THE FIRST GAME

Penalty Kill No. 3
Originally posted 2011

This was the look I had right after the first game I ever played.

I was SO nervous. I knew I could skate to some decent level (meaning stay on my feet and move around fairly smoothly) I knew I could take a hit IF it happened, always been tough that way. I knew the basic rules of the game and in theory how it worked.

I had NEVER been this nervous walking out on stage in front of thousands at a time, or even intimate theaters as small as 300. I'd memorized 3 hour operas, staging and costume changes, dynamics and sung in Italian, French, German, Czech and Russian. I'd been on TV many times, done Newspaper interviews, been reviewed in top papers and publications......and yada yada yada

but I'd NEVER held a hockey stick, shot a puck, zoomed across the ice in hockey skates while looking for a pass or assisting my center, jumped a wall to land on the ice..... and I'd NEVER done all this wearing a TON of padding!!! I was secretly HORRIFIED.

I literally REHEARSED it all in my head and to my UTTER SHOCK..... nothing was as I had imagined or REHEARSED LOLOLOL!!!!!!

My one highlight of the evening was that I did "accidentally" take a poor fellow out fighting for the puck! Enjoy the quick hockey clip below



IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN MY HEAD when I took this guy out, here it is!
They don't call me the CHECKING DIVA for nothing!  

The Hockey Gear- Can I get my dresser please?

PENALTY KILL No. 2
Originally posted 2011

Gear VS Costume?????

The first time I went to put on all my gear, I remember starting around 11:15 am just before open skate started at 12:05. To put it simply, I was 25 minutes late getting onto the ice. Do the math.




I put one thing on, took it off when I realized I could not put something else on while I had that on. I ripped one of my sox pulling it over skate blade. I taped my sock up on my leg too tight to where my leg was losing circulation. Wasted a whole roll of tape figuring it out. I then tried putting my pants on first, the ones that were too small, so I could barely lean over to lace my skates correctly lol.







Get I get my dresser please? See, in opera, we have costumers who do our changes for us because of the complexity of the costume and the time we have to change sometimes. So I was imaginging how nice it would have been to have one at that point!!!!

When you are wearing things like this, you NEED a dresser lololol. But I REALLY needed one the first few times I suited up for hockey !

The Experiment- Opera Diva on Ice

ORIGINALLY POSTED  2011.
PENALTY KILL No. 1

Since 1998 I've been a professional Opera Singer. I've sung all types of music before such as gospel, musical theater, even a little country, but in the end it was the OPERA that wrapped itself around me. Having grown up as a Tom Boy, the son my father never had, always in sports (especially speed skating) always having boys as my playmates, being in the mud, having a dirt bike rather than a banana seater....... it was interesting (though completely enthralling) to put on a fabulous gown with full hoops and glorious lace, with gloves and jewelry and walk out under the lights and play the feminine Jenny Lind in Barnum. I was hooked!


So I quit sports entirely to become fully focused on singing and performing. But I can attest to the fact that when you've grown up doing a certain thing, it never fully leaves your blood no matter how happy you are. I always missed skating and I missed how it kept me in shape as well as the exhilaration of speed across distance. It was the same exhilaration I get on stage! So a few months ago, it was suggested I join a family member in his hockey endeavor. I had no intention of joining the first few times it was mentioned, but eventually I caved and decided to join the BRONZE HOCKEY LEAGUE at Nytex Sports Centre (Home of the Fort Worth Brahmas) I joined the MUD DUCKS, basically the farm team of the PUDDLE JUMPERS Hockey club. This BLOG was not posted LIVE as frankly, I had NO clue how this was going to go down! I had no clue how my musical colleagues would react, or if it would be too much for me take on amidst my schedule. I hope anyone who reads this will know that if they have desires to do something, no matter how odd, or misplaced, or even impossible and ominous.... you CAN and I HIGHLY suggest it!

DIVA on the PENALTY KILL!

One of the most important things in life that I have discovered for myself (after seeing the value of it in others) is knowing who you are and not compromising that for any reason. Ok, so it took me until my mid 30's to figure this out. The imporant part is, I figured it out.

      For those of you that do no know me, I am an opera singer, a soprano to be exact. I have been at this for 15 plus years now and have a career in it. The short of it is, I did not grow up in the fashion that most people would imagine could lead to me becoming an opera singer. I was quite the "tom boy" growing up in sports as a speed skater, volleyball player, also dabbling in a little rodeo. This is a big part of who I have become. The reason for the truly abbreviated background information is that when I tell people I've been playing Ice Hockey for more than 3 years....most that know me as an opera singer are quite taken for a ride. In some big way these two ideas do not belong in the same sphere. But I do find that most are pleased and get a pleasant laugh out of it and are actually in full support of it.

    About two years ago I began a blog called "The Checking Diva." The idea was write about my experiences as a new hockey player while still maintaing my performance schedule. I drew comparisons about how the two activities are performance based and why I was playing hockey.Unfortunately, I had NOT figured out the life lesson of knowing exactly who I was. At the time and I allowed some who simply did not understand my choice to play what is considered a "manly" sport and could potentially be dangerous (like any sport) to drive my fun and lighthearted blogs off the air as well as temporarily halt my involvement in hockey. MAJOR PENALTY! Against myself!!!

    It was MY choice and I blame no one but myself. I am now on a PENALTY KILL here. (For those that don't know the rules to hockey... A penalty kill is when the team is down a player or two due to penalties and they have to fight harder to not be scored on.) So I am killing my own penalty by resuming my activities and blogging and simply being myself in the process.

I am planning to repost all of the original posts from the very first game I played and will continue forward as a much more balanced writer with more life experience and more of the REAL ME in my blog. I simply had to realize I had nothing to prove and nobody to please. All I had to do was write about my experiences. Going forward, this blog will continue to include fun and witty hockey stories but will also include more stories from my travels and the incredible people I meet and work with.

     All I needed was a mirror to show me myself. And OHHHHH BOY has that mirror done its job. That was a God thing. Turns out I'm actually a pretty cool person... really.....ASK MY MOM! (lol)


P.S.  JENGA!