63 Things About Me - 1 and 2

 I will be turning 63 late next month. Sixty three! It is not an auspicious number. No big round number, no massive event. Just a birthday - hopefully the first in 3 years that isn't Covid screwed.

But, here's the thing, I am feeling pretty good right now (mentally). And I am looking forward to the next phase of my life. Having said that, it is time to look back fondly on what gifts I have been given. And, by gifts, I usually mean the pleasure of experiences with friends and loved ones.

So these are the first two experiences I have enjoyed like hell, usually with my Eddie.

1. Going to the Olympics

The pictures above are from the olympics actually attended and enjoyed. And a particular thank you to NBC for hiring my husband to be CFO to Sports and Olympics. It accounts for 2 of these.

(left to right, and top to bottom)

1. Los Angeles 1984. I attended this one with some friends, Greg and often by myself. I saw Athletics (track and field) at the Coliseum and saw Carl Lewis with a gold medal, and Tommy Hintnaus just be gorgeous. I knew people on the men's gymnastics team (which won gold). I saw US gold medal Men's Volleyball and spoke with friends on the olympic court!! I even sent my mom to Annapolis to see a preliminary Soccer game. There was more, but you get the idea.
2. Beijing 2008. Ed and I went to this. A huge thank you to Citibank that let me work remotely for 6 weeks. And to partners who were too hungover to go to many of the events and I got to use their tickets. Highlights, Opening Ceremonies that were amazing, watching Iceland win their first olympic medal and watching the American male gymnasts get a bronze with Sasha Artemev - my favorite athlete and an alternate that suck the Pommel Horse to seal it.
3. Vancouver 2010. My only Winter Olympics. This was great fun. I saw Evan Lysacek with the gold medal in Figure Skating and was blown away. The village was a blast here.
4. Rio de Janeiro 2016. This was a quick trip, but we saw some amazing things. We saw Tom Daley dive, men's beach volleyball (see pick above) and met some very cool athletes at parties.

2. Visiting Old Olympic Sites

My love of Olympics - and Ed's enjoyments AND tolerance - has led me to discover old Olympic Sites when we are bussing around a new place. I have visited these sites of old olympics and/or museums.

1. Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics ski jumps.
2. Berlin 1936 Stadium - serious fascist piece of architecture.
3. Montreal 1976 Stadium and observation tower.
4. Sarajevo (Winter 1984) Museum in lower levels of the Olympic Stadium
5. The Official Olympics Museum in Lausanne Switzerland
6. Athens Original Stadium used in 1896 and 2004