Randy´s reports from the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing
Since I have not been contacted any other members of the MOS crew I have to assume that I am flying to Beijing alone. I hesitate to expend that much money from the MOS treasury in order to take the Supersonic MOS jet from here to China when I will be traveling alone.
Fortunately, TPO knows someone who in turn knows someone else, and has arranged for me to get a military hop on a jet that will be part of the airborne security forces that are on their way there. Once I get there and get settled, I'll get back with you and begin to furnish reports.
Bye for now..........
..........HEY, YOU DIDN'T SAY WE WERE GOING......STRAIGHT UP!
.........H.....E.......L...........P....................
Now just ain't this something, we didn't have to stop at some kind of gas station when we needed fuel, nope, instead we just pulled up under the belly of this huge plane, it extended this gas hose down to us, it was then inserted into our gas tank and my pilot "The Hawk" said "fill her up please". After several minutes we had our gas tanks full, and the "The Hawk" simply salutes the tanker crew. (no credit card or anything - now isn't that slick?) Then he lowered us down from the hose, then we banked left........OH CRAP.......and did a barrel roll out of there. "HEY....DON'T YOU EVER FLY THIS THING RIGHT SIDE UP"?
Linda, I could sure use a cup of that coffee right now, but I'm afraid that "Sky King" here would just delight in seeing me WEAR IT. Besides, I'm sure it would eventually hurry up my need to use the facilities.......I won't tell you what Major "TWIST & SHOUT" told me when I asked him if we could stop someplace for a few minutes.
I have decided to change my priorities upon landing:
1. Kiss the runway (I hope they have cleaned it recently).
2. Slowly test my stomach and see if food will stay down.
3. Look for a Laundromat so that I can wash these clothes.
"No, I do not care to look at the ocean for a while, staring at the clouds is just fine, thanks" "HEY.........NOOOOOOOOO........WILL YOU TURN THIS DAMN THING BACK OVER"?
Urgent call from the MOS Bridge !!!
MOS Bridge to MOS Sonic Jet
MOS Bridge to MOS Sonic Jet
Randy you have left your passport in SC's room (God knows why?) However Kathy's passport is missing.
It looks as if you have the wrong one.
You are either going to have to return home or put on a class act and try and pass yourself off as Kathy.
Good luck
EJ
Thanks for all of the anniversary wishes, sure wish I could have been celebrating it a bit different this year. One thing about it, ain't nobody gonna mess with us, there are a whole squadron of F-22's all flying together here......Oops, I think that we are now having a race with them, "AW no....this bag's almost full".
Nope, I'm not flying this thing, I'm just sitting behind the pilot looking out the window. I am currently clutching this bag that I found here, good thing someone left it behind, it comes in kind of handy.
WTF, how did SC get my passport? Yup, you're right, I do have Kathy's with me. Ah-Ha, there is another flight crew coming this way, they are on their way to Japan and will be making a stop here (wherever "HERE" is), and they said that they will bring my passport along with them, whew.
No way to pass myself off as Kathy, this weight that I put on is not in the right place to fill out her dress properly. Besides, if that dress is knee length on her, then on me, it would come up to......ah....... never mind, it just won't work.
"Hey, what is that small spot out there in the ocean"? "An aircraft carrier"? I always thought that they were bigger than that". "WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT"? "AW MAN, CAN'TCHA JUST GO TO AN AIRPORT"?
YIKES........slam.... YOU DON'T JUST LAND ON A CARRIER, YOU IMPALE YOUR SELF ON IT!!
OMG, my eyeballs tried to escape right through my eyelids!! OH OH, now I have REALLY have to go and get out of this suit, NOW.
Nice carrier you landed on Randy....
need one of these?
Randy, use this one if you want to be in-cog-neat-o
Based on Randy's day so far, these might be more useful...
Need a new uniform Randy?
We have the first picture of Randy as he landed
VERY FUNNY, VERY FUNNY.
On the other side of that house.....that's not a sand trap....that's a DIVOT that we just created........not only that but the impact busted my bag (no Steph...I mean the one that I found in the seat pocket).
SC, yup, as my clothes are being washed I have been loaned a camo outfit....they sure have a lot of pockets with zippers in them.
These guys....the pilots....I think that they are a sadistic bunch. "Hawk Eye" appears to have won $20 due to the fact that he got me to fill up "the bag".....can you believe that? No wonder we were doing loops, spirals, inversions, etc. Sheesh.
OK, I'm going to the galley and see if I can get some tea and toast to stay down. This is not at all what I had thought this would be like. 20 bucks, he should have got at least 200......good grief.
Hi again,
The Doc here gave me some medicine and I am feeling SOO much better. My passport has arrived and I am about to get on a chopper and head to Beijing (am hoping there are no daredevil pilots flying this aircraft). 
I wonder what all of the noise is?
I am on schedule to be able to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I liked the camo's so much with the extra zippered pockets that they gave a few extra pair...what a nice bunch they are. I can't help but wonder what all of the snickering is all about...oh well. See you all later.
Well, I found out what "War Games" means. No wonder they dressed me up in the camo's, I was supposed to blend in as part of the crew. Hey, I even got to shoot the machine gun...Man, does that have some kick to it!
OK, we are on the way to the stadium now, the official's are saving a seat for me, bye for now.
WOW, the traffic around here is a mess, but it's not so bad when the chopper lands right in the parking lot of the stadium, known as the "birds nest". The officials escorted me inside and to my seating area. It's a good thing that they have assigned an interpreter to me, I have no idea what everyone is saying.
I haven't seen so much red since the 49er's played the KC Chiefs, since the Buckeyes played the Sooners, since...oh well, you get the idea. The athletes from the various nations are beginning to form up, they are wearing a vast array of colors and their flags representing their own individual countries are beginning to become prominent in the staging area. We can just feel the anticipation from all who are present here. We have seen many soldiers around here as part of the security force, my interpreter, Chi Woo, states that there are many times more security members around than the uniformed soldiers that we can see. That is comforting to know.....hmmm, I guess that I had better be on my best behavior. Time to take my seat and witness the opening ceremonies.
OH, see the fireworks, then the stadium goes dark, then it looks like lighted domino's in reverse motion. The drummers, 2008 of them in all, play the drums and they light as they play them....outstanding.
Then, there is the Olympic rings, can you see them? 
They are rising, almost as if by magic......just beautiful.
This is such a mystical combination of darkness versus lights, of black & white versus color, fireworks, of music, acoustics presenting the various sounds, of costumes, all combined in a choreographed extravaganza together to visually tell the story of the Chinese history and culture. This is an opening ceremony to be placed into the record books for others to see into the unforeseeable future. Just magnificent.
My purpose here is to meet with the Olympic officials and of course to report back to you folks about the ceremonies and the games themselves.
Don't spend time looking for me, just concentrate upon the other folks gathered here. This parade of nations is always fun to watch. So many of them will never make it to the TV screen, this is the only chance most of them will get to grab a fleeting bit of fame. I enjoy seeing the big smiles, the enthusiastic waving by them, they are just so proud to be there.
Hi again,
It was an interesting meeting with the O.C., but soon after the meeting started they updated me that the Women's Sabre (fencing) event had just concluded and the the USA swept the event....WOW....they took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Just imagine how proud they, and their coach must be right now. Just look at them......
congratulations.
Now for some information that came up during the meeting. It seems as though the two ice skating areas that we had planned for on the Ketchup of the Seas will not be adequate. We will need 4 ice rinks in order for all of the athletes to have an adequate number of hours on the ice for training purposes.
1. Hockey will need one all day long for their various players to train on.
2. Ice dancing, single skaters in the morning, doubles in the afternoon.
3. Speed skaters, the sprinters, will take various shifts all day long
4. Speed skaters, long distance, will take various shifts all day long.
This presents other situations that we have to consider. We would then have to reinforce two decks rather than just the bottom deck. Not only would we have the additional weight of the ice, but the various pipes that would send the water to the rink for freezing, but also for draining it away when it is necessary to replace the ice/water periodically. Also, since we must use fresh water for making the ice, we now would have to provide for another desalinization plant on the other deck (more weight and costs to be dealt with).
That would mean that we would then have to make the ship one deck taller (we would have to consult with the ship designers to see if this is even possible), or else eliminate an entire deck of passenger cabins. Either one is going to be more costly. I wanted to provide this information right away in order that our financial consultants could review our position and provide any suggestions regarding how to resolve this present impasse financially.
We have another meeting scheduled for later on and we will examine the space provided for the other venues and see if they are adequate as the plans now call for. I sure hope there are no other "surprises" like the ice rink one though, we'll see.
Now, I need to see if there is an event that I can now go and watch.
The soccer game concluded in a 2 - 2 tie, the Netherlands had been favored to win that match, the eliminations will continue later on.
Chi Woo hailed a taxi for us in order to go and observe the equestrian event. I must say that the traffic around here is just terrible, I learned that I should not plan on going anywhere quick around here. We finally arrived and I watched this event. Hmmm, I guess that this could be something that is an "acquired taste" type of thing, I think I had better leave before I yawn myself to death. 
I guess that I will try to get in to watch the basketball if there is still available seats there.
Wouldn't you just know it, standing room only, it is the USA and China playing. I will stay for a while and hope for a seat to become available.
All kinds of things are going on at once around here, Korea just won the gold in women's archery.
Anybody care to put an apple on their head for them to shoot off?
Argentina & Australia are about to start their soccer match. 
USA is currently leading China in basketball by a score of 51 - 37 in the 3rd quarter.
Oh no, Chi Woo got us tickets to get in to see the basketball game. We were lucky to get the standing room only designation. These folks are extremely excited about their basketball team over here. The USA wins over China, 101 - 70. It started slow but the lead began to widen out in the second half.
I guess that it is time to go and get something to eat. Earlier Chi Woo said that I needed to try some of their......Hmmm, it was something like "snoopy foul".......no, that's not it. Maybe it was "curious chicken", no...that doesn't sound right either. I know, it was "peeking duck", I wonder why the duck does that?
The rowing is under way now but it is too far away for us to get there to view that.
We were led over to the OC sponsored buffet for something to eat. Hey, that duck stuff is OK, I'm still not sure what it is supposed to be looking at.
They had closed circuit TV's set up in there so we were able to monitor events that were going on at the time. They were showing "quadruple skull", what? Oh, that's another word for "rowing", now I don't have to worry about losing my appetite. I'm certain that EJ is hollering now as Great Brittan has won their heat, there are other heats to follow.