am i mean??? yes!

so, watched women's 110 hurdles...one of the early heats...and they were talking up one of the favorites from some eastern european country...she looked so pumped up...they said she should breeze right through...anyways, the race gun is shot...and she can't get over the FIRST hurdle...she hits it with her foot and stumbles to the ground...the FIRST hurdle...talk about choke job...anyways, for some reason, i start laughing hysterically...i couldn't stop laughing...m looked at me like i was nuts...

i guess its like watching figure skating...everyone really watches to see someone fall...come on folks...admit it...i still remember watching the winter olympics maybe 10 years ago, and one of the women did a jump, landed, and because she was so close to the wall, she fell right into the camera pit...i mean completely disappeared off the ice rink...it took a couple of seconds for her to come back out...i laughed hysterically then...one of those "olympic moments" that i'll never forget...

sometimes you need a good laugh in this craziness...

Union Jack versus Stars and Stripes...

So, been watching the olympics every night this past week...i always look forward to the olympics and enjoy watching every event...no matter how obscure or bizarre (look up steeplechase, bike pursuit, horse prancing or whatever it is)...anyways, something i didn't expect was the television coverage...its all about the U.K. athletes...DUH!!!!...

anyways, i guess i'm spoiled by the U.S. coverage...because it usually has all this color commentary on the athletes life, their family, how they got there...some sort of documentary on their lives...the U.K. coverage however is BLANDO!!! nothing...just a bunch of brits talking about nothing special and then bits of silence...so, i know nothing about the athletes backgrounds which makes the watching a little less compelling...

nevermind the fact that its obviously all centered around "Team GB"...so, you are watching a swim race...and they are like "blah blah is working hard...makes a great turn...picking up speed...catching up...and finishes 7th...what a great race for blah blah...i'm sure blah blah is very proud...oh...btw, the U.S. got the gold, with australia the silver and china the bronze...now, back to blah blah in 7th."

so, i definitely miss watching about the U.S. athletes...as a bunch of them definitely appear to be interesting characters...but no commentary...oh well...

otherwise, there have been good U.K. athletes which I have rooted for and glad they won...but i really can't stand the fact that 3/4ths of the Team GB is "just glad to be here and am just enjoying the experience"...I hate it when athletes say that...absolutely hate it...so, they are basically saying that they never expected to win or even really be competitive...that just making it to the olympics was a dream come true...ok, so what if their personal best wouldn't even qualify for the semi-finals meaning that they had no chance before they even started...so what...the fact is be a competitor...be disappointed you lost...leave it all out there...anything can happen in sport...wipe that stupid smile off your face that you were happy that you came in 37th behind some country that nobody has ever heard of...because there is surely someone else out there that could have taken your spot from your country and would have probably wanted to win or at least believe that a win was possible...

i'm sorry...but only big fat losers say "i'm just glad to be here"...only people who come in 37th say that...only losers say that...

and i'm all for there being just one medal in the olympics...good ol' gold...because "winning" the silver medal really means that you lost...nobody remembers the person who won the silver...nobody...don't get me started on the bronze medal...

hilarious.

bye bye birdie...

so, i went golfing for the first time in England...first time i've teed off on a course in about a year...went to a golf course in Uxbridge...i got one birdie...and that was pretty much the only good thing about the entire round...

also, the courses here are mainly walking courses...with very little carts, if any, available. at least we had the pulleys...and most importantly, there is no beer cart here...which is crazy considering all the beer drinking they do here anyway...apparently, the beer cart is an american invention...

long.time.no.post.

i'm back!

i'm sure no one really missed me, since i'm sure you feel much more entertained by waterloo's random ramblings. but i finally have some time to put some thoughts together. i've been working like a mad woman, and too stressed out at work to really do anything else when i get home, except take gus for a short walk, eat dinner, quickly surf, then go to bed...i've been getting home anywhere from 8pm - 11:30pm, that's how out of control work has been. i hope it will payoff somehow, eventually.

so after living in this flat for a few weeks, here are a few things that i don't and do like about it:

.likey.
- we are within 5 min walking distance from all 4 main grocery stores here. and they all have different things, so last sunday, i was able to do all my grocery shopping, going to 3 of these places + a stopoff at boots (think dept makeup section meets cvs) all within 1.5 hrs. isn't it grand?!??
- there are so many nice and good places to eat around here. we ate at a persian restaurant last friday that was absolutely one of the best restaurants i've eaten at in a long time.
- we are only 15 mins from one of the huge main parks out here. great place to run and run gus tired.
- the bathroom is nice and warm in the mornings when i take my showers, so come winter, i won't have to worry about freezing my ass off.
- gus is here!
- with such a small place, i think we'll be able to keep the amount of crap at a minimum
- even though it's a small flat, it's very cozy.

.no.likey.
- our flat is really small, i fear i'll get clausterphobic one of these days (nigel, you will defo hit your head on many things when you come visit. haha!)
- after showers, the bathroom is like a sauna. sometimes i just have to keep the door open during the day so that some air gets in there.
- spacious is not an adjective i would use to describe our flat. ;)
- i haven't slept in a double bed since college. and we're bigger now than we were then. you do the math. :

overall, i do like it here. the main thing i don't like is my job. blah.

thirsty...

so, we love this drink in PI...and i've never seen this in Chicago...but they sell it at a few places a couple of blocks away from us here...sweet...

and we also bought our first ever bottle of a popular summer drink here...its basically the british sangria...add a shot of this stuff, then put in chopped fruit (oranges, strawberries, cucumber (yes, this was a wierd one for me), apple, and lemon) and a few ice cubes. Top it up with fresh lemonade and then shred fresh mint leaf at the end...

if you haven't heard...he has arrived...

safe and sound...on tuesday...

Balut...AAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

so, we purchased our first package of eggs...as with many things here, its quite different in that the eggs are not white...or at least i didn't find any...the eggs are generally brown in various tints in the package to a dark brown to even some with reddish tint to it...

anyways, we cooked our first sunday brunch this morning...the usual...sausages, toast, eggs, cheese, and some fruit...

well, i was about to crack my third egg to make my famous over easy eggs when i noticed a FEATHER sticking out of it!!!

needless to say, i pretty much freaked out and hurled it in the garbage...

no...we did not bother to look at what was inside the egg, as it would likely ruin our appetite for eggs for probably a couple of years...

traumatic i say...traumatic...