The Great Ones

Jonathan and Terri's arrival

Opening Ceremonies are over and the games are underway. It’s been quite a busy 24 hours for yours truly….

After picking up Jonathan and Terri yesterday afternoon, we headed over to a restaurant in Yaletown for some lunch. What a change yesterday! There are people EVERYWHERE and every single person was wearing red or white, or some kind of Canada gear; litearally, EVERYONE. I’ve never seen anything like that! There is so much buzz and excitement. We were only a few blocks from the LiveCity Yaletown where we were heading to watch the Opening Ceremonies, and on our way over at about 3:30pm is when we heard the news about the tragic accident that happened at the Whistler Sliding Centre. We were completely shocked – I don’t think you ever anticipate that something like that would happen at the Olympics, and we just felt so terrible; that on a day that was so celebratory for this city and the athletes, something so tragic happened. You can’t help but think about the other athletes that are going to need to get back on that track to perform - talk about the mental toughness of sport – I salute every one of them.

Ready to party at LiveCity for the Opening Ceremonies

When we arrived at the LiveCity at 4:00pm (very cool pavllion with some neat activities and sponsor tents), CTV news was covering the accident and people were glued to the TV. It certainly did put a damper and cloud over the celebration, and you could feel the mood shift a little bit. However, as the start of the ceremonies got closer the excitement built again. Although we ended up standing (and sitting) in the pouring rain for about 5 and a half hours, we agreed at the end that it was totally worth it. I never would have done that for any other event – especially since I’d already seen the dress rehearsal! But, it was great to watch it on a big screen with a crowd of excited Canadians, and some of the effects ended up looking better on TV than in the stadium. Regardless of whether or not you enjoyed the actual performances of the opening ceremonies, I’d challenge any Canadian to say that they didn’t feel that Canadian pride watching this take place in their home country. Everyone went crazy when Team Canada came in and also when the poet gave his “We Are More” speech (next beer commercial, anyone?) Despite the technical snafu (UGH!) the crowd went bananas when we saw Wayne Gretzky, and even in the pouring rain, people hung around to watch the coverage of him lighting the external cauldron down by the waterfront. As we left LiveCity, people were all over the streets celebrating and taking it all in. The entire event certainly was a ‘great one.’

All in all, yesterday was an incredible day of excitement, Canadian pride and sadness. But as the commentators have been saying, this is all of the emotions that come with the passion of sport and the games go on.

With that said, this afternoon I had my first ‘games-time’ shift at the Coliseum. Just before my shift, I met up with a fellow volunteer, Stephanie, who I’d been corresponding with on Facebook and then met up with my buddy Luc from my last shift. When the supervisor asked the group of us (about 150 volunteers on my shift today) who had worked inside the arena before, Luc and I lied and raised our hands – she chose 14 people out of that group and of course Luc got chosen and I didn’t! LOL. We were bummed to be separated after the fun we had at our last shift. The rest of us were taken up to the concourse of the arena (actually a pretty good place to be) and while waiting to be deployed, Stephanie and I were approached by a team leader asking for three volunteers. I asked him if we were getting assigned a ‘cool’ job, to which he replied with enthusiasm – “Yeah!” So – as we followed him out the doors of the coliseum (yes…that’s right….outdoors) he filled us in that we would be manning the screening area at the Media and Olympic Friends and Family tent. I was a bit disappointed to be outside again but as outdoor job assignments go, this was definitely the best one.  We got to screen in all of the media members, broadcasters, and even a few Canadian athletes (including some cute CDN curlers) who came through with tickets for the event. Highlights included scanning in Donald Sutherland, Michael Ignatieff, and Jeff Zucker. Elvis Stojko also arrived at our tent, but no one was really excited about that but me. Unfortunately, (after telling him that I was a big fan – LOL) I had to send him to the spectator entrance because his girlfriend didn’t have the credentials to come through our area. He was very nice about it though.

Today’s shift was rather chaotic as the first competition day, and there were some hairy moments. Media members can get very testy, and it seems everyone wants to be an exception to the rules. Because we have some big VIPs come through this area, you don’t want to tick off the wrong people and at the same time, have to follow pretty strict security procedures. I don’t envy the job of our team leaders! I’m curious to see if things will get a bit smoother from here on out.

The perk of today’s shift was getting to walk through the coliseum on our breaks, and stop (very briefly) to watch a bit of the short track skating events. I watched CDN Charles Hamelin compete (and win) in the B-Final, and even though it wasn’t a medal heat, myself and the crowd went completely wild when he won the race. It was a great feeling – can’t wait to go back on Wednesday with tickets!!

For you figure skating fans, Josee Chouinard is also a volunteer at my venue. I’ve yet to see her personally, but have talked to some volunteers who have and the say she’s sweet as pie. Ah, the volunteers. I have met some great ones. And the blue jacket pretty much gives us an all access pass to approach and/or talk to anyone. One of my favourite parts of this experience so far has been the people I’ve met; whether it’s someone I only worked one shift with, or briefly chatted to, or have seen more regularly and have ‘clicked’ with. We all have the same passion for the Olympics and despite some of the exhausting, miserable shifts – are just so happy that we get to be a part of it. For example, imagine my surprise when my friend Jodi from my last shift started talking about how her husband makes fun of her for getting up at all hours of the night, just to watch live Olympic events! My friends have always affectionately teased me about doing the exact same thing : ) We’re just a big group of Olympic freaks over here, so I feel right at home. I had to start an ‘Olympics group’ in my cell phone address book just to keep track of all the new friends I’m staying connected to.

Now that I’m working more, my blogs may be fewer and further between but I’m doing my best to keep you all updated on my adventure! Thanks for keeping up with me!

P.S. When were at LiveCity last night, CTV interviewed us (as they were some other crowd members) and asked us a bit about how we were feeling about the games, opening ceremonies etc. After running home to see if we made the 11:00 news, we were slightly disappointed to see that we had not. Imagine my surprise when my cousin Erin texted me tonight to say that she saw me on a CTV commercial!!! I’m officially famous – look out world!

Game On

Well, I’m sure there are glamorous volunteer jobs at the Olympics. Today, mine was not one of them! I will not complain because I am so happy to be part of this experience and intend to make the best of every situation but – I have promised to share the good, bad and the ugly on my blog here!

Today my day started with a wake-up call at 3:30am, in time to leave by 4:15 to get to my venue for my first shift at 4:45am. All I could think of when my alarm went off was: “Thank GOD they changed the rest of my 5am shifts to afternoons!” Luckily, my adrenaline was going and I had butterflies in my stomach like I used to get on the first day of school. I checked-in for my shift and made a stop a the Workforce Break Room, where we always have free coffee, tea, snacks etc. I  randomly sat down at table with two other volunteers and boy, did I make a good choice! Luc (a 42-year old partner at an accounting firm in Montreal – hilarious guy!) and Jodi, a mom of two, dental hygenist from North Vancouver; the three of us pretty much became the three musketeers for the rest of the day, and thank goodness for it…

Jodi, Luc and I got posted with a couple of other volunteers at one of the PSA tents (Pedestrian Screening Area). It’s our job to work with the security team at each PSA tent to check and scan accreditation for workforce, volunteers, athletes, media etc. Working in the dark, damp, cold wasn’t all that pleasant – I’m not going to lie – and that’s petty much what we did ALL DAY LONG. It also started to rain (after all these nice sunny days!) which did not help matters, given that I had not dressed appropriately to work outside. Additionally, competition hasn’t started yet so traffic through the PSAs was not busy at all, so there was not much to do to keep us occupied and warm. Luckily, Luc, Jodi and I were determined to make the best of it and did our best to stay laughing all day. We also had a great Team Leader today (Jared) who played along with us. Unfortunately, there were some other volunteers who did not adopt the same attitude and were miserable all shift. Sure, it was not pleasant to be bored for 8 hours in the freezing cold and I felt like being miserable too, but – we just kept reminding ourselves that the best is yet to come! Once competition begins on Saturday, we’ll be seeing a huge change of pace and traffic and I’m sure we’ll be longing for a ‘dead’ day like today. Additionally, we found out that typically we will get rotated between 1 shift/day outside and then 2 days inside, which was a huge relief. Jodi, Luc and I joked with Jared that the three of us come as a trio from now on

I did get posted inside Pacific Coliseum for about 20 minutes today and when Jared brought me in to show me around, he took me over to the top of the rink so I could see the field of play. For an Olympics junkie like me, this took my breath away. The speed skating team was just off the ice and the zamboni was going over the “Vancouver 2010″ logo at centre ice. I got the chills thinking about everything that’s about to go down on that ice over the next few weeks…SO amazing. I was posted in the lower area of the arena, controlling an access point near the print press area. As I got posted, the Canadian Short Track Speed Skating team was just getting off the ice to go through the media ramp…it was very cool!

When our shift finally ended at 3:00pm, I went with Jared and Luc over to BC Place to get our seats for the Opening Ceremonies Dress Rehearsal. Even though it was pouring rain by this point in the day, the spirit of the Smurf Squad was everywhere as almost all volunteers were heading down for this event. I don’t even know how to sum-up the feeling inside that stadium when everything got underway. We found out that we were experiencing a REAL dress rehearsal – the last of three that was taking place. This means that we got to see ALL of the HEADLINE PERFORMERS!!! I’m not going to spoil it for those of you that want to be surprised, but you won’t be disappointed (no Nickelback and no Celine Dion….some of you will be happy about that).

Once things got started and the RCMP mounties carried the Canadian Flag across the white stadium floor, my Aunt Judy and I looked at each other in complete disbelief and just started to tear up. It was hard to believe we were finally here and being in a crowd that huge, with so many proud Canadians – it was hard not to get emotional. The flag went up and the tears literally started streaming down my face (this will not surprise those of you who know me!!) Throughout the rest of the night, there were some amazing performances by quintessential Canadian musicians, and some of the effects are just incredible – mind-blowing! I’ll be honest in saying that it doesn’t beat the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing (I’m not sure anything will!) but it certainly did in the sense that the Canadian pride is all over this ceremony – I hope that everyone enjoys watching it on TV, as much as I enjoyed watching it live! I plan to go down to LiveCity Downtown to watch it again on Friday with a crowd of people (including Jonathan and Terri).

The ONLY thing we didn’t get to see tonight were the torch bearers and the lighting of the cauldron – this is top secret so we’ll see it with everyone else on Friday. AND – my first celebrity sighting!!! We saw Brian Williams heading into the media tent after the rehearsal. Have to say, I’m still bummed CBC did not get the bid for this Olympics, given how truly “Canadian” it is, however – I’m pulling for CTV to do us proud and hope to catch some of Brian’s broadcasts in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, no pictures to add to the post today. I left my camera at home for fear that I’d be tempted to use it on my shift (not allowed while we’re in uniform) and/or it would get confiscated going through security at BC Place. However, I’ll probably bring it next time because some the pictures I really wanted to capture happened when I was off shift. Looking forward to my next shift on Saturday – 1:30 – 9:00pm for the first day of competition!

Golden Tickets!

Our Olympic events tickets have arrived! Whether they’ll be ‘golden’ remains yet to be seen. (Note: Did you know that Team Canada has never won a gold Olympic medal on home turf?)

Luckily for Jonathan, Terri and I, we secured Olympic tickets in the last round of ticket phases. I was on my way to Toronto for a work event so Mom was ready to get into the ‘virtual waiting room’ on my behalf on one computer, while Jonathan and Terri were stationed at her place in Windsor, each at a computer trying to secure our tickets as well.

Lo and behold – 10 minutes into the opening of the virtual waiting room, I get a text message from Jonathan: “How much do you love your brother? : )” Sure enough, it was followed up with a phone call with the good news that we’d been able to secure tickets! The three of us would be going to the Men’s Hockey Game (Canada vs. Norway), the Ladies 500m Finals in Short Track which includes some semi-final relay events as well, and I’ll be going to the Pairs Figure Skating Free Skate Finals, while Jonathan and Terri check out Snowboard Cross. We’ve got all of our Canada ‘spectator’ gear ready to go (I think Terri is even tracking down some red and white face paint!) And yes, we spent a lot of money on our tickets; but considering it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the three of us will be willing to live off of Kraft Dinner during our time in Vancouver if need be : )

In other Olympic news, Canada’s flag bearer was selected yesterday. No surprise here that Clara Hughes was chosen for this honour, given her amazing track record as both a Summer and Winter Olympic athlete. Cannot wait to see her lead Canada’s team into BC Place at the Opening Ceremonies on the 12th!

One week from right now, I’ll be landing in Vancouver…

When it Rains…

I have officially added the Vancouver weather forecast to my iGoogle page. Temperatures have been in the double digits this week. DOUBLE DIGITS! Granted, it’s also been raining. Every day. Because as I’m learning from the many people I know who have spent time in Vancouver, it rains there. A LOT. Back here in Ontario, temps have been in the negative-o with snow. While I am most definitely looking forward to the milder weather, I’m nervous about the ‘dampness’ I’ve been warned about in B.C.. But, I’ve always preferred rain to snow, so we’ll see how it goes!

The uncertainty of the weather is definitely not helping to ease my anxiety about packing. Footwear has certainly been the biggest issue, especially because I have been looking for one pair of shoes/boots that will fit the bill for everything, including my uniform. To achieve this I had to find footwear that:

a) would be comfortable for doing lots of walking and standing for 9 hours a day
b) somewhat water-proof or water-resistant to survive the rain
c) are ‘dark’ and don’t ‘take away from the uniform‘ (which is navy and light blue)
d) have no branding or logos showing

…and I wanted them to be somewhat stylish! Well, something had to give here but I did manage to find a pair of ‘light hikers’ that fit the bill on just about everything, provided the weather stays mild. If it gets colder than expected, I could be in trouble because there is no ‘winter’ protection in these shoes whatsoever. I also don’t think they’re as dark as they should be for my uniform, but they can’t fire volunteers for the colour of their footwear, can they? : )

I also picked up a white Canada hoodie from ROOTS while I was out, as they’ve asked us to wear white to the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies.

Oh yeah, and a pair of jeans too.

Ah…retail therapy.

Perks

Some people have asked me whether or not there are any real ‘perks’ to being a volunteer for the Olympics. To me, being the volunteer IS the perk – I’m probably going to get to see almost every Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating Event – for free! If that’s not a perk, what is?!  We DO have to pay/find our own accommodation, our own flight, find our own transportation (although we do get on public transit for free) and our volunteer accreditation can’t get us into any events that we’re not working. But for me, the experience weighs out all of that other stuff by about 1000%…

This week, us volunteers got an additional ‘bonus’ perk – every volunteer (all 20,000) have been offered a free ticket to the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremonies on February 10th. We are also able to purchase an additional ticket for $50. Needless to say, my Aunt Judy and I are pretty excited about it and hope to get additional tickets for our hosts Gord & Helen; it’s the least we can do for making them put up with us for a month.

Really looking forward to this – what a cool opportunity to celebrate with all my fellow volunteers!