Enjoy the Last Few Moments

The qualification rounds have come to an end...unfortunately with Alex's 18th placing, she didn't make it to the top 10, which would have brought her to the finals.

I managed to watch two of the four routines on TV...since Germany didn't qualify at all for this Olympic sport, they hardly show any of it. Eurosport is only showing 1 hour of the 4 day competition. Luckily there are other channels which seem to appreciate the most beautiful Olympic sport.

Both routines that I had missed (once due to channel surfing, trying to find out where they televised the sport, and the second time since the network decided to cut halfway through the 3rd round and show 3 hours of news) didn't seem to go as perfectly as she would have liked...Alex placed 8th at the Good Luck Beijing competition and now 18th...I guess with all the nerves and pressure...To see the preliminary individual results, click here. Group preliminary results are shown here.

Anyways, what counts is that she actually made it to the Olympics, a childhood dream of hers, and now she can finally relax and enjoy the moment for a few more days.

HOOP score 16.550 (14th)

CLUBS score 16.175 (18th)

The Final Warm Up

Alex's last competition before flying off to Beijing was the E-ON Cup 'Queen Margarita' in Varna, Bulgaria, where she ended up getting four bronze medals! =)

Hoop (16.575)


Clubs (16.300)


Ribbon (16.650)


Rope (16.300)

Sexiest Female Olympian....ALEX!

So I promised I would add some videos of Alex performing, and I just stumbled upon a recent video of her (from August 3rd). The video was taken place in the Sport Seneca gym where I used to train 6 days a week...and even my former coach who used to weigh us practically everyday, was interviewed! Quite shocking to hear her voice so suddenly, after 10 years. She still looks the same though.

Anyways, this blog IS about Alex and not any other past turmoil. =) The Olympics start in 3 days and I'm so excited!

It also happens that she was picked as the Sexiest Female Olympian competing at the Beijing Games, from an internet magazine list of 50, beating out Russian tennis star, Maria Sharapova!

Thanks to Alex, rhythmic gymnastics is finally making a better name for itself.

2008 Olympics Here We Come

I KNOW I haven't been posting in such a looooooong time, but things have just been really hectic the past few weeks.

My job has been outsourced, I've been running back and forth between unemployment offices, brushing up and sending out my resumés, getting interviewed, and most recently, gotten rid of living flies and maggots (ewww!). There's nothing more disgusting than insects. Especially flies and moths. Last year we had problems with moths and now this year it seems to be flies. I'm still disgusted by it all so maybe I'll touch up on this subject at a later date.

Actually, with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing coming up in less than a month, I am so excited to finally be posting about Alex Orlando! She's 21 and competing in Rhythmic Gymnastics for CANADA! Woohoo! I used to compete alongside her (she was a level below me) and so it's quite exciting to actually KNOW someone who's going to the Olympics. There have been other Canadian girls whom I've known in the past competing at the Olympics in Rhythmic Gymnastics, but there is something really special about Alex. She's got a great personality, beautiful, and just really great in the sport. She's even made it to the cover of Canadian's magazine CHATELAINE! The cover article talks about the history of women in the Olympics, and also includes Alex (in the middle).

Here are a few pictures of what I like to call, the Olympic Campaign for Alex! I'll be posting her videos soon.

The Discovery of Fucking, Austria

I've made a little discovery today.

There's a small town called Fucking located in Austria close to the German border - not far from Munich. Almost all of the town's streets are called Fucking as well. Interesting...and kind of cute.


View Larger Map

Group A: Round 2

For those who are living in Europe at this time, it's only natural to be glued to the TV screen this entire month. "Why?" most Americans would ask. "Is there another crappy Eurovision Song Contest going on?" No. Thankfully not.

EURO 2008, i.e. UEFA European Football Championship - soccer, not American football - has started! Having Czech roots, I am naturally cheering and screaming for the Czech team, singing "Kdo neskáče není Čech, hop hop hop!" throughout the tournament. My other top favourite is Portugal with their genious player, Christiano Ronaldo; unfortunately France and Italy have shown poor performance in their first game so they're out of the love list. Germany is definitely the team that I don't want to see advancing to any of the next rounds.

Yesterday's games Czech Republic vs. Portugal & Switzerland vs. Turkey was one of the most exciting games played so far. My throat was hurting from all the screaming and cheering I did!

The Czechs really challenged the Portuguese and had so many great chances to score, but the Portuguese were better towards the end and have secured their seat in the quarter finals. Score 1-3.


Czech Republic - Portugal 1-3 EURO 2008

No one would have ever thought that Turkey would actually have a shot at the quarter finals, but somehow they managed to kick Switzerland out of the match with their second goal in the 92nd minute! Cars were honking their horns till midnight and if I had any spare change on me, I would've gone to the next Döner Imbis and would've eaten a juicy Döner in celebration! Score 1-2.


Switzerland - Turkey 1-2 EURO 2008

Now both the Czechs and the Turks are tied, so we will need to win the next game against them, in order to advance to the quarter finals. The Czechs played a really good game against Portugal and showed much better performance than in their match against Switzerland, so they stand a good chance.

Nauseous & Nervous

I'm having troubles swallowing the banana I'm eating...my throat has gone tight and the water I just drank to help wash it down, is making me feel nauseous.

...nothing is normal in my family.
...the whole situation has burned a lot of bridges which don't ever seem to die down.
...at least it's a start.
...hopefully it's not just so that he has some place to crash at.