The After Gold--My Olympic Moment

I'm not sure if anyone will still be reading this, since the Games are over. As usual, I didn't know what to do with myself after the Winter Games and their televised coverage were over. The "Closing Ceremonies" left me disappointed and scratching my head! We had such an excellent "Opening Ceremony" that I thought we could do better with the closing. Maybe the farcical ending was meant to entertain the rest of the world. I know many people here thought the only thing funny was the look on the faces of William Shatner, Catherine O'Hara and Micheal J. Fox as they each were unceremoniously flushed down the centre of the stage. The music later on was good though, for the most part, if you stayed tuned that long.

In recognition for all our hard work toward a flawless games, our entire Bell team was given the day off and we were driven down to Vancouver for a party (in our honour) at the Bell Ice Cube. We were given a $25 gift card at the door which went toward the purchase of drinks for the rest of the night. The place was packed and it became immediately apparent that it was easier to purchase drinks with cash (and save the card for later, hopefully, if the cash on the card doesn't get dissolved)! Our CEO George got on stage to congratulate us and later Justin (our "chef du mission") got up as well. He shared his "Olympic Moment" which he said was going out to each of our venues and meeting "the Team!" We got to meet Clara Hughes and shortly after my picture with her, she found her bronze medal and began posing with it. She was asked to speak and we were informed of her "circle of strength." She impressed me with her eloquence and her ability to speak in front of a large audience. We were also treated to a live band which I didn't think was that bad until the lead singer looked out and said "we don't normally play to a room full of guys!" "Hey, these guys are family!" I thought! Of course, I can't forget that the entire Bell team from Whistler was also treated to a night at the Westin Grand on Robson Street, which meant we all got to sleep on one of their "heavenly" beds!

In the end, it was all bittersweet though as we had to say goodbye to a "goodly" number of our team.  Kristin asked that I never quote "Lord of the Rings" in this blog but she has since told me that she has had enough of the Winter Games and I think she doesn't read this blog anymore. So, in defiance of my daughter, I will quote Bilbo Baggins from his eleventy first birthday party speech (and I hope I get this right)! "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." I hope that a day will come when we can all get together again and reminisce over a glass of Paarl (or whatever) and rekindle some of the good times we had here. The new friendships I made here were my Olympic moment! I think that is the same sentiment Justin was trying to express!