HLOG Q&A Update with Leanne

Today's Q&A update is with Leanne, the HLOG Calgary Flames blogger. Her original Q&A is here.

1. What are you up to these days? Still blogging? Why or why not?
I seem to have (despite having started my HLOG days as a computer professional) become a career student. Ooops! Open Ice Hits  has largely been inactive but Dave (my co-blogger) and I are occasionally still active at @openicehits on Twitter. We've found the 140 character limit and quick posting times are ideal for the kind of ranting we do nowadays.

I haven't been blogging as much lately for a couple of reasons. The main one is I just spend too much time writing, now that I'm a grad student. The last thing I want to do when I have a break or once I get home is to crack open my computer and crank out more words, and it's hard to change my writing voice from the dry technical stuff I do through the day to being more passionate or emotional. I'm also finding I'm incapable of doing any technical analysis of the Flames' various statistics (and the trends aren't exactly cheerful either).

The second thing is that now that I'm back in Calgary, I'm much more connected to the Flames than I was when I was living in Ontario. I can watch Flames games on TV a couple of times a week rather than just a couple of times a month. My co-blogger Dave has also recently moved back from Ontario, so he also isn't feeling that disconnect which led us to band together and start ranting to begin with.

2. Have you changed team allegiances, or are you still in love with the team you represented on HLOG?
I'm not particularly in love with the Flames given the season we've had...but I am still loyal to them. I've also purchased season tickets for the WHL Calgary Hitmen...and that hasn't been so good a season either. But still fun.

3. How do you feel about your team this year?
I've been holding my breath and waiting for the rebuild since the middle of last season. I'm not optimistic.

4. Who is your favorite player now?
Still Iginla. Mark Giordano has been a revelation this season as well. Besides that... my favourite player is whichever guy has just netted me a huge night in fantasy hockey.

5. Are we too old to use the term SQUEE?
Gosh, no. If I'm not too old to be back in school...then...

6. Do you feel that the role of the female fan in keeping the game alive or picking heroes in the community has changed any since you were on HLOG?
I think I have a different view of it being one of the Canadian members of HLOG. Hockey is so engrained into everyday life here that naturally women are going to have a huge role in the game. I have been bemused by the Hayley Wickenheiser commercials for The Brick...that is not usually how you get females to advertise washer/dryer combos!

7. Hockey just isn’t the same without Minus-forty temperatures.

8. Favorite HLOG memory?
Probably from before I joined HLOG! I first met (our long-gone, well-missed) HG at an AHL game. She leaned over and handed me a piece of paper with the URLs for both HLOG and her own blog... and I had to admit... gosh, I was already reading them both!

9. How do you feel the blog community has changed since our HLOG days?
This has been reflected in larger online trends, but the blog community has largely become much more professional in tone. From slick meta-sits like SB Nation, the success of guys like James Mirtle, and the focus of many blogs on detailed statistics... it's harder to be all goofy and dorky on your blog these days.

10. Have you reached any milestones in the last few years, personally, that you’re willing to share with us all? Do you have any upcoming milestones in the foreseeable future? (ahem, wedding? baby? book deal? etc?)
I just got my Masters' degree in Computer Science. Also staring the 3-0 in the face. It'll be coming for me in a couple months. Wish me luck!