Celebrating Sochi

Just when you thought my Olympic stories were done...

Friday, CBC invited 2010 Blue Jackets (the nickname lovingly given to Vancouver Olympic & Paralympic volunteers) to come by the station for the Early Edition radio show. They were very kind to us and gave us all sorts of swag, in the form of pins (with the exception of the bear shown above-I won that one from Petro Canada, online.) and treats.

Here's a selfie I took in their official Sochi Olympic radio broadcasting booth.

As you can see, the event was well attended. A small handful of us arrived at 5:30 am for the start of the braodcast. We were the keeners! It wasn't a problem for me, being an early riser. I was able to catch a ride with my husband, which was memorable because just as he was letting me off, he thought he'd turned backwards up a one-way in the downtown core. (He didn't-some idiot from the City of Vancouver had parked his pick up in the middle of the oncoming lane. It gave of both of us a moment of panic until I realized there was a yellow line down the middle of the street and we were on the correct side of it.)

I did a little on air interview about my favourite memory from the 2010 Olympics. 

VANOC CEO John Furlong stopped by for an interview.

So did Canadian Gold Medalist in Snowboard, Ross Rebagliati.

He brought along his bulldog Logan, who was very sweet.

Photo op! (At this point, I'd changed out of my Blue Jacket and into my down parka because it was freezing!)

Sunday, the Blue Jackets were invited to Creekside Community Center in the Athletes' Village to celebrate the Games.

While we were waiting for things to get started, this reporter from CBC's French TV asked me to do an interview. It lasted about 5 minutes.

There was a parade, singing of the national anthem and then lots of entertainment, booths and food trucks. A whole bunch of reporters from tv and the papers came out. This photo was of the 5:30 am crew from Friday at CBC Radio and someone photobombing us in the background. 

Incidentally, notice the RCMP member's medal? I have one just like it at home. I should have worn mine!

Canadian Gold Medalist Skier Ashleigh McIvor was there, letting Blue Jackets try on her medal and get a photo and she was also signing postcards as a thank you for our service in 2010. She was incredibly patient and generous with everyone. A real class act!

Just before I was leaving, I did a second TV interview with Brian Coxford from Global BC.

Here's a shot of me on French CBC. Having been on CBC TV and CBC Radio over the weekend, I feel like I've been validated as a true Canadian. *laughs* 

One very wonderful thing that I wanted to share with you before I sign off, is that as of this morning, my friend Andrea Bundon  (Or should I say Doctor Andrea!) has officially been named to Canada's Paralympic Team, as a guide for Cross Country Ski athlete, Margarita Gorbounova. I am so incredibly happy and excited for them to compete and I'll be cheering so loud, I am sure they will hear me all the way from Canada!

In the meantime, you really should go check out Andrea's blog about Paralympic Sport, AthletesFirst. Seriously!

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!

One Week Left!

Here I am trying on my uniform again! Well when I say again, I really mean for the first time, officially. The last time I had one on, was before Xmas, when I went to accreditation to pick up my ID and to determine what size uniform I needed. This is the first time I've put all my pieces on to make sure they fit comfortably. I ended up having to chase down a belt for my pants because they were just too loose in the waist. (And no, I am not complaining!)

I spent this evening with a red Sharpie labelling everything with my name. I feel like I am 12. I can see labelling clothing I am going to have off and on, like my jacket and vest and toque, but my pants?!? I only have one pair and I cannot imagine a situation in which I would inadvertently leave my pants somewhere! ...And if I could imagine such a situation, I am guessing that not having pants on might be the least of my worries! Anyway, pants are duly identified, just in case. Maybe I should add "If found, please return to the embarrassed half-naked girl" on the tag. *laughs*

I've packed my official backpack with all the stuff I need for venue training tomorrow. It's quite a monster of a backpack-I've never had one this big, as I tend to like to travel light. They've made the limited edition Volunteer backpacks extra roomie because we have to have on us at all times-there's nowhere to store anything-no lockers or anything like that.

So what am I going to be packing around? Well let's see....

-my spare shirt, vest, jacket & toque when I am not wearing them

-a pair of heavy duty gloves

-a pair of spare socks

-my accreditation (ID)

-the Olympic pocket guide

-my iPod (Don't leave home without it!)

-cell phone

-pocket money

-official steel mug

-medication

-toothbrush, paste, lip balm & breath mints

-sunglasses clips

-house keys

-umbrella

-wetwipes ('cause I hate that sani-gel stuff!)

-Kleenex (I maintain a 3 pack minimum at all times.)

and if I can manage a wee bit more weight, my journal. (I think I will sneak it in.) I am trying to keep what I am hauling at a minimum, as the less stuff I have, the less time I will have to spend going through security screening. Less is more!

If it were up to me, I would just stuff everything in my jacket pockets and not have a bag, but if I take my jacket off, when I am inside the venue, I have to have somewhere to put it. I'm a girl who could happily do without a purse or a bag, but that's just not going to work this time around.

The steel mug I mentioned was a part of our welcome package. We're not allowed to bring any food or beverages into the venues (alas, no Starbucks!) but they gave us these steel mugs and will be providing our meals, snacks and drinks. Believe me, I am pleased to not have to pack a lunch-that's my least favourite chore ever!

I am going to test drive my steel mug tomorrow. It has a handy-dandy clip built into the handle so you can attach it to your backpack and have it dangle. I want to know if you can do this with liquid in it or not...the instructions never said. I'm going to test it out with water before I try something hot! I also need to find some sort of sticker to put on it, so I know it's mine because there will be a zillion just like it lying around. I'll have to look and see what I have handy.

On the news tonight they were talking about all the FREE entertainment that's going to be available while the Games are on. If you are interested, the website with all the details is here. You can get a run down of all the "houses" that are being hosted by different countries and/or sponsors and local city venues. The site tells you where each is located and what type of entertainment is being showcased. I am simply stunned by the length of the list and am already wondering how I can squeeze in enough downtime to visit a few of the houses. I might have to give up sleeping!

In addition to that site, our local station, Global TV is doing an excellent job providing Games related information on their website, which you can find here. There are tons of tabs to click and you can spend hours learning about the Olympic & Paralympic Games, our city and so much more!

I am so excited that the world is literally coming to my backdoor. I had just a small taste of what it was going to be like during the World Police & Fire Games in the summer and it just made me hungry for more. I met some incredible people, made some wonderful memories and I felt very blessed to have been able to serve during those games. I know that these games are going to be equally as special and inspiring.

You know, I think Kleenex should be my official sponsor because it's like this: I don't care what country you are from. I will cry happy tears for you, whether you medal or not. Seeing people having the courage to live their dreams moves me. THAT is what the Games are about.

ONE WEEK from today, my Games begins!