Go for the gold

I've been moderately following the games of the XXIX Olympiad this week and have found myself sucked into the spectacle more than I expected to be. Some thoughts so far:

Holy architecture! I've been to Beijing before and the images that grace my television screen do not at all resemble my memories! The bird's nest stadium and the water cube are such interesting constructions and I'm totes envious that Lil' Bro' Panda!!!! is there to witness these architectural wonders in person.

Are my own glory days still to come? As a competitive swimmer, I often fantasized about swimming in the Olympics. As a lazy panda, I knew this would never be the case. But after watching the amazing men's 4x100 Free Relay, where Jason Lezak pulled a miracle out of his speedo, I wanted to leap back into the water and start training again! Mostly because Mr. Lezak and I are the same age and I remember him coming to prominence when I was still mildly competitive.

Is it really worth it? When I watch the little lady gymnasts compete, I think "mac truck" more than "pixie," no matter how much makeup they slather on and how sparkly the bows in their hair appear. They talk about various surgeries and injuries and these girls are only teenagers! Should we really allow them to put their bodies under so much stress?

I wish I had been a gymnast. The men gymnasts, on the other hand, have such enviable arms.

Sweatshops aren't limited to clothing factories. I first thought about the human labor that's going into these games when I heard about the eight-hour "rehearsals" that the performers had to endure for the Opening Ceremonies, where people bobbed up and down in synchronized fashion under boxes. It was an amazing illusion, but who really believes their training days were limited to eight hours? And are they getting paid? Did they get adequate breaks? These thoughts extend to the hostesses who pass out the medals and to numerous other little Chinese worker bees.

I still want to visit Barcelona. Even though the Spanish basketball team posed distastefully with slantey eyes, I hope one day to dispense some of my hard-earned cash money in their country as a tourist.

There's no chocolate inside! Why do medal-winning athletes put the things in their mouths? Granted, I probably would do the same if I were ever in that position.

Meh. There are just some sports I cannot watch on television. Like weightlifting. And badminton. And shooting.