mmmm...mongolian beef

I am a little weird, I'll give you that. I read the end of books, I don't like blue bathrooms with seashell motifs, I am probably high on paint fumes and I am obsessed with lemon drops. But, I am an American.

And I love the Olympics.

Seriously. The Olympics are 17 days of sports mixed with soap opera. And that could be why macho sports guys don't really take them seriously. But I love them. And I cheer for the Americans while learning about people from other cultures. And other countries that I have never heard of, and I thought I was good at geography.

So yesterday I made my plans. Invited over another Olympic minded friend. I made a banner to show my support and hung it above my TV. And we ordered Chinese food and settled in for the Opening Ceremonies.

Here we are. This is my friend Kristen and me with our Chinese food and our banner and some guy doing tai chi on the TV screen. Yes, I am in my pajamas.

The Opening Ceremonies were cool, at least the part I stayed up for. The drummers, the flying dancers, the dancers with lights on their costumes, the ones in the boxes and the cool painting that all the athletes walked over. Interesting stuff. And the parade of nations was a learning experience.

They don't have alphabetical order in China. Because the have no alphabet. So, the countries were ordered by the number of strokes it takes the make the character that is their name. So after Greece, it jumped all over the place. I thought maybe this might mean that the US could be closer to the front, because I tend to go to bed after cheering them on. But no, they were still 2/3 back in the parade, about where they would normally be in the alphabet.

I was getting sleepy waiting for the US team, and I was on my couch. Poor President Bush who was sitting there waiting, in the stands, in some seats that didn't look all that special, and in the intense Beijing heat. He looked so bored, even with the binoculars they gave him to look around. I had the Matt Lauer to keep telling me facts about the parading countries, and I am sure Bush would have enjoyed those tidbits.

So, now begins two weeks of interesting stories and sporting events. I like gymnastics, diving, swimming, synchronized swimming, and anything with a horse. Girly events, I guess. But, hey, I am nothing if not a girl. And I will take a peek at some of the more obscure sports that who ever knew anyone practiced, let alone could win a medal for. Like ping-pong, or women's steeplechase (which looks like women jumping over horse jumps) and white water rafting.

What's your favorite event to watch?