Then this:

Is it 1993 or 2012? I’m not sure.

But the worst FAIL of all?

Yup, Anze Kopidor, Brad Doty and the rest of the LA Kings have done a great job putting the ball in the net and are one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals!

Hm…

Being a resident of LA, I’m used to hockey getting the short end of the stick by the local media because, let’s face it, LA is first and foremost a basketball/baseball town. It’s just embarrassing that these gaffes have become internet sensations, further perpetuating the general perception that LA doesn’t know or care about hockey. I can attest that this is not true, at least not in regards to the fan base.

Bye, bye Blues! Jamie Storr has been avenged.

It’s hard to describe the wave of emotion that came over me with 3 minutes remaining in the game. The atmosphere inside Staples Center was electric. I stood with my fellow Kings fans, waving our rally towels, cheering like it was 1993. When Brownie scored the empty net goal with 26 seconds to go, I broke down and tears started streaming down my face. It’s normal to cry in public right?

You can follow me @alley_kat88.

Who thought Penner and Stolly would get GWGs? Not me!

It’s not that I’m not a die hard fan. I’m a cautious and guarded fan. Memories from the past 15 years have haunted me, made me numb and redefined the word, hope.

Great atmosphere @ LA Live for Game 3

When I arrived to watch Game 3 at Staples, I was excited yet nervous. The Kings were up 2-0 in the series! Why would that make me nervous? Oh right, because just the year before, I was at Staples Center watching the Kings blow a 4-0 lead to lose Game 3 in OT. Yup, it ain’t easy being an LA Kings fan.

Light it up!!

The Canucks dominating the first two periods did nothing to calm my nerves, even though at that point, it was still a scoreless game. I called it early on that it would be a 1-0 game and I was right; Brownie scored in the 3rd and Quick came through with a shutout.

After the game, fans gathered outside Staples and chanted “sweep”. To be honest, I didn’t know how to feel about being up 3-0 in a series. This was the first time that the Kings have ever been ahead 3-0, like EVER. I wasn’t emotionally prepared to deal with the situation. When Game 4 came around, I couldn’t bring myself to watch and I used work as an excuse to avoid it. Too much pressure for the Kings? Pshh, too much pressure for me!

So the Kings weren’t able to close the series out in Game 4 and I’m actually glad for this because the Kings needed to be brought down to reality. TOO MUCH confidence is not necessarily a good thing. And besides, eliminating the Canucks in Vancouver is SO. MUCH. SWEETER. #revenge

IT FEELS DAMN GOOD

Now that we’re moving on to the 2nd round FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2001, I think the most important takeaway for the Kings is that there will be games in which they will battle hard and statistically should win, but don’t (ie. Game 4). As in Game 5, I hope the Kings do not get discouraged and focus on the game at hand. One game at a time, boys.

4 down. 12 to go. GO KINGS GO!

I love music. And I appreciate all genres.

I started my relationship with music at age 4 when I learned to play the piano. My mom has told me a bajillion times that when I was born, she looked at my tiny little fingers and declared that I had “piano fingers”. Um, right, whatever that means. For the better part of a decade, I truly enjoyed playing the piano and learning music theory (I passed the CA Certificate of Merit, Level 9). But practicing 3 hours a day for so many years took it’s toll and turned something I thought was fun into something I HATED with a passion and resented since it didn’t allow me the time to do the other things I wanted to do… like, um, hang out with friends and watch TV. So, I quit.

But after a little while, I realized I couldn’t give up music completely, so I picked up the violin. I had an easier time than everyone else (that was learning) since I had a musical background and was already able to read sheet music. For a couple of years, I excelled in my school orchestra, even battling for 1st chair. Then, I gave this up too because I wanted to be a cheerleader instead. Yup. Priorities.

Quitting both the piano and violin were some of my biggest regrets in life. If I could go back in time and slap myself, I would. Today, my piano is a source of comfort. When I get stressed, sad, mad, or even just bored, I sit down and play my favorite piece: Carl Czerny’s “The Art of Finger Dexterity” Op. 740, Book 2, No. 13.

So, what kind of music do I listen to? Well, even though everybody seems to hate the 80′s, I LOVRRREEEE IT. 80′s ballads, 80′s rock, 80′s pop, whatever, any 80′s will put a smile on my face. I listen to classical when I want to relax, country or R&B when I want to sing, and hip-hop when I want dance. During my high school raver days, I was a house head. At the end of high school and throughout college, I went through a punk/pop/emo phase, as did many others around me. NFG, TBS, NOFX, The Starting Line, The Used, My Chem, Rufio, MxPx were on repeat. There’s definitely some residual musical preferences from this part of my life today.

Below are some pictures from concerts I’ve been to in the past 6 years…

AFI, 2006

Taking Back Sunday (Louder Now) w/ Angels & Airwaves, 2006

Linkin Park Projekt Revolution, 2007

The Cure, 2008

Bamboozle, 2008

Coldplay (Viva la Vida), 2008

Green Day w/ AFI, 2010

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth, 2012

My 10 favorite songs of all time?
* The Cure – Pictures Of You
* Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence
* The Outfield – Your Love
* Oasis – Wonderwall
* Garbage – When I Grow Up
* Coldplay – Fix you
* AFI – The Days Of The Phoenix
* Radiohead – High And Dry
* Evanescence – Missing
* The Used – Hard To Say

10 Favorite songs of the moment?
* Florence + The Machine – Never Let Me Go
* AWOLNATION – Jump On My Shoulders
* Imagine Dragons – All Eyes
* The Naked & Famous – Eyes
* Garbage – Blood For Poppies
* Lumineers – Ho Hey
* White Arrows – Get Gone
* M83 – Graveyard Girl
* Bag Raiders – Way Back Home
* Of Monsters And Men – Little Talks

Who’s excited for new Garbage!??!! I AM!!! Woohooo!!