My grandfather was in the hospital for the past two or three weeks, and the reports from one of my aunts had been positive: we didn’t have to visit him when he was first hospitalized; that we could wait ’til Thanksgiving to go to Vegas where my entire extended family and father live (though this was my maternal grandpa), which was our original plan; that he was supposed to be discharged earlier this week.

But at around 3:00 a.m. CST on October 30th, my grandpa had two heart attacks in a row and passed away. Just recently he was teasing the nurses, doing his crosswords, and watching college football. I so badly wanted to talk college ball with him, find out who his favorite teams were, ask what he thought about my Buckeyes being ranked 25th in the beginning of the season and now being number 1. I so looked forward to discussing this over Thanksgiving. Now I’ll never have the chance.

Well, Brian told me that wherever Lolo (“grandpa” in Tagalog) is, and since he was devoutly Catholic, I know he’s in heaven, he’s aware that I did want to talk college football with him. It’s just really hard because I didn’t get to visit him like my brother and sister did when he was first hospityalized, and that our trip to Vegas won’t be the festive one we originally planned. Since Brian and I are attending the services this weekend, we won’t be able to visit over the holidays. But I guess that’s life.

My grandmother, at least, is holding up really well.

I’ll continue to post what and when I can — I have one more game post, an update on Basil’s health condition, as well as my own GI condition. I would have posted this stuff earlier in the week, but I’ve been sick with a cold. Figures, huh?

I Know I Stopped the Puck . . .

. . . But it Got Lost Somewhere in My Pads.

So One of My Teammates Helped Me Look in My Pads and My Pants!

It Was in My Left Pad. “Here you go, Ref!”
(click to enlarge)
(click here to view the game pics)

This was my first game as a substitute goalie this season, on October 27, 2007. I was playing for the Vixens, who we played the week before, and for whom I subbed occasionally last season. I know I mentioned this when the Tigers played U of C — we (the Vixens) were the home team even though we wore dark jerseys because the Maroons only have one set of jerseys. This may have confused the scorekeeper because s/he displayed the goals under the “Home” team when they should have been under “Guest.”

Although we lost, it was a fun game — and challenging. U of C had a different goaltender this game than when the Tigers played them, and I happened to know her. She complimented me on my performance and noticed my improvement since the Spring Mixer, so that was pretty cool. Even some of my own teammates who I was on a team with in the Mixer noticed, too!