The Three Mosquitoes

I have been using fake names in this blog, but I can't even personally remember who these people are supposed to be.  I was reading my oldest posts, and I had to think hard about who those people were.  I have a series about old friends called "Chum Bucket" and I had to read on to eventually recognize them and say, "Oh yeah...."  

Anyways, I'm just gonna call my kid Rusty.  It's an inside joke.  We used to be really into tennis, and of course, we wouldn't get much time to play during winter.  When we would get back into it in spring, I would always say, "You're rusty."  And then I would just call him Rusty.  

---

On Friday, my kid's teammate came over to play roller hockey.  They have gotten pretty close recently.  They have been playing together for about four years.  Actually, there's three of them amigos, and I call them the Three Mosquitoes.  The other one didn't have in-line skates and was quite miserable the last time they were all together.  Anyways, the one who came over I will call Ernie, and the one who didn't is Bert.

It's funny how some simple decisions can change your life.  We were really into tennis in 2016.  I had tried to look for an indoor facility, but I think St. Peter's was full, and I didn't want to travel all the way to West Orange.  There were some indoor tennis sessions but somehow I didn't sign him up for them.  I didn't really look much more than that, I think.  I thought about soccer but didn't follow through.  With what we were learning about concussions, I had decided not to get him into football.  And I wasn't crazy about baseball because of all those viral videos of crazy parents.  

One day I read on Twitter about this program called Hockey In New Jersey.  Actually, I read about it the previous year as well.  But I figured, my son can hardly skate so he can't be ready for hockey.  This time, I read the details, and it said: "no experience necessary".  Like, even if he can't skate?  It's okay?  So I took a chance and went to sign him up.

My kid and Bert were classmates in the first grade.  There was this parent who gave another parent tickets to this circus show in Bayonne, and that parent told us about it, as well as Bert's mother.  The day of the circus, it was all packed and we couldn't get in - actually, we didn't even try as soon as we saw the parking lot.  Also it was a cold and windy day in spring.  So via text, we agreed not to go, and we decided to try Chuck E. Cheese's, which had just recently opened.  That was one of their first playdates, and eventually we learned that the two considered each other best friends.

So when we signed up for hockey, we told Bert's mom about it.  She said she didn't want to sign him up because he was already doing soccer and other activities.  But on the first practice, as I was tying Rusty's skates, we saw Bert walk in with his dad.  And his dad was like, "We changed our minds."  So that's how Bert got into it.

And I think the next week, we were in the locker room with Bert, and in walks Ernie, and Bert was so excited to see him.  Apparently, the two had known each other since they were babies, and they told Ernie about the program.  And that's how Ernie got into it.

That first year, Bert was the fastest of the three of them.  And Rusty was the slowest.  Bert's dad found out about the ice rink in Secaucus, and Bert came up to me one week to ask if I can take Rusty to open skate.  That time I had a cold, and I felt bad saying no.  The next week, we did go.  If I remember correctly, the HNJ session was from 12 to 1pm, and Secaucus public skate was at 1:30.  So after the session, we would rush to take their skates off.  They would be dressed in gear, and we would hurry off to Secaucus.

One time, Bert and Rusty raced around the rink, and Bert was so much faster that Rusty got down on the ice and cried at the end.  I was with his little brother Dusty watching from outside, and I was like, "Really?  Another meltdown?"

Competing against his best friend motivated Rusty, and I helped him as much as I can.  I wasn't a great skater, so it was tough at times.  "Do as I say, not as I do."  But I am proud to say that I taught him how to hockey stop and power skate, despite it all.

---

Anyways, where was I going with this?  Well, the next year, HNJ decided to move up some of the kids and group them with the older ones.  They would play a lot of full ice scrimmages, and you could just see that Rusty did not know what was going on.  

At that point, I was just happy that he had a winter activity.  But the more advanced the drills got, the more frustrated he got.  One time he whacked a kid with his stick, and yes they have full gear and the kid was okay, but it still upset me that he did that.  Another time, there was this kid Serenity, who was very fast and could lift the puck and score at will almost anytime.  Well, that got to Rusty and he just focused on stopping that kid and constantly frustrated him.  Well, eventually Serenity did score.  Rusty got down to pick the puck out of the net, and Serenity taps him on the helmet with his stick.  Rusty stands up and screams in his face, and you could hear it across the rink.  I can't remember what he said.  So Serenity runs off crying in the locker room.

Eventually they did make up and they are kind of friends now to this day.

But it was at that point that I asked him, if you want to be able to compete with these kids, you will have to work hard for it.  You can't just scream at them and whack them with your stick if things are not going your way.  So we kind of made an agreement, and that's how all the extra training started.

I just watched YouTube videos and read up on skating and hockey skills.  And I would demonstrate as best as I can although I couldn't show it properly.  It was very frustrating a lot of the time, but we learned to be patient with each other.

One time while we were at Secaucus, the facilities guy there told me about this teenage kid who was looking to make extra cash coaching younger kids.  I scheduled time with him and paid him $25.  I was watching the session, and I thought, I could do this.  The kid was nice enough so I gave him a good tip, but after that, it was just me and Rusty.

At the end of the HNJ season, some kids were being considered to be in Spring League.  I was really hoping Rusty could make it, but he did not.  The director told me he was the last one they considered.  Or I can't remember his exact wording.  He was the first of the ones who did not make it.  As in, of all the ones they cut, he was the best out of all the rest.  Does that make sense?  Did I explain that right?

I ended up looking around online and found out about Bayonne Spring Clinic.  $25 for about 4 months.  Not too bad.  We then ended up telling Bert and Ernie about it.  And the three were happy to be playing hockey together some more.

Actually a few weeks earlier, I also found out about Bayonne tryout clinics.  The sessions were free.  But I didn't take Rusty there.  I just didn't know if he was ready for them I guess.  There was just so little I knew about hockey at the time.

---

Year 3, and the kids were finally old enough to be in the HNJ House League.  As they had become good friends through the past couple years, we hoped they would be put together in the same team.  But the director told us that they would have to be separated as they were the best players in their age group, and it would be an unfair advantage.  

It was a surprise to hear that.  I was always comparing him to the older kids they had been grouped with, and I didn't realize he had surpassed the other kids his age.  

In the fall of that season, there was travel involved with the rec league, and they actually called it the Super League.  Teams would be playing against Englewood and Montclair.

Ernie's dad did not have a car, and so they managed to convince the director to have both he and Bert on the same team for the sake of carpooling.  And Rusty was on his own.  And that pissed him off.

Their games against each other were intense (at least for their age and skill level).  And Rusty hated losing to them.  And he would see Bert at school everyday and they would always talk about the past or upcoming games.

So that motivated Rusty even more.  While at Englewood, we saw that they offered stick time, and we kept coming back to that rink to practice.  

Rusty became the leading scorer for his age group in that Super League.  In the winter, there was a different house league with new teams, and I volunteered to be the coach.  We had a different group of kids, and there was no longer travel to the other two towns.

Bert had decided to try playing goalie.  Rusty and Ernie were the leading scorers in their age group.  Our team went undefeated, and I am proud to say we had the most number of kids with goals.  

In the championship final, of course it was Rusty's team against Ernie's.  Things did not go very well right from the start, as Ernie got a goal in the first few seconds of the game, taking the faceoff and scoring unassisted.  After that, Rusty kept forcing bad shot after bad shot and had a meltdown on the bench.

After that was the older group's championship.  While the kids waited, they calmed down and forgot about the intensity of the game and everybody was friends again, running around playing tag and hide and seek around the rink.  And then there was free skate and they were all just having fun again.

By the way, during this session, one of my team parents came up to me and asked, "Are you Rusty's dad?"  I guess he didn't realize that throughout the whole season?  I hope that means that I was being fair with everybody's ice time.  (That is actually one reason we lost the championship as I gave an even amount of ice time to everyone instead of just putting Rusty out there, even while the kids begged for me to do so.  I told them I want the team to win it, not just Rusty.)

---

We quickly decided after that that the Three Mosquitoes needed more competition.  Bert and Ernie's dads and I agreed that we would sign them up to a travel team that would take all three of them.

Gonna save some details for another post, but the three eventually made it on the same competitive team.  They went to the championship game and lost.  The next season, which is now, they are sitting in first place in the standings.

It's funny how that one decision to try hockey changed things.  I could instead have looked into indoor or winter tennis.  I could have found a professional coach and put Rusty into competition matches.  But instead I chose to save money and try hockey for free.  But tennis was getting too boring for him because we didn't know other kids close to his skill level, and it was just me and him all the time.  So I decided to give him a break.

It's good when your kid excels in something.  But the main reason we signed up for hockey in the first place was to be around other kids.  And no matter what happens this season or in the future, it's really all about making friends at the end of the day.

---

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Vill (@dvidvill)

Binky, the Clown Who Saved Christmas

Have you ever watched "A Garfield Christmas Special"?  In that show, the dad reads Jon and his brother a book, about Binky The Clown.  He starts reading and then it transitions to the end.  But we never get to hear the middle.  

This Christmas break, I gave my kid a project.  He had to write the rest of the story.  Here it is:

Binky, The Clown Who Saved Christmas

By (*my kid)

Once upon a time, there was a clown named Binky. Binky loved children. Everytime Binky saw children he would say, “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!”

One day, Binky was out Christmas shopping. He saw a little boy and his sister looking at toys in the window of Timothy’s Toy Town, which was the most popular toy store in the city. So, he yelled out, “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!” The boy and girl jumped. “Hiya kiddies! I’m Binky the clown.” Binky said cheerfully. The boy replied, “H-hi. M-m-my name’s Omar. A-and this is my si-si-sister, Jayla.” Binky asked them, “Why are ya standing outside the store? Just go inside and buy some toys!” Jayla told him sadly, “We’re poor sir, so we can’t buy the toys.”

Binky felt sorry for them, so he handed them each 20 bucks and said, “Go ahead. Knock yourselves out.” The kids stared at the money, and then ran into the store so fast, Binky thought they had disappeared.

Chuckling, Binky started to walk home with his groceries and toys. Before he could, people screamed. Binky turned around, and he saw a man wearing black and white striped clothes, and a black mask. The man had a big sack, and a black beard. He also had a gun pointing at Omar and Jayla! Binky ran over to help, but had to stop, because the man yelled out, “Now nobody move, or the little childers get it.” Everyone did as he said. “Good. Now, I want you to put all your toys, money, and jewelry into this sack.” Everyone did. Quick as a flash, the man ran away.

Binky asked the children, “Are you ok?” “Yes,” they said. “We’re fine.” One man said to his friend, “Well, looks like I have to go to Farmer Fred’s Toy Shed.” His friend shook his head sadly and told him, “No, you can’t because the man also robbed that store too. In fact, he robbed every toy store in the city.” Everyone gasped. “Now no one will have any presents this year!” a woman cried. “And what’s worse, we don’t even have any money because he robbed the bank!” A banker sobbed.

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!” Binky yelled. There was instant quiet. “Let’s all calm down here. I think I know where to find this person so we can get the money and toys back.” “And don’t forget the jewelry!” chimed in a rich lady. “How can you find the robber?” asked her husband, giving her a glare. “Because he’s zapping himself with a grow-i-nator gadget and is now the size of the empire state building.” Binky responded grimly.

Everyone whips around and stares at the laughing robber. “HAHA!” he yelled. “NOW I AM AS BIG AS PAUL BUNYAN! TIME FOR ME TO MAKE MY ESCAPE! SO LONG, SUCKERS!” He starts to walk towards the sea. “If he reaches the sea, we’ll never catch him!” whined the rich woman. Binky thought fast, and thought of a plan.

Binky raced to the gadget. Zapping himself, he grew to the same size as the robber. “HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!” he yelled. The robber turned around. He growled, and pulled out his gun. But before he could shoot, Binky threw a pie right in his face! The robber raised his hands to wipe off the pie, and that's when Binky pulled out a circus cannon and blasted a pie in his stomach. When the robber bent over, Binky blasted another pie into his face. Then, Binky tackled him into the shallow part of the sea. Putting one of his huge shoes onto the robber’s face, Binky picked up the sack, and said, “Now, you can rob your cellmates in jail, instead.” Suddenly, Binky, the sack, and the robber all shrunk down. The cops came and arrested the robber as Binky handed out the money, toys, and jewelry. “Congrats Binky!” said a cop. “This robber had been robbing toy stores and banks from all over the world. Now he can’t do that anymore!” So Binky saved Christmas for children from all over the world.

The End

After he finished it, I read the story to them.  And they would say, "Dad, say it the way Binky says it."  And I would.  And they would laugh hysterically.  Well, we have a new Christmas tradition.

Hockey At Home

Here is another attempt at keeping up with this blog.  Over three years later since my last post.  I usually struggle with organizing my thoughts.  Maybe this time around I'll just keep typing.  Also, I really like having a good title.  Even though now that I look back at my old posts, I can't tell what the entries were about anyway based on the title.

---

So my kid has gotten very much into hockey recently.  Last season, his team made it all the way to the Finals.  They lost, which sucked, but they took it well and quickly moved on.  In the locker room, the head coach allowed the parents to say something to the kids.  I was busy taking videos as usual, and when I am in that mode, I tend to be quiet behind the camera.  After the moment had passed, that's when I realized there was something I did want to say.

This is what I would have said to that group of 9 to 11 year olds:

"I never played hockey before.  I didn't get a chance to play this sport growing up, and you guys are all lucky to have all these people organize everything so you could play.  You are lucky to have parents who pay your tuition, buy your gear, drive you to games and practices.  You are lucky to have great coaches who expect the best out of you.  You get to do this.  You get to play this game.  I never got to do that.

What I would say to you is that when you get on that ice, when you are chasing after pucks, battling for position, taking your shot, give it all you've got.  Because you get to do that.  You get to try.  You get to put on your equipment, and your skates, and your uniform, and you get to play.  I don't get to do that.  Your parents don't get to do that.  Your coaches don't, and there are a lot of kids out there who don't get to have that chance.

Don't ever doubt yourself.  Don't let anything stop you.  And always do your best."

The Playoffs were on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  On Monday, I came in to work, and then we promptly prepared to get everybody working out of the office.  Spring hockey was cancelled, and the rinks were closed.

What I would add to that speech now is: "You never know when it can all be taken away from you, so make every second on ice count."

---

We are usually always out going to rinks or ballparks or playgrounds or something, so we were hardly ever home.  When quarantine started, we quickly realized how lucky we were with our house.  Location, location, location.  We are at a dead end street with no traffic (except for lost drivers who don't understand what "No Outlet" means).  

At first, we would just go out with sticks and a green biscuit, using a cone or a bottle as target.  Eventually I got a net.  And then a Better Hockey shooting pad.  I resisted getting these things for a long time because we were always able to find stick time or public skate sessions (and because hockey costs do add up).  However, it actually turned out to be a good thing, and my kid's shooting did improve.  It was good to be able to just calmly coach and correct him without the noise of pucks hitting post and boards and glass and skaters whizzing past you every second.

Later in the spring, when we were ready to progress to skating, I decided to get him in-line skates.  Again, I had avoided these because I wanted to make sure his skating technique was best for ice.  It was actually his head coach who encouraged it on a team Zoom meeting, as in-line takes more effort and strengthens the skating muscles.  But when I looked online, they were either very expensive, back ordered or both.  I decided to check out eBay and was able to find a pair and get it by the next week.

The only issue was that when my kid put the skates on, the buckles immediately broke.  Fortunately, we still had hockey tape, and so I just used that to secure his feet.  This turned out to be a good purchase, too, as he was able to practice stick handling with speed.

And I got a pair for myself.  I hadn't skated in years so I had to readjust.  Now I'm pretty comfortable on them again.  I even took the brake out.  I'm hoping to be a better skater and hockey player overall so hopefully I can be an on-ice coach for my younger one in a few years.  Right now, my older kid's team is good with coaches.  They're a great staff, and we're lucky to have them and I'll write more about that later.

---

So anyway.  It's January 1, 2021.  We've been out playing hockey on our street almost everyday since mid-March.  Over 9 months now.

The neighbors know us.  We have lost pucks in their driveways, on other streets and down the drains.  Regular pucks, biscuits, ball pucks.  And some tennis balls.  We have recovered some pucks.  We have come outside to find pucks placed on a chair in our driveway.  We have ripped holes in the net.  We have broken sticks, worn down blades and wore out equipment.  We have hit a passerby (only one time, not on purpose as the puck took a weird bounce off the grass).  We have hit cars (so far no dents or scratches).  We have tripped and fallen and gotten bruises and cuts.  We have been out on nice days, hot and sunny, windy, rainy and even snow.  We have woken up sore many, many days, and then we just went out and did it again.

And well, I was just out there with my kid.  And being there was something that I never got from my own dad when I was a kid.  And tomorrow we will be out there again.

---

Here is my kid's goal in the Finals game, off a great pass from the defenseman:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Vill (@dvidvill)

Memory Gland: My First Memory

My earliest memory that I can remember is when I was preschool age.  I was maybe five years old or younger.  I remember standing by a field with tall grasses and flowers.  It was a bright sunny day, with orange and yellow colors.  The field was actually an empty lot in front of my grandmother’s house at our compound in the Philippines.

For some reason, I was there alone with no one else around.  I was just like walking around wandering in the afternoon in front of their little terrace.  Except sometimes when I think about that field in front of me it feels like morning.  So I’m not sure if it’s two memories I’m mixing up.  Or a dream is mixing with them.  Or if the whole thing was a dream.

As I remember it, I am looking at myself from a high angle.  I can’t remember it from my own point of view where I was standing.  So maybe I imagined all of it somehow from pictures of myself as a kid.

Later on in real life, that empty lot is where we built our little store called Sunrise Bakery.  When I first entered preschool at Antique Christian Center, I remember changing and getting ready in that little building still under construction.

Speaking of ACC, there are three batches there for the little kids.  First, there is Nursery, then Kindergarten and lastly, Preparatory right before going into elementary school.  I am absolutely certain that I only attended one year there, which was the Preparatory class, yet my family sometimes insists that I was in there since Nursery.  I do have pictures of me in the prep uniform, which was blue, but not in the red Nursery or green Kinder.

But anyways, that’s my first memory as far as I can remember.

Letter to my future self.

Dear future self,

Yo, dude, what the fuck?

Love,
Past self.


Tweet Follow @dvdvill

Happy New Year!

I hope 2017 will be better for us.

Why my kid always clogs the toilet.

I wondered a while back why the toilet always clogs when my kid uses the toilet. He doesn't eat anything out of the ordinary, but every time he poops, I end up having to plunge that darn thing.

Anyways, I know you all have been in suspense as well since I first posted this in January. But there's a simple reason. He uses a lot of toilet paper. A lot.

Have a nice day!

Tweet Follow @dvdvill