Don't call me "Ace"

The other day I was trotting along on a treadmill at the Alaska Club when I became distracted by an ad shown repeatedly on one of the screens. Seriously, though, anyone would be hooked by the words, "Win a free trip to Mexico or Hawaii!" The ad stated that anyone who registered in the contest could qualify for the drawing by losing ten pounds by March 14th. Marvelous, I thought. I intended on getting back in marathon shape anyway. Why not add extra incentive? However, once perusing the details online, I found that the contestants would have to weigh in at an Alaska Aces game held on January 1, 2 or 3. What??! Are you kidding me? I was picturing being on the ice between periods, humiliated in front of the large crowd of fans. Turns out that it's done in a private booth up by the concessions, much to my relief.

I wavered about going, but found myself wending my way to the Sullivan Arena a little after 8pm last Saturday night. When I arrived, I asked the ticket lady for a nosebleed seat--whatever the cheapest seat available was (I wasn't planning on staying long, seeing as how I was already about an hour late.)

Ticket lady: Wet or dry?
Me: Excuse me?
Ticket lady: Wet or dry?
Me (fumbling): Wet or dry? Um . . . what?
Ticket lady waits patiently, if unhelpfully.
Me: Oh! Dry. I guess. Obviously, right? Seeing as how I had no idea what you were talking about.
I chuckle, amused at my gaffe.
Ticket lady doesn't smile.
I escape into the arena.

I decided to stay and watch some of the game, seeing as how I paid to be there. Making my way up to the upper "dry" section, I quickly found myself baffled by many aspects of hockey. 1) What

color was I supposed to cheer for? A quick text to Amber answered that question--the guys in blue. Also, since when are hockey players allowed to bat the puck out of the air with their hands? Perhaps, I've been watching too much soccer, but I thought only the goalie was allowed to touch the puck with something other than a stick or a skate. This mystery didn't get cleared up until later, when I queried my always-knowledgable friend, Sarah. Apparently, you can stop it with your glove, but you can't catch it. Or something like that.

Anyhow, the great result of all of this being that I enjoyed myself way too much on Sunday, fiddling around with an Excel spreadsheet, scrupulously detailing my meals/snacks/exercise ambitions for the week. Aha! Therein lies my strengths--lists and MS Office. NOT HOCKEY. I hope to conduct myself with more grace at future hockey games--the midway check-in is on either February 11 or 13!