minus 1 day and counting

You would think that a University Town like Eugene would have a zillion wifi spots to let me post my daily blog but not so. I tried Starbucks yesterday (Friday) but I found out the hard way that they don’t support Apple’s Safari browser (and yet they work with Apple to let you down load iTunes on your iPhone). I finally found a place that has wifi but it’s far from U of O so I don’t know how often I’ll get over here: Here’s what I had hoped to post yesterday, Friday, as my blog will always be at least one day behind the current date:

Compared to getting to LAX from the Valley, getting to Ontario from Beaumont is a breeze. From checking in, checking baggage, and getting checked out at security, the benefits of a smaller airport are readily evident. But one thing a small airport has in common with a big airport is delayed flights. Because it seems that half of California is on fire, my 9:46 AM flight to the Bay Area didn’t materialize until 11:13. Thankfully I made my connecting flight from San Francisco to Eugene with 40 minutes to spare. At SFO I meet up with three track and field friends that I have share many track meets with. Our 90 minute sky ride put us into Eugene, the Track Capital of the World, a little after 3 P.M. The Eugene airport was very festive with welcoming committees, banners, and poster celebrating the Olympic Trials evident everywhere. Our short but $35.00 taxi ride dumped us off on the campus of the University of Oregon (Go Ducks) where we checked into the residence halls at the Hamilton complex, which will be our home (when we aren’t at the track) for the next 11 nights. Sure, it is student housing but how can you pass up a deal that includes room and board for $65 dollars a day. Motel 6 might leave the light on for you but they won’t fill you up with food 3 times a day for that price. It has been a long time since I’ve spent any time in a student dorm but from the minute I walked into my room here I realized that not much has changed since the 60s. The room is small, equipped with two beds (no Sleep # Mattress on these beds), two closets fit only for people that don’t have much to wear, two student desks, and one light in the ceiling. Oh yeah, each desk has a chair, not as comfortable as an electric chair but safer to sit in. Now, what do you think of when you think of student cafeterias, which is where we eat? Well, my memories make me think of the word, “Yuck” so when I got up here I thought I’d be on a starvation diet. Now, I worried about packing on 10 extra pounds. The food in the all you can eat buffet is nothing short of delicious. There are a wide variety of fresh fruits, salads, pastas, vegetables, and assorted meats. My first meal today was dinner and it included fresh salmon. I’m sure a meal like I had would have been $18 or more back home. If you asked students why they chose the U of O they would probably say, “It’s the food, stupid.” Speaking of food, here is a little food for thought. Do you think anyone can beat American Record Holder, Shalane Flanagan, (she is Chinese of course) in tomorrow’s only final, the 10,000 meter run? For the uninitiated, that is about 6.2 miles.