I'm still all caught up in the Olympics, and today I've watched more beach volleyball, gymnastics, basketball (while at Best Buy) and swimming.

However, I'd like to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to United Airlines for its visually stunning commercial, set to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." I really do love that commercial. Actually, there are two commercials, with similar soundtracks. It's unfortunate that I can't remember what the commercials are for until the voice over at the end, but, hey, what do I care? United is pulling out of my home airport. (In other words, it's a good thing I went to Denver in April.)

In sadder news, this weekend saw the loss of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes. I can't say I was a huge fan of either, but since these types of things usually happen in threes, I'm just waiting for the last shoe to drop (so to speak).

In weirder news, on Friday, at exactly 8:08 a.m., Eastern Time, Clay Aiken became a father. I won't go into the details of what made this all possible, but one can only hope he has his father's voice and his mother's ... well, I can't say. I don't know anything about her. And, I get where they got his names from, but this poor kid has been saddled with three last names, if you will. I don't really have anything left to say but this: Welcome to the world, Parker Foster Aiken!

I've spent the majority of my day watching Olympics coverage -- and I'm loving it!

I've watched men's and women's swimming, men's beach volleyball, women's volleyball, men's road race and women's fencing.

For the latter event, the U.S. swept the medals, and it was nice to see the final bout. (Of course, due to the 12-hour delay, I had already read about the outcome of that and the men's beach volleyball, but it was still thrilling to see it all play out.)

Last night's opening ceremony was so grand and fantastic. The most impressive parts of it were not the pyrotechnics, but the fact that there were thousands of performers working in such precision to create something so magical.

The parade of nations is always a joy to watch. This year, there were 204 countries represented, although I will admit that I gave up after the U.S. delegation arrived. It was a little hard to follow because the nations weren't marching in any alphabetical order that made sense to me. (Apparently, they were in order according to the number of strokes it took to create the Chinese character that represented each country's name.)

NBC's announcers -- Bob Costas, Matt Lauer and Joshua Cooper Ramo -- were dispensing random facts throughout the event, and I found all the trivial tidbits fascinating. (I don't remember any of them perfectly, but I can tell you that there was one flag that had the distinction of being the only one with different designs on the front and back.)

I missed the lighting of the Olympic flame, but I heard that was quite fantastic, involving eight Olympians and culminating with the last one airborne to send the flame flying into the cauldron.

Tonight, I'm looking forward to swimming and men's gymnastics. Well, at least a couple of hours' worth. Darn that tape delay.

I just one hour, I will be parked in front of the television to see something I have been waiting four years (and 12 hours) for: the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

This year's event takes place in Beijing, China, and -- politics aside -- I couldn't be more excited.

I love all the spectacle of the opening ceremonies, from the procession of the athletes to the lighting of the flame from the torch that's made its way around the world.

Although NBC has chosen to run the ceremony in prime time, it began at 8:08 this morning -- 08-08-08 -- in Beijing. The number eight is lucky in Chinese, but I thinks it's just plain cool.

You may wonder why I chose to blog about this before I have seen the opening ceremonies. The truth is that, with 4.5 hours of coverage scheduled, I'm not 100 percent sure I'll make it to the end without falling asleep. So, post-event blogging is out of the question. Tune in tomorrow for all of my thoughts on the opening ceremonies.

That is, unless I fall asleep.

My post from yesterday must've been so important and exciting that I forgot to mention that it was my 200th post of the year.

So, I am rectifying the situation and noting the milestone today. Better late than never, right?

Is there a rule that says I can't leave work before 6 p.m. on deadline day, even if all my work is done? Because if so, I want to put some serious effort into getting it repealed. Thank you.

It was a jam-packed day that was 12 hours and 30 minutes long by the time it was over. (For timing purposes, "the day" lasts from the moment I depart my home for work in the morning to the moment I return in the evening.) I spent 11 of those hours actually in the office, and I feel it was a productive day. There will be work waiting for me in the morning, but I'm OK with that.

Today was fabulous (for a Monday). Work was busy, but not overwhelming. It only rained when I was indoors. The roads were crowded, but traffic kept moving. All in all, a great day.

Today, my parents and I went down to visit my sister, who treated us to some delicious Chinese food unlike any I have ever tasted before.

We also got a tour of her workplace, within a cluster of three plain buildings off a narrow road in south Miami-Dade County. Whatever money was saved on the outside of the buildings was definitely spent on the inside. There were rooms and rooms of high-tech lab equipment that each probably cost more than I've spent in my life thus far. I can't wait to see what the place looks like when they move into their permanent digs early next year.

If there really is a light at the end of the tunnel, I'm not so sure I want to know how many miles long that tunnel is.

It was 92 degrees out today, warm enough that, when I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment this afternoon and went next door to make a phone call, my ear was sweating. Now that's hot!

There is a light, I am told, at the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel, in this instance, is summer. The light is some cooler weather.

I can't believe it's already August. But, considering how quickly July went, I'm guessing that September -- and autumn -- will be here before I know it.

Alas, the rainy season has finally gotten into full swing, with thunder and lightning and warnings of penny-size hail and 60 mph winds.

I know: It could be worse.

It could be June.

I know I've had a rough day when I have a massive headache as I get into my car to head home, and all I can think about is how I'm going to keep from falling head-first onto my steering wheel.

Well, today was one of those days.

The good news is, of course, that I made it home safely. My head was never less than 12 inches from the steering wheel.

Now, off to seek out some heavy-duty headache medicine.

Judging from the damp, flat hair on my head and the tracks left on my tiles floor, I am certain that we're finally in the rainy season. It's about time!

Of course, I'm secretly hoping the rainy season only lasts six more weeks, because I won't have the luxury of covered parking at work once my office moves. (Sure, I'll love the extra 10 miles I save each way, but I really have come to take the covered parking for granted.)

Sometimes, I really have to wonder about the people surrounding me.

During a long commute, I find ways to keep myself busy, while keeping my eyes on the road at the same time. This usually takes the form of noticing unusually painted cars or interesting vanity license plates.

There's FUNDAY and FOOT DOC, who I regularly notice on my drive to work each morning. And there's also the guy who drives the same "strawberry" car that I drove until about five months ago. (He even has the same air freshener!)

But, today, on the way home from work, I kept playing leapfrog with someone (I couldn't tell because the windows were tinted) in a gray Mercedes-Benz C300. In the home stretch, I followed this car into my condo development and saw the car pull into a "resident" space, though I didn't linger to see who the driver was. The license plate, however, had occupied my mind all throughout the afternoon commute. What did it say? I BITE U.

I've spent the better part of today curled up in the fetal position, numbed by over-the-counter drugs. It's too bad I had so much laundry to do, as I really would have preferred to stay in bed all afternoon.

I took less than six days, but I am pleased to report I have already finished another book! At 304 pages, that's about 50 pages a day. If I continue at this rate, I'll be able to finish all my unread books by the end of the year. (Then, I can start buying new books again.)

What seemed like a never-ending week of training and meetings has finally ended. Looking back on the last five days, it's amazing I got everything done without going completely insane.

Is it odd that I was absolutely thrilled just about an hour ago when I realized that my trip to the grocery store cost more than my trip to the gas station?

Since last week, gas has gone down 10 cents a gallon. That saved me about $1.05.

I used two coupons at the grocery store today. That saved me $2.

I think the really odd thing in all of this is my excitement over saving $3.05. But, a girl's gotta eat. And her car's gotta eat, too. So she might as well make the best of it, right?

It's been a training-intensive week for me at work (and it's only halfway done). It really amazed me how productive I can be when I plan to be away from my desk for hours at a time. Of course, they gave us today off so we could send the paper off. But, tomorrow, it's back to the teleconference with online tutorial. (I can hardly contain my excitement!) Friday, there will be a company meeting at the same time as one of my training sessions. I don't know how I'm going to manage to be at both events at once, but I'm sure I'll have a ball, no matter what happens.

I've come to the realization that I've had it all wrong.

You see, for the second day in a row, I have come home from work, looked at the clock and thought: "I just put in a 12-hour day! What am I, crazy?"

What I should really be thinking is: "Wow -- I drove 60 miles of highway and I made it to work and back home unscathed!"

I'm sure I've just jinxed myself, but after witnessing some of the most reckless driving that I have ever seen in almost two decades of driving, I wonder: How do I survive the commute?

On my way toward the highway, I was approaching an intersection that had a green light, and I was going straight through. Apparently, someone going in the other direction (who also had a green light) decided to try to make a left turn before I and the car in the lane next to me reached the intersection. Well, he didn't quite make it. The car next to me swerved to miss him, but ended up hitting the front passenger side. I swerved to miss the car one lane over -- and I did. Whew. Close call.

If that wasn't stressful enough, as I made my way down the highway, I caught, out of the corner of my eye, a car speeding into my lane from the right. He pulled only as far into my lane as he needed to pass the person in front of him in the lane next to mine. I then watched as he criss-crossed the six lanes, back and forth -- even using the shoulder at one point -- until he was out of sight. I can't say for sure how fast he was going, but I know I was doing 70, so you do the math. It was either a race I wasn't a part of or someone was really late for work.

Or, maybe it was just a bad driver.

What do you think?

Although I just finished a book yesterday, I am pleased to report I have already begun to read again. This one is written as a series of letters, in contemporary American English. I have already zipped through the first 20 pages, though I am not placing any bets on when I will come to the end. (Speaking of the end, I don't even know how long the book is, which is fine by me.)