Monday Blogthings

You Are a Tongue Piercing

You are a very naturally sexy person. People can't help but notice you. Part of what makes you sexy is your deep sensuality. You enjoy indulging all five senses. You are hedonistic and a total pleasure seeker. You're all about what feels good. You give in easily to temptation, which gets you (and your accomplices) in trouble. Despite your lack of self control, you are popular and well liked. You flirt with everyone. You are happy to live in the moment. If it gives you in trouble, so what? Better to enjoy life now!

What Piercing Are You?

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Black Comedy

In your life, things are so twisted that you just have to laugh. You may end up insane, but you'll have fun on the way to the asylum. Your best movie matches: Being John Malkovich, The Royal Tenenbaums, American Psycho

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

You Are Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"We saved the world. I say we have to party."

What Superheroine Are You?

You Should Visit Mexico

You can be as comfortable as you want, eating fast food and partying with English speakers in resort town. But if you're feeling brave, venture out to Mexico City - or explore the tropical Yucatan.

What Latin American Country Should You Visit?

Your Dosha is Kapha

Calm and grounded, you are not prone to mood swings or anger. However, once you do get angry, it takes a lot to cool you down. You tend to think a little slower than most people, but your logic is astounding. Overall, you very loyal and trustworthy. You're not scared of being who you really are. With friends: You enjoy their company, but often listen more than talk In love: You crave connection and affection. It's hard for you to be single. To achieve more balance: Exercise vigorously (especially in the sun) and let go of attachments.

What's Your Dosha?

Joy - Start like a dragon and end like a snake

Start like a dragon and end like a snake
by Joy Dickson, Sunday August 24, 1008 at 10:16pm

This is a popular Chinese saying that usually describes how events and performances are organized and I have to say the Opening and Closing of the Beijing Olympics followed this to a tee. Once again, by the time most of you see the closing ceremony, NBC and BBC would have edited out the shot of the back of a spectator's head that remained in focus about 5 seconds too long, the camera man that was so determined to get a close up of one of the cute little girls with the volunteers that he blocked the path of one of the little boys, the white female official looking through her binoculars, or the shots of the flag pole instead of the athletes.

But what you probably will definitely miss out on is the passing of the flag fiasco. While I am not the biggest fan of the concept of saving face, for the sake of the mayors of Beijing and London, I do hope the editors work their magic and digitally enhance or cut out the whole scene. I guess the first clue that something was going to go wrong was when the flag carrier hit himself in the head with the flag as he gave it to the mayor of Beijing. The poor mayor tried his best to wave it but it looked like he was holding a jumping fish on a pole. The flag itself never caught wind and so it looked like a windshield wiper going back and forth. At least the mayor of London tried to look as if he was having fun. Is it me or does he look like the late Chris Farley?

The precision and accuracy that we witnessed in the performances of the Opening ceremonies were barely visible in the Closing. My friends Kamara, Vimbayi, Auria and I kept wondering whose bright idea was it to let the athletes run wildly out on the field? I also hope they edited out the Men's marathon silver medalist from Morocco stumbling and shaking from fatigue on the podium as he received his award. Brother man was tired and it showed.

We were also happy to learn that there are bike helmets in China. I have lived here for 3 years and the only people that I have seen wearing a bike helmet are the children of American parents. With all of the bicyclers in Beijing, no one man, woman or child wears a helmet. It was also good to see that there are sturdier harnesses for people to wear when jumping or hanging from high places. The window washer I usually see uses a rope and/or a piece of wood to sit on.

Speaking of people jumping or hanging from things, I loved the part of the show where the guys were on the tower running in the air and flying across the stadium. That was amazing. We assumed that they were the PLA( People Liberation Army) because everything was so perfect and flawless. The dancing ladies with the bells were also cool.

The one thing that I was most proud of was that the Olympic Volunteers were recognized for their efforts. They truly deserved to be publicly recognized for their hard work. Hands down they were the most polite and willing to help people that I have met in Beijing. They might not have always given you the right information but they all (sometimes five at a time) tried their best to help you and did it with a smile. Even when some expats decided to mess with them by asking them stupid questions like what day does the Olympics start and where is Mao, they remained calm and did their best to help. And sometimes the weather was unbearable but their commitment to help was not deterred at all.

Unfortunately, the volunteer recognition and the PLA flying through the air were the only noteworthy performances. Oops I forgot the Opera singing. Was that Placedo Domingo singing? (Yes, I do like Opera) Unfortunately when you watch it live on Chinese TV you don't get the English commentary.

Anyway, the show tried its best to feature the highlights of the games and I hope that they edited out the three athletes standing on the staircase looking as lost as we were bored with their part of the performance. Someone did not think that scene through or pay off the guy that was supposed to finish it.

The distinguishing of the torch was so uneventful. We all looked at each other and asked did we miss it? Again, hopefully NBC and BBC will work its magic and you will not be stuck asking that question.

Fortunately, for London they set the bar so low with that performance they have no where to go but up. My friend Pat suggested that maybe they should just hire the person that did the Beijing Opening ceremonies and call it a day. I did like the double decker transformer bus thing. Who was that guy playing air guitar ( now that London has exposed the lip syncing child, everyone's performance is coming into question)? I also could not understand what, her name escapes me, was singing, perhaps the sound will be better for you.

And then came the most disappointing part of London's performance, Beckham. Don't get me wrong. I think he is one of the hottest men on the planet ( and I usually don't go for the blonde and blue type). And he is the Michael Jordan of Soccer/Football but what was that kick all about? With all of the wires that people were flying from throughout the performance, no one thought to put one on the soccer ball and let it fly through the air after he kicked and hit the lit torch forcing it to explode with fire works and then going out afterwards. NOW that would have been awesome and a perfect ending.

Oh, I do have to give London their props for showing diversity. There were so many people of color in their performance, it made feel like FINALLY some one might be getting it. I know it was just a performance but still it was nice to see a variety of faces represent the British Empire.

And unfortunately for you, you won't get to see the scenes from the camera man who left his on after the performance had ended and captured the performers running around afterwards, taking their costumes off, talking on their cell phones, wiping sweat and make up off their faces, folks doozing off. Thank god for edited American television because there are somethings you just don't need to see on TV.

Fortunately, Auria's father distracted us with his quest to find the best spot in her apartment to view the fireworks over Chao yang park
(were beach volleyball was held) and provided another source of entertainment. Once the fireworks started, and these were real not digitally enhanced, I started to feel sad. There is nothing like watching a live fireworks show in Beijing. It is one of the most beautiful and exciting things to watch. As much as I complain about the fifteen days of non-stop noise during Chinese New Year, I am going to miss seeing the fire works. Watching fireworks in China goes on my list of there is nothing like... (doing) in (location).

Well the flame is finally out and the spectator security tents are down at Gong ti and life goes on in Beijing at least for one more week for me.

Joy's Last Day- Redemption Team my BEEP!

Last Day- Redemption Team my BEEP!
by Joy Dickson, Sunday August 24, 2008 at 4:20am

Ok, I just finished watching the last ten minutes of the fourth quarter of the Men's Basketball Final-USA vs. Spain and I am not a happy camper. Don't get me wrong I looooooove men's basketball. And like most Americans, I was hoping that we could redeem ourselves after the humiliation we suffered in the previous Olympics. After all, our entire team is comprised of all NBA players, the so called best in the world, so redemption should have been in the bag.

NOT! We won the gold only by eleven points and three of them were from foul shots. When I started watching the game, there was only a four point difference between the two teams. Four points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. All I could think of was am I dreaming?

With all of their bragging and trash talking, there should have been more than an eleven point difference and we were playing against Spain of all teams. Spain, the now infamous team that participated in a racist advertisement* for a Spanish delivery company while being sponsored by Li-Ning**. We should have prevented them from breaking 100 for that foul up alone.

But no, the men's US team allowed them to rebound at least 36 times compared to the 29 we did ( I did not see the final stats on rebounds), to have opportunities to make successful three point shots and get slammed dunked on. And it was a SLAM let me swing on the rim a little and gloat type of dunk.

It was brutal to watch because the redemption team was supposed to REDEEM our reputation for being the best of the best but instead they barely got by. As much as I am pissed off at the Spanish team for their participation in that racist ad, I do have to give them their props for playing one heck of a game and pushing Dwayne Wade so hard that he slipped and fell ( yes this professional baller not only lost control of the ball but his footing as well) on the court with seconds to go. Viva Espana.

My friends and I are supposed to go out tonight to celebrate the ending of the Olympics, I hope I don't run into any of these players because I have an earful for them. Redemption team my butt.

I am looking forward to seeing how the closing ceremony turns out.

*The entire Spanish men's basketball team poised in a picture that showed them pulling their eyes to "imitate" an Asian person's eyes.

** Li-Ning is a Chinese owned sports and athletic wear company. It was started by Li-Ning the guy that ran around the stadium and later lit the torch at the opening ceremonies. This company sponsored the men's basketball team from Spain.

Joy Day 15-Eye Candy Alert

Thanks to Joy for sharing your experiences in Beijing. It's been great!

Day 15-Eye Candy Alert
by Joy Dickson, Saturday August 23, 2008 at 10:21am

I just finished watching the Men's Diving Finals and I am proud to say that I have finally found "my baby daddy". My mission for the next few days is to find Juan Gillermo Uran(Columbia) and convince him to follow me back to the states. I mean after all he did not win a medal so what else does he have to do back in Columbia. And if he doesn't work out there is always the silver medalist from Russia.

Ok, I do have to say besides drooling over Juan Uran "Dickson", watching this guys compete was nail biting and exciting. It seemed like every time one of them dove into the water their rank changed. These guys were amazing. From the handstands, to the backwards somersaults, or the triple twists, it was just so cool to watch. It was also good to see a variety of competitors from different countries. They were from AUS, Russia, Mexico, US, UK, China, Cuba and Columbia.

I have to admit that I have always had a fear of diving from a standing position. I am a decent swimmer and can surface dive, and will not hesitate to jump off of a diving board. But head first? No way. My fear is so strong that I was apprehensive about watching the diving competitions. And visions of Greg Louganus (sp) hitting his head during the Olympics years ago kept popping into my head. But there is something about men in speedos that just keeps you glued to the TV.

Speaking of speedos, Adidas really needs to rethink about where they position their logo on the men's swim trunks. Front and center is not always the best place to put one's name and it seems to be taking the All Day I Dream About Sex thing a little too far. Especially when the person you are sponsoring might not be well endowed. TYR and Speedo put their logos on the side so one's eyes are not drawn to the middle. Perhaps, they should adopt the Australian position and just write it across the butt. That is the down side to men's diving you cannot hide anything and live Chinese coverage is not helpful. (Hopefully by the time you see the footage they would have edited the guy grabbing himself in the shower. I am mean really we don't have to see everything on TV).

Oh and Congrats to gold medalist Matt(AUS), not to be confused with the other Aussie Matt that has his belly button pierced and his eyebrows nicely arched. Now, I have seen some interesting things pierced before but this is the first man that I have ever seen with a pierced belly button. Hmmmm! The gold medalist Matt broke down and cried after he finished his dive. He just knew he had won. It has been so uplifting to see the athletes' reactions to winning. They all seem genuinely excited and amazed (and rightfully so) about what they have just accomplished. Some of the things that they can do is almost magical.

But the cutest thing was watching Thomas Daley(GBR) walk up to the edge of the board. He looked like he was barely twelve years old. ( I wonder if he has been badgered about his age, like the female Chinese gymnasts). He looked so scared before each dive. But he did very well.

Wow, tomorrow is the last day of the regular Olympics. But the Para Olympics begins on September 7th. I was speaking with a woman last night that works for the catering company for the athletes and she was saying that she is as excited about the ParaOlympics as the Olympics. We also talked about how unfortunate it is that Para Olympics is treated as an after thought, considering how competitive, skilled and motivated the athletes are. Unfortunately, I will be in the states when it starts but I am going to try and watch those competitions as much as possible.

For the past week, I have encountered signs that Beijing is beginning to get back into the swing of things. Last night at my friend, Wendy's( Wellesley Grad.) birthday party the restaurant manager told us we had too many people and she would not put a table together for us. She also got an attitude when we tried to insist she do it and walked off. Aaah gotta love good Beijing service. The street vendors are slowly coming back and harassing us to buy their wachee and sookusu. One guy got a kick out of me tellling him that I was not a lao wai (foreigner) but a zhong gou ren( a Chinese person).

And this morning I passed by a crowd gawking at two men screaming and yelling at each other in the middle of the street. I left before they came to blows. And about an hour ago, the police just yelled on the loud speaker at the owner of the restaurant in my building to move their tables inside or they would take them away. You see the government came along a month ago and removed all of their outdoor seating because " the foreigners are coming and it looks bad". I don't know about you but this foreigner and all of the ones that I know here like dinning outside during the summer.

Oh, and the old men with their belly's showing are back in full force. I also saw a man at the market this morning in his pajamas with a nice straw fedora on.(Forgive me but if you have time to put on a nice hat you have time to put on some clothes before you go outside) And people are beginning to spit on the street again. There is nothing like the sound of a Beijing man hacking up smog first thing in the morning. I have seen several women with more that three different colors and patterns on. The cabbies are beginning to drive like crazy again, cutting across traffic to make a u-turn and speeding up and slamming on the breaks,honking on their horns until you move out of the way. And lastly, I passed a group of migrant workers asleep on the street. All of this "Beijing flavor" was banned and/or disappeared during the Olympics and now that it is over, folks are going back to the way that life was before the world watched.

And now the my count down begins 8 more days left.

Friday Night Blogthings

What Your Bed Says About You

Outward appearances are a concern of yours, but not your primary concern. You try to take care of yourself and your home, but it's not an obsession. You are an organized and disciplined person. You do the right thing because you want to, not because people expect you to. You are very high maintenance. You like everything a certain way, and you're grumpy if things aren't the way you like them. In relationships, you tend to be quite dominant. You enjoy taking charge. You tend to be a down to earth, practical person. You think in terms of what is actual. You are a traveler. You are comfortable anywhere, and you rarely feel homesick.

What Does Your Bed Say About You?

Joy Day 11- Hot Mamas Kicking Some Balls

Day 11- Hot Mamas Kicking Some Balls
by Joy Dickson, Tuesday August 19, 2008 at 12:12am

Ok, I know that the title is some what risque but I swear it is relevant.
And what would the Olympics be without a little excitement.

Seven years worth of planning and it is all over in a matter of days. Wow, this feeling is sort of like watching Bolt ( the Jamaican runner) win the Men's 100. All the planning and anticipation, everyone has their opinion as to how it is going to turn out and whoosh in the blink of an eye it is over. I don't know if you were able to see this amazing event, most didn't because it happened so fast.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to go to this event but I was walking home and passed by one of the gazillion restaurants here that have TV screens outside and I just noticed a bunch of black men lined up at the starting line. While, I do get to see black men on a daily basis here in Beijing, the fine, athletically toned ones are few and far between. So I stopped and stood in the middle of the narrow road to watch. Fortunately, a cab driver decided to ignore the government ordinance telling people to lay off the horn during the Olympics or else I would have missed this event too.

No sooner did I move did the referee shoot the starter pistol and they were off. I stood there with my mouth open because I could not believe I saw Bolt lean forward slow up and still beat all of his competitors. And then homey kept running, right into the arms of his sweetie pie. Sorry I am a sucker for romance. Unbelievable. Go Jamaica!

Yesterday, I went to see the Women's Soccer Semi-Finals between the US and Japan. I went with my friend Auria and her parents. We were sitting in the second row. Not bad for a non-soccer fan. Ironically, we were sitting in the same row as two moms from Ivy Academy, my previous job. Flory and Lindsay. Flory just delivered her third child, a girl, 6 weeks ago and Lindsay is raising two boys that are barely a year apart. See there is a connection between the title and my actually story.

I have to admit I was torn between who to cheer for, Japan or US. Ironically, the Chinese were not torn at all. With all of the Jia You's that were filling the stadium not once did I hear Jia You Ri ben ( Let's go Japan). Even the professional government appointed cheerleaders, the one's in red hats and yellow shirts, did not say it. There was one lone foreigner from Norway that yelled it out. The hatred for Japan still runs deep. There were some Nihonjin that did yell out Furei Furei Nihon and a Gambatte every now and again.

The funniest thing was how long it took for us to get the wave going. It took about six times but we finally got it. And it kept going for a while. Because the wave is a new concept here, people were concentrating so hard on the wave that they were missing the action of the game. Hopefully the Chinese fans will eventually get to a point that they can wave and watch a game or match at the same time.

Prior to me going to this event a friend of mine and I had a big discussion about why soccer is not the number one sport in the US. He said that it is about the faking of the injuries. As Americans, punking out is not a option in sports. You slip, you better walk it off. You get sacked, you better get up and walk it off. As Tom Hanks said in "A League of Their Own", "There is no crying in baseball" and that is true, save it for after the game.

But this is not the case in Soccer, I had to stop watching one of the men's games because if one more player fell down and whinned about a hurt leg, I was going to scream. I did feel sorry for the two guys that did run into each other so hard that they bounced off of each other. But come on, get up and move or get off of the field.

And as much crying and whining and faking injuries that I saw in the men's games, it was not a problem in the women's game that I saw. Only one woman from Japan, stayed down on the field for about 15 seconds after falling flat on her face. Mind you this was after she had fallen and gotten up about five times earlier. The grass was damp. But she did not whine, cry or hold up the game, instead she got up, walked it off and kept on playing. Ain't no room for punks in WOMYN'S Soccer.

The game was really intense and the fans were really cool. One of the guys in front of me said, out loud "I feel a goal coming on" and Auria said, "Me too" and next thing we know the ball went in and we were on our feet screaming. The US ended up winning 4-2(two of those goals were from #16 a black woman, I think her last name is Hurchle).

We stuck around for a little after the game and it was worth it. The entire Japanese team came over to our side and despite the fact that they lost, they bowed and acknowledge the section of the Japanese fans in the row above us. Some were crying, which is what is supposed to happen after the game is over. One actually stood out in the crowd, I called her Afro girl. I don't know what kind of perm she had but her afro was as big as mine.

The most touching moment was when, two of the US members chased after their toddlers on the field. #15 and #3's children, who could barely walk and looked about 2 years old, ran on the field in smaller versions of their mothers' jerseys. It was so precious and as much fun to watch as the match.

Prior to the Olympics, I was never a big women's sports fan. Probably because I really suck at any game that involves a ball. From basketball to golf to badmiton to ping pong. If a ball is involved, I am not going to do well, I am more than likely going to injury myself or the person(s) I am playing with. Which is ironic considering I was the only girl on my pee-wee baseball team. Well, anyway I just wasn't but after watching women's fencing, tennis and soccer, I am definitely a fan.

Joy Day 10 - Flying High in the Ring!

Day 10- Flying High in the Ring!
by Joy Dickson (notes) Monday, August 18, 2008 at 11:24pm

I have had the good fortune of once again seeing another event, Boxing. Again, none of this was planned it just happened. I have never had this much luck before in my life and I am grateful and treasuring every minute of it.

Originally, my friend Martha Ortiz ( Wellesley'06), invited me to meet up with her after the Boxing competition on Saturday. Little did I know that one of her friends, couldn't make it and she ended up inviting me to go. Ironically, I pass by the venue everyday on my morning walks and had never been inside. We went with some of her coworkers and her fiance. Like most of the venues so many seats were available, so we got a chance to all sit together.

Some of you know this but I have a thing for sports that require men to beat the heck out of or hurt each other, Sumo, American Football, Martial Arts and Boxing. I am pretty sure I could go to a therapist about this but I am not interested in changing this aspect of my life. I actually miss watching those good old Tyson fights. And I was looking forward to this because I was offered Boxing tickets from someone else and it did not go through so I was excited to have a second chance.

When we got there I found out that it was for the flyweight division 49kg, which is a little over 100lbs. They fought 4 two minute rounds. Boxing and laughing usually don't go together but I swear I could not help it. Just imagine JJ Walker from Good Times and Stever Urkel from Family Matters boxing each other and you have pretty much a good visual of what I saw. At times I did not know if I was watching Boxing, Judo or Ultimate Fighting because the guys kept slipping and falling. They weren't being knocked down, which is supposed to happen in Boxing, they were literally slipping and sliding in the ring. One guy went to hug his opponent and hugged him so hard that they fell to the ground. Don't get me wrong, I know these athletes worked hard to get to the Olympics and fought as hard as they could but I think their weight really worked against them.

The fans were amazing as well. There was a whole section from Kazakstan(sp) and like in the movie Borat, they were EXTREMELY proud of being from Kazakstan. There were several from Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Dominican Republic, Ghana, of course China. And there were several Irish people walking around with leprechaun hats and flags.

Unfortunately, all of the fans were not so supportive or did not display good audience behavior. A bunch of jackasses from the US who were sitting behind us, decided to " yell out "Ghana-rhea", during this country's bout. Fortunately for them, the security people and the police officer that found their way over to our section, did not know what this meant or else they would have been thrown out or detained.

Another American jack ass decided in his drunken stupor to try and tell a racist joke to the nice Irish lady who noticed that a black person(me) was sitting right in front of her. I turned around twice and glared at him and the fool just kept on trying to tell the joke. See that is the beauty of racism it really knows no boundaries and at the heart of it is always some fool that thinks that it is acceptable. I actually have heard the joke that he was attempting to say from the uncle of a former co-worker of mine. But fortunately for him, the lady, whether it was fear that I was going to start a boxing bout in the stands or she genuinely knew it was the wrong thing to say, told him to shut up.

Before we left the building, we stopped in one of the many gift kiosks. And low and behold who did I see, Shaan Price on a poster hanging on the wall. Shaan is a good friend of mine here in Beijing and as well as a Moorehouse brutha from Kentucky. We are always teasing him because his face is all over China. My mom and I were in Guilin, a small city in southern China and there was his face on a billboard. Several months later, same billboard different place, Kunming. He also is on posters and billboards around town featuring an Olympic basketball player. He is cool people and humbly gets a kick out of us sharing Shaan sightings with him.

Coming up next...Hot mamas kicking some balls.

Joy - Day 4, Tennis

Day 4-Hanging out with the Sistahs
by Joy Dickson, Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 9:35pm

It is not everyday you get to say that you risked sun stroke and heat exhaustion to watch Venus and Serena Williams compete in the Olympics, so I am going to take advantage of this opportunity and share my experience. Once again, I had no intention of going to see Tennis, but a friend of mine's brother was unable to go and I took his ticket.

I felt more confident with navigating the subway station after spending a good part of my day on it yesterday. I also learned that if your Olympic ticket does not match the venue that you are attempting to go to you are not allowed on subway 8. Those friendly volunteers that assisted me through the security check point yesterday FIRMLY told us to go get on the bus. Ironically there are no security check points before you get on the bus (didn't the officials see the movie the Interpreter?)- just signs that say don't bring on dangerous items. And unlike the subway, the bus was packed. Fortunately,the government informed the bus drivers that they are not allowed to slam on the brakes as hard as they can thus forcing passengers to fall onto of each other. One advantage of taking the bus was that it gave you the opportunity to see all of the Olympic Village venues and where the athletes are staying. For the first time in three years, I saw members of the Beijing SWAT team.

We had great tickets, centre court in the venue known as the Flower. When we arrived I was shocked to see how empty the stands were. Peng Shuai and Alize Cornet were competing. My friend, Auria, was disappointed because we had great seats but the people we were watching were duds. So she and I decided to go get refreshments and we noticed that there was a crowd standing around a smaller court and low and behold, there was Serena Williams. Auria and I snuck in until we were asked for our tickets.

Oh, on a side note one major criticism that I have to share and I know that this has not been talked about in the media yet, is the quality of the refreshments. We are not allowed to bring anything in from the outside. Coke and Mickey D's are the official sponsors, yet the snacks are horrible. Beverages are fine. IF you are hungry your choices are snickers bars (the original size not the American size), beef drippings flavored chinese style potato chips, chinese saltines, a hot dog bun without the hot dog, small individual packages of oreos, stale "kettle corn" flavored microwaveable popcorn, ice cream, and peach yogurt. There were also very few places that sold Olympic memorabilia. The Mickey D's that are available are not conveniently located near the actual venues.

Ok, back to the match. On our second run for beverages, Auria and I took a closer look at the schedule board and noticed that Venus was up next. We were so excited. And I must say Venus did not disappoint at all. She played a woman from Czchek. It was soooooo hot, I was beginning to get sick. Of course Venus won.

On the way back we were so surprised at how orderly people were when boarding the bus. A few folks tried to cut the line but were told to get in line. I don't know if I was more shocked that someone told them to get to the back of the line or the fact that someone actually did it. I spent six months riding public transportation in Beijing and politeness and consideration did not exist. It was first come first serve or you got left.

We had lunch at our favorite Persian restaurant, Rumi. When we arrived it was full of people from Kuwait, Iran and other Middle Eastern Countries. They were watching the shooting competitions. Ironically, the two people that we sat next to at the tennis match sat down next to us and we had a good time talking and exchanging Olympic and tennis stories. During that conversation, I learned that one of them was told that the Great Wall has been shut down to tourist until the 18th because the part of the route for the cyclist competition is either on or near the Wall. I felt for her because, this was the first time she has ever been to China and she won't get a chance to see the wall. We gave her some suggestions on other spots she could attempt to see it.

As I was walking home from the restaurant, I got caught up in foot traffic because I live down the street from one of the venues, Worker's Stadium, so a ten minute walk home turned into thirty. But at least I got a chance to see more people from various countries and experience the energy. When I finally got home I collapsed.

I have a lead on a ticket to boxing, if it works out I will go if not, I will be content with what I have experienced thus far. So stay tuned...

Sick Day Blogthings

You Are Black Tea

You have a bold personality. You're not afraid of simply being yourself. You have the courage to speak the truth. You are fearless in your actions. You come off as a bit intimidating and unapproachable. Only confident people are attracted to you. You don't try to scare off anyone. You're just an intense person!

What Kind of Tea Are You?

You Are Badminton

You are quite talented but not very appreciated. You are detail oriented, very focused, and agile. You are happy to forsake glory for success in something you truly love.

What Olympic Sport Are You?

Joy's Notes Day 3

Thanks Joy. These are great!

Day 3-My Gold Medal Experience

by Joy Dickson, Monday, August 11, 2008 at 7:12pm

Jia Yo Zhong Guo! Allez Coco! Balissima! Ganbatte! Let's Go USA!- for almost 12 hours I heard these chants non-stop as I watched Women's Fencing ( Foil), both the preliminary and final competitions. Words cannot accurately describe all that I felt,saw and heard yesterday. I am still in shock.

My friends Rachel, Simone (her boyfriend) and I lucked upon some tickets for fencing. Simone is Italian and was the only one in our trio that really knew about all the technical rules in Western Fencing and who was competing. He declared early on that his fellow country (wo)men would take the Gold. I honestly did not care I was just excited about going to an Olympic event.

We took the new subway line 10, which was free for Olympic ticket holders, and transferred to line 8. Security is so tight here that we had to go through a check point before we were even allowed to get on line 8. And even after you go through the medal detector you still have to be checked with that wand thing. And we also learned that if you do not have a ticket, you ain't getting on line 8 or near the Olympic Village. "No ticket, Bu Can Can (No looking)". Being the proud Italian that he is, Simone tied the Italian flag around his neck and looked like Superman flying through the subway. If we were any place else, I would have been embarrassed beyond belief but trust me when I tell you he was tame compared to what other people were wearing.

We were proud of ourselves because we thought that we would be on time. But as luck would have it the English map that the lovely official volunteers had given Rachel and Simone was wrong. Now here is the funny or typical Chinese part about it, when they went to one of the thousands of Olympic Volunteer booths, there were stacks of Olympic maps written in Chinese and hardly any maps in English. And the ones in English were printed wrong. So we had to get back on the subway and go back to another stop. Little did we know that this little mishap would pay off later.

The first map sent us to a stop that was a way from the Famous Bird's Nest and Aquatic Center, so we had decided try and go there after the competition. Well, turns out where we had to go was two buildings away from the these two buildings. I have climbed the Great Wall 6 times in my life, swarm with sharks, walked along a suspended bridge in the middle of a "jungle" in Ghana but I have to tell you the Bird's Nest and the Aquatic Center are two of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Wow! Being at the Olympic Village was literally like being in a different country, it was very surreal.

Rachel and I could not stop giggling because we just could not believe we were at an Olympic competition. Neither one of us had even considered going prior to the Opening Ceremonies. Honestly, I was so tired of all of the drama and construction, I was actually disappointed that I was stuck in Beijing for the Olympics (While, I have never smoked crack, I have been breathing in Beijing air for the past three years so please forgive me). And when we stepped into the area that they were having the competition, it was amazing.

All of main lights were turned off and only spot lights followed the fencers. There were four matches going on at once. Our tickets were great, fifth row and as luck would have it all of the people that we watched were from countries that we wanted to see. The only exception was the Japanese fencer. I cheered as much for China as I did for the US. I also got into cheering on the French and Italians. As soon as the matches were over all of the lights came on and initially it was a shock but you get used to it.

While, I don't pretend to know a lot about Western Fencing, I did enjoy watching every minute of it. I have had more experience watching Kendo ( Japanese fencing) and now I can't say which one I prefer they both are amazing to watch despite their differences. Now here comes the coolest thing.

As Simone, is trying to explain who is playing the next round, I notice a name from the US team that looks familiar, Erinn Smart. Erinn Smart is an African American woman from Brooklyn that competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics with her brother Keeth. I remember reading about them in either Essence or Ebony a long time ago. OMG, I am going to get to see her compete, was the first thing that popped into my head. When she came out, a group of Black folks behind us immediately stood up with signs that had her name on it and they were chanting go Erinn. The Chinese lady next to me asked me who she was and I told her and then she started to say Jia You Erinn ( which means Go Erinn! Go Erinn!). She is amazing and kicked her British opponent's butt.

When the Italians began to compete, my "how to curse like a sailor in Italian" lessons began. I have known Simone for three years and besides Prego and Arezzo( his home town), I have not learned much Italian from him. But now, I am ready to curse out any Italian that pisses me off.

Erinn competed again and once again it was amazing to watch. Unfortunately, she was beaten by an french woman, Marejean. Ironically during their match a group of french spectators snuck down to the seats behind us and cheered their fellow country woman on. So, I also had a refresher course in French curse words. They kept chanting Allez Coco (which is her nickname). The Chinese spectators began to chant it as well. Rachel and I along with her other supports tried our best to yell, "Let's go Erinn!" but we were no match for the French and the Chinese.

We stayed until the final preliminaries were over and were starving because we had not eaten anything since breakfast except the stale popcorn at the venue. As we were getting ready to leave, Erinn Smart along with another person on the US team, were walking towards us. Now, I have met a few famous people before and usually shy away from asking for pictures or autographs, BUT (again it might have been the smog I have been breathing in for the past three years) this time I asked and she said sure. I spoke to her briefly and found out that she will compete one more time in the team match and that her brother competes tomorrow.

As we were leaving and Simone's "I am the Italian Super Man" cape was billowing in the air, a French woman approached him and asked him if he would be interested in tickets for tonight's medal finals. We quickly did a 360 and followed her back into the stadium to get the tickets. As we got closer to her friends I noticed a group of Westerners sitting together. The woman told them that we were interested in buying the tickets. One of them said in French that the woman should not sell them to Simone because he was Italian. I guess she was pissed that no French person was going to go for a medal in this competition. One of the people in the group looked very familiar to me and with out thinking ( again it is the smog), I yelled out "Allez Coco", it was the French woman who beat Erinn. Well, that won the anti-Italian woman over and she sold us the tickets. Coco also took a picture with me.

We had a couple of hours to kill, so Rachel and I ran to the tailors (that's another story) and Simone stayed at the Olympic Village. While we were on the train back ( you don't have to go through security to leave but you do have to pass by Mc Donald's to get to the train station. Note: this is the only Mickey D's in Beijing that serves salads). While on the train I noticed that there was a man with a "Parent of Olympic Swimmer" shirt on. He was holding the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. Turns out he was the father of the Auzzie who had just won the Bronze Medal in a men's swimming match. I can't remember his son's name it is Patty Mc-something. He will be competing tomorrow again. What was so sweet about all of this was that the bouquet that he was holding were the ceremonial flowers that they give the medalist and he was going to give it to the people that he was staying with. He also mentioned that all of the 5am drives to practice with his son were worth every minute.

Our seats for the match were row 11 but center. We were right behind a group of Koreans ( the silver medalist and only non-Italian in the finals) and surrounded by Italians. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by two Roman hunks to my left and one in the front. Fortunately, they spoke English so I did not have to embarrass myself with my new Italian vocabulary. Unfortunately, the two to my right were not hot and drunk off their butts. And they proved that if you act a fool, you will get air time on TV. If you see two Italian men with red, white and green wigs with the Italian flag painted on their faces and holding the Italian flag that says "I'm All In", I sat next to them.

Seeing Vezzali win the gold was so amazing. Her coach carried her off the platform and ran with her on his shoulders around the stadium. The energy and excitement in the arena was awesome. I tried my best to get as close as I could to take a picture of them on the platform but being short only gets you so far.

Later, the three of us walked around the Olympic Village. It was so beautiful at night. Afterwards we went to get massages at my favorite place, Bodhi.

Well, I am going to the tennis competition tomorrow. Stayed tuned for that updated.

Joy's Notes Day 2

Thanks Joy for sharing your experience with us.

Day 2- My life as an expat living in Beijing during the Olympics.

by Joy Dickson Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 6:26am

While I am happy to see more foreign faces having all of these tourist here has been good at times as well as a nuisance. If one more local vendor, gives me a tourist price for something that I know cost 75% less then what they are quoting me, I am going to smack someone.

I spent my morning at my favorite market in Beijing, Pan ja yuan. I can literally spend hours looking at beads, stones and"antiques". Because of the Olympics, there were television screens throughout the market. It was kind of cool watching various events while shopping. I got so caught up in the Olympic spirit, I decided to compete in the number one sport in Beijing...

...haggling over prices with a local merchant. I have been training for this event since I first came to mainland China in 2000. I am so good at it that I have had Chinese folks get mad and say, "you just like Chinese person." Ironically my Chinese really is bad considering I have lived here for 3 years, but when it comes to shopping, I am as fluent as the next person.

And today was no exception. I saw this really cool pendant, yellow jade with two small dragons. As soon as I asked, how much, a smile went across her face. The famous, haha I am going to get as much from this foreigner as I can look. She had the nerve to quote me 400RMB(65USD). My initial response was "Ni Fang Le" which loosely translates as "Have you been smoking crack?". I think she was about to ask me the same thing when I said "30RMB", but decided to fall out laughing instead. My friend had walked off at that point, but hey I love a good fight. And it was on, out came the cell phone ( a lot of merchants like to us calculators or cellphones to tell you the price so others can't see how much you pay for things. Since I am very familiar with this, I use the gift of my loud voice and say the prices out loud, to throw or piss them off.)

The funny thing about all of this was that in true Chinese fashion people started to gather around to see this lao wai(foreigner) and zhong go ren(Chinese person) go at it. One of her friends decided to put her two cents in and tell her to charge me 500RMB and when the merchant told her to be quiet, the friend said she is a lao wai and can't understand me. Then everybody fell out laughing and told her that I could understand Chinese. Both of us had a good time and we tried are best to get the other to fold. I ended up paying 80RMB and probably could have gotten it for 50 but it was hot. So instead of winning the gold I got a silver in this event. But I won the gold with other merchants.

The funny thing about haggling over prices in Beijing is that sometimes people will chase you down or even follow you around the market until you agree on a price. Which is what another merchant did until I agreed to buy this tea set, I got it for 65RMB instead of the 500RMB he quoted me. I still can't believe that my friend and I got these vases for 150 RMB. After the vases we had to immediately, leave the market because I was on the verge of buying more stuff and I still have not figured out how I am going to get my furniture back to the US.

So my friend and I decided to go do more shopping. To deter us from spending more than we can afford, we went to the new San li tun mall. No haggling allowed and the import taxes are so high on foreign goods, I knew I was safe. We went into a jewelry shop to do some "research"-me for my jewelry business and her for engagement rings.

I guess the merchants were so excited to see foreigners and got the memo from the government to be extra nice to the tourist, that they decided to go overboard. They asked to Chinese men to move so we could look at the diamond rings, offered us water and the sales person did not hesitate to let me try on an 8 karat round diamond engagement ring set in white gold that cost 1.5 million RMB(200K). Ironically it fight my short fat finger, the smaller 1 karat in pink gold that was about 1500 USD didn't. Now if I could just find a husband...

I almost did find my future husband today. With the Olympics here, I have seen some of the most beautiful men in the past two days than I have seen in the three years that I have been living here. And they are everywhere. I met the future Mr. Dickson at the Post office this afternoon. He was this tall black guy that looked like he was either from the West Indies or an African Country. He kept checking me out, most of the non-American Black men here tend to like plump women, so I enjoy being eye candy.

We start talking,the usual where are you from what are you doing here. Yada Yada. And then he laughed and at that point I could see his teeth clearly. I don't care how fine you are, if you have disgusting graying teeth that are broken and crooked I am done. And as soon as he asked me if I was here by myself, I told him I was married and that immediately killed the conversation. I don't like to lie but I have found it is the only way to get them to leave me alone. And unlike in the US, it works every time here.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I will be going to my first Olympic event, fencing. Tonight, some friends and I are going to watch the US vs. China Men's Basketball game. I am looking forward to this match up.
Tune in tomorrow for my latest update.

Joy's Notes on the Beijing Olympics

My friend Joy, who I met in college, has lived in Beijing for the last few years and is fortunate enough to be there now during the Olympics. She's posting her experiences on her Facebook page and has kindly granted permission for them to be republished here. Thanks Joy :)

Where were you when the Beijing Olympics started?

by Joy Dickson Friday, August 8, 2008 at 12:23pm

By now most of you know that the number 8 is considered a very lucky number. So it is no surprise that I thought that today would be a special day for me. After all I am living in Beijing and the opening ceremonies of the Olympics were scheduled for today at 8pm.

My day was definitely memorable and eventful. It began with my morning walk around Workers Stadium. I actually had debated whether or not I was going to even go for a walk because the air was so bad today. Today of all days was supposed to be one of the best days for air quality because of the Olympics but the smog demons did not get the memo, despite all of the efforts that have been made to look good in front of company.

Anyway, as I am walking I notice a person passed out on the ground in front of one of the many night clubs near the stadium. Mind you it is 7am and it is sad to say this, but passed out folks on the sidewalk is quite common. But this one was a foreign male. Usually most people here keep on going but not today, a foreign male was passed out on the ground and the gawkers were beginning to gather. Something in me told me to stop to see if he was alright. And as soon as I stopped more folks stopped. Fortunately, one man had a phone and told me in his broken English "Police!Police".

For those of you that have never had baijo ( Chinese Moonshine), I can only imagine how much he had to drink because this guy was out cold. Folks came by to take pictures and the first cop car that we saw just drove by despite that fact that they had a clear view of what was going on. About 15 minutes later a cop car finally stopped and the first thing out of his mouth was, " Is this your friend?". I immediately, told him no and that I lived down the street.

The poor guy did not have any ID on him, his friends had left him and he did not even know where he was staying. Fortunately, he did have some money because the police officer refused to take him to where he was staying because he said, "he is up now and looks ok". And like most drunks, he just got up, got in a cab and drove off. No thank you or xie xie. Well at least he is ok, it could have been worse.

I spent the majority of my day packing, only to find out that the post office was closed. I forgot today was a "holiday". And, yes this does mean that I have made my decision about whether or not I will be staying in China. I have not bought my ticket yet, but as my friend says, "Beijing is so 2006" and it is time to come home. Tentatively my departure is August 31st.

Another interesting thing happened to me, several hosts from the various bars on bar street asked me if I wanted to come into eat. For those of you that have heard about the now infamous article that stated that the government told bars to not allow Blacks and Mongolians into their establishments, being solicited by these people can mean several things, one folks here still think I am Filipino (I can't even begin to tell you how often this happens), two, they are so desperate for business they will risk "defying the law" or three-the ban was a hoax( which is now the latest rumor spreading around).

Fast forward to 6pm and I attempt to find a place to watch the opening ceremonies. Unfortunately, everywhere my friends and I went was too crowded. So we ended up back at my apartment. And I have to tell you that the only time I can recall ever seeing an opening ceremony was the 1996 Olympics. I watched it on TV with my mom and god parents in ATL.

All I can say is WOW and that I am happy that I was here to witness this historical event. China really out did themselves and I am proud of them. The lighting of the torch was awesome as well as the drummers at the very beginning.

Fortunately, for some of you, you will get to see the edited version and miss the uncut version that featured the view of someone's butt, the red shoes obsession one camera man had, Bush sitting back chillin' in the stands, Putin waiting to the very last minute to get up and acknowledge his country's athletes, other political officials doing undignified things, ( Hint: if you are a public official please remember you are on camera and that just when you are tempted scratch or pick something remember their is a camera man lurking around capturing your every move ),Athletes from various countries yapping away on their cellphones or the track and field star from the US, ( HInt: is last name is Gay) turning his hat to the side to look more "gangsta". I mean being singled out of the crowd because you are one of the best athletes in the world just wasn't enough for him.

I was glad to see that Iraq and Zimbabwe were allowed to participate, and that the US flag was carried in by a refugee from Darfur. I also enjoyed learning about countries that I have never heard of such as Chinese Taipei. I tried to find the guy from Ivory Coast, that I was lusting after while he was shopping at Yashow Mall but he was hard to pick out from the crowd. Hey it is not everyday you see an Olympic athlete that is so fine he looks like a chiseled piece of dark chocolate.

In general this was one of the best performances I have ever seen on TV. Hopefully it will be on youtube, so I can watch it again, because I did fall asleep after the US walked in and missed, Mexico, Italy and China walking in. But I did see the torch being lit. That was AWESOME. Well the fireworks have stopped so I am going to go to bed now.

ttyl,
joy;)

The Stressball Incidents

In the Beginning

When things are slow at the spa, we sometimes play with the stress balls. They're lots of fun, spiky multicolored, & they light up when they hit a hard surface (trust me, this is an important detail). The spiky shape makes things fun. You never know which way they'll bounce. That could also lead to an eye injury, just ask T&M.

Escalation

Another day, M was tossing a stress ball around (she had conveniently forgotten about almost getting her eye poked out with one less than a week previously). So she was tossing it up & catching it most times. She got bored with that and decided to throw it at me. Unfortunately, I was talking to T, and not in the best position to catch a pointy stress ball. Next thing I know, I felt something smack my right hip. I grabbed my hip and (my drama queen friends would be so proud) cried out in pain, complaining that the stress ball left a nasty bruise. The "bruise" (also pictured here) is the same colors as the stress ball, but it mysteriously took the shape of a gecko. Hmmmmm.



Retaliation

M, undaunted, continued tossing the stress ball around. I was more vigilant about making sure it didn't hit me. It bounced over to me a couple of times and I either tossed it back or kicked it back to her. This last time, I threw overhand, but with my left hand, so my aim turned out to be either miserable or fantastic depending on your opinion of what happened next.

The stress ball flew at M like a 98mph fastball headed straight for catcher's mitt. I'll admit, the ball was slightly off its mark. It hit M in the right breast and she dropped to the floor in a fetal position, letting out a scream worthy of a horror movie. The stress ball hit her so hard it lit up before it hit the floor. My reaction was hysterical laughter. I laughed so hard my abs were sore and I started crying. Even though M claims the hit will cause her to develop breast cancer, I'm sure she'll be fine, but be a little more cautious next time she picks up a stress ball. I'll keep laughing every time I see a stress ball.