more Olympics

why I really enjoy the Olympics:

the heartfelt stories behind each athlete.
the passion and dedication of each athlete for their sport.
all the statistics, facts, world records, etc.

here are some stats: from good ol nbc 5 chicago

Olympic Figures and Facts

1,000: Number of all-time Olympic gold medals USA reached after women's soccer team's win on August 21. 922 of those gold medals have been won at Summer Games. (Source: USOC)

4: Number of field goal attempts by Jason Kidd in six USA bsketball games (He has made all of them.)

0.2: Number of seconds gap between Usain Bolt and 2nd place finisher Richard Thompson in the 100m dash final. (Tied for largest winning margin in the event)

0.66: That gap between Bolt and official runner-up Shawn Crawford in the 200m dash final. (Largest ever.)

20: Number of years since a U.S. woman had won a medal in single sculls rowing. Michelle Guerette won a silver in Beijing.

108: Margin of victory, in pounds, for Korean super-heavyweight weightlifter Jang Mi-ran, over nearest competitor, Ukraine's Olha Korobka.

25: Number of world records set in swimming in Beijing

The Olympics!

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing are in full swing, and I can't take my eyes off the tv! I always have enjoyed watching the Olympics. Not only because it's inspiring, and the feeling of pride for your country, but I guess what gets me most are the opening ceremonies - where literally the world comes together. I know not every single country is represented, but so many are -- all standing on the same floor. It's incredible to me. (and of course Beijing's was amazing to watch.)
I have liked watching the swimming and gymnastics events. I was on the swim team in high school, so it makes it that much more interesting. I also did track in junior high. That's always loaded with excitement to watch.
I would absolutely love to go to the Olympics some year. That would be pretty cool.

Gym

I haven't enjoyed going to the gym lately. a home gym is sounding really nice. (if i only had the thousands of dollars to make that a reality!)

At the gym: getting checked out is nice for my ego, but kind of gets tiresome. all the smells aren't too inspiring. the stuffy, musty air. the blaring music (someone elses' picks, not mine), 

Working out is kind of a personal thing. and to have to do it with many 'bored' eyes watching. Plus all that you do see (and never ever wanted to see). if i had one

of these (flip video) boy, i'd have some funny clips to post on you tube.

i enjoy working out. i do not enjoy battling the congested traffic just to get there. today it took me 13 mins to drive 3.3 miles to the gym. ridiculous. at the gym: all the smells, all the possible diseases passed, (skin diseases? yuck!) sharing of machines. broken treadmills that sound like you're dragging a pig behind you or something. vying for my turn on the chest press, the gym's music picks that are blaring over the speakers. many many reasons why i just don't enjoy my visits there.

oh well it's better than passing out in the heat+humidity deadly combo IL has going for it.

here's one home gym that looks real nice.

cell phone contacts

it's funny to me how long some people keep a contact in their phone. Me? I delete them kinda quickly. No one lingers who doesn't belong on my phone. if you're on my phone then you have 'status' with me. (and those of you know who you are!) I know i have the ability to have 99 contacts, but I like to keep it cleaned up. b/c I'm just like that, tidy. it makes life simpler. I just got a text recently from someone i haven't seen or spoken to in a year. lucky for anyone who's ever been a contact of mine (aren't you so "special") that i do hang on to the number. i save it in my computer. so i had to look up who this random texter was from. This happened another time, she was a good friend of mine in college. I had no idea she still maybe considered me a friend. so one night i got a text from her. and i actually wrote back and said "who is this?" no, i didn't get a reply. but i did eventually find her number and figure out who it was. i kind of felt bad. (Congrats on the marriage Jackie!) 

so speaking of, i do think fondly on all past and old friendships I've had. I will just take the time to say you know who you are -- good friends of mine. I do think fondly on all my past friendships. Moving, and moving and .... moving has separated me from many that I never wanted to be separated from. As well as just life changes, including the non-expected changes. including the unfair changes. From people i used to work with, to people from various churches, to friends from school. ode to all my friends. keep in touch on facebook. i really never have wanted to say bye.