A Reluctant Tribute

I don't like Katy Perry.

I accidentally saw her in concert a few years ago at a Seattle music festival, and I couldn't dance or sing or sway with the music because I was immobilized by the horrible, sexualized display of modern pop.

Then about a month ago, I did a 200-mile running relay race with 12 girlfriends called RAGNAR. We each ran three different legs of the 2-day overnight race that took us from Blaine, Washington to Whidby Island.

My last leg was 6.4 miles up hard hills. I usually don't run with music, but since it was going to be such a long haul, I borrowed my friend's iPod nano and put it on shuffle.

When the song Firework came up, I felt my pace pick up. The afternoon sun was pushing back the clouds and from the top of the hill I had just crested, I had a sweeping view of the Puget Sound. When the song ended, I hit "back" and listened to it again. Then I listened to it again, this time pumping my arms at the "Oh, Oh, Oh" in the chorus and running even faster. Exhilarated by the song, the moment, the view, and the whole event, I yelled out, "I LOVE RUNNING!" Which is funny because I don't actually love running. (It is still unclear to me if I actually yelled out loud or if I was just yelling in my head.)

I kind of hate that Katy Perry is partly responsible for my moment of running ecstasy, but I'm not gonna to lie: I have listened to that song quite a few times since...even when I haven't been running.

This was my pass-off to my teammate Linda after I completed the joyful "Katy Perry leg" of the race.

Highlights of the XXX Olympiad

I am sad that the Olympics are over, yet it's also a relief. The sleep debt I have accumulated by staying up until the end of every primetime broadcast - and then watching even more clips online - was starting to have a negative effect on my health.

But I will miss emailing/texting/talking to my brothers almost every day about great Olympic moments, and I will miss having an excuse to go over to friends' houses almost every night. I organized an Olympics watching schedule for my group of friends so that we had different places to gather to watch together during the 17-day event.

We kicked off our rotation with an Opening Ceremonies party where I went as the 80's track star Flo Jo - colorful long fake nails included. (They made me want to rip my hands off.)

Here are some of my favorite moments from London 2012. I recognize that these reflect what I was able to experience through the tyranny of NBC, its producers and its commentators, but I willingly submitted to their attempts to manipulate my emotions, and I loved every minute of it. (NOTE: Unfortunately not all the video links capture the entirety of each moment that I describe.)

• Alex Morgan's winning goal in the 123rd minute of overtime in the semi-final game vs Canada.
• Manteo Mitchell running the first leg of the men's 4x400 relay with a broken leg.
• The swim team's Call Me Maybe lip synch video.
• Missy Franklin greeting her parents after the medal ceremony and asking her mom if she was wearing a new shirt.
• Aly Raisman starting to cry (min 1:40) before she finished her floor routine because she knew that it meant a team gold.
• Aly Raisman's parents in the stands.
• The sportsmanship shown in the bib exchange (min 3:30) on the track between Pistorius and Kirani James, the soon-to-be first gold medalist from Grenada.
• Serena Williams saying "it was probably flying to come hug me" when the US flag fell during her gold medal ceremony. 
• The look on wonder on Nathan Adrian's face when he won gold in the 100m free, and the shot of Lochte and Phelps cheering him on from back stage.
• The look on the judges' faces and the commentators' reaction when McKayla did her near perfect vault.
• Soni breaking the world record in her semi-final breaststroke race and then breaking it again the next day in the final. 
• Every time a Brit won a gold medal, especially when Andy Murray did it. He cried when he lost to Federer a month ago at Wimbledon. He cried when he beat him. (min 3:55)
• The defection of the Cameroonians.
• Carmelita Jeter pointing at the world record clock as she broke the world record and crossed the finished line in the women's 4x100m relay.
• The Target commercial showing kids getting accepted into college. It makes me tear up every time.
• The Coke commercial that made me feel great about every Diet Coke I have ever consumed.
• The Onion article mocking Andrea Kremer's horrible pool side interviews.
• Flint, Michigan's reception of their home star 17-year-old Clarerssa Shields, women's boxing gold medalist.
• Quote from our Closing Ceremonies party: "I can't tell who that is because he's wearing clothes. I only recognize him by his chest." 

Til Rio 2016...where you should keep your eyes out for me and my brother Jeffrey as the first ever co-ed synchronized swimming duo. We will be resurrecting a routine originally choreographed in a lake in the late '90's.