What A Night

As you guys probably know by now, I went to the 2011 NHL All Star Game last night with a friend of mine from school. Let me just that it was AWESOME! We both had a lot of fun and there was so much to see and do before and during the game. Before the game, there was a party out on the lawn of the RBC Center that included food (at a price), games, live music, and much more. 

My friend and I played a puck shooting game, cornhole, and a puck control game. We also signed up for a drawing to try and win an All Star jersey signed by Eric Staal. We haven't heard back from that yet, so we either didn't win or they haven't had the drawing. By the time we played all the games, it was time to head inside. Before we went to our seats, we go into a mass of people in the Eye Store and bought some ASG souvenirs. Then we headed to our seats to enjoy the game!

Our seats were great! They were lower level, kind of cornered, but you could see every minute of the action. The festivities started off with a bang (and a surprise). A group of kids skated onto the ice and did a narration piece set like they were going to start a pickup game. There were a couple team captians who were picking the players by choosing hockey sticks at random. One by one, they picked; but then when one kid picked up a hockey stick and a man said "Hey, that's my stick." It was Rod Brind'Amour, former Hurricanes captain. Then the other kid picked up a stick and the same thing happened. This time, it was Ron Francis, former Canes player and now assistant coach. That was an amazing!

The game itself was good. Team Staal (who really had a home ice advantage) lost the game to Team Lidstrom 11-10, but it really didn't matter. It was just amazing to see that group of players playing together in one place! I will never forget this event for the rest of my life! I know I have thanked them multiple times on Twitter, but thanks once again to WRAL for picking me to win the tix to the game!

P.S. On a little different note, I showed my "fight back" side in the parking lot after the game. Here's what I mean...we were waiting to get out from our parking space and into the line of traffic to get out. Then, this SUV stops and the driver acts like they are going to let us out. However, the driver kept pointing at another SUV one or two spaces away from us (who was also trying to get out).

We looked at her all confused and she rolled down her window and I rolled down mine (this is where it gets good). She said to me in a really hateful tone, "I was trying to let that car (the other SUV) out." Then I said, "Ok but you don't have to be so hateful." She gave me a look like "Oooo boy you've said it now" and rolled up her window. We ended up pulling out anyway and, to make her even more angry, we let another car in front of us in the line of traffic. I mean, what's the difference in letting us out and that other SUV? That was so strange but funny!

Dream Come True

As you guys have seen on my blog (and my Twitter account) I have been, let's just say, upset about the way the ticket system for the NHL All Star Game has worked. I am still upset, don't get me wrong, but I have some awesome news...I'm going! Yep that's right! WRAL has had another Twitter contest for tix all this week and, after imploding the system with tweets, I won 2 tix to the All Star Game! I honestly am still in shock. I'm so honored and blessed to win these tix. This marks the second time I've actually won something (the other being the trip to NYC). I have to go up to the studios tomorrow to get the tix.

I've never actually done this before, but I am sorry if my posts on this issue seemed a little on the ranting side of things. That said, I still believe that people shouldn't have to go through all this to just get tix. At the sametime, it does feel awesome to actually win the tix. That means I didn't have to shell out $1,000+ for tix to the game. As far as I know, all I've got to pay for is parking, food, and any souvenirs I get. Not a bad deal!

Legacy Update #5

Today, Grey Stone had a meeting with the Durham Board of Adjustment to present their building/site plan for approval so they can acquire the permits to build it. All motions passed, and GSBC has cleared another hurdle in the building process! There was talk at the first meeting of building sidewalks and/or pedestrian and bike paths through the site; but the board today said they would not require it! Praise God!

Silent But Deadly

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while but there really hasn't been a whole lot to blog about lately. This is such a crazy (but true) story of a man and his farts. Here it is: a man was arrested for stabbing four people, killing one and injuring three. Sounds like a classic crime, right? Well, the man's reasoning behind it was very odd. Apparently all four of the victims made fun of him for his, um, flatulance. The man was arrested and charged with murder, assault, and carrying a dangerous weapon. He is being held under $2 million bond.

Yep, that's right, the man stabbed four people all because they made fun of his farting! I guess this time the saying is true, "silent but deadly"...very deadly. Read the full story here.

All-Star Weekend

All-Star weekend is coming soon to Raleigh, but with that I am very disappointed. I know, I know, it seems like I take a good thing and always have some problem with it. I knew tickets would be very hard to come by, so I thought that maybe I could be a volunteer either at the game itself or at least in some capacity during this huge weekend in the NHL.

I had a chance to ask about it during a Q&A session with a Hurricanes rep at the NCRPA conference I went to back in November. He told me that they had a meeting for volunteering before the conference. I had no idea that there was a meeting. He said that I could try and put my name on the list but they already had more people who attended than they had spots for. In other words, my chances of being able to volunteer were slim, very slim. I was so disappointed about this because I knew that was probably the only way I could be involved with the game.

The second thing is availability of tickets. The NHL has promised all season ticket holders tickets to the All-Star game. I know they want to honor those who are faithful and get season tickets but, come on! What about the people who can't get season tix for whatever reason? I think, for something this huge, the NHL should let the tix go on sale, first come first serve. If you don't get the tix before everyone else, too bad! I've always believed this should happen. Those who buy season tickets are no bigger fans than those who don't! Oh well, I know no matter how much I cry about it, it'll never change. At least I'll be home for the weekend so I can watch it.

Like I said, I know I always take a good thing and complain about something, but I really want to go and experience this once-in-a-lifetime event (especially since its literally in my backyard) but I guess I won't. Hope all you la di da season ticket holders enjoy the 2011 NHL All-Star Game.

Update

Well, I technically have one more day until I go back to State to start my second semester. I don't want to go back just because its school! It's been so nice waking up and being lazy for the past couple weeks! Oh well, all good things have to come to an end, right? On the plus side, I don't have a single night class this semester. In fact, the latest I get out of a class is 5:45 pm, so that'll be nice!

In other news, I finally decided to email the NC State Fair manager and give him my suggestions for the concerts that I talked about in my last update. Believe it or not, he did actually email me back and passed my ideas along to the entertainment person. Hopefully at least one of those acts could come to the Fair next year. That would be awesome!

In the Twitterverse, I have yet another celeb follow. This time from Corbin Bleu. That brings my total to three in a span of about a month. Like the other two celebs, I did absolutely nothing to get them to follow me. Many people will tweet and tweet and tweet to try and get them to follow, to no prevail. Not me! Guess I'm just a beast at attracting celebs to follow me on Twitter...haha! Anyway, Twitter has been a pretty cool addition to my social networking universe.

This week will be another busy one for me. In addition to school, I have Campus Crusade Bible study Monday and I am supposed to go see "The Lion King" at the DPAC with my church's music ministry on Tuesday. I say "supposed" because we are expecting some wintry weather down here so I'm not sure if we'll be able to go on this night. If not, we can trade our tix for another show, so I'm not worried about losing my money or anything. We will have a long weekend next weekend (MLK Day) so I'll have an extra day just to chill. Can't wait!

Experience Needed In Congress

The new 112th Congress is now "hard at work" to get this country on the right path again...yeah right! This new Congress has 35 "freshman" members, many of whom have had little or no previous political expereince. That concerns me. 

I believe, for the US Congress, all members should have at the very least a year or two of prior experience in politics; whether it be mayor, governor, state congress, etc. For instance, Renee Ellmers. She is a nurse and joined a Republican political campaign...yea that's about it. Heck, as long as you can raise enough money and gain enough popularity, you too could probably run for Congress. This idea needs to change and all Congressmen and women need to be much more experienced in the political field.

Million Dollar Ripoff

Fox has come out with a new show called "Million Dollar Money Drop" where contestants have $1 Million to risk on a series of questions. They lose any money they place on the worng answers. Whatever money they have left at the end of the game is what they keep (unless they lose it all before). Well, not even a full week and the show has already drawn a lot of criticism. A couple played the game and risked $800,000 on Post-It Notes, an answer to a question about which invention was sold first. Their answer was wrong (according to the show) and they lost the $800,000. However, when the couple did some further research after the show, they found out that their answer was correct after all. The couple's story gained national attention, prompting the game show to act. In a statement, the show's producers said:

"Unfortunately, the information our research department originally obtained from 3M regarding when Post-it notes were first sold was incomplete. As a result of new information we have received from 3M, we feel it is only fair to give our contestants, Gabe and Brittany, another shot to play 'Million Dollar Money Drop' even though this question was not the deciding question in their game"

Oh, and it gets even better. The host, Kevin Pollack, apparently told the Hollywood Reporter that the couple had no chance of winning the money anyway because they got the next question wrong as well. Okay, first off, who the heck is Kevin Pollack? I mean, this guy acted like a complete butthole and showed no respect for the couple or what happened. How dare he do something like that! I bet he wouldn't like going through that same BS the couple went through. In addition, the show blames 3M for providing them with the wrong info. They should have checked and verified the question before they used it in the game. That's just plain common sense!

Now, they have "generously" offered the couple a chance to go through the same BS they went through before? Shoot, I would tell them give me my $800,000! I mean, when "Jeopardy!" makes a mistake, they give the money to the contestant no questions asked. Why can't this show do the same? Kevin Pollack may soon be out of a job because I think "Money Drop" is dropping straight into the toilet after all this. I watched the show once (before all this of course) and that will be the last time I watch it! Below is a vid of this huge mishap...

My Bucket List

You know, my previous post got me thinking...what exactly is on my bucket list? I thought and thought and compiled a short list for you guys to check out!

1) NYC for New Year's

2) Travel to London, Paris, South Africa, and Hollywood

3) Disney World

4) See MercyMe and Rascal Flatts in Concert

5) Meet some of my favorite musicians and celebs (you know who they are)

So there you have it. Not too bad, right? As I said, I'm hoping to fulfill #1 on the list this year, if everything works out. So, here's my question...what's on your bucket list? Drop me a comment or Tweet me and let me know!

2011 Challenge

You know, many people have a list of resolutions for the new year and I'm no exception. However, the #1 resolution for me is save money. Why? Well, I want to so I can make a big splurge at the end of this year. I'm in the process of working out a trip to New York to see next year's ball drop in Times Square! Yes, I know it's crazy, but I've never seen it before and I really have been wanting to go back to NYC since that trip I took back in 2010. I've never really had a challenge for saving money, but I am pretty responsible with it and I think it won't be too much of an issue for me.

The dream trip would be like a 4 or 5 day trip to NYC and I may look at taking a train or even flying up there. A train/plane would be easier than driving (no parking worries, etc.). It would be awesome if everything worked out, but it won't be easy. I'll really start focusing on my savings once I (hopefully) start work at day camp this summer and I think instead of asking for tangible gifts for my birthday, I'll ask everyone to contribute to my savings for this trip. This is something I really want to do and I'm going to try my best to fulfill this dream!

Rose Parade Disappointment

I've always loved watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day since I could remember. That feeling could be in jeopardy after today's poor showing of the parade by all broadcast stations. First off, both ABC and NBC had frequent commercial breaks in between and features going behind the scenes and showing different aspects of the parade. I mean, all that behind the scenes stuff is nice but, just show the parade!!!! Hallmark Channel and HGTV showed the parade without commercials, but all have one thing in common. All these channels never showed my hometown band, the NCCU Marching Sound Machine, perform.

I later found out that the band performed after the network broadcast and it was supposedly shown on the cable stations (Hallmark and HGTV) according to WRAL. This I believe was not the case as Hallmark simply replayed the parade. This was (I think) the first time a band from Durham was featured on the parade and no one in Durham even got to see it!  I don't even call that performing in the freaking parade!!!! I was so disappointed in all the stations and I may even change up my tradition and just not watch it anymore. Just plain ridiculous!!!!