ibought

ipod in hand i sit here in beijing international airport, an airport with no wireless (how can that be?!), passing the time sitting in front of a 20x10 ft tv with a horde of chinese fans. not a bad way to spend a rainy day. and I tell you, there are few, if any, countries that are as patriotic in their fandom as the chinese. they cheer every single point as though it’s the championship point in the gold medal match. it makes me think they have been starved of something to truly get behind a cheer for a long time. it’s good for these long starved people to finally have a cause to cheer. even if it means my own patriotic feelings are dashed every time i look at the medal count. how has america fallen from above elite to just elite in our athletic pursuits? it makes me a bit sad to realize how wrapped up i become in whether we are the best, especially meaning that we are better than china. i guess the soundtrack of my Olympic viewing must be lee greenwood’s ‘god bless america.’ in fact, i remember being a camper, about 12 years old, and singing that song with about 150 other kids while gazing in amazement at a painting of radioactive colored amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesty.

but alas, you did not come here to read about my childhood camp experiences, no matter how traumatically patriotic, and no matter how badly my cabin won the midnight pillow wars. you came to hear this. it’s silver. it’s 80 gigs. it cost 2300 yuan. it’s a classic. and now it’s mine. it is taking forever, as in about 3 hours, to load all 50 gigs of music that i own. i can’t wait to slide it into my pocket and stroll around like everyone agrees with me that i am as cool as i think. welcome back.