Popcorn, Swimming, Etc.

I've been having intense cravings for popcorn these past few days, so yesterday I walked to the local grocery store and picked up a six-pack box. As soon as I got home, I popped a bag in the microwave and stared at it for almost 3 minutes... it was the longest 3 minutes of my life.

Aside from indulging in my favorite snack, I also threw a few hours away watching Seasons 1-2 of THE OFFICE, which is totally my recent addiction (and by recent, I mean Spring Quarter thanks to Jenny). I had seen all of Season 4 during the last few weeks of Spring Qtr. on nbc.com and have been intending on catching myself up with the other three seasons, but it never happened. Two days ago a friend gave me a link to this site that had all three seasons streaming from random asian websites - needless to say, I was set for the week. I was so stoked to watch it that while I was talking to my friend I had already started watching the pilot.

Summer Session II has been going well for me so far and I've been swimming laps at the complex's pool. I love going there because when I usually go, there's no one else around and I have the pool to myself - which means I get to do my 60 laps without having to worry about making space for someone else. However, it doesn't mean that I am against people swimming along with me - after all, it is the people's pool, so I am more than willing to share it if needed. It's just such a bonus having all that space in the water to yourself. Today, I did 100 laps! I thought I was going to faint but I actually felt really good afterwards. I'm also really tan, and I am totally taking advantage of this weather since I know I'm not gonna have the luxury of the sun for too long. I was pretty shocked today after realizing we only have about two more weeks to go! Mother. I felt like I just got here.

I'm not gonna lie, my french class right now is hard - not impossible-hard, but really challenging-hard. Our instructor Laura is amazing, she's funny and very accommodating (which is totally important in a language class) and is very sympathetic with us because she knows how difficult our material is. This week we're tackling the conditional tense, which I will not even attempt to explain in English because I just started understanding it better in French. All I can say is, this week's material has forced me to imagine myself in bizarre situations...let's just.. leave it at that.

I haven't been running recently, and I think it's due in large part because my running buddy and I aren't doing it together and it just feels so weird running alone - even though technically I'm supposed to do it anyway. Which is why I've been swimming laps these days...I get a pretty even tan while burning those popcorn calories off. It's a win-win situation for me so I'm giving my running shoes a break. Besides, two more weeks and I'm off running 30 miles a week again! I'm gonna stick to swimming for now.

James Blake, You Are My Hero.

Wide-awake, and surprisingly alert, I sit on my bed and stare at my computer. It is 4:51am. 

I had stayed up all night watching the only actual athlete (besides David Robinson) that I extremely adore, battling it out on the tennis courts in Beijing. His name? James Blake.

I came to know about him through his autobiographical book, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, --- an excellent, poignant literary gem that is sincerely inspirational. It helped me get to know who he was outside of tennis, as he talked about his life and his tragic experiences in 2004, when he seriously injured himself and lost his father. Smart, charming and endearing, I hopped on the J-Block bandwagon. He became a new reason for me to watch tennis.

I didn't find out that he was part of the US Olympic Tennis Team until a few days ago, so I quickly looked up his standings and saw that he had amazingly beat the world's long-time number one tennis player, Roger Federer, in the quarterfinals. James lost to this guy every single time he played him in the past - so this was some serious business. I watched the Federer and Blake match knowing how it would end; and I still felt the same thrill as I saw Blake score against the Fed. It was beyond amazing.

So there I was, craving for some more Blake action. I wanted to see what he was up to next, and lo and behold, his match against Athens Bronze Medalist from Chilé, Fernando Gonzalez, was streaming live. I did not even think twice. I watched this semifinal match anxiously and nervously. I felt like my heart was beating four times faster than usual (then again, it could just be my hyperthyroidism acting up), but I seriously could not keep still. James was playing his heart out - and so was Fernando. It was insane. They each kept catching up to each other, playing a sort of cat and mouse chase for almost three hours. It was so nerve-wracking I thought I was going to pee my pants, sweat to death, and faint. I had never felt such intense emotions over a live, web-streamed olympic tennis match before. I wanted James to win so bad because winning that game meant that he would immediately be guaranteed an olympic medal. And I know damn well that he deserves gold more than anyone.

The match ended the way it was meant to --- in favor of avocado-addict Fernando G. I was so pissed off you don't even know. Actually, it was a mixture of disappointment, hurt (I know, right?) and pissy-ness. I was upset. James' chances at winning gold were over. But the good news is, he's still in the running for medal contention as he is set to face off with some other tennis dude for the Bronze medal. Definitely not gold, but still better than nothing. 

So now, it is freakin' 5:20am and I'm going to hit the hay with sadness in my mind. I feel so much for James Blake because I know how hard he's worked, how much he's gone through over the years (inside and outside of his tennis career), and how amazing he is at the sport. When he lost, I felt like I lost too. How sad is that!? I'm hoping he wins the bronze --- otherwise, I'm gonna march my little butt to Beijing and complain. Or not.

To James,

You are an amazing athlete and an even more amazing person. Keep kicking butt!

PS.

At least you get bragging rights for beating Roger Rabbit! =]

Woohoo!!

Normal day, normal musings.

I tried to weigh myself at the gym earlier, but it was one of those scales that are usually found in medical clinics and hospitals, and I could not, for the life of me, get the metal bar to stabilize in the center. I moved the small metal marker up  and down the numbers to see if the stupid bar would finally stay in the middle of the space, but it seems as though only nurses or medical assistants know how to work that damn contraption. As a result, I never found out how much I weighed -- and it looks like it will remain a mystery until I get back home to step on the digital scale. Why couldn't the gym have a digital scale instead?

On the other hand, I've been having fun in my french class even though it's a whole gunk of work. The weather in Orange County is amazing too, so I'm really glad that I get to work on my tan while I'm here. I also got to hang out with a few good friends over the weekend, which was totally awesome. I thought I was gonna rot here all by my lonesome. Then again it's only six weeks (well, five now actually) so it's not so bad to begin with. It's just harder when you're not quite as busy.

I really want to move out here within the next couple months, but that seems like a really far-fetched idea right now. It's so hard to find a job and a place, so I don't really know how that would work even if I tried to do it. I guess I'll have to cross the bridge when I get there, and stick to my plans for now. There's no rush anyway. It's not like I'm 45 and a bum.

I'm starting to feel really sticky so I should hit the shower. And do some laundry. AND get started on homework. Ah, what a day this is turning out to be.

joyeux anniversaire à moi!!

Ce que je veux pour mon anniversaire est...

...un petit gâteau géant. =]