it is official: i can die happy.

sigh.

i went to the "state of the sharks" tonight which was a q&a event the sharks organization put on to discuss the season and anything inbetween. greg jamison, doug wilson, ron wilson, and jonathan cheechoo were fielding questions, so you know i just *had* to be there. to ask important questions, of course!!

i walked in, and there had to be a few hundred people there!! way more than i expected, especially since it was game 7 of the stanley cup finals!! luckily, we were given updates with each goal scored. :)

i was a little nervous i wasn't going to get to ask my questions because there were maybe 6 people before me when they announced cheech was only going to stay for 15 more minutes. and people were asking questions that lasted 15 minutes!! i had decided at one point, when cheechoo was talking about dropping weight, and how it was tough because he likes to eat, that i'd have to incorporate a question into that. then, they told us that they'd only have time for one more cheechoo question, and it was my turn!! some girl tried to cut in front of me, but i was like, "awww hell naw...i was here first and i have a question for him!!"

the guy behind me told me to say something nice about him taking time for the first nations youth, so i repreated that and said i had a two part question. i looked mr. cheechoo in the eyes and asked, "now as more of a seasoned veteran, what will you emphasize and challenge this next crop of rookies coming in? the second part to my question is: i just drove here for work and i'm pretty hungry. you said you like food a lot and i was wondering if you'd like to grab a bite to eat after this."

i was so nervous, but i think i sounded pretty confident, and the place erupted in laughter, cheering, and clapping. kae has it on her phone, and it's hilarious!! doug wilson said, "finally...we can get a date for you, cheech!!" and cheech looked over, totally blushing, asking the guys what the first question was. poor thing.

he stammered his way through the first part, and then said that his brother was in town and that they were hanging out tonight. luckily, i didn't sound too serious in my request, and i just smiled and said thanks. i had to walk alllll the way back up to the top where kae and teesta were and i've never had so many people pat me on the back, and woman cheer for me!! we decided it was time to leave, cause cheech had to go, so we made a quick stop to the bathroom. that included tons more support for random ladies, and they all told me how great it was that someone had asked him that question. i had someone tell me where he eats dinner once in a while (uh, hi, stalker) and someone come up to me after, when i was eating, to tell me that she liked, "THE question." :)

after we walked out of the building, and around the side, we saw that cheech was there signing autographs for these little kids. i decided i'd say hi quickly, so i hopped to the end of the line. when i got up to the front, i told him that i didn't mean to embarass him, and that i wanted to keep the session a little light. he laughed a bit, and i was so nervous i had no idea what to say after that!! luckily, he asked me my name and shook my hand. siiiiiigh. and, i was too shy that i didn't say anything else after that except for thanks for coming out or something lame like that.

so yeah, that's my happy story. hockey might be over for a few months, but i'm still one excited netters. :)