All Apologies

So I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post. Things have been good and I'll try to update you on what's been going on.

1. Team Gunnison Brewery has won two more games and tied two more games. I have also scored another goal, although this one was less exciting beause my shot deflected off of two guys before finding its way into the net. But, it still counts and I'll definitely take it. In one of our games we were down 3 goals heading into the 3rd period but were able to rally back for the tie. It was a pretty nice comeback to keep our undefeated season alive. Next week we play the second best team twice, so that will show us what we are made of.

2. So, I also have the chance to play up pick-up hockey now and again. I played last week and for some reason they put me and my brother on different teams. And... wait for it... I scored on him. Pretty pumped. I kept wanting to make it happen all game long and finally in the 3rd I was able to put one through. Pretty sweet.


3. It dumped out here this past weekend. Here's the view from my window of my car getting covered. It snowed pretty much all day Friday big chuncks of hard falling snow and kept snowing throughout the weekend. It's like Christmas around here when that happens. Everyone and their mom was on the mountain Saturday, including me. I've never run in so much powder before, I was drowning in it.



I went for it Saturday because in really cuddly powder even if you wreck yourself you can catch a pretty soft landing, of course the flip side is you get pretty wet. More than once I used my head to melt the snow in my beanie.

5. I'm engaged**

6. I've been really enjoying the Church I've been going to out here. It's called Bethany Baptist and I'm trying to get more involved with the college guys, so far that has been slow going but there are a couple good guys so I hope it starts to gain momentum. Here's the website in case you are interested. www.gunnisonbethany.com

7. I am also working with an orginization called Partners, which is basically Colorado's version of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. I have been matched up with a 15 year old guy. It's been pretty good, we have only hung out a three times but the last time we seemed to connect better. I'm meeting up with him today to grab lunch and Saturday Crested Butte is sponsoring Partners and letting us take the kids up to the mountain for a free day of skiing/boarding, so that's legit. My kid likes to listen to death metal or as I like to call it scream rock. I tried to check it out on Pandora to be a good mentor, not happening.

** No I'm not

Well, that's it, I'll try to be a bit more consistent.

Officially a Goal Scorer

So I scored my second goal of the season last night. Pretty legit. Our center won the face-off, the puck came straight to me, I stopped it with my skate, and then backhanded it in the opposite corner off the post. A guy on the other team even said "great goal, nothing you can do about that." To say the least I was pretty stoked. However, I need to work on my celebration, I was pretty amped and just raised my fist and yelled "yes!" over and over. I can do better, and the fans deserve better. That's where you all come in. Yes, another poll, what should my goal scored celebration be?

So my hockey scoring mentality isn't much different from basketball. If I can shoot it, shoot it (just ask "my buddy Mike" from the last post, I am definitely a gunner when it comes to hoops). Don't think about it just shoot it. In hoops I feel like I have a bit (a lot) more control over what happens, but it seems to be the general strategy to always get the puck on goal if you can.

So with no further ado, here are your voting/celebration options

Machine gun


Ride Stick


Moonwalk


Swim on ice


Dive through glass


And unfortunately not in the running (although we do have a couple chicks on our team) (Warning: adult content)

the District and Cassidy's v. Tomichi Tavern and the Wine Bar

Sorry about the delay but here goes the exceptional nightlife blog.

As with everyone, whether you have a good time going out it is largely due to who you are going out with. In Newport it was almost always with this guy:

(dude standing tall)

We went to Michigan together but really got to become friends working at Gibson and more directly via the "Team Gibson" basketball team. The night would usually start at Mike's house, where'd we have a couple beers and watch hoops while people gradually gathered to go out. We'd chill at Mike's until we finally hit the boiling point and left. The boilling point usually manifested itself when someone would just pull rank and call a cab without really clarifying with everyone if they wanted to go yet or not. To be fair this is usually the only way I'd ever go out, I'm more than happy hanging out with Mike, drinking a couple beers, and watching hoops.

In Gunnison, I usually go out with this guy:

He doesn't live in Gunnison, he lives in Lake City about an hour a way, but it's good when he comes up because he brings the party with him. As opposed to meeting at Mike's awesome Newport Beach pad I've noticed going out in Gunnison usually starts at the hockey rink. I can't complain too much, it usually lends itself to a pretty good group of people.

Location:

In Newport Beach, not surprisingly, we were near the beach, so location was hard to beat. First off the weather was usually very near perfect. In fact, I would almost always ride my beach cruiser to Mike's place as opposed to driving (not really a lot of parking in Newport in the summer so the beach cruiser is definitely the better option). Plus, during the summer months I'd usually be heading up to Mike's just after sunset, which made for a beautiful ride along the boardwalk running parallel to the ocean. Very good way of starting the night.

In Gunnison, it's a bit chillier. I did wear my flips out one night but pretty quickly regretted that decision as the weather dropped from 40 to 20. There isn't a night in Newport all year long that you can't get away with wearing flips. While realizing that you won't be spending much time outside (not a lot of smokers here in Gunni during the winter months) you still have to bundle up a bit. Most people will wear long underwear and a few layers up top. Also, you can't just stumble home out here. You need a ride. Fortunately they have "Dude-a-ride" which is a free shuttle service that will pick you up at the bar and take you straight home. They don't have cabs in Gunnison. Seriously.

Also, I feel compelled to add that some people, even in the dead of winter, will ride their bikes to the bar. Out here beach cruisers are called "townies."

The bars themselves are pretty similar. I prefered the dive bars out in Newport and in Gunnison that's pretty much all you've got. The difference, sadly, is you can find a few full bars out in Newport, usually in Gunnison your best bet is half full.

Apparel

In Newport fools usually look just a little less ridiculous than the cast of jersey shore. That's not exactly accurate, you certainly have the very strong laid back surfer-wear contingent. Unfortunately, on the other hand, you also have the strong Ed Hardy contingent. Every time we'd go out, one of my friends would tell me "Mark it looks like you just woke up" or some other dig at my appearance. To be fair a lot of times he was fairly accurate, but he also was wearing shirts like this:

(no matter how bad I looked I reckon I still came out ahead)

(unfortunately this is not uncommon in Newport)

In Gunnison, the story is quite different. As you can see from the following picture, the guy on the left is wearing a camoflauge hat and Wade on the right is wearing camo pants. Also, a lot of people when they go to the bar don't bother getting rid of their jackets but just keep them on for the night. So instead of jeans, a plain t and flips in Newport, I wear jeans, a jacket and boots (sometimes my flannel if I dress to impress). Really not too much of a difference. However, because people traded in their Ed Hardy's for Bass Pro Shop I suddenly went from "homeless" to "preppy" without really changing my look.

Pick-up Lines:

In Newport, the same friend that would tell me I looked like I just woke up would go up to girls I was talking to and tell them that I was a lawyer at a big law firm. Classy. In Gunnison my buddy asked a girl if she'd want to go hunting with him some time. He later confided in me that he was intimated by the fact that this chick had taken down a 300 point buck, whatever that means. Both of the stories, believe it or not, are 100% true. Personally I prefer the hunting angle.

Women:

I'm going to leave this one alone, but there is definitely a distinct difference.

Conclusion:

If you like the people you are going out with you are going to have a good time whether it's in Newport or Gunnison. The only real difference is that in Newport you don't need a shot of whiskey to stay warm.