Wicked Awesome

How much do I love doing things that I used to do? Bumper sledding. I will never grow too old to bumper sled. By the time I'm too old to hang on, I'll make a sled where they can just strap me in. Like one of those Rescue Sleds that the ski patrol use. Anyways. We had a lot of fun and are intending to go again when some of the other guys are here. Just having some other guys ups the intensity somehow. Like we'll try to see who can go up on a sidewalk or slide under a car. Or lick snow while flying. Obviously you all can see the consequences of that. Me too, but that won't stop us from daring each other. Somehow it will happen.

Getting All We Want for Christmas

Whit and I took some pictures for Christmas cards. A lot actually and here are two of them. I liked the idea of me with White Fudge Oreo's. They are so good and at $2.50 a box (12 cookies), they better be. But I set up the timer and we spent an evening taking pics. The joke was I got my yummies and Whit got her baby this year. Millie was really good except for this one picture. We thought it was funny so we went with it. (The blank spot up there is because I am computer illiterate and put a picture up there I didn't want and instead of deleting it the correct way, I just minimized it.) Oh well. Whit will have to fix it later.

Dancing on Beale Street

Whit and I ate at this great BBQ joint on Saturday night. Go down a little alley and it's just down some stairs. It smells incredible and was finger lickin good. Then we went to Beale Street where all the hooplah takes place. I picked up a couple of dance moves while there. Check it out.

Thursday, August 14, 2008
Our adventures are getting less and less adventurous as we draw closer and closer to our competition dates. Leo and Lindsey found out what heats they’re in. Both are in the first heat which is probably the worst. The third is the best because you can see how fast the other heats have run, and then run for a time to make it to the next round. Usually each heat will take 3 or 4 automatically from each heat and then like 4-6 qualifiers on time. The steeple will be top 3 from each heat auto advancing and then next 5 fastest times from the total field. At this point, you just run as hard as you can. When the heats come out, you can look at all the other runners that will be in your heat. You can go online and look up their personal best times. You can do all this research as I’ve done before, but the bottom line is you just have to be ready to run your hardest. Each heat will be tough.
It’s raining pretty good right now. People are all taking shelter and so it’s a little barren outside. At least I got my run in this morning. I did a 5 minute warm up jog. Stretched for about 5 minutes. Did another 25 minutes. Some light plyos and hurdles. Then went to the 24 Hour Fitness facility to do some core strength work. My plug for 24 Hour Fitness is that they gave Olympic Hopefuls a free 12 month membership this past year. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be able to run on a treadmill when it was 15*F outside and/or with 6 inches of snow. Running on a treadmill isn’t exactly a party, but it’s much better than trying to follow packed paths left by cars in the middle of the road while it’s still dark out.
Just finished Twighlight. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get the second book from Whit. I assume they are on their way to Japan right now. They land in Beijing tonight around 8:30pm. I want to see them tonight, but two nights before the race is crucial for sleep. Plus, Leo races tomorrow and I don’t want to get back late and wake him up. So I’ll see them tomorrow. I have kept my cell phone nearby just in case they call. I even took it in the shower with me. The trip over was long for us and we flew out of San Francisco. It’ll be twice as bad for them since they are going from Salt Lake to San Fran to Japan to China. My folks are driving to Detroit, then going to Japan, and then to China. That’s a lot especially for a 6 month pregnant woman. All of them, Whit, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, Whit’s friend Amy, and my parents are taking the same flight over from Japan and then staying in the same hotel. It’s funny because Whit has probably had the busiest schedule between finding a house for us, making sure our stuff gets moved, and being pregnant, but she’s been the organizer for everything. As long as the others stay close to her, they should be fine. I worry about her, but I think out of all of them she can manage the most. She’s tough. After 3 ½ years with me, you know she’s really tough. J
Am I nervous yet? Not really. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe when the heats come out. I think I’m excited more than anything. Maybe anxious is a better word. I haven’t raced for over a month and a half. I’m ready for the crowd, the adrenaline, the pain. Okay, maybe not all the pain, but the first 4 laps anyways.
It’s weird how everytime I get ready for a race, I get nervous. Even workouts get the heart pumping. I will be lying in bed the night before and start thinking about the race. I can feel and hear my heart starting to beat faster and harder. I have to make a conscious effort to slow down my breathing and relax. It comes in cycles up until the gun goes off. That hasn’t started yet.
I was about to finish this and just call it a day, but I’m in the United States Olympic Committee athlete lounge area watching table tennis. This game of Japan vs Korea is incredible. These women are just amazing. That is the only way to describe it. The younger Japanese is slamming the ball, I mean just hammering it, and the older Korean is returning it with this crazy wicked spin. The Korean was backed up about 20 feet and just lobbing it back over and the Japanese girl kept hammering it to the left and right. As much as the Korean was running, you’d have thought it was Wimbledon. Truly amazing!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I almost got 9 hours of sleep last night. I almost missed the bus to the practice track too. I set my alarm for 7:40AM, and then thought I set it for 8:05AM after it went off. When I woke again, my watch said 8:26AM. I said, “Ah poop!” Leo asked what was wrong I told him I had 4 minutes to make it ½ mile for he 8:30AM bus. He said, “It’s only 8:05AM.” Well I guess instead of resetting my alarm, I set the clock to 8:05AM and so my watch was 20 minutes ahead. Thank goodness. I needed to take that bus so I could get back sooner. Whit flies out tomorrow, and I wanted to make sure I got a chance to talk to her.
Practice was great again. I did 4x400m with laps 2 and 4 over hurdles in 59 seconds with a one lap jog in between each. I finished with a fast 200m. I can’t explain how it feels when you start tapering (cutting back mileage and workouts) and you do workouts. It’s like you have this spring and bounce in your legs that aren’t usually there. Normally I do workouts while trying to hit 90 miles a week. When you cut that down to 40 or 50, your body is like, “Holy cow! It’s party time.” You don’t need as much sleep either. You’ll wake up an hour or two earlier, and just lie there…usually thinking about the upcoming race.
I haven’t thought about the race too much. It’s been kind of nice. Unlike the USA Olympic Trials, there really isn’t a lot of pressure. I’ve taken a different approach than last year at the World Championships. Last year one of the coach’s gave us this big USA vs the World speech, and I was ready for war. That’s not the case for me this year or forever after. I listened to a speech at this Olympic Ambassadors program back in May. The guy commented that the Olympic motto is Certius, Altius, Fortius, translated as Faster, Higher, Stronger. It doesn’t say faster, higher, stronger than your competition, just faster, higher, stronger. That implies that it’s faster than yourself, higher than yourself, or stronger than yourself. That is what the Olympic Spirit is all about. That is the attitude I have had and will take into the prelims on Saturday. I’m not out there trying to beat Kenya, or Germany, or Mexico. I’m trying to run the best race that I can. I am trying to be top 3 in the prelims by running my race. Yes there are other people on the track, but they are there to encourage me to go faster. That is why I love to run.
I love to watch young kids run because they love to see how fast they can run. My nephew, Nate, used to run around this barn that was on their property. He would cross the line and say, “Time?” I’d give him his split and he’d catch his breath and go for another. I wondered how long he could keep it up, or if he realized that he would only get slower as he grew more fatigued. That didn’t deter him. He just kept going. That’s what it’s all about. You may not get the results that you want that day, but hard work pays off. Up until about 2 years ago, I didn’t think the Olympics was possible, but I kept running those “barn laps” if you will. It paid off.
With all that said, I can’t tell you how awesome it is to represent the USA. Leo just got back from some interviews with USA and Mexico TV stations. He was saying how Mexican athletes have it tough. They don’t have athletic scholarships for colleges, and the professionals income is taken by corrupt Mexican Federation officials. In other countries, you may have to leave your family to train at a specific facility. Other countries may provide incomes to their athletes directly, but there are more stipulations. Although USA Track and Field doesn’t provide our income, they do have great benefits for us like health insurance for families, travel stipends to a number of meets, and a number of free training facilities where you can eat, train, and live. As an American athlete, I can train wherever I want, choose my coach, go to school, work another job-if desired-L, stay with my family, and have New Balance as my sponsor. I love it. The home of the free and the brave. Maybe I would be more successful at some high altitude training center where my diet, training, and sleep are regulated without the distraction of family and friends. But then again, maybe I would go crazy and get burned out. I love the situation I’m in. I get to enjoy all aspects of my life in a balanced sort of way. Sort of because running does tip the scale sometimes.
I read a lot of Twighlight today. It’s getting close to race day so just kind of relaxing. But the book is finally getting good. By that I mean, there’s some action starting to brew with some other vampires. Oooh! Something a guy can enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I get goosebumps too when Edward gives that look or cold touch. There’s a hint of sarcasm there.
We just got back from the warm up track at the Birds Nest. The track is awesome. It’s a tight Mondo surface which means it’s gonna be fast. The barriers aren’t covered in the rubber Mondo surface which isn’t a problem except for the water jump. Generally the barriers are wood with the rubber covering around it. I guess they think that if you hit it, the rubber will help in a way. Not really. But the rubber wrapping is good for traction on the water jump. The fresh new paint job on wood is not. So I and the rest of the field will have to be extra cautious.
We are off to a team meeting where they will spend a lot of time on a little information. They will also try to pump us up. Just what we need right before we are trying to go to bed. A quick adrenaline rush from thinking about our races.

Mon 8/11 and Tues 8/12

Monday, August 11, 2008
I’m not sure if it was the weather or the half tights or Coach Eyestone being there or perhaps it was the Rice Krispy cereal cause I got the snap, crackle, pop back in my legs. Today was the first workout in China that I felt sharp and relaxed the whole time. I warmed up for 20 minutes. Then I did a warm up 800 meter at 2:09. After a lap jog, I did a 1200 meter with the first 800 meters at 2:10, then the last lap at 57 seconds. I finished with 2x200 meters at 26.5 and 25.5. It’s about time I started feeling good. I was starting to worry, but now I’m ready to roll. I can’t wait for Saturday morning to get here. Coach Mann was commenting to Coach Eyestone that last week I was feeling “lower than whale poop.” It took me a moment to grasp that one, but that’s feeling pretty low.
I came back to the Village and grabbed a sandwich and banana, showered quick, and then met up with Alice Schmidt and Lindsey Anderson. We had to catch the shuttle over to watch the USA Women’s volleyball team play Cuba. Leo sold me out and went to the Nike hospitality center. It was still fun even though USA lost the first 3 games. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the Village because the whole shuttle system is messed up. They drop you off at one place and expect you to find the shuttle somewhere else. On top of that, some buses only take that specific sport, while others take athlete spectators. Well eventually we made it.
I did my second run of the day in this huge park. It was such a breath of fresh air to be able to run in a park. Even though it was all pavement or asphalt, there was a trail that went around this big lake. The landscaping is really pretty and there’s a series of bridges that weave through the gardens. It was quite pretty.
Did some abdominal work back in our dorm room. Thanks to Hilton Hotels for giving us the sleep care package so that I could do those on the light blanket as opposed to the tile floor.
Grabbed dinner real quick and Lindsey noticed Andre Kirilinko so we got a picture with a third Utah Jazz player. He is here representing Russia, and was very friendly. He signed Lindsey’s autograph journal and put something in there about Utah and Russia.
We jumped on the bus to the USA vs China women’s basketball game. It was a fiasco getting through security and they confiscated our water and my banana. But little did they know I had some almonds, Coco Puffs cereal, and dried cherries in there. The outside of the arena is pretty cool because it changes color every 30 seconds or so. It looks like it’s made of huge fluorescent bamboo shoots.
So far the athlete seats have been nothing special. We walked in and they showed us to floor side padded seats. Now that’s what I’m talking about. There were only a handful of athletes in our designated section, and a majority of them were the New Zealand women’s basketball team. It looked like it was going to be a close game…up until about 60 seconds. Then the USA started rolling away with it. It was fun to be able to cheer for our women because there weren’t many cheers in English. So when I shouted out something like, “Way to hustle Smith,” or, “That’s you Leslie,” a large group of Chinese fans would look over. 5 minutes into the game Kobe Bryant showed up and the fans went nuts. Everyone was trying to get as close to the athlete seating as possible to take pictures. And then the rest of the Dream Team showed up, and it was like Santa Claus at the mall. Everyone wanted to get pictures. Of course they were still all hanging over the rails about 50 feet away but that didn’t stop a few of them from trying to cross the security line. I would have loved to get another picture with LeBron James, but they were all there relaxing. I guess you could say there’s a mutual respect among superstars like us. J It was cool though to be sitting like 5 seats from those guys watching the game.
We hitched a ride home with the Kiwis. I love all Kiwis. The cute little flightless birds. The sweet convenient little fruit. And the generous Kiwi women’s basketball team, not so little, very tall actually. Oh and the Kiwi country in Lord of the Rings.
I fell asleep to the typing of Leo around 11:40PM. Way tired.

Tuesday, August, 2008
So tired in fact that I was too droggy to take my glasses off after using the restroom in the middle of the night. That’s the second time since I’ve been here. It’s tough to find your glasses when you don’t have them on. I did manage to get 8 hours of sleep last night, and it felt blissful. The search for my glasses would have to wait til after practice.
Ran for about 20 minutes at the USA High Performance Center. Did some hurdle drills, and then cooled down 10 minutes. At his point, it’s all about being fresh for race day. Underdoing it is better than overdoing it. I did go and do some abdominal work at the 24 Hour Fitness facility provided by the USOC (United States Olympic Committee). That was much better than doing them outside like last time.
Leo and I showered there, and then ate lunch while watching some USA Olympians. The food at the High Performance Center is really good. It’s healthy, has a good variety, and there’s 3 or 4 televisions showing different sports.
I took a cab to the New Balance Hospitality Center. It cost 24 yuan or a little less than $4. It was about a 20 minute drive. Taxis are very cheap, and very convenient…as long as there isn’t an Olympic Event blocking the streets. I got some gear from there. The one piece I will really enjoy is this huge book bag. There’s no such thing as “too big” when it comes to bags for carrying track gear around.
I just got back about and decided to shave…the face and the legs. It’s getting close to race day so I shave the legs. Does it help? I don’t know. Probably not since I do workouts for a month or so without shaving them and it’s fine. Maybe water isn’t retained as much without any leg hairs. Maybe it helps my legs look more defined. Maybe I like the way it feels when I slip under the covers at night. Regardless, it’s a tradition that I enjoy. I planned on shaving my head too. Just a normal trim, but my clippers rusted from the humidity while I was in Dalian. I’ll go to the barber here in the Village. It’s free and I hear the shampoo and massage your head after. Sweet! And yes, even Bic-ed heads get a shampooing. At least that’s what this big Kiwi ex-Rugby player told me.
Well it’s time to go for my second run of the day. The weather is great today. Clear skies are good, but that means it’s a little warmer. I’ll drink a bottle of water before heading out just to make sure I’m hydrated.
Good run. I went to the park again.
A little miracle happened today. I went to find out about my planner that I lost when we first went out to Dalian. I left it in the accredidation area on our way out. My planner doesn’t have a ton of important info, but it really helps keep my life organized. At the lost and found the guy kept asking me questions about it. I had already told him it was a navy blue and red planner with “Southern College of Optometry” written in gold. He asked how big it was, if there was a pen with it, where I lost it, what color it was? I was thinking they had all these checkboxes on the computer and he was cross referencing it. Well after 2 minutes he turns the computer screen and sure enough, there was a picture of it. So he unlocks this safe and I sign away my first child to get it back. Not really, but they asked for all of my passport info and contact info. I was glad they kept it in a bank safe, but it may be easier just to throw all that stuff in a cardboard box like most places and then scrounge through it.
After dinner we went to field hockey. It was USA vs Japan. We showed up at the start of the second half, and our seats were in the midst of the Chinese and Japanese fans. Japan was up 1-0. As soon as we started cheering typical American phrases like, “Let’s do it USA,” or “Be tough out there,” the fans would turn around and look at us like we were crazy. Eventually they warmed up to it and realized we were just enthusiastic about the game. We were really pulling for those USA ladies out there. I’m sure any of you sports fans know the feeling where you know if you cheer a little harder for your team, they’ll pull through. That one decibel louder or that cheer to that player’s number will make or break the game. That’s how we felt. If we, as fans and fellow Americans, put all our hearts into it, so would our players, and we could change fate. Well of course it worked as it always does. Ha ha. We tied the score with 10 minutes left. Field hockey is pretty exciting and there’s a ton I didn’t know. They wet down the field before the game, the ball can only go so high in the air in certain parts of the field, you can’t kick the ball, the teams wear skorts, and you have to be a little crazy to play it. It was fun.
On the walk back, this guy on a big 3-wheeler had this little Daschound on the back seat. It looked more like a brown pig with a long tail. Leo said, “Looks like they’re trying to fatten it up. Dinner!”
Leo started pretend racing and bumped into me “down the backstretch.” I asked him if there was a lot of physical contact in his races and he said yes. He said he’s caught elbows in his chest and stuff. Lindsey said, “But wouldn’t you be worried you’d get elbowed in the face.” That’s a crack at how short Leo is. We thought that was a good one.
Leo and I stopped by the hair salon and got trims. I went with the short race cut. Whit doesn’t care for it, but for me, it’s my business cut. I’ve had a couple of the volunteers at the security checks do double takes because my Athlete Credential photo is from the winter when I had long shaggy hair and a moustache and beard. Okay the moustache and beard are probably more like scruff, but I like to think big. They did indeed shampoo and condition the little hair that I had before the cut, and then my near bald head after. Leo and I made sure to get pictures with our stylists.
The Dream Team just won 97-73. I am in the Athlete Residence Center where we get wireless access, and the games are on 3 or 4 HD TVs. It’s wicked hot, and I’ll have to shower again today. I’m off to call Whit before I go to bed.

Sat and Sun of Olympic Journal

Saturday, August 9, 2008
After hitting the sack at 2AM, 8AM was pretty early for getting up, but as the Kenyans say, “You better be up and running before the lion or you’ll get caught.” No wonder they are so incredible at distance running.
We just missed the bus going to the practice track at Beijing Normal University so we had an hour wait. I called Whit and the opening Ceremonies were just about to start in Utah. I let her go and cracked open some Twighlight to kill the hour wait.
On the bus some female freestyle wrestlers sat in front of us. The smaller one got off and I asked Leo if he thought he could take her. He said he thought he could give her a run for her money. I said I bet she could pin him in 30 seconds. He said no way. When she got on I asked her what weight class she was. 48 Kgs. So after we’re all done Leo and I are going to find her and make this thing happen. Whether she pins Leo in less than 30 seconds or not, Leo’s still happy because he thinks she’s pretty cute.
So I get to the track to find that I will be running my 10-12 miler in this enclosed area of about 7 minutes per loop. Oh well. It went by surprisingly fast with my eclectic iPod playlist. It was also nice to run a lot of it on a soft track surface and have cold Powerade and water every 15 minutes. After 10 miles, I called it good. Miles 5-8 were around 5:40 per mile and the last 2 around 5:20 per mile. I’m finally feeling like I should.
I’ve been wearing the short runner shorts lately, but today I decided to wear the half tights. Much better. Shorts just soak up the sweat and then you’re carrying around a pound of sweat that’s bouncing and dripping. At least the half tights don’t bounce and the sweat gets somewhat wicked away…somewhat. But after my run, as always, it was pretty nasty. If you’ve ever ridden a horse bareback, as I’ve done once, you’ll know that horses sweat more than we do. My jeans after that trip were stuck to me from the sweat, and that’s what it was like with my half tights after this run. PS A real gentlemen sits on the haunches of the horse while his date takes the saddle. Just make sure you have a change of pants…and something for the chaffeage.
As I tell this story I still feel bad, but guys are guys and we’re still just as close as ever. Leo and I have been jesting with each other by taking our nasty sweaty shorts of and pretending to toss them at each other. In Dalian, I put a pair of my recently worn shorts on the arm rest of the chair Leo likes to sit in. He enjoyed that. J Well after my run, I took of my shoes and socks. I had to use the wet suit method to get my socks off. You know, peel them off inside out. Then a light went on. How fun would it be to toss one of these socks on Leo? Like the boys from Whit’s favorite show, Malcolm in the Middle, I couldn’t resist. It was just one of those innocent little lobs, but the soppy sock landed right on Leo’s forehead and across his sunglasses. It sat there like a leach. Ahh, good times! I let him come over and rub the sock-leach in my face. It was the least I could do, and I barely noticed since I was still laughing. Boys are so gross.
I had heard that China, or Beijing rather, was going to regulate the number of cars on the streets to cut down on emissions. So their method is to put only cars with license plates ending in odd or even numbers on the streets on alternating days. So that takes care of half of them and probably quite a bit of pollution. I noticed this on our bus ride back to the Village. I could only imagine what traffic would be like with twice as many cars.
The day was pretty chill for the most part. During dinner, Leo really wanted to talk to some cute Mexican athletes, and he was almost there. Of course, I had to get that on tape so I pulled out my camera to film it. It was just funny because just as he was about to make contact, she turned and went the opposite way. When he looked over, there was our table staring at him and me with the camera on him. He pulled the Manzano, “Man, you guys got to be kidding me,” face and came back disheartened.
But on a more serious note, people ask why Leo, Lindsey, and I are always hanging out together. On our walk back to the suites – quite an overattractive word for our dorms- Leo had a hypothesis on this. His idea is that we balance each other. Well, more like Lindsey and I balance him. He’s so bad that it takes us two to equal things out. I thought that was funny. So I did what any good friend would do and invited my bad buddy to come to church with us tomorrow.


Sunday, August 10, 2008
Got up at 6:30AM. Layed there for about 30 minutes and decided that if I was going to church from 10:30-1:30, then I’d need to call Whit before I left. So I did. She had her baby shower, and it was good. Someone gave her something- yes, I’m vague- that said, “Daddy’s little girl.” So that made my day. I can’t wait to get home and check out some of the girly stuff.
Jill Camarena went to a volleyball game late last night so it was Lindsey and I to church. She wore a Ralph Lauren USA polo short sleeve and jeans. I put together some Ralph Lauren opening ceremonies leftovers consisting of a tie, belt, and shoes. I had a white collared shirt and jeans. A little underdressed, but you make do with what you got.
The taxi driver had to stop 4 times to ask directions, and he kept talking to us in Mandarin like we understood. And the AC was out. Oh, and he had this huge metal and plexiglass cube around him. The other cab we were in did not, so I can only assume that this guy doesn’t get along with his customers. But we made it to church with ten minutes to spare.
It was in this big business building on one of the upper floors. Regardless of our apparel and sweat, the church members welcomed us warmly. Anywhere you go in the world- Thailand, Brazil, Japan, China- the Mormon services are the same. This was an English speaking branch and so translators weren’t necessary. It was great to get away from the whole athletics atmosphere of the village and dedicate some time solely to God. No amount of training can substitute for the benefits of spiritual exercising, if you will. Running for me isn’t just physical and mental. It’s spiritual too, as is the case with many athletes I’m sure. The Lord plays a crucial part in my attitude towards life and running. Well, it was a breath of fresh air to be at church today. Lindsey and I spoke to the youth about how our testimonies of the gospel have helped us prepare for the Olympics, and how our testimonies have changed while preparing for them. That’s another discussion for my personal journal sometime.
We shared a cab with Josh Westover, who served a 2 year mission in Taiwan and speaks fluent Mandarin. It made life a lot easier when he could tell the driver that we needed to get back to the Olympic Village. The driver said to Josh, “Do those two know they have to have a pass to get in?” He told them we were athletes. He seemed impressed by that and the fact this lao wye - long nose- was speaking fluent Mandarin. I took the opportunity to say, “I run the 3000 meter steeplechase,” in Mandarin. I run is said, “Wa pow.” But you have to say, “Pow,” with a low tone and then rise to a high tone like going from bass to tenor. Josh had a smirk on his face and he looked at the cab driver who had one too. Apparently I had been using a high to low tone. “Let me clear that up for you. Pow with a high to low tone is like saying getting it on.” The cab driver was laughing, and I was shocked at how vigorously Lindsey was laughing. So I’ve been telling a lot of people I’ve been getting it on instead of running. No wonder I’m so tired. Ahh brother. I took the opportunity to ask Coach Lee about it. Indeed, pow, as I was saying it means to fire a cannon which is indeed the slang for getting it on. Once again Lindsey was there and once again to my utter shock, she got a good laugh from it.
We saw the women’s cycling on the streets today as we were heading back to the Village. I had Josh get on my shoulders to get some video of it. The Chinese loved that one. Two long noses about to tip over. But guess what? I got the sweet 3 seconds of blur as they flew by and they didn’t.
Also saw some fencing tonight. By some I mean we caught the bus at 7pm. Got to our seats around 7:30pm. We were mesmerized or rather dumbfounded by it for 20 minutes. Then caught the bus back at 8:15pm. It was cool, but not quite as good as Inigo Montoyo vs. Wesley in The Princess Bride. Plus you just have to watch the slow motion replay to see what really happened. We broadened our sport horizons though.
In the dining hall, we just happened to be seating next to the Aquaman, America’s own, Michael Phelps. He just got back from winning a gold medal and setting a world record. So we took a picture or two. Nice!

Opening Ceremonies

Opening Ceremonies
Man oh man. I can’t tell you how awesome the whole evening was. It was long and my feet and legs felt like a full days work - that’s 5 hours for me - at the Home Depot. We got all spiffed up like high schools boys before prom and headed to the fencing hall to meet the President of the United States. That’s right. George W Bush and George Bush both showed up to wish us luck, shake hands, and snap a few photos. As I shook the President’s hand, he wished me luck. Regardless of whatever, I think he does the best he can under the circumstances he’s in. I really do admire that he took the time to shake all our hands, and his wife as well.
And so while people were getting picks with the Bush’s, I took the opportunity to get a couple of photos with NBA superstars. I really only wanted to get pictures with fellow Clevelander LeBron James and fellow Utahns Carlos Boozer and Williams. I rarely watch basketball, but those are the guys I cheer for. Kobe Bryant and Carmello Anthony were bonuses I suppose. When I came up to LeBron I told him I was from Broadview Heights, Ohio, and we’d shared a couple photos on the sports section of the Plain Dealer, Northeast Ohio’s largest newspaper. Obviously, as my mother put it, LeBron’s picture was little bigger than mine. But he seemed enthusiastic about me being a fellow Clevelander and was happy to jump in a photo with me.
And I came up to Williams and told him I was from Utah as well and he asked what sport and event. When I told him the steeplechase he said, “I was just watching that on TV the other day. That’s a crazy event. So tell me, do you try to clear the water?” And then he asked, “So why the water?” I said just to make it tougher I guess. So he called Boozer over and I got one with both of them. You know the little kid on the tricycle who watches Mr.Incredible lift the car off the ground. “That was awesome!” That’s how I felt.
I also got some prized photos with most of the distance guys from the 800m to the marathon. That’s a picture I will really cherish in the years to come. The Olympic distance team of 2008.
So they filed us out into the streets and into the gymnastics arena. There they had sacked lunches for us. I left the wasabi peas trail mix and kept the banana and Snickers. But I do love wasabi peas.
In the arena we sat, did the wave, and talked to the Norwegian team while we waited for our turn to enter the queue to walk. One was a fencer and recent law grad. The others were older gentlemen who did show jumping. There’s four guys per team and they show jump horses. Our conversation got kicked off when I told them that my father-in-law lived there for 2 years as a Mormon missionary. I shared with them the Christmas tradition my in-laws have of making a rice pudding with this red cherry sauce. Hidden in the pudding is a nut and whoever finds it gets candy bar. My father-in-law brought this tradition from Norway and these Norwegian Olympians know the tradition well. It was fun asking them some great places to visit in Europe.
USA was #140 in line to enter the stadium. We left the comforts of the AC and began the long slow winding walk to the stadium. It was probably an hour before we even got to the tunnel. Leo, Lindsey, and I made sure we were next to each other which is no small task when everyone is trying to get to the front or be next to a buddy. When we got to the tunnel, you could just see a section of seats. They were full.
It had already been about 5 hours and 5 water bottles since we’d started our journey. It was so hot and humid. Wearing a Ralph Lauren suit and tie and cap isn’t exactly the dry fit or bio cool action you’re used to in such conditions, but it didn’t matter because everyone was just soaking it up…the excitement that is. The clothes were soaking up the sweat which made for an international potpourri of BO. Just letting you get an idea of the senses.
Just before we came out onto the track, we began cheering, “U S A.” Great pride filled each of us I’m sure and my highlight of the night was coming out from under the tunnel and looking into the stadium. Every seat was full. People were all on their feet cheering, waving flags, calling out country names or people, and just having a great time. You have to take a 360 took really soak it in. Actually, you have to do a 720 while looking up and down to soak it all in. There’s just so much going on. As you walk, you see the American flag up in the stands and clusters of your fellow countrymen. It fills your heart with this feeling of, “That’s my country, and I’m here representing it!” I and others would point to those clusters of Americans and give them a thumbs up to let them know we appreciate their support. We continued around the track and then were corralled into the infield.
Everyone pulled out their cameras and started going crazy wild with the number of pictures they were taking. I told myself this happens only once every 4 years, and for many, once in a lifetime. So I got as many pics as possible too. I took some with the Thai boxers and the Cambodian marathoner. We had lots of time before anything was gonna happen so we did some funny shots.
By this time everyone had taken off their jackets and it really was a sauna down there. The raising of the flag was cool, but the 2nd highlight was the lighting of the torch.
The guy gets lifted up by a cord and then you think he is just going to float over to the torch and light. Of course not! Instead he gets tilted somehow and starts running around the outside wall of the stadium. It really looks like he’s running perpendicular to the wall and just hauling. I admire the guy. He had to be at least 60 years old and he was at least 200 feet above the ground running smooth. The Visa slogan is “Amazing Awaits,” but it started during those opening ceremonies.
It was particularly sweet for us track runners because in a few days we will be in that same stadium in front of that many people competing. It definitely helps settle the nerves but gets you anxious at the same time.
It was just so thrilling to be in there. What a spectacle!
While we filed out, Jackie Chan and some other performers came out to keep the audience entertained while we made our way to the shuttles.
Lindsey and I tried to meet with Amanda Butterfield, a news reporter from KSL out of Salt Lake, but we would’ve had to part the Red Sea of people or try like Simba to make it through wildebeest stampede. I told her sorry but we still needed to catch a shuttle back to the village and it was already 1:00AM. What a coincidence that we ran into Tom Kirkland from KSL just before we hopped on the bus. He and his cameraman looked like they had just run the marathon while trying to play hide and seek…which is probably the case. They were relieved to find us. So we gave them our scoop and feelings on it all which probably weren’t sufficient enough to describe it all.
The Olympic Village is about 2 miles from the National Stadium, but it took us 30 minutes since the line of buses took the whole 2 miles. And if we thought it was hot, muggy, and stinky before. Those buses were like…well, I’m at a loss for words. We were standing the whole time, barely moving, and I kept checking to make sure that the smell wasn’t coming from me. Deodorant is a luxury that I currently appreciate a little more now.
As soon as I got back to my dorm room, I took a shower, ate a granola bar and banana, and hit the hay. Well I did download my pictures onto my laptop and admired some of the famous people I “hung” with. What a day! The President of the USA. The Dream Team. Opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. I’m not gonna lie, I like being me.
*No pictures are permitted on personal blogs or websites from inside the stadium until some thing like 5 days after the conclusion of the Olympics. So sorry. No gnarly pictures but hopefully these can hold you over.

My Olympic Journal - There's A Lot for You All

Here's the journal I've been keeping and sending to family and friends back home. Hope you guys enjoy.

My Olympic Journal

Wed, July 30
The last few weeks have been so busy. After making the team, I was bombarded with newspapers, interviews, photo shoots, and even a Sports Center crew coming out for a segment. On top of that, Whitney, my wife, and I have been trying to get ready for our move out to Memphis, TN where I’ll begin optometry school August 28th. So we’ve been filling out applications for apartments, packing up our old apartment, and moving it into the in-laws. Monday and Tuesday consisted of packing and moving. I also had to shop for Whit’s birthday presents and make sure all was ready for her surprise party last night. Her birthday is actually today so I wanted to make yesterday a great one. I think it was.
My alarm was set for 6:45AM, but I woke up at 5:56AM. The excitement was a good thing since I was able to get a 5 mile run in this morning before leaving for the airport. I read some of “The Translator,” a book about a man’s account of the genocide in Darfur. I also watched some of “Drillbit Taylor.” Down at baggage claim I greeted Jill Camarena, shot putter and also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was at BYU for a while as a weight trainer while I was there.
There’s about 20 of us on the bus going to San Jose State University for team processing. Most of them are wrestlers. I need to squeeze in a fartlek run sometime. Looking forward to going to dinner with some friends who live out here.

Thurs and Fri, July 31-Aug 1
The flight from San Jose to Beijing was a 12 hour flight. It felt like 12 hours too. I slept maybe a total of an hour and a half. It always seems that the flight attendants come around just as you’re falling asleep. Sleeping is difficult when the sun is out the whole flight. I bought some compression socks to wear during the flight and they definitely helped minimize the swelling in my legs. Last years flight to Japan left my ankles and calves looking like someone had pumped water into them.
I finished up the book, “The Translator,” and started on “The Twilight.” I dissed on “Harry Potter” before I started reading them so I am giving this series a fair start. Its good so far. I also learned some valuable words and phrases from my neighbor on the plane.
As we came into the airport, I looked out to see a beautiful green mountainous countryside. The sky was a perfect blue and I thought surely we must be quite a ways from Beijing. It didn’t appear that there was any pollution as we landed and in fact, the landscaping and air were magnificent. From what I’ve heard, the Chinese government sent up some chemicals to induce a rainfall that morning to clear up the sky. As far as I’m concerned, they can do that every night through the Games.
From the airport, we were wisked onto a bus to the athletes village. The media was all over this U.S. gymnast who is a hopeful for the gold medal. I believe Johnson is her last name. She is so tiny and it must have been a little crazy for her. The Athlete’s Village is pretty sweet. It consists of tons of apartments for the athletes, a huge cafeteria, training facilities, and shopping district for whatever you may need. Perhaps I am biased because I love food so much, but the dining hall is very impressive. It is probably the size of a football field and has a huge variety of food. There’s even a McDonald’s in it so you can eat your hearts content. And I probably will after I’m done competing. It is cool to see all the other countries in there, and this is where you can see the most athletes at one time. The Thai weightlifters sat behind me during Friday nights dinner and I found my self eves dropping on their jokes. I introduced myself and talked to them for a few minutes before heading to the WiFi spot to call Whitney.
In the building with wireless access is also an arcade. And by arcade, I mean full on video games with the sit down speed racing, the free throw basketball challenge, the shoot ‘em up hunting, and your typical others. The room was very large and packed with athletes playing. Kind of funny to watch and I snagged a couple of photos.
The running in the Village isn’t so hot. It’s like 2 miles around and all asphalt so I ended up going out of the complex which I think is okay. It’s just so stuffy in there. It feels like a prison with the double fencing and barbed wire.
I squished my first mosquito in the bathroom with the old missionary one hand swipe. I got lots of practice while having discussions with people during warm evenings in Thailand. And that was the end of Friday in Beijing.

Sat, Aug 2
Got up around 6:15AM and ran for about 40 minutes. It’s definitely more humid than Utah. I went straight to breakfast and enjoyed Cocoa Puffs and fruit. The box of milk for my cereal said “Organic Milk” so I figured it was unprocessed or soy milk. It was delicious and I couldn’t wait to drink down the Cocoa Puff flavored milk leftovers. Delicious as I suspected. As I was leaving I decided to grab another carton of it. I looked at the ingredients on the back. No wonder it was so good. Main ingredient: Milk creamer. Mmmm yummy! But I will be staying away from that for a little while…at least until the 18th.
At the Beijing Airport we waited for our plane in this luxury lounge. There was this nice buffet set out, soft plush chairs, and wireless internet. It’s crazy how well they’ve treated us.
Dalian is a huge city. Flying in it was like New York City but spread out over 4 times as much land. It’s a city of a million people, and our 55 min flight used a plane the size of an international one. They closed all traffic for us to go to the hotel. On the way over I was struggling between doing a hard workout that day or the next. I was so tired from all the travel and eating garbage. Well I opted to do it. Normally that workout would have been easy but three things made it tough. The wind, the travel, and weight. Obviously I felt sluggish from all the travel, but I checked my weight at the hotel and I was 158.8. That’s about 9 lbs over what I normally train at, and I felt it. Oh well. You’ve got to get those workouts in at some point. Chalk it up as a good physical workout and a great mental workout.
I was way excited to see my homeboy Leo. Last summer we had a ton of fun in Osaka, and pulled for each other at the trials so we could room together. Seconds into moving in, we were already jesting and joking around. It’s like one of your old high school buddies that you always hung out with. You can just be you and chill and have fun. I think that’s why we get along so well. Nothing is serious and we just go with the flow. It’s been fun.


Sun, Aug 3
Rarely do I run on Sundays, but with the crazy travel schedule I needed to get in a long strength run this week. So I went out with the group for a morning run. They bused us down to the bottom of the hill and let us out on this 3 lane road. When I got off I looked behind us to find that traffic had been blocked by a SWAT van. The line of cars wrapped around the bend for who knows how long. I guess they planned on us coming and that was their method for ensuring a secure area. I and the others felt pretty bad about it. This is the main road in Dalion and they had it blocked off for 15 km (9.3 mi) until we were done about 2 hours later. So we talked to the coach about just blocking off one lane instead of all three. We distance runners are used to running on narrow shoulders and dodging cars. J
So I headed out with Abdi and Lopez. Put in a good 13 miler averaging about 5:30min/mile. Boy is it humid out here. In Utah I sweat but it’s so dry that it’s whisked away. My shorts were drenched and I felt nasty. To add to my embarrassment, there were guards stationed every 50 to 100 meters along with all the people going to the market. There are also guards hiding in the shrubs and trees throughout our runs. It’s wild. You’re always being watched. Makes it kind of hard if you need to stop when Mother Nature calls. And if you think that’s embarrassing, try explaining that you have to take a leak to the security guys in the Land Cruiser. Finally I just did charades for #1 and he understood in about 2 seconds. Easy enough. He just pointed to the trees and followed me over. By the time I was done, about 30 seconds, another security car with 4 guys had pulled up and were acting as a wall. Crazy!
The other highlight was going to a shopping center in Dalion. Of course they blocked off the road for us to drive there. And they told us not to wear any USA stuff so we don’t stick out. Well we pull up in this big red bus with all these escorts, and we all hop out. As an American in China, you don’t need USA gear to stick out. Leo, Lindsey, and went to this mall next door and it was a bartering area. As we walked in I saw this deep fryer that reminded me of the ones in Thailand. Sure enough there were all these crazy meats on a stick that you could have deep fried. Most of them are ground up squid shaped in balls. But there was also chicken hearts and large sliced hot dogs that bloom open as you fry them. Leo and Lindsey didn’t want to try them, and I am watching my girlish figure so we skipped it. After walking around for about 10 minutes Leo and Lindsey noticed this guy following us. I thought they had seen him earlier, but he was of course our security guy. As we bartered for webcams, ping pong paddles, and memory cards, he just lolly gagged around. It was fun having them pull out a calculator to show us the price, and then doing the math on the calculator to see how much in American dollars. Leo got a cell phone 2GB memory card with a sheath adapter to go in his laptop for $45. I picked up a very nice ping pong paddle for $12. We finally headed to Starbucks so Leo’s withdrawals could be satiated. He’s quite the coffee drinker.
And that was the excitement for Sunday in Dalion.

Mon, Aug 4
I am finally caught up on these entries. Everyday I am here I feel better and better. Last night Leo and I were in bed by 10PM and woke up around 6:30AM. Of course the night is filled with waking up 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom. My theory is that we are drinking so much room-temp water that it is not being absorbed as readily and just passing through. That problem is solved now that we just found out there’s a little fridge in our room. Another funny story is that Leo always seemed to be awake when I got up. I’d go to the bathroom and he’d be like, “What’s up my man?” as I was sleepwalking back to bed. Or he’d get up to go and be like, “Hey my brother.” How do you respond to that when you’re droggy from a melatonin-induced slumber? I had a hard enough time staying awake while standing at the camode.
But the beds are basically stiff cardboard boxes. I found an extra blanket and use it as another layer of padding. Don’t sleep on your side or an elbow or arm turns into a sharp object digging into your ribs.
So today we were up ay 6:30AM. Breakfast of Special K cereal, sliced oranges, cantaloupe, and cheese and tomato. We jumped on the bus to this horse track 5 minutes away, and I ran around that for an hour. It felt good to be on some soft terrain. I ran with Lopez Lamong. We’ve talked quite a bit since we are both on Team Darfur, a group of athletes that have petitioned for peace from the genocide in this area of Sudan. It’s another topic for some other time and China is involved in a negative way. Anyways, his story is incredible. He’s one of the Lost Boys who fled to Kenya at 6 years old. They traveled at night for 3 days straight. He came to New York through some American foster parents. The high school coach got him a letter jacket with his name on it and told him if he ran, it would be his at the end of the season. So now he’s running the 1500m for the USA in the Olympics. Obviously there’s more to that, and today on our run I just kept asking him questions about his family and home and Sudan asking him to run for them. Amazing! That’s what America is all about.
I did some abs and stretching while waiting for Leo to get back from the track. We hit lunch where “Iron Chef” Adam had prepared some incredible food as alwayd. One of my favorites are these sweet pumpkin stuffers. Soo good! I brought my new ping pong paddle and broke it out of it’s case to break it in. After defeating Abdi and Coach Mann, one of the Chinese hotel staff stepped up to play. He of course played pin holder and so I was intimidated. While warming up, he said something to another staff member and 20 seconds later that guy showed up with what I assume was this guy’s personal paddle. I guess he thought I was decent enough to break it out. Game on! We split the first 2 games with him taking the first and I the second. The final game was 21-19 China over the USA. But it was way fun and some of the USA athletes and staff said I represented us well. J During our games we were able to say, “Very good,” to certain plays by each other, and it really felt like the Olympic Spirit of sport. Just a good time…and a good sweat too.
Back at the room Leo was Skyping his girl acquaintance. Since we don’t have the external headphones and mic, your roommate can listen and add to any conversation. Leo and I don’t care whether we listen to each other’s conversations, but we’ve found that it’s a little awkward for others – especially girl acquaintances. Not mine of course. I decided to grab “Twighlight,” the teenage vampire book, and go read in the hall. Pretty good book. Makes me wish I was a teenage girl with a vampire boyfriend. Just kidding. I’ll throw in some pics with this and try to send it out later today. I love being able to put this stuff down, and I’ll include a funny story Whit sent me from church on Sunday.
Here’s the funny story from Whit:

You were a good news min. today in Relief Society... you know how they ask "Any good news this week" So Julie Kowallis had a good news minute, it was that she saw you running by our neighborhood in only your short shorts... ha ha! It was actually hillarous how she told it! The R.S. loved it. She now has some inside joke about when ever they see some old guy plodding along on the trail they say, "and that is NOT an olympic athlete..." anyways, you had to be there.


Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Slept til 5:15AM and then couldn’t sleep anymore. I guess that’s what happens when you go to bed at 9:10PM. It’s just hard to stay awake when 1, it gets dark at 7PM since the whole country is on one time zone, and 2, the meals by our chef flown in from Denver are so good you just eat until you get droggy. So I Skyped, internet phoned, Whit and read some.
At the track I did a hard interval workout. I warmed up by pacing Lindsey Anderson through 800 meters of her 1500 meter time trial. Then I did a mile with Abdi Abdirahman at 4:27, a solo 1200 meter at 3:14, an 800 meter at 2:07, and finished with two 200 meters at 26 seconds. By the time I was done, I was drenched. It looked like I had just jumped out of the pool. Humid is an understatement and it was more like a mist in the air. We aren’t completely sure if it’s fog or pollution. It was great to have my coach, Ed Eyestone, there. We do have a distance coach for Team USA, but as they and any other runner will tell you, no one can take the place of your coach. Coach Eyestone will be commentating for NBC during the Olympics for some track and marathon events so he’s able to play dual roles until the games get under way. I feel lucky to have him here.
We grabbed some pictures at the track with the mayor or assistant mayor of Dalion. Some things are lost in translation. And then I got a picture with our SWAT guys. Leo Manzano and I have become friends with these two named Sun and Pong. Whenever we travel, they are our dudes.
We did another excursion to Dalion’s main city area. They took us to these nice malls with overly expensive items. We had our entourage of course of three security guys including Sun and Pong and this translator. All we really wanted to see was traditional Chinese clothing and artwork. Johnny, our translator, was just so excited to show us everything. He was this 20 year old student that reminded me of the squirrel from “Over the Hedge,” after the caffeine. So the highlight for us was outside of the mall at the little open market. I got a keychain with this thorny bug in it and another that flashes the “Hello Kitty” thing without batteries. It’s solar powered. Crazy! And that’s not for me obviously.
But for me the coolest thing was the food market. You walk down a few steps and BOOM! The fish smell just dazes you. Aah the memories of Thailand. All around was fresh, dried, pickled, fish, squid, shrimp, sea cucumbers, eel, and live turtles. I wanted to buy some of the dried squid strips for everyone to try, but I was afraid I’d end up eating the whole thing. Once my races are done, I’ll try it all. Leo and I got some desserts that looked large white and purple Bon Bons. Inside was a thick purple mush and I am guessing that it was taro. It’s like an Asian potato. Not bad.
And the best part was the fruit. I found mangostein. It’s the Queen of Fruits and you can’t get it fresh in the States. It’s either canned or dried. It has a dark thick purple rind and the actual fruit is in white slices like that of an orange. I bought about $4 of it which only got me about 8 of them to share with those in my group. They all agreed it was good. And I picked up a couple of lynchees too. Another Asian fruit that’s yummy.
As the ping pong goes, Jill Camarena and I are undefeated so far. We beat AG Kruger and Reese Hoffa handedly.
Finally, here is an article from my home paper. I really enjoyed the angle that Tim, the writer, took on it.
http://www.cleveland.com/olympics/
PS I am wearing board shorts in some of the pictures because after workouts I’m so sweaty it’s easier to just throw those on and hang dry them. Sorry if you wanted more of the skimpy shorts. J

Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Not too much today. Ran at the horse track which is a 1450 meter lap - just under one mile. That took care of an hour. Typed up some of this journal, helped Coach Eyestone set up Skype on his laptop which is not an easy task when most of it’s in Mandarin, and tried to get some video and pictures of our facilities. I am going to try and attach those so you all can see it too. It was nice to have a relaxing day. I wanted to get a nap in but there’s always things to do.
After snapping some photos of the coast, an old wood bridge, the theatre room, pool, bowling alley, and athlete lounge, it was time to unwind. Ping Pong. Jill and I took on Wallace Spearmon and Sanya Richards. Beat them 2 out of 2. They were both close and Wallace has great spin, but we won the 2nd game 23-21. We also beat Coach Eyestone and Coach Hayes, Lopez Lamong’s coach. But that victory wasn’t as rewarding for some reason. I guess beating world champions has something to do with it. Still undefeated.
Leo and I went for a second run of 30 minutes down what Leo calls The Hill of Decaying Rotten Fish. There’s a stretch of about 5 minutes where it really is putrid, and I’m used to some pretty horrific fish smells. Whit and I would probably say something in regards to a decroded piece of crap. I don’t believe decroded is a word, but it’s a perfect combination of decrepit and corroded. But we had a good heart to heart on running, dating, marriage, real estate, and life. 30 minutes and all that. We distance runners value every breath so although we may not delve deep, we still connect.
Our dinner conversation was very interesting. It started off with Kung Fu Panda to painful ways to die to the Holocaust to how long one could go without sleep to how tasty a distance runner would be (not very since it’s lean meat) to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle to which one of us would last the longest stranded on an island. We decided Jill Camarena since she was the biggest among an 800m runner, a 1500m runner, a steeplechaser, and heptathlete. Jill is a shotputter. I motioned in the event we were stranded that scrawny Leo Manzano be the first to go since he wouldn’t make it long anyways. It was unanimous.

Thursday, August 7, 2008
Leo and I were out by 9:40pm and up at 6:30am. Pluses and negatives to that. The plus is that I get to talk to Whit first thing in the morning. The negative is that you sit around until 8:30am when the bus leaves for the practice track. Then you don’t start your workout til about 9:45am and it’s hotter and more humid than ever. The workout wnet okay. 8x400m@59-60 seconds with 90 seconds rest between each. I went over the hurdles on the even laps. I hit all the times I needed to, but I still don’t feel as sharp as I should. It felt much worse than it usually does up at altitude in Provo, Utah. But sometimes you don’t feel great in races and you just have to gut it out.
It was really a short day. After getting back from the track, Leo and I grabbed lunch, I hit the showers, and we packed our stuff for the trip back to Beijing. I gave some of the security guards signed New Balance posters and exchanged email addresses.
Unlike most travel itineraries, we only left 2 hours and 40 minutes before our flight departed as opposed to 4 hours before. So we only had to sit at the airport for an hour. My flight consisted of finding out that Bella now knows that Edward is a vampire and she is dangerously secure around him. They are about to go on their first trip to Seattle. Isn’t wonderful that I can be in China at the Olympics, and in a mystical teenage vampire romance at the same time? But the Twighlight movie comes out soon, and the new book just came out a few days ago. I’m as excited as a teenage girl on prom night. J
Anthony Famaglietti and I shared old BB gun war stories from when we were kids and the torment our parents went through. He had some good ones, but considering my younger brother Andy still has a BB stuck in his cheek, I think I got ‘em. I have about 5 stories to most others’ one. But that’s how it is when you grow up with 8 kids.
We got in around 8:30pm, went for a 30 minute jog, and then went straight to the dining hall. The food was delicious in Dalian with our personal American chef, but here it seems that there’s so much more of a healthy selection. Here you can get your steamed veggies with nothing on it. There’s not all the dressings of butter, salt, and oil. You can put that stuff on later if that’s what you want. This is much more like Whit’s cooking back home.
Leo and I hit the hay a little late around 11pm. Our room is tiny. I’ll send a pic later. And our first night wasn’t too good. Leo kept making some grunting noise like a mosquito was annoying him. Well I guess it was me snoring. Finally, he just said, “Josh, man. You’re snoring.” So that annoying thing was me. I rarely snore, and of course I said sorry and in the future to just yell at me. While we laid there trying to fall asleep I said, “Is it hot in here?” The air conditioner wasn’t making any sound. Our power went out so I had to go to the breaker box in the hall and flip it. It wasn’t too bad but I couldn’t find my glasses with all the water bottles and junk on my night stand. So I had to scan through the breaker box at like 2 inches away. My wife will tell you it’s pretty entertaining to watch me try and read without my glasses. Then we slept well.

Friday, August 8, 2008 Day of Opening Ceremonies
Lopez Lamong was with our breakfast group this morning and said he had been live on NBC’s Morning Show. He will be the flag bearer for the USA tonight. Back in Dalion we had a selection procedure to decide who would be nominated among all USA athletes to carry the flag. We were supposed to say why we should carry the flag. When the lady asked, “Now all of you who want to carry the flag can stay up there and tell us why you want to carry the flag.” Prior to this I and others had told Lopez we would nominate and vote for him. I was going to stay up there and say vote for Lopez because…but everyone sat down leaving Lopez up there by himself. How awesome was that! Then he told the story that he told me on the way from the U.S. to China. Incredible! He deserves it. He embodies what our country is about. He is a devout Christian who acknowledges that God plays a role in our lives. He is grateful for the experiences he has had. He enjoys every moment out here. He just has an incredible aura about him. I feel privileged to have been able to know him personally on our flights and runs together.
Funny story from a few days ago. After a horse track run, I was talking to some of the student translators. I have been wondering how the Chinese use keyboards when their alphabet is more like each character is a word. They said that a symbol could be a few sounds. Okay I thought. So I asked how many vowels are in the Mandarin language. He scratched his head and said, “I think, hmm, maybe too many.” Classic!
And one more story from Tuesday that I forgot to put in. While we were downtown shopping with our undercover security escorts, we went to cross this side street. These cars were rolling through and the security guy steps out and puts up his hand for them to stop. This guy starts honking at us, and our security guy just pulls up the side of his shirt to reveal his pistol on his waist. Needless to say the guy stopped honking. Flash a badge or gun? I guess either way it takes care of business. The Chinese are looking after us.
After breakfast we walked back to our dorms and there were a bunch of ladies stretching in front of our USA building. What sport? is a fun little game we like to play. So I said softball and Leo wasn’t sure. So I asked them and they said field hockey. One of the women said, “What sport did you think?” Gulp. Leo said, pointing at me, “He said softball.” Ouch. For those of you who may not know, generally speaking, softball players are built much like male baseball players. So that probably wasn’t very flattering. I recovered with, “I was gonna say, ‘This is the best looking women’s softball team I’ve ever seen.’” And that won them over. Leo had this big ‘ole Manzano grin like, “Man that was slick” In the elevator he said, “Smooth pickups are wasted on married men.”
We have a team meeting today for the opening ceremonies at 3pm. I still need to iron my Ralph Lauren suit and shave before heading out. I anticipate putting in some good stuff tonight.

Thailand Mission 2000-2002

I wanted to put up a post about how wonderful my mission was. Everyone says it but it really was the best thing I did at that time in my life. I grew so much and learned to serve and love people more than I ever could have back at home or in college. My mission was a springboard for all the other successes I've had in my life. I learned then that putting the Lord first allows you to be that much better in other endeavors.

Not only is a mission spiritual, hard, and full of service, it's also fun. I got to cut the throat of a pig at a slaughter house in Chiang Rai near the Chinese border. I got to ride my bike barefoot in floods and use giant banana leaves as mud flaps. And of course, hold baby tigers and oragutangs, and ride elephants. I also put on 40lbs from the delicious Thai food. The last picture is in front of the mission office in Bangkok. And my arm is around one of the members from a ward I served in. He was always going on splits and helping out with missionary work.