Asbury College at the Olympics

I now have three new reasons to visit the Main Media Center here in Torino on my evening off:

-Free
-Shiatsu
-Massage

Man, the masseuse relaxed muscles in my back that I didn’t even know I had. Afterwards, she asked of I was mal a droit, which makes me think I might’ve screwed up my back somehow. I kind of answered with a grunt and a murmur, as I think even my tongue was a bit too relaxed to make me speak properly.

If would also explain the two-foot stream of drool I left on the chair.

Today marked the first day of the “Oh dear, why did I agree to this if I had to get out of bed at 6 AM, I think I may very well die while they’re still in the third end of the first match” shifts. Thankfully, I was alert the entire time, carrying out Neil’s tripod, and shoving the acclaimed German officiators off the cable I have to feed out to his camera.

Others weren’t so lucky. Cash, another Asburian, got a “You okay, Sport?” from the floor manager. I don’t even think he was sleeping, from the sound of it.

In other news, nothing warms the cockles of my heart quite so much as seeing 20-30 Swiss curling fans singing “That’s the Way, I Like It (Uh Huh, Uh Huh)” in unison, complete with a dance routine, followed by a sung rendition of the instrumental section in falsetto.

I realize that I’ve harped on about the spectators enough, but really, they’re what the venue really interesting. The other night, the Swedish fans decided to give the USA section a run for their money by having a chant-off of sorts. Every time the Americans would spit out another inane but enthusiastic chant, the Swedes would answer with a cheer of their own, only louder.

And I STILL haven’t found a hat shaped like a curling stone, though Nate found a bakery up in Pinerolo that makes stone-shaped loaves of bread. It sounds impressive, I know, but then we discovered that it’s actually just a regular loaf with a croissant jammed into the middle. Pictures will follow, once I can get my camera up there to take a few.

The food at the cantine was going downhill for awhile, and then tonight, they managed to serve three of my four main food groups in one meal: steak, mashed potatoes (cue “Slingblade” impression), and pesto. I guess the cook got a bit rested up after we kept him awake all night with our raucous and wild parties that we throw. If only he’d make some sweet tea; I’d be in heaven.

Anyone who knows me will realize that I’ve just hit the “sarcasm” key on my pseudo-Italian keyboard.

Tomorrow is another long day. Let’s hope the USA women’s team finally scores themselves a win. I believe they’ve lost three in a row now, and they’re not quite as pretty when they’re depressed about a losing streak.

Goals for tomorrow:

-Get the traditional Italian goodbye kiss on both cheeks from someone, preferably a female someone
-Shamelessly beg at least one team for a free Olympics pin
-Keep the officiators off my cable for a whole match

Does anybody out there get as creeped out as me by Neve and Gliz, the Olympic mascots?