B*tching, Burnout and Good Vibes

[Banackock 8,143]

Bitching, Burn out and Good Vibes

You can tell I wasn't thrilled about going back to work yesterday (when this was written lol)

 

I find myself in the same place I always do lately. Today is my last day off and I’ve enjoyed the days off. They’re always a nice retreat away from bullshit, stress, anxiety, the business of the workplace and the crazy people that work there and exist in our wonderful world. On contemplate the following 10 day shift and map out the dumb shit that’s going to come from my partners mouth, the silly decisions he makes on guiding and developing our crew and the even worse things and thoughts that come out of their mouths and minds (even though it’s shit enough to come from an ass). It’s an absolutely wonderful day because while those things are on my mind, they aren’t quite a reality. For a little bit longer, they’re only in my head. Thank god!

Like every start of the week, I bomb out my leagues routine tasks so that they’re done, out of the way and I can enjoy the rest of the week just shooting the piss with the leagues good members and simulations. This strategy almost always works. When I do nail it off, it makes the entire week a bit easier. As I addressed above, I have enough going on. You don’t need to have a simulation hockey league on your mind to make matters busier, crazier or daunting. The league is supposed to be for fun. Yes, there will be weeks where you have to push yourself to keep going. This can happen for our new members, our middle guys/gals and our vets. It can be a job. It can suck, but rarely should it. Fortunately for me, it’s rarely something that really fucks with me and I think a lot of that can be thanks to how I handle my tasks and usually self on the league in terms of the basics.

 

This week, at this moment, is a little bit different. Last 10 day shift was a shift from hell. I had 2 occasions where I confronted someone at work about issues I had with their performance. It was low. It was weak. It wasn’t developing people like we should be. It wasn’t being a leader. They only cared about being a friend. They were and unfortunately are, minimalist. Do the least they can while getting some replica of the job done in some form of matter and go home and smoke and don’t care until your alarm rings and you’re late for work again the next day. Good leader. It was busy. It was crazy. It was hectic and for a little while, I felt a little bit out of zone and definitely my comfort zone. This was not a bad thing though. Getting the things I had on my chest off my chest, especially with the person and some of the people that have been causing it, felt good. Finally, somebody said something. I’ve done it before. The problem is real. It won’t change anything but god damn it, it needed to be released and it felt damn good. 

 

The VHL is usually an escape for me. USUALLY. Sometimes it’s crazy. Sometimes there’s drama. Sometimes there’s differences and disagreements and all of that wonderful stuff. It feels like the more we go on, especially following my girlfriends diagnosis of cancer last summer, the less I give a shit about certain things on this site (drama, “beef”, disagreements or anything like that). Through the chaos and bull shit that others and myself inflict on my daily routines of work and living, the league has been a blessing in disguise. It has helped in a lot of ways, been a wicked hobby and I mean, I wrote I think a 4,000 word scouting article in the PBE… so it kind of keeps the brain sharp? It had me reflecting on some of the memories here and I wanted to quickly blab a few out so that I can get some nice word count, focus on positivity and take a little break from the chaos and recharge. IT’S MEMORY TIME!

 

Being named Bears GM

So the guy that used to be a green member skips over when he was named a VHLM GM, hey? It got me to where I was. I had pretty good success in the M and in the minor tournaments that somewhat helped guide me to the path I’m on now, but nothing compares to being named and still being the Seattle Bears GM. GMing has been my passion. On the NHL games, in the SHL, VHL, VHLM or literally wherever or whatever I do with this kind of thing. The fact I’ve done it for so long, have the connections that comes with longevity and hold so many special memories and league records, it just made the experience a bigger home run. I’ve been Bears GM coming up on 5 consecutive years - which is easily the longest tenure, consecutively and whatever else you want, ever in the league. If you count my VHLM stint, it’s coming up on 6 years consecutively as a member in this league I believe. I feel very much the same as I did on day one. Proud to help GM the league, help the members and even prouder to be a BEAR!

 

VHLM Commissioner

I put in wicked time and work to this role. It was an absolute pleasure and enjoyable experience to be able to talk to so many different people, help and guide so many new and olds members and be there for the entire league. There were moments where the role was a lot. I was at Easter Dinners, Christmas suppers etc and I was sitting on the couch running drafts instead of chilling with the family. My grandpa passed away while in the role and I was still here. My girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer and I was still here. I’d be up early in the morning firing off answers to members and up late at night discussing things with everyone else. The amount of stuff I did never became too, too much on me though because I loved doing it. I loved that we brought back the world juniors and I really helped guide it to what it is now. I really liked the changes we brought to the league. I think tweaks and everything can always be used. The league is always growing, always changing, but we did a very great job - especially from how we received it with how the league was and previous commissioner tenure. We brought in the Commie Cup which was an extra fun little piece for the league and the M’s players. Not always were the talks light, but always did I enjoy the GM’s and all of that at the end of the day. It’s a shame with all the work and time I put into it, that it ended the way it ended. I feel like with where the world was, other things and then the simple mistake, yeah. It is what it is. I am very fortunate to have worked the role. 

 

The Dynasty

I hate to be the one to come outright and say it (not really), but this was the highlight of my GMing career so far. I’ve won gold medals as the underdogs, VHLM championships, huge wins with the Bears prior and all of that, but how do you contend with how great we were and currently still manage to be? I hear Esso saying “but you only won 1 cup in 20 seasons”, and while I’d like to remind him that I do believe it’s correctly 2 in 20, I’ve never shot back how many have you won? At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. Besides, I have more cups than he has seasons in the playoffs. Bird don’t sing nice song in tree. Bird make loud noises. My passion for GMing in this league and overall is through the roof. I love the Bears. I love the league. I love 99.9% of members in this league and even that 0.01% I still wish well and would help them through hell! 

 

The dynasty was an awesome experience. It was when I really said fuck it, this is the path and finally grew a nut sack and made the tough calls. Not ever deal will you win, not every deal will you love, but every deal led us to where we eventually went. 4 cups in 6 seasons. I did it with amazing people too. People that despite not being on Seattle, we all still talk together - joke - laugh - shoot the shit or harass Berocka on the weekly. They’re still the people I like and trust most on this site. They have helped through a lot and know a lot. I am thankful for them. I am thankful for the dynasty we worked so hard as a group to achieve.
 

 

I could probably go on for a very long time. There’s a lot of things that I’ve enjoyed off the top of my head but there isn’t enough reward in having my fingers bleed and mind explode to make it happen. Thank you, VHL, for being what you are. It’s been a blast and I look forward to the future with my players and my role with the Seattle Bears… Now, to enjoy the rest of the day because as mentioned, I’m back to my super amazing, wonderful shit show bright and early tomorrow. CIAO!

[Banackock 8,143]

Feb 22-28

Mar 1-7

Mar 8-14

 

Also, for a Monday, today was super great! Sun was shining, snow was melting (which is fucked because it's February) and it was like +5 (which is also fucked). Enjoy your day, VHL  

[eaglesfan036 4,605]

The fact that you are still going strong as GM after me leaving the GM game like 4 years ago is incredible