resume transmission

Gonna start putting stuff here again.  It's been a while.

I'm also gonna go ahead and assume that if you're here, you have at least passing knowledge of who I am, so rather than beginning at the beginning I'll just pick things up from here, and you'll all just have to muddle along and do your best to keep up.

Violet and I have been cohabiting for nearly a month now, and it has been smooth, we spent enough time together before now that things really aren't all that different, and it's only for a little while, since she'll be leaving for Germany soon (pause for laughter).  I'm still plugging away as a professional walker, and we're just getting to the time of year where that starts to be an unpleasant prospect, but in all honesty I've found the winters much easier since I started working outside than I ever did when I was employed indoors.  That might not make sense to you, but even when you're freezing your tits off, getting out and helping yourself to some exercise and fresh air does wonders for your outlook on things, and at least if I'm working outside in the winter I get to see the sun for more than 5 minutes a day, none of this "go to work when it's still dark" and "get home, it's already dark" nonsense.  Dodgeball and curling are keeping me busy, dodgeball is most definitely a young man's game, and I don't move as well as I did even a couple years ago, and the shoulder takes longer to recover than it used to, but I'm still holding my own against kids who were born in the mid-90s, and the post-game beers taste as good as they ever did, so why not keep doing it as long as I'm able, yeah?

So, for the first time in the history of blogs, the Leafs are actually worth tuning in for.  It's early days of course, and small sample size and all that, but man so far Matthews and Marner and the rest all look like the real deal, and more importantly they've been fun to watch every night.  The team is full of guys who can move the puck and skate like hell, and skill all the way down the lineup, just a complete 180 from the idiocy of Nonis and Carlyle and grit and heart and leadership and size being more important than you know, actual ability.  Of course they're going to do things like blow 4-goal leads, they're all just babies, but you know what else they do?  They get 4-goal leads, and that's a nice place to be starting  from.  Freddie Andersen needs to be better, I had a conversation this summer regarding the trade, and I said he was an "average NHL goalie" and I still think that's true, but ya gotta remember that's not an insult, being an average goalie in the NHL still means you're probably one of the 20-25 best in the world, and on any kind of well-built, well-coached team, average goaltending should be more than enough most nights, just look at Chris Osgood.