Well the regular season is over and the race is on for the STANLEY CUP. I can’t say that I am as excited as I would have been when I was a kid, but I am still really looking forward to it. It may have something to do with having no friends. (Having no friends is kind of liberating…but I digress.) Is anyone interested in my Buffalo Sabres Hockey predictions for the playoffs? If I can’t see the games out here I’ll be really sad! Ok in a nutshell, here we go: I think the Sabres will take Philly in 5 relatively easy games, (all we have to do is contain Peter Forsberg and they will go down hill fast) then they’ll beat the devils in seven games and sweep the Hurricanes before an intense third round with the Senators, that series will also go 7 games. Buffalo may or may not be able to beat the Senators… I think it depends on whether or not Hasek is, a) on the ice b) playing like we know he can play. If Dominik Hasek is healthy and ‘on his game,’ there is no beating him. Even if he is a little rusty in the beginning, we wont face him on the ice for a month, which is really plenty of time to loosen up. I can’t imagine how it will feel if the Sabres make it all the way to the finals. It would be just my luck, since this is my first time living out of the city for more than six or eight weeks, that the Sabres would go all the way. I can just see myself now driving back to Syracuse at 2 am all tired and stupid after a game so I can work the next day.


I forgot to post this on Friday, and let me say that although the Sabres won the game on Saturday, I a quite disappointed because for some reason the game was blacked out in Syracuse!!! WTF?? It was on the TV schedule but when I tuned in all pumped up for the game (dinner ready, lucky pj’s, etc.) there was some sort of old time hockey special playing with a message scrolling across the bottom of the screen saying that the game wasn’t going to be seen in this area. I called the cable company but they couldn’t tell me why. RATS! What if I can’t watch any of the games. I’m so sad!

Not too sad for a shopping spree, however. This weekend I bought 1) a new queen sized pillow top bed, 2) a new bright red comfy love seat, and 3) a new black chaise lounge. Note that I said ‘new’ not ‘good-will’ or ‘someone gave it to me.’ God I love having a real job. The bed was delivered on Saturday. The rest will be coming in the next few weeks. I can’t wait! My apartment almost looks like home! Funny story about buying the bed… I looked online for discount mattress stores on Friday. I found a few, and on Sat. got up early and happily went looking for a new bed. The first place I went was a factory direct place. It was kind of big and creepy but I went in anyway. There was a sign that said 'mattress showroom at end of dock.’ I followed the arrow and came across some guys smoking cigarettes. They said ‘Hi’ and I said ‘hi’ and, pointing toward the end of the dock, I asked ‘are they in there?' They said ‘yeah go right on in.’ So I did. It was kind of cold and dark and really cluttered and messy. I was surprised at the loud rock music playing somewhere in the back. I saw a few people walking around in workshop type clothes and lots of materials for mattress-making stacked up at stations on the floor. There were big staplers hanging from the ceiling etc. I thought, hmm factory direct is definitely the right thing to call this. I turned the corner and there were a few beds lined up near a desk. I started trying them out. There were workers walking around, and they definitely saw me, but no one said anything. While I was laying on one of the beds wondering when someone was going to come out and try to sell me a bed, I noticed a sign on the desk that had the store hours on it. It said they were closed on Saturday. I jumped up and looked around. No wonder no one came over to help me. They were trying to figure out what the hell I was doing there. I definately saw more than one guy walk by and give me a sideways glance. I got the hell out of there. I passed by the same guys smoking cigarettes on the way out. They said ‘did you find him?’ I said ‘yes,’ as I walked quickly past them, smiling but totally embarrassed. They must have thought I was looking for a person, not a mattress. I can’t believe I didn’t notice any of the clues that the store was closed. I can’t believe I was lying on a bed in a closed-for-the-weekend, dark factory and no one yelled at me. Stoner moment.