Vancouver 2010 Winter Games

It's over!

I know, I know... I haven't been nearly as diligent in updating this thing as I originally thought I would. I guess I got caught up in the Games! When I wasn't working, I was watching the events on TV or heading into Whistler to catch some of the amazing atmosphere! Now that the games are over, and I am back home, I look back on my time as an amazing experience that I will never forget! I have always been proud to be Canadian, and never really understood the term "Never been so proud to be Canadian"... until now. There were so many amazing things that happened out there that I got to see live, like the 1-2 finish of the Canadian women in the 2-man bobsleigh, or ones that I watched on TV, like Jon Montgomery walking through Whistler, accepting a pitcher of beer, or Joannie Rochette showing true courage in light of her tragic loss. This experience is something that I am always going to remember and cherish!

I was going through Olympic withdrawal this afternoon, and came across this video on YouTube, and thought that it really showed how proud Canadians are of their country, and their athletes!

No promises on when, but I am going to do a full post of all the athletes that I got to drive, and some of the other great things I got to do while I was out West!

Thanks for reading my blog!

V

February 24th was an AMAZING day!

I had the best day yesterday! I got to see the final two heats of the Women's two-man bobsled competition, and Canada won gold AND silver! It was freakin' amazing! Thanks to my friend for taking me with her and sharing her ticket! It was SO much fun!

In terms of work, I only have three days left, which is crazy! This time next week, I am back home in Ontario! Where did the time go! Anyways, I have more time tomorrow morning, so I will post more about the last little while!

Later all!

V

One week down, one to go!

What a way to end the first week of the Olympics! Last night I got to see Jon Montgomery get his gold medal (not only the first medal by a Canadian in Whistler, but it was Gold!!!) at Whistler Celebration Plaza. It was amazing! The place was packed and everyone was wearing their red and white with pride! The atmosphere was freaking amazing! On top of that, I got to drive a Gold medal athlete on Wednesday after he won the men's cross country sprint by a photo finish, I got to see Deadmau5 perform Thursday night which was amazing! He had WCP jumping! On Friday, I finally got to take advantage of the beautiful weather and a day off to catch a little bit of Men's Super G and then enjoy Symphony Bowl with practically no one around! It was fantastic! The weather has been stellar here since Tuesday, and people are loving it. The mountains look amazing in all their glory! Yesterday, I drove the bronze medallist for the Men's Large Hill ski jumping, which was cool. I know that I'm only 27, but these athletes look like they are 10, which makes me feel SO old!

I can't believe that there is only a week left to the Olympics! They are just flying by! It doesn't feel like a month has gone by! I don't want it to end!

Anyways, I will try to post some more pictures later today or tomorrow. I have the day off on Wednesday and get to see the Women's 2-man bobsleigh (hopefully) which should be awesome! I will try to figure out how to edit videos from my video camera so that I can post those here as well!

Later all!

I am loving my job! I got to hold a bronze medal on Sunday! It was for the Men's 10 Km Biathlon at Whistler Olympic Park which was won by a Croatian! They are SUPER heavy! And really big! Although we tend to sit around a lot, at least we aren't standing outside! The top picture is me catching up on some reading, while another volunteer stands outside checking parking permits etc. Despite a lot of hurrying up and waiting, I REALLY can't complain.

I may do a lot of reading, but at least I'm not outside! I have a cozy warm car to sit in. (Don't worry. I don't keep it running all the time! Just short bursts to warm up!)
By the way, the book I'm reading is Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson - strongly recommended!

Last night I got to go into the Medal's Plaza and enjoy some of the show! It's a big party! The days are long, but the people I am working with are awesome, so it makes it totally worth it!

So, later all!

V

The Opening Ceremonies

I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies right now, and they are pretty amazing so far. Nothing quite like the Canadian Team walking into the stadium and the crowds reaction was amazing!

I was very shocked when I heard about the Georgian Luger dying during his training run. I went into the village to check out the atmosphere, and people were talking about it but still seemed pretty upbeat. It was pretty emotional when the Georgian team walked out and took off their caps, and the crowd all stood out of respect. This is why I love the Olympics. In the face of such tragedy, there is an amazing sense of community among the athletes and spectators.

I start my shifts on Sunday, so I'm pretty stocked. I still don't know where or what event I am driving for. I had hoped to find out earlier this week. Although I think with the fog at Creekside and the death of the luger, there might be some changes to the schedule. I will try to keep you all updated when I know more.

I know that I haven't been so good with the updates. I spent from Friday to Tuesday driving around and getting to know all the different venues and getting to know the various drivers and such. We basically go to the events before they are finished, drop off the liaisons who go in and pick up the medallists (or as someone told me, the happiest people at the event!), pick them all up, take them to the village, and then wait around some more and then take them to the Medals Plaza in Whistler. Then we take them where they wanna go, so the Media Centre for interviews, Village to go to sleep, or leave them there to party! It'll be a lot of fun I am sure and I cannot wait. I will probably be terrified my first shift, afraid I am going to screw up, like drive over the athlete's foot!

Anyways, I will try to be better about the updates. I have pretty long shifts, but will do what I can! The pictures are our "fleet" of vans and the Medals plaza stage!

V

Peak 2 Peak

I took some videos on the Peak 2 Peak last Thursday. I just used my little pink camera cause I forgot to charge my video camera so the quality isn't the greatest. Hope you enjoy!

V