Oiler Fever

Hello hockey fans!

I'm finally going to do a blog just about hockey. No mention of other topics!

1) Two months in to the Oilers season, the greatest hopes we had for our young guns saving us from our lonely position at the bottom of the heap, have been dashed. Sitting with just 14 points, only New Jersey and the New York Islanders can claim to be in more dire straights. It begs the question, what can the Oilers do to change things around?

I doubt there will be a coaching change. That's a personal observation. I haven't heard any rumors threatening Tom Renney's position with the club, but it's usually the coach that gets hit the hardest. Seeing as we've seen three coaches in three years of poor point production, I'm starting to think it may not be a coaching issue.

Could a trade be a plausible alternative? I think ideally, Edmonton would love to see some new blood come in and fire something up. The question is, what do we have to give that we don't need ourselves? Anyone who would garner trade interest is desperately needed within the club. Can't give up a young guy, the fans would lynch Steve Tambellini. At least I know I would. And it's time to invest in our future.

Can't give up Sheldon Souray because no one wants him and he's prone to injuries (at least he seems prone to injuries within our system).

We may just have to get through the hard times again. Fans need to face reality: We're in our rebuilding years. I whole-heartedly believe that if we hadn't done so well in the 2006 playoffs, we may have been able to build faster. 2006 was a fluke with average guys playing way, I mean WAY, above their previously showcased skill level. If we hadn't gone to Game 7 of the finals, we wouldn't have had inflated salaries based on two months of play. We would have had more money to invest in younger players and actual "stars" to hone the skills of our rookies.

Pittsburgh and Chicago had some tough times. I'm not saying we have someone like Sidney Crosby in our youth line-up, but with a couple years of top five draft picks, we could definitely change the face and skill of our franchise.

2) Is it time to consider sending guys like Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, and Jordan Eberle back down to the minors?

I understand why we want them playing in the big league. It brings in fans, it gives them some ice time, and allows them to get used to playing against top quality players. However, I wonder if there's merit to this argument: At some point, does all the losing affect how they view their abilities and really decrease their confidence? Especially when they're being touted as the saviours of the franchise? If we aren't winning, I can imagine the pressure from the franchise and the City of Edmonton must be somewhat overwhelming for guys who should be deciding what to major in in university and not what to buy first with their million dollar salaries.

I like the idea of letting them play on the farm team to boost their egos. However, if we send them down, who do we bring up? I'm pretty sure the average experience exhibited by players on our team is already pretty low.

3) On December 2nd, I have tickets to watch the Oilers take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto. Expensive arena? Check. Expensive tickets? Check. But being able to wear my Oilers jersey in another arena to cheer my home team on is completely worth it, even if we're humiliated by the by the Leafs.

Until next time, sports fans,

Cait

The Awkward Job Interview

Hello fair readers,

I'm not sure if this practice is reserved for those looking to work in the clothing retail industry, but the awkward job interview certainly seems to be the norm. When I worked for a few brief weeks at a clothing retailer in Edmonton, my interview was not conducted in the privacy of someone's office. It was conducted on a bench in the middle of a mall. In public.

Already the pressures associated with a job interview can be enough for a cool-headed person to question their abilities and usefulness. To put this exercise in public sphere just seems cruel. Anyone can hear the questions and answers. All of a sudden your job interview becomes a performance piece. In a way, this is a good way to judge whether a potential employee can deal with serving customers and keeping a cool head when presented with challenging issues (though nobody is saving the world selling jeans to hippy high school kids). However, considering you may not want your resume to be a public document for all to see, judge, and in this case, hear, the public one-on-one interview just seems out of place to me.

I bring this up because in the course of my shopping trip yesterday (got some great winter boots that should outlast these slushy Toronto winters I hear so much about), I was privy to one of these public interviews. As I sat waiting for a friend in the dressing room, a grade 11 girl who lived 45 minutes away by public transit, was interviewing to become a sales associate. Already the fact that I know her grade and, by association, expected age, how far away she lived and that she takes public transit, makes me cringe for the violation of privacy. I then heard the expected question "Why do you think you'd be a good person to hire?" (Not my wording, but the same question is asked in many iterations in job interviews everywhere).

And so ensued the cliche answers: "I feel I can really bring the company up and contribute well to the company atmosphere. I'm a bubbly, optimistic person and I work well with people. I have a great fashion sense. I'm reliable... blah blah blah.

The answers vary slightly from job to job, but there seem to the key buzzwords and phrases that we all use. It's just odd to hear them coming from someone else as you eavesdrop (not a hard thing to do when you're sitting less than 2 feet from interviewer and interviewee) on an interview.

Anyway, dear readers. I wonder if you've ever been subject to these public interviews (group interviews don't count). I have. It's not a fun experience to be judged by outsiders and an interviewer at the same time.

Hope you all have a good weekend. I'm off again to the St. Lawrence Market on Saturday (weather and sleep permitting).

Cheers,
Cait

All Quiet on the Eastern Front

Hello readers,

I've been trying to think of something to write down for a few days now, and I am drawing a complete blank. Don't get me wrong, I could write about how annoying Blackberries can be, especially when the only thing you can hear in class is the "click clickity-click" of the keyboard. But in actuality I've got nothing much to write about.

I saw R.E.D. last night with some friends. I highly reccommend it. Supremely funny with some good action. Bruce Willis can still kick some serious ass.

Went back to the St. Lawrence Market. Always a good time there. I walked down there. I'm trying to live a healthier, active life, so I made the commitment to walk to St. Lawrence until the weather won't allow for it anymore. It's a nice 40 minute walk to get there and I get to explore a different route everytime I go.

Went trick-or-treating last weekend with my little cousins (a skeleton, a ladybug, and a penguin). They are soooo cute. And I got some free candy out of it, so... SCORE!

Really, other than that, all quiet on the Eastern front.

Cheers,
Cait