Sunday, February 26, 2006
Olympic Hockey Disappointment
My 10-year old son and I are avid hockey fans and we have been following the disappointing fortunes of both the Canadian and U.S. hockey teams. Each team barely made it through the preliminary round (each helped out by some very weak teams in each division). The Canadians were thoroughly trounced by a formidable Russian team, while the U.S. lost to a surging team from Finland. Neither North American team played well enoughes to deserve to win.
The semi-final game yesterday between the Czechs and the Russians was outstanding, with the Czechs stifling the powerful Russian offense and prevailing in a 3-0 shutout. As a result, the Czechs took the bronze medal.
The Finland-Sweden game today was less exciting, but the Swedes did enough to win 3-2 and capture the gold medal, while the Finns were awarded the silver.
All in all, the Olympic hockey tournament was fun to watch. I was amazed that even marginal NHL players like Aki Berg of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played for Finland, and Tomas Vokoun, who played for the Czechs, ended up playing like champions in the Olympics. There must be something about playing for one's country that brings out the best in some players.
The semi-final game yesterday between the Czechs and the Russians was outstanding, with the Czechs stifling the powerful Russian offense and prevailing in a 3-0 shutout. As a result, the Czechs took the bronze medal.
The Finland-Sweden game today was less exciting, but the Swedes did enough to win 3-2 and capture the gold medal, while the Finns were awarded the silver.
All in all, the Olympic hockey tournament was fun to watch. I was amazed that even marginal NHL players like Aki Berg of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played for Finland, and Tomas Vokoun, who played for the Czechs, ended up playing like champions in the Olympics. There must be something about playing for one's country that brings out the best in some players.
Friday, February 03, 2006
4x4 Meme
I have been "tagged" by Julana at Life in the Slow Lane to participate in this meme. (I am a relatively new to the blogosphere so you'll have to forgive me if I violate any known conventions for this sort of thing.....)
4 jobs I have had
1. As a college student, I worked one summer in Toronto as a telephone interviewer for a radio ratings survey company (equivalent of the Nielsen's ratings for television) in Canada. It was an interesting job; I met lots of interesting people and I sure gained a lot of polish on my telephone conversation skills (some of which I use to this day!).
2. I worked for a couple of summers as a kitchen porter in a nursing home. I washed pots and pans, swept and mopped floors, and took in deliveries of food/produce.
3. I worked for one summer in the kitchen of the Toronto airport, where they prepared the on-flight meals. This was back in the days when the airlines actually served decent hot meals.
4. One summer I worked as a surveyor of people's parking needs at a downtown shopping mall for the city of Toronto. Neither glamorous nor exciting, but they paid us reasonably well.
4 places I have lived
1. Toronto, Ontario, Canada (I grew up here; still one of my favorite places in the entire world)
2. Gurnee, Illinois (northern suburb of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border)
3. Woodstock, Georgia (northwestern suburb of Atlanta)
4. Columbia, South Carolina (an interesting city filled with terrific churches, a highly regarded seminary and a great university)
4 vacations I have taken
1. London and Paris (wonderful historic sites)
2. Cruise in the Caribbean (total sensory deprivation from the real world; best way to be pampered)
3. Coastal North and South Carolina (great times on the beach with my family)
4. Washington, DC (I love the history of the mall area, especially the Air and Space museum; we are planning to take our kids on their first visit soon)
4 vehicles I have owned
1. Buick Skylark (my first car)
2. 1995 Volvo 850 sedan (More than 150K miles on this car and still going strong)
3. 1998 Toyota Sienna van (extremely reliable for long trips and for transporting all the kids' sports gear)
4. Hyundai Excel (they don't make these anymore, thank goodness, but this was a cute car, even though the metal exterior had the thickness of a sardine can)
4 jobs I have had
1. As a college student, I worked one summer in Toronto as a telephone interviewer for a radio ratings survey company (equivalent of the Nielsen's ratings for television) in Canada. It was an interesting job; I met lots of interesting people and I sure gained a lot of polish on my telephone conversation skills (some of which I use to this day!).
2. I worked for a couple of summers as a kitchen porter in a nursing home. I washed pots and pans, swept and mopped floors, and took in deliveries of food/produce.
3. I worked for one summer in the kitchen of the Toronto airport, where they prepared the on-flight meals. This was back in the days when the airlines actually served decent hot meals.
4. One summer I worked as a surveyor of people's parking needs at a downtown shopping mall for the city of Toronto. Neither glamorous nor exciting, but they paid us reasonably well.
4 places I have lived
1. Toronto, Ontario, Canada (I grew up here; still one of my favorite places in the entire world)
2. Gurnee, Illinois (northern suburb of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border)
3. Woodstock, Georgia (northwestern suburb of Atlanta)
4. Columbia, South Carolina (an interesting city filled with terrific churches, a highly regarded seminary and a great university)
4 vacations I have taken
1. London and Paris (wonderful historic sites)
2. Cruise in the Caribbean (total sensory deprivation from the real world; best way to be pampered)
3. Coastal North and South Carolina (great times on the beach with my family)
4. Washington, DC (I love the history of the mall area, especially the Air and Space museum; we are planning to take our kids on their first visit soon)
4 vehicles I have owned
1. Buick Skylark (my first car)
2. 1995 Volvo 850 sedan (More than 150K miles on this car and still going strong)
3. 1998 Toyota Sienna van (extremely reliable for long trips and for transporting all the kids' sports gear)
4. Hyundai Excel (they don't make these anymore, thank goodness, but this was a cute car, even though the metal exterior had the thickness of a sardine can)
