The Engleson Files

Well, it’s holiday time here at The Engleson Files, so I would like all of you to just sit back, relax and enjoy this great little rift by a truly unique guitar picker. Happy holidays!

Is it magic, or illuuuusion??

Stop the press, hold the fort, yes, today is Svea’s 100th day birthday!! Now, I realize many of of may be saying to yourselves, “yeah, so?” Well, don’t worry, I said the same thing as well one time, but, here in China when a child turns 100 days old it is a huge celebration. I am not sure of the significance of the 100 days, but I do know the day is supposed to look something like this: the child must wear red all day, I think boys must get their heads shaved, and a lot of family and friends should be around to help celebrate this big event. Also, one should expect there to be a lot of cigarette smoking and beer swilling by Dad and his buddies, and, usually, all those present give the child a “Hongbao”, or red envelope (with cash inside!). Needless to say, we did not partake in many of the traditional customs for Svea, but we did the best we could to show our spirit for the day and help celebrate her big coming out party. Happy 100 Svea!

Click here and scroll down to the bottom for more detail on the big 100 day traditional celebration.

Well, along with his tricycle, Magnus has begun the art of mastering another form of transportation - roller blading. Quite recently, he just decided to put them on around the house and putter around with them (to which I was very impressed) and now, he is beginning to demand other locals outside to put his skills to the true test. Keep goin’ pal, you’re doing great!

Oh, what’s this Chowie? Oh yeah, I forgot, it’s Naslund’s zinger past Jean-Sebastien Giguere to help win game #2 for the Canucks to tie the series! You’re goin’ down Chowie-baby!!

Well, game #2 between Team Blue (The Kamakazis) and Team Charcoal (Charcoalhawks) was not what was expected by the non-partisan crowd watching in the stands. On paper, it has been widely discussed that the Kamakazis may, in fact, be the weakest team in the tournament, and that team Charcoal is one of the strongest. Many spectators were predicting scores like 9-3 or 8 -1 in this exhibition play, but, that was not to be the case. By the half way mark of the game the score was tied 2-2 and the play was very even. Going into the second half, for awhile the score worked its way up to 3-3, but then the wheels fell off team Blue. For whatever reason, the team did not want to pay attention to their defensive duties and the Charcoalhawks took advantage of that, scoring two more goals to make it a 5-3 finish. So, with that said, we are done exhibition play and the tournament will officially begin on May 8th and will conclude on May 25th. Who will win the most prestigious ball hockey trophy in China? Stay tuned to find out…

Well, last night was game #1 of exhibition play in the 2007 Dong Bei Cup. Team Green (or M*A*S*H) squared off against Team Turquoise, and it was a total domination from start to finish. I think I only faced 5 shots the entire game and our guys held the play in their zone for probably 75% of the time. In the end, it was a 10-1 romp. Needless to say, the team looks great as we now shift focus to Team Charcoal for real on May 8th. “We’re just taking things one game at a time here and hope we continue to get the right bounces. The Charcoalhawks are a good team but we just need to focus and play our game,” stated team M*A*S*H netminder Craig Engleson. Next up today in exhibition play is Team Blue vs. Team Charcoal.

Click here for more great game photos by Hubert Wong.

Now, I have never been shy about expressing my complete and utter devotion to the greatest car ever made: the Volvo. I don’t know what it is about them, but I just love them! Growing up, that is all our family ever owned and operated, and I was lucky enough to have one for about five years before I moved to China; it pained me greatly to sell it! It’s a daft little vehicle and therein lies its charm, and mark my words ladies and gentlemen, the very moment I move back to Canada I am buying another one (the older the better), and, the ski rack will go up on top within hours of my purchase. So, today we are celebrating the Volvo and I think this little video clip below highlights perfectly my feelings for this nice, reliable automobile - it’s wonderful to know that there are others out there who share my passion as well. Enjoy!

With spring now fully in the air, the tricycle has been dusted off and we are all now able to get outside and fully enjoy some great weather - Magnus’s life is once again complete.

For those of you who are confused, click here to become enlightened - if you really want to.

Well, tickets for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are officially on sale right now. From what I understand, the olympic committee is attempting to do everything they can to make these tickets available and affordable for the chinese public. Now, one day I expressed my cynicism of this statement to a student and she then, out of playful spite, has officially applied for me to buy some tickets - ping pong and women’s gymnastics (for Kristin). The first phase is a lottery system which will determine whether or not I am in the game or not, and then if I am successful I just need to pay up. So, as it stands, I must now wait until sometime in June to see if I am a winner, but, the wheels are in motion - and I’m very excited! For more information on purchasing tickets for the 2008 Beijing Olympics click here. So, what do you think, are my pessimistic thoughts, in fact, correct, or will my student prove me wrong?

Next stop Anaheim - the student versus the mentor. Go Canucks!!