BRRR - Why I think the winter Olympics are cool

By the time you read this, the Olympics will be over. Maybe you'll be glad of that. I enjoyed this round of games much more than any I can recall, so while two weeks of Olympics is enough, I wasn't really in a huge hurry for it all to be over.

This year, the Olympics were even more exciting for me, since I'd just been to Vancouver. I didn't visit any of the venues, but I loved the city and plan to go back soon.

Winter Olympics hold a sort of fascination for me. I grew up in Miami Beach where we had one ice skating rink that I knew of, in a fancy hotel. I went to birthday party held there when I was about 6 or 7 and it was a rather humbling experience. Ice skating is hard!! My family moved to New Jersey in the middle of December when I was about 11, thus I didn't get a particularly pleasant introduction to snow and cold, so I pretty much avoided being outside during winter until we moved to California. I had a brief desire to join the high school ski club but my mother nixed that one, having seen The Other Side of the Mountain at an impressionable age. (The main character is paralyzed in a skiing accident).

So, as you can guess, I never had much chance to discover that winter sports could actually be enjoyable. I was in my late 20s, living in Japan, when I finally learned to ski, and loved it, though I haven't had much skiing experience back in the States. I do know enough that it's damn tough to do what those downhill skiers do. While living in Japan I actually dated a guy who had been a downhill ski racer and his sister was on the Japanese Olympic ski team at the time. No surprise they grew up in one of the towns that was an Olympic venue for the Nagano Olympics. He was also a sushi chef, and a fantastic cook. But enough about him; he could fill up another whole blog entry.

This explains only part of my fascination and admiration of the Olympic athletes. I still find it difficult to believe what people can accomplish while they are freezing their asses off, and I admit I like to watch. Is it pervy to admit I like the way those formfitting lycra pants look on skiers and skaters? Who doesn't like checking out Apolo Ohno's thighs? I'm not too keen on the bobsled guys, though! Most of them really need to cover up more.

There is a part of the Olympics that ties in with writing, at least for me. It's about finding out what a character's goal or dream is, and just how far they can push themselves to accomplish it. It's also about me pushing myself to get to a goal as well, whether it's a certain number of words in a day or a specific date for finishing a story. Writing is like training. Sure, I'm sitting on my butt for part of it, but every hour of every day I'm thinking about the project I'm working on and how to make it better, wanting it to be its very best.

In an interview, Apolo Ohno said he asks himself at the end of every day if he'd done everything he could to be his best. I've realized that doesn't just apply to sports, but can be useful for working toward any sort of goal. Unfortunately, most days I haven't done everything I could, and it motivates me to work harder. Someday, I hope I'll answer "yes" more often than "no."

What about you? Did you enjoy the Olympics? What inspires you to be your best?

EM Lynley

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