Three Things Thursday

1. Olympic Coverage - While the Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 London Olympics aren't until tomorrow, soccer has already kicked off with the first women's match being held yesterday (USA v. France, with the first USA win of this Olympic games) and the men's matches kicking off today. Right now, Switzerland is playing against Gabon and I decided to turn on the game. This is the first year Gabon has fielded an Olympic soccer team. In 2008, Gabon sent just 4 athletes to Beijing in 3 sports - Track & Field, Judo and Taekwondo. (I have a good friend from Gabon and I've spent time in West Africa which is why I know these things.) The commentary on this soccer match is absolutely appalling. The announcers keep saying how "embarassing" the Gabonese are playing and how much they're "nerves are showing" while consistently saying that the Swiss have fielded a stronger team. Obviously. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world. Gabon is in West Africa. Instead of talking so negatively about the team, MSNBC should be highlighting the individual players' talents and citing what an accomplishment it is for them to be representing their country in a sport that is so insanely popular there. I really hope that the rest of the coverage of the Olympics isn't like this because in my opinion, the Olympics are a great way to learn about other countries and are supposed to represent friendly competition and international camaraderie. 

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2. Diet Changes - Growing up, I always had a (for lack of a better word) sensitivity to dairy products. I was allergic to milk as a baby and to this day, I can't even stomach the site of a glass of milk. As I got older, my allergy turned into a pretty bad lactose intolerance which had subsided by high school complements of Lactaids. By college, I didn't even need the Lactaids and for the last 10 years or so, dairy and I have gotten along just fine...until this summer. Lately, eggs and ice cream makes me sick, cheese makes my tongue swell and any other dairy products (with the exception of yogurt) totally do me in. I just ordered a pack of Lactaids again and I'm hoping that those will do the trick but if dairy turns into a banned food for me, I might have to make some changes to my vegetarian diet since dairy products are my biggest source of calcium. 

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3. Thesis - I vowed that after April I would never say that word but remember my thesis? The bane of my existence over the course of the last year? Well, next week, I'm presenting my thesis in DC! I'm really excited about this opportunity, especially since my graduate program at NYU did away with formal thesis presentations which made me feel like I slaved away for 6 months to write a 122 page research paper that would sit in a file cabinet for eternity. But, one of the people I met in DC last month was so excited about my research topic that she invited me to come back and present my research to her entire staff, which is doing similar work. I'm really hoping that this opportunity turns into an even better opportunity but for now, I'm just excited to talk to people who are actually interested in my research. 

That's that! So tell me: Have you been watching Olympic soccer? Are you pumped for the Games to kick off tomorrow? Have you had to make any changes to your diet lately? 

It's almost the weekend!
I hope everyone has had a fabulous week!