What's In A Name?

"You don't look like a Caitlin."

It was suggested to me at a party this past weekend that my name did not appear to be my name. Cait seemed more appropriate, but still not quite right. We never got around to what they thought my name should be, but it made me think: "What's in a name?"

I've always like my name. It's unique. It's far more common than it used to be, however. In my two year master's program, there are three "Caitlin's" alone. All spelled the same way, which is unique in itself.

My mom, as the story goes, name me after a character found in the comics. "Katy Keene." She was a little bit before my time, but I've seen a comic here and there of her within my brother's extensive Archie comics collection.

My middle names come from my family predecessors. Emma from my father's side and Joyce from my mother's (a middle name which I share with her).

I've always enjoyed the flow of my name and worry that I'm going to eventually marry someone whose last name will throw everything out of whack. My mother assures me that the best choice is to retain my maiden name to avoid mounds of paperwork and future headaches.

I've always enjoyed what my name means. Where my brother's name references something that has no bearing in his life (Christopher means "Christ-bearer" and religion is not a subject that speaks to him.), my name, which may not entirely be descriptive, definitely represents an ideal I'd like to achieve.

Caitlin means "pure." It's a Gaelic/Irish form of K/Catherine. Emma means "universal" and is an old German name. Joyce means "joy" or "cheer." How lovely. "Pure universal joy." If there is a better ideal to live up to, I don't know it. My last name actually means "sheriff" or "leader" which I've always enjoyed. It gives me the sensation of power, even though I may not actually hold it.

So what's in a name?

What's in your names, dear readers?

Cait

Down Goes the NHL All-Star Oilers Game

Hello Sports Fans!

So the title of this little blog is slightly confusing ("Oilers" and "All-Star" all in one sentence? Ridiculous!) But not really. I've got another hockey themed blog for you all. Today, I'm going to discuss the All-Star Game, the Edmonton Oilers, and provide a link to my favourite NHL themed blog.

1) NHL All-Star Game
     Captains have been chose and aging Nicklas Lidstrom and young-gun Eric Staal have been chosen to lead their respective teams. I won't bore you with the topical "Will Sid the Kid participate?" tirade. Gone is the traditional format of East v. West. On January 28th, 2011, Staal and Lidstrom will be choosing their teams in a school yard type draft (if school yard teams were chosen on national television with talking heads analyzing who is most popular and who is the loser who will get chosen last).
     Oilers Ales Hemsky, concussion permitting, will be one of the guys chosen and I expect him to go closer to the end, or at least the end of the middle, of the pack. I'm extremely interested in seeing whether the superstar we all expect Hemsky to be will be able to show his face. Is Hemsky's problem the fact that he very rarely has players on his line to play to his potential, or is he just extremely hard to play with in general? Not that All-Star games have a history of genuinely showcasing all-star talent, but it'll be interesting to see who he plays with, and how well they click together.

2) The Edmonton Oilers
     I'm going to live in the past for a few paragraphs here. The Oilers lack a cohesive strategy for winning. They lack heart. They lack grit (they play exponentially better when they play tough). They lack the leadership the young guys need in the dressing room and on the ice. They lack someone who drives straight to the net to grab rebounds or redirect shots across or in front of the crease. We had all these things, once upon a time. These traits now stake their claim on the left wing of the Los Angeles Kings with #94 Ryan Smyth. 
     Yes, I know. I'm a little bit biased. Anyone who knows me knows I like the nickname Smitty (spelled without a 'y' in my case because I am not, after all, the real deal). They know all my jersey's bear the 94 on their backs. They know Captain Canada is my home boy. But honestly. Since Smyth was traded on February 27, 2007, our team has lacked heart, grit, leadership, and cohesion. No one has stepped into his skates, and the Oilers desperately need someone who can provide all those attributes. We all know Shawn Horcoff can't!

3) Down Goes Brown

     If you're interested in an extremely funny and glaringly accurate NHL blog to follow, I highly suggest "Down Goes Brown."Written by a Leafs fan who know the dire situation of his home team, he makes some pointed and comedic comments on all aspects of the game from suspensions, Gary Bettman, Chris Pronger, and sports commentators.

And that's the ball game!

Cait

Nothing at all...

Hello all,

You know, I sat down to write my blog for the week and discovered I had nothing I really wanted to talk about. My mother asked me if I'd written this week's blog ( at least I know someone is reading me!) and I said I had one more day to think about it. That day is up and I really have nothing.

I like lists. I'm going with a sort of stream of consciousness thing today to get over my inability to think of something to write. So here's a list of things I don't have anything to say about:

1) I'm going home for reading week!

Wioo! I was torn. My wonderful parents offered me all sorts of choices. New York, Quebec City, Vancouver, Vegas. I narrowed it down to Vancouver and Edmonton. The only thing holding me up was the fact that in one place (Edmonton) is my brother and newly minted fiance, friends, home. In Vancouver would be my parents. It was such a hard decision. It shocks me how such a simple decision can make my life come to an utter and complete standstill. Life literally stopped for about two hours while I made my decision. But I'm going home. So Wioo! (And Mom is flying home so I'll see her. Unfortunately there will not be any father-daughter time :(

2) Internships

The next chapter of my life is about to begin. I've got to decide where I want to spend my summer internship. With the federal public service? The Toronto Board of Trade? The Martin Prosperity Institute? Applications open January 25th, so I'll keep you informed. In the mean time, it's time to start updating the ol' resume.

3)

It's looking extremely wintery in Toronto today. Tons of snow, soft, white, fluffy. Makes it feel like home. Love it! I posted this photo to my facebook site. Unfortunately, I have no idea where this is (I StumbledUpon it), but I want to die on this bench in the middle of the winter.

Breathtaking!

Cait

A New Year

Well hello and welcome to 2011!

Well, two weeks went by super quickly. Too quickly. I wrote this while on the plane home yesterday while flying over Michigan. What better time to reflect on my holidays and prepare for the New Year?

1) There's nothing like coming home.
      Flying in to the Edmonton International Airport was an experience I'd never experienced before. Sure, I've made that landing at least a dozen times before, but this time was different. Special. I had tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't stop smiling. I was home again. I enjoyed two weeks of family, friends, hockey in my home stadium, good steak, late night TV marathons (just because I could), brunch, lunch, and dinner outings, shopping at the world's biggest mall where every store was packed with Christmas shoppers, cuddling with my cat, remembering how funny my dogs are, seeing old musical theatre friends and deeply regretting my inability to participate in this year's production of "Kiss Me Kate!", and just plain living life to the fullest.

2) There's nothing like leaving home either.
      I had a 7:00am flight on Sunday morning. Taking off, I again had a little tear welled up in these eyes of mine. I'm going to miss most of everything above (Christmas shopper's excluded), but most of all it'll be family, friends, snow, real honest-to-God winter, hockey at Rexall Place, streets that I know like the back of my hand, driving, spending my birthday with my brother, and just being home.

3) Resolutions are not futile

      a.) Reach my goal weight
September through December was not a very productive time period for me on this front. It's time to get back into good habits (aka: cut back on alcohol and pub food and insert more fruits and veggies). I received some gym classes from my parents for Christmas (Items that were on my Christmas list, just so you don't think they're trying to send me a message!). I'm going to put them to good use.

      b.) Do more extra-curricular writing
I've been neglecting this blog. No more! I've promised friends that I'd write weekly and I intend to keep that promise. I also want to get back to my fiction stuff. I have a few ideas in my head that I hope I can really bring to fruition this year.

      c.) Study harder!
I know, I make this resolution every year, and it's pretty cliche for a university student, but I must face facts. I must work harder!

So I look forward to seeing you all weekly from here on out!

Happy New Year!

Cait

Finals, Papers, and Year-End

Short one today, folks,

I can't believe how much I've been neglecting this blog. Call it a case of the Year-End Stresses. Finished my first final exam at the graduate level today. I'm glad I spend three straight days studying, but it was easier than I thought it was going to be. Now I just have one final (Statistics) and two papers left to write. Then I get to go home!

That's right! This out-of-town Westerner is going home for Christmas. And she can't wait.

I get to see my mom and my dad! I get to see my brother! I get to see all my friends!
I get to see real snow. Feel real cold.
I finally get to drive again! I can't believe how much I miss driving my car. I'm going to say it, I love me my little gas burner; environment be damned.
I get to go back to a real city. I know. Toronto is a real city. It's just not my real city. It's more of a metropolis than a city. This displaced Albertan is looking forward to being back in Edmonton.

I thought of making a list of all of the things I am missing the most, but realized that the list would be about the length of a thesis dissertation. Let's just suffice to say that above all else, I'm looking forward to seeing family. And friends. But as much as I love my friends, nothing beats a hug from Mom and Dad.

All right, now I'm just throwing myself a pity party. Seven days and I won't be so homesick. Until then, I'm peace-ing out on the blog. I'll do a good one about being home. About how "the air is sweeter," "the snow is whiter," "the hockey is better," and "the politics are..." Okay, even though I'm swimming in "lefties" out here, the existence of Rob Ford has really made me doubt this whole "left-wing" Easterner bit. I don't really know what "the politics are" here, but I've got to say, Alberta has had a couple of political doozies since I left.

Until next week,

Cait

Tis the Season!!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, dear readers,

It is December 1st and Christmas is coming. Seventeen days until I fly home. Twenty-five days until Christmas Day. Thirty-one days until the new year. Thirty-six days until my birthday. I love this season!

When I went to class this afternoon I was joyfully surprised to find my Residence Lobby had been decorated with yuletide cheer. There's a Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, a garland with a wreath over-top the front desk, and a large, white, lit-up moose (our residence mascot). 

 I have a Christmas moose hanging on my door.

 I have advent stockings hanging on my wall (I have no chimney, or else they would be hung there with care).

The only thing missing... Snow.

December 1st and this blasted city has no snow. No winter wonderland for me to wake up to. No winter wonderland to trek through to class. December 1st and I haven't even taken my winter coat out of the closet.

I miss Edmonton in the winter. There's something sadly magical about the need to put winter tires on your car in late-October. There's something truly magical about seeing the Alberta Legislature lit up with Christmas lights and covered in snow. There's something welcoming about blanketed fields and ploughed gravel roads.

I'm looking forward to finding my own winter wonderland here in my adoptive city, but until there's snow, I just can't get attached.

I love winter.

I love snow.

I love this season!

I'm looking forward to heading home for the holidays to see my family, my friends, my city, my snow, and my winter.

Until then...
I leave you with a little "Let it Snow" performed by Jamie Cullum.

Cait

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