doodledee

I finally had a free Saturday morning last weekend to join up with the other dudes from the neighborhood for the weekly ice hockey game. I'd estimate it was the first time I've laced-up my skates in 2+ years, and the first time I've played 'hockey' in probably 5 or more. I know, I know, it sounds just as crazy to me, but we've had all that warm weather and all those babies and stuff, so it's not like I don't have a few excuses to fall back on, so save it.

This just in: it turns out you don't forget how to play hockey as quickly as I though you would have. My blades were [literally] rusty - and my stick handling and passing weren't much better - but I held my own against the 'former players' and had my way with some of the more 'recreational' guys who were out on the rink. Except for the times when I had to coast over to the boards to suck wind, that is. That's when I was 'less effective'. And, unfortunately, those times came like every 4 minutes. And that's probably a little embarrassing. Especially after one of my neighbors trashed talked about how he had gone for a run before we played. Freak.

Also filed under embarrassing: My toes were so cold and numb after playing for 90 minutes that when I took off my skates, my eyes [again, literally] watered and I found myself unable to speak. Thank god the warming house was open. I hobbled inside and crashed on a bench, put my throbbing bare feet up on a chair, tilted my head back, and whimpered at the ceiling. This pathetic display went on for maybe 10 minutes. It was just me and some high school kid in a red 'rink attendant' windbreaker. I'm sure that wasn't weird for him at all.

Drop the puck.

In other outdoor hockey news, the Yuppie Dirtball Uptown Media gang's tour of East Coast pond hockey blog thing has been a fun, if short, read. Check it.