8 Reasons Why Olympics Time is The Best Time

I'm having a really, really hard time believing London 2012 was a year and a half ago, but it's true: as of tomorrow, Sochi 2014 is officially upon us! Say it with me: TO-MOR-ROW! And I don't know about you, but I am SO. EXCITED. Shocker, right? Well, if you're less enthused about the Olympics than I am, here are some reasons why that needs to change. Like, ASAP.

+Because you get to watch sports you don't usually get to see. I don't know about you, but there's only so much football I can take. And the Super Bowl is over, folks, and it's on every single year. What's so special about that?! I don't know about you, but I don't see much Nordic combined on TV in non-Olympic years! So go ahead and watch all those random sports you never see, 'cause this is your last chance for four years! Soak in the ski jumping. Soak it in.

+Because you get to expand your worldly knowledge. What does Montenegro's flag look like? Where exactly is Serbia? How on earth does a kid from Africa become a skier? Well, you're gonna find out!

+Because you finally have a reason to wear all the patriotic stuff you have laying around.

(Jeez, do we think I have enough? And this is just the stuff I have with me in Colorado! Though, to be fair, the sweatshirt was a gift, the zip-up next to it was work swag, and the zip-up below it was a prize. Fun fact: that USA Hockey shirt is a boys' youth large. #sorrynotsorry. And don't even ask about the socks, because I have nooooo idea.)

Not pictured: the legit full-size American flag I bought when I was in London during the Olympics. Which brings me to...

+Because you finally have an excuse to be obnoxiously patriotic and proud of your country. When it comes to patriotism at the Olympics, it's go big or go home. I showed up with a tiny little handheld American flag and was utterly ashamed, hence my giant flag purchase. Totally rocked that sucker at the men's triathlon, let me tell you! If you're not screaming your throat raw during the USA vs. Canada gold medal hockey game, you're doing it wrong.

Please note that I did not make this meme. There are others like me out there! ;) [x]

+Because of the stories. At the Olympics, nobody is there for fame and fortune. It's full of people competing for the love of their sport, many doing so despite sub-par funding, zero publicity and all kinds of obstacles. Literally everyone there has an amazing story. Let's not even get started talking about the Paralympics! (And uh, hello, the Jamaican bobsled team is BACK!)

+Because now you can be nocturnal for a reason. "Why am I up so late? Because curling starts at 3 a.m. in this timezone. Duh!"

+Because of all the wonderful commercials that make you cry.

 

+Because, for three weeks, the whole country (and the whole world) is united. And that, my friends, is awesome.


Happy Olympics, everybody!

Blaze(r) of Glory

This is my second post in a row using Bon Jovi song titles/lyrics in my post title! *high fives self*

Today, I want to talk about a blazer. This blazer, in fact:

I saw this beauty while shopping with my mom in late 2012 (or early 2013. Before the spring semester of 2013, in any case). I was immediately in love because, hello, look at it. But it was also more than I wanted to spend, despite the fact that I WAS looking to buy professional-type clothes.

When I told my mom that I wasn't going to get it for myself, she said, "Than I'll get it for you. It's too perfect for you not to get it."

I'm sure I thanked her profusely, being the fantabulous daughter that I am, but the only thing I remember saying is, "I'm going to wear this when I interview for a job at the USOC."

Yes folks, I pulled a Babe Ruth and called my shot.

It was an odd call to make, too, since unless I was already in Colorado Springs, this hypothetical interview I was talking about would be conducted over the phone and attire would be a moot point. But hey, dream big, right?

So the blazer came home with me, and then went to Miami with me as I began my final semester as a student and intern in the athletic department. I tucked it away in my closet, not wanting to wear it just anywhere. I mean, the office I worked in was way too casual, and it was just too beautiful to "waste" on an average day! So it laid in wait until Duke basketball rolled into town. I was on the schedule to work that game, and decided it was the blazer's time to shine. Hosting the No. 1 team in the country in front of a sold-out arena and ESPN primetime cameras is a worthy occasion, amirite?

Well, the occasion turned out to be even worthier than anticipated, as my then-unranked Canes demolished Duke by over 20 points. The whole night was electric, the student section rushed the court, and the Cinderella season had officially begun. Basically, it was perfect. I firmly believed my blazer had some awesome juju going on, so it went back into my closet to await the next perfect occasion.

Lo and behold, nine months later, I was asked to interview with the USOC while I was living in Colorado Springs. My bold prediction had come true! I was going to wear this blazer when I interviewed with the USOC! I'd never been so excited and confident going into an interview, and I walked out of there positively elated with myself.

And then... I didn't get the job.

I was equal parts devastated and furious, and it snapped me out of my belief that this blazer had any special meaning. Um, hello, it's just fabric. Any specialness that I'd attributed to it was solely in my head.

So along comes January. I'm at home in New York and unemployed, when I'm contacted by a different department at the USOC for an interview. It ended up getting scheduled for the same day I got the email about it, mere hours later, a day that I'd spent digging out my room and wearing giant, slouchy pajamas. I briefly thought of breaking out my blazer and fancying myself up, but then I thought... why? Nobody was going to see me except myself. All getting dressed up would do was cut into the limited time I could've spent preparing. It wasn't going to make me perform any better or feel more confident in myself! So I decided to prepare. My blazer stayed in my closet (heck, I don't think I'd even unpacked it from my suitcase yet), I did my interview homework, and it was a great interview conducted from the most comfy clothes I own that are probably about eight sizes too big for me.

Blazer or no blazer, I got the job.

I'm not one to be superstitious or give articles of clothing such extreme importance, and I can (hopefully) honestly say I won't do it again. I mean, if I can get my dream job in flannel pants a foot too long for me, what on earth is so special about a blazer?

...But that didn't mean I wasn't going to wear it on my first day of work. ;)

You know you were missing awkward, low-quality photos in your life. Don't lie.

Has anyone else gotten all misty over a piece of clothing that was supposed to be "special"? Please, tell me I'm not totally crazy!

The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

Hello friends!

If that photo didn't give you a hint, I'm back in Colorado and officially a resident of Colorado Springs again. And I'm thrilled! But it's also really, really weird.

It reminds me of the beginning of my sophomore year of college. I was SO EXCITED to get back to school, and see my friends, and go back to all my favorite places, and it was going to be just like freshman year and be THE ABSOLUTE BEST. But then I got there, and I was living in a different building, and going to different classes, and it was just different even though I was in the same place with the same people. I was basically homesick for the way things were. I got over it, of course, but it was a jarring few days of adjusting.

It's exactly like that now. I'm back in the same city with (most of) the same people, but everything else is wildly different. I'm living in northern Colorado Springs and will be working in central Colorado Springs, as opposed to the opposite. I have a shared apartment instead of a room in a dorm, and my friends are 10 miles away in that dorm, if not scattered around the city. I have to cook for myself and clean the bathroom that I don't have to share with an entire floor's worth of people. I'll be driving past the USA Volleyball office every day on my way to my new job. I brought my dad to see the OTC yesterday, only to discover that I couldn't get into any of the facilities! All buildings now require badge access (hello, new development) and there was a new security guy at the front and, what the heck, I so do not live there anymore.

It's weird and kind of emotional and weird. Did I mention that it's weird?

But it's going to be awesome. Seriously. My roommate is fantastic, and on Thursday she leaves for Sochi and will be gone for almost all of February, so I'll have the apartment to myself! Speaking of the apartment, I'm pretty stoked to no longer need shower shoes. And have an absurdly large closet. And all sorts of other apartment-y things. It's kind of hard furnishing a room when you have no idea how long you'll be living there, but I'm pretty happy with it! It just needs some stuff hanging on the walls and it'll be home.

I'll return soon with pictures and stories from the road trips and move-in day, but for now, I'm feeling feel-y, so that's what you get. :) Can't wait to settle into my new normal!

Hope your last five days have involved less driving, heavy lifting and general stress than mine have! (Unless you're into that sort of thing. Hey, no judgment here.)

The Post That Was A Lifetime In the Making

I love my birthday. Why, you ask? Not because of parties or gifts or being showered in attention or any of that. Actually, being showered in attention makes me incredibly uncomfortable, but I digress. I love my birthday because every four years, February 21st falls within the Winter Olympics, of course! And it's not even bias speaking when I say my birthday has a pretty sweet Olympic history, even just in my lifetime. We don't even need to talk about the fact that in 1980 my (future) birthday was Miracle on Ice eve! ;)

1991: I was born. Pretty good day, or so I hear.

1992: Kristi Yamaguchi won the gold medal in ladies' figure skating. (It's destiny, I tell you.)

1994: Torvill and Dean regained their amateur status, making them eligible to compete again, and won the bronze medal in ice dancing. It may not've been Bolero, but it was still legendary.

1998: On the eve of my birthday, Tara Lipinski beat Michelle Kwan for the gold medal in ladies' figure skating (and this is my first Olympic memory!). On the day of my birthday, Christine Witty won bronze in the long track speed skating 1000m.

2002: My fellow Long Island girl Sarah Hughes won gold in ladies' figure skating! (I was in fifth grade and stayed up way past my bedtime to watch with my cousin Molly. Sarah won at around midnight and we legitimately woke up the rest of my house with our joyous shrieking and dancing and throwing pillows in the air. Oops?)

2006: Total baller Shani Davis won silver in the long track speed skating 1500m, and Chad Hedrick took bronze.

2010: On the eve of my birthday, Apolo Ohno became the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all time. Can I get a WOOP WOOP?! And on the day of my birthday, Meryl Davis and Charlie White killed it in their original dance, and my girl Jen Rodriguez skated in the long track 1500m.

In the last few years, as I've began to take control over the direction of my life, I've managed to work Olympic-y things into my birthday even in non-Winter Olympic years.

2011: I got to interview Amy Deem about her appointment as Team USA's head women's track coach for London 2012. And it was awesome!

2012: Worked a shift at London 2012 Ceremonies. And it was awesome!

Then 2013 came, and my birthday was a total anticlimax. I had a cold, and was busy literally from 9 a.m. until midnight. It was so utterly not fun. But 2014 is going to make up for that a thousandfold. Why, you ask?

Because I'll be spending the day working (what I'm assuming will be) crazy hours out of this building:

I can't believe I can finally say this, but I'm an employee of the United States Olympic Committee! Through the end of May, I'll be working as a content assistant in the digital media department. So basically, dream job status! (Minus the whole "temporary" thing, but look, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

This, of course, means that I'm in some scary uncharted territory. I started this blog with getting a job at the USOC as my goal, and now... I've achieved that goal. What the heck?! I guess that means I need to make a disclaimer and be all professional, or something?

*This blog is entirely unaffiliated with the United States Olympic Committee. All opinions and feels are entirely my own. Future content will probably contain less Olympic-y stuff because, heck, even I need some variety in my life (and because I don't want to risk violating my employer's social media policy and getting fired).*

That covers my bases, right?

In a week from today, I'll be moving into my new digs; a room in an apartment with one of my intern friends' supervisors as my roommate. The Colorado Springs world and the Olympic movement is freakishly small, my friends. My dad and I get to pile everything back into Buzz and reverse our cross-country road trip almost exactly a month after the first one. And all of this will be right after shedding my safety blankets with a new haircut and a new pair of glasses. This has all happened incredibly fast and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't overwhelmed.

But holy uncontainable excitement, Batman! My first job without "intern" attached to the title, and it's exactly what I want to be doing. Again, temporary, but still. Wow. Who the heck does that happen to? Sheesh.

Funemployment, we've had our day. Time to start livin' the dream!