All the cool kids are doing it!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Everyone's doing the 100 Things (also a list!) thing, and since I go with the cool kids, like Heather B, MJ, and Katie, I'm doing it too.  I never knew it'd be that hard, and this is only 25...

1. I’m going to school for childhood and special education, and a minor in educational technology. I love messing with HTML and websites along with having fun with everything we did...after an A+ in that class last semester, I added it on.

2. I want to be a teacher of the hearing impaired. I love learning sign language, and I’m interested in how people can communicate that way/how they might relearn speaking and other skills… and it was all started by my mom. She’s an itinerant teacher of the hearing impaired in the Buffalo school district. I used to LOVE going to Take Your Daughter to Work Day with her.

3.  I’m the oldest of 4 kids… it goes girl-boy-girl-boy, and 2 years-3 years-2-years. It’s kind of weird how it all happened.

4. If I wasn’t so into teaching, I would go into music in a heartbeat. I’d love to work with record labels and bands and the like.

5. I love playing instruments, but I wasn’t always good. My first instrument was a recorder in third grade, (everyone had to at my school) and I passed 2 levels out of 10. I wasn’t allowed to play “My Heart Will Go On” in the concert and I was crushed.

6. I’m a total band geek. I was in orchestra in elementary school as the only girl sax player, and then marching/concert/jazz band in high school.

7. I have gone to 35 concerts within the past 5 years, and with 58 bands. I’ve seen my favorite band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers 9 times, local band Seven Day Faith 3 times, Goo Goo Dolls 2 times, Lifehouse 2 times, Ronnie Day 2 times, The Click Five 2 times, Teddy Geiger 2 times, Dirtie Blonde 2 times, Cute Is What We Aim For 2 times, and The Juliet Dagger 2 times. Yes, I keep track.
August is going to be a super concert month: More Than Me at the Tralf, 1997 at Club W, Jack's Mannequin at Town Ballroom, John Mayer/OneRepublic at Darien Lake, Seven Day Faith at the Canal...

8. If you haven’t noticed, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers are my favorite band. I saw them accidently when I went to see Howie Day at Thursday in the Square. They opened, were really great, and Howie pretty much sucked. Plus he is a total jerk. The rest is history.

9. I’m a street team rep for a number of different bands, though mainly for, you guessed it, SK6ERS. I pass out flyers at other shows, send people emails and links with samples/info, have people sign up for the email list at their concerts, sell merchandise at shows, and things of that nature. It’s a great way to connect with other fans and the guys in the band. They remember you and appreciate all you do. (Plus, you get free shows and merch and special events!)

10. I’m not athletic at all. I played basketball and soccer in middle school, but that’s the kind when they let everyone play.

11. I love watching Jon & Kate Plus 8. Some people think it’s weird to watch other kids’ lives on tv, but there’s something about that family that is so adorable. Aaden is my favorite!

12. Every Sabres game that I've been to, we've won. My first game was when I was 5, then most have been more recent since my parents would never buy tickets/I bought my own after getting money from working.  It's 7 total.  This season was the Matt Man shutout game, and the 7-1 Hurricanes game in March.  Last season, a Panthers game, the Calgary shootout, and the awesome Staffy goal game against the Caps.

13.  I started reading at 2 1/2.  I started with Disney books on tape aka memorizing them, then I would read brand names in the car (Pepsi! JcPenney's! Hills!).  Ironically, I'm not a fan of shopping now.

14. I’m really close to my brother Joey; he’s 2 years younger than me though he looks much older than me. We both have the same sarcastic sense of humor (we loveee The Office), are into technology and the same kind of music, etc.

15. I still don’t have my driver’s license. There’s a long story behind it that I took driver’s ed, we had one car, I never practiced then went away to school where there were no freshman cars on campus. I’m working on it though!

16. My dad got me into hockey… it’s basically a pre-requisite for our family! It starts young and grows, at least for everyone except my mom (who isn’t a sports person despite having 4 brothers), and my brother Joey who’s only slightly interested.

17. I hate to talk on the phone. HATE IT. Looking for other summer jobs was awful when I had to call places. Most of the time, to talk to friends, I text. My dad hates that and “my generation” for that.

18. I have 8783 songs on my iPod. (Yes, it went up since my music post!)  Music definitely takes up almost all of my laptop space.

19. One of my favorite books is Harriet the Spy. I had a copy when I was in elementary school and would read it every week, and would always carry around a marble notebook. Then when the movie came out, I thought Michelle Trachtenberg was the coolest person ever.

20. I was almost every Disney princess for Halloween. Esmeralda, Meg from Hercules, Jasmine from Aladdin, etc. And my mom made every single one. (Along with my 3 other siblings’ costumes.)

21. Going to Mount Saint Mary’s for high school was one of the best choices I ever made. I made my closest friends there, and really became who I am today. I stepped outside of my shell and joined clubs and did a lot of things outside my comfort zone. It was the best 4 years of my life so far, and I really hope my own girls can go there.

22. I’m 1/4 Lebanese, and it’s my most celebrated background compared to my 1/2 German and other 1/4 Irish.

23. I can't do a cartwheel, and never have been able to.

24.  I honestly never want to leave Buffalo.  There's just something about this city that makes it a special place for me.

25.  I've never had a bedroom with a door, besides our old apartment.  My family moved into the house we live in now when I was 2, and my dad added on a huge addition himself.  But after having the plumbing and other things done professionally, he realized it was all screwed up, and has been fixing things ever since.  We don't even have real walls in our back room!  (My sister and I used to joke that we wanted a door for Christmas.)

Without music, life would be a mistake.

I'm a HUGE music geek. I've played the piano and the alto sax since I was in 4th grade, was in almost every band in high school (go Mount marching band/jazz ensemble!), am learning to play the guitar, and loveeee to go to concerts. I also have 8729 songs on my computer... thank you iTunes. And the title quote is from Nietzsche, also one of my senior quotes.

When the end of the season came about, I made this little playlist for my Sabres believing hopes, etc. Because my friends and I are pretty much dorks, we would play the songs before games to get all pumped up and the like. Corny, but it was fun.

I decided that I was going to post it, and after editing it a little so it's not so playoff-y, it's finally here... my Sabres and also Buffalo playlist!

"Buffalo is a big city and a small town at the same time. There are neighborhoods and families, that kind of thing. There's always a bit of optimism in Buffalo. It's a city of survivors."

1. I Love This Town - Bon Jovi
I always knew, that I'd like this place/You don't have to look too far, to find a friendly face
I feel alive when I'm walkin' on the street/I feel the heart of the city poundin' underneath my feet

2. Sabre Dance
self explanatory.

3. I Feel Home - O.A.R.
We got nothing to do, and I look at you/I see something that I know and love.
and with the crack of a smile we all stay a while/we know from home there ain't nothing above.

4. My Town - Michael Stanley Band
This town--is my town/She's got her ups and downs
But love or hate it--it don't matter/'cause this is my town

5. Better Days - Goo Goo Dolls
also self explanatory.

6. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
everyone knows these lyrics!

7. Beautiful - Flickerstick
the goal song towards the end of the season, and I fell in love with it.

8. Sabres Song - Picture This
this was in the 97 Rock Sabres song contest, and it was done by some former members of my favorite local band (which is now back together again I guess...)
it's 4 below in Buffalo and we're at the game tonight/our jersey's on, we're screaming loud
the red light's on with every goal we score/we'll scream yeah, we want more

9. City Of Blinding Lights - U2
just a favorite, when the Sabres would skate onto the ice to this great song :)

10. This Is Our Town - We The Kings
Cause this is our town/This is who we're meant to be/This is our town
We're our roots have grown so deep/All I ask is that you'll be here when I return

11. Hurricane 2000 - Scorpions
you know it's game time with this song.

12. "Sabres Delight" Rap - WGR
if you haven't heard it before, you need to. it's a much quoted production from Nick Mendola!

13. Days (live at High Fidelity: Rochester, NY) - Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers
a live one from my favorite band...it's a great upbeat song about believing and when things are good (though it has some extras and is 12 minutes long oops!)

You relieve the clouds of rain/You remind me that they'll be other days
And it goes without saying, if you should catch me praying/it's for days just like this one today

So I hope you enjoy them! I think soon, I'm going to make a post of my favorite music. Because if there are two loves in my life, it's hockey and music.

Cameras are the best invention ever.

Lists seems like they are "in" right now. And to present my feelings on how excited I am about Millsy's new contract and feelings about Buffalo, a list.

1. 
   
   I personally love T-Vans' face.
   
2. 
   
   
3. 
   
   
4. 
   
   
5. 
   

Well, maybe not my exact feelings, but... These pictures are pure GOLD. It's like Millsy's alter ego or something. I felt too creepy posting the crooked pinky/rockstar picture with the girl in the picture, hence the bar, haha. But you have to get the full effect, the face isn't enough!
So hopefully he's as happy about the contract and the whole situation as he is in these pictures. Either way, they're never going to get old. (There you go, Anne!)

Anywayyy. Since it's hockey offseason, that means football training camp is in full swing. While I'm a football fan, it's not as strong of a love as I have for hockey.
For the Bills, the training camp is and has been held at St. John Fisher aka my lovely little school. I remember when moving in last year, all the trainers and other high up officials stayed in the main freshman dorm where I was. (They got screwed!) My internet didn't work for a week because whoever was in my room messed up the settings. Thanks, Bills trainer!

But looking at the pictures, it seems like the players stay in the 2nd best dorm on campus, Keough. It kind of boggles my mind, since there is a building called Founders that is closer to the field and much nicer, yet they aren't there. Founders is apartment style, with bigger rooms and a common area, not to mention that the floor kitchens and lounges are pretty awesome if I do say so myself. (You basically only get in there when your a senior/have a certain amount of credits, and that is my goal.)

I'm also wondering what happened food wise. We had BIG drama over the food service changing for next year. Our old service had been there for 10 years and the students were never informed that everything could be switching. Not to mention that our food was locally famous. Soooo good. The Bills players, though, are the first to try the new food service. I hope they're enjoying the cookie baskets or food delivery to your room that we're supposed to get this year!

I think it's pretty cool that my school is the place for all this attention. Yeah, there's not much when the Bills are gone, but it's fun nonetheless.

have fun at Fishy, guys!

Oh, and while I'm really behind on this, The Dark Knight? AWESOME. I saw it at the midnight IMAX screening (my friends are borderline obsessive in the craziest way, and not just for Christian Bale either), and it was really great. There were times where you didn't even remember that Heath Ledger was playing the Joker, he was just that good. I would definitely see it again.

And eventually I'm posting my music playlist. I have the files all zipped and ready for download, but I've been too lazy busy to set it all up. Summer really drains you, you know.

Millsy, a guy you can trust.

Well, I guess Ryan Miller is a man of his word. All he wanted to do was have a drunken-birthday-celebration-extravaganza! yesterday, and then he'd get down and dirty with signing an extension.

So after this:


he'll be back to this for 5 more years.


Quick, but very effective. Good job management and Millsy. Since I know you're probably celebrating even more, let me reiterate everyone's sentiments. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Time flies when you're doing nothing.

I've been MIA for a while, mainly because of being away and working and then losing track of time and all those other commonly used excuses. I care about everyone, I really do!
So my trip to New Jersey/Philly/NY was wicked awesome.

I encountered real life non-Buffalo traffic (like a 30+ mile long line of cars),

went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty,

Where's Soupy and Veins Veins Veins when you need them?

and saw my favorite band play on the 4th of July in the pouring rain.




Yes, there were tubas, keytars played with teeth, stuffed peppers, makeshift tents and tarps and one small light, and all that other stuff.

We were wet, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers were wet, the stage was wet, but it didn't matter. Even though everyone was dripping from the rain at the end, they still played and we still watched. And everyone had a blast.

- Sportsy related, we had to travel back and forth to all the places we were going to see. Driving on the Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey, you would always see the sports complex... the Wachovia Center - home of the Flyers/76ers/etc, Citizens Bank Park - home of the Phillies, and the Lincoln Financial Field - the home of the Eagles. It was kind of cool to see with everything in that one location, unlike ours with the Ralph out in Orchard Park and then HSBC and Dunn Tire downtown.

NOW. Clarkie, Pumpkin Pie-eh, and Mancari have all been resigned! I had no doubt in Paille, and maybe a little in Clarkie and Mancari's case. What can I say, I get sucked into the rumors sometimes. Don't judge! But this is obviously another great step forward.

And the schedule is up! Is it me, or does it seem that the season is starting later this year? I think last year started October 5th, and this year the 10th. Not a huge difference, but whatever.

I'm not sure if I like the new schedule format completely, but I do know that I like that Vancouver and LA come to HSBC throughout the season. Playing each Western Conference team once, with exception to our "at large" opponents (Anaheim, Detroit, Phoenix), is great so we can see other teams that didn't we see much of before. No seeing Pat Kane or Soupy at home though. Darn. I wanted to hear the booing.
Scanning through, there are no more back-to-back, home and home series with any teams. There are still back-to-back games, but none with the same team both times. If there are, they are more spaced out.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the schedule, I think. Besides the only 3 home games in January.

Oh, and in closing random news, Stephen Page was arrested on drug charges. That makes me a little sad. I love the crazy Canadian fools otherwise known as the Barenaked Ladies, and this happening when they're on a children's tour no less. Sad!