It is What it Is

Flights are booked and i am just finalizing my places to stay , hoping to make my trip as cheap as possible ... my trips are never what you would consider being cheap as i have already spent $1500 on flights to get to and around Europe . The trip is just about fully organized and will have me playing 3 tournaments in 3 countries in 3 consecutive weekends ... obviously this is the kind of trip i have been trying to organize for quite some time :) First stop will be in Skopje to play in a tournament there then i will head to Thessaloniki , Greece where i am really praying their new rink will be opened . I am planning to take a bus for this leg of the trip . In Skopje i will more then likely play for their second team newly formed called the Skopje Capitals .

Greece seems to be a tough place to organize my ice times ... its really no one's  fault aside from my tight schedule having me leave on a Thursday when most of the guys are playing on weekends in Athens so i am planning to go to Athens and i know there are dirt cheap flights from Thessaloniki but at the moment this leg is open to change so i haven't booked anything there yet ... there meaning in Greece . I will end up in Thessaloniki on a Monday and have to fly from Athens on Thursday so ... lets see what happens as i really really wanna add that Greek flag to my hockey bag :)

From Athens i will fly to Belgrade,Serbia and will spend a night there before grabbing a bus to Novi Sad for my second tournament . Not sure who i am playing for or if i am just there to fill in for multiple teams but regardless they know I'm coming and hopefully will get me onto a team instead of having me float around . Originally i was hoping Rainer would enter a team but because of the late announcement of the dates it was and is hard for Rainer to get a team together for this tourney . I am sure i will get onto a squad :) After the tournament i will either head back to Belgrade to see more of the city OR i will hang around Novi Sad an extra day or 2 then head by bus to Budapest,Hungary .

When i get to Budapest i am looking and hoping to find and connect with Attila Ambrus aka The Whiskey Robber !!! This would seriously fulfill a bucket list dream ..... if you don't know who he is read this book http://www.amazon.ca/Ballad-Whiskey-Robber-Transylvanian-Moonlighting/dp/0316010731 .... I will be meeting Rainer here and will join the Rainman All-Stars for my 3rd tourney in 3 weeks :) hopefully my body will hold up until this point HAHAHA ! After the tourney i jump on a plane to England .

When i land in London i will be back to being alone and will join my Aston Villa mates on the 2nd of December when i go watch Villa play Crystal Palace . Everything seems to be up in the air after this but from what i gather we have a car rented ( myself and Rainer ) and will head to Cardiff , Sheffield and Birmingham after this .... 8 days in UK driving around with Rainer :) there is a slight chance my good friend Timo will join us in UK but that is yet to be verified . At the moment these are my plans and i don't think they will change much as flights are already booked and some hotel and sleeping arrangements have already been settled .

I leave in 18 days and i can't wait :P 

Will Work for Free Flights :)

It's been a while since i've written anything ... been crazy busy working and saving for this next adventure . Unfortunately i don't have a money pit or a sponsor that pays for these trips . If you didn't know , this is all paid for by my own sweat, blood and tears ... well not so many tears :) It's been a tough couple weeks but i have had some great opportunities to work on some commercial shoots with some hockey players . A couple weeks ago i had the honour of working with Mark Messier !!! Yeah he was super cool and very friendly even signing stuff for kids after the shoot . A true legend only 1 player has scored more points then The Moose .... Wayne Gretzky . I was lucky to have had the opportunity to work on this project with him and i got a pic too !

This past week i had the opportunity to work with a future superstar that is tearing up the junior scene ... Connor McDavid , look him up if you don't know who he is . Obviously i can't really mention what the projects were that i worked on as i am not sure if they have been released or not . If you didn't realize that i work in the film industry then now you do . I am a production assistant (PA) , always trying to hustle to make more cash for the next trip ... it's not easy , long hours keeps me away from the rink :P well not too much as i seem to make my Ghetto games twice a week . All this to go play hockey overseas ? hell yeah !

So the next trip is coming together and i should start booking things in the next week or so ... this trip is gonna keep evolving until i book flights . At the moment it looks like i will fly to Skopje , Macedonia to start then head over to Greece to hopefully play some puck there before i fly up to Budapest to play in this tourney with the Rainman All-Stars :) after that things have changed into me going to England to watch some Aston Villa football and now it looks like Rainer and Timo will join me and we will rent a car to make a whole other adventure in driving around the UK playing hockey and probably losing each other ... remember the last time i was with Rainer in London ???? hahahaha .... betting opens soon and i am betting it happens again LOL !

oh i also ran into Bob McKenzie ... great guy ! Yeah i know what you are all thinking ... this job isn't so bad . You are right :) its not at all .