The Trashman Chronicles: “It’s Been a While”

Oh, how it’s been a while- for many things! It’s been a while since I’ve had a TTMC entry, letting my readers know what I’ve been up to and how things are going since graduating from Notre Dame in 2008. It’s has definitely been a while since I had had a nice little vacation from working. And of course, it had been a very LONG while since I had seen Kitty.

I don’t remember when was the last time I even did a TTMC, it’s been that long. So we’ll do a brief summary of the first half of 2009.

Life’s still a bit uncertain for me, even looking at it today. It’s daunting, to say the least, but it’s nice to see I’m not alone at times. Some many friends in the middle of their own transitions, changes, and even reaching new stages in life. Whoever says they are certain about life is lying to themselves. We can only guess what tomorrow will bring. We can only hope that there is a tomorrow.

Rest assured, death is a guarantee… and if you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ll know that taxes are very guaranteed these days.

As for me, trash… mountains and mountains of trash… are guaranteed almost daily, not to mention a constant flow of patients with psychiatric, diabetic and/or blood pressure issues. It appears that I’ll be secure for now, and for that I must thank God.

February I went to Texas for Valentine’s Day. Aside from a dramatic breakdown by your’s truly, it was a fantastic trip… but it was the last time I saw Kitty until last weekend…

Since then, I have been working nonstop. I’ve gone out with friends when I could, but nothing too big. I did make it out to visit Tom and Bobby in Omaha for a weekend, where Mike met up with us too. ND hockey was also in town, so it was nice to see them in action. ND hockey would be the first sporting event I go to as an alumnus!

Since then, just work. I’ve met my sister’s boyfriend, we’ve celebrated Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day. We’ve celebrated birthdays and graduations. My grandparents from Puerto Rico came for a month. It was nice to see them!

I finally got my raise at work after my 6 month anniversary. Thanks to the trash I was able to put down a heft down payment for my new car, (post to come soon). I’ve watched someone I didn’t think would settle down this early find the love of his life, and move in together, starting life on his own. As a friend, it been a joy watching his success in work and a renewed motivation for school.

I’ve hit rough patches in my own relationships with family, friends, and Kitty. While the situation hasn’t been the most ideal lately, I’ve gotten a bit better at letting things go. I still have a ways to go in improving myself, but it’s a step in the right direction. Though my mind has wavered lately with everything that has happened in the last couple of months, I know that I couldn’t make it without her. We’ll get through this and we’ll get through anything. (There will be a more in depth entry for the vacation later!)

So that brings us to today.

Today is the night before I go up to Notre Dame. I’m going up for PV’s wedding. This will be the first wedding of a close friend I will go to, so it’s going to be pretty special to see someone take their relationship to the next step. It will be extra special with my date by my side!

It will be heartwrenching to see that Dome, and the quad, and the stadium, and Dillon, and Howard, and my friends, and going out… Oh how I miss everything.

So there you have it in a nutshell. I’m doing well, as I continue to grow and mature. Thank you all for reading, and may God bless you all!

Stay tuned for the next TTMC entries: Kitty/Moosie Vacation Time and A Notre Dame Summer Weekend!

Irish Win CCHA Tournament Championship, To Face Bemidji State In First Round of NCAA Tournament – Rakes of Mallow

Josh_R apologizes for the lack of updates regarding the ND Hockey team. His jobs have consumed his life lately.

For much of the 2008-2009 NCAA hockey season, the main question asked by fans, the media, and even ND’s opponents was not “if” Notre Dame would take the CCHA regular season crown, but “when.” As the team’s excellent play continued, the points gap separating ND from the rest of the CCHA field increased. By the end of the season, one could only wonder that it wasn’t a question of if Notre Dame would also take the Mason Cup in Detroit as the CCHA Tournament Champion, but when.

After enjoying the bye weekend, Notre Dame faced CCHA #8 Nebraska Omaha at the JACC. UNO was coming off a fairly easy weekend against CCHA #9 Ferris State, as they swept the Bulldogs with a 3-0 win on Friday and a 5-1 win on Saturday to advance to the second round of the CCHA tournament.

Read the rest at Rakes of Mallow.

“Irish Cruise Through Weekend Series And Into Playoffs” – Rakes of Mallow

Last Friday night proved to be a memorable night for the six Notre Dame seniors. The Joyce Center faithful along with the seniors’ families celebrated the storied careers of these young men. The CCHA Regular Season Championship Banner was unfurled. The team jubilantly posed with the CCHA regular season trophy as well. While both serve as reminders of the program’s rise to excellence, The Irish hope to add to their collection in the playoffs.

You also can’t forget the passing of longtime radio broadcaster Mike Lockert, the “voice of the Fighting Irish.” He was honored as well.

There also was a game on Friday night, if you could call it that. Notre Dame thoroughly manhandled Michigan State 5-0 on national TV thanks to a first period onslaught of four goals and stellar defensive play.

Read the rest at Rakes of Mallow.

“Irish Take on Michigan State in Regular Season Finale” – Rakes of Mallow

It’s been a tale of two entirely different seasons for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michigan State Spartans hockey teams. Both teams were predicted to be in the upper echelon of not only the CCHA, but also the national picture as well. Prior to tonight’s game, you’ll find Notre Dame sitting atop conference and national standings. MSU, on the other hand, has struggled the entire season, failing to live up to the high expectations prior to an NCAA tournament appearence last season.

Notre Dame returns home after last weekend’s hard fought battle in an intense, hostile atmosphere with UNO, squeeking out two victories. Tonight’s match up is the last home game of the regular season. Senior night will be an emotional event for our senior players and their families as their careers will soon come to a close.

Outgoing Seniors Include: RW Erik Condra, C Christian Hanson, D Luke Lucyk, G Jordan Pearce, LW Garrett Regan, and Justin White.

Read the rest at Rakes of Mallow.

“Just Enough: Irish Win CCHA Regular Season Crown With Pair of 1-Goal Wins Over UNO” – Rakes of Mallow

The rafters at the newly announced hockey facility just might be full of banners even before the Irish play a game inside of it. At the very least, the 2008-2009 CCHA Regular Season Championship banner will hang, as Notre Dame swept the weekend series with UNO and second place Miami (OH) lost to and tied Northern Michigan in their weekend series. ND obviously hopes that it isn’t the only banner they earn this season.

The title didn’t come easy. It was a physical, hard-fought weekend sprinkled with some fortuitous bounces and questionable officiating. Even Coach Jackson acknowledged that the Irish were extremely fortunate to have won Friday night’s game, a thrilling 4-3 OT win.

The Omaha Civic Auditorium lived up to the hype. Close to 8,000 packed the building each night, affectionately named “The Barn,” to hopefully watch UNO upset the #2 ranked Irish. There was a sizeable Irish fan presence and the roar after each Irish goal rivaled that of the UNO fans. What they did have was cowbell. Lots and Lots of cowbell.

Read the rest at Rakes of Mallow.

“High Scoring Irish Ready to face UNO in Omaha” – Rakes of Mallow

This is an excerpt from my hockey entry at popular ND sports blog Rakes of Mallow. Follow the link to read the rest of it. Comment!

Notre Dame hockey has had success regardless of the venue during the past three seasons, they best in the program’s history. The team hopes to continue its winning ways away from home this weekend as Jackson and Co. take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha Maverics in Omaha, Nebraska.

The Irish are coming off of an impressive weekend, as the offense exploded with 9 goals against Northern Michigan in the Friday night game at the JACC. A rare poor defensive effort was thankfully overshadowed by stellar special teams play. The power play unit was 6 of 8 with the man advantage while limiting NMU to 1 power play goal in 4 chances.

Read the rest at: Rakes of Mallow

Breytopia

Basketball season is quickly approaching, and us Irish fans can take solace in that thought at least, especially after that embarrassing to Boston College last night. It was so bad, I have deemed it unworthy of post game analysis! But I digress.

The Men’s Basketball Team is #9 in the preseason rankings. Despite anticipated strong recruiting classes in the upcoming years, I would have to say that this year is our best shot to go deep into the tourney for a couple of years. I’ll have to put a hoops schedule up, along with hockey, who, by the way, beat #2 ranked Boston College 4-1 this weekend. At least one team go the memo.

But the true reason for this post is to venerate perhaps one of the greatest ND basketball fans in the land. He was one of the founding fathers of “Breytopia,” spreading his concept of the ultimate ND basketball fan colony quite emphatically, preparing a constitution and ruling government on Facebook. Yes, our adorwartable Tom Dorwart has been memorialized in a new ND Basketball commercial. Thanks to Breytopian and the heap. correspondent Mike Hatke for submitting the link. The face which launched a thousand ships can be seen at 14 seconds, beaming of ferocious intensity.

And of course, here’s the link! Check it out!:Tom in the Notre Dame Basketball Commercial!