practicing my shot in the garage while wearing totally inappropriate shoes

22 May 2002
I can't believe I leave for Vancouver tomorrow. I made my plane reservations when I found out what day we planned to be done with our project at work, and consequently when we'd be getting a little time off. My thinking was, "I never get to turn one of these tournament trips into a mini-vacation, and this time I'm going to do that. Maybe Al can come, too!" So I booked a flight for Thursday the 23rd, even though the tournament doesn't start until Friday night. An extra day in Vancouver, yay!

What I completely forgot to take into account was that I'd be a sleep-deprived, overworked wreck by the time May 22 rolled around, and that a day off at home before getting on a plane would be preferable to an extra "vacation" day in Vancouver. Oops. I tried to change my flights, but it was a no-go. I've decided to make the most of my extra pre-tournament time, though, and spend it sleeping, reading, and shopping for a new hockey bag (one with wheels would be really nice). I'm sad that Al can't come, but it probably wouldn't be much fun for him anyway.

I definitely need some rest time *somewhere*, because my shaky mental state is affecting the way I play. We had a practice at Fremont Iceoplex last Friday, and while it felt great to get on the ice and do some drills, I was very quickly exhausted. I was thinking that being mentally worn out wouldn't matter pysically, but it does.

By Monday night's game, I was pretty worn out physically as well, since we'd worked eight days straight with no days off, and I wasn't getting much sleep. Oddly, I felt like my head was mostly in the game, but I couldn't get my body to do the right things. Again, I think this was a mental lapse; normally, my brain can stay in the game *and* keep my body moving. Monday night it seemed to be an either/or proposition. I've really tried to work on keeping my feet moving lately, but in this game I just couldn't do it. I kept stopping and coasting rather than going hard for everything. I hope I don't do that in Vancouver.

Speaking of playing in Vancouver (and not just traveling to/sleeping there), I think I'm slated for Center this time around. I'm excited about it; I actually enjoy playing Center, though I suck at faceoffs. I like the skating end-to-end aspect, and getting to use what little speed I have. Of course, I haven't played Center in a couple seasons, since we already have two or three Cs on Coastside, and I usually play D with the Spitfire. Maybe I should try to find a pickup game or open skate on Thursday night and practice tearing up and down the ice. Or maybe I should just get some sleep instead...