I've been thinkin about my doorbell, when you gonna ring it?

2010 is no more.

So now I've been thinking about my doorbell.  I've been thinking about who or what is going to ring it this year.

I had a lot of things and people ring my doorbell last year.  (One could say I had my bell rung several times) 
Everything that happened last year ~ it is what it is. 
The good and the bad, the sweet and the sour, all of it is in the past.  But when I take a long enough look at it all, a lot of fantastic things have happened to me and I am extremely grateful for each and every one of them.

But on to the new, the inevitable, the exciting, the unexplored frontier.  That is why I like the future.  It is ready for me to uncover, discover, or create.  No one has explored it before me.  Leif Erickson didn't see it before I did.  Watson and Crick didn't discover it before me.  I get to discover it all on my own.

And I've got a good feeling about 2011...
I've got some decent resolutions that I can keep.
I'm lacing up the old skates for a new season of hockey (this time in South Bend).
I've got a renewed sense of purpose.

But most of all...


I feel like something beautiful is just around the corner.

Life is Pain, Highness!

My psychology teacher asked the class if anyone liked pain.  No one raised their hand obviously.

People don't like to think about pain.  It reminds them of a painful event that happened to them and consequently makes them feel sad.

In today's world, it is not "ok" to be sad.  So people have developed ways to forget about all the painful things that have happened to them.  Until... they are reminded...

I was just sitting in my Calculus class using the Mean Value Theorem to prove that 2 cyclists who start a race at 8:15 am and finish the race at the same time (2 and a half hours later) go the same speed at the same time at least once during the race when, I had a thought, an uncontrollable thought.  Something seemingly harmless-- the Dallas Cowboys and their new quarterback.  Then I thought about the reason why we have to use our back up for the next 6 to 8 weeks.  It was right then and there that my right arm went limp and I felt the need to hold up my arm with my left hand.  Thinking about Tony Romo's clavicular fracture made my mind go back in time.  Not necessarily back to the exact moment when I broke my clavicle (because I didn't know that I had shattered it at the time; I though I had just bruised it) but I was transported back to the moment after I stepped off the ice, took off my shoulder pads, and felt my shoulder-- looking for the bone that was there just a minute before.  As soon as I knew that my bone (that should be there) was, in fact, not there, I was unable to breathe without encountering pain.

This is why Westley in The Princess Bride says "Life is pain."  He understands there is no getting around it and therefore no using trying to hide the fact that he is enduring pain.

But there is another thing that I haven't quite touched upon...yet.

This, seemingly depressing quote, comes from one of the greatest comedic films of all time.

This is not to say that all life is pain.  But that we shouldn't think that we can avoid or escape all the pains or sufferings that life brings us.

However, we think that we should be able to avoid pain or at least escape past pains because, after all, they happened in the past and cannot be affecting us now.  When we do this, we set ourselves up for even more pain later because it will resurface and it will be much worse.

Westley has the right idea.  Pain and sadness are a part of life.  He doesn't avoid it and he certainly doesn't seek it out.  He doesn't bury it deep down and he doesn't dwell on it either.  He welcomes pain and sadness because it is just a part of life and he deals with them properly.

We all can take a lesson from Westley.


because deep down we all want to be a fencing pirate who beats giants and has an immunity to iocane powder, right?

All of this calls to mind the saying: "Don't take life seriously.  No one gets out alive anyway."

Our thoughts and prayers are with Declan Sullivan and his family.  Rest in peace.

The Plan

Ok, this might sound crazy but, I want to follow my dream.

I want to be a hockey player.  Since I was 2 years old, I've wanted to play hockey professionally.  Now, I want to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

This isn't going to be a philosophical post.  This is just me planning out my life for the next 4 years.

I am planning on being the "Rudy" of my era.  I want to be the dark horse.
I am a Texas boy, Pre-med, Bio major (for now) and I want to be on the Division 1 hockey team that plays teams like Michigan, Minnesota, Boston University, Boston College, North Dakota, and Alaska.

To get to this point, I have to change my lifestyle.  I will get in shape (or in better shape than I am in now), eat right (which is so hard when there is Sbarro, BK, Chipotle, and 5 Guys so close), and study hard so I have time to focus on hockey.

I realize this is going to be difficult and I know there will be days where I don't want to run in the morning in the freezing South Bend weather.  But if I want to be the one playing during "Hockey Night in South Bend," this is what I have to do.

I am getting my ipod ready, bringing out the running shoes, the warm-ups, and the "can-do" attitude.

But seriously the running part is nothing I need to worry about.  I mean, I have the most beautiful campus in the world to run around.  I have no complaints.

This doesn't mean I will stop blogging.  In fact, I will keep you updated on my status as a potential Notre Dame hockey player (along with sharing my random experiences and thoughts).

(I am stealing this sign-off from one of my best friend's blog)

Chris is getting down to business...hockey business...