Tears, Tears, Tears. Olympic Tears.

A Packed Night 7/31/12

Women’s Synchronized Platform Diving-Chinese fans in the stands were sporting Olympic ring sunglasses and panda hats J After round 2, the order is China, Great Britain, and then Malaysia. The final is China with the gold, Silver for Mexico and bronze for Canada. The USA did not qualify for this event.

Men’s 100 Free SEMI-Magnussen (AUS) is current world champion and heavy favorite. He comes in first in his heat. Nathan Adrian (USA) wins his heat.

Team Final Women’s Gymnastics-Love the USA leotards, red with silver rhinestones. I also love that the Russians still wear the sparkles in their hair. Vault-Jordyn almost perfect, tiny side step but great (15.933). Gabby-again, basically perfect, stellar landing (15.966) McKayla-ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS, good old fashion stuck landing (16.233). Umm, she deserves her 16.5. What is that? Russia-I like their leotards, red and white, nice stage makeup though and very sparkly over all. Aliya-less difficult vault, fantastic landing. (15.233) Viktoria-good, but a hop and step out into the red, same vault as the Americans. (15.833) Maria-huge, huge steps off the mat, made the team for that vault. That’s the reason she made the team over others.(15.3)  USA leads Russia by about a point. China on bars- He Kexin was beautiful (15.766) Romania-Larisa, decent nothing spectacular (13.766). USA, China, Russia after rotation 1.

Women’s 200 Free-Missy and Allison (USA) are both in it. Allison trains with Michael Phelps. He helped her focused and she made swimming fun for him again. Allison takes GOLD, breaking her all-American record. Missy is in 4^th by 1/100 of a second. Muffat.  (FRA), Barratt (AUS) take silver and bronze, respectively.

Gymnastics-Rotation 2. Russia starts on bars-Aliya has beautiful lines. That was beautiful, only a little hop on the landing, the dismount is named after her. (15.7) Viktoria-that was amazing, very difficult dismount…beautiful stick (small hop), amazing height. USA on bars-Jordyn (I wish they would stop showing Jordyn crying, though I like “her soul is richer than most”-Nastia) faltered a little on one element on the low bar but a pretty solid routine, with a pretty good landing.(14.666) Kyla-amazing lines, hard to believe she’s only 15 (16 this year), she’s such a rock (14.933) Gabby-(Love the story that Gabby’s older sister convinced her to get back into gymnastics when she was going to walk away)so HIGH off the bars on her releases, that was great (15.2). Romania on beam-Diana is kind of jumpy and she’s only 16, lowest score of the team. Catalina-2004 gold on beam, fantastic. She was clearly meant for the beam, she’s so at home. USA leads Russia now by 4 tenths of a point, after 2^nd rotation.

Men’s 200 Fly-Phelps is racing for his 3^rd straight Olympic gold in this event. His coach is constantly raising the bar in training, teaching him how to deal with chaos, including practice and meets without goggles/broken ones which paid off in 2008. His mental edge is just as important as the physical. He has been coached by this Bob for 16 years. He has held the world record for 11 years, only being beaten by himself. This is the event he was looking forward to this event the most. NO! Second. By 5/100 of a second. This is devastating. He had a lack of pressure at the end and did not have good turns. Le Clos (South Africa) takes the gold. This is crazy. He did tie the Olympic record. I think the saddest thing is his mother thinking he won and then being told by his sister that he didn’t, it was her disappointment that kills me. I don’t know what’s worse, disappointing yourself or others.  

Back to gymnastics-USA on beam-Kyla wow. That was great, again her lines are awesome. Clean dismount. I love how Aly is a mother to Gabby. Adorable. Gabby-Really solid. She did great, really held it together. (15.23) Aly-it’s “all attack and no fear”, it’s true, she was great. Russia on beam-Aliya falling apart. Good landing but way too many balance checks. (14.533) Viktoria-I love her feet. Good but had a balance check and almost fell out of her dismount. Lots of Russian tears. (15.033)-commentators think they were not strict on dismount. End of 3^rd rotation.

Honestly I’m a little disappointed with NBC’s coverage, I want to see more routines from more countries.

Women’s 200IM -Ye Schwin is racing. She wins. Coutts (AUS) with silver. Leverenz (USA) with bronze. Schwin was a world champion last year and major time break throughs are common for young athletes. Phelps shaved 4 seconds off his 200 fly between ages 14 and 15. Doping is also an issue. She will go through drug testing and we shall see. I hope for her sake it is honest talent.   

Gymnastic-Round 4. Floor Exercise. Here we go. Right now it’s USA, Russia and Romania and china way behind. Aliya starts on floor, gorgeous. I love everything about that routine. I hope she’s in event finals. (14.8) Ouch, they score hard on floor. Anastasia-Oh my goodness, she just fell halfway through a tumbling pass. The ones she completed were perfect landings and she is a beautiful dancer but that was not good. More Russian tears. (12.466) This is heart breaking. I can’t deal with all these tears, I’m going to cry. The thing is the tears with all the makeup remind me of all of the times I have cried backstage. I have goosebumps. USA on floor-in warm ups Aly fell basically on her head. Way too scary. She needs to get rid of that element. Gabby-very nice. No noticeable mistakes.(15.066) She held up awesome under the pressure. Jordyn- PERFECT. Nothing was wrong with that routine. The fact she won’t be in the all-around is garbage. That was beautiful. Her smile is back! (15.0). Aly’s Turn!! She only needs a 10.234 Good, she took out that skill, love her music…AMAZING. THAT’S GOLD! I see Kyla’s tears; we know this is a big one. Double checking…adding Aly’s score…GOLD MEDALISTS TEAM USA!!! (With “firework” playing in the background). Aly was crying right before she finished her floor routine, knowing they had it. Marta is unimaginably happy. More Russian Tears.

1. USA
2. Russia
3. Romania
4. China
5. Russia

Men’s 4x200 Relay-Ok let’s get Phelps and the USA another Gold. I want to see him cheer again. See him scream. They are against the French. Oh, to bad Phelps is swimming last, I guess I don’t get to see him scream…unless the win. And this is his first time anchoring a relay. But all he needs to do is get a medal to break the medal record. YES!!!!!!!! They did it! Double team victory for USA in Primetime. 15 gold medals, 19 of all. That was an amazing team effort. Beautiful. Not gonna lie, its not the same seeing his teammates scream. Strategy? Give him a lead. What a great team. Phelps’ smile is amazing right now. He’s thanking his team so much right now. It’s great, “it’s very special”. He has 3 races left.

1. USA

2. France

3. China

USA and China have 23 total Medals. GB is still waiting for their gold.

Gymnastic Medal Ceremony-All the USA girls are wearing lime Nike sneakers. Cute. This is definitely the best presented medal ceremony I have seen broadcasted. Very nice, emotional, respectful, not rushed.

Geat Britian!!!

GB has at least a Bronze medal in the Men's team final, the first in 80 years!! This is great! OH MY GOSH THE TOOK THE SILVER!!!! China with Gold and Ukraine with Bronze. A Japanese fall on Pommell horse has removed them from the podium. Both Prince Harry and Andrew are in attendence. Hold on. The Japanese put in an inquery for the pommell horse dismount, debating the score...UGHHHH commercial break!! Ukraine is freaking out, and rightfully so. Japan takes the silver. I do not like this at all. The got 7 tenths added because the tecnical committee determined that the dismount was good. i don't think so. I feel bad for GB and Ukraine. This is crazy.
1. China
2. Japan
3. Great Britian

Monday 7/30/12

Men’s platform diving- 1^st Chinese, 2^nd Mexico, 3^rd USA and GB favorites (Tom Daley’s team) take 4^th.

Beach Volleyball- Misty and Kerry against the Czech Republic. USA came back from15-18 to win (21 points) their perfect Olympic record holds

Men’s 200 Free-1^st Angel (FRA) 2nd Park (KOR) and Sun (CHN) TIED, Lochte (USA) got 4^th.    

Today’s coverage is not at all good (in terms of my effort) today was a long day, I have a dance intensive this week along with my other jobs so I’m just relaxing now.

Just Kidding MISSY FRANKLIN (USA) just won gold in the 100 back. She beat the world record holder. Smashed the American record. Less then 20 minutes after the 200 free qualifier. First individual gold. She’s crying and says she’s blessed that her parents could be here.

Ok really done now. I’m just going to enjoy men’s gymnastics now.

Jordyn’s Story

The web is buzzing about Jordyn Wieber. Who is she and what happened? Well, Jordyn has been the star of the gymnastics show in the United States since she turned elite and was competing as a junior (under 16). When the USA’s Senior (16+) pool was starting to dry up, all heads turned to Jordyn and her amazing talent, choosing her as a favorite for London. In 2011, her dreams of becoming an Olympic gold medalist began to come into view, she won the World Championships. Jordyn has been unstoppable since then. Her routines have crazy difficulty and awesome artistry. Me, normally being one to root for the underdog, was rather mesmerized with her talent and thought I love Gabby Douglas’s story and the fact that Aly is also from MA I wanted Jordyn. On May 21 of this year I received Jordyn’s autograph in the mail (I’m a rather avid autograph collector) and I was thrilled.

So what happened? Yesterday in the qualification competition Jordyn’s score was slightly lower than Gabby and Aly’s, placing her 4^th in the entire pool of contestants. The 24 “best” gymnasts compete for the title, but only 2 are allowed to represent each country. I understand the rule, but what’s the problem with letting the top 3 per country? Or just taking the 24 highest scores? Each team only has a max of 5 members and not all 5 are all-around gymnasts, so there would still be diversity. At any rate Jordyn’s dreams were unfairly snatched from her, she could have won that gold medal.  

(Jordyn at the World Championships in Japan last year)

Russians, Chinese, and Unkindness

Russia Gymnasts- Aliya’s floor routine is beautiful in all ways, basically flawless. Viktoria stepped out once, but an amazing dancer. Anastasia has some pretty dance elements but not a very good job. China on beam-Yao Jinnan fell off the beam to begin with. She has nice lines but a strained hamstring. It was rough. Russians on beam-Aliya good landing, rough routine but she is coming back from a torn ACL. China’s He Kexin on bars-rocked it. She is a returning team member who won gold on the bars in 2008. Viktoria Komova (RUS)- on beam was solid, amazing lines except for 2 major balance checks.

Mary Carillo- Tower of Unkindness (London), if the ravens ever leave, the monarchy will crumble, or so says the prophesy. A flock of ravens is called an unkindness. In the tower, the crown jewels are stored. The Olympic Medals are also stored there. The area was a place of many executions, many people were “put to the question” (tortured). The key ceremony at 9pm has been going on since the 1200s, and was only interrupted once when the man holding the keys was knocked unconscious by German bombers. After he regained consciousness he carried on. Definitely on my go-to list when I ever get to London.

Sunday Night Olympic Recap

Synchronized Women’s Diving- Italy’s dive was really good, simple but flawless. China is the favorite, it didn’t look as good to me, one of their feet was flexed but they were still good. GB has a young team, they looked good. USA team (Bryant and Johnston) is cute; one girl is a pre-med student at Duke. They did really well. Canada has veterans, scored about 1 pt higher then USA, they are now in second. (China 1^st, USA 3^rd) Round 2-Canada really messed up, USA pulls to 2^nd. Italy is in 3^rd. Round 3-Ranks stay the same. Apparently both US girls collect rubber ducks. Adorable. Round 4-Canada is back in 3^rd. After Round 5- China 1^st, USA 2^nd, Canada 3^rd. Awesome competition.

Rhode has collected in 5 consecutive Olympic medals with a score of 99 this year. Women’s shooting. 

“Remember the Ukrainians are doing this in the snow!”-McDonalds commercial

Women’s 100 Fly-Vollmer (USA) is the favorite. SCORES A WORLD RECORD! First woman ever under 56 seconds. She made the Olympics in 2004 but missed it in 2008. Her top cap came off when she was swimming and she said it was distracting her from her legs hurting.

Rebecca and Ricky (USA Swim) are boyfriend and girlfriend, which must be awesome…traveling, staying and competing together. That’s a great support system because you aren’t separated like with your family.

Men’s 100 Breast Stroke-Hansen (USA) came out of retirement to beat his long time rival. But only 3 tenths separates the field. This is, however, Hansen’s last shot. A South African man broke the world record for gold, Australia takes the silver and Hansen got Bronze. “I am really proud of myself”, says Hansen (Captain). “You work hard and at the end of the day, you know, you do your best…This is the shiniest bronze metal you’ll ever see”

Women’s 400 Free-Rebecca Adlington (GB)-Was using 2008 as a learning experience for 2012 but ended up winning 2 individual golds. Muffat (FRA), Schmitt (USA), Adlington (GB). Muffat and Schmitt were pretty far ahead, and they were only separated by 32 hundredths of a second. I’m really glad Adlington medaled.

Women’s Gymnastic Qualifications-Not sure if I like the leotards. They are purple and have sparkly mesh purple stared insets. USA on vault first-Aly was awesome, Gabby landed a little to the side but super clean, Jordyn way off to the side, but good form, McKayla (with her injured big toe) AMAZING Height but stepped way forward. 2^nd vault was flawless. Rebecca Tunney (GB) - 15 years old on beam, won nationals. I love her leotard (red w/ gold jewel swirls), a little jittery but awesome landing. USA on uneven bars-Aly flawless. Every handstand was hit. Watching her parents is probably the funniest thing I have ever seen, only a decent score though. Jordyn-interesting starting set. Faltered on one part, but awesome landing. Kyla-Hit the low bar at one point but perfect landing. Gabby really, really good, amazing height Beth Tweddle (GB) on floor-not a huge fan of the choreography but it was pretty good.

Missy Franklin (17 from CO, USA) qualifies second for 100 back behind Seebohm (AUS). Tomorrow is the final, bust Missy has a qualifier ~20 minutes before that race.

Back to gymnastics-beam Kyla beautiful form, a little hop on the dismount…otherwise beautiful. Gabby catches herself but otherwise a good good routine. Jordyn-except for one jump, very solid. She has amazing lines. Aly-Rock solid. I don’t think she faltered once.

Men’s 4x1 Relay-This is a very high pressure relay. It’s looking like a AUS, FRA, USA race. Russia is also a factor. France takes it at the last. Split. Second. USA with silver and Russia with bronze. Australia was 4^th.

Gymnastics-Floor. For the USA it is a fight for the top 2 to compete in the all-around. If Aly hits this floor routine, Jordyn could be out of AA which is crazy. I think it is amazing that Kyla and McKayla have known each other forever and are “best friends”. Kyla on floor-stepped out on first pass, otherwise pretty good. I liked the music. Gabby literally flew out of bounds, also not a huge fan of the choreography. Jordyn’s routine is very well choreographed, 1 step out of bounds…she may take the lead though. Wow. Gabby is in, but Aly could beat Jordyn out. Ok. This is going to be close. Aly was amazing. It’s a beautiful routine. Aly is in. Jordyn is out. As much as I wanted a fellow MA girl in I’m crying for Jordyn now. I did not see this coming. Jordyn is the world champion, this is insane. Each country can only have 2 AA girls.

Aly and Gabby after qualifications

And the scandals begin.

What would an Olympics be without scandals? It’s sad, really, that a time that is supposed to be about peace and athletics has to be infected with individuals or countries who are so set on winning that they will do anything they have to to reach that goal. The first is Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, her final 50 meters of the 400 IM were faster than Lochte’s. She is now accused of doping. I hope that she was not involved in doping, but it’s sad that it is even something to be considered.

Saturday Night Showdowns 8/28

Phelps vs Lochte-Lochte destroyed everyone!!! Phelps landed in 4^th. Lochte pulled ahead in the backstroke and was out of the water. On the one hand I’m glad USA won the medal but I still hope Phelps wins his 3 medals needed to be the most decorated Olympian. I was actually a little sad he didn’t medal in this event.

Men’s Qualification Gymnastics-Jonathan Horton (USA) is the only Olympic Veteran. He is my favorite gymnast ever. His Pommel Horse routine was good, minus the fall. Sam Mikulak was stellar, beautiful actually. Leyva fantastic as well! Commentators said it was “money” and “the best quality I have seen from Danell”. Orozco, nice as well. Good effort in this rotation. Current world champion (“superman”) fell during his routine, but got back up and re-did the skill. Amazing.

Women’s 100 Fly-Vollmer and Donahue (USA) both qualified for the event, in 1^st and 5^th respectively.  

Can't wait for more to come! Also, Madrid has a bid for the 2020 Olympics. I'd LOVE to go back to Spain for the Olympics. Madrid would be the perfect city.

Saturday July 28, 2012 Morning Report

Alexander Vinokurov (38) won the men’s bike road race. He won silver in Sydney. It was pretty intense, he was fighting neck and neck with a Columbian and he pulled ahead in the last 200 meters. The race was emotional for a man who was in the lead but crashed going around a corner and for team GB who were the favorites to win. The United States’ Phinney was in place to medal but fell short (4^th). He’s only 22 though, he has time.

Oh my goodness. That was close. Michael Phelps almost didn’t qualify for the 400 IM he slipped into 8^th place by narrowly beating Cseh. By .07 seconds. Wow. Lochte says: "It’s a tough field," Lochte said of Phelps’ securing the final spot. "But he’s in. You can’t count him out, even though he just squeaked into eighth. We’re going to do everything we can to go 1-2 tonight” .Tonight should be an interesting race. I hope I’m home.

Dana Vollmer (USA) Set the American Record for the 100 fly in pre-lims. She was in the 2004 Olympics but missed the last ones. She was married last year and is adorable. She is the new favorite and definitely one to watch.

What Olympic Events am I looking forward to? Gymnastics, Synchronized Swimming, and Water Polo among others.

AN Olympic Break and Twitter

One of my other passions is dance. I have been blessed with a job at Jacob’s Pillow this year, and that means I get to see many shows for free. I’ve seen 4 so far this season. The first was Kidd Pivot “Dark Matters”. If Kidd Pivot comes to perform near you run…right to the box office. It is amazing. I would have paid to see it again. It isn’t normally the type of dance I like (I’m a total bunhead) but I can’t say enough about how great it is. Then I saw Luna Negra, a company based out of Chicago. I could only stay for 2 out of 3 pieces. It was quality dancing, but I wasn’t super impressed. Then I saw Hong Kong Ballet. They were fantastic as expected. The performed 3 very different pieces. It was quality ballet. Finally, I saw Jessica Lang Dance Company last night; Jacob’s Pillow is the company debut. They were, in a word, amazing. The performed multiple pieces, and they were all very different. They had various props and even a live pianist for the final piece. My favorite was a balletic pas de duex. They used a large ribbon like piece of cloth  that was almost the diagonal length of the stage. It was stunning.

Also, my blog twitter is @CaughtinReverie

Opening Ceremony Review/Notes

The broadcast starts with a video that traces the River Thames from the spring to the actual river. That have bunches of numbered balloons to pop to count down to the start, a rather nice touch. The first GB cyclist to win the Tour de France was there to ring the bell, he has a race tomorrow.

The unofficial anthem was sung beautiful by a 9 year old boy. Each country (in GB) is represented by music from children’s choirs. The display inside the arena is beautiful, with fields and horses and pastures and people dressed in period clothing. A man dressed in period clothing recites from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”. The passage was very fitting and beautiful especially with the striking green background.

The scenery is changing to the industrial age. There are drummers and the lead woman had been deaf since age 11. That is pretty amazing. Volunteers are moving the sets and have been rehearsing for months. I’d love to do that. The music has become very intense. It’s funny that history class has been useful. I know all about this “change” with the protesters and hardships. Now they are having a tribute for all soldiers who have died since “The war to end all wars”, poppies are used as a symbol of remembrance.

A huge “ring” is being made (think blacksmith) in the center of the stadium. The floor has become a map of London. 4 more rings “enter” the stadium, via the sky. They come together to form the rings.

There is a video of the queen being flown to the Stadium. A fake Queen and her assistant jump from a helicopter. Then the real one enters from the side. She looks very pretty in her pink outfit. She has this pink feather headpiece. Very pretty. Kate Middleton and the princes look nice (in the stands). The national anthem is performed by a choir of deaf children. They are amazing. And Adorable.

“Second to the Right”-Celebrating children’s literature and healthcare. There are actual doctors and nurses on the floor being recognized. The dancing doctors, nurses and children who are jumping on their bed are amazing. JK Rowling is here reading from Peter Pan.  Huge villains from British Lit emerge in the “nightmare” section. A bunch of “Mary Poppins” come down from the top to “scare” away the nightmares. The kids look like they are having a blast…getting to jump on beds for 1 billion people to see.

London Symphony Orchestra is performing “Chariots of Fire” (?) Mr. Bean is there playing piano…and he is quite funny.

The Parade of Nations is next, however I have to get up early so I am ending my report here. The USA looks snazzy though J

The Today Show at the Olympic Park July 27, 2012

So this is in Note Form, it's not perfect. Just enjoy. :)

Mitt the Twit. Fantastic, the US showing how rude we are. Whose place is it to question the readiness of a host country? The Olympics are not supposed to be about Politics, they are about unity, athletics and peace. Both he and his wife are in London. Ann’s horse is apparently competing in the Dressage event here. Mitt will not be watching it because “this is kind of a busy time” for him. Now Mitt says “London is ready”. He is saying some things I agree with and others I don’t. It should be an interesting race this year.

Olympic relay-The torch via Royal Barge is at city hall (“fencing mask”). The torch has traveled through the UK by “community heroes”. It will be moved secretly to the Olympic Stadium before tonight.

Opening Stadium-Quirky, Cinematic, Funny, British. This is what the reporters have said. I am beyond excited. They had 30 seconds of video and it looks awesome. Too bad I have to wait until 2:30 am.

Swimming Showdown- Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. The 2 are apparently friendly outside the pool. Michael is more of a “machine” outside the pool and Ryan is a “free spirit”. Michael has slept in a hyper-baric chamber to reach a higher lung capacity while Ryan has done “strong man” training.

David Beckham-He hopes the games show the world that a traditional country they are. He is excited, and he “has a role in the opening ceremony” but can’t sat anything. Torch Bearer? He also wishes he was playing, and is “always a fan” of both GB and the US.

Venues-

Olympic Stadium (also for track in field)

Sting Ray (Aquatics center)

Copper Box (Handball Stadium/Fencing)

Basket Ball Arena (Temporary, used as backdrop for lighting displays)

Pringle (Veladrome, cycling track)

Orbit (viewing platform, largest “art piece” in Britain)

Other events (soccer, tennis, etc) are at famous venues like Wimbledon

Medals-largest and heaviest in history. Nike (as usual) on one side and the 2012 logo on the other side. Nike is the goddess of victory; on the medal she is leaving the Parthenon for the host city. Medal etiquette-don’t put it on unless you won it. If only. Also, the queen received a set this past week.

Women’s Field Hockey Team- They are all really sweet, they said the 24 hour food service can be a problem J

Michelle Obama’s “Lets Move” Project is in London. They invited US military families and underprivileged UK families to the ambassadors lawn to play and meet Olympians. She is really looking forward to tennis and swimming. The president won’t be able to make it but she is thrilled to be there. She watched the Olympics as a child with her dad who had MS and was a former athlete, so watching the games was all he had left. I love things like that. It’s really amazing for her to get the chance to be there.

The Fab Five-US women’s gymnastics team. They are 15-18…a really young team. Kyla and one other gymnast (McKayla?) made a pact as children to make it to the Olympics and they did. They have seen Phelps and Lochte and the volleyball girls, they hope to see Usain Bolt. They also met Ryan Secrest. They. are. so. Adorable.

Food-Brick Lane in East London. International food tour. St. John’s is British. They are serving pig (blood cake). What about vegetarian food? Ryan Secrest is apparently lactose intolerant.

Olympic Mascots and athletes- Wenlock (?) is the dancing not talking mascot. Hunter Kemper is the team captain for USA, 4^th Olympics he is a triathlete. He started at age 10 and came in 7^th in 2008. Race is in an open venue. He’s teaching the ladies how to cheer. He is really funny. I like him.

Shawn Johnson is working as a correspondent for the 2012 Olympics.

Ryan Secrest- his photo album is funny, I like it. Showed a behind the scenes video of the opening ceremony. Said there were many “WOW” moments.

Phelps Family- Mother says they feel great. Says they only talk to him between swims and through text. He only needs 3 medals of any color to be the most decorated Olympian. Ever. They have a granddaughter in the stands this year, one of his sister’s kids. I’m interested in the name. His sisters are Hilary and Whitney.

Swim team’s “Call me maybe”-fantastic. I loved it, except for a few parts being too fast it’s really good. And I love the song anyway, so it can’t really be bad.

Jordyn and Gabby’s mothers- Say that it feels like a dream. Even though they don’t see their kids they feel comfortable being in the same country. They are nervous for each event but beam is always the scariest. They grew up together (TOPS, etc) and they should enjoy their time here and “soak up every moment”.

Clothing- Ralph Lauren designed the United States’ opening ceremony outfits. I like them. The look a little frumpy at first but they are very very stylish. Nike is doing some US sports wear, Speedo is doing swimming. Stella M. designed the GB competitive wear. Armani is doing Italian opening ceremony; Bob Marley’s daughter is doing Jamaican clothing. Spain is using a Russian designer, and the athletes are not very happy.  

US women’s boxing team- 1^st time it’s in the Olympics. Women’s boxing is the same as men’s, just different rounds.

Mary Carillo (NBC correspondent) - It’s the 50^th anniversary of James Bond. In Wales, bog snorkeling, the land was beautiful. Went to high tea at the Twining Tea Shop.

Women’s Shooting-One went to cooking school in Italy and the others restore vintage cars. The “new girl” says everyone told her that the Opening Ceremony is when you feel like an Olympian for the first time. She also used to be a barista at Starbucks.  

Kathie Lee and Hoda set up a mock Olympics in NYC. There are little girls in the back doing gymnastics, adorable. Missy (17 year old swimmer) has a size 13 foot. The US team has more females then males. And all 205 countries have females as well as males competing. Lolo Jones (knocked over a hurdle) is competing again. 2 time woman fencing champion is carrying the flag (NAME?). Kathie Lee’s jokes à

Why isn’t suntanning an Olympic sport? The best you can get is bronze.

Why shouldn’t you date a tennis player? Love means nothing.

Why shouldn’t you trust a volleyball player with your drink? They might spike it.

Ok, this is all for today, look for more to come!!

I want to go to LONDON!!!

I’ve kinda been obsessed with London forever, from the accents to the charming names. I woke up really early on the day of the royal wedding to watch it, and loved every second of it. I’m probably more up on royal news then Hollywood news. Going to England it most definitely on my bucket list.

Needless to say, I am thrilled that the Olympics are in London, because like England I am obsessed with the Olympics. There’s just something about the team spirit, the unity, the cultures that I love. 

Right now I’m watching “Forecasting Gold” about how weather affects the Olympics; it’s really interesting even though weather isn’t my thing. I like these shows as much as I like the Olympics. It adds basically useless yet interesting knowledge to my mind. J

Summer's flying by

I just got back from 2 weeks at camp. Definitely the best 2 weeks of my year. Sadly they are over and I am back to my restaurant job. What else is up? My piano is going great. My grandma just gave my 14 piano books (she can't read the small print anymore). I'm also learning "I won't give up" by Jason Mraz, I heard it for the first time at camp and fell in love with it.

So who's excited about the Olympics? It is literally my favorite time of the "year". In 2010 I keep a record of the games. I wanted to go to London this year but I ended up going to Spain on my school trip. I hope to use the blog to record the Olympics this time around. The Opening Ceremony is tomorrow Night!! I can't watch it until the re-run at 2:30am though, because I have to work late. Oh well!