A Fantastic Day

It was absolutely and fantastic day. I would have to say I only have 3 complaints from today - 1) My battery died in my camera this morning and I had to go back to my apartment to get my spare, which also died (fortunately at the end of the night), 2) the concessions available at Olympic Venues is not much to brag about, and 3) Sara, my love, my best friend, my wife, was not here to enjoy it with me... Other than that, a perfect day...

The day was sunny and bright, making a perfect backdrop for pictures. Low humidity and a slight breeze made the temperature comfortable and pleasant as well...

Spent a couple of hours exploring the Olympic Forest. It's much bigger than I thought and I only got to see about half of it. I will have only one other opportunity to see the rest, but that will be the day before I leave China and might have other things to do, so I might not make back. It will be worth the effort to see the rest, though, if I can make it.

Caught, just by chance, a parade going through Olympic Park, much like the daily parades than pass through Disneyland...

I attended my second Olympic event today, in the Bird's Nest (China's National Stadium). It was electrifying. The crowd was so enthusiastic and energetic, especially when a Chinese athlete was up to compete.

I got to see several events this evening:

• Women's Discus Finals - USA's Stephanie Brown-Trafton won the Gold Medal on her first throw; I got chills and felt very honored to be in another country, experiencing something like the Olympics, surounded by tens fo thousands of foreigners, and rising to the US National Anthem


• Women's Pole Vault Finals - USA'a Jennifer Stuczynski won the Silver Medal


• Women's 100m Hurdle Semi-Finals - USA's Lolo Jones, Dawn Harper, and Damu Cherry all qulaified for the finals


• Men's 200m Quarter-Finals - USA's Walter Dix and Wallace Spearman qualified for the Semi-Finals


• Men's Long-Jump Finals - no US athletes in that competetion


• Women's 400m Hurdle Semi-Finals - USA's Sheena Tosta and tiffany Ross-Williams qualified for the finals


• Men's 3000m Steeplechase Finals - USA's Anthony Famiglietti finished 13th out of 15


• Women's 800m Finals - no US athletes in that competition


• 5 Medal Ceremonies from previous competitions

Where Did Everybody Go?

When a high profile athlete enters the building for interviews with news crews, many of our staff simply disappear, hoping for an autograph and photo opportunity with the "big star." Such was the case today, when Michael Phelps came for an interview and early dinner at our Fine Dining restaurant in the International Broadcast Center. The culinarians who were supposed to be cooking dinner just vanished and the kitchen, for a time, seemed like a ghost town.

It took quite a bit of pushing, pulling, and prodding to get everyone back into the kitchen to continue their work.

I can admit, I would have liked an autograph and/or a photo op with Phelps as well; but, I am here to do a job and that job comes first. Besides, I don't think it's very professional for us, as staff, to make such a scene. I got to see him from a distance, as he was concluding an interview and was being followed by photographers and TV cameras, but no further attempt to get any closer. My focus was on getting the kitchen back up and running and we couldn't do that and play paparazzi at the same time.

Newspaper Coverage

Food service at Olympic Village received a little pat on the back so to speak in "Beijing Olympics: The Press for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad" newspaper circulating throughout Olympic Village and local hotels. The paper said:

"According to Deng Yaping, deputy head of the Olympic Village, the canteens in the village have set a world record in terms of scale and quality of the food service they have provided. She said that 18,634 people dined in the village's main canteen from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Aug 8 alone, far exceeding the figures at the Athens and Sydney Games. 460 dishes of all major international cuisines are served in the main canteed around the clock, with the menu changing every day on an eight-day cycle of rotation.

Meanwhile, 181 tests on food samples from the village have been conducted, with all results meeting the safety standards, added Deng. Deng also noted that the management team of the Olympic Village has so far received 49 letters of compliments, while not a single letter of complaint has been filed."

It's always nice to get a little pat on the back from time to time. It has been an honor a privilege to be involved in this project.

The Olympic Flame & the Today Show

It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't pass up the chance to snap a couple of pictures of the Olympic Flame on top of the Bird's Nest. I did a little research on the history of the flame and this is what I have found:

From Wikipedia:
"The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, when a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since.

The Olympic Torch today is ignited several months before the opening celebration of the Olympic Games at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Eleven women, representing the roles of priestesses, perform a ceremony in which the torch is kindled by the light of the Sun, its rays concentrated by a parabolic mirror.

The Olympic Torch Relay ends on the day of the opening ceremony in the central stadium of the Games. The final carrier is often kept secret until the last moment, and is usually a sports celebrity of the host country. The final bearer of the torch runs towards the cauldron, often placed at the top of a grand staircase, and then uses the torch to start the flame in the stadium. It is considered a great honour to be asked to light the Olympic Flame. After being lit, the flame continues to burn throughout the Olympics, and is extinguished on the day of the closing ceremony.

Since the first Olympic games celebrated in the modern time, the Olympic Torch has become symbol of the peace between the continents (as well as the Olympians, that share this role in our modern celebration)."
In addition to the beautiful weather, I got to spend a few minutes at the set of the Today Show as they began their live broadcast from Olympic Park this evening (this morning, back in the US).

What Have I Eaten

Another faithful and frequent reader has asked about the strangest things I've eaten while here in China. Well, here's a little snap-shot:

• Fried Scorpion (taste like a potato chip)
• Grilled Snake (taste like chicken)
• Donkey Penis (taste a lot like a rubber ball)
• Yak's Tongue (yummy!!!)
• Chicken Feet
• Duck's Neck
  Aside from these very unusual treats, how about some of these potato chip falvors:
  

• Fish and Onion
• Italian Red Meat
• Tomato Ketchup
• Chinese Sweet & Spicy
• American BBQ Beef (not at all like BBQ chips back home)

So, How About Your Health...

I was asked recently, in an email from a frequent reader, about my state of health in Beijing and if I was well. Well, dear reader, I am well...

The first month was miserable. I experienced what we have called the "Beijing hack" - difficulty breathing (almost like asthma), severe cough (which has resulted in abdominal definition I haven't had since high school), and dry, itchy throat. And, yes, this lasted a good month; I thought for a time it wouldn't go away...

My diet and the amount of regular exercise I get (in the form of walking from one end of the building to the other multiple times a day) has resulted in a good amount of weight loss and has lowered my blood sugar considerably. As a diabetic, this is great news. I'm hoping it's enough for my doctor to consider taking me off my meds; that's another subject for another day... This has given me a whole new supply of energy, which I need to make it through most of my days right now. Feeding over 15,000 people a day does get to a person after a while...

No major aches and pains, other the normal ones at the end of the day. I have, in only 1 1/2 months, worn out the only pair of Dr. Scholl's gel inserts I brought, something that usually takes me almost a year. The Chinese use a type of bamboo mat as sole inserts, and they are not very comfortable. I'm looking forward to returning to the US and good ol' Dr. Scholl's.

That's about it, I guess... Generally speaking, I haven't felt this good since high school...

My First Olympic Event

It was an incredible day - long and busy, but rewarding. I attended my first Olympic event - Shooting. The day started early with a taxi ride to the Beijing Olympic Shooting Complex where I got to see the qualification round of the Men's 50m pistol competition...

USA's Jason Turner came in 21st...

USA's Daryl Sarvenski came in 14th...

Watching the 50m Pistol compettion, I missed the first round of the Men's Double Trap competition. I did, however, get to see the second and final rounds.

USA's Walton Eller took the Gold. Way to go Walton... Go Team USA!!!