The olympics

So I haven't watched the olympics in years. I think the fever first really hit me in middle school with Mary Lou Retton. But sometime in college, I just stopped watching.

Well, tonight, I am hooked again. The women's snowboarding team totally got me hooked- Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter are super cool. I got such a kick out of watching this sport where the women's physical shape aren't on display (snowboarding gear is super baggy and androgynous) and the commentators were saying things like " oh, she is really pushing the boundaries of snowboarding. And here, there really is no difference between the men's and the women's competition" or " she is doing something quite a few men wouldn't even try". I love that these females are really doing some hard core stuff and getting recognized for it.

Then on to the pairs figure skating. The commentators there were absolutely obnoxious. They kept trash talking the Russian team. The awesome thing about that competition is that the two major winners (the gold and silver place pairs) had to overcome some major difficulty for this competition. The Russian pair, who won the gold, had a major fall two years back, where in the female member fell unconscious on the rink and suffered a major concussion. So they had to overcome some confidence issues even after she got better. The Chinese pair- well, theirs was during the competition. The female didn't land properly after a throw- a very technically difficult throw, one that no other pair had ever attempted. It was some like a quadruple salchow? In any case, she landed badly, went down on her left leg in a way that bent her knee out. Her partner helped her off the ice because she was hurting so bad. She was wiping the tears from her face when she told the coach she wanted to finish her program. And finish they did. They nailed every jump, turn, throw, spin and fancy footstep in the rest of their program. They definitely deserved the medal!

I have Olympics fever now.
Whoo hoo!!!!

Camera

I think I'm gonna do it. I got some money for my birthday this year and I think I am going to use that money and purchase a digital camera. I have been thinking about getting one since I got one (and washed it in the washer) on my honeymoon. I had so much fun with it. BUT because I broke that one within a week, I couldn't justify buying one. I am still having issues with it. I keep thinking that the smart thing to do is to put that money away. Save it for when I graduate and might need that money for lack of job reasons. Also, because my credit card bill has been consistently high for the past few months, I feel I need to refrain from spending. I am torn between feeling like I OUGHT to curb my spending for fear of being too loose with money and making sure that i don't act like an emotional anorexic and actual try to enjoy my life a little. Do males have issues like this too? Heck, do other females have these same sorts of issues? I might just a guilt ridden metacognitive freak.

a sad day

I got an email this morning from a really good friend of mine that made me, and continues to make me, cry. She gave birth to her child over four months early. The baby girl got to be with her parents for a few short moments and then finally went to sleep. My friend and her husband were so happy they got to spend that time with her but I can hear the pain of losing a child in their words.

Phew, what a day!

I had a pretty full day.
Woke up, cleaned my room a little.
Went swimming.
Spent much of the day doing a lot of administrative and maintenance stuff for work (e.g. dealing with digital equipment and all it's vagaries). It was a bit frustrating at first. But I have learned how to walk away from things I cannot fix, figure out, work, etc, and ask others for help. It helps save my sanity.
Typed up a lot of my research notes- this always takes a lot of my time.
Dealt with my husband and my finances.
Helped to provide my mom some emotional support (my grandmother went into the hospital two weeks ago and has stayed in the Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit the entire time. We are still not entirely sure how she is right now because she cannot communicate with us. All the weird family tensions and issues are coming out right now. it is hard and my mom not only feeling emotionally and physically worn but also a bit abused right now by her siblings.
A friend of mine just had a baby- after 23 hours of labor. Apparently, that doesn't mean she spent the whole 23 hours screaming and pushing.
Cooked dinner
watched Lost
wrote in my blog
and will go to sleep because I gotta get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning.
(PS I have to admit, I keep rereading this to see what else I can add to the list to let you know just how full this day was.)

Nature in my backyard.

I live just on the border of DC and Maryland. It could be considered an urban area.

Just behind my apartment building is some undeveloped land with a creek running through it. There is a neat little wooden bridge that I have to cross everyday to get to and from the bus stop to school. When it is dark, it is quite a bit scary- reminiscent of horror flicks and the story the Billy Goats Gruff.

So tonight, while being really creeped out crossing the bridge, I saw the coolest thing in the whole world. I saw this huge, long beaked, slender bird standing in the waters below. In the dark, it seemed to have a white underbelly and a dark grey back. It was standing in the water as if it was looking for dinner. I have to say, I am not sure there is much out there to eat for this bird. I saw this bird once a few nights ago.

I wonder if it is going to stay. It makes me so happy but I also worry about it. Why isn't it hanging around in this neighforhood? Shouldn't it be down south, where it is warmer, cleaner, more plentiful in the food and there are more social options available? Well, if it decides to stay, I hope it will be okay. It makes me so happy to see it. It is so beautiful to see in the dark light. I wonder if I will ever get to see it up close or in the daylight?