Good times and better

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It just keeps getting crazier. Two nights ago I was given otherwise unused tickets to watch Athletics, and I got to see the men's 100m sprint - the fastest man in the world! 9.69 seconds - Go Jamaica!

But these tickets I got were not just any old tickets. They were meant for who we in the States think of as the richest man in the world, and also his very rich wife. No need to name-drop here, but all you "software users" can probably guess to whom I am referring. They chose to go to another event, so there I was, me and a friend, sitting in very-very-VIP seats in row 15 of the Bird's Nest. How many ways can one say AMAZING?!

And yesterday, in my typically assertive (aka obnoxious) manner, I managed to talk my way into the Water Cube to watch Aquaman himself break Olympic and world records and win an 8th gold medal. What an experience. The energy inside that building was astounding, exhilarating. The place roared with excitement as Phelps and Team barreled into first place and swept the gold away from the Aussies. Like the "Roos" ever had a chance to begin with! The sweet volunteers let me stand in a closed-off zone to take some great photos of the medal ceremony (it always helps to smile!), and afterward I snuck back to the media area and watched a few athletes cruise by, including the amazing Dara Torres who grabbed her mom in a long embrace. I then watched George Stephanopolos interview Phelps, who I could have reached out and touched (or maybe carressed... ha ha ha) had there not been a sheet of glass in between
us. He then gave his mom a hug (possibly the most famous mom in America right now, besides my own of course), took off shirt, and walked RIGHT by me. But all those damn media types and photographers got in the way of me saying hello and asking him to marry me and be the father of my children. I mean, uh, asking him for a photo and autograph.

In other news, the coverage here of the Games is VERY frustrating. Only CCTV, the government-run station, has domestic rights to air live coverage. But their English-speaking international station, CCTV-E, does not. Nor does the CCTV French or Spanish station.

So this means that all coverage is in Chinese, with Chinese writing, and all the focus of the cameras is heavily on Chinese athletes and sports. Yes, I get that I am in China and this is expected. But it seems that at least ONE channel would cover the Games in
another language, considing the massive number of foreigners that are in the country right now. Or at least give us French or English subtitles. Is this too much to ask?

This also means that a lot of high profile events, including Phelps' 8th win, are not shown live. After all, the Chinese women's team was playing table tennis or handball or badmitton at the same time, which clearly taks precedence over a record-shattering greatest-of-all-time swim meet, right?! As you can imagine it's very frustrating.

So needless to say, I MISS NBC. I never thought I would say this, but I really do miss Matt Lauer! I nearly cried when I saw Brian Williams interviewed on CCTV-E yesterday. (It was hilarious when the reporter described him as a "senior" member of the media world,
and he very quickly defended himself by saying, "come on, I am only 49!")

I am envious of all those who can watch coverage in their own language, get all the fabulous commentary and hear all the great dramatic stories behind the stories. So you see, the grass is always greener.

OK, maybe not.

And no, I would NEVER give up this all-access pass to come back to the States and watch it all on TV... !

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