Best and worst of times

Me and Ladybug in Vegas, baby! (April 2006)

It's the best of times and the worst of times. I love living with Tower Girl, but hate life on the road. I feel restless at night and have trouble sleeping, but don't feel motivated to get out and do anything worthwhile during the day. I love the fact that I've made amazing friends on tour, but miss home so much it hurts.

With no clue what I'm going to be doing after October 23, I feel a combination of relief, numbness, anticipation, and dread. I'm gonna be 40, for fuck's sake. What the hell am I doing living on the road without any sense of home?! I feel like I'm gonna be alone for the rest of my life, and find myself wondering why I'm such a loser, despite the fact that I know that I'm really not. Damn those old demons called despair and hopelessness.

But before I fall into a freefall of despair, I thought I'd post a picture of someone who brightens my world each and every time I'm lucky enough to see her. Meeting Ladybug is one of the best things that's happened to me on tour. She's happy, she's fun, she wears her heart on her sleeve, and she isn't afraid to be who she needs to be: herself. And I think she's the most wicked Aussie you could ever sing the Aussie national anthem for find.

There are the people you work with, and the people you cherish at work -- those people who make every working day fun and new. And I realized that there's somewhat of a litmus test that I conducted in Ottawa, when my parents came to see the show. I wanted to specifically introduce my folks to 4 of my departmental colleagues: Tower Girl, Lucky, Nebraska Girl, and Ladybug. They are the people who I work shoulder to shoulder with and who I cherish on tour; who I will miss the most when we all go our separate ways. They are the people who, along with The Hire Guy, make me happy to be part of this group. And wanting to introduce them to my parents is the true litmus test of how much they mean to me: a lot!

Ladybug: one of the best things that's come out of my joining the circus.

Feel free to leave a comment for Ladybug. OK, this sappy, depressing blog post is officially over. You can now return to what you were doing.

41

I had to go to Kentucky the other day to hit the closest Home Depot store. In my Jeep I went, driving across the river to a mall close by. And, by doing that, I added a 41st state to my list of visited states in the Yoo Ess of Eh. I tried to post the map of all my states, but the formatting is screwed up, so I'll just leave it to your imagination. Suffice to say, I'm now only missing Alaska, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa and Tennessee.

Oh, I've also visited nine of the 10 Canadian provinces, and will one day hit Newfoundland. It's just those three northern territories that I don't see myself getting to. And that's a bit of a shame, from what I understand, as it's supposedly beautiful up there.

I know I'll hit 42 states by the end of this tour, as Missouri is on the immediate horizon -- duh, we're heading to St. Louis in a few weeks -- and, depending on whether I head home after Oct. 23 or not, I could hit Kansas, Nebraska and even North Dakota along the way. Not that I'm that desperate to get to 50 or anything. Still, Kansas and Nebraska would probably be a logical route home to Vancouver. But time will tell. As I said in my last post, I could see myself heading to any of a number of places after October 23, and it's only time that will tell.

I'll still strive for 50 at some point. I'm not sure why, but it just seems like I should.

how many states have you visited?

Can I bother you for a hot shower

I didn't go out last night. I didn't prop myself up at the bar and hit awkwardly on HPPG chat with new friends. I didn't do much except have a few drinks at home, enjoy pizza with Lucky and Tower Girl, call Luscious Lorna on the phone, play Name That Tune with Tower Girl and Giggles, and talk an awful lot about everything under the soleil.

I booked a hotel in Indianapolis for next weekend -- a weekend away for two consecutive days! I talked to Luscious Lorna about the fact that I honestly have no idea where I'll be after October 22, or for my 40th birthday in December. It's a bit unsettling, but I know it will all work out. And Luscious Lorna, being on the exact same wavelength as I am nearly all the time, said, "The world is your oyster." Not surprisingly, I had just typed that exact same phrase in the blog entry that I was writing when I called her. Eerie.

With the world as my oyster, I could seriously see myself heading to one of many places -- Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal or Atlanta. I even see myself heading different, more exotic places for other potential opportunities, or just for a chance to get away. Who knows? Time will tell, as it always does. Perhaps I'll be heading to a town near you.

Can I please sleep on your pull-out couch and bother you for a hot shower?!

There ain't nobody better

It's finally the Sunday night I've been waiting for. The week went well, but it's most definitely time to kick back, relax, enjoy a few cocktails, and look forward to a day off tomorrow. Amen, sistah!

Lucky, Tower Girl and I are planning a trip to Chicago to celebrate Lucky's 40th birthday -- a prelude to my own 40th in December. And it's really starting to hit me that we won't be together much longer. It breaks my will to live heart, but I know in a couple of months that we'll be heading off in different directions, possibly to other tours, possibly back to hometowns, possibly to other adventures. Regardless of where we end up, I'm already worried that the separation anxiety will be a bit too much to bear. These gals have become so much to me, and I will miss them terribly.

I have no idea where I'll end up in a few months. The world is my oyster, I suppose. With no dependents or spousal equivalent to worry about, I do have plenty of options open to me. Still, I suppose the thing is that I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

If I grow up.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm quite happy to grow up. I just feel like I should have a freakin' clue what I want to do. And if I don't -- which is my current status -- then I just want to be surrounded by wicked people like my best friends while I'm figuring it out. Best friends like Lucky, Tower Girl, Suzie and Luscious Lorna.

Wherever I end up, and whatever I end up doing, these folks are my lifelines. There ain't nobody better.

As it should

The posting for the job that I applied for recently on another tour has been withdrawn. A restructuring will see it combined with another position, so they don't need me or the other, less-qualified person I fear they would have given it to.

A bummer? Ya. But in the long run, would it have really been what I wanted to do? I'm not so sure. And now it just doesn't matter.

Everything will work out in the end. As it should.

10:30 am

Got home from work last night and there was no Diet Coke in the fridge. Anyone who knows me understands it when I say that this is a desperate situation. Nay, desperate doesn't even begin to describe it. How about inhumane?

Nevertheless, I survived. And I slept in until 10:30 am this morning. Again, if you know me, you know how rare impossible this is for me. Yet, it happened.

Our first two-show day is today. I think my staff are up to the challenge. The burning question, then, is: am I?

And suddenly, a quick realization: this blog post is going nowhere. So I'll just sign off by asking everyone to have a happy Saturday. Not long to go until Milestone Sunday!

HPPG

Last night's Premiere went well for me and my team. My temp staff are good, the crowd was very well-behaved, and there were very few glitches that seem to be de rigeur at Premieres. Yippee!!

The Premiere party was somewhere other than my tent, so that made me happy. We walked down to the Ohio River and onto the Belle of Cincinnati riverboat. It didn't leave the dock, but it was still kinda cool to be on a riverboat. Now if only the staff had been interested in hosting a party for us instead of walking around with long faces....

We ducked outta there after a while and headed to the local joint for some Thursday karaoke viewing. Well, let's be honest -- we were interested in people viewing. And there were some lovely people to view, included among them a handsome gentleman who had seen the show and had been at the party. I had caught sight of him on the boat, and wondered it he was lookin' back at me, but it's hard to tell in those situations where I'm such a dumb-ass shy guy. But finally after the karaoke was finished and the lights went up, Tower Girl started the ball rolling with this handsome fella.

Tower Girl is the best bar date EVER! OK, it's a tie between Tower Girl, Luscious Lorna and Suzie. But Tower Girl was on her game last night!! She stopped handsome guy, made a witty comment, and then opened the door for me to begin a conversation. I took the cue and invited him (hereafter known as Handsome Premiere Party Guy, or HPPG) to join us gals back in our room for a continuation of drinks. He politely declined, but seemed intrigued. And when he reached into his pants wallet and pulled out his dick business card, I knew I was in there. Not that night, for there was still the small matter of continuing the drinks at our place. Let's keep our priorities in order, kids. Drinks with the gals come before almost anything.

But he game me his business card, touched me indiscreetly on the shoulder a couple of times, made sure to inform me that he managed the bar we were at, and specifically mentioned that he would look forward to seeing me around there again. I responded clumsily with something about the fact that it is, in fact, our local drinking spot and that I would be hanging out there every night until I hook him once in a while. Message received, message delivered.

Overall, a lovely night. And with Premiere over, Milestone Sunday is just around the corner! You can bet I'll be hanging out desperately casually at a certain local joint : )

Awfully tired

Well, the Reds won 14-0, so it wasn't excatly the close, competitive game that we had expected. Still, it was cool to go to the ballpark and take in the all-American atmosphere and tradition. But 14-0?! Houston couldn't even put a single run on the board. Zoiks!

Today was a long Set Up day, but I'm a day closer to getting Premiere over with, and the city run underway. That's always good news! There are still a ton of things that I need to do tomorrow before the blessed event, but another 13+ hour day will get it in the bag and have us ready to go.

For now, it's off to bed. This gal's awfully tired.

Six cities ago

As it turns out, the excitement capital of the midwest was beyond even me. Lucky and Tower Girl went out for dinner with the rest of their department, while I chilled at home. Instead of taking my much-needed disco nap, I just puttered around on the internet and frittered away a few hours. I eventually started to drift off, but it was more of a it's-time-to-start-thinking-about-going-to-bed weariness than a just-a-short-nap-before-going-out kinda thing. By the time Lucky and Tower Girl got home, it was pretty late and fairly unlikely that any of us were going anywhere.

While puttering around in their absence, I watched a fascinating documentary on the Katrina disaster, where people were shifting blame and complaining about the lack of federal response, telling hero stories and describing the complete chaos that reigned. We were in Singapore at the time -- struggling with Set Up-- so news of the outside world was a mere blip on the radar, and I just didn't get the full picture back then. But watching this documentary helped fill in some of the gaps, and certainly helped explain why so many people were so freakin' furious about the circus that is/was FEMA.

Having taken a first-hand look back in April at the devastation of New Orleans -- including seeing a crippled Superdome, as you can kinda see by the darkened patch of wrecked roof on the right side of the dome in the picture above -- I was particularly interested in learning some more about how everything went down back then. It's hard to believe that it's a year ago already. More importantly for me, can Singapore really be six cities ago?! Oh dear.

Today is my mid-Set Up day off -- a new phenomenon that started in Ottawa, and that makes me verrrry happy. On tap for today? I need to organize this hurricane of crap that has littered my room and made it impossible to see the floor. Then, tonight The Hire Guy, Lucky, Tower Girl and me are going to watch the Reds play a home game.

So maybe last night the excitement capital of the midwest was a bit beyond this old fella. But today, I'll drag my sorry ol' ass out there and see what's about.

Excitement capital of the midwest

Set Up continues, and with lots of hard work and concentration, I'm back on track. I only have a few things to tackle to get my suite's infrastructure complete, and then it's the finishing touches; the fine-tuning; the french manicure that'll make it all cultured.

Meanwhile, I sit at home after a hard day at the "office," getting ready to have a wee disco nap before heading out on the town. For tomorrow is a well-deserved Set Up day off, and I plan on making the most of this Monday night in Cincinnati, the excitement capital of the midwest : )

Happy Monday night, everyone!

Roses in the end

Today was Set Up day #1, and I'm sure glad it's over. We're behind schedule because of some unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, but that happens. And we cope with it, then move on. And everything will come up roses in the end.

Not much else to report, really. I saw a bit of Cincinnati last night by car, and was a bit suprised by some of the things I saw. There's definitely some not-so-nice neighbourhoods lurking in them thar hills. But I also saw some very nice neighbourhoods as well, so it all balances out.

I joined Lucky and The Hire Guy out at this place during karaoke night. And if that wasn't interesting!! The folks in this town appear to have a penchant for tunes from Wicked -- which is fine, cuz all of those vocalists were great -- but then there are some other folks who prefer other tunes with less appealing results. Still, the people watching opportunities alone were worth the price of admission.

And that's just about all there is. Hope you're all having a nice Friday evening.

Arrived in Cincinnati

The birthday surprise adventure for Tower Girl was a trip to Washington, DC to meet Lucky for a couple of days in the capital. It was fun -- I drove my car in the lead, while she followed closely, all the while not knowing exactly where we were headed. Once we got to DC, we checked into a beautiful art deco hotel, where Lucky was waiting for us.

It was tons of fun, with sightseeing and drinking and eating and relaxing galore. And when it was all over, we had to face the long drive to Cincinnati. Lucky was....well, lucky, and flew, but Tower Girl and I were driving. And it was long and involved.

I had car troubles, preciptating a 2-hour delay in La Vale, Maryland. We ran into some construction, which caused some delays. And we were continually terrorized by rogue 18-wheelers that were intent on scaring the hell out of us making good time on the road.

We eventually made it to our destination at 11:45PM, a mere 11-1/4 hours after we left Washington. With stops and construction and car trouble, it wasn't all too unexpected. Still, we were tired and simply checked into our accommodations (not as nice as our last two stops), then hit the hay.

Today, I had to go to work while Tower Girl got to sleep in, but tonight we'll perhaps do some exploring of this place. Unfortunately, we've heard that they roll up the sidewalks at 6:00PM and there's nothing to do in the downtown core, which is where our apartments are. It could be a long stay...

Let the Set Up Games begin!

Tower Girl: the birthday

Tower Girl realizes the party's over (March/2006)

It's Tower Girl's birthday, and I'm the best roommate ever! I already gave her a gift certificate for her favourite store, and on Monday I'm spririting her away for a surprise birthday adventure. She doesn't know what I'm up to, but it will be fun. Suffice to say that when Jeff plans a surprise, it usually elicits a love-your-work! kind of response. This time should be no exception.

And she certainly deserves to have some fun. She's so much fun to live with, and makes work time enjoyable for both me and Lucky. She's away from her boyfriend for the first birthday since they started dating, and I know I'm a weak substitute -- I just will not sleep with her, no matter how hard she tries to convert me!

But at least I'll happily drink with her. And oh, how the gal can drink! Why, I wouldn't have thought that someone so demure and elegant could put back the Three Olives cherry vodka the way Tower Girl can. And all this from someone clinging so desperately to her mid-20's so young. Very impressive!

So here's to a great birthday surprise for Tower Girl. I think she'll enjoy what I have in store.

And on a completely unrelated topic, I can't believe Philadelphia is nearly over. Let me rephrase: I can't wait until Philadelphis is over. Only two shows -- plus Tear Down -- to go. And none too soon, cuz I'm just way over this place.

Bring on Cincinnati!

Tear Down weekend.

Ugh.

Borders

The Gay Village in all its multicoloured glory (Montreal, August/2006)

I like this picture, just because it shows how much fun and spirit Montreal's Gay Village demonstrated. The streets became pedestrian corridors, people were everywhere, the vibe was fresh, the testosterone was intoxicating. And just to be a part of the majority, for a change, was way fun.

So imagine how gay men and women from around the world might have reacted. People who come from places where homosexuality is outlawed; places where they can't be out; places where they may feel like the only gay person around; places where same-sex hand-holding would never cut it; places where their mere participation in an event like the Outgames would be severely punishable, had it been known to "the authorities back home."

These people might feel a bit overwhelmed; intimidated even. But hopefully they got to see a society where it's bordering on the acceptable to see two men walk hand in hand down the street. Or to see a couple of men in buttless chaps and leather harnesses playing out a mild master/slave scenario on the street.

OK, OK, so maybe I'm not even ready to see that every day : )

But let's be honest about seeing two men holding hands on the street: such an insignificant and unobtrusive gesture that shouldn't bother anyone and, certainly, is nobody else's business. In certain parts of certain cities, I will hold someone's hand and feel all comfortably coupled. But I certainly don't feel like I can do that everywhere, and perhaps that's my own issue. There are times when I tend to be bold in that respect while, at other times, I can be a bit cowardy. And that stems from the fact that this simple gesture can clearly offend some people, as I've experienced first-hand as the recipient of uncomfortable looks and near-aggressive behaviour. Yup, this kind of "deviant" behaviour only borders on the acceptable here in Canada. Still, I feel like I get a glimpse into how it could be in this country when I'm feeling all bold and activist-empowered enough to hold the hand of another man.

Note: now, if only I could find someone to hold hands with on a regular basis, I'd be able to continue to test this theory!!

I wonder how those other people reacted to being amidst all this militant gay-agenda-pushing behaviour in Montreal. It's liberating to be in the majority, and I wonder whether some of them will go home changed people; people who wonder what if? about their own countries. Even when you're back to being a minority, you can become a catalyst for change.

So maybe I'll become the catalyst for my own change; for my own insecurity. I'll just suck it up and feel comfortably coupled by holding the hand of whatever hot man I'm walking beside.

Well, provided he's not just some random stranger with a nice ass that I followed out of a corner store.

"And the gold medal inShot Put goes to...."

Gold medal in Shot Put at the Outgames (Montreal, August/2006)

I was happy with my shot put during the decathlon, but by the time the open shot put rolled around three days later, my legs were a bit shot -- so to speak : )

I didn't throw as far as in the decathlon shot, so I was a bit disappointed with that. I also didn't throw farthest of all the competitors -- a guy in a younger age category threw 15cm farther. I also didn't get to focus clearly on the event, as the open high jump was being held simultaneously and I had to run about a mile back and forth between the two events. And I just didn't feel ready to punch a long one out there, despite my trying to convince myself I was. Still, I came away with a gold medal in my age group, and a place at the top of the podium.

The 10 15 extra pounds I'm carrying in my midsection came in very handy. Even if my high jump performance suffered. Terribly.

Captain Canada

Captain Canada at the Opening Ceremonies of the Outgames (Montreal, July/2006)

Is it me, or is Olympic Stadium just like one huge phallic symbol? Totally appropriate, given the fact that thousands of gay men were marching to their date with history inside that place.

As in Sydney 4 years previous, I wore my always-in-style Canadian flag cape, this time paired with my completely unbreathable Team Vancouver shirt. It was a gorgeous night, interrupted briefly by rain. But there wasn't nearly enough precip to spoil our coming out party.

Once inside The Big O, I kept thinking of all the amazing things that had taken place in that very location 30 years ago during the '76 Olympics. "That's where Hasely Crawford won the 100m....ooh, that's where Alberto Juantorena swung wide and blasted the finish of the 800m....and this is where Rosi Ackermann took the High Jump gold......and Irina Szewinska kicked everyone's butts to take the 400m title there....and that's where Lasse Viren started the 5000m race, securing his 4th Olympic gold in two Games...."

It was cool to be inside, wrapped up in all that history. But the most important thing was the history that was being made that day. The first World Outgames were launched in grand style, and I was part of it. It didn't hit me until the Closing Ceremonies that these Games are for real. Despte all the bitchslapping disagreement between Montreal and the Federation of Gay Games that caused the split that led to the creation of these Games, Montreal came out on top. They created a festival and a multisport extravaganza that put me, the athlete, first. I felt like these Games revolved around me, something that was probably considered very specifically by the amazing Mr. Mark Tewksbury, based on his own Olympic experiences.

But even more than that, I was made to feel like I could, in the words of Mark and Martina, become a better human being. And that's no small accomplishment.

Bring on Copenhagen 2009. Cuz I'll be an even better human being by then.

Me and the Olympic champion

Bruny Surin, 1996 Olympic champion in the 4x100m relay, and me (Aug/2006)

So there he was. Bruny freakin' Surin! Just standing there, all on his own, waiting to be called up to do some medal presentations. This guy is a legend -- Olympic champion, twice world champion, twice world championship silver medallist, world championship bronze medallist, twice world indoor champion.

And nobody even recognized him!

I walked my ass over there, introduced myself, and had my picture taken with him. And he was very gracious. Then, 5 minutes later, he presented me with my silver medal for High Jump. Then, 5 more minutes later, he presented me with my gold medal for Shot Put. And said, "Congratulations....again. You were obviously a busy guy."

Hangin' out with Olympic champions. Yup, that's me. Rubbing shoulders with the rich, the famous, and the decorated.

No medals required

I made it home intact this afternoon. But not before meeting a lovely man in line at the check-in counter. He asked me a question, I responded, he laughed, we kept talking. I happened to be switching my flight to be on the same flight as him -- yippee -- but was having second thoughts. Paying an extra $50 to leave a couple of hours earlier just didn't seem worth it.

But the thought of getting to hang out with him for a couple of hours before boarding our flight seemed worth it to me. So I went ahead and made the change. And they never charged me the $50 fee. Clearly, this has been my lucky air travel vacation.

So the gentleman and I had a lovely visit and exchanged meaningful glances business cards. When it was time to go our separate ways, he made a point of telling me that he'd e-mail me. I won't exactly hold my breath, but it's just darn nice to feel like someone's interested in striking up a conversation with me.

In fact, this happened a few times to me over the past few days, and each time made me feel pretty special. I'm not typically the kind of fella who's good at starting conversations, so each time one of these handsome men started chatting with me, I had to stop from looking over my shoulder to see if he was really addressing someone behind me. And in each case, it was really me he was interested in meeting. And, while I may not be great at initiating a conversation, give me an opening and I'll carry the ball past the goal line for the winning touchdown.

Now, I know that starting a conversation means nothing. It's not like an invitation to jump in the sack or propose marriage. Still, I'd like to think that this is how I'll someday meet Mr. Right -- with a few casual words and shared laughs. I still hold out hope, and having some lovely conversations like that helped me keep the hope alive.

And in each case, I didn't even have to wear my medals to impress the conversation starter. Jeepeers, just think how in-demand I would be if I had been one of those posers people who walked around with their medals around their necks 24/7.

Closed

It's all coming to a close. The Closing Ceremonies on Saturday night were (like the Opening) magnificent. As cheesy as it sounds, the big draw was Liza, and she honestly didn't disappoint. Sure, there were many bitchy fags skeptical audience members, but she was neither drunk, nor (seemingly) on pills, nor slurring. She was pitch-perfect, on her game, and fab-yoo-luhs!

I don't leave until tomorrow, but things are effectively over. All my friends have departed, except for Suzie. And of course The Hire Guy and Lucky, who are here for a day longer than I am. But today will see some shopping, some sightseeing, and some last drinks.

Then it's back to the airport for the flight to Philly. Oh....and did I mention that I volunteered to be bumped from my flight here for a later one (a mere 2 hours later) in exchange for a free round-trip flight coupon anywhere in North America that US Airways flies. Did I mention that?! Ya. Talk about the best ever start to a vacation.

Perhaps I'll have the same luck to end my vacation! But for now, these Games are closed.

...with disco music!

Well, Montreal has been an absolute blast thus far. Starting with a night out with my awesome Vancouver crew, it has just grown and grown in fun factor.

In a nutshell...

• The Opening Ceremonies were stunning. I've never been more proud to say I work for this company, because they put on a stunning and spectacular demonstration of what makes it unique. Plus the other performances were really great. And any Ceremony that features Martina Navratilova in a very visible and prominent role is OK in my books -- having her and Mark Tewksbury recite the mission of the Games was really well done.
• The track competiton has been absolutely first rate. The officials are the best officials you could hope for -- with stunning commitment to what they do, all the while demonstrating such a great sense of humour to help us old farts make it through our events.

• I had some great results and some not-as-good results in my events, but overall I'm just happy to have the chance to compete. I thrive on competition, and track is my passion, so it's been way too much fun. My events on Day #1: decathlon 100m, dec long jump, dec high jump, open discus final, dec shot put, dec 400m. My events on Day #2: decathlon 110m hurdles, dec discus, dec pole vault, dec javelin, dec 1500m. My events on Day #3: open long jump final. My events on Day #4: open shot put final, open high jump final. Needless to day, my body was wrecked at the end of Day #1, but I soldiered on and finished the decathlon, plus all my individual events. I have made a decision, however, that this will be my last decathlon. I'm disappointed to have to compete in my individual events after the decathlon is over, and after my legs are totally shot. In my open long jump final, for instance, I withdrew after 3 jumps because I would have seriously risked injury if I had tried to go on. Similarly, in my open high jump final, I took only one jump -- the one jump I needed to take home a medal : ) Then I withdrew to save myself from hurting myself even further. This old body doesn't need that kind of punishment, so no more decathlons. In future, I'll stick to individual events and enjoy them more!
• The city is amazing. Montreal is so receptive to all of the athletes, and it's made itself into this huge set of open arms. I love the fact that my athlete accreditation gives me free public transport, and that the Gay Village is blocked off to vehicular traffic so that everyone can just walk in the street. Awesome environment, spectacular vibe!
• The men: stunning. Obviously, athletes are a slightly fitter bunch, but it's not just the athletes from all around the world that I'm talking about. Montreal men are, by definition, the most sexy around. It's heaven.
• I'm finished competition now, so it's just a matter of having fun and partying until I leave here on Tuesday. Bring it on!
• Oh ya, and there's the small matter of all the hardware I won. Final tally: GOLD in discus (2nd for all competitors, 1st in my age category), GOLD in shot put (2nd overall, 1st in my age), SILVER in decathlon (4th overall, 2nd in my age), SILVER in high jump (4th or 5th overall, 2nd in my age). Two gold and two silver medals in 5 events. I think I'm OK with that.

I haven't had access to internet until now, so please pardon me for the lateness of my updates. I've just been a bit too busy.

I sent a text to Tower Girl after I won my first medals, and she asked me if it was just like the Olympics. It's better: it's like the Olympics with disco music!