poisonwood's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd day Reporting from work. So. My e-mail extension is not *.com or *.org or *.gov but . . . *.aero. Cool, huh? Otherwise, I'm getting paid a whole lot of money to do almost nothing right now. COuld be worse, I guess. 4:20 p.m. - Aug. 24, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- live from Athens I just watched Danielle da Silva (I think) do a laid-out double front. Not a double back. a double front. Unbelievable. I have absolutely never seen anything like it. She probably won't win a medal, as she couldn't land it well, but I think she pretty much established as the best floor tumbler ever. Amazing. And then, a girl just did a 3.5 twist! Another jump I have never seen. Absolutely amazing. I love the event finals. Athletes from countries that aren't good enough to make team finals, and who aren't consistent enough to make the all-around come anad do amazing tricks that are crazily risky. A Chinese girl just did a double-twisting double back. I love gymnastics and I think the floor event finals are my favorite event from my favorite (spectator!) sport. 10:38 p.m. - Aug. 23, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . First day of work coming right up. Oh my God. So stressed out. 7:21 a.m. - Aug. 23, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- just another magic sunday My Olympic addiction continues. Of all the events in the games, possibly the one I was most interested in was the women's marathon. If you haven't seen it or heard the results, don't read on. It was heartbreaking. Paula Radcliffe has inspired me for years. Things don't come easy for her. In her first cross country race, she came in 299th. She struggled for years, missing out on medals in major event after major event. Yet, she went on to win the world's most major marathons, Chicago and London, in world record time. She smashed the women's world record . . . twice. She's amazing. Watching her drop out today was terrible. The only compensation was Deena Kastor (nee Drossin) winning the bronze. She too is a hard, hard worker who struggled for years before finding success today. She's dedicated her entire life to running for years and years and today it really paid off. The last medal for American women marathoners came in 1984. That race just looked like torture for all the runners through and through. If I was to be given the talent to be an Olympic athlete, I would not choose the marathon. 7:12 p.m. - Aug. 22, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- finally, friday I signed a lease on an apartment today. I'm going to stay at Shorewood Heights on Mercer Island. Mercer Island is known as the posh place to live, but in fact, it's a lot cheaper than living any place decent in town. And I really love it. The neighborhood is beautiful. I felt at home there. It's great for running or walking. My apartment is filled with windows and has only one common wall with another apartment, that wall being the kitchen. It's the top floor, so there's no one above me stomping on my roof. It's on a corner, but it's set in from the road, and there's very little traffic on the 10 mph speed limit roads. So, I'm happy and excited and looking forward to moving in on Sept. 9. I just went for a 2 mile run on the treadmill. It just about killed me (though I admit I did go rather fast). I don't know what it is with treadmills, but I just find running on them torturous. However, the area around me is 7:13 p.m. - Aug. 20, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a night out I was out with a friend tonight, and some of his friends. We saw some random band play. It was fun, but not worth the trouble. In fact, if I wasn't so desparate for social contact, I wouldn't have gone because the women's gymnastics all-around final was on, which happens to be my all-time favorite sporting event. And Carly Patterson, who I have been following about three years, won. My friend is a terrible driver. This is a frequent trait among foreigners I have discovered. In other countries, driving rules are frequently not as strictly enforced. Many times, people do not have to pass a driving test to get a license. And finally, in many countries people don't start driving at 16, so sometimes grad school is the first time they drive. As a result, I have been in the car with many drivers that made me fear for my life. Tonight was a classic example. In about 45 minutes of total driving, we drove in front of a train, made two or three illegal and dangerous U-turns, and cut numerous people off. We nearly rolled backwards into more than one person. Nevertheless, I like my friend & it was worth the risk. Still, while we were sitting listening to the band, which was excellent, incidentally, I wished that instead of being there I was at home so I could e-mail K. I knew I couldn't call him, but I just wanted to somehow communicate with him and tell him how much I missed him at that particular moment. 12:21 a.m. - Aug. 20, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- trying to compete And many may remember the ordeal of Hassiba Boulmerka, an Algerian runner who captured her country's first-ever gold in 1992, in the 1,500-meter race, only to be condemned at home for "running with naked legs" before thousands of men. She was forced into exile in Italy. But there is some hope. For instance: A few years ago, Egypt enacted a law requiring sports clubs to include women in order to be eligible for national competition. And: The International Olympic Committee does not track the religions of athletes, so it is impossible to say exactly how many Muslim women are in this year's Games. Journalists have counted about 50, more than in any previous Olympiad. 2:02 p.m. - Aug. 18, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ok, so i'm not exactly an expert on this topic, but . . . Becca highlighted the crux of my feelings on Palestine. She writes: Personally I think the Palestians would get a lot more accomplished in fighting oppression if they took an example from the civil rights movements instead of blowing up buses of civilians. I believe Israel has repeatedly behaved abominably and unacceptably. And the US has supported them unilaterally, even when the entire rest of the world does not agree. Even when Israel's behavior cannot be seen by anyone as anything remotely resembling fair. Every time I pick up the paper, Israel has done things that rob every bit as much life and welfare as the Palestinians. But. I can't find it within myself to cry out in support of a people that engages in suicide bombing but more importantly treats its people so poorly. Its female people, that is. Every time I get completely indignant at the Israelis I see a Palestinian woman dressed like a black banshee. And while I will continue to quietly disagree with the US's stance, or the extremity of its stance anyway, on Israel, and would vote accordingly if I had the option (and there is never such an option in US politics) I don't do anything more or stay awake at night worrying about it. (Though maybe I should, since the Palestinian situation does not unfold in a bubble. But that is another topic.) (The codicil, or course, is that oppression of minorities and especially women frequently results from economic troubles and lack of education - a Palestinian situation Israel is exacerbating.) 8:42 a.m. - Aug. 18, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- still here, still hot The men's 4x200m free was one of the most exciting races I've seen in a long, long time. It was so gratifying to be able to cheer whole-heartedly for a US team that deserved to win . . . and did win. It was slightly less exciting to see the women's gymnastics team take the silver, but that is definitely what they deserved. The Romanians were, as usual, impeccable. I love watching the floor exercise; I'm looking forward to the event finals. Svetlana Khorkina was looking peaky. She looks like she's lost weight. Maybe she does it because she loves it. Or maybe she should simply rest on her ample laurels. I remember watching her on the bars in the '95 world championships. I thought she was obnoxious at the time. My sister and I hated her. My dad, being contrary, decided to make her his favorite gymnast. None of the other names from back then are still around - Mo Huilan, Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Lavinia Milosevic, Lilia Podkapaeva. But Khorkina is still plugging away. And, an old picture of my boyfriend. He's second from the right. And another. 11:43 p.m. - Aug. 17, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- snaps 8:41 a.m. - Aug. 17, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- phelpsism After today's earlier entry, I'm feeling a bit better, but still very isolated. Very. Isolated. (looks around empty, noisy room) So, on more cheerful subjects, I am so, so glad the Olympics are on right now. They are literally keeping me sane. Instead of being depressed, I can spend a relaxing evening being inspired by amazing athletes. Right now, I am most inspired by the men's gymnastics teams, especially the USA and Japan, by Michael Phelps, who is very cute, darn it, 19 or not (I'm so old!) and the Iraqi soccer team. I am so much cheering for the Iraqi soccer team. For something good to happen to Iraq and to come from Iraq. Michael Phelps somewhat resembles my brother. He also resembles a Greek god. And like Sarah, I hope he can somehow overcome the perception by the media that anything less than eight golds is a failure. They could have had a totally different spin on it. They could have spun, wow, it is so amazing that he is swimming so many events, that he's won a gold, that he has three medals after two days. Anyway, he is seriously cute sitting there nervously listening to eminem before events. Oh, and that backstroke gold medalist is hot too. But what the heck is with the synchronized diving??? Can we say made-up sport? 12:08 a.m. - Aug. 17, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- why, exactly, did i want to move to seattle? I'm in Seattle in my noisy, hot temporary accommodation wishing I was back in California, or, well anywhere where I know people and I know where the grocery store is. I'll probably be more cheerful tomorrow, but right now, I'm not a happy camper. Though I am happier than I was three hours ago when I was on the edge of crying hysterically and asking myself, How the hell did I get here and why am I here, really? I remember the speech at Georgia Tech at my graduation was all about how your attitude can make a huge difference on a new job, and I know I need to try and have a good attitude. Actually, I'm now kind of excited about going to work so I can have some people to talk to and get out of my hot, stuffy apartment without having to drive around in my overpacked car that I don't feel like unpacking because I'll only have to repack it again when I have an apartment. *sigh* I can't remember the last time I felt this lost. Probably when I came back to GT after Ireland. Moving to California was nothing like this. How different to alight on Stanford's campus and move in to friendly (if way foreign) Cromem, also knowing I had at least one person who'd be living over in Crothers that I could talk to. I promised myself I'd get involved in all sorts of activites when I moved out here but now the idea of going out to join some frikking club is far from appealing. I can barely inspire myself to eat. (So much trouble in a new place, especially a city. I'm coming to the conclusion that I really hate cities.) I'll probably be updating and bitching and moaning a lot this next week as I don't have that much else to do or any real people to talk to, like, in person (what a novelty). 6:01 p.m. - Aug. 16, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Signing on from Stanford for the last time Living at Stanford has been great. Just a few of the things I've loved about this place . . . 1.) The beautiful weather that makes me happy every time I walk out the door, no matter what else is going on in my life 8:12 a.m. - Aug. 14, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
||||||
|
||||||