Olympics

Wow.

Don't know how I've managed not to talk about the Olympics up until now.

Yesterday night, at approximately 12:00am, I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, gripping onto the side for dear life, and hardly breathing.

I was watching the Women's Gymnastics team finals.

I couldn't believe what took place before my eyes. It was soooo dramatic! Better than a good movie. It was mainly between the U.S. and China (I was watching NBC, so it was especially about the U.S. team), and I couldn't believe I was gasping away along with the audience.

Well, the first thing was the actual moves they pulled off. For me, the scariest is the balance beam. All that jumping on something similar to a tightrope.... amazing.

The girls of both teams did really well. And I mean REALLY WELL. The race was pretty close too, except at the very end.

I think in this case, it's hardly a case of skill, but rather a case of nerves, optimism and delivery. All your competitors are in top shape, millions of people are staring at you (19 000 are there personally to stare at you) and this event embodies the pinnacle of your career. Imagine the pressure! I get shivers just thinking about it.

Though the United States won silver, they were very, very close. Nastia Lukin, wow. That girl got 16.9/17 for the bars. That's gotta be something to be proud of.

And the Chinese won gold. They deserved it, as was said by the NBC commentator. One of the girls, I don't know her name, but she was the all-around gymnast... I was blown away by her. How could anyone be so amazing onstage... I don't know.

It was definitely a thrill watching the Olympics last night.

On another note, Michael Phelps just became the first person in history to win the most career gold medals (11 at this point), and going on to win the most gold medals at a single Olympics (8, was it?)

I am speechless, watching him swim. He makes it look so easy 'cause he's so relaxed! Everybody else is flailing around him, and he's just going steadily on. Goodness, he broke like 50 World Records. And what does he do after winning the 11th gold medal (I wonder if it's possible to ever be tired of standing on the podium)? He easily takes off his swimming goggles, looks at the board and seems slightly angry that he broke the World Record by less than he wanted to.

I have wonder if he's the best swimmer this world has ever seen...

Also, South Korea is doing REALLY well right now. It's third behind China and the States with 6 Golds. I'd have thought it would be Russia or Germany (from past Oympics), but I'm pretty proud of them. There was this swimmer (forgot his name), that fell into the pool right before the race started at the 2004 Olympics and GOT DISQUALIFIED. Goodness, that must have felt so bad. He was really embarrassed too.

Anyway, this year, he went and won the first gold medal in swimming for South Korea. I think anyone in the world, no matter what nationality, would have been proud of him.

There are so many other stories I have regarding the olympics, but I'll save that for another time.

I'm finished Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs, and have decided not to do a review. I think I'm doing too many book reviews at this point. I'd like to focus a bit more on manga.

Yesterday, I discovered the manga Kakan no Madonna. I REALLY, REALLY liked it. It reminds of Red River/Anatolia Story so much. But of course, nothing I've found could actually compare.

I am not reading this post over. I don't have grammer check, spell check, etc etc. So, spot anything wrong, Comment or Shout me.

100% Perfect Girl

I found it fitting to use my first post to describe the origin of the name of this blog.

It's inspired by the manga 100% Perfect Girl by Wann, and the manga took root from the short story On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning by Haruki Murakami.

Simply put, Jarte (a boy) is looking for Jay (a girl). What more is there to say?

Both stories feature a poignant love story that delves into the notion of love at first sight. I've never really believed in love at first sight (I have been appropriately distressed at Shakespeare for so deeply entrenching such a superficial concept in our society with his Romeo and Juliet). However, I looked past this blight to gather what both authors want to leave us with - to never pass up a chance when some innate, incomprehensible gut feeling tells us to go for it.

I think this is what the name of my blog is trying to convey. It's a bit more than the quickie of "bam! bam! I've fallen in love!" but rather the discovery of who we are based on the relationships we form with those around us.

...Or you can just say that I liked the feeling of inspiration that I got from reading J is Looking for J across the billboards of Seoul (Ok, by this point, you really need to have read the manga and short story to know what I'm talking about).

Anyway, don't get me wrong with my obstinate stance regarding love at first sight (many people have tried to convince me otherwise with tellings and retellings of 90 year old couples whose eyes met over a crowd of other eligible singles) - I'm actually quite open to different ideas.

I think there can definitely be a sense of attraction between two people staring each other down or passing by on the way to the supermarket. But to this day, I still don't believe that it's enough. An initial infatuation with the other person based on appearance and stance is not something I'd consider love. I don't believe you can judge another person in his/her entirety based on one lofty look alone (not to mention tres jaded by shallowness). I think considerable time is needed to find out more about the person, and learn to love him/her.

Those instances where true love occurred in the sizzle of electricity conducted by the momentary glance between two people? Coincidence. Attraction is the foundation of love. But it's not love.

The two masterpieces (in my perspective) have caused me to spend a considerable amount of time commiserating over the fact that nothing I draw or write would ever match up to such ingenious talent and beating myself over the head for procrastinating on my American History essay.

Either way, they're great reads for inspiration, or when you have some free time.

I have sidetracked from my original topic. After establishing the origin of this blog, I wanted to go into detail regarding its purpose.

Plain and simple: to discuss literature.

I am an avid reader and writer (have you noticed that the word "avid" most commonly appears with "reader" or "writer"?). I spent the week before exams browsing through mangas and novels. It has become an obsession that that I cannot (and probably will never) get over. All in all, it's a good thing. Reading makes way for writing, and that's something I need to catch up on with this blog and Pantomime.

Pantomime has become my high school baby. I started it on Saint Patrick's day as a sophomore and it is now approximately 30 pages from being finished (I'm currently in line to be the new generation of seniors at my school). I am unsure whether to deem this 300 page fantasy romance a tremendous achievement or a horrifying nightmare. It certainly fits both categories at times. My free days this summer shall be soaked with my endless typing and editing for this story... so I will leave this topic for a later time.

About the blog: raves and reviews are my thing. I guess I'll be focusing mainly on my current reading list, but I am also totally looking forward to discussing awesome books I've read before. There are definitely some books that have defined my literary career (which is nonexistent, but nobody needs to know) and have influenced my writing a great deal.

Signing off,
Annie

Ps. Take a look at this.