my friend Alex said last to me, what she said sums up my thoughts on graduation. I told her that I was happy to graduate yet I was bummed that I was going to miss marching band. She said that while I wouldn't miss the commitment to it, I'd miss the fun of it; the friends, the trips, etc. It's totally true, I am going to miss seeing the new marchers/freshmen, the initial stages of the drill, and more importantly, being innocent and having that fun. Heck, I'm even gonna miss the times we get screamed at for not hustling or working hard enough. I know that I'm reminiscing a ton, yet I really am gonna miss it. It's like something is empty in my life now, as it's the first time in five years that I won't be going to marching band camp in August; instead, I'll be in school at Mary Washington. And it's not just marching band, it's just Lake Braddock band in general. Seeing the people I know after a long summer, it's not going to be there anymore, as I'll be a freshman in college. Maybe I'm afraid of breaking away from tradition, or anything else. Anyways, I'm going to miss the joy of marching band, and all the amazing times. Actually, I'm going to miss seeing the freshman grow up before my eyes, which honestly is the thing I'll miss the most; it was a blast these last few years being a part of them growing up. Anyways, best of luck to you guys for the future of the Lake Braddock Marching Band!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!

Call me the most recent graduates in the Lake Braddock Class of 2010! Oddly enough, while I'm excited, I still cannot believe that I graduated.

Game 3, the turning point

His team won the first two games of the series, so there was pressure on the other team to turn around the series with the two games at their rink. Aaron once again knew that he'd be the focal point, as he had helped to shut them down. Now, it was going to be an all or nothing game, as his team would potentially take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series; he knew that it was going to be an all out war to win the game tonight.

In the locker room, iPod headphones in his ear, music blaring, Aaron was getting mentally ready for what he knew would be a real battle tonight. Guys running him over in his crease to throw him off, plenty of screens so that he couldn't see what was going on, and anything and everything he could think of-all of it he was about to face. He knew that this would be a series

From the opening faceoff, his pregame worries came true. Their first goal came off a deflection from the forward infringing on Aaron's living room, the crease. The next goal came from a shot that a defenseman took while Aaron was faliling around, hoping to actually see the puck. To Aaron's credit, he had faced an astounding 35 shots in the first two periods, so he wasn't doing necessarily bad; he just gave up two hard goals by a hungrier team. Besides, in the frantic scrambles in front of the net, the two on ones, three on twos, three on ones, he had held his own.

After two crazy periods of nonstop, frantic action, the scoreboard read: "Home-2, Away-1". Between the periods, Aaron was preparing himself for the third period, which would be the critical period of the game, even the series.

His team came out of the gates, firing everything on net. They knew that this would be a huge period for the whole series, and that they could essentially win the series in the last 20 minutes of this game. However, the opposing goalie had been playing spectacular, as he had only yielded a single goal through the first 40 minutes. In his own net, Aaron was silently praying for an equalizer goal, as he desperately hoped that his team would bail him out for his earlier mistakes, mistakes that had put them in a hole.

With five minutes left in the game, the scoreboard still read 2-1 in favor of the other team. As each second wound down, Aaron gradually got more nervous; he was blaming himself for the loss, as he probably should have made just one more save.

One minute left on the clock. The puck was in the other team's zone and Aaron was on the bench for an extra attacker. The critical moment was there-would his centerman win the faceoff? The centers were square to the faceoff dot, waiting for the ref to drop the puck, jostling around for the key position. For Aaron, time seemed to slow down as the puck fell to the ice. Then it all seemed to unravel. His center lost the faceoff, as it was sent back to the defenseman. The defenseman  then waited a little bit, made a pass to the forward, who then skated past Aaron's defensman, and shot it into the net.

On the bench, Aaron just sat there, stunned. "It was all my fault that he scored. If I hadn't sucked and stopped those two goals, we never would have had to resort to pulling me for an extra attacker and he never would have had an empty net to shoot in."

Final score, Home-3, Away-1. The series now was 2 games to 1, with another road game. Would the next game bring a win? Or another loss?

Funny sign I saw on a car on the way back

There was this car in front of me on the parkway that said, to this effect, "I don't carry money on me, my kid plays hockey". Thought that it was funny, yet it's totally true.

My High School Hockey Career is Over

It's over. My high school career is over, and it ended on a comeback to tie Madison 3-3, after being down 3-1 after the first two periods. While it wasn't a win, it wasn't a loss either, and honestly, that's fine by me; I'm actually proud of the way we came back, and technically we would have won had we not have had a goal waived off. Though my legs weren't there, so I really didn't skate at all, and I'm kinda bummed. Fittingly enough for this season, I took a hooking penalty, which gave me 8 penalty minutes for the season. While we couldn't get the win, it was a fun game, and really, that's all I wanted-having fun in my last ever high school hockey game.

Now that my career is over, I just want to say that no matter how many losses I've had or the few wins that my teammates and I squeaked out, it's been an amazing time playing playing with you guys. We were like brothers out there, shedding sweat and enduring those rough times. All of the locker room conversations before and after the games were a blast too! Though for the most part of my career were losses, just being able to play the sport I loved for my school (and for a pride for the Reston Raiders), that was the best part! On and off the ice, it was a memorable run; who can forget coach buying us pizza for "only" losing 9-0 to Broad Run, the times we actually won (all two of them for Lake Braddock hockey), having Coach Hyjek, Clay, Beau, and one of our moms ejected from the same spring league game 8th grade year, and anything and everything in between. God bless you guys for helping to make my high school experience the best years, and it was amazing playing with every single on you. While I don't know how much I'll get to play beyond this point, or even if I'll be able to continue with my career, it's been an amazing ride, and I'll always be extremely grateful for going out with a bang! Thank you guys, thanks for giving me a great high school experience. 

First upset of the World Cup!

Switzerland-1, Spain-0. Yes, you read that right. The Swiss beat the Spanish. It's the second or so loss for Spain in 49 matches. And the Swiss still have yet to give up a goal in 490 minutes (hope I don't jinx them).

That One Moment

I really want to tell you.
Tell you that I think you're cute.
But I don't know how, or even when,
I'd be able to tell you.

It's awkward to say it.
I mean, I've seen all of the pictures of you on Facebook.
And you are really cute. Sorry it's random and/or awkward.

But I'm desperate to let you know-I think you're cute.


There really is no chance to tell you in person; we don't really know each other
And I'm desperately hoping for that one moment,
When you're by yourself, walking in the hallways
And I'm (oh man) walking in your direction. You're so close.
As my heart is beating nervously, I try-I try.

To summon up the courage, to say

"I think you're cute".