Pins, Pins and more Pins

Most of the athletes have now arrived.  With that comes calls for no connectivity and worse yet, moves and change orders!  Generally, in "payment" for these inconveniences, we are offered national team Olympic pins.  Now, although this is my second Olympics, I still really don't understand the need for all these pin exchanges.  I gladly accept them but I'm still wondering what I will do with them once the Games are over.  In the heat of the moment though it's hard not to become a "pin monger!"  (I was going to use another word but I figure I stretched the limit with my last post) Our shifts have changed from working every day to working a morning shift one day (6am-3pm), afternoon the next (2pm-11pm) and a day off on the third. Originally, Brian (AVTCM) had us coming in on the afternoon shift then the morning shift and then a day off but that would have been hard with only 7 hours between shifts. This seems like a break from all the work we did to get us here.

All of my crew were lucky enough to win tickets to a single event and also the Opening Ceremony rehearsal.  Neil and my best buddy Jeff were voluntold to look after things at our Athlete's village so I feel bad for Jeff because I know that he wanted to go.  Things would have been better if everybody but two on our crew were given tickets to the Opening Ceremony rehearsal.  Once in Vancouver, we had to sign a contract that we would not disclose anything that happened and we had to surrender all devices that could take a video or photograph. I did notice some flashes going during the show and I wish that I could have taken my camera. I think you guys will love it! My other ticket was for a hockey game in Vancouver (Finland/Germany).  Again, my best buddy Jeff was ready to sell his soul for that ticket but I think I will keep that one. It did get annoying hearing him make plans to watch this hockey game in my place while I was still holding the ticket. I was on the verge of just giving it to him but many people told me to hang onto it even it I didn't go. Something else for me to put into my drawer in the garage.

We were treated to the other side of the dining tent on a couple of days.  Once for breakfast and once again for lunch.  The athletes really do eat much better than we do.  I wasn't on shift for the breakfast but I was on shift for the lunch.  It makes eating our lunch that much harder because we know that steps away from our meal, there is a really tasty "athlete's" meal happening.  Joe and Maurizio got their picture with the famous "Micheal Smith." For those of you that don't watch the Food Network, he has four programs on it whose titles all seem to start with "Chef at..."

The final transformation of our village has been completed.  It started out as a garbage dump and now we have watched the paving of our "road to Beirut and the road to Kandahar." Our venue now houses the most elite winter athletes of our day.  Every room has been turned into a bedroom and I mean every room. Pairs of althetes sleep in the garage, kitchen, dining room and some even manage to sleep in actual bedrooms. I feel bad for the athletes that have devoted their whole life to training to be the best to compete at the Olympics but sorry, the only room we have for you is here in the garage! Yeah, they're carpetted and look like bedrooms but even the dullest of athletes would see that they are actually sleeping in a garage!

We have watched the athletes perform their dry land training and it's amazing.  The Romanian team uses the incline on one road in Lot 17 and does something that resembles a wind sprint up the hill.  They extend their stride so that it looks like they are leaping from foot to foot with their follow-through having their foot touch their bum.  I guesstimate each stride to be about twelve feet!  The athletes are really focussed and seem antsy. It's hard to get them to see you never mind greeting them in any way!

Joe and I drove through the venue after it got dark to try and take some pictures of the lights.  Although it really is a prison we are in, the lights take the edge off.  I travelled around during the day and wondered what some of the flood lights were for.  It was revealed at night!  Vanoc is projecting messages onto the landscape.  "Believe! Inspire! Courage!" The Canadian team is also trying to liven the place up.  All of the teams have their flags on their housing units but the Canadian team have stepped it up a notch.  Firstly, they have their moose.  In the rear of the units, we have a Canadian flag created with white and red lights.  We also have a single red arch. Both of these are visible from most of the village.  In the front of each unit, we, of course have a flag but we also have two lawn chairs. Each lawn chair has something Canadian, like a maple leaf and all of them have a space on the arm rest for a can.  How Canadian!  The only thing missing was a can of beer but I think that was implied!