Possible spoiler.

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My PCP finally called late yesterday afternoon with good news — nothing’s torn, just some inflammation, possibly tendonitis. He said “activity as tolerated” is OK, but if the pain’s too much I have to back off. That’s the good news.

Meanwhile, I had my first pdoc appointment in possibly over a month, earlier in the afternoon, because they moved to a new building. After taking my usual morning dose of Klonopin and an Ativan because I hadn’t received the MRI results yet, I was still shaking, nauseous, and in tears the entire drive there (even though Brian and I did a dry run on Sunday), and all the way into his office. Even if my knee was totally fine, I would have been anxious anyway, having to go to a new place and because I was supposed to start goalie camp last night, but not that bad.

The bad news is, my knee still tingles and sometimes the pain still shoots from my knee to my ankle when I stand or walk. It isn’t excruciating, but I experience discomfort when I walk. So there was no way in hell that I could have gone to goalie camp last night, doing all sorts of weird knee things that goalies do for two hours, and for three nights in a row? I had to drop out, and this has really depressed me. At least my regular goalie coach on the JIL understood and advised me to rest it and is giving me a full refund for the camp.

I’m going to try out my new knee brace at rat hockey this Saturday, where if I decide to get off the ice after ten minutes, everything will be fine. Anyway, goalies play free, and it isn’t like a game situation. Then I’ll take a week off, but maybe go to noon skate next Wednesday to skate with my pads on and definitely to the JIL on the 20th. Fortunately, it’s every other Friday, which means I’ll probably play rat every other Saturday.

I don’t have a game again ’til the 23rd, when I’ll be subbing for another team, and then another game on the 26th with my own team. I should be going to the gym every other day but using the stationary bike (which I’m getting used to, though it’s hell on my ass) instead of the treadmill and doing my goalie stretches that I always do afterwards, and then doing pilates on the days I don’t go to the gym, along with my goalie stretches. Plenty of stretching, the PCP said.

Of course there’s a caveat: if the pain hasn’t cleared by the time I finish my knock-me-off-my-ass anti-inflammatory that I only take at night, then the next step is physical therapy. Still, it’s better than surgery.

Today should be a pilates day, but I’m still recovering from the anxiety and trauma of yesterday, so I’m just staying home and trying to visit blogs I haven’t visited in a while and play Xbox. Originally, I had planned on doing my pilates, going about my regular day and then some retail therapy, but I didn’t get up until after noon, partially because of the anti-inflammatory and probably because I only got four hours sleep the night before because I was a total basket case about the MRI results. Anyway, it’s just started thundering, so I definitely don’t want to be outside.

We Are the Champions, My Friend(s)
(click to enlarge)
(click here to view the game pics)

Holly, our advanced goalie was scheduled to play in the championship, which is why I’m not suited up in the team pic. However, many people both on the team and spectators (OK, the guy who runs the Zamboni) said that I got us there by winning our round of the playoffs. We were in 5th place most of the season until I tied a game, then won the next, which brought us up to 3rd. Holly played and won the following game to keep us at 3rd. Then came the playoffs.

Ocean’s Thirteen

by Steven Soderbergh

Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, who give excellent performances, are nice welcomes to the latest of Ocean’s schemes. The first one was awesome (I’d give it 5 stars), but the second one tanked (see Ocean’s Waning). Fortunately, unlike the Pirates of the Carribbean trilogy, you don’t have to see Twelve before watching Thirteen. And yes, I’m still planning to write reviews on Pirates 2 and 3. Some day. I’m writing this one now because April requested it!

First of all, don’t bother trying to count who the thirteen people involved in the scheme are. I think it’s just part of the title. Brothers Virgil (Steve Caan) and Turk (Casey Affleck) seem to have grown smarter. Yen (Shaobo Qin) has grown cockier — I guess money will do that to you. Linus (Matt Damon) is blooming as a con man, though still not good enough for dad. He has an awesome scene with Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin) that’s totally hilarious. Saul (Carl Reiner) is as great as ever playing different characters, his specialty. Reuben (Elliott Gould) looks like he lost weight, so it doesn’t make sense that he ends up in the hospital in critical condition because of Willy Bank (Al Pacino). Livingston (Eddie Jemison), Frank (Bernie Mac), and Basher (Don Cheadle) don’t get enough screen time, in my opinion. Terry (Andy Garcia) is his usual condescending, conniving self. And there isn’t enough banter between Danny (George Clooney) and Rusty (Brad Pitt), which I think is a huge part of Eleven’s success.

Another thing that bothered me was that, for a two-hour long movie, the plan wasn’t as intricate or, perhaps, we don’t see as much details as we do in Eleven or Twelve. However, there are still plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, though much more dry and subtle, which will definitely appeal to the intelligent viewer.

I’ve been consuming this for quite awhile, actually. How else am I supposed to finish that danged KotOR II without missing one single quest?