Watching the Olympics

I am not an athlete. Anyone who knows me will agree with that. It's not that I haven't tried. I took swimming lessons as a child - but I can't swim. I'm what's known as a sinker - I once had to be pulled from the bottom of a pool with a big pole. Softball's not my thing either - I automatically close my eyes when a ball is thrown at me. Seems a logical response to me. In high school our gym class used the trampoline but that didn't work too well as I had to remove my glasses. Virtually blind and unable to see the edge, the last thing I wanted to do was jump up in the air. Golf takes hours - I really don't like to be outside that long. And tennis? Hmm...it's that tricky hand/eye coordination thing that stood in my way. But tonight watching the Olympics I thought maybe gymnastics was something I should have pursued. I can run. I can jump. Those uneven bars might have been a challenge but with practice, who knows. Then it dawned on me. The biggest obstacle (literally) to a future in gymnastics are my ears. Every girl on every team I watched had a ponytail. Is this a prerequisite? Let's check the rules because there is no way I could present my ears in public. But I will keep watching the Olympics and that can sometimes be as hard as the doing. I root for everyone regardless of country. I cheer when they excel and cry when they fall. Yes, I hope the Americans do well but everyone there right now worked hard, sacrificed much, and has such great looking ears.

#10 - Finish Line

Guess this has not been any kind of race. And thank goodness since I am just now finishing up Gail Borden Learns 2.0. Since I always visit the library's Good Reads blog, this first item was a no-brainer. I love when Tish posts - and I indeed tried to help "refresh her palate" by making some suggestions. Friends of mine will tell you that the books I generally read do not have happy-go-lucky type plot lines. The endings may leave you hanging as well. Guess that mirrors life unlike the pap of romance novels with their predictable She-loves-wants-him-he-loves-another-big-dramatic-scene-or-two-they-end-up-together. I subscribed to Good Reads as well - love to know what folks read - you can tell a lot about a person and sometimes it's delightful to find out that the pollyannas may read dark and sinister novels and the grumps have light, inspirational books on their nightstands - altho in that case you can surmise they may not be absorbing much of the material.

Asked my question at AskAway Illinois - what exactly is a rogue nation? simply one who ignores the UN and their decisions? I was answered promptly by Jen who gave me several definitions she found and we went back and forth awhile before we both agreed the term is highly subjective and not necessarily always used correctly. It was a pleasant experience and I hope this site is used often. Saw some great library photos at Flickr and on YouTube listened to Joan's booktalks and I especially enjoyed listening to some of the Veteran's History Project.

Besides learning how to manuever my way around the cyber world where I had not ventured before, I found out that GBPL is way more hip than I thought. It's great to be using sites like YouTube, feedreaders, blogs, Flickr, etc. to reach everyone in our community. If only Hillary Clinton had been as wise. Suggestions for additional platforms the library could implement? From me? I learned a lot but let's don't talk crazy.