The Best of 2009 Series

Yesterday I decided I wouldn't blog for at least a week or two.  Then I found this and now my "no blogging for a week" idea is going down the drain.  While I most likely won't blog for all 31 days, I'll definitely recap MY "best of 2009" series.  Besides, it will be fun and I think we can all use a little "best of" in our lives right now with the winter weather ahead and the holiday shopping madness in session, yes?

YES!

So, here goes nothing...

BEST TRIP IN 2009

 I had to stop and think back to all of the places I visited in 2009: 

Boston, Vegas, Chicago, Washington, DC, Tampa, Atlantic City, Avalon, NJ, Pittsburgh, Detroit, NYC, Baltimore... and I think that's only half of the list.

While that may not seem like a lot of traveling to you, it was definitely a lot of traveling for me.  Especially since I managed to cross off some major cities I've never traveled to, like Vegas and Boston.

My best trip in 2009 was to:

Vegas, baby!

You can read the full re-cap of my trip here, but to sum it up - I went to Vegas for 5 days for a hockey tournament.  I drank four times my body weight, slept a total of 4 hours, won a hockey championship (and an MVP award), got proposition for a threesome, got mistaken for a prostitute, and spent five marvelous days with some of my closest friends.

Now I know why everyone says: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  It definitely goes down in my record book as one of the best. trips. ever. and I'm planning on going back in 2010.

the time I had a "strip-off" with a Canadian

Things I learned in Tampa, Florida this weekend:

• Drinking on the beach, listening to the ocean waves is probably one of my favorite things to do.  There's nothing more relaxing than sipping on a corona, listening to the waves crash and watching people walk up and down the beach.  
• I have a love/hate relationship with Canada.  I met a couple new Canadian hockey friends over the weekend.  One lives in Seattle and is from Nova Scotia.  The other is from Ontario.  Or maybe Toronto?  Anyway, I love when Canadian's say "eh" after each sentence.  I hate how loud and obnoxious they are when intoxicated.  I also hate how awesome they are at playing hockey.  My women's team lost to the Canadian bitches women in the championship game yesterday.  
• Having a "strip-off" at 5AM this morning with a drunk Canadian man is never a good decision.  Even worse?  When the drunk Canadian is standing butt-naked in front of a room full of fellow hockey players.  While y'all were sleeping at 5AM, I was stripping against a Canadian.  New low.
  
• Certain friends will certainly throw you under the bus or stab you in the back at just the right time (usually when you are drinking and hanging out with close friends).  Then what do you do?  Walk away.  You don't ask questions, you don't look back.  You simply walk away knowing that real friends would never do something like that.
• Trying to teach a Canadian how to dance is a lot harder than it seems.  Especially when the Canadian bounces up and down, rather than swaying the hips.  Clearly his hips do lie.
• First impressions aren't everything and people can sweep you off your feet when you least expect it.  I'm trying to keep an open heart and an open mind.  The possibilities are endless and right now, things are good.
• Staying up 24 hours drinking, playing hockey, drinking more and catching a flight home isn't as fun as I thought it would be.  I'm completely and utterly exhausted.  I need sleep and lots of it.
• It's tempting to move down to Florida when the weather is sunny and in the 80's.  Coming home today to 50 degree weather was miserable.  I like things hot.  Phoenix, AZ can't come soon enough.
• New Port Richey (where our tournament was being played) is NOT ANYWHERE NEAR TAMPA.  The 15 minute drive we thought it was going to be turned out to be about 50 minutes.  And it really sucks when you have to make that drive about 5 times each day.
• Ybor City is not as awesome as I thought it would be.  We went to a Pirate Bar Saturday night and it turned out to be pretty lame.  I was hoping for pirates and wenches and all I got was a $45 bar tab.

All in all, it was definitely an exciting, event-filled weekend.  I haven't fucked partied like that since Vegas.  Good times, good times.