Corny

Corny... this word is one that I use to describe myself, my actions and much of what I say.   This weekend I was out for dinner and Canucks game with a very close friend of mine, and old teammate Mo, from back in my UBC days.  We were catching up on life, work and all the funtivities that we've been up to.  I prefaced something, as I always do, with "This might sound corny...", Mo cut me off to say that "corny" is one of the things people love most about me.  We continued on our catch up, enjoyed a great dinner and headed off to the game.

This small statement and comment from Mo has been on my mind now for the past 24 hours and I am certain she has no idea what that meant to me.  All of a sudden, something I constantly say about myself, and to be honest usually with a bit of a negative connotation to it, hence the need to tell people the statement or action is "corny", all of a sudden her acknowledgement of this just gave me a complete 360 on myself.  Being "corny" is absolutely something that I am, and that I am OK with, actually more than OK, I wouldn't want to be any other way.

Google Definition of Corny:

corn-y
adjective
informal
     trite, banal, or mawkishly sentimental

So... this might sound "mawkishly sentimental" but I am proud of the fact that I am caring, that I get excited when I see a stranger hold the door for someone, or that I want to cheer on random strangers I see out running because I am proud of them for being active and healthy, or that I feel incredibly invested in wanting someone to make the bus when they are running to catch it (and often celebrate a lil when they do :).

I want to thank my friend for highlighting this for me, and once again I am shown just how impactful a few words can be if we are open to hearing them, and if we choose to receive and truly embrace a complement that just moments before was potentially suppressed.

Is there something you admire or appreciate in a friend that you may not have shared with them yet?  The first person that comes to mind, stop what you are doing and fire them a text, email or quick message.  So often things cross our minds and yet we don't take the step to tell those we care the most about.  I guarantee you will make someone's day.

We could all use a little more corny in our lives!

Canucks Game 1 vs. Hawks - April 13th

What a wonderful day!! Got to sleep in a bit, work from the comfort of my new place in Vancouver and get a little more organized and unpacked.

Today was game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs and I was very fortunate to get to go to the game. Me and my friend Kirsten Dixon have had tickets for about 5 years now and decided to go to Game 1 together. All day I could feel the energy in the city. I didn't even have to leave my place in Kits to feel the excitement. It did hep a

bit that I've been learning how to "Tweet", didn't think they would ever get me... but they did. So Twitter kept me in the know of all the talks around town and around the league.

Being a game day, I thought it was important to stick to routines. Had my super salad, pre game nap and then got ready and headed off for downtown. Wasn't the most sunny day out but was one of those days that nothing could stand in my way of being happy.

I decided I would walk from my place to downtown... wasn't sure how long it would take but made it to Pender and Howe in 1 hour and 1 minute... :-) And that included a Starbucks pick up along the way. (Picture was along my walk from home towards Kits beach, one of my favourite views in the world)

Looking out over the Burrard Street bridge on my walk downtown, man I love the water, and the city, and the mountains and... :-)

I was a bit of a dork/super fan wearing my Nucks Jersey, scarf, smile and holding Starbucks. Does life get much better then that? Really?

Anyhow, I continued on downtown and met up with couple of friends Kat and Blake for dinner!!

Just making sure they were ready for the pic... and yes I put this one in instead of the actual pic, I like it, feels like teamwork if you ask me :-)

Then off to the game, watched the warm up from down below, got some fun pics up close and personal. Lets see if you can guess who my favourite Canuck is...

Energy in the rink was also incredible... could sense the nerves of some of the players, feel the confidence of others, the fans & the city. Pretty fun thing to be a part of.

Kirsten loving life being at Game 1!!! Both of us with our new scarves!! Dan, focused and ready to take down the Hawks!!! Proud fellow Smitherite!!

Definitely 2 of the most wonderful people I know!! Art and Marge Buchanan from Smithers, they were my employers at the movie theatre, my friends and consider them family!!! More amazing people I am lucky to have in my life and that I am thankful for!!

Well here is my coles notes version on the recap as it's getting late and sleep is needed. 1st period... this team is one that I believe noone can touch, they looked absolutely phenomenal out there, so poised, confident and making plays that honestly blew me away. The pure talent that these players have is absolutely incredible. What a fun team to watch. Samuelson stood out to me a ton, seemed to have an extra gear that when he wanted to turn it on, the Hawks had NO chance. Then there's Lou... the toe save in the first... speechless... and that's hard to do to me. I sat there with my mouth open, in awe... Wow was he on his game tonight or what!!

It was a high tempo, very physical game. I think that is where the Nucks had them, they were all throwing their bodies around without fear. Kes had a great block, luckily nothing hurts in the playoffs :-)

Come the 2nd and 3rd, some people feel like the Canucks were outplayed. For sure it wasn't like the first but I think it was smart, they were up 2-0, no you don't want to sit back but definitely play it smart. They moved to a 2-3 forecheck which was extremely successful, not always the most exciting for the fans but at the end of the day the W is what matters.

I feel as though Kane's mullet might have gotten in his eyes tonight...

Alright, off to bed for me, but thank-you Canucks for a great game and I look forward to the next couple months!! Or as my brother Dorian said after the first tonight, "47 more periods like that and we're set"

Happy Wednesday everyone and have a great sleep!!