but I consider that to be a significant thing, and I am very thankful and excited for the opportunity. Of course, many things can change in 11 months. Perhaps, my North American life will change in a monumental way, and I'd be a fool to leave again, but for now the compass in my crystal ball is pointing me toward the Middle East. The clock is ticking, as they say. I WAS hoping to be able to finally knock those last 4 NHL rinks off my list this season before I leave again, but with only 12 days until the 15th, that is looking less and less likely. Perhaps, I am not meant to visit all the NHL rinks. Hockey has taught me some pretty harsh lessons in my lifetime; lessons like learning to value men that don't regard me as their entitlement, like certain men with skates are prone to doing, for example. Perhaps, my four missing hockey rinks are another lesson that I have yet to grasp... Learning to walk away without "closure." Top Photo: Still proud of that tattoo, "Bokensha." From lockout to (possible) lockout, it has been an adventure... This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2012 at 3:44 PM and is filed under Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site. Error: Twitter did not respond. Please wait a few minutes and refresh this page.