Dara Torres, 41 years old, mother of a toddler, is trying to make it to Beijing as a swimmer. Some story! Addition to Susan Rapp.
It’s very interesting to know – I’ve thought otherwise – short course suits aging swimmers better than distance.
No among of money could propelle her to where she is, if weren’t for her passion and drive. I’m still confused by ‘six pack’, it means pot belly or flat belly?
Go for the Gold, Girl !!!!
The left is the little Zheng Jie (5’5″) from Sichuan who upset Ana Ivanovic, 6:1 and 6:4. Yuan Meng exited in the first round, won the first set at 7:6 (9:7), but then lost 6:3 and 6:0. How far can Zheng go?
It’s so much fun to watch it with Pumpkin! Oh heaven.. she’s quite a knowledgeable tennis bum. We kibbitzered together, screamed together, popping fists together, ya and ouuuu together .. we all found Venue’s dress although pretty, but felt the strap is too thick and wide, and the skirt part should have been straight, like the tube. Now we’re wishing for the sisters to meet at the final next Saturday. They should.
Where was I about Littler Bug? Ok, today’s big news was that Tiger Woods Apple Core sold on eBay for US$36,000.
I was at the US Open this Friday, following Tiger Woods down the 12 th Fairway, after his tee shot, he was eating an apple, 30 yards from his ball he discarded his apple core in the rough, I asked a photothe to kick it over my way, and he did, I never touched the core, Scooped it up in a empty beer cup, as not to disrupt the DNA, Ive got lots of witness’…all moneys go to my daughters college fund
Ok, Tiger must have been littering for this Dad to pick it up? Or am I lacking imagination? Well, I certainly don’t know the rules of golf.
Which school is his daughter going to, and what would the highest bidder do with it? Any one still remember a girl who put herself on eBay for a Superbowl date?
SI reported that Tiger is out of season. He played on a broken shin but still managed to beat a journeyman. Littering or not, a champ is a champ. But, Tiger, Lion, Cheetah, Jaguar or Cat, would you pls set a good example not to litter next time? The world is watching you know .. Do you think that the Eastern Garbage Patch would reduce over the time if Tiger is sentenced to do community service for lettering, like clean up the street for 100 hours? It’s so true 有教育没教养 – education can’t change the breeding. You’re what you’re to the core.
Elise: last summer King played few holes at Clearview for his last day of the golf camp. Parents were allowed on the course. I spotted (see below) more than dozen cigarette butts. It’s disgusting!! I’ll hate to say this, but those public courses are popular with the Koreans. And boy they smoke.
Let’s DNA those butts, and send the offenders to 100 hours of community service.
Don’t I deserve the Picture of the Year award? A tiny little leave landed on the court with a rain drop. Taken on 2008-06-21, 9am. My partner and opponents all rolled their eyes, thinking what a crazy woman they’re playing with. Sorriii people. A man (opppps .. .. a woman) has to do what s/he’s got to do.
This is how pathetic I look like, left wrist and right arm .. all band up, but still playing. Don’t I deserve hard working, or persistence award? Thanks but no thanks .. I already bagged the crazy mom and model citizen award. Hey, lord, I have two legs too .. ..
Tennis Anyone? The fashion business seems to be a resounding “yes”. Why did it take so long? Tennis outfits – for girls – have always been there. Can you name a outfit or brand for badminton? I bet many girls start to play tennis are due to the cute white dresses or skirts. It’s part of my reason, in spite of the heavy racket (compare to badminton’s).
Wimbledon’s just started. The top 4 male/female players are the same as in French Open, in slightly different order. Where are the Americans?? I miss the period when Sampras faced off Agassi on Sundays .. the commentators or the media would dab it as Who’l be the King on July 4th – corny but hey, I wouldn’t mind to see that again. I just love Sampras (who’s nature serve and volleyer) more than Federer. Manner wise they’re very similar, quiet and composed (so is John G. Roberts), very cool and sexy – the way a man should be.
Ouuch. I often fret about the fairness of competition between the government funded and free willing. In a way, I reckon in the end things are pretty equal? How’s to say those athletes are ‘forced’? They could forgo the temptation of fame/money, be what they were before. I’m not justifying the treatment or pressure of the government, Central or provincial, but China is free enough for its citizens to do pretty much they wish – the fact he made such claim that he’d like to quit through the team interpreter showed there is a large degree freedom. Take it like a man.
A couple more odd scenes at the pool:
– A fair skinned Asian lady in a red bathing suit facing the pool, tucking in her pubic hair.
– My locker is always opened or ajar when I returned. As I said before, the locker rooms are small, so are the lockers. Only few full lengths. I don’t lock it, so I would guess that someone has opened it to use only found it’s been taken. Fine. But would you please close it?
– Oh boys .. many mothers bring their sons, young and old. I think I have the right to complain, because I have a son too and I brought him to swim when he was very very young. He used men’s locker. Worried about it? Ask a guard to help him out. Too many breasts and pubic hair might hindered his development. Ok, just kidding. Seriously, on a more selfish side, would you subject your own son to all of those??? Would you please be considerate to other girls and women??? – There’s a sign written in Chinese (beside English) but I do see other young boys of other race.
I asked the manager of the facility if there is something I can help. Obviously the lifeguards are doing their best, but not getting result. Many swimmers just claiming they don’t understand English – I suspect some do and some don’t, using it as convenient way to disobey. There are signs for each lane. Perhaps the pool could make the sign more visible and dedicated only 3 lanes to fast, 3 medium and 4 slow? Make it into multiple languages as well? Few Chinese acting rude reflect badly upon all of us. The manager gave me the commissioner. So, we’ll see.
The last time I went to swim at Flushing Meadows pool, it was bit chaotic as usual. Lifeguards busy blowing whistles – I have never heard this many whistle in a pool – because swimmers did what they please, without regards to others.
There is a few standard rules for lap swimming: you stay on the right; you don’t hang around at the end (where people do flip turn), you let faster swimmer go or pass. Simple enough? Non of those are out of ordinary and fit well in our daily lives: you drive on your right hand side; you let people pass you if you’re too slow ..
I do my laps continuously and flip turn at the end – meaning I only see the bottom of the pool, don’t get to see what coming my way at all, until I come close which I can sense or touch some one’s feet (again, this is when the person ahead is in a horizontal position. Because once I touched some one’s higher back because he’s treading the water – treading water in the fast lane!! What a big jerk!! It can be little nerve wracking to swim with uncivilized people. I touch swimmers very often at this pool, some times twice in one lap.
So last time there, in the beginning it’s ok, I shared the lane with one other who’d stop at the end letting me go after few laps (when I caught up with him). Then it got crowded. Some one behind me began to ‘cut the line’ .. would turned around without going to the end, so can get ahead of me after my flip turn. By then, it’s too many people in the lane, I couldn’t pass without causing collusion with on coming traffic from the left. As I continue to swim, I came up on a middle aged man doing breaststroke/treading leisurely but facing up. So his legs spread wide opened, closed, then opened/closed again while I was facing down and forward fast. Since his body was 45 degree to the surface, so I got very close to him. THAT was some humbled experience. Not sure I could called it a sexual harassment. Didn’t he have any self-respect? In an empty lane it is probably fine, but not with someone comes close.
1. Why couldn’t those Chinese leave their bad rude behavior at home? Start afresh in this country?
2. Didn’t he feel uncomfortable having someone between his wide opened legs? .. or it’s indeed his intend?
3. Don’t everyone who might not have a clue as what standard rules are in the pool, but with tiny bity common sense would behave better?
Few weeks earlier I had complained to the lifeguard for the rude manner. The big guy with soft accent said earnestly, “don’t you think I tried? Please you talk to him in Chinese ..” Lord, I was embarrassed even he meant well. This time I was really mad, so I stopped and complained to the lifeguard.
Apparently, the man was there with his wife (all in my lane), both slow movers. And apparently, someone already complained about them. When I went to the end, as soon as I opened my mouth, few swimmers on the deck came over. (Did anyone notice how quickly a circling crowd would form in China??) First, the couple ignored the lifeguard and his whistle. Another lifeguard try to stop them from the other end also failed too. So the lifeguard threw down the red soft pole to stop them. Guest what? The husband screamed “.. You Have No Right ..” The wife screamed even louder, “.. discriminating .. ” Both life guards happened to be black and the manager on deck was an Hispanic. Living Color.
Lord, why are the Chinese so rude and ugly? Chairman Mao, see what you’ve done to your fellow countrymen during your three decades of reign. You didn’t just send us to the poor house, you also took away the civility and decency. It needs 60 or even 100 years to restore.
Played pretty good tennis this morning, 6:1. 6:1 and 4:3 – we were tired :). My single hand backhand is working, not as good as the double hand but it is working, to my delight. My arms are taped up: right is with that greenish pad and left is taped with band from drug store. Hey, my two legs are free ..
I played three really good – almost great – sets this late afternoon, 6:4, 6:2 and 6:0. Many points were won by lobbing. And I actually used my brain, because my left wrist was in pain since Tuesday night’s badminton .. so no backhand – handicapped. By the way, my lefty badminton has gone pretty good since this January. My right arm is getting better but to reduce over use, I continue my lefty adventure. It seems that I’ll use my birdy brain only when I have to compensate for some handicap or misfortune. Guess men are born decent but lazy, :). Might I pls have the use of my both arms at the same time? It’s getting harder and harder. Thank god my threadhole for pain is very sufficient. Last week I had the service of my left wrist, so my backhand worked well, but lost a very close set, 8:6 tiebreak. Heart breaking. We had two set points!
