Here it is, June 7th: a day that is sure to usher in big change in my old stomping grounds of Ontario, just as we’ve seen here in BC since we arrived. (I’ve no doubt the same people who blamed us for bringing snow also wondered if we didn’t pack with us the whole coalition government idea, too.)
 
The polls leading up to today’s vote have been interesting to watch, to say the least; now it’s time to learn if the polls are accurate or, as in the case of the last US election, voters say one thing to pollsters and something else in the voting booth. Of course, here in Canada we can (hopefully) rest assured that there isn’t tampering by outside forces on those voting processes. But honestly, who knows any more? 
 
While we keep track on Twitter of the election results, we’ll also keep one eye on the hockey game as we get closer to the end of a pretty amazing playoff season. My hopes are with Las Vegas, only because of the Cinderella story of a franchise that was just formed with a bunch of – if you’ll pardon me – rejects from other teams and they’ve gone all the way to the finals. First time that’s ever happened in a team’s debut year.
 
Then you have the Washington Capitals and Ovie finally getting a chance to win a Stanley Cup ring. He’s about the only big Russian in Washington not to be on Mueller’s radar and it would be wonderful to see him cap off (no pun intended) a stellar career with the game’s highest honour. We’ll see.
 
What’s great about watching this series is that we have no skin in it, Rob and I. We are just observing for the joy of seeing good hockey and the fun of the drama, the pre-game festivities and all of that. It’s a relief not to feel such pain or joy every single game, as we did when Toronto was in the playoffs what seems like months and months ago.
 
Fortunately, we’ve started divorcing ourselves from the plight of the Blue Jays these days, too. Between injuries and arrest, it’s been just a horrible year already for this team. A promising April (better than last year’s) bowed down to a terrible May with not one back-to-back win – a fate they’d not had to endure since the late 1970s when the team was still in its infancy. What gives, guys? 
 
Luckily we bought just one game’s tickets for our visit to Oakland, California in late July/early August. Unlike last year, when we had the time of our lives watching the Jays in Seattle, we’re just going to go and hope for the best while enjoying the experience of seeing a ball game in a new park. They say it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, but sometimes it’s just sort of easier to sit on the sidelines and take things in for what they are: simple diversions. 
 
Good luck today and tonight, my Ontario friend. I’ll have a diversion of my own to share here tomorrow – a review of the brand new movie Oceans 8 for you.