Win & Loss

 

Last night the Men’s 10m Platform Diving final was on.  Chinese Huo Liang finished in first place for the semifinal, but it was Australia’s Matthew Mitcham who took out the first olympic gold for Australia in men’s diving since Dick Eve in 1924.

Mitcham cemented his gold medal position with his last dive, scoring an almost perfect 112.10 out of a possible 114.00.

 

Mate, what an awesome competition.  Legendary.

 Meanwhile, the Australian Opals fell to the American basketball team in the Women’s final; Lauren Jackson of Australia led a valiant effort with her countrymen against her fellow teammates, but the girls secured silver.

The game was a little disappointing, not because we lost, but because there was so much more to give.

So the olympics draw to an end (far, far too quickly!).  It’s been a lot of fun watching the winners, losers, and the drama of victory and defeat.

 

Doctor007.

Homecoming Queen

Just under two years ago, my family was changed radically.  It was strange, probably because you don’t really don’t expect the big things in life to ever change.  My parents were fighting a lot, and I was preparing to leave home.  My sister had been saying for months and months that she was going overseas, but there was never any money, so nobody expected it to happen.

In October, she announced that she had the money and was heading over to the UK.  By that time, I’d found an appartment with an old school friend, and was planning on moving in over the next week.  My parents had a bit of money, and decided they wanted to downsize but upgrade where they were living, so they found a nice apartment on a small island and moved in around the time I moved into my new apartment.  In the process, we had to get rid of the family dog, who was a pain in the arse but we loved him anyway.

In the space of a few weeks, the family we knew was gone.

Time marched on, as it does, and everyone pretty-much settled into their new lives.  My parents figured out how to be happy, and so I started spending more time with them.  Now two years later, my sister is coming home.

My sister and I were friends when we were little kids, pretty much hated each other when we were teenagers, and became close again as we got older.  So I guess It’s a little exciting now to know that she’ll be back home in 4 short weeks.  I’m eager to show her around my new life.

Looks like the old family will be back together again….it will be interesting to see how it all plays out!

 

Cheers,

Doctor007.

Good As Gold

The Aussie girls have been dominating the Ausse men in the pool this olympics, and today was no exception.  The Australians took out the Women’s 400m Relay today, with China and the USA coming in second and third respectively.

Not only did they take out the gold, the Aussies finished with a time of 7:44:31…smashing the world record held by the United States by just under 6 seconds!  The Americans have held the world record since March 07 in Melbourne.

American swimmer Michael Phelps has well and truly dominated the pool in the first 6 days of the olympics, with 5 gold medals already to his name.  A new generation of swimmers has hit the pool, and they’re smashing records like no tomorrow.

One thing’s for sure – there’s a lot more gold out there to be found!

 

Doctor007.

13.AUG.08 Olympic Medal Tally – TOP20

 

G = Gold
S = Silver
B = Bronze
T = Total

For full results listings, go to http://en.beijing2008.cn/

 

In the Shadows of Giants

I’m not sure why I love the olympic games as much as I do.  I’m not particularly sporty at any other stage of the year, but there’s something about these games that has me glued to the television, internet, and newspapers constantly, putting on hold almost everything else that’s going on in my life.

It’s probably the amazing strength and discipline it takes some of the athletes to become as great as they are, and for them to put it all on the line in what is such a brief opportunity to prove themselves – well, it’s admirable, to me. 

That, and it’s a great excuse to drink beer and yell at the TV.

Oh!  And by the way – I passed my first semester of medical school!  Just barely, but a pass is a pass.  As one of my mates said (with hands on hips, chest puffed out, and a meaningful gaze into the distance): I am one-eighth doctor.

 

Cheers,
Doctor007.

(Congrats, Leisel!)

As Good As Mine

 

Hey there, how you doin?  It’s been a while, huh?  I don’t think I’ve blogged in well over a month.  It’s not like nothing interesting has happened, but I just haven’t felt the urge to write here.

Why?  I dunno.  Your guess is as good as mine.

I guess I’ll be back when I feel like writing again.  I’m feeling pretty good these days….hopefully that doesn’t mean I’ve lost the desire to write stuff!

 

Check back occasionally, won’t you?

 

Doctor007.