we could close our eyes it's still there It's playoff season! Yesterday I watched three hockey games. Am I hockey fan or what... On Friday we had a gathering at the compound to watch the Flames game on the big screen. Persuade and Devin came over to watch Dalt's sixty-inch television with me, Dalt and Jame. It was good times. Go Flames!

On Thursday I woke up with (what I thought was) a stiff neck. You know those days, when for no apparent reason you just can't turn your head a certain way without excruciating pain...? It happens to me now and then. And I thought it took a day or two to go away. So I pushed through, ignoring the discomfort and even going for a jog after work. It wasn't that bad...

But it hasn't gone away. And I basically spent my weekend suffering because the worst pain is during the night when you need to use those neck muscles to lift your head when you shift positions or get up. I was awake numerous times every night, and up early in the morning because it just gets too frustrating lying there in pain. I've tried Tiger Balm. I've tried the magic beanbag-thing that you microwave and wrap around your neck. I've tried hot showers and hot baths. I've tried massive amounts of drugs. I've tried massages (by Devin). And it all only gives temporary relief. Tonight I'm going to pay for a professional massage therapist to do some work on me (and I'll miss the Montreal game).

In other news, Saturday Devin and I went to see Thank You for Smoking. It was quite amusing - lots of good actors in that one. Even though Aaron Eckhart plays a smoking lobbyist and they have numerous scenes where smoking would have seemed natural, I noticed that they don't actually show any of the characters smoking. They show a couple clips of old movies where the stars would sometimes smoke, but nothing present-day. Interesting.  | ¶ 5:34 p.m.