Today’s the day!

And we are underway!!! The vibe in the city here has changed over night – today feels like Christmas in Vancouver. The torch has arrived and is on it’s final trek to BC Place.

Me and Jess - 1 Day to Go!

Yesterday I met up with my friend Jess from back home, who is also a volunteer here (a Photo Assistant at Canada Hockey Place. And yes, she gets to see the gold medal game!) as well as another volunteer that I met a few days ago (Heather). The three of us met at the Olympic Countdown Clock in Robson Square with a group of volunteers who organized a gathering there. This clock has been running for the last three years, and it was really cool to see it down to it’s one, last day and hours; can’t believe it’s finally here!

Over lunch on Robson Street, Heather, Jess and I decided that we were going to go down to LiveCity Yaletown to see Michael Buble carry the torch in – it was to arrive at LiveCity at 8:00pm, and Buble was picking it up at 7:53pm. When we got down there about 7:00, the line stretched about 10-12 blocks! We decided to stay outside and watch on the big screen instead, and noticed that we were right by where the torch was going to be running by. So, we staked out a spot by the fence and had a perfect view of the whole road where the torch would be coming through. Sure enough, we saw the flame coming and watched the handoff happen at the corner down from us. As the torch approached us, people were going crazy and I had the perfect view to film the whole thing. The torchbearer got closer and closer and lo and behold – it was NOT Michael Buble! Turns out he was the one who had handed the torch off at the corner down from us, and we were too far away to see. There was a collective “Awww….” from all the people around us who thought we’d be seeing him. Anyway, we ran after him a little bit and I managed to get a wee bit of video of his head Disappointed to have missed him, Heather, Jess and I drowned our sorrows in some drinks and nachos at a restaurant in Yaletown. If you want to see what we missed, here’s some great home video of him that someone who did their proper research about where he was going to be, managed to get : ) (P.S. I have NO idea who the other guy is who ended up carrying the torch in, and no one else seemed to know either!)

The speculation about who’s going to carry the torch into the stadium is running rampant around here. Wayne Gretzky seems to be the favourite choice, with Betty Fox and Michael J. Fox shortly behind. Given the amazing visual effects we saw at the dress rehearsal, there was even some speculation that Betty Fox would run in with the torch with a hologram of Terry Fox running together; if that’s the case, I’ll be bawling my eyes out! Can’t wait to find out…

Work begins again for me tomorrow from 1:00-9:30pm. Now that competition will be underway, I’m expecting that my shifts will be a bit more exciting. From what I understand, every third shift I will get posted in the upper bowl of Pacific Coliseum, which means I’ll be taking tickets and/or ushering, which means I’ll get to see the events. The other two shifts, I’ll either be posted outside checking accreditation, directing spectators through security etc., and or in the lower bowl of the arena controlling access, where the athletes and media are stationed. Anxious to get a few more shifts under my belt.

Now I’m off to meet Jonathan and Terri at the train station and we’ll be setting up camp at Terri’s friend Laura’s place downtown. I’m looking forward to staying with them for the next couple of days and to seeing my first event on Monday! Erin and Tye also arrive today, an I can’t WAIT to see htem. Hope you all enjoy the opening ceremonies tonight – would love to know what you think!

Me, Jess and Heather waiting for the torch

Smurf Squad

Volunteers are very easy to spot in Vancouver these days. They (we) generally travel in pairs or packs and our blue jackets stand out. We’ve affectionately self-dubbed ourselves as “smurfs.” The nicest thing is that when passing fellow volunteers on the street, we all smile and say hello to each other as if we’ve all met before. And as much as I have heard that some Vancouver locals are none to happy to have the masses descending upon their city, our experience so far would certainly suggest otherwise…

Judy and I went out to tackle downtown Vancouver today, and since it was pouring when we left the house this morning, we opted to wear our waterproof blue jackets (well… maybe we were just excited to wear them : ) As soon as we got on the bus, this tiny old Asian lady spotted us – her eyes lit up, and she gave us a big smile with the thumbs up sign. Then she turned to her friend and started talking excitedly and with a big smile – pointing at us. So, she was either laughing at us (possible) or just really excited to have spotted her (first?) Olympic volunteers.

Judy's Venue - Main Media Centre

As we headed down on the Sky Train to Canada Place on the Waterfront (Judy’s venue – the Main Media Centre), we approached a few other volunteers who happened to be locals. They recommended a trip up the Harborfront Tower where there was a revolving restaurant at the top. Although it was expensive – Judy and I decided to splurge. Besides, what better way to see the Vancouver sky line and mountains than a nice relaxing lunch, and a 360-degree view of the city? Despite the most expensive, but also most delicious, sandwich I’ve ever had, the view from there did not disappoint. It was a great way to spend our lunch downtown and as the clouds moved over and the sun came out, it turned into an absolutely beautiful, sunny day.

After lunch we headed out for some more sightseeing. After stopping for a quick coffee (me at Starbucks, Judy at Timmy’s), we wandered down to Robson Square, BC Place and LiveCity Downtown Vancouver (the Robson Square zip line does not start running until Friday though, which was kind of a bummer for us). Fortunately or unfortunately, our blue jackets attracted attention and people kept stopping me and Judy to ask questions and/or directions! We had to simply laugh and say that we were just Ontarians on our second day in Vancouver, and direct them to the info booths. One local even asked us what there was to see and do in Vancouver today, and then ended up giving US advice on what to see and do!

View from Harborfront Tower Restaurant

The locals here have been absolutely wonderful. There have been more than happy to help with directions, and even if we just looked confused or were staring down at maps, they have not hesitated to approach US and ask if we need help. I asked Helen and Gord if this was common of Vancouverites, or if it was simply because they were on their best beahviour for the Olympics. They assured us that no – this is pretty common for people out here. Given that we’re essentially taking over their whole city and disrupting their normal way-of-life, it’s great to see so many locals getting into the spirit with positive attitudes. It certainly paints a different picture than what I’d been hearing about, and has made us smurfs feel very welcome.

Tomorrow Judy and I are meeting up with fellow volunteer from London who is not only working at Pacific Coliseum with me, but as it turns out, is also staying just 2 or 3 blocks away! We’re going to head out to Granville Island for the afternoon and then meeting up with a group of volunteers there before all of us head to Yaletown for dinner and a bit more sightseeing in downtown Vancouver. It will be an early night for me, as work starts Wed morning at 5am!

Rain + Sun = Rainbow over Canada Place!

Lastly, shout-out and congratulations to my dodgeball team back home for our first win of the season tonight! Go Yetis!