it's a love, hate type thing...

I am completely out of blog ideas. I feel like if I write about what we do at work or the train one more time everyone, myself included, will want to jump off the Sears Tower. Other people have written some fun, interesting blogs like Andrea's "10 things she misses" blog or Alysha's "what I still want to do" blog. So given that I have nothing but don't want to steal ideas I ADAPTED the list concept...the love/hate blog. Beijing and I have a love/hate relationship (kind of like you and I Ash). There are so many things I love about this city and the Olympics, but in the same breath I also hate these things. So here is my Beijing Love/Hate List, in no particular order:

1. No lines: I love that there are no lines, except when I am in line...then I get irritated at this ridiculous concept. To the first part, the no lines thing is wonderful. It is what gets me on the subway in the morning when I am not moving as fast as I should be during Running of the Dragon. In this country I am allowed to weasel my way into any space that fits my big, fat, American butt. And when I am going through the train security check, or in line at any food place, if I can push my way to the front then essentially I am next in line. To the latter, this rule sucks. It is stupid, illogical, and apparently America is the only country that abides by this rule. It is a simple concept. The first person walks up to the desk, counter, train, etc and waits. Then each subsequent person stands behind the first person, thus creating what many people refer to as a line. I also had this problem in Europe. If I am not paying attention or show the slightest bit of hesitation people will pass me up and be gone before I even have the opportunity to give the stink-eye.

2. Beds: I have mentioned the beds before and my feelings for them are again two-fold. At first I laid down on the bed and thought, "Oh dear God how in the world am I going to sleep on this for two whole months?" The bed is like camping sans the nice foam pad or air mattress available for purchase at your local Wal-Mart. This is no Sealy Posturepedic, adjustable bed that forms to an individual's back. The only thing it does is provide an elevated surface to fall asleep on. Which, come to think of it, is probably the most accurate description of a bed in the first place. Having said all that, the Serta 2.1 (a.k.a. what the Pilgrims slept on when they landed in Plymouth) that I sleep on isn't the worst thing in the entire world. Sometimes after sleeping my bed at home my back actually hurts more because our wonderful, American mattresses allow our bodies to sink in, which does not keep the back aligned. And while this bed isn't nearly as horrible as I had anticipated, I am still not going to run home and buy a piece of plywood to lay on.

3. Multiple ice cream and popsicle stands: I haven't talked much about this, probably because I am too busy eating my ice cream and popsicles, but the gist of multiple stands is that on any street corner there is at least one man standing selling various popsicles and ice creams. Just walk down any American street, count the number of Starbucks and that is the comparable to the number of ice cream stands there are in Beijing. So these glorious little stands have any type of frozen treat you could want. Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla King Cones, corn and pea (yuck) popsicles, every flavor fruit popsicle...the list goes on. 90% of the battle is choosing what type to get. Do you get a new flavor like Creamy Melon? Or go with the tried, tested, and true chocolate ice cream cone. So incredibly difficult. What could I possibly hate about this beautiful little stands? CALORIES. Unless I just ate or have already had my frozen treat for the day I find it nearly impossible to not stop. Where in the US can you find an ice cream cone or popsicle for $.25? Answer: you can't! So, my conclusion on this...the Asian popsicle man needs to relocate to America.

4. Cycling: I have already professed my new love for cycling so I don't need to go into extensive detail. Despite the lack of interest in America, cycling world wide easily competes with soccer as the world's most popular sport. I have learned to love watching it and I am beside myself knowing that in a week I will be sitting there, trackside, watching the best cyclists in the world race. (Minor freak out on this side of the computer.) The reasons I hate cycling? A. The number of athletes I have to memorize is crazy. I have all the races down and most of the key riders, but it is all the secondary riders; the ones that could come out of no where and pull the upset that are plaguing. B. This isn't so much related to cycling as it is to the American people, but I hate the fact that when I go home I will rarely, if ever, get to watch cycling. I am going to have to pay for a cycling channel or something in order to keep up on this new obsession. When I left for the Olympics I never thought I would get to this point. Whereas before I was mad I would be covering cycling, now I am mad I won't see it again. I should take up the sport, become amazing, and then make the American public love it. Psssh. Piece of cake.

5. Uniforms: Before I even start, I realize I have not yet provided you with a picture of me decked out in the Beijing Olympic attire. I do not have the photos on my camera. As soon as they are uploaded I will post them immediately. I am very sorry for the delay. Anyway, the uniforms, despite a few flaws are pretty sweet. For the last week and half we have been sporting the uniforms in all their glory, at the stadium, on the subway, at the mall and everywhere we go people turn their heads. Multiple times we have been asked if we are athletes (haha) but generally it is just exciting to have something that can’t be purchased at any of the Olympic stores. My favorite part of the uniform is the jacket and the shoes. The jacket is perfect and I will probably wear it so much that it falls apart and the shoes, how cool is this, have Beijing 2008 written on the side! Added bonus, they are comfortable. The flip side is that the designers of the uniform forgot that the volunteers from outside China have hips and butts. We all spent time the other day cutting the elastic in the back of the pants to help relieve the “muffin-top” effect. Even though we perfected the 8-cut process and alleviated some of the issues, the pants still aren’t the most comfortable things in the world. I have not, and WILL NOT sport the floppy hat that makes me look like Gilligan and the fanny pack is just not working with the image I am trying to portray while asking cyclists for Flash Quotes. All in all, I have never received sweeter set of clothes in my entire life. I will probably frame the uniform and hang it on my wall.

Those are just a few of the many things that I both love and hate about this trip. A recap on today: most of the day was spent researching athletes and watching other athlete’s practice. Andrea received today’s golden ticket to watch the Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal. I doubt there are anymore, but I am not going to lose complete hope until Friday. I cannot believe it is only three days away!!! Start getting excited and reading up on cycling so you can help me get the US to love it!!!