Big Ben&London eye (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I feel it would be remiss of me to let the London Olympics go by without a mention on my blog. After all, I live in a sport-obsessed household (of which I am no minor contributor) and there’s something so tribal about dressing up in national regalia, plonking yourself in front of the television and cheering on your country on the sporting field. Or in the sporting pool. Or whatever.
The Olympics mean, in the context of this blog, that very little writing is going to get done over the next fortnight. It is, after all, the greatest show on Earth, and it only comes by every four years so it seems a little wasted to not try to make the most of it. Sure, my team has been a little disappointing so far with some of their results, but that’s also what it’s all about, isn’t it? Seeing someone unexpected come from nowhere and take the prize. I only hope that these unexpected victories are due to hard work rather than anything synthetic, if you know what I mean.
I figure that it’s not worth beating myself up about missing a self-imposed deadline (see this post) if it means missing the Olympics to do so. Sure, I’ve disappointed myself in that regard, but it also occurred to me over the past couple of weeks that it was less than six months ago that I scrapped about 70,000 words that I’d already written, when I decided to restructure the story. So I haven’t been all that idle, really, since then. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself, hahaha.
But yes, the next fortnight will consist of sitting in front of the telly, national flag in hand, watching the highlights. (I’d watch the Olympics live, but my time zone means that about 80% of competition happens when I’m in bed. Sure, I’ll try to get as much live action as I can, but I’m being realistic here.) I’ll be experiencing the highs and the lows, the ecstasy and the disappointments, the pride of hearing the national anthem being played and seeing our athletes tearing up as they sing along. I’ll be watching sports that I only generally see every four years (European handball, anyone?), cheering people I’ve never heard of and watching as the superstars either justify the hype or crumble beneath its weight. And I’ll be loving every minute.
Writing? What’s that? For the next fortnight, at least, I’m afraid that I’ll be doing very little. And I don’t mind a bit.
Oh, and go Australia!!! :)
Disclaimer: I have no association with the International Olympic Committee, any national Olympic Committee, or any of the sponsor partners of the 2012 London Games or any other Olympic Games. All views portrayed are strictly my own.
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Hi Emily
I am a true Olympic ‘tragic’ (see pic on my website). I am also in a dreadful posiition re my writing agenda & the Olympics . Just as they were about to begin.. my galley proofs arrived from London! I have 14 days to check 270 pages and come up with 28 chapter headings. I hope I don’t end up with chapters called ‘ The long Jump’ ‘A disappointing fourth place’, ‘Hammer throw’ , A failed drug test ‘ etc etc.
Oh, heavens. Good luck! Though if you do end up with any amusing chapter headings, I’d love to hear about it.
I’m not stop much an Olympic tragic as a bandwagon jumper, I’m afraid – two weeks ago I couldn’t even have told you when they started, for instance. I’m quite blase about the whole thing … right up till the opening ceremony. Then I’m hooked for the fortnight. It’s quite funny, really.
Hi Emily.
We are in the same boat re: writing, the Olympics and the time zone. I’ve had to scrap my writing and start all over again with ideas for re-modelling the antagonist and plot. The summer hols and Olympics are a nice excuse to re-hash, re-think and re-charge the crafty writing cells. I’m a sports-mad fan too! Good luck to the Australian teams and all other country teams.
Oh,I like that. This time is being used to sort out my thoughts, not procrastinating in front of the telly. Brilliant idea! Best of luck with your own story, once these two weeks are up of course.