With the risk of injuries present in almost every sport, serious and life threatening injuries staring us down every time we lace up to play, why do we still do it? Why would we risk out bodies for sports? To me, the answer is very simple.

I personally have suffered injuries playing hockey that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I blocked a slap shot with the inside of my left ankle in a playoff game last year, and it shattered the bottom of my Tibia. After surgery to put the pieces back together, one of my tendons was shifted to the wrong side, and placed against a sharp piece of bone. The first step I took on my left foot after the surgery severed the tendon more than 40%. I lost an entire summer to physiotherapy and reconstructive surgery that year and was essentially a couch potato for 2 months.

Even after that, even after one of the most agonizing injuries of my life, I still lace up for every game, every practice, every pick up game, every public skate, and every pond hockey game with some friends. Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through such pain for a sport that many live without? To me, it's all about the saying "No pain, no gain." If you can't go 120% every time you step on the ice and be prepared to lay down your body for the team's sake, you don't know hockey.

I've said it a thousand times and ill say it again; hockey is a lifestyle, not a sport. The men you enter a change room with leave your brothers, your family that you put your body on the line for with no questions asked. I lead my team in blocked shots per game this year with an average of 13. That's 13 times every game something could go horribly wrong, something could brake, something could snap, and I could get hurt, but I still do it.

Each injury is a battle scar, and it heals over time. A broken leg lasts a couple months, where as the memory of lifting the cup, the 35 pound trophy that every hockey player dreams of holding over their head ever since they were 3 years old, that memory is immortal. History is dictated by the victor of every battle, and if you have to block a few shots, take a few punches, or break few bones to leave your legacy in this world, then you do it. Zero questions asked.

So why take these risks? Why should I risk my health for a sport? Because it's what is expected of me. Because if a broken bone is the difference between glory and failure, ill take the trip to the hospital any day of the week.

Today, Kemp was talking about making goals for the future, and how long term goals help direct your actions. This made me think about our conversation a few weeks back about how I have no direction in life and how I'm struggling to find myself in this class.

One thing I really thought about was my explanation of how I do well in math, but struggle in English. I said that I need an equation, a process to compete things with one final and correct answer at the end. No opinions, no varying degree of being correct; if you get the answer right, you're right. If you get the answer wrong, you're wrong. With this mindset, I came to the conclusion that if I direct myself, if I find the answer to my equation of life, I might be able to put the pieces together of how I'm going to get there. I did the same thing with a math problem last week; I had missed a few days of school and didn't know how to solve a problem, so I looked in the back of the text book to find the answer, and taught myself an equation that I could use to solve all problems like it.

One thing I am very passionate about is Chemistry, something about it just makes perfect sense without anyone explaining it. In the past, I've given some thought to becoming a chemical engineer, but for some reason I'm not sure that's what I want to do with the rest of my life. It's a hard decision, to choose one thing that you dedicate the rest of your life to. But I've been floating and coasting for too long, and I need to direct myself soon, or I could end up failing high school.

Circling back to my original point, the reason I struggle in these classes is because there is no one right answer. There could be as many answers as you could interpret, but I'm not wired that way. I think in one mindset, and that is that there is one right answer, and you need an equation or a plan or rules or something to follow to get to that answer. If you do it properly, you will succeed, if you do it improperly, you will fail. I have a feeling that's the reason I just got a 96 on my math test, but am failing this future forms class.

I've come to the conclusion that I need to find my answer, and develop equation around that answer. For instance, if I want to pursue becoming a chemical engineer, I should focus my classes around the maths and sciences, classes I succeed in. One thing I'm doing wrong lately, is just waiting for someone to tell me what to do. If someone were to just walk up to me and tell me what I should do with my life, I would find a way to do it. I guess I'm just afraid to choose something, and end up not enjoying it. But I need to take the initiative and put my life on course before it gets derailed.

At first, I took coming home literally. I though of my home, and then of my family's homes in Kingston. I thought about the buildings and I thought of the addresses, I thought about their placement. But Kemp told me to think of it contextually, think of home as the feeling and not as the building. 

To me, home is your origin, it should be the place where your day begins and ends. It should be the one place you will always feel safe, the escape from the pressures of your life, home needs to be your safety net from the world. You should be able to come home to a family that will listen, a group of people that help you, support you, encourage you, and provide for you. 

The physical attributes of home mean nothing. Your home could be the most expensive mansion in the world, it could be filled with cooks and maids and butlers serving you 24/7, and it could have everything you want like a chocolate waterfall room, or a water slide for a staircase or a garage full of expensive cars. Home could also be a run down apartment building downtown, with a leaky roof, noisy neighbours, 40 year old beds, no electricity; it could be the least desirable place to live in the world, but as long is it's filled with people who care for you, people who really make your life better just by being around, your home is complete. 

The house doesn't make the home, the people make the home that occupy the house. Going home doesn't mean going to 123 Adam Street at the end of the day, it means going back to where you started your day, where your family started the same day with you, going back to the beginning. If your house defines your home, you're doing something wrong; fix it.

We just finished our first year of Civic Mirror with our court system. After being sued for breaking a law I wasn't even aware I was breaking, I got sentenced to pay 1200 dollars to the welfare system, which isn't even operating because Jake's tax bill was shot down, so that makes a lot of sense.

Earlier on I was named the 2nd Prime Minister of Zugzwang after Jake stepped down. The stress is starting to get to me, and I can see why Jake left. This job comes with responsibilities that I doubt I can handle, and everyone looks upon you with judgmental opinions that make you second guess every decision you make.

After one year, all I can say is I hope year two brings better results.

    The Blackhawks remain undefeated in regulation after 23 games, shattering the record for most consecutive games with at least one point. Last night, they handled the Minnesota Wild with ease, taking a commanding lead 4-1 after the first period, and finishing the game winning 5-3. They are all but guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, and currently lead the NHL with 43 points in 23 games. The closest team to catching the red hot Hawks are the Anaheim Ducks at 33 points in 21 games.

    The injury bug also seems to be avoiding the Blackhawks for the most part. Aside from Corey Crawford's injury, benching him for 2 weeks, the rest have been day-to-day injuries, resulting in a full roster every game. If the Blackhawks continue their trend, they will dominate the league in no time. A lead such as the Blackhawks' seems insurmountable, but in reality can be dissolved easily.

    A losing skid here and there for the Hawks, and 10 points up could be 2 points back. Anaheim got off to a rough start, but has elevated their play lately, going 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, giving them 16 points in 10 games, only 4 points behind the Hawks' 20 points in 10 games. Last night, the Hawks set a new club record for the longest win streak in team history, winning 10 games in a row. The first time in Hawks history that this feat had been accomplished, and the surging Blackhawks appear to be even better than their Stanley Cup championship team from 2010.

    Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have a combined 47 points and are +23. The two have remarkable talent and coach Joel Quenneville has nothing but praise for their, and the rest of his team's performance. Patrick Kane has been lighting the lamp on almost a gamely basis, especially last night, ripping a shot top right to slow down the Wild's surging comeback. All momentum was completely taken away from Minnesota, and this was a key moment for Kane and the Hawks; it was a turning point that pushed the final nail into the coffin of the Wild's hopes for a comeback, solidifying the victory. 

    Update: As of 07/03/2013 the Blackhawks have gone 24 games, which is half of the season, without losing a game in regulation. Defeating the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 last night put them at 45 points of a possible 48 in the season. 

     Wednesday, our FFP class was discussing the social implications of sexism and misogyny. A TED talk we viewed stated that women, on average, make 70 cents to every dollar made by a man, and at first this seemed illogical. 


     A few moments ago, I finished watching a podcast, and the closing subject was discussing this statistic that men are earning more money. A popular internet personality who goes by Hutch in the YouTube community, brought up an interesting point on the matter: "Men earn more money on average, because a lot of higher paying jobs require physical attributes that most women don't have." In the modern day media, women are portrayed as having a slim figure and being very dependent when it comes to strength, while men are encouraged to be as muscular as possible. 


     When it comes to higher paying jobs, such as fire fighting, military positions, high end construction workers, and emergency services personnel, strength is a key component to succeeding in each field. Most women, not all but most, don't strive to dead lift 400 pounds, bench press twice their weight, or curl an average sized human child for an hour straight. Mainstream media has pumped an image into their minds depicting a cute, harmless woman with no comparable strength to an average man; and most women don't set out to attain commendations for excelling in the field of carrying wounded civilians from war zones. Canada is known for its peace keeping missions around the world, and high ranking military officers pull in a sizable pay check for their efforts; but the field is mostly dominated by men. 


     If you're averaging all salaries worked by men and women, the result SHOULD look something like 70 cents to a man's dollar, because of higher paying fields where men are not chosen because of misogynous cultural views, sexist employers, or favouritism towards a certain gender; It's due to a pure, realistic, and evolutionary conundrum where men are the better contestant for certain careers. All four fields listed before are dominated by male employees, and all four are well paying jobs that greatly surpass the average salary. 


     So, the next time someone complains about the "70 cents to every man's dollar" issue, remind them that many fields where men excel and women don't are primarily well paying jobs that will skew the results of a general average of all salaries. 

    Today, I looked at my fantasy hockey lineup and noticed that I had 4 injuries. 2 of which were concussions: Jeff Skinner, a former Kitchener Ranger, and Marian Hossa, who often has recieved many concussions in his career. No information was given on how Skinner received the injury, but the Hurricanes released a statement saying that his return before the end of the regular season (late April) was unlikely. 

    Marian Hossa suffered a concussion after Jannik Hansen (of the Vancouver Canucks) elbowed Hossa in the back of the head. He was helped off the ice and did not return for the game. Last year, in the playoffs against Phoenix, Hossa received the bad end of a boarding penalty by Raffi Torres, who was suspended for 20 games, one of the longest suspensions in NHL history. Hossa suffered the injury in early May, and was not cleared to even skate by doctors until mid November. Both of these players have a long term history of concussions. 

    This marks the 3rd season straight that Skinner will miss ice time due to a concussion, and this raises the question "How far is too far?" In the NHL, hits are reviewed by the disciplinary committee lead by former NHL star Brendan Shanahan. This committee determines how severe a punishment should be, and hopes to sway players from being repeat offenders of illegal hits. But the safety of players has always been a serious concern in the NHL, and has never been completely resolved.
 
    Sure, hockey is a contact sport, and is fuelled by strong emotions, but how far are the players allowed to go to make contact with an opposing player? The primary purpose of a body check in hockey is to separate the player from the puck. But now it's used to intimidate and cause harm to the other team, with no regard for player safety. 

    Hockey Canada recently released an app for most mobile devices containing medical information for concussions, proper procedures for medicating a concussion, a function to find the nearest hospital for injuries in away games, and a hotline with trained physicians on call 24/7 to help with concussion symptoms. This app also has a general guideline for diagnosing a concussion, and determining when it is safe to return to play. We are seeing a general rise in awareness at lower levels of hockey, but not in the NHL, and that needs to change. 

    Anyone can be affected by a concussion, even the great Sidney Crosby, who sat out 10 months after the Winter Classic incident.

Today, there's no topic, there's no point, there's no reason. I'm being told to blog, and blog I shall! The Ottawa Senators have no chance at making the playoffs this year with Spezza and Karlsson gone for the season. Does this mean Toronto actually has a chance?! Solid 6th place in the East right now, 2 points out of first, and only missing Lupul, I feel the Leafs have a solid shot at the playoffs. Definitely 7th or 8th seed, no where past the second round, but a playoff berth is possible for Toronto. The Ducks are on a 5 game winning streak, and the Blackhawks are 12-0-3, both looking good for the post-season.

Apparently I have to post on this blog twice per week. I thought I'd start this off with some dissapointment, so that I actually have something to improve on dramatically. My name is Robert. This room is very hot. My computer is slow. I'm listening to music. I'm happy. That's it, I'm done.

This is my political compass. What it means is, according to Kemp, I'm extremely Canadian, and somewhat like Ghandi...