Last Chance Skate!

This weekend was the last chance to go to the Richmond Oval and skate on Olympic ice. Having worked the entire Olympics, I didn't get a chance to go see the oval before, so we headed down to check it out.

The line up was long, but it moved fairly quickly. We've been having some wicked wind storms this past week. Yesterday, standing in line was bitterly cold. The oval is a stone's throw away from the airport, near the water, so there's nothing to block the wind and it was bone chilling. I had my "blue jacket" hood pulled tight and a toque on underneath. BRR!!

The building is beautiful. It's a wonderful piece of modern architecture.

You can see a bit of the interior of the roof in this shot. It's all natural wood and they way they've pieced it together is simply gorgeous. It looks like it's tongue in groove.

As you can see, it was quite crowded. Lots of families there.

One thing I learned from going there is that the ovals that speed skaters use are really large. It's deceiving when you see it on TV. Skating it is quite something-it felt like it took forever to go around. I can't imagine skating it at breakneck speeds!

The other thing I discovered is that there is a stair case that comes up right in the center of the rink, in the middle of the ice. It leads down to the athlete's change rooms. It looks so odd!

Sadly, the ice itself was less than optimal-it wasn't up to Olympic standards, that's for sure! The finish was quite bumpy and pock marked, even after it had just been cleaned. I guess they weren't worrying about it too much since it's coming out shortly.

I never get tired of seeing these banners. Skating was really quite inexpensive-$2 to get in and $3 for skate rentals. We all skated, but I didn't stay on the ice very long. It's incredibly difficult to keep your balance when you can't feel your feet and don't have any proprioception.

Up top on the mezzanine there is a work out area with bikes and weights and other exercise equipment. They will be converting the oval into a multi-use sports complex after this weekend.

This sculpture is really cool. I have no idea who made it-there wasn't a plaque saying who the artist was. It's a cyborg/steampunk style skater.

I like this shot.

A hand.

A foot.

Cyborg skater handshake! I didn't know if we were allowed to touch it or not, so technically, I'm not touching it. *laughs*

Another Olympic experience to tuck away in my memory.
It's a good one!

2010 Olympics Days 12, 13 & 14

Hello Peeps! I am back after a busy week! Day 11 is missing because I had Monday off. I am going to try and post twice today, as I have lots of pics to share. The one above is the Quatchi in the Waterfront Station, main hallway. I've been passing it for days and finally stopped long enough to snap a pic.


This is how our day starts off everyday. We gather in one area of the concourse and await our assignments. It's a brief time to play catch up with the people we've gotten to know over the last two weeks.

This is the east entrance. People are lining up to go through security and come in to see the victory ceremonies. I was out in the rain at the west entrance all night and it was pretty darn cold!

Here's a long view of the east entrance. After all the beautiful, warm weather, we got rain, rain, rain...and then it got nice again. Crazy west coast weather!

Russian Sochi House in the rain.

And the Athlete's Village.

This is The Plaza of Nations, a leftover from Expo '86. This is where most of us go for our food service.

And this is the food service area in the Stadium. It's smaller than Plaza of Nations, so only about 1/4 of the volunteers eat here each night.


Here is the Workforce check-in tent. This is where we go through security every day and then we proceed to the white tent behind to pick up our newsletters, get our gifts for working our shifts and pick up bottled water for the day. There's always a TV on in the tent so we can keep up to date with all the events of the day.

This is where I was stationed last night, just out in front of the stadium, at Terry Fox Square, which happens to be right across the street from the Alberta House. I was happy about that because while doing my job (which was answering questions and giving directions) I was able to watch the final moment of the Canadian Women's hockey game (GOLD MEDAL!!) and the later to see Joannie Rochette win a BRONZE MEDAL!!

I am *SO* happy for her. After the tragedy of losing her mother so unexpectedly last weekend, it took great courage and strength of character to get out onto the ice and give her best. I wanted so badly for her to win for herself. I am pleased that she was able to have that bittersweet moment. We are so very proud of her.

Here's a peek at the Olympic Family (meaning the IOC and Federations members) Lounge. It's quite nice and the First Nation's Art is really beautiful.

Here are the flags just outside the Olympic Family Lounge. It's kind of cool to see an Olympic flag up close.

So I am off on a much needed break today. Tomorrow I have the morning off, so I am going to have a haircut and then I have rehearsals for the Closing Ceremonies from 3-7 p.m. This is with my small team that marshalls the Athletes, so we'll be finding out what we need to do. It's hard to believe we're down to the wire here! It's gone by so quickly! I am excited for the big party that the Closing Ceremonies will be. I am also excited for the Opening of the Paralympic Games in 2 weeks. I will be at the ceremonies, with my small team again.

This morning got an offer for the Paralympic Games, volunteering at VANOC headquarters, helping with booking transport. It should be fun and a nice change of pace. I did dispatch for VIP transportation for the World Police & Fire Games, so hopefully it's much the same type of job. I guess I won't know till I get there, but that's okay! I'm up for the adventure!

Oh and I have a short video of a High School Band from Sardis, BC who were rehearsing right outside our Workforce tent on Wednesday. It was a great way to start out our day!

I'm sure you're wanting to know who won the Giveaway.

Congratulations to:

LISA CALL

Please email me your snail mail addy and I will get your prize out to you on Monday. I will be having another giveaway soon! Keep your eyes peeled!

Sunday Explorations, Part 2

As promised, here are more photos from our adventures downtown yesterday. The first set is The Canadian Mint pavilion, which isn't open just yet, The Vancouver Art Gallery grounds and Photos of the first Olympians I have seen so far, Elizabeth Manley and Katarina Witt.

*Don't forget to mouse over the slide show images to read the descriptions.

The second slide show is of all the street art in the downtown core.

There is just so much to see and do. In total, we spent about 5 hours walking around the city taking photos and participating in free activities. The Olympic spirit is alive and well in Vancouver! Plenty of tourist have already arrived and are exploring our city.

One thing we really enjoyed was that there are photo ops all over the downtown core where you can post for pictures. There's a podium, a sneauxboard and various cut outs representing the various sports that you can stand behind and mimic.

I am getting ready to head out for a long shift at the Stadium. I'm there for 10 hours today! I probably won't have a chance to post till late as I have an unexpected house guest arriving tomorrow. She's from Quebec and needed a place to stay. She's on my team and it just seemed like the right thing to do, so we've invited her into our home. I am sure my French is going to get a workout!

à bientôt!

Canadian Northern House

Today my husband and I went into the city to take in some of the special venues and art installations that are here for the Olympics. One of the things I really wanted to see was Canada's Northern House, which represents the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. This is a part of Canada I want to visit someday.

I took a ton of photos today and I decided that the best way to share them is with slide shows. This first one is the venue, animals and clothing.
*Don't forget to mouse over the slide show images to read the descriptions!

Part 2 is various art-sculptures made from stone or bone, paintings, baskets and the like.

And remember how I was explaining the other day about the Inukshuk? Well at Canada's Northern House, they had a display explaining the different kinds of stone symbols. Who knew there are actually five different configurations?

There were a couple places in the venue where you could record a message with images of the North playing as the backdrop and then email it to yourself. I did it twice, but so far it hasn't shown up in my email. I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if it just takes awhile to arrive. It was fun though! When I shot mine, I just gave a little rundown of the venue off the top of my head. When I was finished, the staff person who was running the booth told me what I did was really good and I should come work for Northern tourism. *laughs* Wouldn't it be fun to do PSA's? I'd love that! I always thought it would be cool to do voice-over work.

I am really glad this venue opened early, so I had the chance to see and appreciate it. It's an absolute gem. The people are incredibly nice and I was wowed by all the art. What I love best about Inuit art is the use of organic materials. They can take hard core mediums like stone or bone and using handmade tools, transform them into intricate figures. (As you can see, by some of the sculptures I've shown.) It's magical and I have an enourmous respect for them.

If you are thinking about which venues to visit, make sure this one is on your list. You really must see it for yourself!

I have tons more photos from today. I will share more in my next post. Stay tuned!