*1262 words. This is my first article not covered by draft media week, can I get x2?*

Venables Verbatim – Finding a Place to Live

Hey all!

So pre-season is over. It feels like it’s been barely 5 days since my last, even though I know it’s been way longer. I feel like I’m fully settled into my life here in Anchorage, and I’m ready to go for the season!

During training camp, coach had me working primarily on three things. Positioning, speed, and using my size to cut down the angle. Training camp was one of the best experiences of my life, every moment of that week was dedicated to making me a better player both on and off the ice. I improved more in that week than I feel like I ever have in any other week of my life. If it wasn’t for my unfortunate living situation throughout the camp, it might outright be the best week of my life. As you guys know, I blew my whole salary on custom equipment the moment my check cleared. Subsequently, I couldn’t afford to pay rent or any living expenses for that matter. So, I decided to do what teammates have been accusing me of my whole life. I decided to live at the rink.

It was actually much easier than you might think. The team had us all out late each night, and I would just come back to the rink after last call. By then, all the staff had gone home so it was easy to pull an air mattress out of an unused locker and hunker down. The real difficulty came when I realized how early some of the support staff show up in the morning. I had to make sure I was out of the rink by 6 am or else I would get caught by a technician arriving early to service the ice pad or something.

Flo’s Pancake House became my refuge those chilly mornings avoiding the rink. I made friends with the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Woo, and I became comfortable posting up in a corner booth for hours, shoveling pancakes down my gullet and washing it down with an unhealthy amount of coffee.

I wasn’t getting much sleep, but I didn’t much care because I was living the life about which I had always dreamed. Professional hockey. My week sleeping at the rink, living at Flo’s, and working on the game I love will be one I look upon fondly for the rest of my life.

But of course, nothing good can last forever. I can only speculate why Augustus Wang (@Ferda) went to the rink that night. Probably he was failing to pick up a girl and used his position on the Armada roster to seal the deal, and offered to show her around the rink? Or maybe he was sneaking in to pull a prank on one of the other players. Whatever the reason, on the last night of training camp, Auggie discovered my secret living arrangements.

I’m realizing my word choice is implying that my situation now is worse than when I was sleeping on a shitty air mattress tossed on the locker room floor. Auggie was great, he offered to let me live with him until I could get my bearings. When I warned him that it might last all season, he was absolutely fine with that. I was a little disconcerted though, because when he made the offer he also made sure to look me in the eyes, shotgun a beer, and tell me, “Ian, I’m going to teach you how to live.” At the time, I’ll admit I was a little worried about what that meant. Now, after seeing the way Auggie lives his life, I can say that he does not make for the best life-coach.

For the most part, Auggie isn’t the worst roommate in the world. He respects my privacy unless he wants to drag me out. He cleans up after himself unless he doesn’t feel like it. The house is generally quiet unless he’s home. My saving grace is that he often brings girls home with him, so none of the issues can get very far out of hand before he must reign it in for the ladies. But seriously, for that man hockey is his part time job that fuels his real passion for partying. I’ve had some anal-retentive team managers who can’t weave a schedule as tight as his typical Friday night. He’s been in town about as long as me but apparently, he already has his picture on the wall of Darwin’s Theory.

The first time he dragged me out to a bar with him, he convinced me that the bell hanging over the bar is used to get the bartender’s attention when the place is packed. Stupid me, I believed him. If I didn’t have any money before, I especially don’t now. The bell’s true purpose is to signal that whoever is ringing it is willing to buy a round for the house. But, to his credit, I made a lot of friends very quickly after that.

Another time, when I just moved in, I decided to make myself a plate of eggs before bed. Silly me, thinking that his fridge would have any staples inside. The only things he had in his fridge were 3 cases of Red Bull, 48 cans of beer, and a stack of 15 extra large Carne Asada with pinto beans and extra guacamole from Burrito Heaven.

Yet another time, I went out for a quick jog one evening. After a half hour, I came back to find a sock on the front door of the house. With all the things I’ve seen, I do not want to know what was going on inside that he felt like he needed me gone. I slept on the lawn that night. Glad it didn’t rain.

It seems like in these blog posts I’m starting a pattern of saying one thing, and then getting all mushy and heartfelt and saying the complete opposite. If you don’t like that then too bad, I’m doing it again. Because between all the misadventures and shenanigans, I’ve gotten to see a side of Auggie that I feel like few people have. He’s fiercely loyal and always looks out for his family. He puts 100% of himself into whatever it is that he’s doing at any given moment. He never wastes his own time. He tries to project this air of not caring about anything, but anyone who’s seen him play hockey knows that he’s got the silkiest mitts and is rock solid in front. He works hard and truly doesn’t care about what people think of him. He isn’t afraid to try new things. These are all qualities that I admire in him.

I know he’s going to read this so I should also mention that he’s a no-talent hack who skates like Lieutenant Dan.

I can tell that my time living with Auggie will be well worth my while. I can already feel myself stepping out of my shell and taking care of business. I ran into that girl from the café again, and I managed to string a couple sentences together. But that will have to be a story for another time.

Until next time, this has been Ian Venables. Go do something that scares you.