The Olympics. Since returning from Gainesville, I've been watching alot of the Olympic games. I love watching both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. I always find it amazing how fast I can get into a bunch of random sports that I never knew existed before seeing it on NBC. I find myself watching Ski Jumping, a variety of Slaloms, Bobsledding, Speed Skating, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Free-Style Skiing, and for a few hours today even Curling. I was entranced as Sweden took on Switzerland in the Women's Curling gold-medal match earlier this afternoon. I didn't even know any of the rules or strategies when I stopped in the middle of my room as the announcer's voice rose in excitement as the Swedish team first gained a two point lead over the Switzerland team. Before long, however, after sitting and watching, I found myself yelling at my ceiling-mounted television. I was aggravated at the Swedes for not "gaurding" when I thought they should have. I held my breath when they brushed the final "stone" into place in the 11th End, which I discovered is overtime in the interesting sport of Curling. I went from knowing nothing about the sport, to being a fanatic that yells at the t.v. and nervously awaits the outcome, as if it really mattered to me whether it was the Swedes or the Swiss that took home the gold. (It was the Swedes, 7-6 in overtime, for anyone that cares)
Tonight, my family watched the second half of the Women's Figure Skating long program, and once again I was overwhelmed at how wrapped up in the event we all got. You hear all the touching and dramatic back-stories, and watch clips of practices and interviews, and immediately get your favorite skaters. I, of course, rooted for leading American, Sasha Cohan, but also got very excited about Russian, Irina Slutskaya, a name that I can now say quite well. I held my breath as she performed her routine, and nearly cried when she stumbled on a landing. I did think that Japanese skater, Shizuka Arakawa, skated a very nice and clean program. Although it wasn't as entertaining, it was technically better. Even as I write such a paragraph, it strikes me as odd. I have gone ice skating a grand total of twice in my life. I do well to stand up and creep along the outside wall without falling. Sasha Cohan is known for her soaring balancing acts, and Irina Slutskaya for her powerful, awe-inspiring jumps, I am known for my clumsy belly-flop! I think the Olympics are great, if for no other reason than the exposure they give to sports that rarely take center stage on ESPN. I love the fact that I can be, or at least sound, like an expert on so many different sports for a couple weeks. I'm sure I've gone on about this much longer than anyone else cares about, but I just found it to be such a strange phenomenon that I had to write about it. Any other Couch Olympians out there? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the winter games.
On the job front...we went to Lowe's today to get some flourescent lights and I saw they were hiring, so I applied online tonight. It's hardly the career job I want, but it'll pay the bills, and it beats cleaning house!
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2 comments:
Have you considered a temp agency yet? When I was on the job-search in New Jersey/New York, I worked for Olsten Staffing.
It was great experience to work at all these job locations, and I met a lot of people. The assignments lasted anywhere from a month to a day to just weekends and paid about $10.00/hr.
I can recommend two national agencies that I've heard good reviews about:
-Kelly Staffing
-Adecco Staffing
Thanks for the advice rob...I've been thinking about temp work recently. The idea is very intimidating to me for some reason, but I've about decided that's what I need to do. It's encouraging to hear that you had a good experience with it. I'll check out the two you recommended. How's the summer camp job looking?
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