So it goes

screenshot of how I watched the game

Well, that wasn't the game I was hoping to see when I woke up at six in the morning after partying until two am the night before.  To not score until the last half of the last period? At home?  What a sad, disappointing game to watch.  I did get to watch it though, just like Game 6, thanks to the wonderful amazing technological innovation that is Skype (and thanks to Matt for setting up his computer by a tv, and to Apple for making computers with built-in cameras).  It was really cool to watch the games and to be able to talk to my friends at the same time as if I was actually there with them.  Unfortunately, neither game ended with the proper result.  

There was one strange occurance while I was watching Game 7.  As I sat, poised on the edge of my seat, trying to follow the puck (which is hard to do on tv, let alone on a tv watched through a computer screen), I heard a loud bird chirping.  I didn't think anything of it because I had been hearing birds all morning.  But this bird was persistent and extremely loud, as if it was coming from inside my apartment.  Finally, I remembered that our doorbell makes a chirping noise, which is not something you get used to easily.  I took off my headphones and ran to the door.  When I opened it, a man who I intuited to be our landlord was standing there, pointing down at the steps outside our flat.  At first, it looked like someone had spilled some chips and snacks on the ground, which I guess is true.  Upon further inspection I realized that the snacks were spilled by mouth, probably unpleasantly.  As I mentioned earlier, we had a raging party the previous night.  I didn't know what to do because time was ticking away in the third period and this guy was looking at me with a "you better clean this up you damn spoiled foreigner" look on his face.  Of course, I could not easily explain to him that my home town team was playing in the most intense of all possible game scenarios, so I just said "OK, I'll clean it up" and then closed the door and rushed back to my computer.  I sat down, put on my headphones, and realized that the internet had gone out.  After trying for a minute to fix it, I decided that I might as well clean up the "mouth-spill".  

Once that task was done, surprisingly easily and without much of a gross factor, I washed my hands and returned to the computer.  Luckily, the internet had returned and I was able to reconnect with Matt.  And of course, while I was out was when we scored our lone goal.  It's hard not to be superstitious when as soon as I started watching the game, Talbot scored...and then scored again, and the first time I stopped watching, the Wings scored.  Maybe if I had just turned it off then Detroit would be celebrating right now and that whiny punk Crosby would never have gotten to put his cry-baby hands on the Cup.  But as every Red Wings player and fan is going to have to come to terms with over the next few days, there is no way to change what happened.  Brad Stuart screwed up twice, Talbot scored twice, and our high octane offense that was so beautiful to watch all season couldn't make anything happen.  Now we're left with the same feeling we had in 2005 when the Pistons lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals to San Antonio.  So close to glory, minutes away from a repeat, and then, after weeks of intense games and thrilling victories...nothing.  Season over with nothing to show for all of the battles and all the success.

I know you're all thinking the same things anyway, so I'll stop talking about it.  I'll go eat a mango in the sun and look out at India.  What will you do to distract yourself?

In non-hockey related news, our party last night was awesome.  It was Alain's (one of my flatmates) birthday so we had friends over.  I made a party playlist and set up the stereo and people started filing in at around nine.  There were a lot of exchange participants like me as well as AIESEC guys from here in India.  At one point when we were out on the terrace having a conversation, I looked around and realized that I was standing in a group of eight people and not one of them was from the same country.  That was a very cool moment.  It really made me realize how similar we all are.  Sure, each person has his or her own culture and beliefs and has many different experiences from the rest of us, but overall we are more alike than we are different.  Some of us can dance (latinos are born with it), some of us can't.  Some of us can hold our alcohol, some of us (like the mysterious hallway puker) can't.  But it was a great time, sharing our differences and coming closer together because of that exchange.

OK, mango time.  Bye for now.