Well ... much to the chagrin of he who wanted to watch James Bond reruns ... I can confirm that one person is able to watch the Beijing closing ceremonies at least four times in a single day.

And never tire of seeing Jackie Chan sing his heart out.

This is Erin, one of my oldest, dearest friends. We were in cadets together and played softball on the same team when we were in high school. She used to throw softballs at my head, although she will vehemently deny it. That was before we were friends.

There are only two reasons why I would voluntarily set my alarm clock for 4:30 a.m. and not only rise accordingly, but also shine:

1) Christmas
2) To watch the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies live

And seeing as it is currently 4:48 a.m. and I am, as my dad would say, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ain't nobody handing me a stocking full of presents, I am going to surmise that it's not Christmas morning.

Let the games begin!

Know what this is?

Apparently, this is what garlic looks like right after it is pulled out of the garden. Who would have known? (Other than my mother-in-law and pretty much every other human on earth?)

I was at the market, and asked the dude if they had any garlic. He pointed to a big box with all these tall shoots sticking out, a box that I had already investigated, and which, despite its large label clearly stating this was garlic, I couldn't make heads or tails of.

So, I am turning 30 (I think I just threw up a little from actually seeing the number in print) tomorrow and I feel about as excited about the prospect as it looks like I felt about being born (althought it could very well be that I am making that face because of the ridiculous bonnet I am wearing).

I am pretty sure that what happens tomorrow is that I simply expire. So if you don't hear from me anymore, then that's where I am. Dead.