BEIJING, Aug. 12 — Well another day has passed here in Beijing — and you are all in for a treat — you are currently sitting in the Olympic Village cafeteria ... isn't it nice?

But seriously, I thought I would multi-task tonight and bring you all to eat with me. I'll give you a little tour of the cafe. You walk in and it's really like a college dorm experience only our cafe is about the size of an American football field. No, scratch that as I look up I realize it's about two long and one deep. Yes, it's huge. So you walk in and grab a tray and your utensils, then proceed to whatever area you feel like at the time.

We have Asian cuisine, typical Asian stuff like rice, noodles, shrimp dumpling things. Then there is Mediterranean cuisine, which I am more accustomed to living in Italy. Also, there's an international section, which will fill in anything else that you might be craving. There's also a salad bar, which is where most of my meals are from since I don't eat meat. And a Halal food section, which I got laughed at for not knowing what that was, but it is food made without pork products.

The big selling point of eating here is the all-you-can-eat-free McDonald's. But if you could believe it, that is not the longest line in the place. The longest line with the most wait is actually for the McCafe. Coffee! The coffee line is the longest, and I have to admit the vanilla latte is killer in the morning. It's not bad in the afternoon or night either.

It's awesome to sit in here and people-watch. I was just visited by a man from Mongolia informing me that his player lost the bronze medal today and sat down saying today was a bad day ... and me being the sensitive person that I am, I tried to make a joke by saying that things could have been worse. He could have lost the gold instead of the bronze. I think it was lost on him.

Today was kind of tough. After yesterday's lackluster performance against the Cubans we had a full morning of video and practice. So, naturally as any woman would do, when I got back to the village, myself and Jennifer Joines decided to go to the salon and get our nails done and our feet massaged. To top it off, I bought myself some flowers to bring a smile to my face, and add color, and most importantly, yummy fragrances to my room.

I know, I know ... I'm such a girl. But I think the whole flower thing is in my upbringing. I get the appreciation for flowers from my mom. She's the green thumb in the family. She had a flower shop when I was born and my sister and I were actually named from different occurrences from that occupation. My sister after a road my mom regularly made deliveries on and I after an actual flower.

The real big purchase of the day has to be the team bike order. Yes, the volleyball team will now be cruising around the village on 16-inch-wheel bikes. I know, kinda ridiculous, huh? ... but I guess they are the craze here this year ... not that we really need them, they are more for the novelty, I think. But the girls decided to make an order so we all got one. I have not ridden mine yet, but once I do I am sure I will have a few fun stories for you guys.

Well it's near the 10 o'clock hour and we have to be in our rooms at 10:30 tonight since we play early against Venezuela. So I will have to power down now and walk back to our section of the village for bed. Plus, now that I look up, the cafe has cleared out some... I guess it's bedtime for a lot of the athletes.