And Now Back To Our Regular Programming

Time to catch up! While the last few weeks have been busy with the 1 year Olympic anniversary, things are getting back to normal around here. I've actually been working in the studio again.

Creating: As I've mentioned in previous posts, I was taking Vivienne's Wading In class on self-portraits. It was a fabulous class-I met some really wonderful artists.and we had such a supportive and creative group of women that we're actually not willing to let it go! That's a sign of just how good this class was. As Vivienne said, it does have something to do with the people who were participating, but the class itself was enlightening.

I learned alot from everyone and most importantly, I learned alot about me. I think that's the hallmark of any great class-being able to take what you've learned, put your own twist on it and apply it to your own art practice. Here are a few of the images I was able to create:

This shot of Indy and I is far and away my favourite. I love our eyes.

Speaking of eyes, this one came out kinda cool. (And yes, my eyes really are green!)

This one I shot while sitting in my car one night when it was storming. I liked how the rain looked on the windshield. (I was parked outside of Chapters.)
 I played with it a bit to get this effect.

I have about 60 images I created for this class and I'm thinking about having the photos printed so I can make a photo journal for myself. I haven't decided if I will have the book professional printed or if I will do it myself...still mulling it over.

Aside from photography, I also created a mini zine on Typography for an exchange. I've put a few copies in my Etsy store. I am about to create some more wee zines because I am enjoying it so much.

Reading: I just finished John Furlong's Patriot Hearts and Cami Walker's 29 Gifts. Next up is finishing two books I started some time ago. I also have a stack of art magazines I've only paged. I usually do my reading in the evening before I head to bed but I haven't had time or energy to read for awhile now. This week I managed to read those two books, mainly because I was resting up after the celebrations last weekend.

Watching: Sadly, I am on the last season of The Shield, which I've been renting. This is the season where all hell breaks loose, so it's really good, but I will be bereft when it's all done. It's a fabulous series, which I somehow missed watching when it was on TV. How that happened is a mystery to me!

Another season of The Amazing Race starts on Sunday. YAY! I am also watching Ice Road Truckers: Himalayas and Ice Pilots NWT, which I love. Watching for Deadliest Catch and Breaking Bad to come back on. Soon, I hope!

Oh and then there is American Pickers, which I love and Storage Wars and Auction Kings, which feeds my love of antiques and curiosities. I spend most of my TV time watching the upper channels, which is where all the good stuff is.

Listening: There's been a ton of good stuff I've downloaded from iTunes lately. The Wailin' Jennys have just put out a new album in the last week called Bright Morning Stars, which is pure earcandy. My fav track is Storm's Comin'.

My new friend G whom I met through the Wading In class turned me onto Pete Murray's Opportunity. Wonderful lyrics! When I heard it, I thought it could almost be the anthem of my life. Seriously. Thanks G!

I also have recently purchased:

The Thrill is Gone~BB King & Tracy Chapman

South Side~Moby

The Call~Regina Spektor

Fast Car~Boyce Avenue & Kina Grannis

Art-Tanya Davis (go watch her video on Youtube. It's fabulous!)

Anticipating: The BC Sports Hall of Fame viewed my segment for CTV and they said want to record me speaking about my Olympic experience. They are going to get back to me about where and when. They're working on a massive exhibit on the Olympics & Paralympics. I am really excited about this-it will be wonderful to have a place for everyone to share and remember the amazing experience that was our 2010 Games. It changed our country in a way that won't soon be forgotten. It was an incredible time in Canadian history and I was so honoured and proud to be a part of it.

Dreaming: My 40th birthday is just around the corner-only 31 days left! I am hoping there's a shiny new DSLR camera coming my way. (I am currently working with a very crappy point and shoot, which is dying in fits and starts. Let's just say it's not pretty. *cough*Sony.)

Since taking Viv's class, I've realized that I want to explore and expand my photography skills. I think with some time and effort, I could become good at it. I definitely want to continue shooting self portraits. I think it's important to document your own life by actually being IN the photos and I think it's important to see yourself.

Speaking of 40th birthdays, I guess I should consult my 40 Things Before I'm 40 list and see what's left. Maybe I can cross a few more things off in the next 31 days! It's been an exceptionally productive year.

***

If you entered my Olympic giveaway, and haven't already done so, please email me with your snail mail addy so I can send you your prize! tatterededge {at} shaw {dot} ca. If you've already emailed me, your prize is on its way! Keep your eyes peeled!

And So It Goes...

So...like the rest of Canada, I watched the special on CTV last night and held my breath every time I thought my segment might come on...but it didn't. Alas, it ended up on the virtual cutting room floor.

In the big scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. It was great fun meeting Dave and Jeff and by way of email, Tracy. It's another amazing memory (and story) to add to an already incredible Games experience. I also have a signed photo and handwritten card from Brian Williams who instilled in me an abiding love for the Games and set me off on this wondrous journey in the first place. I've been exceptionally lucky in all of this. Like I said before, my Olympic dreams far exceeded anything I'd ever envisioned. It's one of the biggest things I've crossed off my life list.

EDIT: This just in: CTV's posted my "Shared Experience" on their website. You can view it here. There is always a silver lining.

The photo above was taken on Saturday. It's dark because it was pouring rain. My teammate and pal Sharon and I stopped by the CTV booth to have our photo taken together. They had a blue screen and we got to choose a background we wanted to appear on. Well apparently, you cannot take a blue screen photo in a Blue Jacket. What resulted was the worst photo ever-we're two floating heads. I didn't throw mine away though-I'm putting it in my journal so when I look at it, I will remember how silly it was and how hard we laughed when we saw them. (And the fact that we stood in a torrential downpour for 45 minutes waiting to get our picture taken.) In a way, it's so typical of our shared experiences of the Games-completely unpredictable and hilariously funny.

One thing I failed to mention in my previous post was that about 2 minutes prior to the torch actually being relit, the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. It was the oddest thing. Apparently John Furlong has pretty big connections!

This weekend (and the whole Olympic and Paralympic experience, really) can, in my estimation, be summed up this way:

"There is a community of the spirit. Join it, and feel the delight of walking in the noisy street, and being the noise." ~Rumi

Okay, so I guess that's it for Olympic coverage! If you missed it, I've posted an Olympic giveaway. It's your chance to have a small piece of the magic for your very own! Click here for details on how to enter!

2010 Olympic Anniversary Weekend

Yesterday was so much fun, I can hardly put it into words, really. The Olympic spirit is alive and well in Vancouver. Yesterday truly was a day for the Blue Jackets to celebrate everything we accomplished. All around the city, people were stopping us to thank us for our service to our city and our country. They were also stopping us to ask for help or information. Those jackets made a very strong impression with people and I feel very honoured to be a part of that legacy.

It felt really good to get together with several members of my team and create new memories while reliving our Olympic experience. We had breakfast together with John Furlong and had another chance to have our copies of Patriot Hearts signed. Since I already had a signed copy of my own from participating in the Flash Mob on Thursday, I got the additional copy personalized for my in-laws. John graciously (and patiently) signed books before breakfast and then spoke after our meal. I have some video of that that I will post tomorrow. (I haven't had a chance to upload it yet.)

My friend and teammate Sharon and I went over to Granville Street midday to join in the fun there and then later made our way back to Jack Poole Plaza for 4 p.m. to see the torch lit. We stayed until dusk so we could get photos after dark as well. It was a long day, but a good one. Here are a small fraction of the 235+ photos I took yesterday. As always, mouse over the images to read the captions.

Today I was up and out early with my husband as we had tickets to visit the Canadian Mint pavilion. During the Olympics, I tried 5 TIMES to see the medals, but was unable to gain access-that's how popular the pavilion was. When I heard we'd be given one last chance this weekend, I made sure I got tickets (which were free!) right away. Persistence pays off! It was the one thing on my Games to-do list that had been unwillingly left undone, so I was very happy to finally cross it off the list today.

The medals were gorgeous! The last time I saw them was in Ring Road on the night of the Closing Ceremonies. They were hanging around the necks of the athletes to whom they had been awarded. (Which was kind of a surreal experience.)

We had to put white cotton gloves on before we were allowed to touch them. The medals are surprisingly heavy, weighing in at 2.2 lbs. each. They had a considerable heft to them. It was well worth the wait to see them. The people working at the Mint were incredibly nice, which in my opinion made the experience that much more special. Even the police officer stationed there was super nice. Everyone is in such a wonderful, festive mood this weekend.

While I was talking with Susan, one of the Mint employees, my sweet husband snuck over to the counter and purchased two sets of the commemorative coins for me. I've been saving a good number of them as they show up in my change, but I haven't yet managed to collect the entire set. So Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Here's some of the photos  I took at the Canadian Mint Pavilion today.(Which admittedly need to be cropped, but I am too tired. Forgive me!)

Captions are there if you mouse over.

Now we are getting ready for a celebration dinner at home, followed by watching CTV's 1 Year Olympic Anniversary special. I am *SO* excited!! Before I sign off, I just wanted to remind you that I posted a GIVEAWAY earlier today (it's the previous post) so be sure to go to that post to get the details about how to enter to win!

Olympic 1 yr. Anniversary Giveaway!

Hello, hello! Greetings from the land of Olympic Anniversary celebrations! Wow did I have a wonderful time yesterday! I am off to do a few more Olympic Anniversary-related things this morning, before settling in to watch the special (and see myself on national tv-how weird!) this evening. It's on at 7 p.m. in BC, so if you are anywhere else in Canada, check your local listings!

Meanwhile, if you'd like to share in the fun, I am having a GIVEAWAY!! I have lovely Olympic goodies to share with 4 lucky winners.

Here's the scoop:

Comment on THIS post the following:

1. How many Olympics has Canada hosted? (Bonus points if you can name the cities who hosted!)

2. Tell me where you are from!

3. If you retweet on Twitter, repost a link on your blog or Facebook you will get an extra entry. (Show me where you've linked!)

4. Make sure there's a way for me to contact you if you win!

1st prize is Olympic mascot MukMuk wearing the coveted red mitts that just about every Canadian owns. This particular little guy came from the breakfast I went to yesterday with John Furlong, so he comes with his own little story of the Games!

2nd Prize is Miga, another Olympic mascot. She's wearing a green 2010 scarf. She came home with me from the official Olympic warehouse, which is a very cool place!

3rd Prize is a set of Olympic pins. Miga carries the Canadian flag, Quatchi is carrying the Olympic flag and Sumi (the Paralympic mascot) is carrying the Paralympic flag. These are a great collectors item and I have a set just like it for myself!

4th Prize is a Quatchi change purse. (The zipper is along the bottom edge.) My friend Sharon can actually fit her camera in hers. It would also fit a cell phone...or any other little treasures you want to keep in it.

All the prizes are authentic licenced official Olympic mechandise-no knock-offs here! The contest will close on Wednesday, Feb. 16th at midnight PST and I will announce the winners the next day.

Back soon with pics from yesterday's festivities!

2010 Olympic Memories, Part 3

Today I'm sharing some unexpected moments of the Games.

1. Michael Buble's "deer in the headlights" moment: During part of the closing ceremonies, Michael Buble wrapped up his musical tribute to Canada, riding atop a giant motorized RCMP stetson.

As the number ended, he rolled down the vom and onto Ring Road. He was buckled in and I think he fully expected to just keep rolling right into the airlock and out of the building. Instead, he came to a full stop in Ring Road and then spent several minutes at a standstill.

No one was expecting this and when people realized "Hey! That's Michael Buble!" they started snapping photos. It was dark down in Ring Road, so all you saw was a ton of flashes going off. He was stuck there with no way to get down and nowhere to go till the airlock opened, which eventually it did and away he went!

2. Crossing paths with Nancy Green-Raine: One day I spent part of the day on the outer concourse, using a bullhorn to direct spectators in both French and English. Sometimes people would come up and ask questions. At one point, I hear someone saying to me "I have tickets for Gate A. Can I enter at Gate H?"

Before I even turned to look and see who it was, I knew it was a VIP, as Gate A was ticketed as a VIP entrance. I turned and there's Nancy Green-Raine, former Olympian, senator of Canada and Olympic Ambassador for the 2010 Vancouver games! So I said the first thing that popped into my head. "You're Nancy Green! You can go in by any gate you want!" (Which was true.) Followed by "It's lovely to see you." She smiled, said thank you and off she went.

For years, I've driven past Nancy Green Park in BC interior but I never thought I would come face to face with the woman for whom that park is named. It was pretty cool!

3. Poignant Thank Yous: About 3 or 4 days into the Olympics, I was out at Spanish Banks with my husband and Indy. We'd gone to the dog beach there so Indy could have a swim before I had to head off for my shift. I was in uniform and was standing on the beach throwing Indy's water Kong for him when this couple came up to me.

I thought they were going to ask me about my dog, because that's what usually happens when we're out with him, but instead they asked me where I was volunteering. I explained my role to them and then they thanked me profusely for the job that I and my fellow volunteers were doing. It was the beginning of the outpouring of goodwill towards the Blue Jackets and I was very surprised by it.

After that point, people seemed to continuously want to express their gratitude for the the job we were doing. It was very encouraging, especially when we were feeling tired or a bit stressed. In those moments, out of nowhere, someone would come along and encourage us with words of kindness and gratitude.

During the Closing Ceremonies when I was working to seat the teams I was responsible for, the US team was trooping up the stairs. It's the largest team of athletes, so we had to move quickly to get them seated. (If you don't, they bunch up on the field which not only looks bad on TV, but sets the broadcast behind schedule.)

I was on the stairs, working with my teammates Grace and Jayme, doing our best to get every one of the 103 Americans seated when I felt a tug on my sleeve. I swung around, thinking something's wrong and saw that one of the men from Team USA has a hand-lettered sign on a piece of cardboard. It says "Thank you Canada!" and he pointed to me and then pointed to the sign. I about lost it.

I can't tell you how sweet that moment was, just to know that the Athletes were happy and thankful for the Olympic experience they'd had and that we (and I!) had made that possible. It was such a humbling moment and it brought tears to my eyes. After they were seated and we got the Canadian team in their seats, I looked around and saw more of these signs. It felt really good to know our mission had indeed been accomplished.

2010 Olympic Memories, Part 2

My Top 3 Odd Moments of the Games

1. Snipers on the Roof: On the afternoon of the closing ceremonies, the Athletes' Marshalls went to dinner at 3 p.m., as those of us assigned to Ring Road, to once again collect the athletes and queue them up needed to be down there by 3:30 p.m.

There were two food services sites for those of us working the stadium-one on the 4th level of the stadium and one across the street at the Plaza of Nations. On this day, we were dining on the 4th level. As I was just beginning my meal, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up and there were 4 snipers on the roof top just across from the stadium. (Four that I could see anyway...)

I can tell you that it was such an odd feeling. It's not something we're used to seeing in Canada. The Olympic level of security was a whole different level of experience for us. On the one hand, it was good to know we were being protected, but on the other hand, it made me feel a bit uneasy because just what were we being protected from? I am glad I didn't have to find out!

2. The Volunteer who forgot her brain at home: One day, as I was arriving at the stadium and preparing to go through security screening, which consisted of having your bags scanned and walking through the metal detector and then possibly being wanded, there was a commotion in the line ahead of me.

Someone doing the bag scan holled for a supervisor who came rushing in, looked at the x-ray screen and then hollered for an RCMP officer, who also came running. There was a brief but intense conversation and then thankfully, everyone stood down.

The gist of the whole thing was this: The volunteer had been at the biathalon the day before and had somehow come into posession of some of the empty shell casings from the event. As she passed through security, the x-ray machine reveled what looked like bullets in her bag and thus the hoo-hah. The craziest thing was that after all the upset, she had the nerve to ask the officer if she could keep the shell casings. *boggles* He firmly but politely told her no.

3. Uniform Theft: One night, I was working a security check point on the 4th level. This volunteer walked by and then about 30 seconds later, a member of my team came running down the hall after her, yelling.

The woman was wearing her jacket and had another jacket over her arm. My teammate stopped her and insisted that the jacket she was carrying was hers. The woman argued with her, till my friend grabbed it from her and reached into a pocket and pulled out her wallet. She showed her her driver's licence to prove it was indeed her jacket.

The woman insisted to my teammate that she'd found the jacket and was taking it to guest services (the lost & found) to turn it in. Then the woman took off. My teammate came over to me and told me that as she'd sat down to dinner, she'd draped her jacket over the back of her chair. When she'd finished eating, she stood up and turned her back to have a conversation with someone, her jacket still on the chair within inches behind her and when she turned back around, it had vanished.

At this point in the Games, several volunteers had had their jackets stolen, so my teammate immediately ran down the hall to see if she could see anyone taking off with hers. Had the thief made it off the 4th level, she would have had the jacket, my teammate's wallet with all her credit cards in it, plus her house keys. My teammate reported her. We don't know if she was fired but I sure hope so!

***

I have more stories to share, so stay tuned!

2010 Olympic Memories

Yes, it's rolling around to the 1 Year Anniversary of the 2010 Olympic Games, so we'll be having a bit of nostalgia on this blog this month. I will be sharing some stories I haven't told before and if you watch carefully, I'll also be having a give-away before it's all over!

So come join me as I take a stroll down Olympic Memory lane.

My Top 5 Best Moments of the Olympics

1. The phone call asking me if I wanted to "rub elbows with the athletes".

The person who called me had a thick Australian accent and talked a mile a minute. When I said yes, I really didn't have any idea what I had said yes to. I thought I was going down on the Thursday, a week before the Games began to help the athletes practice lining up for a parade. I don't know why it never dawned on me that the parade was really THE Parade of Athletes in the Opening Ceremony. I just thought it was a one day deal for a few hours-I'd help them line up and that would be that.

What it turned out to be was the chance to watch the Opening Ceremonies from start to finish FOUR times, in addition to gathering up hundreds of Athletes in the tunnel (Ring Road) under the stadium. Our mission was to get them queued up for their parade, and then seating in a timely manner as they came off the field of play. The bonus was being able to sit with them while the ceremony was unfolding.

You could have knocked me over with a feather that first day when I finally found out what all the fuss was about! I wasn't the only one who was confused initially about the nature of the job we'd said yes to-apparently the phone call of a lifetime was just as baffling to several of my teammates!

2. Standing in Ring Road and watching as each of the teams emerged from the airlock.

The stadium, had a air supported roof, so entry into the building required that you came through an airlock. Essentially, it's two giant sets of garage doors, with a large space in the middle. If the outer door is open then the inner door is closed and vice versa. Only one door can be open at any given time or the roof will collapse. You walk in when the outer door is open and it closes. When it's completely closed, then the inner door opens and you can enter. The sequence takes 3 minutes to complete.

Every 3 minutes, in the hour preceding the start of the Opening Ceremonies was like Xmas. The inner door would go up and in would walk several hundred athletes at a time. As the doors raised each time, Ring Road would erupt with applause and cheering as the next batch of Olympians arrived. At one point, I glanced over and Anne Murray, Bobbie Orr and Steve Nash were standing there clapping and cheering along with the rest of us.

Once I gathered my group and took them to their holding area, they spent time taking photos with one another. Athletes from different countries would walk up to one another and using gestures a good part of the time because they didn't speak each other's language, they would ask to have photos taken together.

Alot of the First Nations dancers were lined up along the inner rail loop on Ring Road, watching the arrival and it was so sweet when the athletes began asking to take photos with them. Most of the First Nations performers were teenagers and they were dressed in full regalia. It was fun to watch the athletes treating the kids like the real stars. That's when I got a real sense of how sport connects people-when I saw strangers interacting with one another, with big smiles on their faces. In that moment, the world became a very small and intimate place. It was very moving.

3. The Whales in the floor and the Joni Mitchell sequence.

The first time I saw the whales in the floor, that first day when I was discovering that I had been asked to take on the best job at the Olympics, I saw it happen and thought "What was that?!?" It was so real I did a double take. Every time I saw it after that (3 more times) my jaw dropped each time. Of all the special effects orchestrated for the Opening Ceremonies, that was far and away the most special. It was spectacular and while I am sure it was pretty cool on TV, to see it in person, up close was dazzling.

On the actual night of the Ceremonies, I was sitting with an African team and I looked around when I knew the whales were coming, just to see the reaction on the Athletes' faces. The gentleman sitting next to me kept leaning over and telling me, first in French and then in English how beautiful the whole program was.

The Joni Mitchell sequence, began with Donald Sutherland's elegant reading of a W.O. Mitchell quote about the Prairies. It was followed by Joni Mitchell singing "Both Sides Now" while a boy on a wire ran through wheat fields projected on the floor. It so beautifully illustrated life on the Canadian prairies and reminded me so much of my childhood that tears just rolled down my face each and every time. I have the ceremonies on my iPod and watching that sequence still undoes me.

3. Shawn Koyczan "We Are More" poem.

I don't think anyone has ever expressed more succinctly what it is to be Canadian. He hit the nail on the head in the most beautiful way.

4. The night Joannie Rochette skated to a bronze medal.

Clearly illustrating grace under extreme pressure, this was a truly courageous moment in the Olympics. That night, I was stationed just outside the stadium, in front of Terry Fox square. I was acting as a one-woman information booth, which was great fun. It was a beautiful night to be outside helping people.

Across the street from where I was standing, was Alberta House and they had big flat screen TVs mounted on the outside of the pavilion, broadcasting the Olympics. When it came time for Joannie to skate, hundreds of people in the street stood mesmerized, watching the drama unfold. It was like we all collectively held our breath as she made her way through her program and each time she landed a jump, a cheer would go up.

If ever there was a moment when an athlete might feel the power of love and goodwill of an entire nation lifting them up, I think this was it. When her program was complete and they announced she'd won the bronze, people were crying and cheering for her. Everyone understood the pain of her loss and wanted her to be able to have that moment in memory of her mother.

5. Men's Moguls gold medalist Alexandre Bilodeau & his brother Frederic's interview with Brain Williams on CTV.

Alex and his whole family were invited to the interview and Alex credited his older brother Frederic, who has cerebral palsy as his hero. The love between these brothers was so touching to witness.

The Magic Mailbox, Olympic Anniversary Edition

(Copyright Brian Williams & CTV)

A couple weeks ago, when I was communicating back and forth with Tracy, the producer of the upcoming CTV Olympic 1 Year Anniversary special, I mentioned that I'd long admired Brian Williams. It just so happened that she works with him and forwarded my email to him with the nice things I'd said about him in it. The next thing I know, she's asking for my snail mail addy because he wanted to send me something. Yesterday, this signed photo and a lovely card arrived.

Yes, my fandom includes a certain Canadian sportscaster. I am sure that surprises alot of people, but there are alot of quirky things that make my world go round and Brian Williams is one of them. Here's why: He made me fall in love with the Olympics.

My whole life, he's been the voice of the Olympics. He's covered 13 of them in fact, which is kind of mind boggling, really. Anyone who knows me, knows that when the Olympics are on, there's no point in calling me or asking me to do anything for the duration. I'm glued to the tv, night and day and if it's on in a difficult time zone, then I'm taping while I sleep and watching during all my waking hours. Everything stops in my house for the Olympics.

Brain Williams is what makes the whole Olympic experience special. When he talks to our athletes, his warmth and caring comes across. You can tell that the Games are his passion, not just some job assignment. He is warm and kind to everyone he interviews and he presents the story in such a way that even if you're sitting home in your pyjamas, you feel like you're there and a part of it. He represents Canada in a way that makes us proud. (And I am especially proud that he comes from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg has had some mighty fine exports over the years!)

It's because of him that I grew to love the Olympics and that love grew into a dream of someday participating in the Games. When the Games landed in my own backyard, it inspired me to apply to volunteer and that led to the best experience of my life.

I got to see and do things other people only dream about and ultimately, I got to carry the Paralympic flame, which was beyond anything I had ever envisioned. I have story, after story, after story of my memories of the Games and I have him to thank for it.

The fact that he was moved to send me this gift underscores what a sweet and caring person he is. It was unexpected and much appreciated. So thank you Tracy for setting this in motion and Mr. Williams for your thoughtfulness. I will be framing that photo and hanging it in my studio, where it will make me smile every day.

CTV Update

I got an email from Tracy, the super nice producer of the 1 year Olympic Anniversary special telling me that it will air in Canada, from 8-10 p.m. on Sunday Feb. 13th. Only 13 more days left!

Please do double check your local listings though, just to be sure that's the time in your region, so you don't accidentally miss it!

In other Olympic related news, I am going to be a part of a Flash Mob. That's all I'm saying for now, but the opportunity presented itself and I thought "Why the heck not?" It's just the kind of goofy thing I'd enjoy and I'm always up for a laugh!