olympics gymnast~~ all-americaness

These last ten days have been pretty crazy. College shopping took utmost priority AND the Olympics were on so I barely had time to settle down and concentrate on anything else. The fact that I decided I had to brush on my Calc skills (which was kind of left to rust after junior year) also narrowed my free time.

I never realized simply how much...stuff I known. >.> I feel like I’m moving my whole room! I swear, people are going to faint at the sight of how much I’m bringing. It doesn’t exactly help that college is a good +7 hours on the train, even slower via car.

Anyways, I had originally wanted to blog about the Olympics’ opening ceremony but it’s been more than a week since then and it’s kind of stale news. So I’ll move onto womens’ gymnastics, specifically Shawn Johnson. Now, I’ve never been an avid sports fan- I think the only sports (outside of the Olympics events) I enjoy watching are soccer and tennis. Everything else is completely incomprehensible and holds no interest for me whatsoever.

But gymnastics...I simply adore gymnastics. It kind of annoyed me though how this year, many of the gymnasts had to sacrifice artistic flair in their routines for technical difficult. More twists and twirls = higher level of difficult = higher scores. Europeans still manage to retain the artistry in their routines (though it doesn’t exactly help their scores because they’ll do a beautiful pirouette and then fail a jump -_-). From the U.S. team, Nastia Liukin, heavily influenced by Russian style, is all grace and agility. Watching her perform her routine is like watching a hybrid of ballet and acrobatics. She’s lithe and beautiful, very focused and brings an effortless elegance to the screen. Having been crowned the “Queen of Gymnastics” with her gold All-Around Medal, she deserves the title.

Personally, I enjoyed watching Shawn Johnson more. She’s only sixteen and has a sunshine personality. But most of all, I love her gait. XD It’s so endearing as you see her waddle into the auditorium. Both she and Nastia have a distinctive gymnast ‘walk’- hands to their sides swinging in rhythmic motion with pointed toes, almost like a march set to a ballet. From interviews and such, you can tell she’s a dedicated and hard worker but possesses great sportsmanship. I think she had bad luck in certain events, having to perform first (the first scores are generally the lowest and scores escalate as the routines proceed) so I desperately wanted her to win a gold. I think many of the audience also find her more relatable than Nastia. Her family’s a ‘normal family’, as her mother proclaims and she represents the All-Americaness spirit and sportsmanship.

But seriously, I love her gait! She’s so cute! xD

revamping our McDonald's of coffee

5% of Starbucks stores are closing in the U.S. this summer. One would think that this news would bring alarm to the urbanites of the world. Surprisingly few people are disturbed. This brings about a reflection on what Starbucks does represent in society.
Starbucks had first been established in Seattle with the intentions of being a hip coffeehouse, something that made the neighborhood a bit more cultured. Because of Starbucks, the coffee culture was completely revolutionized. Starbucks introduced terms like ‘barista’ ‘grande’ ‘venti’ and other coffee jargon into the mainstream culture. They even invented their own drink- the frappuchino and their trademark green and white slogan has become a signature on the cups of celebrities and yuppies.

There had always been a sort of status label associated with Starbucks. I myself still remember the first time I had stepped foot into Starbucks. I don’t know if it was because I was fed with images of sophistication and chic urbanites by the media but I felt I had stepped into another realm. It was a realm where everything was basked in wonderful and musky aromas of coffee beans with hints of caramel and vanilla. Those who sat inside Starbucks also carried a distinct aura with them- either urban college students discussing Proust over a Caramel Machiatto or yuppies conversing about the stock exchange.

In recent years however, the introduction of the breakfast/lunch option and the alarming development of Starbucks (they seemed to monopolize the city streets- turn ten feet and there’s the trademark green letters) seemed to make Starbucks lose what made it so distinctive. Starbucks began to feel like a fast food restaurant. The Starbucks located in the cities were worse- the baristas barking out ‘Hello, what would you like?’ in the same tone as the dreaded ‘Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?’ and everyone expected to spit out their orders like their lives depended on it. The fast-pacedness of Starbucks slowly corrupted its previous tranquil atmosphere that was so refreshing.

With the closing of 600 stores in the U.S. this summer and the elimination of the breakfast warm sandwich option, hopefully Starbucks will revamp and revive its original spirit. If Starbucks continues to carry on its fast food restaurant ways, I fear it will face more than just competition but also the disillusionment many of its previously loyal patrons. Do we need more cafes like the original Starbucks? Should we boycott Starbucks the same way Americans began a campaign against McDonald’s. What’s next- a documentary on the evils of caffeine in America?