Angelina and I have been married for three years; have been dating for seven and a half years, and we've known each other for around ten years. We can pretty much tell what the other is thinking, but we also like to keep open communication just in case one of our brain waves is off a little bit. We try to make sure we are on the same page as much as possible. Whether there's a decision that needs to be made, or one of us wants to go out with friends, we talk to each other about it. It is respectful. It really aggravates me when little miss prissy working the counter at a chain bakery judges us after she asks me a question and I look at Angelina. Yes I know "Do I want a rewards card?" is an easy question, but do we eat at this place enough to make carrying one worth it? With that question in my mind, I looked at Angelina to see what she thought. Before Angelina could answer, Ms. Bagelbrains says (picture a high pitched obnoxious voice) "Ha Ha! You ask for permission?" Before I was rude and responded, Angelina says that we don't eat there enough to need a rewards card.
I also "ask" Angelina if I can go out with friends, go to the gym, or go where ever. To people who don't live with us, it does sound like I'm asking permission; but I am not asking for permission, I am asking if there is anything that would prevent me from going. Angelina is WAY better at keeping our schedules straight. So when I say "Is it cool if I go to the gym this afternoon?" I'm really saying, "Are we doing anything this afternoon, because I want to go to the gym." I can't remember a time that I was "told no". Asking is just my style of communication, so don't judge me.
This hasn't been the first time I've heard this and I know it won't be the last. In the future I'm going to use this as a practice tool for my patience instead of getting irritated so quickly when people make comments. Hopefully I can remember that I said this, because these situations actually don't happen very often, but they are very memorable.
"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." —African proverb
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
File #:8 Subject: Rick Jeanneret
In preparation to listen to the Sabres game tomorrow and the rest of their seven regular season games, I have decided to share with you another reason why I love Buffalo hockey. Rick Jeanneret. He puts his whole heart into commentating for the Sabres, and his creativity makes him one of the most entertaining announcers in ALL of sports. I've only missed a few games this season. I watched most of them, but once the FCC took over the websites that I used to watch them, I started listening to the live stream off the Sabres' website. It's actually just as fun as watching it. Lying on the couch with my eyes closed, listening to Rick, I can just imagine being at the game. The energy that Rick sends through the radio waves is just as electrifying as the energy the fans put off in HSBC Arena.
Only missing one season since the 1971-'72 season Rick has been making exciting plays more entertaining with his great calls. Here's a Sports Center Top 10 list of his best calls. I will list a few of my favorites that weren't in this video below.
Only missing one season since the 1971-'72 season Rick has been making exciting plays more entertaining with his great calls. Here's a Sports Center Top 10 list of his best calls. I will list a few of my favorites that weren't in this video below.
Now for a couple of my favorites:
- "There have been more cheap shots in this game than in a Mexican cantina during happy hour!"
- "Top shelf where Mama hides the cookies!" (After goals that hit the top of the net)
I hope that you get the chance someday to listen to a whole game that Rick calls, preferably a playoff game. GO SABRES!!!
”Goaltending is a normal job, sure. How would you like it in your job if every time you made a small mistake, a red light went on over your desk and 15,000 people stood up and yelled at you.” - Jacques Plante, Hall of fame goaltender
Sunday, March 27, 2011
File #:7 Subject: Weekend in Review
Sunday night means work is less than 12 hours away. It means that one more weekend adventure is in the books. Now I need to figure out where to start telling you about it.
Let's start Friday night shortly after my last post. My best friend, Brandon, was in town for the weekend and we watched the late basketball game. Game one of the weekend kept the hearts of everybody watching it from beating. I don't think my heart started beating until five minutes after it actually ended. Nothing like watching exciting games with friends. We were able to pull out the win at the end of the game. Our star freshmen hit the game winning fade away with five seconds left. We were worried that there was still too much time left in the game to celebrate, but a miss at the other end of the court officially started the celebration.
Saturday started with a failed attempt to go to the farmers market. It was a cold morning, so the market moved into a mall near the normal site. I was being stubborn, and didn't want to go to the farmers market inside a mall. I took Angelina back home then headed to the gym, while she worked on homework. I changed my workout a little bit, and enjoyed it quiet a bit. After my warm up jog and stretching, I skipped the half hour on the elliptical and went right into weight lifting. After I lifted, I shot around a basketball to keep my muscles loose. Needless to say, I suck at basketball, hockey is definitely my sport. Chasing down all those rebounds was a good cardio workout that felt closer to playing goalie than spending time on an elliptical. After that, I went and hung out with Brandon again. I introduced him to Orange Leaf (Which is freaking awesome if you've never been!), then we went and bowled for awhile. This then led into two games of air hockey. The final goal of the two games was priceless. Somehow, when Brandon tried to hit the puck, he threw the paddle down to my end, and knocked the puck into his net at the same time. We couldn't figure out how it happened, but it was the funniest thing that we've seen in a long time. Angelina and I then house and dog sat for friends of ours. We took advantage of being on the other side of town and stopped at Red Robin for dinner. As always it was amazing! What wasn't amazing was the fact that when I went to put my leftovers in the back seat, I dropped the box. Seeing that half a burger laying on the pavement, cold rain soaking into the bun and washing away the sauce was enough to make a man cry. I thought about that burger all night. If fact, I'm kind of missing it now. Later, we watched "It's Kind of a Funny Story". Good movie, I highly recommend seeing it.
Now onto Sunday. After leaving the house we were watching, we grabbed lunch and went to Wal-Mart. The best part of our Wal-Mart trip? Angelina asking me as we walked in past a group of people blocking the doors, "What are all these strange people doing here?" My wise ass answer, "Its Wal-Mart!" You never seem to run out of interesting people at Wal-Mart. After we got home and the car was unloaded, I worked on my yard project some more. I brought Bruno up front with me, and we ended up playing more than I actually work. I did get some of the smaller roots up, and raked most of the leaves and trash out of the area. I need to get the rest of the roots up before I can finish getting the leaves out; the roots are getting in the way. But once that is done, I'll till the area, plant grass seed, and pray for the best. Then there was game two of the weekend. It was pretty close the whole game, but we were able to pull out the win. I am actually watching the news right now, and seeing how the city celebrated with us just getting into the Final Four, makes me worried about what's going to happen if we win the whole thing. After the game, Angelina and I went to Panera to meet our good friends Jeanette and Elliott for cookies and wedding talk. It's always good to hang out with them.
Now, as I sit on my couch and type this post, I take a deep breathe and start to get mentally prepared for this coming week. I hope everybody had as good a weekend as I had, and make the best out of this coming week.
"The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend." ~Chuck Palahniuk
Let's start Friday night shortly after my last post. My best friend, Brandon, was in town for the weekend and we watched the late basketball game. Game one of the weekend kept the hearts of everybody watching it from beating. I don't think my heart started beating until five minutes after it actually ended. Nothing like watching exciting games with friends. We were able to pull out the win at the end of the game. Our star freshmen hit the game winning fade away with five seconds left. We were worried that there was still too much time left in the game to celebrate, but a miss at the other end of the court officially started the celebration.
Saturday started with a failed attempt to go to the farmers market. It was a cold morning, so the market moved into a mall near the normal site. I was being stubborn, and didn't want to go to the farmers market inside a mall. I took Angelina back home then headed to the gym, while she worked on homework. I changed my workout a little bit, and enjoyed it quiet a bit. After my warm up jog and stretching, I skipped the half hour on the elliptical and went right into weight lifting. After I lifted, I shot around a basketball to keep my muscles loose. Needless to say, I suck at basketball, hockey is definitely my sport. Chasing down all those rebounds was a good cardio workout that felt closer to playing goalie than spending time on an elliptical. After that, I went and hung out with Brandon again. I introduced him to Orange Leaf (Which is freaking awesome if you've never been!), then we went and bowled for awhile. This then led into two games of air hockey. The final goal of the two games was priceless. Somehow, when Brandon tried to hit the puck, he threw the paddle down to my end, and knocked the puck into his net at the same time. We couldn't figure out how it happened, but it was the funniest thing that we've seen in a long time. Angelina and I then house and dog sat for friends of ours. We took advantage of being on the other side of town and stopped at Red Robin for dinner. As always it was amazing! What wasn't amazing was the fact that when I went to put my leftovers in the back seat, I dropped the box. Seeing that half a burger laying on the pavement, cold rain soaking into the bun and washing away the sauce was enough to make a man cry. I thought about that burger all night. If fact, I'm kind of missing it now. Later, we watched "It's Kind of a Funny Story". Good movie, I highly recommend seeing it.
Now onto Sunday. After leaving the house we were watching, we grabbed lunch and went to Wal-Mart. The best part of our Wal-Mart trip? Angelina asking me as we walked in past a group of people blocking the doors, "What are all these strange people doing here?" My wise ass answer, "Its Wal-Mart!" You never seem to run out of interesting people at Wal-Mart. After we got home and the car was unloaded, I worked on my yard project some more. I brought Bruno up front with me, and we ended up playing more than I actually work. I did get some of the smaller roots up, and raked most of the leaves and trash out of the area. I need to get the rest of the roots up before I can finish getting the leaves out; the roots are getting in the way. But once that is done, I'll till the area, plant grass seed, and pray for the best. Then there was game two of the weekend. It was pretty close the whole game, but we were able to pull out the win. I am actually watching the news right now, and seeing how the city celebrated with us just getting into the Final Four, makes me worried about what's going to happen if we win the whole thing. After the game, Angelina and I went to Panera to meet our good friends Jeanette and Elliott for cookies and wedding talk. It's always good to hang out with them.
Now, as I sit on my couch and type this post, I take a deep breathe and start to get mentally prepared for this coming week. I hope everybody had as good a weekend as I had, and make the best out of this coming week.
"The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend." ~Chuck Palahniuk
Friday, March 25, 2011
File #:6 Subject: CPR
I have a renewed title today: Ryan Fleming CPR - Certified Public Resuscitator
Not really, I know CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Today my CPR certification was renewed. I've enjoyed being CPR certified for the past three years and also have enjoyed not having to use my training. Every time I take the class, I start to worry that I'll panic if an emergency ever arises and freeze. Compressing on a dummy I'm sure is a lot different than compressing on a human. It's always good to know that if the emergency happens at work, there are other people around me that are certified also that can help. If it ever happens in public, I try to remember that 50% of the businesses in this town are hospitals, so there's got to be a better qualified nurse somewhere close. This is good knowledge to have, but I hope I never have to use it, especially on someone close to me.
On a lighter note about today, the trainer was the best trainer we've had. She was very enthusiastic and made the training easier to understand. The whole class was thinking more about different scenarios that have never been covered, and asking questions. She was able to give us answers to all of them, even if some of them weren't "covered in the curriculum".
I also had practice on my whole "personal bubble complex", as I was the volunteer to have the proper Heimlich positioning demonstrated on. Which worked out, because when I was at a restaurant later and the manager came to my table and put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't need someone to Heimlich the burger out of my throat. So I think I can call that a personal victory!
Before I leave to go watch the UK game with my best friend, I'm going to show you this PSA on CPR from AK, I hope you HA HA.
Not really, I know CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Today my CPR certification was renewed. I've enjoyed being CPR certified for the past three years and also have enjoyed not having to use my training. Every time I take the class, I start to worry that I'll panic if an emergency ever arises and freeze. Compressing on a dummy I'm sure is a lot different than compressing on a human. It's always good to know that if the emergency happens at work, there are other people around me that are certified also that can help. If it ever happens in public, I try to remember that 50% of the businesses in this town are hospitals, so there's got to be a better qualified nurse somewhere close. This is good knowledge to have, but I hope I never have to use it, especially on someone close to me.
On a lighter note about today, the trainer was the best trainer we've had. She was very enthusiastic and made the training easier to understand. The whole class was thinking more about different scenarios that have never been covered, and asking questions. She was able to give us answers to all of them, even if some of them weren't "covered in the curriculum".
I also had practice on my whole "personal bubble complex", as I was the volunteer to have the proper Heimlich positioning demonstrated on. Which worked out, because when I was at a restaurant later and the manager came to my table and put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't need someone to Heimlich the burger out of my throat. So I think I can call that a personal victory!
Before I leave to go watch the UK game with my best friend, I'm going to show you this PSA on CPR from AK, I hope you HA HA.
"Take some time to learn first aid and CPR. It saves lives, and it works."- Bobby Sherman
Thursday, March 24, 2011
File #:5 Subject: Bite Guard
Today I had a new bite guard fitted. I have been having pain in my jaw recently, and my dentist said that he thinks I'm grinding my teeth. He recommended getting this bite guard and wearing it at night. It feels awkward, but I'm sure it will help my face feel better. After it was fitted by the dental assistant, my dentist came in and looked it over and was giving me tips on how to care for it. He said to brush it in the morning, but don't use toothpaste. Apparently I looked at him like I thought he was joking, because I did think he was joking, and he said "I'm serious, some toothpastes are gritty, and will eventually sand away at the material.". I didn't mean to look at him like that, but how often does your dentist tell you NOT to use toothpaste? I was sure that all dentists used toothpaste to clean everything from their cars to their dishes! Now that I know that sometimes even a dentist doesn't recommend using toothpaste, I can take care of my bite guard and start the face healing process.
Also, I have decided to add a song to the end of my posts on Thursdays in honor of Thursday Night Live. TNL hasn't started yet, but after the beautiful weather yesterday, I know its close.
Also, I have decided to add a song to the end of my posts on Thursdays in honor of Thursday Night Live. TNL hasn't started yet, but after the beautiful weather yesterday, I know its close.
Here's this weeks song: Rainbow Connection - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
File #:4 Subject: Hockey and Yard Work
I need help! The local Parks and Rec wants to tear down the roller rink I play hockey at for a "redesign that will serve a significant public need with playground, eventual pavilions, and a destination that will serve multi-generational families.” Which is BS! The park has PLENTY of space to put up thousands of playgrounds and millions of pavilions, without tearing down the rink. If you are reading this, and would like to help me and all the other hockey players out here by sending the parks and rec deputy director an email asking him not to tear it down because you know it gets used, let me know and I will give you his contact information. I am almost in panic mode about this, because I will have no place to play if it gets tore down. Angelina has really helped me not wig out about this. Hopefully I can make it until we finally hear word about the rinks future.
On a better hockey note: SABRES WON LAST NIGHT! Shutout for #30 Ryan Miller, and 2 goals for Nathan Gerbe. Sabres are still 3 points ahead ofCarolina
On a better hockey note: SABRES WON LAST NIGHT! Shutout for #30 Ryan Miller, and 2 goals for Nathan Gerbe. Sabres are still 3 points ahead of
Next subject! Yard work was started today, and taking out those bushes went surprisingly well. I have them all cut down. Now I need to work on getting the roots out, the leaves and trash cleaned up, and the grass planted. I made sure to keep a picture log so that I could see the progression of this project. Here are today's pictures:
Proof that it is actually me working on this project.
This is what it looks like with the bushes gone! The yard looks so much bigger now.
Only part of the pile that I made.
Now I need to just make sure that I actually make time to finish it up. After seeing how it looked when it was all cleared out, I'm sure that I will make time. I'm really excited to see how it looks when it's fnished. More pictures to come later.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
File #:3 Subject: Motivation
While I listen to the Sabres game tonight I thought I'd write another post.
As I was spending time on the elliptical at the gym this afternoon, I thought that a good subject tonight would be "motivation". Reason for that thought? I had none of it before I left for the gym! The lack of motivation I think has started at work. I still enjoy my job, but current circumstances have made it feel like I am just spinning my wheels. I am having a hard time catching up paperwork, a hard time transitioning to a new program used to open accounts, and no matter how hard I try to get my reports cleaned up, they just stay full of crap. The wheels spinning feeling makes it hard to want to go into work in the morning. Luckily, my supervisor is awesome, and she is able to keep me sane (I'll post about that more later). What gets me through work days/weeks like this? Lunch with Angelina sure helps! We went to lunch today, and it was a great break away from work. By the way, Mom and Papa, thank you for lunch today. Another thing that helps at work is clearing old items off my outstanding items reports. Now, let me tell you about these reports. When our sales staff opens an account or loan, it shows up on my daily report, when they turn in that loan or account, I check it off my daily report. The items not checked off at the end of the month get put on my "Outstanding Report". They don't get removed until the staff member turns it in. There are a lot of items on the three variations of this report (Accounts, Loans, and Errors), that are still outstanding from last year and even 2009. So today I focused on getting some of the older items off the reports, which means I go and look over the sales staffs' shoulders and have them do what I need them to do. I was able to get a good deal of items off the reports today, so I think that'll help me get to work in the morning.
Next motivational hump today? The gym, dun dun duuunnnnnn!!! It's been a week since I've been, so I really didn't feel like going. I made the mistake of coming home from work instead of going straight to the gym. I was able to get my butt off the couch and made it to the gym. I only did half my work out, but I think I needed to shorten it and work back up to my full routine. With Angelina back in school from spring break, I should be more willing to go while she's in class.
Now, for the ultimate need of motivation! I want to take out the bushes in my front yard, because I think they look like crap. I need to make sure that I stay motivated to finish the project. I tend to not finish projects, but Angelina said she would be okay with this removal of shrubs if I promised to actually finish it. So I promised (Dear Lord, please keep me focused and motivated after I start this project.). Rain is supposed to be coming through soon, so I thought it would be easier to pull up the roots with ground wet. As extra motivation, I am posting a picture of the bushes now, and I plan on posting what it looks like after I'm done.
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson
As I was spending time on the elliptical at the gym this afternoon, I thought that a good subject tonight would be "motivation". Reason for that thought? I had none of it before I left for the gym! The lack of motivation I think has started at work. I still enjoy my job, but current circumstances have made it feel like I am just spinning my wheels. I am having a hard time catching up paperwork, a hard time transitioning to a new program used to open accounts, and no matter how hard I try to get my reports cleaned up, they just stay full of crap. The wheels spinning feeling makes it hard to want to go into work in the morning. Luckily, my supervisor is awesome, and she is able to keep me sane (I'll post about that more later). What gets me through work days/weeks like this? Lunch with Angelina sure helps! We went to lunch today, and it was a great break away from work. By the way, Mom and Papa, thank you for lunch today. Another thing that helps at work is clearing old items off my outstanding items reports. Now, let me tell you about these reports. When our sales staff opens an account or loan, it shows up on my daily report, when they turn in that loan or account, I check it off my daily report. The items not checked off at the end of the month get put on my "Outstanding Report". They don't get removed until the staff member turns it in. There are a lot of items on the three variations of this report (Accounts, Loans, and Errors), that are still outstanding from last year and even 2009. So today I focused on getting some of the older items off the reports, which means I go and look over the sales staffs' shoulders and have them do what I need them to do. I was able to get a good deal of items off the reports today, so I think that'll help me get to work in the morning.
Next motivational hump today? The gym, dun dun duuunnnnnn!!! It's been a week since I've been, so I really didn't feel like going. I made the mistake of coming home from work instead of going straight to the gym. I was able to get my butt off the couch and made it to the gym. I only did half my work out, but I think I needed to shorten it and work back up to my full routine. With Angelina back in school from spring break, I should be more willing to go while she's in class.
Now, for the ultimate need of motivation! I want to take out the bushes in my front yard, because I think they look like crap. I need to make sure that I stay motivated to finish the project. I tend to not finish projects, but Angelina said she would be okay with this removal of shrubs if I promised to actually finish it. So I promised (Dear Lord, please keep me focused and motivated after I start this project.). Rain is supposed to be coming through soon, so I thought it would be easier to pull up the roots with ground wet. As extra motivation, I am posting a picture of the bushes now, and I plan on posting what it looks like after I'm done.
Thank you for listening to my rant today, I hope everyone's week finishes up on a high note!
"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson
Monday, March 21, 2011
File #:2 Subject: Skills in Net?
So, here are a couple of videos of me in net. This was last summer, and before I played on skates. I think I'm getting better with my skates, but it's been like relearning how to walk. My left to right movement has taken a few steps backwards, but I just need some more time on them to get my confidence back.
This first video is of me making a sweet kick save.
This next video is of a shot that I thought had cradled in my elbow, but it had actually gotten through me (you can see it to my left). Also, this video shows the helmet that Angelina bought me for my birthday! It's pretty much freakin' awesome, red, black, and white camo.
This summer I will be able to post more videos, and hopefully we all will be able to see a difference in my skill level. Between more time playing, and off ice training (all training exercises taken from http://www.ingoalmag.com/), my skill level should be noticeably better.
Here's to keeping your stick on the ice, and a quick glove hand!
File #:1 Subject: First Blog Post
Good Evening;
Welcome to the "Fleming Files". This will be the place to see into the life of the Flemings. You will hear stories from our adventures in life, playing hockey, work, and anything else that pops into my mind.
To start off, I will introduce everybody.
I'm Ryan, I'm am 25, I work at a local credit union as their "Audit Specialist". I have a strong passion for hockey, and love being a goalie. I enjoy all sports, and I also play a little golf now and then. I like to think I'm a pretty laid back guy, I enjoy taking life slow and enjoy kicking back and spending time on my couch.
My wife, Angelina, is studying Social Work in a masters program. She is the hardest working and most loving person I know. She loves the local art scene and is very creative herself. Most importantly, she is able to put up with my shananigans with a smile on her face, so I know she's a keeper.
Last but not least, there's Bruno, our basset hound. He's 65 pounds of pure slobbery lapdog. He loves going to the dog park, which gives him a lot more room to sniff around than our back yard. He's pretty shy around people, but he loves meeting new dogs. He's a real loving dog, and he's truly a part of our family.
I hope you enjoyed the introductions, and I look forward to posting more.
Welcome to the "Fleming Files". This will be the place to see into the life of the Flemings. You will hear stories from our adventures in life, playing hockey, work, and anything else that pops into my mind.
To start off, I will introduce everybody.
I'm Ryan, I'm am 25, I work at a local credit union as their "Audit Specialist". I have a strong passion for hockey, and love being a goalie. I enjoy all sports, and I also play a little golf now and then. I like to think I'm a pretty laid back guy, I enjoy taking life slow and enjoy kicking back and spending time on my couch.
My wife, Angelina, is studying Social Work in a masters program. She is the hardest working and most loving person I know. She loves the local art scene and is very creative herself. Most importantly, she is able to put up with my shananigans with a smile on her face, so I know she's a keeper.
Last but not least, there's Bruno, our basset hound. He's 65 pounds of pure slobbery lapdog. He loves going to the dog park, which gives him a lot more room to sniff around than our back yard. He's pretty shy around people, but he loves meeting new dogs. He's a real loving dog, and he's truly a part of our family.
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