Wednesday, February 22, 2006
211, 185, and 26
Almost two weeks ago, the 2006 Olypmics held it's Opening Ceremony. Due to a series of events, I ended up watching the Opening Ceremony instead of seeing a play. While I wasn't happy at missing the play, it turns out I ended up seeing the better show and probably had a much better night overall.
DJ called me as I was on my way home. He and Vortex were at Crew having some food, drinking some booze and watching the Opening Ceremony. He said I should join them as my other plans fell through. Having nothing else to do, I did.
Crew is the local gay sport bar. All the boys with athletic apirations hang out there. Amazingly, the cheerleaders do not. While we are athletes, we're more into our social pursuits than athletic. That said, Crew is a fun place. I'm still learning the crowd and have a good time whenever I go.
I met up with DJ and Vortex and joined them at the small bar where they had taken space. I'm not a big winter sports fan. Summer sports I get into. DJ is the opposite. He's all about the winter activities. During the pre-show, they focused on a snowboarder, Shaun White (I think). He's 19 with flaming red hair. DJ knew all about him and was greatly excited. They showed one of Shaun's runs down the half pipe. The boy floated in the air. WOW. He is worthy of the attention.
The ceremonies finally started. Have to say the whole "Fire and Ice" theme is tired already. I know the fire is supposed to represent Passion for the games. Still don't like the overall theme. I did enjoy the cloaked performers forming a skier. Watching the skier appear and then move as if it was jumping was really impressive. Towards the end, there were 28 performers in white doing a "dance" while climbing on a cargo net. It was an interesting performance that ended with them forming a dove. Beautiful and innovative way of symbolizing the element of Peace the games are based upon.
During the entrances of the teams, we had a great time commenting on the outfits of the various teams. I kept noticing the population size of the various countries. It is amazing at the number of countries participating with a total population smaller than Chicago. Of course, we were also noticing how many competitors each country sent. The US has 211 competitors. The largest of any country and IIRC the only country over 200. Towards the end of the entrances, a guy came up to us and asked if we'd like to participate in a pool guessing the size of the Italian team. Being the host country, they were to enter the stadium last. It was $2 to enter, so I guessed 175. A few minutes later Italy entered. 185 partipants. Whoopee! I won! The pot was $26, just enough to cover a round of shots for our group.
The next morning as I'm taking my shower, the numbers nerd in me appeared. I realized that 211-185= 26. US less Italy equals Winnings. Weird and I need to get a life.
Almost two weeks ago, the 2006 Olypmics held it's Opening Ceremony. Due to a series of events, I ended up watching the Opening Ceremony instead of seeing a play. While I wasn't happy at missing the play, it turns out I ended up seeing the better show and probably had a much better night overall.
DJ called me as I was on my way home. He and Vortex were at Crew having some food, drinking some booze and watching the Opening Ceremony. He said I should join them as my other plans fell through. Having nothing else to do, I did.
Crew is the local gay sport bar. All the boys with athletic apirations hang out there. Amazingly, the cheerleaders do not. While we are athletes, we're more into our social pursuits than athletic. That said, Crew is a fun place. I'm still learning the crowd and have a good time whenever I go.
I met up with DJ and Vortex and joined them at the small bar where they had taken space. I'm not a big winter sports fan. Summer sports I get into. DJ is the opposite. He's all about the winter activities. During the pre-show, they focused on a snowboarder, Shaun White (I think). He's 19 with flaming red hair. DJ knew all about him and was greatly excited. They showed one of Shaun's runs down the half pipe. The boy floated in the air. WOW. He is worthy of the attention.
The ceremonies finally started. Have to say the whole "Fire and Ice" theme is tired already. I know the fire is supposed to represent Passion for the games. Still don't like the overall theme. I did enjoy the cloaked performers forming a skier. Watching the skier appear and then move as if it was jumping was really impressive. Towards the end, there were 28 performers in white doing a "dance" while climbing on a cargo net. It was an interesting performance that ended with them forming a dove. Beautiful and innovative way of symbolizing the element of Peace the games are based upon.
During the entrances of the teams, we had a great time commenting on the outfits of the various teams. I kept noticing the population size of the various countries. It is amazing at the number of countries participating with a total population smaller than Chicago. Of course, we were also noticing how many competitors each country sent. The US has 211 competitors. The largest of any country and IIRC the only country over 200. Towards the end of the entrances, a guy came up to us and asked if we'd like to participate in a pool guessing the size of the Italian team. Being the host country, they were to enter the stadium last. It was $2 to enter, so I guessed 175. A few minutes later Italy entered. 185 partipants. Whoopee! I won! The pot was $26, just enough to cover a round of shots for our group.
The next morning as I'm taking my shower, the numbers nerd in me appeared. I realized that 211-185= 26. US less Italy equals Winnings. Weird and I need to get a life.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Renewed Focus, New Direction
Its been 9 1/2 months since my last post. It has been a rollercoaster ride. The new job has been up and down as I figure out what to do. Cheerleading has continued its spin filled fun. B & I encountered challenges with his working in Florida for 6 of the last 7 months of 2005. Basically life occurred. And I chose not to write about it.
I haven't re-read my blog in a while. What I remember is I whined alot. I know I've mentioned that observation before with a goal of stopping. Well, I just stopped everything. Between the unemployment and new job, I just wasn't driven to write. When I did have a drive to write, it was to whine. Not a step forward in meeting my goal.
Over the summer, I read a book review/interview with Goldie Hawn about her book. She said it isn't a traditional autobiography. It isn't her life story. It is stories from her life. I thought that is a great idea. We all have stories. Some sad, some happy, and many other emotions. Using her as my muse, I've started keeping a list of my stories. I've have about 10 noted. Hopefully more will come to me as I write. I know some will be long, others will be a couple of paragraphs. These are my stories, who cares about their length, as long as they are shared. Share them is what I'm going to do.
Shocking to everyone who hasn't spent an hour with me, I enjoy comic books. I religously read comic book related websites. What's coming up. What's happened in the past. Reviews. Opinions. Gossip. All of them. I realized that I even have an opinion on things. Why not write about them too.
So, here's where I'm going.
In addition to cheerleading and relationship posts (without the whining subtext), I'm going to share my stories and express my thoughts on comic books. Four areas that mean something to me. Focused, yet broad in area to cover. Write at least once a week.
Sounds good.
Its been 9 1/2 months since my last post. It has been a rollercoaster ride. The new job has been up and down as I figure out what to do. Cheerleading has continued its spin filled fun. B & I encountered challenges with his working in Florida for 6 of the last 7 months of 2005. Basically life occurred. And I chose not to write about it.
I haven't re-read my blog in a while. What I remember is I whined alot. I know I've mentioned that observation before with a goal of stopping. Well, I just stopped everything. Between the unemployment and new job, I just wasn't driven to write. When I did have a drive to write, it was to whine. Not a step forward in meeting my goal.
Over the summer, I read a book review/interview with Goldie Hawn about her book. She said it isn't a traditional autobiography. It isn't her life story. It is stories from her life. I thought that is a great idea. We all have stories. Some sad, some happy, and many other emotions. Using her as my muse, I've started keeping a list of my stories. I've have about 10 noted. Hopefully more will come to me as I write. I know some will be long, others will be a couple of paragraphs. These are my stories, who cares about their length, as long as they are shared. Share them is what I'm going to do.
Shocking to everyone who hasn't spent an hour with me, I enjoy comic books. I religously read comic book related websites. What's coming up. What's happened in the past. Reviews. Opinions. Gossip. All of them. I realized that I even have an opinion on things. Why not write about them too.
So, here's where I'm going.
In addition to cheerleading and relationship posts (without the whining subtext), I'm going to share my stories and express my thoughts on comic books. Four areas that mean something to me. Focused, yet broad in area to cover. Write at least once a week.
Sounds good.
