Thursday, February 13, 2014

Hopes dashed and a rule broken ... all in one day


After going off course just a bit in my last posting, time to get a little back on track here.
This piece is about a little disappointment.
I had a plan in place where I was going to see every sport at least once while I was here. It was a complex schedule that I worked up ahead of time, planning on seeing local athletes first and then figuring out the rest.
But that dream came to an end today, thanks in part to the one sport I really didn’t care if I saw while I was here… Figure skating.
In the press manual that we received before coming, it was noted that there would be tickets required for high-interest events. These tickets were free to press, but they had to be requested ahead of time from each person’s National Olympic Committee.
When I looked at my schedule, the men’s short program was on tonight so I figured I was good because the high-interest list gave the figure skating finals and a number of hockey games as the events for which tickets would be needed. The final round of the figure skating is the free program, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
However, when I got to the door of the Iceberg Skating Palace, I was told a ticket was needed for entrance.
So, there it goes, the hope of seeing every Olympic sport at least once is shot down the tube by my own stupidity and damn figure skating.
The upcoming figure skating events are also high-interest and are also falling during times when I plan on seeing other things, so the schedule will not work out.
I guess I will just continue to follow my schedule, though there’s no need now since my hope of seeing everything has been dashed.
On a completely unrelated note, it is completely impossible to find a good salad in Russia. Or at least in the Olympic area. Or it least it was impossible until I broke my own rule.
Every single day I eat a salad for lunch. It doesn’t show in the way I look, but it is my lunch every single day. In all the Olympic venues I’ve been to, I’ve yet to find any halfway decent salad and in most places I haven’t found any. When I did find one, it was lettuce and green peppers, sprinkled with what I believe was shredded tuna fish and a poor substitute for dressing.
But then I broke my own rule and went to McDonald’s. A number of years ago I stopped going to all fast-food drive thru places like McDonald’s and Burger King. I was eating there way too much and needed to cut back. So I stopped cold turkey and haven’t been back.
But in search of a decent salad, I walked through the doors of the Golden Arches in the Main Media Center and I at least found a serviceable salad. It wasn’t perfect, but it was edible and that was what I was looking for.
So, the questions remain, was it worth it to break my own rule just to get a salad? And will I ever forgive myself for not requesting a high-interest event ticket for figure skating?

The US and Slovakia face off in men's hockey

2 comments:

  1. A good (or decent) salad is worth the broken rule, at least in my book because you chose the healthy route instead of the greasy burger and fries meal. It's a shame you'll miss your events viewing goal by one. On the other hand, what a wide array of events you'll have under your belt by the time this trip is over!

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  2. Oh, it will be a lot for sure... And no lies, I did eat a wrap from McDonald's as well... probably not the best idea...

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