Due to the uncharacteristic nature of thePiece of Cake road race, I was really looking forward to it. Had it been forty some degrees with rain, howling winds and massive lung busting hill climbs... I probably would have stayed home last Sunday and decided to go eat pancakes instead. But, once you say the course involves rain, howling winds, and flat and fast roads with quite possibly a narrow sprint finish at the end, well... now you've got my attention.When it was all said and done, I could say that I enjoyed 95% of the race. That other 5%, well... lets just say I've had better days. And so has my bike, my body and my precious very expensive kit.
95%:
Pretty much, I was pleased with myself during the race for catching all of the breakaway attempts, bridging the gaps and trying to stay out of the strength sucking wind while doing my part for the group. My main objective was to stick with the lead pack and be a attempt to be contender when it came to the sprint finish. So, going into the last few miles I was right where I wanted to be... about five or six off the back and in good condition to chase down anyone who tried to break away. At this point, the pack was about 13 deep of fierce competitors left.
that other 5%:
At about two miles or so out from the finish, the pace kinda slowed up with everyone in eager anticipation of a break. Waiting, waiting, waiting... then all of the sudden I hear the clanging of bikes behind me and the next thing I know I'm sprawled out on the ground watching my bike flip down the road in front of me. Whatever had happened, wiped me out from behind... I never saw it coming. I laid on the ground for a few seconds, grasping my head in pain and assessing my body. It appeared as if everything was in working order other than a burning sensation on my shoulders, across my face and on my forearm. I can live with that, I thought. Parts of my kit had sadly designated on the road. Surprisingly enough... unlike motorcyclists clad in leather, the uniforms of bike racers (spandex and lyrcia) have minimal protective qualities when it comes to hitting asphalt even at low to moderate speeds So, I picked myself up... winced, and ran over to my bike to find it pretty much in working order as well, aside from the right handle bar being completely bent in and not shifting. So I quickly put the chain back on... rode a for a minute, attempted to shift, then hopped off the bike to manually move my chain onto the big ring and then time trailed it through the wind all the way to the finish, coming in 8th out of 40 overall.
Apparently, the only people who escaped the entanglement were those front three or four... the rest of us all got ensnared. Overall, the crash took down about 10 of us with the worst injury being a broken pelvis and a broken collar bone. Thankfully, I just have a massive case of road rash across my shoulders, a beautiful strawberry on my shoulder, a sore neck, bruises and lacerations on the left thigh, a sore cheekbone and a nice goose egg on my right shin. I also need to get my bike fixed, mend my kit, and buy some more advil and jack daniels for the soreness that seems to be residing all over my body today.
I guess now that I've reached that elusive mile-stone in everyone's bike racing career called "first race crash" (woo!!! Now where's my where's my cake?!) I'm going to take some time off to get my self repaired as well as everything else. It's hopefully going to be a long season of bike racing lasting all summer long, and hopefully not as eventful as sunday's race.
ps... I hope everybody and their bikes and bodies heal quickly. I look forward to seeing everyone out on the road later this spring.
So, the word was released yesterday that one of my favorite singers, Brandi Carlile, was planning to play one of my favorite venues in Portland, Mississippi Studios, in just a few weeks. Looking forward to attending this show, it's impossible to not recall the events that happened roughly three years prior, the last time Brandi played Mississippi Studios March 31, 2007. This date is also the exact same day that I gleefully entered Portland as a newly minted resident. The following story is more about the events that led up to that show than the show itself. These events pretty much symbolized everything I had been working for and looking forward to for so long. It just so happened that the silver lining was a Brandi show.
Mississippi Studios is a special place and 3.31.07 was a special day for me indeed. I'd been a Brandi fan for a few years by that point and been on "the forum" and everything... but I lived so so so far away from every body and everything (Savannah, GA) that I'd never met anyone aside from randomly talking to people at shows hours away, that were also Brandi fans, so I felt pretty isolated. Anyways, getting out of the South and moving to a new life and living in a place that "felt like home" was a pretty big deal for me. Ever since I can remember, I'd been searching for a place that felt like home and had randomly discovered it during a work trip out to the Northwest in 04. Since that time I had set my sights on moving out west, but it was a project several years in the making that always seemed to be plagued by opportunities to stay and settle for something safe and secure. However, by winter of 2007 I was going through a pretty rough emotional patch... so instead of focusing on the negative, I focused on the positive, which was moving to Portland and starting a new life. Luckily, it seemed there was a Brandi show at the end of March that would coincide with my arrival... so I wrangled down tickets to the elusive back to back show and plotted my move.
I was set to arrive in Portland a few days prior to the show, but somewhere along my drive across the country (Gillette Wyoming to be exact) I got stuck in a massive blizzard. The days spent in a roadside hotel started to pile up and I found myself about 24hrs away from the show and still a two day drive away with a reluctant blizzard and the Department of Transportation, who was refusing to open the highways, standing in my way.
Going stir crazy in my hotel room, I'd go out to my car and try to shovel it out only to have my hotel neighbors come out to stare at me and ask where in the hell I thought I was going? I'd reply... "Portland, I gotta get to a concert." Everyone told me I was crazy... that the only way out of Gillette was on the state roads that they had just opened, but once I made it to those, I'd have to drive 200 miles north, out of the way, till I reconnected with the highway and then I'd still have to deal with the blizzard once I turned back west. Well,... I was willing to take that chance. My hotel neighbors just smiled, shook their heads and said that must be some concert I was planning on attending. To which I responded..."It is". I mean, it wasn't just about the concert. Sure I was excited to see Brandi, but more than anything else I was anxious to start my new life and I was excited to finally meet in person some wonderful people that I'd been in contact with over the past few years.
After successfully digging out my fully packed Subaru, I hit the road at appx 2:30pm Friday with plans on getting to Portland by 5:30pm Saturday evening after a 16 hour all night drive. And, I did just as the people said... I drove 200 miles out of the way till the state road reconnected with the highway in Montana. At that point however, I still had the same massive blizzard system that was stalling above Billings ahead of me. It loomed like a massive dark cloud in the sky... trucks were piled up on the highway still waiting for the highway into Wyoming through the Indian Reservations to open. I was afraid that Montana would close their highways just as Wyoming had. I was afraid that I was going to get stuck in the this friggin blizzard all over once again. I was afraid to have wasted my efforts up to this point. So, upon entering the storm cloud, I stopped at a gas station... filled up, grabbed some Starbucks double shot espresso and hit the road. It didn't take long to see that this wasn't going to be an easy drive. All over the place cars were swerving off the road and running into each other. In fact, my windshield was freezing over and the only way I could see out of my window was through a six inch square. White knuckled driving would be the easy way to describe it.
I was getting scared, things were not looking good for me at this point. So, I pulled off at an exit and called my mom back home in Ohio and asked her for an update on the road and the storm. She pulled up MDOT on her laptop and gave me the lowdown. Right now, the roads around Billings where I was at were a level 5 (as in downright shit ass conditions) but... just 30 miles west... the roads were clean, dry and the sky was clear. I just had to make it those thirty miles and I was home free to Portland (providing I still had about 13 hours of driving ahead of me). Clearly, the best, the easiest and the safest option would have been to settle down in Billings for the night and wait for the storm to clear and then be on my way. But, if safe and easy were my concerns... I would have stayed in Savannah or taken that art teacher/soccer-softball coaching job that was offered to me back in Ohio. However, I didn't want to settle for safe and easy. I wanted to get to Oregon.
So, I pulled the car back on the highway and steered my way through the visible six inches I had of blinding white snow. Still, cars were going off the road left and right... I just held my breath and focused, trying to make out the road ahead of me and reminding myself that right on the other side of this mess was dry, clean pavement. Eventually, I noticed the cars coming the opposite direction had very little snow on them. This gave me hope... I must be getting close. I noticed less and less snow on the oncoming cars... and somewhere in front of me... the sky seemed to open up. Finally, instead of my car sliding through inches snow it changed to rolling on wet pavement. The wet pavement then turned to dry pavement and the sky cleared, and there above me were stars. Brilliant white shining stars nestled in a deep deep navy blue sky. I looked behind me to see the massive storm cloud still hovering and dumping on the land and I breathed a massive deep sigh of relief. I had made it. I had finally gotten out of this storm that repeatedly tried to stall my progress. Now, nothing stood in my way (other than a lack of sleep)... I was enroute to Portland to go to a concert.
Needless to say, I drove all night. I stopped to get gas at any chance I could for fear that I would be stranded in the mountain passes over night. Somewhere outside of Missoula I stopped my car at a rest stop for a few hours and caught a cat nap till about 4am. Then, it was back on the road... 8 hours and 24 minutes till Portland. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. I saw the sunrise in Idaho and entered Washington state with a giant smile on my face. From there it was south to Oregon and the magnificent Columbia River which I followed all the way pretty much into downtown Portland where I was greeted with a brief rain shower upon crossing the city limits sign. At 3:30pm I unloaded my car at my friends house in SW Portland and then found my way over to Mississippi Street at about 5:30pm to greet my best friends that I had never before met. I don't think at that point anyone could have wiped the smile on my face. I don't know if I was happy just to be out of that car, to have finally arrived in Portland, to eat some decent food that wasn't cooked in a hotel microwave, to meet my friends, or to get to see Brandi again.
To say the least, both shows that night on March 31 were great. Brandi and the boys were seemingly on fire. It was the second stop of their tour for "The Story" which was set to be released a few days later on April 3rd and I think they were so amped and excited to get started. Mississippi Studios is such a small and intimate venue that at that time, could only seat about 70 people and the band sounded amazing. During the show I filmed a few songs (I actually had problems keeping the camera steady since I was so fatigued from driving) regardless though, I put the videos up on youtube and watched the view hits start coming in. Later that month, Brandi showed up on Grey's Anatomy and Conan O'Brien with the title track from the album and then well, there were commercials during the Olympics and now American Idol singers trying their hand at singing her tunes and the rest is pretty much history. In fact, due to the popularity of AI and the debate on how the song was sung... my video on youtube is getting even more play now at about 1,300,000 views.
One of my favorite moments of the evening was after the show I was getting Brandi to sign my ticket stub and I told her all about my trek through the blizzard to get to the show. Then, Brandi proceeded to tell me a similar story about how once she drove through a massive blizzard to get to an Indigo Girls show and afterwards, told Amy Ray all about it. Amy Ray looked at Brandi and after hearing her story just said... "that was stupid". It was at that moment that I realized Brandi had just called me stupid. Good play Ms. Carilie, good play. :)
Back prior to all of this in December of 2006, inspired by a hiking trip I had taken up Mt. Hood to see Timberline Lodge the March before, I got a tattoo on my ankle that simply said the words "snowshoe". To this day still, quite often people will see it and ask if I really like snowshoeing enough to get a tattoo of it on my ankle? I just have to look at them and laugh. See, "snowshoe" the tattoo isn't really an activity, it's a just word that symbolizes not settling for less than you want. Snowshoes are designed to float on top of the snow, they allow for easier passage, they help you reach your goals. Without them, one might be tempted to just stay in one place. To let the snow and the struggle pass. To wait for spring time to come and the storms to clear. However, before you know it... spring has turned into summer and then to fall and back into winter. Next thing you know, winter after winter has come and gone all those dreams and aspirations you had are now just faint memories. Stories you tell your kids about things you wanted to do, but then things got rough and well... life happened. But we should all strive to be a snowshoe. To float on top of the shit and get to your destination... to reach your goals and achieve your aspirations. To get where you want.
Really, looking back at that blizzard in 2007 with my car loaded full of all my possessions (including snowshoes)... it's not surprising that I kept driving. I had a concert in Portland to get to afterall. :)
Howdy everyone, I just wanted to take a break from the lack of blogging (i've been busy at work!) to show everyone some photos from my trip up to Mt. Baker, Washington a few weekends ago for a few days of boarding, beer, boots, buddies, baked goods and cabins. (ps... through the formatting of my blog, it cuts off 1/3 of any of my horizontal pics, so click on them for the full view)
On our way there, we took a slight detour through downtown Seattle where sure enough, we got stuck in traffic right next to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile!!!
(art outside of the Evo Store. Fittingly made with snowboards, skis, and crutches)
While in Seattle, we drove to Fremont to pay our friends at EVO a visit. For those of you not in the know, Evo is a fun little company out of Seattle that offers amazing deals on snowboarding, ski, wakeboarding, and skateboarding equipment. Their main presence is on the web, but they do have a brick and mortar location. Sam has spent some quality time with Evo recently as she has ordered at least five various pairs of snowboard boots, each failing to fit. So... we thought instead of paying for S&H over and over and over again, it'd make so much more sense to just try the boots on in the store. Needless to say, that's exactly what we did. Needless to say, it took about three hours. So, while Sam fiddled with boots, Julie, Amy and I aimlessly fingered through merch, sat in big comfy chairs, read snowboarding magazines (ie: looked at photos), and talked boarding with some highly energetic and informative sales staff. Waiting for Sam to find the perfect pair of boots could have been a very painful process... but thankfully it was pretty enjoyable. And to make it better, the Evo folks sent us on our way through Seattle rush hour with a goodie bag full of Red Bull, Clif Bars and stickers.
The cool thing about driving up north of Seattle towards the Canadian boarder is that the surrounding mountains are so much more dramatic. We have mountains down in Oregon, but they are older and smaller, more worn down over time. Up here though, each peak is snowcapped and rugged... it lends itself to the imagination and day dreams of climbing each one of them.
Our lodging for the weekend was in this cute little cabin in Glacier, WA. Roughly a thirty minute drive from Mt. Baker and about 45 minutes from Bellingham. The cabin was perfect. Not too cutesy, but yet not to rustic that we had to go pee in an outhouse either. It had a full sized tiny kitchen, a wood burning stove which heated the whole place, hot shower, and was really built with huge logs that formed all the main load bearing walls. There was no paneling, no ceiling, no art, minimal light sources, and no TV. We made some tasty meals in here and some of Julie's infamous cookies. As well, the people who run the cabins are really nice and they even lent us some missing ingredients we needed for our baked goods. If one were to take a walk down the unnamed road nearby, they'd be privy to a beautiful sweeping vista of Mt. Baker in the distance with a gurgling river running nearby. It was a great place to watch the sunset on the mountain. I think that I'll defiantly be stopping by this place again.
When passing through Glacier on your way to Baker, you can stop and get a coffee and scone at the Wake N' Bakery. Not only is their name amusing, but their pastries looked delicious and they had a pretty wicked cool back fence made from old ski's.
Saturday morning we all woke early and got the the mountain, primed for a good parking spot and an excellent day on the mountain. The conditions were perfect for springtime, high at about 50 degrees, beautiful blue skies and soft snow. Sadly, some patches were icy due to half of the runs being in shade, but really... providing it was early March... we really couldn't have asked for anything more (though fresh dumps of powder would have been nice).
The coolest thing about Mt. Baker has got to be their backcountry terrain. In order to access backcountry from the ski resort, you have to pass a dude at ski patrol who's job it is to stop you and make sure you have all the necessary backcountry gear (shovel, probe, beacon, friends, etc). Seeing how none of us have invested in backcountry beacons... we could not gain access, but a girl can dream and also plan her next trip to Baker.
(I want to play here....)
I love Sam's reflective goggles...
Sam of the Mountains....
Sadly, the only disappointing thing about our trip to Mt. Baker was the ass-hole quotient of the people on the slopes. I don't like making broad sweeping generalizations about a certain age-group or demographic, but there were a fair amount of male snowboarders between the ages of 16-25 that did not do wonders for representation the male species. I could go into a massive diatribe about that, but.... this post is about pretty pictures, not ass-holes.
One year ago this weekend, had my first official official cat 4 bike race, the Banana Belt. It was 44 degrees and rainy and I entered the race with such positive attitude and cheer despite the conditions; but sadly, the first half mile into it I hit a pot hole, flatted out, was given a spare wheel with a mis-matched cassette... and then proceeded to race the remaining 32 miles by myself, alone... in the rain (including another flat tire). During that race, there were so many times and opportunities I just wanted to call it quits and go back to my car... but I kept on and finished the race. Afterwards, I went back to my car, called my mom and cried. It was probably one of the most horrible experiences of my life.
So... fast forward to today. One year later... and here I am, at the same race that haunted me throughout all of last year. My goal today was to A) not hit a pothole,B) not get a flat and C) stick with the pack as much as possible and not let the hills get to me. As a bike racer, I am a sprinter and generally run far far away in the opposite direction of anything involving hills (which is where I normally get shed from the pack). I hate "road races" so much I have only competed in three of them and in each, failed to stick with the pack for the whole race. Who would want to pay money for that?
Apparently I am a glutton for punishment.
Actually, more than being a glutton for punishment - I am in dire need to reverse my horrible experience from last year. Pretty much, I'd like to hear the words "Banana Belt" without a shiver running down my spine. So, as more of a challenge to myself than anything else... I signed up, paid my money, and hoped for the best.
The day started off well when I didn't hit any of the potholes I hit last year (I had pothole radar) and from there, it just kept getting better. I felt myself strong and confident and able to stay with the pack and get out in front a little bit through out the race. Granted I didn't try any huge attacks... but at this point my goal was staying with everyone, not beating them. Going into the final half-mile of the 33 miles, I felt really really really good, In fact.. I was even joking with the other riders and belching loudly, trying to take the edge off. However, in that final 200 meter stretch I started having some gearing issues and was not able to get up in my "big ring" for the final sprint. As a result, I wasn't able to kick it up and really be effective in going for "placements that count". But eh, it's just an unfortunate mechanical more than anything else, nothing I'm really going to cry in my car about afterwards.
Regardless though, the important thing is that with today's moderate success in the race, I was able to completely erase my horrendous nightmares from last year. For the first time ever in a road race, I kept with the pack, I did well on the hills, and the one thing were I didn't succeed - is the thing that is the easiest for me, the sprint. Overall, I couldn't be happier... those demons from last year are gone and I have a new found confidence in myself. Which honestly, is as good as winning a race in my book any day.
In fact, I may even be considering racing "Piece of Cake" in two weeks. We'll see about that though, I don't want them to upgrade me too soon. ;)
The Olympics are such a spectacular, lights action drama, crying, more crying, and fashion.... that much like the Oscars or the Grammy's, I wish I could give away awards. So, having said that now that the Olympic flame has moved on to other venues and other dreams... these are the rewards I would dish out:
BEST DRAMA THAT NEVER HAPPENED:
Oh... for it to be 1994 again!
We as American's love action and we also love drama. That's generally what makes the Olympics so compelling for us to watch night after night for two weeks every two years. And, nothing drives those TV ratings better than real life inter-team drama, much like the Days of Our Lives or an episode of the Real World, we foam at the mouth for rivalry. In 1994 we were treated to perhaps not only some of the best figure skating, but also the best drama as Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding took to the ice with tire irons and menacing glares. In 06, we were treated to the rivalry of speed skaters Chad Hendrick and Shani Davis. While both of them continued to compete in this years' Olympics... their feud seemed rather lukewarm. America, sensing that that wasn't the drama they were looking for really tried to play out some inter team drama between women's skier's Lindsay Vonn and Julia Mancuso, but.... happily, both women didn't really play into it. When interviewed, they always spoke well of each other and admitted they had different tactics and training programs, but the same goal, winning gold and wished the best for their teammate. When Lindsay Vonn crashed in the giant slalom, sadly, it effected Julia's run which was started before Lindsay's was over and both women failed to be effective in that race. However, they were both able to go home with gold medals and records in their events.
BEST DRAMA THAT DID ACTUALLY, SADLY HAPPEN:
The Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette, who's mother passed away from a massive heart attack, days prior to her skate in the short program. Rochette then went on to win a silver medal. There has been tons written about this already, so if you want a more mushy and heartfelt poignant post about it... I'll direct you to here.
BEST OUTFITS:
Sorry, gonna have to go with the US Snowboarding team on this one. I loved this outfit for the simple fact that it made the snowboarders kinda look like the cool slackers that everyone projects them to be. It makes them look like they just rolled out of bed and put on a fleece and ripped up pair of jeans and took to the pipe (albeit kinda preppy slackers from the late nineties who shopped at Abercrombie). However, the cool thing about the kit is that much how some snowboarders are misunderstood... many misunderstood the simplicity of this kit. Dude, those aren't jeans... that's gore-tex made to look like jeans.... totally gnar! So, kudos to Burton to making the snowboarders look like the rock stars they are.
RUNNERS-UP:
US bobsled. I love the classic Under Armor navy blue uni-suits with the Captain America arms.
I also love the Arial skier from Belarus and his simple, almost Johnny Cash inspired, black outfit.
Sorry Canada, I love my neighbors up north... but really, what was up with the short track uniforms? It pretty much looked like an umpa-lumpa who was riding a bike over a dirty road. I mean, there aren't too many photos of athletes from the rear for me to post, but if you saw them - you know what i'm talking about.
RUNNERS UP:
And, while many teams used the Adidas designed uniform, I'm going to say once again that the Canadians did it worse than everyone else. What's funny is that the uniform looks great from the front and even has a nice tribal sublimation on the sleeves, but from the rear? Dear god... why? I'm guessing that the spiderman stripes used on the bobsled uniforms make you go faster or some other type of newfound technology, but... with the contrasting color it just didn't look good. I like what Germany did with their version of this uniform, but Canada gets an epic fail. Once again, I could really find photos of athlete's backsides to post... but if you saw them you know what i'm talking about.
And, sorry Canada once again.... but is that saran-wrap on your legs?
WORST OUTFITS FROM A TEAM THAT'S NOT CANADIAN:
These outfits from the Russian Ice Dancers. It's not like they're offensiveor anything.
Actually, if you look at any best and worst dressed list from the Olympics, most of the train wrecks go on during figure skating. Which... brings up the question of they don't they just wear color unisuits and a number like everyone else? It's an interesting debate.
RUNNER UPS:
Romania
Mexico
And whatever country claims this:
ATHLETE WHO DOES THE MOST GOOD AND PROBABLY EATS THE MOST PANCAKES:
On a night when everyone else seemed to be playing it safe, US Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler put the most out their on the line in the half pipe. Being one of the only women to "flip" as opposed to just "twist" on the pipe... she pretty much landed the hard stuff but couldn't cleanly finish the run. As a result, she didn't go home with a medal, but I think she should be proud for being more kick-ass than the other ladies in my humble opinion.
ATHLETE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO GO POSTAL ONE DAY:
Sven Kramer, the speed skater from the Netherlands who not only was on track to win a gold medal, but to also set an olympic record was disqualified for jumping lanes as his coach wrongly instructed him to do.
PERSON WHO SHOULD BE QUICKLY ADMITTED TO WITNESS PROTECTION:
Gerard Kemkers, coach of Sven Kramer (see above). Those Dutch love their speed skating, a lot.
PEOPLE WHO SHOULD GET A LIFE ALREADY:
The International Olympic Committee.
Really, what is the big deal about either of these two things?
They won a friggin medal, let them party.
EPIC FAIL:
NBC and their broadcast of the olympics. I know that they save things for prime-time ratings, but it was frustrating for once, to live in the same time zone as the Olympics and to have people who live on the other side of the world know what happened before I did. I learned very quickly (IE: the first three days of the Olympics) that I just can't be online from 4-11pm PT if I don't want to see any Olympic updates on people's facebook feeds.
Also, fail to NBC for their mic placement. I didn't need to hear Kelly Clark singing to herself before she dropped in on the half-pipe, nor did I need to hear Shaun White and his entourage bump fists and say "duuude, kill it" repeatedly, or the emotional interchange between Lindsay Vonn and her husband after she won gold. Somethings are better left to the imagination and to the private sector.
RUNNER-UP:
Epic Fail to some Canadian broadcasters making fun of Johnny Weir. Listen, I know he's an easy target... but if anything, make fun of the feathers and the fur... but not the man. And, kudos to Weir for such a well-spoken comeback .
PERSON WHO WOULD MOST LIKE TO BE RUSSIAN:
Johnny Weir
PERSON WHO SHOULD LAY OFF THE BRONZER:
Evan Lysacek
RUNNER UP: Bob Costas
PERSON WHO IF IN WERE EVAN LYSACEK, I WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE IN A DARK ALLEY:
PERSON WHO, EVEN THOUGH YOU WON A MEDAL, SHOULD NOT WEAR A TIRARA IN PUBLIC:
Julia Mancuso
SPORT THAT IS MOST LIKELY TO SEE A SURGE IN PARTICIPATION FOLLOWING OLYMPICS:
Curling. I feel that much like cornhole, darts and shuffleboard, people like it cause because it appears as if you could drink a beer while playing.
COUNTRY WHO APPARENTLY IS THE BEST AT HOCKEY:
Canada
RUNNER UP:
USA
BEST DOWNHILL SKIING MJ INSPIRED DANCE VIDEO:
Norway.
BEST COMMERCIAL DURING THE OLYMPICS
Old Spice
BEST WIPE OUT:
Pretty much, Day 6 was filled with spills of all sorts... esp those in the Women's Super G. Watch em here...
MOMENT OF SILENCE:
Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21 year old from Georgia who died on the opening day during his training for the luge event.
TEAM THAT IS THE BESTEST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AT THINGS INVOLVING SPORTS AND WINTER:
USA, we won the most medals, that makes us the best right?
RUNNER UP:
All those people from the smaller countries who traveled from afar to represent their homeland in the winter games. Those people who hardly spend a percentage of the money that our country (or Canada, or Germany, etc) does on training or facilities, coaching, uniforms, equipment, etc. For those athletes, it's not about winning or losing, or gold or sliver, endorsements or commercials... it's about being an olympian. Those people will go home champions, regardless of their placing.
I enjoy grocery shopping. In fact, my favorite things are free food samples and when a song I love comes over the grocery store radio. I think that everyone needs a theme song and that everyone should be given free rolls of toilet paper when they get their taxes back. I like sweeping my floor but I hate doing the dishes. I love phrases of speech like "painfully shy", "disarmingly beautiful" and the word "threadbare". I'm a great gatherer of firewood, maker of bonfires and jumper of rope. Basically, I see every day as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story and try to steer clear from any theme park or packaged experience in life.
