Olympics : Tuned in

I have been hooked onto the Winter Olympics since it started on February 5, 2014 in Sochi. It has been amazing, the Opening Ceremony was breathtaking, the events are great and of course extremely competitive athletes. 

Just a few minutes ago, I was watching the Mens Nordic Combined Event, what a thrilling race it was. Germany's Eric Frenzel won the cross-country part after getting the highest score in Ski jump. 

                                                               Mens Nordic Combined Result 

Have been following most of the events - Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Figure Skating, Curling, Speed skating, Luge, Ski Jumping, Biathlon and others. 

            Germany's Carina Vogt Ski Jump which won her Gold

February 13th - Saw the women's skeleton event in the morning, it was so good. This sport is crazy fast in terms of speed and looks pretty scary. And I just finished watching the Luge team relay, another high-speed race to the finish. The fastest team Germany won the gold.

Women's 1000M Speed Skating

February 14 - Today, I saw the final two runs of the women's skeleton- what an exciting race it was. And Elizabeth Yarnold from Great Britain won the gold medal, she was superbly fast.

                                                               Elizabeth Yarnold's run

February 27th - Olympics ended a few days back. The closing ceremony was equally spectacular as the opening ceremony was. I had a fantastic time watching these games and I must say, I did feel bad when it got over. Anyway, looking forward to the next Olympics.

The Daily Show: Attended a 'live taping'

Yesterday, I attended a live taping of the famous - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. It was a fabulous experience though the weather wasn't good at all.
                                                           

The Daily Show Studio

I got the ticket confirmation email two weeks before the show date and I was super excited. And read reviews about the show prior to the date. Most of the people recommended to be there in line before 1 as if you are late, you end up not getting any tickets.

So accordingly, I left home around 11, as it takes me almost two hours to reach. And changed three trains to get to the venue and I was bang on time at 1. And got the place under the awning, which was a life saver as it was a cold, frigid day. Waited in the line for one and a half hour before finally getting hold of my ticket at 2:30. And was asked to come back by 4:30. I left right away and decided to have lunch in one of the restaurants close by.

                                                                       Show Ticket

Spent almost two hours in the restaurant and arrived at the venue again in time and got in the line. We had to wait for another 15 minutes before we were ushered in to the airport style security area. Got through that and into another line to get in the studio. And I got a great aisle seat, third row - it was perfect - clear view with no cameras in the front.

Then it was time to click pictures of the beautiful studio, but no one was allowed to use the phones till everyone was settled in their seats. And after 15 more minutes, they allowed us to click pictures for few minutes and it was like a burst of clicks everywhere. Everyone was out with their phones and got busy. In no time, we were advised to put off our phones.

Phones off, everyone finally settled down and the warm-up guy/comedian was there to entertain us. He was super funny and really changed the mood of the crowd. And then came Mr. Jon Stewart, looking crisp, he took questions from audience and gave very witty replies. He really interacted with the crowd and it was so much fun. Then, they began the shoot with a countdown and we were live.
                                                       

                                                                 Inside the Studio

It went well, with some video sequences in between and in the end, Jon Stewart interviewed Ty Burell (from Modern Family). It was a short one and within an hour it was time to wrap up. The show got over in time and the host thanked us for being there. We walked out swiftly and I was home by 8 after changing three trains (as usual).

The show was awesome and Jon Stewart is incredibly hilarious. I enjoyed it thoroughly except for the weather.