So what have I been doing in the two weeks since I last wrote here? Well, if you read my last post, you probably have a pretty good idea of where I was and what I was doing, but I suppose some sort of follow up is order. So I’ll address my latest activities in a wholly arbitrary manner selected only to assert my editorial dominance.

First of all, I’m working full time (plus some) and, surprisingly, it takes more effort to write up a blog post after a day spent writing than it does after a day of doing nothing. I’m going to stick by my decision to not write about my job, suffice to say that it’s going well and I’m slowly getting back into the groove of writing news stories on a regular basis.

As a result of this, my long-gestating Phase II of the “I Hate Peter Travers” project will have to wait until I find the time/motivation to finish designing the website. Sorry to all those waiting on the IPO.

In fact, the only other writing I’ve been doing lately has been some PR stuff I did for my good friend and technological consultant, Paul Rausch, owner of Greenwire IT. Since I get a lot of hits from Florida, I figure it’s worth giving him an extra plug here as well. If you’re anywhere in the Southwest Florida Area, I cannot recommend this man enough. He helped me set up this site, and I’m willing to bet that he’s one of the only IT guys in the world who can set up your computer, cook you a delicious meal and educate you on the undertones of racism that fueled the Franco-Prussian war at the same time. And do it in your choice of four languages.

But since I’m now working full time in a town 30 minutes away, I also had to make my epic 1500+ mile road trip from Fort Myers to Boston, by way of Washington, DC. The first 1000 or so was done in one straight shot, by the end of which I was no longer able to hold a clear thought in my head. I was basically focusing everything on driving, especially during hour 14 when I was cruising through Richmond alongside every trucker on 95. Good Times.

By the way, Washington, DC is an awful driving city. I already hated rotaries, and I did not need to deal with DuPont circle after 16 hours on the highway.

I also got a chance to head up to Baltimore to see the Rays take on the Orioles. I was, of course, dissapointed to see the Rays lose, but Evan Longoria hit two home runs, so it was kind of worth it. Camden Yards is also the nicest stadium I’ve ever been to, especially with $6 admission on college night. To hell with all the tradition, they really need to rebuild Fenway so I can watch my out-of-town team in better comfort.

In other news, today was the Boston Marathon, which, in years past, would have meant drinking enough to make watching people run for hours interesting. Instead, I worked.

And finally, BU won the national championship. It was quite possibly the greatest single sporting event I’ve ever seen, much less attended. For those who don’t pay attention to such things, you missed out. Trailing 3-1 to Miami (Ohio) with a minute to go, the Terriers proceeded to rip of two goals, go into overtime, and win on as flukey a shot as I’ve ever seen. As is the custom around these parts I went out drinking in the same bar as the team after the game. Go me.

Fun fact: This was the fifth national championship won between UF and BU in the last four years. UF and BU also have two of the oldest registered .edu domain names on the internet (ufl.edu and bu.edu, respectively), and both were registered on the exact same day.

But as cool as it was to see BU win another National Championship, I feel like that weekend was the official end of my time at BU. Sure, I technically graduated back in May, but I was one of the only people I knew graduating. As far as I’m concerned, that was as much for my family than it was for me. But being in DC and seeing that game with all my friends gave as good a sense of closure as I could ever expect to get from college. I’m ready to move on now.

In the words of Roger Murtaugh, I’m getting too old for this shit.

photo courtesy USCHO.com

My throat is raw from screaming. I have bruises all over my legs. I probably dropped a few days off my life by drinking my weight in cheap beer. But now that all is said and done, BU is going to the frozen four in Washington, DC.

This weekend was everything I could have wanted it to be. We dumped all over Ohio State, winning the first game 8-3 in a tournament where the other three no. 1 seeds fell in their first games. It was a great game for the result, but when you’re up 6-0 in the second it’s really just not as exciting as you’d expect. The highlight wound up being the BU students chanting for Barry Melrose and John Buccigross, and getting nods on air and from the press box for it.

And then we played UNH. Being the Florida football fan I am, I have to compare Hockey East to SEC football. Everyone hates everyone, and any game between any two teams (except Merrimack) winds up being exciting and terrifying at the same time. Given that we were in UNH territory, we had every reason to be afraid.

We caught some flack in the bar before the game, but we brought the fury when the game started. After a ridiculous back-and-forth 1-1 game highlighted by some disgusting saves by BU goalie Kieran Millan, time was winding down in the third. It was all set to go to overtime when UNH’s star player James Van Riemsdyk went to the box for hooking in the last minute. I immediately start looking for Jason Lawrence, BU’s goal leader thanks largely to his ridiculous ability to put in power play goals in front of the net.

With less than 15 seconds left, Lawrence did his thing (although, to be fair, UNH basically put it in their own net) and we went Apeshit. We sang. We cheered. We ran around like idiots and hung outside the car on the way out of Manchester.

We pulled the same thing back on campus, but because we’re BU, nobody was out to notice. Eventually we wound up at the bar (973 Commonwealth) drinking with every fan who cared. And the Hockey Team. Good Times.

We’ve got Vermont in the semis (remember what I said about Hockey East matchups?) and the winner of Miami (Ohio) and Bemidji State (located in Minnesota, for some reason). We’re still the number one overall seed in a final four that includes two fours and a three. We have a stud goaltender in Keiran Millan, and so far we’ve won every single game that we’ve needed to win.

I want this championship.

Jack Parker won his 800th game at Merriack, which also happened to be the most entertaining hockey game I’ve been to all season. Unearth now ranks as possibly the best band I’ve ever seen live, with the Palladium as the second best venue I’ve ever been to, behind Janus Landing in Tampa. We couldn’t find the Denny’s in Worcester, so we settled for Wendy’s. The Steelers did win the Super Bowl (but I got the score wrong) and I ate copious amounts of Gumbo. I also drank a lot of Busch, which has the utterly illogical slogan of “Cold as a mountain stream, Smooth as its name.” BU also won the first round of the Beanpot over Harvard in a surprisingly exciting game, but Northeastern destroyed BC and is looking like the favorite to win the tournament. NU goalie Brad Thiessen just looks scary.

In another note, the weather in Boston was amazing yesterday (Monday). The sun was out, and it was so warm that I was actually sweating. Of course, I wound up spending most of the day getting ready for the Beanpot, so I didn’t get to take advantage. Today, when I have significantly less going on, it’s been snowing like crazy and it’s freezing. I don’t understand the weather in this town. I also think I’m coming down with a cold, and my right knee is killing me from accidentally stepping into the gap behind the seats at the Garden last night. Funny how things turn around on you, isn’t it?

I will presumably get back to writing tonight or tomorrow. We’ll see how this cold turns out.