A Day in Our Lives

Article and Photos by Diana DeRosa

Finishing Up

I’ll sometimes go to the USOC offices and collect the latest equestrian releases or check out the boxes which provide information for all the sports near the working areas. Once done with everything it’s finally time to head back to our dorm. It’s usually 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. by that time. First I trek down the hill, then politely ask them to open the luggage area (they always want me to carry my big bag inside the bus but I quietly insist and they eventually acquiesce). But before doing that I drag out my laptop so I can continue to work.

Next on the order is organizing the day’s photos for whatever hasn’t been already done. They have to be categorized and identified and then burned to CDs. It’s important to be able to track down what you need when you need it because I never know when Mary (Phelps) might request some specific horse, rider, or other type of shot so that we can keep you all up-to-date on the Olympic journey. So, I continue that process on the bus ride home.

To Agios Andreas

An hour later we arrive at Agios Andreas. Unload from the buses – take it all off – put it back on - and go wait for a tram. Then we meander through the compound until we finally arrive to where we live. The village is broken down into color sections which are then subdivided. I live in Green 5 which is pretty far away from the buses. It takes at least ten minutes to get to my dorm or more depending on how slow or fast the tram driver goes.

Sometimes before going back to my dorm I will stop in at the Grill Restaurant to get a bite to eat or pick up something for the next day. There’s usually music playing and a dozen people or more sitting around chatting and relaxing. It’s adjacent to the water which makes even a short visit worth it. That’s one other thing that I’ll miss - All the beautiful scenery. There’s usually someone there I know and so we’ll chat about the days events and network ideas. I don’t stay very long because my day’s not done yet.

Once home I take everything off (again but this time I don’t have to put it back on), hop in the shower and hope that the steamy hot water will take away some of the aches and pains my muscles feel from carrying all the equipment, walking up and down hills and staircases, and even from lack of sleep. The lack of sleep seems to cause my body to swell like a balloon. The real bonus is that my shower water is nice and hot.

Out of the shower, TV on to listen to the Olympics in the other venues while I continue organizing the paperwork from the day and the endless photos. I always try and make sure that if I’ve got some interesting photos to enhance my daily stories that I make sure to get them off to Astrid or Mary or Penny – the three people at the site who post my articles and photos. (These guys deserve our applause because it seems that whenever I file the stories are up instantaneously. None of us want you to wait for the latest news.)

I’ll sometimes take a slug of diet pepsi (ahhh you thought I was going to say something else didn’t you). The caffeine helps me to work longer. This is also a time to exchange emails or read some of the notes you’ve all been sending me (what a pleasure it is to hear from those who have written). When the exhaustion takes over I finally call it a day. First I make sure all my stuff (credentials, camera, keys, computer, vest) are together as in my sleepy morning state I don’t remember anything. Then I slug down some liquid vitamins (one of the things that has helped allow me to continue on very little sleep). I figure out what time we are going to start and then subtract three hours and set my alarm clock. And then in about two seconds I’m off in dream land. No problem falling asleep here.

When I wake the next morning I do it all over again. Well, there’s just three more days to go with two of the major competitions still ahead of us. I’m in my dorm now and exhaustion has finally taken over.

By the way, I’ve enjoyed your emails. So many of you have written and it’s fun reading your notes. Write with your questions and comments to dderosa1@optonline.net and put the web site name in the subject line.