Game 7 And How I Survived

Sharks won 3-2 and live to play another day. While I am left to check my composure, heart rate and mental stability.

Dan Boyle - Thank you for doing what I was asking the entire team to do: Just keep hitting, just keep hitting...


First of all? Let me just throw the word "epic" out there to marinate in your thoughts today. The Sharks go up 3-0 in the series. Then lose three strait to make the series even at 3-3. I'm not sure what I am more happy about today; what the Sharks did or what the Sharks didn't do. They didn't become the 4th team in the history of the NHL to lose a playoff series in seven games after winning the first three. They didn't choke and more admirably they didn't choke in front of the whole hockey world watching or while the media's giddy little fingers were itching (mouths salivating) to write all the choking analogies, cliches and story lines until they got their fill. No, there was no "Sharks choke again" buffet line. Thank the Hockey Gods for that. I have never been more grateful to Them. We are the only team in the final four that was there last year. So suck on that Doubters and Haters. You know who you are. And? By the way...

Patrick Marleau's game series winning goal was not gutless and not without heart. Neither was his staunch defense throughout the game. So suck on that JR. All the Marleau haters need to just stop. We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for him. Maybe he shines more in the regular season, but don't we need the regular season to make it to the post season? It is his style to play the way that he plays. I suspect he might even have a nagging injury, but it isn't to his heart. He has had my heart as a fan ever since he came into the league at 18 years old. His integrity and character speak volumes. I will always be a fan and I will never question his will to win. Never.

Off the soapbox. Last night was amazing. I still can't believe it. The headline leads you to believe that I will explain how I survived, but the truth is. I'm not sure that I did. Did you see the expression on Nemo's face after that last save off of Datsuk? When he took off his helmet and it looked like all the ugly possibilities of "what might have been" had he not swiped that shot out of the air flooded his brain? Then he sort of exhaled and his lips said "Fuuuuck." Yeah. That's how I survived. And even then, just barely. I'm afraid if I blink it might not be real. I love this quote from San Jose Mercury's Mark Purdy:

" ...but the Red Wings kept coming. In fact, even as they were going through the post-series handshake line at center ice, you were wondering if they might still come back and tie the game and send it into overtime."

I am so proud of these Sharks. On to Vancouver for the Conference Finals. Let's go get 'em. We're half way there (insert Bon Jovi music here... oooh oooh, livin' on a prayer).

Most Quotable Friday

Some more gems from my Twitter feed:

What we say about others is a perfect description of ourselves.

Twitter: Very efficient for cases of chronic boredom. Some side-effects are addiction, insomnia and lack of work.

Don’t worry about people from your past, there’s a reason why they didn’t make it to your future.

Sometimes all you need in the end is someone who will hold you and say everything is alright.

Mostly, we only hear what we want to hear and only see what we want to see, until the reality hits.

No one can go back and make a brand new start, however anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations.

You can love someone who can’t be loved, but you can’t trust someone who can’t be trusted.

The Truth hurts but it doesn’t kill. The Lie pleases but it doesn’t heal.

Sometimes life takes an unexpected wrong turn in the right direction.

In life, you can achieve nothing when you keep on dreaming without an action.

Sometimes the dreams that come true, are the dreams you never even knew you had.

Just because someone hurt you yesterday, doesn’t mean you should start living today in a fear of being hurt tomorrow.

Don’t listen to people that listen to the logic of the situation before their own instincts.

Some people create their own storms, and then complain about the rain.

Thursday Blurbs

1) I have basically poured out my entire heart and soul on here the past couple of days. I think I may be blurbed out. No? Well, okay then...

2) I am about to head into the truancy hearing with Alex at 11:00. The attendance lady at Mt. Pleasant told me that it is a minimum fine of $400. It should be so much fun having to explain all those unexcused absences he has and how I did nothing about it. Excellent parenting. Just excellent.

3) There haven't been many positive things to write about lately but I am going to try. Yesterday I got a phone call from Alex's English teacher. She talked to me about ways he could bring up his grade and she can in no way know how much I appreciated that phone call from her.

4) Also, Alex brought home a paper yesterday for a summer school program at Mt. Pleasant. He will be able to recover 10 credits if he passes both of the classes. This means he won't have to take a college class at Evergreen or one of the other community colleges. I am not sure how it happened because the summer programs have been axed out of the budget, but the paper said it received some type of grant to make this possible.

5) My job now will to be diligent with him and make sure he attends every class and completes every assignment. There are two sessions and he will only be able to attend the second. The first one is in late June when he will be in Boise. The second one starts after the July 4th holiday.

6) We received the official test results in the mail for Alex's CAHSEE scores. He passed both tests which are requirements in the state of California in order for high school students to graduate. This only proves my point that he can do this (thrive in school), he just chooses not to.

7) I still don't know what to do about Jacob. He needs to face consequences for what he and his friends did. Otherwise he is going to slip into the same pattern as Alex and think he can get away with things like this. With all that is going on I am praying for some guidance and meditating on what path I need to take with these boys. Because right now, Juan and I are at a loss.

8) Well, the fat lady is warming up and is about to sing tonight for either the Sharks or the Red Wings. Game 7. Do or Die. The Sharks find themselves in game 7 after winning the first three games of the series. Unbelievable reversal of fortunes for these teams. I am going to feel so awful for this team, for this city and for those players if they don't win this game. The media storm alone will consume them. Consume us. Consume me.

9) I know there is a message here somewhere. I have been so consumed with my inner and outer turmoil these last few weeks that I can't think strait. I decided this morning (after several deep breaths) to let go and let God. It is in His hands now. This situation is completely out of my control and stressing out about it will benefit no one.

10) I have gone with optimism and will make the bold statement: I BELIEVE.

11) This is also my Facebook Status

Waves of 3

They say bad things happen in 3's. I made a list today of all the bad things that have happened to me in just the last 3-4 weeks (mostly in the last 2 weeks) and I counted 12.
Four waves of 3? Is that possible? Is my karma that bad? What can I do to get out of the middle of this storm?

Here is my list:
1) Dentist told me I need my front tooth removed (the root is cracked and will keep getting infected until eventually the tooth will fall out) and replaced with an implant. Total cost ~ $5,000
2) Patsy passed away
3) Met with Alex's coach who told us he found weed in Alex's backpack during state cup
4) Coach also said that some money was missing from the chaperone in Alex's hotel room (thus the reason everyone's backpacks were searched)
5) Received notification that Alex is not on target to graduate and is to attend a mandatory meeting to discuss continuation school
6) Received a notification in the mail from the D.A. that we are to attend a Truancy hearing because Alex has over 30 unexcused absences.
7) Sharks lose game 4
8) Nico got kidnapped
9) Spend $340 on tickets for game 5 and only got to see 5 minutes because of stupid drunk jackasses who were in the wrong seats
10) Sharks lose game 5
11) Get a call from police telling me they cited Jacob for burglary. Apparently the laptop he got from a "yard sale" was from Cedar Grove Elementary School. We have to wait for notice from the Juvenile system for when to appear. OMFG.
12) Sharks lose game 6

Yeah. I just re-read the list and I can't believe it either. Any of it. If anyone needs me I'll be the one in the corner, curled up in the fetal position begging for any kind of medication that will take me away to a calmer, saner place.

The Even Uglier

Part 4

Inside HP Pavilion

As I turned around to start going up the stairs back to our row I looked up and saw that EVERYONE in our area was standing up and then I saw movement followed by fists flying. A fight had broken out. OMG. Alex! I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I was convinced that Jackass 1 and 2 were beating up Alex because he wouldn't move, or he said something to them, or because it was 2 against 1... OMG, omg, my brain was spinning as I raced up there. I got up there and immediately spotted Alex and Jacob, who were, thankfully not getting pummeled by either of the drunk Jackass brothers, moved over toward the side of the fight. The nice couple we were sitting with were telling me, "Get your kids, get your kids." I yelled for them to get out of there and come over to the aisle. I grabbed my purse and we tried to squeeze in with everyone else who fled to the safety of the aisle stairs. "Was this because of us?" I asked the nice couple. "No," they said. "This has been building since the beginning of the game."

When security came they asked who saw what happened and apparently it all happened right in front of Alex so he raised his hand and told them he saw the whole thing. They asked him to come down and talk to them. I started to follow and the security person told me "just him." "Uh uh," I said. "He is my son, He's a minor. I'm going with him." So? In the span of just under 2 hours, Alex and I were giving our second statement to the San Jose Police Department. *Sigh*

Jacob, who I thought was following us down to the concourse, decided to stay in his seat so he could watch the end of the game. Good for him. Someone should get some of the $340 worth out of the tickets I bought for this game.

The police officer asked me first what happened, so I told him my version leading up (about them being in the wrong seats, etc.) to the fight and then turned to Alex for him to explain because, at that point I had no idea what had happened. He said after I left, the girlfriend of Jackass 2 was looking at her tickets and realized that they were in the wrong seats after all and was trying to get her group to go find their real seats. They (the two females anyway) were standing up (a big no-no when the game is on) and when Detroit scored their goal, the guy that was sitting on the other side of the Jackass party got mad (because he missed the goal, because the group wouldn't sit down while the game was being played and/or because he was as drunk as the jackasses were...? who knows) and pushed one of the girls and she fell into the row below. Both Jackasses retaliated and started punching the guy who pushed the girlfriend. Ugh. Big mess.

Alex finished giving his statement and we were asked to stay nearby and not to return to our seats just yet. We (mostly me) were able to see bits of the game. At one point I glanced down from the door area leading to the lower bowl and saw Detroit score their fourth (and ultimately winning) goal. Of course they would blow a 3-1 lead just as we got there. Could this day get any worse?

We never did make it back to our seats. We waited for Jacob after the game and then eventually made it down to the bar to see Juan. We walked to the back table next to his area and sat down. He came over to ask how we were and I started to get emotional because of everything that had happened that day. It hit me all at once especially when I thought Alex was getting mauled by the jackass brothers... I was emotionally raw. Anyway, we explained everything to Juan and then again to Maria when she came over. I felt a little better after the two margaritas (drank in succession) that Juan made me and we ended up waiting for him to finish closing the bar. After that we went to a late dinner at Red Lobster. When we got home one of the officers from earlier in the day was waiting for us because he wanted to come in and get recorded statements from both Alex and I about the "dog-napping." We stayed up another hour giving our recorded statements and processing all the events of the day before finally being able to put an end to this horrible, horrible day.

The End

The Ugly and the Even Uglier

Part 3

So, the police officer told us that they were calling in some other officers and they had to wait for a "tool" as well. After that they would give the people inside one more chance to open the door before breaking it down. By this time several neighbors had wandered out and were wondering what was going on. Soon more police cars arrived. Then more. Then even more. At last count there were 12 police cars lined up on our street.


When they all finally arrived they gathered out on the sidewalk in front of Raul's house (on the corner, across the street from us). When they were ready to go, they all walked together down the street to approach the house. I told the boys to be prepared. "They might not find him in there," I said. "Or worse, they could have done something to him."

They had a pit bull, I had to assume the worst.

We couldn't see the rescue brigade officers actually break down the door since we were told to stay at our end of the street, but Alex was a little closer and he said he heard them go in. We waited for at least 10 minutes until finally two of the officers came out of the house, carrying Nico.
They started walking toward us. I wanted to run, but I didn't. I walked toward them and took Nico out of their arms... "Is this your dog?" one of them asked. "Yes, yes, thank you." I replied before I began kissing Nico and inspecting him for damage.

They took a picture of Nico and I gave them more information for their report before putting Nico safely in the house and feeding him his dinner.

"Let's go to the game," Alex said. "Yes, let's go." I said in agreement. I couldn't wait to get inside that bar and get a well deserved margarita. We took off for HP Pavilion to hopefully catch the end of the Sharks game. They were already winning 2-1.

The Even Uglier...

We got to the game during the second intermission. We were in our seats with 2-3 minutes to go before the start of the third period. As we settled in a few people sitting around us asked if we were sure that we were in the right seats because there had been people sitting in our seats before we arrived. I pulled out our tickets and showed them and they said, "okay good, because the people that were sitting there were cussing a lot and being very loud."

Oh boy.

The third period started and a few minutes into it Logan Couture scored and made it 3-1 Sharks! We were cheering and high-fiving and for a minute, the events of the last couple of hours had melted away. *Sigh* For the second time that day I should have quit and called it a day. Just packed it in, gone home and retired with a nice glass of wine. But, sadly, again I did not.

A few minutes later a couple came into our row and sat in the two empty seats next to Alex. "Hey bro, you guys are in the wrong seats, my brother is sitting there," The (jackass) guy said to Alex. I handed Alex our tickets so he could show them that we were in the right seats in the hopes of clearing up the situation amicably. He (jackass) just shrugged and said "Well my brother is coming and you are going to have to move." Really? What an ass. Right about that time Detroit scored and made the score 3-2. Ugh! And of course, right during that stoppage came jackass 2 with his girlfriend who came right into the row even though there were NO empty seats for them to sit in. Anywhere. In a sold out, crowded arena. Now let's just stop right here.

Because? What do you do when you are at an event and you return to your seats to find someone in them? Well the proper thing to do is to get an usher to help you out. The usher can look at the at the tickets and sort out where everyone should be seated.

Anyway, Jackass 2 strides right over to Jackass 1 and tells Alex "You better go sit on someone's lap because you are sitting in my seat." Alex looks at me and I, again, hand him the tickets to show the guy that we are where we are supposed to be. Jackass 2 didn't seem to care to much and didn't want to deal with it. His girlfriend pulled out her tickets and began looking at them. Meanwhile, Alex got out of his seat and was crouching on the floor next to Jacob while the guy sat in his seat and the girlfriend was trying to sit on his lap. People started to get mad because they couldn't see from behind. "Oh crap," I thought. "Here we go." At the next stoppage I got up to go get an usher. I told the kids to scoot over and take my seat. I went down to explain to the usher what was going on and she said she'd help me at the next stoppage in play. The next stoppage was when Detroit scored goal #3 to tie up the game. Nooo!


To be continued...

The Bad, Ugly and Even Uglier

Part 2

I ran out of the house and headed down the street. Alex came to meet me part way and told me that Vincent saw the two guys, who live across the street from him, take Nico and put him in their house. The two guys were still sitting outside their house. Alex asked me to go talk to them. I approached the two guys and asked them if they'd seen our dog. They told me they had seen him and went to pick him up but he growled at them and so they put him back down and he ran off down the street. Then the one guy (lets call him tattoo gang banger guy, or TGBG, because of his scary stature, neck and arm tattoos, angry face and overall surliness) started getting very aggressive with Alex. He started accusing him of coming over with an attitude and almost lost it when Alex absently flicked a loose piece of metal from the fence onto the ground. He started ranting about "throwing things on his property." He told him (Alex, because he wasn't even acknowledging my presence at this point) to stop accusing him of having our dog when he (Alex) hadn't even looked for him any where else. Then he wanted to know who told him that they saw TGBG take the dog and put him inside?

It was slowly turning into a nightmare right in front of my eyes.

I told Alex that I was going to get the car and start looking for the dog around the neighborhood. He took off on foot to do the same. We met over on the next block and he got in the car. "Mom, I know he has the dog. He told you he went to pick up the dog but let him go. But, he told me that he had the dog, put him inside then went back inside and put him out again. He told us two different stories. He's lying. Plus, Vincent saw him take him."

I decided to go back to the house and knock on the door (they had gone inside at this point). I wanted to ask them one more time if they had the dog. I was even prepared to offer them money if they would just give him back to us. No one answered the door. I tried calling Nico's name to see if he would bark or make a noise. Alex even climbed up on the neighbor's fence to see if he could see anything in TGBG's back yard.

We were getting no response. After some internal debating I decided I needed to call the police. I didn't want to at first. I didn't want any repercussions from these guys, nor did I want to cause any trouble for Vincent's family. I called the police and they sent two units out within 15 minutes. When they first arrived and assessed the situation they told me that they could only knock on the door and hope for a response. But if no one opened the door there was nothing further they could do. They said they ran the name of the person who "lived" in the house and that person had no criminal record. They said if they could talk to anyone inside the house they could get their names and run them to see if anything showed up in the system. Only then could they have cause to go into the house. At first they tried knocking on the door, but no one answered. I figured that was it. We'd probably never see the dog again.

One of the officers came back to talk to me and said that they found a piece of mail on the property with another name on it. When they ran that name they came up with someone who was on parole but had not reported this address to his parole officer. For this reason alone they would be able to go into the house. The officer brought up picture on his patrol car computer and Alex and I were both able to positively ID him as TGBG, one of the guys that we spoke to earlier.

To Be Continued...

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and yes... The Even Uglier

Weekend Round up, part 1 (Because this weekend must be broken down into installments).

The Good - Saturday was good. Juan and I went on a beautiful hike at Castle Rock Park. We had never been there before so it was new for both of us. The park is in the Santa Cruz Mountains off of Highway 9. I took some amazing pictures of rock formations, water falls, views from the ridge. The best photo, however, was of a hawk, full wing span as he flew over our heads. I was so happy when I saw the photo! I don't have it loaded on this computer, but I can post a link of it here from my Facebook page. Check it out, gorgeous right?
The next day, Mother's Day... Juan made a big breakfast, he brought me beautiful flowers and Jacob wrote me a Mother's Day poem. So sweet. I went on a really long bike ride and the boys took me out for frozen yogurt.
I should have ended the day right there. Just retired this Mother's Day, crawled under the covers and stayed there until Monday morning.... but I didn't, thus we have...

The Bad, The Ugly and the Even Uglier... 

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. I get a phone call from the San Jose PD. The officer introduced himself as the officer I had spoken to the day before and said that he had a follow up question about my statement. Do you know what my response was?

"Which one."

Rewind back to Sunday afternoon. Our Sharks were playing game 5 (round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs) that night versus Detroit. Alex had been begging pleading pushing to get tickets all day because two weeks before Jacob and I went to a playoff game versus L.A. and Alex didn't get to go.

Two hours before the game, we finally secured some tickets. Double the face value, but who cares? We were going to game 5! On Mother's Day! We were going to see a handshake (Sharks were up in the series 3 games to 1). We were going to see the Red Wings eliminated! It was going to be epic.

Nico the escape artist

Before that however, Alex still had to mow the lawn. Something he was supposed to have done the day before and thus far, had succeeded in putting off.  When he finished with the lawn he came in and got in the shower. While he was in the shower his friend from down the street,Vincent, called Jacob and told him that he saw his neighbors with Nico and that they took him into their house.

"WHAT?" Where is Nico? Sure enough, he was gone. He must have gotten out while Alex was mowing the lawn. When Alex finished his shower I told him what Vincent said and asked him to go get the dog.
About 10 minutes later Alex calls me and asks me to come down the street. "What happened?" I asked automatically thinking the worst. "Did he get hit by a car?"
"No," Alex said. "Just please come down here."

To Be Continued...

Mother's Day Poem

written by Jacob Castillo, age 12

Dear Mother,
You're the best mom ever
I'd never choose another
Even though you gave birth
To an annoying older brother

You were the one cleaned my doo doo
You kissed my boo boo
Mommy, I love you

You're the one that woke me up at 6:37
Just to take me to a hockey lesson
You taught me how to tie my skates
Even though I was a little late

Even when we lost in the worst way
You still told me "great game."
After I felt no defeat
I sprayed this poem w/ body spray so it would smell sweet (he did)

You've taken us places near and far
In Clifford, the big red car
I love you Mommy
Happy Mother's Day!

Book Review - The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner - by Khaled Hosseini

This book captivated me from the beginning. Khaled Hosseini takes us into a rare glimpse of dynamics, politics and relationships from within an Afghan family that I've never seen before. He tells a tale of two boys growing up together in Kabul in the 1970's, before the Russian invasion. Amir, a privileged son of a wealthy business man and Hassan, the son of Ali who is Amir and his father's servant. While the boys are close, social differences and pressures pray on Amir to often mistreat Hassan, yet the loyalty instilled in Hassan by his father toward Amir never wavers. Hosseini's storytelling is amazing as he recites his tale through the eyes of Amir as if we are reading a Memoir written by Amir later in his lifetime. Amir is guilt-ridden after he decidedly chooses "not to act" while he witnesses a horrific sex crime being committed against Hassan by some local boys. It is this moment of inaction that Amir carries with him for the rest of his childhood and into his adult life that shapes his character and cements the truth about himself that he has always known. Amir and his father flee Kabul (at the beginning of the Russian invasion) when Amir is 18 and eventually make it to America where both learn a new way of life and start over. They make a life for themselves in Fremont, California where Amir goes to school, falls in love and marries just before his father passes away. Amir and his wife are unable to have children and the couple eventually move to San Francisco where the are able to escape some of the scrutiny they feel from family and members of the community. Amir has become a successful writer and the two have accepted their childless life together. One day Amir receives a letter from his father's dearest friend asking him to come to Pakistan, saying only that there was still time to make things good again. Amir makes the journey and in the process sees his life come full circle. The details of life in Kabul both before the invasion and again after the Taliban had taken over are riveting. Descriptions of the streets and scenery are both gritty and beautiful at the same time. This is an amazing story of faith, loyalty, redemption that takes place in a country where most people in the West have very little understanding or insight. I was intrigued and inspired. ~Peace and Good Reads

Most Quotable Friday

Quotes collected from my Twitter feed... Enjoy!

“Three Things cannot long be hidden. The sun, the moon and the truth.” – Confucious

“Don’t tempt me too far. My patience isn’t that perfect.”

“We can fail many times, but we are not a failure until we start to blame somebody else.”

“Mistakes increase your experience. Experience decreases your mistakes.”

“Live without pretending, love without depending, listen without defending, speak without offending.”

“My internet is so slow, it’s just faster to drive to Google and ask them stuff in person.”

“If you show someone that you don’t have self-respect, they will show you they don’t respect you either.”

“Every time we tell a lie, the thing we fear becomes stronger.”

“We tell lies when we are afraid of what others might think and afraid of what might be found out about us.”

“Just because no one has been fortunate enough to realize how wonderful you are, doesn’t mean you shine any less.”

“A woman has the last work in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.”

History Never Runs Out of Tricks

Should have been, "History Repeats Itself."

Thursday Blurbs - It's All About The Sharks

Sharks. "All they do is Win Win Win no matter what, and when they step up in the building everybody hands go up... and they stay there..."

1) Sharks win in OVERTIME, again, to take a 3 -0 lead on the Detroit Red Wings, again, in an eerie, de-ja-vu like manner... again. I couldn't believe my eyes. I still can't trust what I saw, 15 hours later. Did that just happen?

2) According to all the sports news and blogs, yes, it happened and much to the astonishment of just about everybody.

3) This says it all. From Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com:

"On a night the Washington Capitals further cemented their reputation as playoff posers, the Sharks continued to shed theirs. A year after reaching the Western Conference finals and losing to a Chicago team nobody was going to beat, the Sharks two years in a row have gone up 3-0 over the mighty Red Wings."

4) To be clear, the Washington Capitals (#1 seed in the Eastern Conference) got swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

5) Dan Boyle ties the game in third, with about 4 minutes left to play on this shot:

6) Setoguchi! Or as the guys on the radio said this morning, "Isn't that something that we ate at the dinner last night? Please pass the Setoguchi." "Naw, I thought they were talking about my luggage (Set of Gucci)." ANYWAY... the Tweetering Seto not only had a playoff hat trick last night, but got his third goal of the game to win it in overtime. Be still my heart.

7) Game 4 on Friday. Now, let's hope the Sharks can finish out the series then... and NOT repeat history AGAIN with a blowout loss. But then again... Mother's Day, Game 5? I'd rather not... but ask me again on Saturday when we know for sure.

8) Both boys wearing Sharks jerseys to school to day. Alex didn't even care that they were dressed the same... lol! Go Sharks!

The Good , The Bad and the Ugly: Weekend Wrap-up

The Good:
1) Bin Laden is dead. Historic moment / date in American history. Almost ten years after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 that son of a bitch is finally in hell. They buried is ass at sea, very fitting. Let his flesh be fish food before he rots in Hell. I hope his followers were observant in the fact that their "leader" was living in the lap of luxury with parts (his "youngest wife" and adult son) of his family in a million dollar compound in a summer resort area of Pakistan. He wasn't in a cave spreading the word. He was having croissants on the East Lawn. Interesting story how they tracked down his courier who lived in the house with his brother and their two families. The house had an excess of security, no internet or phone connection and they burned their garbage (instead of having it picked up like the other neighbors did). The brothers had no visible means of wealth... so it all added up that a high profile terrorist was being housed there. I don't know what the future holds, but today I do feel a lot safer.

2) Royal Wedding - Prince William and Kate Middleton wed on Friday 4/29/11. Lots of hoopla... lots of photos. I watched some of it on Friday via CNN.

3) Sharks! - The Sharks are up 2-0 in their series vs. Detroit. They won yesterday in regulation (Thank you for that) 2-1. Interesting game. They actually got the lead, defended the lead and held onto the lead for the win. I'm not sure why I am more comfortable when they are behind. Seems like they are more confident coming from behind. But this time the defense held and I can't ask for anything more. Well, except for whiny wing fans (which I am wholeheartedly trying to ignore) to shut up and accept their shortcomings. Game 3 is Wednesday, which gives me today and tomorrow to stay away from all nhl news and comments. The other series stand as follows: Tampa Bay up 2-0 vs. Washington Capitals (both are home losses for Caps). Vancouver and Nashville are tied up 1-1 with the series moving to Nashville for game 3. And, Boston takes the first game vs. Philadelphia, lead the series 1-0. Tough for the home teams so far in round 2... well except for Sharks... Go Sharks!

The Bad
Interesting meeting with Alex's soccer coach. Alex is in big trouble. And now is in danger of losing his place on the team. Juan and I are perplexed. We honestly don't know what to do. I am hurting so bad for this kid. I need a way to reach him. I'm failing him and can't find the way to catch him. Or do I let him fall? My heart is breaking. I am at a loss.

The Ugly
As if we weren't already reeling from the meeting with Sergio and Adam and thought that was the bottom, the absolute worst of it, we get a notice in the mail that we are being summoned by the district attorney's office for a truancy hearing. 30 + absences from school. This days after receiving another letter from his school saying that he will not graduate and is recommended for continuation school. I think I mentioned something about a perfect storm brewing a few days ago. Well, it is here. Lord help me. Help my family. Help my child. Help me to find the way. Please.