1 day to go- and not just the Olympics. 1 more day of teaching a seven year old for two hours a morning. I try to avoid teaching kids as much as possible, I’m just not cut out for that kind of work, but the boss made an offer I found very hard to refuse. And what the hell, only two hours a day for seven days and my new toy is payed for.
But looking back over the last two weeks, things have gone pretty well, I think. Overall, I mean. Every Olympics needs a scandal or two, preferably leavened with storm in a teacup. Got that. China seems to have thoroughly kicked arse, and Jamaica has kicked arse on a per capita basis. New Zealand hasn’t done too badly, either, although from this Kiwi’s point of view it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. There’s nothing to complain about, the athletes all got out their and gave it their best, and the mere fact they’re in the Olympics is awesome enough. I was still a bit disappointed with some results though, but that’s just the way it goes. Still got a few chances, men’s K1 500 in 5 minutes (just watched it. Eighth place. He seemed to be holding up through the first 250m, but fade away after that. Crap) and men’s mountain bike about now.
The weather got off to a suffocating, humid, murky, lung-clogging start, but after the first three days the weather patterns turned more favourable, we’ve had a fair bit of rain interspersed with sun, and the restrictions on the various sources of pollution seem to have helped. There have still been smoggy days, and I’m sure all the air pollution indices have still been higher than the international norms and standards, but there’s been a definite lack of athletes carking it mid-race as some had predicted, and there’s been plenty of good days.
And there’s been trouble, but less than I expected, so that’s ok.
To be honest, I’m getting a bit Olympicked out. Olympic fatigue. We’ll have a closing ceremony party tomorrow evening, and then, to be honest, it’ll be a huge relief that it’s all over. And then, of course, the Paralympics will start up in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the lower profile translates into less hassle.
And of course, I’ll have to get out of summer holiday mode very soon. Damn.
