Loving a change in plans…

So slight change in plans today. Judy and I did not go to Victoria. The weather was so crappy when we got up this morning (pouring rain and chilly), and while that wouldn’t really bother me under normal circumstances, we were going to be paying quite a hefty sum for our bus tour today and thought the money would be better spent seeing Victoria (and the ferry ride) on a clear day. I was pretty bummed in the morning but I wasn’t ready to sit around all day, so I made plans to meet up with Heather. We both had a few errands to run so we spent the morning running around the city taking care of a few things.

Have I mentioned that I have become an ‘expert’ in the public transportation system here in Vancouver? (Well, when it comes to the Sky Train and Canada Line anyway – buses? Not so much). Thank goodness volunteers receive all free transit with our accreditation or I’m not sure I would have been going anywhere. The transit system has been really easy to navigate and I’m lucky that I’m living just down the street from the bus that goes right to the closest sky train station.  Not only that, it has ALWAYS been on time – to the minute! It didn’t take long for me to feel comfortable about getting around the city, and I’ve been managing it just fine on my own; not sure I’m ready for driving again – hope I still remember how to drive stick when I get home!

Heather and I ended up in Gastown this afternoon, which I hadn’t seen much of yet. We both finished up some souvenir shopping (you can get Olympic “anything” around here!) and then met up with our friend Taryn (and fellow volunteer) for lunch at this restaurant called “The Lamplighter Public House” on Water St. They had a gigantic big screen TV, and bars/tables facing it straight on. Little did we know that we stepped into the restaurant at just the right time. We got a prime, front row seat to witness the gold medals in the team pursuit and the Snowboard Slalom! This was the moment I’d been waiting for my entire Olympic experience; to be hanging with friends and a Canadian crowd, at a bar in Vancouver, witnessing Canada take home gold on home turf. AND – to witness two in a row in the span of five minutes was awesome. The entire place was cheering our team on, banging on the bar/tables etc, etc. When you’re out on the streets of Vancouver, you always know when Canada has won something because you can hear this collective cheer erupt all at once from the bars and restaurants on the street. It’s pretty incredible. The energy was awesome, and I couldn’t help but be grateful that our plans for Victoria fell through today.

After running a few more errands and seeing Taryn off for her last shift at the Main Media Centre at Canada Place, Heather and I met for a quick drink and some dessert and this restaurant that we’ve frequented a couple of times since we’ve been here called Aqua Riva (across from the Fairmont Waterfront). It’s not the most happening place crowd-wise (unfortunately it’s behind an Olympic security fence so a lot of people think it’s closed), but it’s been a good neutral meeting spot for us and has big screens and the most comfy leather couches. We said a final farewell to our good times at Aqua Riva with a piece of chocolate mousse cake and I headed off so that Judy and I could take Gord and Helen out for a nice “Thank You” dinner at Horizons restaurant on Burnaby Mountain.  But, not before we stayed home long enough to witness yet ANOTHER gold medal for Canada in curling (and a bronze in bobsled); witnessing Canada tie the record for most gold medals won by any country in the Winter Olympics. AMAZING. Go Canada Go!

I just got back from dinner and as I write this, I’m heading off downtown to meet Heather and Taryn for some goodbye drinks. (And yes, you are right in understanding that I have been out for quite a few meals and ‘drinks’ these last few weeks!) Heather flies back to Oakville tomorrow but Taryn and I will be meeting up somewhere in Yaletown at 10am so we can scope out a good spot for tomorrow’s game. I can barely keep my eyes open right now but I’m determined to just sleep in March! Unfortunately, tomorrow night after the game will probably be an easy one for me as I do some laundry, watch the closing ceremonies, and get packed to leave for Hawaii on Monday. In the mean time, I can’t even anticipate the kind of craziness that will ensue in Yaletown tomorrow! Once in a lifetime for sure – can’t wait to see it…

Over and Out

Figure Skating Medalists

The last shift of my Olympic journey is officially over. Bummer. It was really hard to leave the coliseum (PAC) Thursday night; it feels as though I just had my first shift yesterday! Luckily, I got to work inside for my last shift, which was the Ladies free skate. Seeing Joannie Rochette win that bronze medal was a great way to cap-off my time there, even though I had one of the most stressful shifts of this experience! I worked in the section with the $450 seats (translate: ‘elite’/demanding clientele), and there were some broadcast/press seats in my section as well.

The broadcasters and press are an interesting group – they will try and get away with just about anything and do a really good job of convincing you that they have the correct information and you don’t. It’s easy to fall for it here because rules/policies change every 2-3 minutes, and answers always seem to depend on who you ask! But, I stayed firm but polite and throughout this experience, I have learned to pick my battles. I even made friends with a few of the NBC broadcasters; this was the 14th Olympics that one of them had covered! Additionally, this means that I was standing right beside the NBC broadcast booth where I was about 2 feet away from Scott Hamilton – very cool.

Pacific Coliseum: on the ice!

At the end of the night, a few of us volunteers went down to the kiss & cry area, and I made my second attempt at getting my picture taken at centre ice – success!! Just in time before we got kicked off. Definitely one of the most memorable experiences here. AND, I’d like to think that perhaps my standing on the ice had a positive effect on the men’s short track team who skated on it tonight – WOO HOO! Gold, Gold AND Bronze!! Judy and I were at the Great Big Sea medal ceremony at BC Place tonight, which was AMAZING (those boys never fail to disappoint) – but – I did find myself wishing that I had gone down to the coliseum for the short-track events instead. However, as I’ve learned from this adventure – you cannot be in two places at once.

Judy and I walked down to Yaletown after the medal ceremony, which was the same time that the hockey game let out. I would like to think that I’m good with words but, really? There’s nothing I can write here that will capture or describe what the vibe in this city was like tonight. With four medals won today, a forthcoming gold-medal hockey game, AND securing the top-country spot for gold medals – people were in celebration mode! My tolerance for completely obnoxious/drunk people has sky-rocketed since I’ve been in Vancouver, to the point where I can’t imagine what it would be like here without them! Judy and I sat on a heated patio on one of Yaletown’s main streets (Yes – a patio in February : ) and just watched as people danced and partied in the streets, having a great time. We made friends, high-fived all over the place with strangers, and it wasn’t uncommon for chants of “Go Canada Go” to break out completely spontaneously all throughout the night. It even continued when we hopped on the sky train – this group of guys just blew bazooka horns and whistles and yelled “Go Canada!” at the top of their lungs during our entire 15-minute ride home – and no one told them to put a sock in it. Heck – I would have told them to put a sock in it under normal circumstances, but, I loved every minute of it and high-fived them all as we got off the train….these are the moments I will miss the most about being here.

Me and Aunt Judy celebrating Canada's medals on a patio in February!

As this trip winds down, I’m trying to get in a few ‘last’ visits to some places and say some ‘last’ goodbyes to friends, in addition to squeezing in a few of the sights I haven’t seen yet. I met an old high-school friend (Kurt) and his girlfriend today for breakfast at a great little breakfast/brunch spot called Provence Marianside. It was great to catch-up with an old friend out here in Vancouver. I still haven’t been able to get to Grouse Mountain OR the Canadian Mint to see the Olympic medals (lines have been about 5-7 hours long) but Heather and I did make the trek out to the Richmond Oval after breakfast to try and get scalper tickets to today’s team-pursuit event. No luck, as it doesn’t appear the scalpers like to make the long trek out to Richmond. Instead, we hopped back on the Canada Line and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Granville Market. I’d have to say that the market is at the top of my all-time favourite places that I’ve been to/discovered since I’ve been out here. Yet again, it was tough to leave not knowing when I’ll be back for all that fresh food once again…

I’m hoping to squeeze in a trip to the Mint early Sunday morning before the hockey game, and Judy and I are heading out to Victoria for the day. Looking forward to the ferry ride as I’ve heard it’s beautiful.

Winding down…

Well,  the Canadian women are rocking the podium here in Vancouver. I only learned of our gold AND silver bobsleigh wins when I got home from work last night, and heard about Clara Hughes’ medal win during my break. Women’s hockey goes today too and I’m watching the Canadian women’s curling as I write this as well. There’s been a lot of talk here about how much pressure has been on our athletes and although some have faltered under the pressure, it doesn’t take away from the amazing moments of those who have ended up on the podium.

I also got to witness first-hand, our silver medal win at the Coliseum short track last night, as well as Joannie Rochette’s short program skate on Tuesday night. I’m trying to remember how great those kinds of perks are, since I’ve been stationed outside AGAIN for those last two shifts. Now that the rain and cold have returned to Vancouver, it’s been especially miserable to be stuck outside and not getting to see anything happening in the arena. I timed my 15-minute break on Tuesday so I could go in to watch Joannie skate, and yesterday, I all but begged my team leader to put me inside for the last hour of my shift since my ratio of working outside: inside is about 8:2. It’s unfortunate too, because they had supposedly developed a system to have the outside/inside shifts balanced but volunteers have figured out the system and some are not pulling their weight when deployed to outside posts. I’ve heard some people complain about working 50/50 and I want to tell them to just put a sock in it! And, I’ve talked to some volunteers who have worked inside more than 85% of their shifts! It’s particularly hard too because a significant number of volunteers have dropped off now that we are at the tail-end of things. That’s to be expected I guess since we’re all volunteers and there’s really no consequences to not showing up for shifts (except that the rest of us have to pull the extra weight).

Additionally, a challenging but interesting part of this experience has been that volunteers here come from all different work backgrounds with varying experiences; everyone has some other kind of ‘day job’ that 99% of the time, is unrelated to the volunteer job they’re performing here. Unfortunately, this means that many of our volunteers do not have extensive (or ANY) customer service experience and that has created for some cringe-worthy moments. I underestimated how important my customer service background would be during the games, and I wish they had screened for that a bit better when they were accepting volunteers – it’s made for some interesting shifts, that’s for sure!

To keep volunteers motivated, they’ve been giving us little gifts for every three shifts we work. Last night for my 9th shift, I got a beautiful Vancouver 2010 pendant from Birk’s jewelers. Anyway, I’m hoping I can pull the “It’s my last shift today” card and they’ll assign me to a post inside. There are a lot of inside duties that I haven’t performed yet (ticket-taking, mixed press zone etc.) that I’d like a chance to try. Not to mention that I’d love to watch Joannie’s final skate tonight. I’m sure it will be just as emotional as Tuesday – the crowd was unbelievable and you could just feel their support for her; she seemed so genuinely grateful and appreciative of it too. Myself and the fellow volunteer beside me were just streaming tears when she was finished. Really keeping my fingers crossed for her tonight….

With Elizabeth Manley, 1988 Olympic Silver Medalist

It is so hard for me to believe that today is my last shift!! It feels like I just started this adventure yesterday and I’m not sure I’m ready for it to be over yet. The greatest thing has been waking up every day and having absolutely no idea what the day will bring; it will be difficult going back to work and knowing exactly what to expect every day. When I was posted outside on Tuesday, I worked the media/VIP screening area again and got to see so many famous figure skaters come through the gates: Elizabeth Manley, Jennifer Robinson, Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, Tara Lapinski – the list goes on. It has been very cool getting to see/interact with some of the skaters that I followed so thoroughly in my teens (when I went through an ‘obsessed with figure skating’ phase). Apolo Ohno also strolled right by me the other day, as did the silver medalists from the women’s 3,000 metre relay.  I would never say that it’s starting to get old, but seeing these accomplished athletes just walking right be me every day HAS become somewhat normal!

Kiss & Cry

I’ve had some pretty incredible moments here. Last night was probably one of the most memorable – Luc stopped by work after my shift, as we had planned a little goodbye dinner before he was scheduled to fly out this morning. We went down to the lower concourse of the arena and snuck into the “Kiss & Cry” area where the skaters sit after their performance. It was so neat to sit there and look around at that huge empty arena. Then, I walked out to the centre of the ice and stood on the Vancouver 2010 logo. I took a few long seconds to just take it all in. What an overwhelming moment – it sounds cliche, but you could almost feel the pressure, frustration and pure bliss of the athletes who compete on that ice. I looked up and around for a few seconds but before Luc could snap a picture of it, we got called off the ice. Nevertheless, it’s a moment I will never forget.

So, I get ready to head off for my last shift today and to say goodbye to more friends before I enjoy some of the events lined up over the next few days. I have tickets to the Great Big Sea medal ceremony tomorrow night, which should be a blast, and  I can’t wait for the men’s gold medal game on Sunday. Also keeping fingers crossed for Charles Hamelin again tomorrow night – wish I could go to see that too (short track) but it’s the same time as the medal ceremony; there’s just too much happening all at once here!!! Judy and I have also booked a trip to Victoria on Saturday which I’m really looking forward to. We even booked ‘High Tea’ at the Empress Hotel (which was not cheap!) but as I mentioned in my last post – everything here can be justified with “It’s once in a lifetime!” Heather and I might rent a car and do some more sightseeing tomorrow, or – we might try and get tickets for the hockey game. Once again, you never know what the day might bring….

Good Days Start With Champagne

A day off – yay! I was so excited to have a wee break from work yesterday to go out and do some more exploring. The most amazing thing I have found about being here in Vancouver is that whether I’m working or not, I never know what the day is going to bring….

I met Heather in the morning and we headed out to catch the bus to Stanley Park (because the sun was yet again, shining). On our way, we walked around Granville Street where there have been lots of cool attractions set up. LONG line-ups for all attractions are now then norm here, but Heather and I saw a somewhat shorter line leading up to the jewelery store, Birk’s, so we decided to see what was going on. We went in to find that some of the Apollo 11 astronauts were there with Omega (official timekeeper of the Olympics) having a private party and were chatting with people, signing autographs etc. Apparently Buzz Aldrin was around but we didn’t see him, and we weren’t familiar with the other astronauts. But, we were offered champagne there and that was enough for us to have a good time!

View from seawall at Stanley Park

We left the fancy, shmancy party to try and catch our bus again but came across some cool street performers/dancers and stopped to watch. That’s another thing, entertainment is around every single corner here! So many streets are blocked off and people are just having a good time. After watching for a bit, we DID finally catch our bus to Stanley Park. Heather and I spent an hour or two walking around the sea wall and taking in the beautiful day and beautiful views. Heather lived in Vancouver for awhile so it was great to have her there to point out some highlights. Stanley Park is HUGE and we just didn’t have time to see everything, but it was a great way to spend our morning.

While we were finishing up our walk in the park, my friend Jenni called about making plans to meet up in the afternoon; she was here for a couple of days as well. We met up in Stanley Park and her friend Lindsay dropped us off downtown where we walked down Robson Street (jam-packed with people on a sunny day!) and enjoyed some crepes for lunch at a little creperie. It was so great to catch up with a friend from back home and yes – we did talk about work a bit as well (Jenni and I are also co-workers). I have to say that although I have been checking my work email somewhat regularly, I’ve hardly been thinking about work at all since I’ve been here. It will be a rude awakening when I get back!

After lunch, we started heading down towards Canada Hockey Place as we were going to try and find a spot where we could catch the game. Although they’d been to some Olympic events, Jenni and Heather had yet to witness a Canadian hockey game on home ice, and started debating whether or not they should try and get tickets for the 5:0opm Women’s game against Finland. There are TONS of scalpers down by the arena and lucky for Heather and Jenni, they were able to get a good deal on some tickets that were only 4 rows behind the Canada bench! Yes, you take a bit of a risk here with scalpers but, we have learned to justify everything around here with “It’s once in a lifetime!” so the girls took the chance and were not disappointed! Having already seen a game, I left my old friend and my new friend together (the Olympics has been all about enjoying time with strangers!) and headed out to do some more sightseeing and relaxing on my own. I stopped in at a restaurant by waterfront, got myself some tea (yes tea – I had partied hard enough with the champagne the night before!) and watched the game. I even saw Jenni and Heather wave on TV! LOL.

Canadian Gold Medalists!

Just before the game was over, I started making my way down to the Coliseum so I could catch Virtue & Moir and the last group of skaters. With the accreditation I have, I can get into the coliseum with no problems whether in uniform or not. Technically, we’re not supposed to be in the venue when we’re not working but it’s not something they can really monitor too closely so I decided just to risk it. I got there just in time for the last group of skaters and grabbed an inconspicuous standing spot in the section that Luc was monitoring. I think everyone in the stadium found it absolutely nail-biting to watch this last group of skaters. The roof just about blew off the place when Virtue & Moir came out, and I honestly don’t think they could have skated any better. They were so smooth and graceful – flawless. When their marks came up, the place went absolutely bananas – but then came the waiting for the last two couples. Everybody in the stadium knew that we should take the gold, but with the politics and drama of figure skating judging there are really no guarantees. When the marks for the last pair went up, the place absolutely exploded – I was jumping up and down screaming, as were all the other volunteers around me. I tried to video it but nothing will really capture the moment. Witnessing Canada win a gold medal at the Olympics was an absolute dream and this couple so deserved it. Seeing their excitement and enthusiasm when they found out they won was just priceless – PRICELESS. They shared a long hug and you could just tell that years of preparation and hard work had paid off in this moment for them. Lucky for us, figure skating is one of the only sports where the medals are presented directly after the event. So there we were, watching the Canadian flag go up and hearing the coliseum break into Oh Canada – such an absolutely amazing moment. Indescribable. After seeing that, I can honestly say that my Olympic dream is complete : )

Just Nicole & Keith : )

And as a side note, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban happened to be hanging out at our venue tonight and were sitting in the section right above where I was standing! My friend Jodi gave me the ‘signal’ when they were leaving (before the end) and I was able to jump ahead and snap a quick pic. Even though they left before the crowds, it was hard for them to stay inconspicuous and there was a group of paparazzi following them around, not to mention lots of spectators snapping pics. Very cool.

To celebrate our gold medal win, I met up with Heather again (who had just finished at the game and dinner with Jenni) and we went to meet my Aunt Judy and a co-worker of hers, Taryn, at Canada House. Taryn’s friends were playing in a band there and I’d yet to visit any of the pavilions so it was nice to get out there. We also passed Molson Canadian Hockey House – VERY exclusive and expensive to get in there, but there are big screens outside and supposedly lots of people gather to just stand and watch the games outside there. There wasn’t much to see in the Ontario pavilion but we listened to the band, had a quick snack and a drink. On our way out, we passed the Sochi/Russia house which is probably one of the hottest tickets in town right now. It’s very exclusive to get into and there is a HUGE Russian presence at these Olympics (since Sochi is hosting in 2014). They already have a countdown clock out there that is counting down to 2014 – only 1445 more days to go!

Well – off to work I go, without Luc this time The ladies figure skating starts today and after the tragedy of Joannie Rochette’s mother, I can only imagine how supportive today’s crowd is going to be. Once again, an amazing example of the mental toughness of sport….

Everyone is in the spirit of red mittens!

Oh Canada!

Sochi House - 1445 Days until 2014 Olympics!

You Gotta Be Here

My cold rages on as does Canada’s quest for podium domination. Unfortunately, today was not our day…

After waking up after a terrible sleep (runny nose, watery eyes etc), I had the hottest shower I could handle and set off to tackle the weekend AND Olympic sky train crowd. I managed to successfully get on at just the right time and made it down to Yaletown to meet Luc and Heather for lunch at what has become our regular watering hole, Yaletown Brew Pub. Heather was mid-shift so could only join us for about half an hour, but we’re hoping to meet up with here again tomorrow night after work to celebrate the Canada vs. US hockey game since Luc and I will be working and won’t be able to watch : ( Looking forward to some good celebrations tomorrow night since I don’t have to work on Monday – here’s hoping my cold has cleared up….

Tomorrow will be the last shift that Luc and I have together, which makes me realize just how fast the time has gone here. Thinking about this being the “last” anything of this experience is kind of a bummer. But, I’m still doing my best to soak in every minute and experience. We enjoyed the sunshine again today with a beautiful walk through Yaletown down to catch the bus to the Coliseum. It was another one of those great moments where I had to just stop for a minute to take it in; I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to describe the vibe that’s happening in this city right now. You know those “You Gotta Be Here” commercials with all the Canadian celebrities? Well, that sums it up perfectly. As I was taking that walk today there was so much to take in; Canada gear is still everywhere, people are out in the streets, people are sitting on patios (yes, in February!) and bars, and you can’t go two blocks without catching a TV with Olympics coverage somewhere. And among all that, there is just this vibe of absolute energy and excitement filling in the air.

After sending our good vibes out into the universe, Luc, Sara (new friend from my last shift) and I finally got posted inside the arena. I was assigned to usher duties in a great location – right in the corner which was a perfect view for short track speed skating. It was also nice to be an usher in a ‘regular’ section without the stress of having to cater to demanding, VIPs : ) What a great night to be inside to watch some skating.  There were lots of Canadians skating tonight and after watching some of the training yesterday at Kilarney, I was really excited to see how it was all going to turn out. As you may know, our Canadians did not fare to well but, I can tell you that I thought the roof of the Coliseum was going to blow right off at some points during the night – the crowd was absolutely deafening and it was awesome. Again, so hard to describe unless you’re here! Canadian flags everywhere, and lots of US supporters tonight too who were on hand to cheer on Apolo Ohno (sorry Mom – couldn’t get close enough to make a marriage proposal : ) The anticipation when Charles & Francois Hamelin and Apolo Ohno stepped on the ice was incredible; and with two Korean skaters in the mix as well, we all knew that it was going to be one hell of a final (which it was). Although Charles & Francois led in the first half of the race, it seems they got tired out too early and ended up settling for 4th and 5th. That didn’t stop the crowd though, and even I found myself jumping up and down at my usher post and screaming at the top of my lungs during the race (well, as much as I could with my sore throat!) Not enough to make it happen though…

But, I did manage to get home in time to catch the replay of Jon Montgomery getting his gold medal at the Victory Ceremony in Whistler, and of course – there were the tears. It’s the first gold medal victory ceremony for one of our Canadians that I’ve actually been able to watch. How could I NOT get emotional seeing Jon shout the anthem so enthusiastically with the rest of the crowd while that flag went up? Those of you who know me know it doesn’t take much to bring me to tears, but I’m willing to bet I wasn’t the only one : ) Additionally, I just saw some coverage from this morning’s curling event where the crowd spontaneously broke out into singing the national anthem – even the curlers didn’t know what to make of it! From what I’ve heard, it hasn’t been uncommon for crowds to just break into the anthem just about anywhere, anytime around here. Not sure if that’s something I’ll ever witness again and it’s pretty cool….