HAPPY DAYS WERE HERE BUT HERE COMES THE RE-ALIGNMENT

I started this post on January 9th writing about how happy I was that the NHL lockout was over.  I also wrote about the Superbowl and my beloved New England Patriots being in the playoffs.  (Of course I was crushed when the Ravens eliminated the Patriots.  But I did not mind that the Ravens beat the 49ers to win the Superbowl.  I heard Kaepernick would have added a new tattoo of the Lombardi trophy should the 49ers won - haa haa.)

The next day, January 10th, I planned to write about the 33rd anniversary of my family coming to America, all the funny stories happened in the refugee camp and when we were "fresh off the boat" at JFK airport, our struggle learning the new language, adapting the New York style of living and assimilating into the American culture, going to school, working, paying taxes and becoming productive citizens.

A series of events took place that made my celebration of the end of the NHL lockout and the Superbowl became small and meaningless.  Just like a balloon running out of air, I could not and did not know how to continue blogging, believe it or not, I did not even go the games when my beloved Red Wings came to St. Louis on Jan. 19th and then again on Feb. 7th.   
This week the new realignment was made officially with the changes go into effect at the start of the 2013-2014 league season.  The biggest change in the realignment, wouldn't you know it, had to be that my beloved Red Wings and (I don't really care about Columbus Blue Jackets) are moving to the Eastern Conference while the Winnipeg Jets are moving to the Western Conference.  The Western Conference has five Original Six teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and my Red Wings while the only Original Six team left skating in the Eastern Conference is my American hometown the New York Rangers.  So what does it all mean to a hockey fanatic like me?  Starting with the 2013-2014 season, my beloved Red Wings will come to St. Louis every other year.  There is a Vietnamese expression that for each day you don't see your "love" equals three long seasons, so how long it would be if you don't see your "love" in three years?