here are three things i'm still obsessing over in this past week of London 2012 coverage...
USA vs. Canada Women's Soccer match. This was one of the best games I've
ever seen, and I was relegated to watching it on my phone (NBC Olympics
app, I love you.) but it was absolutely worth it. This picture is from
after Alex Morgan's 122nd minute goal, they really know how to make
something nerve-wracking don't they? But it all culminated earlier this
afternoon when they got redemption over Japan from last year's World Cup
final (I got to watch this game on a giant HD TV!).
Michael Phelps swam what he says was his final Olympic race, and I for
sure cried. I loved Michael during these games especially because he
seemed so much happier and relaxed, and still managed to rack up the
golds for the red, white and blue! I'm sad to see him go but am really
glad that I get to say that I watched the reign of the greatest Olympian
of all time. Also, this. You're welcome.
EPKE ZONDERLAND. This high bar routine is the absolute most ridiculously awesome thing I've ever seen. I love him. This was nuts. I don't even care that the US didn't medal here (I still love you Johnathan Horton and Danell!) if he didn't get the gold, I would have boycotted the Olympics from now on (yeah right).
okay, so it's friday... but let's pretend. here are three moments from London 2012 so far that I can't stop replaying in my mind.
Jordyn Wieber's floor routine during the team finals. She was so happy and it completely showed during that routine. I so hope that people will show this picture (or a video which isn't readily online yet) of this when speaking of her Olympic journey from now on instead of one of her crying. I am still so beyond happy about them winning, and a shoutout to Gabby Douglas (a Virginia native) for totally beasting in the All Around! And to Aly who I know has the bronze in all of America's eyes!
Ruta Meiluyte from Lithuania winning gold in the women's 100 breast. She's 15 and she won the first medal ever in swimming for Lithuania, and it was gold! Her face was awesome when she realized she won and she was crying from the moment she stepped out for her medal ceremony.
Missy Franklin, pretty much anytime she comes on the screen. She's 17, still in high school and has been training with the same coach since she was little. She is constantly smiling and so positive towards her teammates and opponents. She swam (will soon have swam) 7 races in her first Olympics and has won her fair share of medals already. My favorite was when she finaled in a 200 semi and came back 10 minutes later to completely dominate and win a gold medal.
I can't wait to see what epic moments next week will bring!
There are very few things in life that I enjoy more than the Olympics; every time the olympic torch makes a new stop I am glued to my couch for the next two weeks. During which I am more of a sap than I ever am the other 50 week of the year. Seriously, I cry like a baby whenever 1) an athlete's parents are interviewed 2) an American wins and the national anthem starts playing 3) a story of overcoming obstacles is told. I love the triumph and pride that comes with simply competing, don't even get me started on people winning.
When my mom and I visited the Olympic Training Center in CO Springs last year, where I might or might not have seen John Orozco training!
Being the Anglophile that I am, London being the host city only makes me even more pumped. I was supposed to be in London right now soaking up the awesomeness that is a country hosting the games and I guess taking some classes, but sadly (really sadly, I cried for like a week when I found out I wasn't going) the program was cancelled due to some scheduling conflict. So instead I'll be back on my couch, as per usual, which is fine I'm not still bitter about it. Kind of. I won't let my intermittent pangs of sadness damper my Olympic spirit though! I will yell and cry and survive heart palpitations along with the rest of the country.
Rumor has it that the opening ceremony will include a 40-foot Voldemort battling an army of Mary Poppins, James Bond, and of course ending with a sing-along to 'Hey Jude'. And the Spice Girls are reuniting for a closing ceremony performance. Be still my platform loving, girl powering, 90s heart. Oh yeah, and Rupert Grint carried the torch today. SO GREAT.
Here are some of my favorite Olympic Moments:
Beijing (2008) Men's 4x100 Freestyle Relay
a.k.a- the day Jason Lezak became a beast. remember sitting on my grandparents' couch freaking out while watching this. I'm not sure I've every been more excited about something that I was in no way involved in.
Athens (2004) Paul Hamm Horizontal Bar Routine
Comebacks seem to be a theme... If you don't know what happened, Paul had fallen on a vault attempt and landed in 12th place. After the next rotation of parallel bars he had made his way back to 4th but the chances of a gold seemed out of reach. He scored a 9.837 on this routine, nabbing the gold and also my love.
Beijing (2008) Men's 100m Final
INSANE. Just like I don't believe the Chinese gymnasts are over the age of 7, I don't believe that this being is a human.
Atlanta (1996) Kerri Strug Vault
Duh, does it get any better or more tissue-worthy than this?
2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony is an awesome way to integrate culture and creativity into the games, and Beijing complete upped the ante with this one. It was so cool. Danny Boyle is going to bring it this year.
This is but a smattering of the Olympic moments that take up valuable space in my mind, and I am so looking forward to see what London will bring me. Phelps-Lochte showdown. Misty May and Kerri Walsh spiking the competition. Gabby Douglas dougie-ing all the way to the podium. Voldemort trying to figure out how a muggle like Usain Bolt is using magic to run that fast.
Don't miss anything, keep this schedule open at all times!
Ed Sheeran first caught my attention when he released his video for "Lego House" which featured Rupert Grint as a ridiculous, obsessive fan. As my friend Kara said when I told her about it, "Now I understand why you love him." It's true, I do have a special place in my heart for the miniature pig raising, ice cream truck driving ginger, so his connection to Ed certainly helped.
But what kept may attention after that was how every song on his debut album "+" is great. I am a sucker for an acoustic guitars and for the British, so the red-head was already pretty high in my book. But the album is a perfect mix of jaunt ("Gold Rush","Little Bird"), heartbreak ("U.N.I", "Small Bump"), and attitude ("You Need Me, I Don't Need You"). He's got a way with words that reminds me a little of Jason Mraz (except 50x better), he can spit them out like rapid fire but with an awesome fluidity. On the flipside there are times, such as on "Wake Me Up", when he's pretty much just talking and still manages to keep me hanging on every word. Call me a softy, but the line, "See I could do without a tan on my left hand, where my fourth finger meets my knuckle" gets me every time. His gentleness is conveyed in the former, but the he evokes such power on "Give Me Love" that it gives me chills.
Needless to say, I'm slightly obsessed with him right now. He not only writes all of his own music but also has a writing credit on One Direction's first album and has recently been writing with Taylor Swift. I am real pumped about the latter.
If you like Ed Sheeran, then check out: Tracy Chapman, Of Monsters and Men, Birdy
To say that I'm obsessed with Hello Giggles would probably be an understatement. I have tried time and time again to get others hooked too, but it just doesn't seem to be working. I post articles to my friends' walls... multiple times a week. I mention it in everyday conversation- while we're watching New Girl, whenever I happen to be mentioning my love for Zooey Deschanel. What else can I do? Maybe this will help to convince all four of the people in the world who read my blog (disclaimer: I am very content with that number) to follow the gigglers as blindly as I do.
1. They steal all of my thoughts.
Seriously, not a day goes by where I don't read something that has gone through my mind before. Somehow they manage to convey my thoughts better than I ever could. Everything I've ever thought about Call Me Maybe, right here. My thoughts on crafting (a.k.a my life)- here. The truth about Melissa Mccarthy, this guy. I am now paranoid that every time I think a thought, it will end up on Hello Giggles within the next week, which leads me to...
2. They blog everything I'm going to before I do it.
A few weeks ago my suitemates and I made a fort, and I was going to write a blog about it. Because I like forts and think they're cool, so therefore I should blog about them obviously. I was in the middle of writing the post when I saw this- Fort Life. This is a true story, and also why I haven't blogged in quite a while. I literally think that they have implanted a camera into my brain and are watching the inner workings of my mind.
3. I now think that everyone thinks like me.
Since it has been affirmed that there are people in the world exactly like me, I now think that I am unoriginal. Okay, not really, but it does make me think that I can bring up things that pop into my head and that other people will understand. This is not so. Apparently not everyone is constantly thinking of how their life relates to episodes of Saved by the Bell or why ABC Family is genius like me and the ladies of HG.
4. I now realize that I will never be as awesome as Zooey Deschanel.
Hello Giggles was founded by Zooey Deschanel and her two BFFs Sophia Ross and Molly McAleer. Zooey participates in running this shindig while being hilariously quirky on TV, singing retro folky songs and hanging out with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Mindy Kaling. All I do is go to college. Lame.
5. I never look at anything else.
When I open my computer there are a number of sites that I check immediately, but I go to Hello Giggles last because I know that it will consume the rest of my day. In my many open tabs, there is always an HG article open for me to read next. I even have it saved as an app on my phone so that it is always accessible. I am not ashamed to say that I have a problem, because it is a disease that I wish would spread as girls like me take over the world. Too far?
Today is February 1. Today, it is also 61 degrees outside. I'm wearing a short-sleeve shirt with no jacket, and it's February. I can't decide whether I'm happy about this or not, because it's supposed to be the thick of winter. I should be wearing 20 layers and be able to see my breath. What if the flowers get confused and come out before they should and then winter actually does come and they all die? Why is this such a dilemma? I'm not sure, but I do know that I'm going to take advantage of this weather while it's here. Our campus is so pretty and there are a lot of things you can do when it's nice out, but these are the best:
Hang out on the Quad (duh). On the first nice day of spring, students are notorious for skipping classes to sit on the quad and do nothing. In the springtime, it's difficult to even walk to class without seeing someone you know and being tempted to stay outside with them. Whether you're playing frisbee, reading, or just staring at the mountains, it's impossible not to fall in love with the quad.
a peaceful nook downtown
Walk around Downtown. Our town may not be big, but it certainly is charming. Taking a stroll down South Main in the sunshine and passing The Yellow Button, Dave's and Cat's Cradle is a staple in the life of a Duke.
p.s- Something to help ease everyone's mind, T-Swift will NOT be playing Eponine. Who will, you may ask, be taking the part? Well that would be none other than Samantha Barks! Thank you for coming to your senses Cameron Mackintosh! I dreamed a dream and it came true!
