Home at Last! Home at Last!

I'm not sure if it is a Vanoc policy, a B.C. policy or just a venue policy but all of us at the Athlete's Village received a CPR doll before the Olympics even started. My CPR training was completed a short time before my trip to Whistler, so what to do with that CPR doll? Didn't feel like brushing up, so I just threw it into the top shelf of my closet. Serious decisions had to be made however when packing my suitcases and the CPR doll would have had me overweight. Finding the maids in the hallway, I decided to donate my CPR doll to them but I did it in my own way!

We had one last job to do on our trip home. We had to deliver our Bell vehicles to the Livingston warehouse in Delta. Everybody else was scheduled on a bus directly to a heavenly sleep at the Westin. It was weird to drive by our venue and not make that left hand turn at Function Junction. All the smurfs were gone, yet we still had some security staff on hand. Our venue had been the Whistler Athlete's Village but it was already quickly becoming Cheakamus Crossing. Although we were trying to stay ahead of our bus, there was always time for a last stop at Tim Hortons in Squamish. We considered one last trip to Fields but were afraid that Nadine and her other handsome friend with the bad brunette wig would be in a hugging and worse, kissing mood. Straight to Delta with no incidents.

We tried to get everybody together on our last night in Vancouver but there were three trains of thought for the perfect evening. Hot tubbing, Earl's or The Keg were on the list. Most of our village team opted for The Keg. Joe decided to accept a challenge set by our server at The Keg. Twenty four ounces of prime rib (which was a special order and is not on the menu). He ate it but that didn't leave much room for anything else. He had already started on his meal by the time we took the picture with Liz (who visited us for a drink only). I wished more people had returned later to my room for a last shot of "Paarl" but everybody had their own way of saying farewell. Since I still had practically a full bottle of brandy and I had no way to safely pack it, everybody said that I should just make somebodies day by leaving the bottle on the curb. That just didn't feel right to me. I left the bottle in my Vancouver hotel room, just like we had left all of our left over food and drink in our Whistler hotel room. At least our Coast hotel in Whistler took all the unopened food and brought it for us to the shelter. Maybe one of the staff could have used it!

We all went to the Olympics to do our little part in providing the world a "flawless games." There were a variety of other reasons we went though too. Some of us, like Larry and Tony were there as their swan song. They will be retiring soon after. Some of us went for the adventure and some of us were there for the ride merely to escape a "numbers only" manager. We collectively gave the world their "flawless games." There would be no medals or parades for us on our return but I would gladly do it all over again for the chance of meeting all those people who struggled beside me. Those people I hadn't known before on the Bell team (like Joe, Maurizio, Jeff P, Rich, Remo, Mark, Predrag, the two Brians, the two Alexs, Jean, Dave, Ken, Tony, George (from Kazakhstan) Franco, Fernando, Werner and Leslie) but also those that got thrown into the "Technology trailer" (Alexa (it's her fault), Tatiana, Germana, Andy, Magda, Melissa, Erwin, Lucas) and let's not forget all the rest of those lovable "smurfs" (you really couldn't have an Olympics without those smurfs, Christian, Laura and Adrian (Pat--my day wasn't complete unless we got a good look at Pat and found out if we had enough courage to try the "Crocodile Dundee" male/female sexing maneuver etc). We worked hard but we had a blast doing it. Although I couldn't be everywhere nor could I record everything on this blog site, I hope that at least these pages will trigger your own memories (since I'm not flawless) and those memories put a smile on your face.

The Journey Home

The time clock is counting down but it is still measuring in "days". It takes a few moments for me to convert to hours and by that time I have to start the whole process over again because I am getting more and more of these "old age moments." Joe will soon understand this as he is turning 40 today. Just in time as I still have a bottle of "Paarl" and I'm not afraid to use it. We have gotten through Joe's meat locker and I'm kind of happy to be going back home and not being so much of a "meatatarian."

Although we spent months building our network at the "Athlete's Village," it has taken the Bell team two days to take down. We removed all the IP phones, HDTV's, projection TV's, DVD's, WAP's (wireless access points) and LAN/WAN switches. All this hardware was packed and wrapped by our "ARCes" team (Bill and Jeff P) in the Logistics tent. They told me they were the founders of the "asset recovery crew" but preferred to be known as "arses," not "arcs."

Guy from Opti-net has come back and will remove all the temporary wire that was laid down (which is now exposed on green grass) as well as the overlay wires that were placed in the HPC (high performance centre ie gym), lodge(lot 5), lots 6, 7, 10 and lot 8 (pointy building) and the hostel (lot 13). It's funny now to hear these areas as places designated on a drawing because from the Olympics we know Canada owned lot 3. Sure Great Britain was there with Japan, but Canada owned lot 3. The USA was in the lodge, Italy was lot 10 and for reasons that only the "Village People" can truly appreciate, Finland was in lot 4 and France was in lot 11.

We found that although we might have had the best medical staff with us on site, we also ended up with the most colour blind medical staff. Our "Games" network was totally separated from internet access and our "Admin" network. The Admin network would give you access to the internet. The Games network was dedicated to the Olympics only for timing, scoring and for our purposes at the village, results reporting. We used green cat 5 cables on the Games network so everybody would know that you would not be able to surf the net on it. Most everybody understood this. Most of our visits to the Polyclinic however, were for Games port violations (where the port would shut down on unauthorized use) and not because we wanted to chat or because we were feeling ill.

Getting back to the Paralympics, you have to love those Swedes and of course, our Canadians. Both of these countries over-estimated the amount of beer they could consume (safely or otherwise). In our hardware sweep of lot 6, the Swedish team left us one can of Heineken and many cans of Coors light. Somebody bought a combo pack and drank all the good stuff. The Paralympic Canadians who were in lot 8 (pointy building) of course, left Canadians! A number of us drank a few in the team Canada offices until Tim the VGM (venue general manager; not fond of Bell techs drinking "illegal" McDonald smoothies) saw me (and probably a few more of us) as he lurked past the hallway in front of the team Canada office. Apparently, it is cool with Tim that we drink a beer in a Team office but not okay that we drink a "smoothie" outside in front of the athletes. Maybe he was just not cool with one of us!

Somebody, (won't say who, so don't ask) felt that he got sweet revenge by shoving a pin into Tim's keyhole followed by copious amounts of instant glue. Not feeling that was enough, this person proceeded to take Tim's "Gator" for a one way trip into the forest which surrounds our venue. I'm not sure how this will affect Germana and Maurizio as they will remain on site for a few weeks and this "somebody" made sure Tim knew who the perpetrator was!

I'm not sure if that will be this "somebody's" highlight of the Games. I look back to the Calgary Olympics and one of my fondest memories was watching Karen Percy receive her bronze medal. That for me defined those Games but that was from the perspective of a spectator. There have been many highlights at these Games and I'm not sure yet what the defining moment will be. I'm working on it as there are many to choose from in the spectator's perspective.

There are also many to choose from in the workforce perspective. Just the other day, Joe and I were driving our Bell van up the hill toward lots 11 and 17. There was a Croatian athlete at the side of the road with his thumb out looking for a lift up the hill. Once I convinced Joe that he wanted to latch on, we backed up and our Croatian athlete grabbed hold of our mirror with his left hand, continued smoking with his right hand (yes smoking) and shifted his body to steer his wheelchair up the hill. The few remaining "smurfs" that witnessed this sent one of their representatives up the hill to take pictures. Although we were all laughing, I had to shout protests to this "smurf." I was going to be in this picture as was our Bell logo. That might not look so good on Facebook!

Two hundred and ten hours and counting

The Paralympics feel like such an afterthought. There is now more coverage of St. Patrick's Day than there is of the Paralympics. The media is more concerned with what we are doing for this Irish celebration than for covering a blind skier (and guide) skiing down the same run our Olympians competed on. There is limited coverage here in BC but I understand that there will only be highlights for the rest of the country. I feel lucky that we have camera coverage from each venue (with just "satisfactory" commentary I might add--no big guns here). The "secure" village has shrunk as two lots (3 and 4) are not being used by athletes and only half of lot 17 is being used. Even the Canadian moose is gone! Flags are the only decoration the athletes use to liven the place up.

As for the Bell team here, we have changed from looking at the number of shift cycles we have left, to the number of days we have left, to the number of hours we have left. Some of us have even downloaded a countdown clock. Things are pretty slow during these games otherwise. It looks like the people in VSS are responsible for the increased usage of condoms but not in the way you would expect. They must be bored as well.

Remembering what Annlou's school does in Belgium in their final year (where her school marked the 100th day left with a party), I suggested we have a 100th hour party and what the heck, a 200th hour party. I know I still have a bottle of red, a bottle of brandy and a couple of shots of vodka that I am not going to pack! That should get the party started!

The 200th hour party was celebrated a little early on the evening of St. Patrick's Day. The dining tent even gave us cheese cake as a dessert with an offer of "green" topping. I took the cheese cake with special Baileys topping, thank you! ("Tweedle-Lee-Dee Potatoes" as the Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy would say!)

Joe and I were on the fence this morning as to whether we should go skiing or play golf. Since I brought all my ski stuff home I would have had to borrow gloves and used my one free ski rental. Too much drama! We decided to play golf since it was going to be 12C, sunny and calm in Squamish. We were in our short sleeves all day, shot a good round and apres, found out how tasty "15 16" lager was. When I placed my order, it sounded to me like I couldn't make up my mind on how large a beer order I wanted. The bartender didn't think that was so funny! I guess she hears that all the time!

Olympic Fever Alive and Well, Thank you!

I have been down to Vancouver twice since the Winter Games ended. It has been very different to see so few people in Whistler and Vancouver still wearing the red and white. It was almost like everybody forgot that we had the Games here. Amnesia seemed to take hold so quickly once the torch was extinguished.

But then I started to get asked whether or not the Paralympics would be televised. I told everybody the same thing I was told, "No, probably not!" I guess the outcry was not just from my family and friends because I just finished watching the Opening Ceremonies for the Paralympics and they did not disappoint. CTV decided to broadcast the Opening Ceremonies tonight in BC and rebroadcast tomorrow to the rest of Canada. On a sidenote, those of you with Bell TV are already saying "I know that!" Maybe a little more push from viewers and the whole Paralympics will be televised.

The Athlete's Village is bustling again. Although our work is completed (not including the 'change orders' and 'games port violations' that still seem to trickle in), we still manage to get out of our technology trailer (mainly to try to stay awake). We generally hop into the "Gator" and take a quick drive down our main street. What is different this time around is that the athletes in wheelchairs give us a good run for our money. These people are zipping around the venue at mach speeds and seem to be challenging us to hit them (or maybe they're just trying to race us)! The Olympic athletes were reserved and more cautious around our motorized equipment, but these Paralympians are fearless! These athletes also seem to be more pleasant and are more approachable. I think I will probably get my Canadian flag out and try to get autographs.

We were told that we would be eating in the "Promised Land." That of course made us very happy, however, what wasn't said was that we would still be eating "workforce food." The food seemed to improve for a bit before the athletes arrived and the chefs were looking for things to do but the food now seems to have reverted back to Mickey D's as the more palatable choice! The reason workforce was allowed into the athletes portion of the tent is strictly logistics. The number of athletes have decreased and since support staff (ie. smurfs, security etc) have been moved into our venue from other temporary accomodations (ie. Mona Lisa cruise ship in Squamish), our numbers have increased! There are not enough chairs at this moment in the workforce dining area for all those extra people. Joe and I still find ways to enter the "Promised Land!" Let's just say that we ensure optimal performance on our IP phones, computers and HDTVs in the Athlete's dining tent! Then once we're in, the taste of an 'illicit' smoothie or cappuccino is that much more sweet!

The weather seems to be co-operating for the Paralympics this time around. I of course, decided to bring my skis home. We received about six to eight inches of new snow at the base but I am now in golf mode. It will be hard for me to decide to ski if the weather is agreeable for golf in Squamish! I might have to do the ski in the morning and golf in the afternoon, that is of course, if I can convince Joe to stay away from "Fields" in Squamish and his "Paesano" discount.

Joe might be more agreeable to that now though since he took one for the team on our last visit to "Fields." Joe promised his "paesana" an Olympic pin on one of his prior visits. It turns out that one of the more handsome female cashiers (the one that isn't our paesana and wears a very bad hairpiece) was so ecstatic to receive an Olympic pin, that she hauled off and gave Joe a big celebratory kiss. Maurizio and I backed away as a cautionary measure and were relieved to find she was satisfied with stealing just one kiss from Joe. Maybe it was the look of shock on our faces but we all agree that we might have to resort to tackling (or at least a pick), paesana or not, should that scenario play out again. Chalk it up to good oral hygiene!

Olympic Hangover

The Athlete's Village has felt very different this week. Part of it was because only half of our village team remained while the other half went home for a well deserved rest. All of the athletes were gone, with some leaving even before the closing ceremonies. We lost McDonalds for the time being which will improve our diet but forces us to stand in a cue for food that can at times be repugnant! We're all wondering when the boxcar of sausages will be emptied and if "they" believe "they're" tricking us by calling them bavarian sausages one day and italian sausages the next etc. We even lost our Olympic rings this week. As far as I know, they have not been replaced with anything for the Paralympics. Our "smurfs" have been busy removing all signs of the Olympic rings and the 2010 Inukshuks from our venue and replacing them with the Paralympic logo (part of the logo reminds me of somebody swimming in ocean swells).

The Love Lounge is different too because although many people left we also gained a few people that transfered from Vancouver. The poker games are all but over and one of the guys that transferred is a hunting channel freak! This guy is always in front of the TV and since our TV is first come first served, we have been watching alot of TV in our rooms! You can only watch so much deer, moose, duck, rabbit, gopher, crocodile, gerbil (pick an animal) hunting. God I miss the days when I would bring a bottle of brandy, Tony would bring a bottle of scotch and Ken would bring a bottle rye and we would all be drinking bottles of beer and/or finishing our bottles of wine from dinner!

Many days ago I said that we were ready for the Paralympics. We knew then that we still had to move a few IP phones, HDTV's and computers to new locations and box all the extra hardware that these Paralympic games would not require. Enter the "smurfs!" We have not yet conclusively found out who it was that directed these loveable beings to remove all the HDTVs and IP phones to our trailer, but when I saw all this hardware, all I could say (in my best Russell Peters accent) was, "Some buddy gonna dead!" Our four days were spent trying to ready all the buildings by undoing most of what the "smurfs" had done.

Many actual rock-pile type inukshuks have been made by people with too much time on their hands at our venue and all along the Sea to Sky highway as well. I would like to blame the "smurfs" for the inukshuks but I think some have been built by our security forces as well. There are many officers (with stripes) at our venue and there have been no incidents where we required them. I'm not sure but I think it would be too difficult for a "smurf" to build an inukshuk while juggling an IP phone, a computer and an HDTV.

There are rumours that we will be eating in the "Promised Land" for at least part of the Paralympic games. We were treated there for an Olympic Wrap-up party. I had third helpings because one never knows when one will ever be entertained in the "Promised Land" again. First course, two slices of pizza and caesar salad. Second course, chinese stir fry with two types of dumplings. Third course, a skewer of shrimp, mussells and half a piece of steak. Oh yeah, I forgot the piece of celebratory cake. It was nice to eat food that was tasty and not cooked to death on a steam table (or containing sausage in whole or in part). We even had beer tickets and when the beer was done we started drinking wine. Suddenly, the transgression committed by the smurfs didn't matter so much. After all, they are all so cute!

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!

Gold in Hockey

WHEW!We can hear "Oh Canada" from the "stroll" all the way to our hotel on Blackcomb Mountain. There is yelling and screaming and horns and whistles and I can't wait to get down there.

Olympic Spirit

There has been a definite change in the mood of the Athlete's village.  When the athletes first arrived they were sticking close to their teams and allotted beds.  You would only see them training in the streets and basically just sticking to themselves.  We are now seeing them leave the village with us on the no. 10 or no. 98 bus and believe it or not, they too are shopping for the red torch mitts. Many of the athletes have competed and are starting to relax a little bit.  (On a related note, many of the dispensers for Durex condoms we see in all the Athlete's bathrooms and the Polyclinic have been emptied!  I don't think I have seen any balloon fights. Nudge! Nudge! Wink! Wink!)


Canada by far has decorated their lot 3 better than any other country but we did see that Australia has placed some wickets in the rear of lot 5 (the Lodge) for cricket practice. Many countries have also sent a good number of their athletes home.  We are now wondering if the cooks in the "Promised Land" (Athlete's side of the dining tent) will want volunteer tasters to cook for!

We had a visit from Justin who is our Bell "Chef du Mission."  He also ran the torch in North Vancouver and he decided to bring the torch for a visit.  I decided that I had to pose the torch in front of those Australian cricket wickets as if the torch was a cricket bat. 

Justin, for reasons only he knows, decided that he wanted to eat McDonalds in the dining tent of the Athlete's village.  (We only decide to go to Mickey D's when we feel the food is too revolting and I have to admit we are pretty close to being extras in the film "Super Size Me!") As we were waiting for Maurizio to supply enough meal tickets, I held the torch in front of all those dining "smurfs."  It didn't take long before people came up and asked to pose with the torch.  Some of them even asked if I could pose with them even after I explained "the torch is not mine! I'm holding it for a friend!"


It makes me so happy to finally find that the Olympic spirit has filled the nation but more specifically, British Columbia!  I can now honestly say to Fiona, Catherine and their friends that I predicted this would happen (Read my blog from November 15).  I'm not sure if that is their experience as well but I can't guesstimate how many cheers and tears I have witnessed being in Whistler and visiting Vancouver (for my Fin/Ger hockey game).  This is all in witnessing the pursuit of gold medals for our Canadian athletes.  I thought "the stroll" in Whistler was crazy after a Canadian medal but I witnessed "crazy" on Granville Street walking back and forth from Canada Hockey Place (known outside of the Olympics as GM Place)!  After that Friday night (Feb. 19th), police in Vancouver had the liquor stores close by 7:00 pm to try and maintain some peace.  I watched as a reveller needed to be subdued with a tazor.  I declined taking pictures since the police were taking video of their own.  (After all, I know that the police had a box of latex gloves and were not afraid to use them!  Imagine the fun now with tazors!) Closer to the chalet, fierce Canadian supporters were antagonizing American supporters on our no. 6 bus before the famous game on Super Sunday.  When have you heard Canadians doing that, especially in laid back Whistler!  Maybe it's a good thing these Games only last just over two weeks!

Our Olympic Vacation

In California (and one place in Hawaii that I know of) many people talk about surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon. In winter, in the Whistler area, people talk about skiing in the morning and playing golf in the afternoon. Maybe it's because there are no places to surf close by. Joe and I contemplated skiing in the morning and personally, I think that was close enough to qualify (it would have been easy enough to strap on the skis and do a few runs on the learners hill). We decided to drive down to Squamish to play golf and take a vacation from the Olympics.

Our life in Whistler has been totally concentrated on this athlete's village and the Olympics. We, more so than the average public (outside of smurfdom) have been watching Olympic coverage almost non-stop since before the Opening Ceremonies, especially since we have the direct feeds from the different venues. The "I Believe" tune, with or without lyrics has been etched into all of our brains. I catch myself humming it when I'm bored or when I'm sleeping, standing up. I also generally have an irresistible urge to hum the theme for the "Smurfs" but that's another story.


We borrowed a vehicle from Dave and his media centre crew. It was something we didn't know we could do! We grabbed the van (and the Sea to Sky permit) and just drove south in the bright sunshine watching the outside temperature rise. It was conveniently displayed on the dash. The snow became a memory just after we passed the "WOP" (Whistler Olympic Park) and we arrived in Squamish to calm winds and 12 C temperatures. Perfect day for golf. Scores didn't matter, especially because they were poor and we couldn't blame them on our rentals (Nike Sasquatch--We thought it would be funny if we scratched in Quatchi, but we were on an Olympic holiday and Squamish Valley Golf and Country Club might not have thought it was that funny). I would have loved to have had my spikes (and my own clubs) but let's face it, we were playing golf in Canada on the 22nd of February. It was a good antidote to Olympicitis.

Beer Belly Gold Medal

As usual, Joe and I came down off our mountain and went for our morning "stroll." We got to visit "Celebration Square" today. Let me remind everybody that we had to work the 2:30-23:00 shift and the real medal ceremonies start in the evening. Our visit was a little more special because somebody (name withheld in case we get unnamed person in trouble) just gave us an all access pass. I, of course, was the entertainment and at the time of this writing, the only recipient of the Beer Belly gold medal. Actual medal to follow, once I can find a gold coloured metal can to crush and bend into a weird shape.

We also managed to find a real gold medalist today. We found Jon Montgomery showing off his crushed gold can, bent into a weird shape. He is such a ham:)!
If he stops exercising and stops launching himself head first down a ribbon of ice on a food tray, I will personally invite him to become the second recipient of the Beer Belly gold medal (BBGM). I watched him on TV training for the BBGM and I must say that he needs work. A true BBG medalist would have finished that jug of beer in a single swig and not allow the beer to get warm as he walked down the "stroll" being interviewed and in general, hamming it up.


We also found the memorial for Nodar. I'm not sure how it got there but many people visit and some leave things but most just pay their respects. An artist from Calgary decided to paint a memorial painting over one of his own canvas paintings. He drove in all the way from Calgary with no idea how he was going to get it to Nodar's father. He did find a "smurf" that could help him and I expect this painting will make it to the closing ceremonies. (Handy, those "smurfs" in a tight situation! Just don't expect to get in through the out door of the welcome tent.)

Not Tea, Just Burnt Toast

We were just getting ready to go to bed on Tuesday night (since we had the early morning shift on Wednesday) when the fire alarm went off. Realizing that my best buddy Jeff might not be able to hear this (since he was in the shower and listening to music at about 125 dB), I decided to knock on his bedroom door. He has complained to me before about my "courtesy rap" on the bedroom door to get him up in the morning and now I might know why. Through the sound of the fire alarm, the loud music and the shower, he was able to hear my life saving "courtesy rap!" Maybe I should use an open hand to execute the "courtesy rap" from here on in.

Now back to the fire alarm. We have a variety of guests at our "chalet" these days. We have several people wearing Russian uniforms that appeared coincidentally at about the same time the press announced eight athletes were caught on doping. I think they might just be reporters because we also have a large contingent of reporters, all from different countries. Of note for this story, is that once the fire truck arrived (basically to turn the alarms off), the reporters from Germany came rushing out to get to the bottom of this fire alarm story. If they put the camera any closer into the faces of the firemen, they would have come away with their DNA sequencing! Courtesy of their in-depth probing (one reporter asked, "What happened?"), we found out that a Russian from the sixth floor burnt some toast. I guess those Russians don't know toasters! Thank God they didn't try to turn the oven on!

Joe and I have been trying to spend alot of our spare time on "the stroll." We typically start from the IGA (or iga as Laura and I say when we're in Quebec) and walk over to the bus loop. Along the way we will try to "vogue" for the CTV, TSN cameras (and even the "beauty cams") that are planted along the way. Joe is getting pretty good at picking a spot over Kelly Vanderbeek's shoulder to have his moment on air. We have found that the "scalpers" stand around Celebration Square (just behind IGA) to buy and sell Olympic tickets but we aren't too interested in their wares. We happened to be near the Polish cross-country athlete Justyna Kowalczyk talking to reporters about her silver medal win. She was totally surrounded! (We also saw Alexander Panzhinskiy, Russia-silver and Nikita Krivkov, Russia-gold) Joe turns to me and says "Hey, there's Trevor Linden!" Trevor like us, was trying to figure out what the fuss was all about! It's funny that he is just another face in the crowd when it comes to the Winter Games.

Apart from Mike Lansberg, Kelly Vanderbeek and the CTV/TSN crews, we also found the "Access Hollywood" crew (as well as a huge assortment of European crews). It's funny watching the different filming styles as the 'AH' set was like filming a movie. We had Billy Bush doing a couple of lines and then Maria Menounos taking over the set and doing her lines. (FYI; I had to Google their names because although they look familiar, I wouldn't know them from Adam). There were cuts and retakes with Maria asking where her hot tea was in between takes! The CTV set went live, on air with just a "heads up" from Mike to Kelly to let her know what they were going to talk about.

A Good Gold Day

I had the early shift Sunday and to make it worse, it was raining. It was monsoon raining! We normally get a lift from Maurizio on these early morning shifts but since things are slow now, he has changed management shifts to more decent hours (8am-9pm).

Joe and I made our way to work and I convinced him that if we stayed on the no. 6 to the bus loop and then picked up the no. 98 to Squamish (this bus also turns into our Athlete's village), we would get to work sooner, but more importantly drier. One of our team was also on the no. 6 bus and she decided to stick with the no. 10. Well, I was right on one count but I think it was the most important one. Joe and I arrived, just minutes before 6:00am, fresh and dry. Our team mate did beat us by a few minutes but she also looked like a drowned rat!

We hunkered down into our trailer and hoped that we wouldn't have to go out on the "Gator" in all that rain! Then things started looking up! The rain subsided and out of boredom we jumped onto the wet "Gator" and went for a ride. We found about a half dozen black cars in a section of the Village called "Plaza Entry." We figured these were for Nodar, our fallen Georgian luge athlete and suddenly felt uncomfortable being in this section of the village. Back to the trailer, just in time to avoid another downpour! As it turned out, all those cars were for our Governor-General, Michaelle Jean. Back out in the rain and the wet "gator" to get as close as we dared and with all the security we felt uncomfortable reaching into our pocket to grab our cameras but we did manage to take a few pictures. The entrance to the "plaza entry" has a checkpoint and while standing out of the rain there, none other than Steve Podborsky walked through. He was shorter than I had imagined!

Since Joe and I had not done much sight seeing at Whistler during the Games, we decided to go to the walking village to celebrate Jennifer Heil's silver medal. We were told to visit our Bell Store because they were handing out branded cow bells. Sure enough we got them! We found our GLC (where Much Music sets up shop) was brimming to the rafters so we turned around and went to Merlins. We did happen to get a table on the upper level and set up with a plate of their famous cheese nachos and beer. Men's Freestyle was on the tube and the place erupted when Marquis and Rousseau were leading in first and second. Right about then the band that was playing started the Canadian national anthem. Everybody stood up and started singing. Our Bell "cow bells" were coming in handy. There was booing when the American Bryon Wilson took first and then more loud cheers from the Australians when Dale Begg-Smith took over first. I can't describe how loud it was, not only in that bar but throughout Vancouver, Whistler and Canada when Bilodeau placed first when all was said and done! His victory speech at the bottom of the hill, extolling his older brothers drive was icing on the cake.

We decided to go back to the walking village to celebrate and see if we could get on camera someplace and maybe get some pins. Again, those branded cow bells came in handy as the race results and Alexandre Bilodeau's run was played over and over on all the TV screens throughout. The walking village was packed! In typical Canadian fashion, a hockey game broke out in the middle of the walking village. I loved the look on the little guys face when "Luonglegs" got a penalty for high sticking! We also got a picture of our Bell team on the Omega 4-man bobsleigh but I liked to call it the Canada 1 bobsleigh. I got a picture of our mens luge team in front of the CTV studio. Sam Edney (Canadian men's Luge) placed seventh in an event that is measured in the thousandths of a second. They were signing autographs and hopefully inspiring another batch of future Olympians. It just turned out to be a good day!

Ceremony Parade

A terrible accident happened today involving the Georgian competitor, Nodar Kumaritashvili, at the finish line of the Sliding Centre. I had taken a few pictures near that spot with Joe and Mike a few days ago. My new camera takes four pictures every second. The slider was in only two of them. It just illustrates how fast the slider was going. My heart goes out to his friends and family.

There was alot of pageantry today as the athletes dressed in their parade uniforms gathered together and made their way to the buses under the direction of Christian. It made me smile (and proud) to see our beloved "smurfs" line the pathway that the athletes used to get to the buses which took them down to Vancouver. They clapped and cheered as each country, big or small walked past. It looked impromptu, so I hope it's something the athletes remember. I know I will.

I still can't talk about the Opening Ceremonies, but nobody said that I couldn't post some pictures of the uniforms the athletes wear to them!

Eve of Games

We have all looked at our schedules and we realize that the beginning of the end of our time in B.C. is marked with the start of the Winter Games. We have taken stock of all the "stuff" we have accumulated and wonder how we will get it all back home. Joe has looked in his freezer and found that his search for bargains at the butcher shop has put him in peril of not being able to consume his stock before his trip home. Joe figures he should have just enough as long as he becomes a "meatatarian." The rest of us have volunteered to help him with that noble quest.


We are all looking at the number of days left on our "Edge Ski Pass" and counting up how many days off we have left on our schedules. We are also looking at doing some of the things we wanted to do at the outset. Bill, Jeff P. and Maurizio drove down to the ferry and went to Tofino (on Vancouver Island). Neil and my best buddy Jeff went snowmobiling on the Pemberton Ice fields. They were able to look down from their mountain top to the mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb. They were sledding at an altitude of 8,300 ft. Their pictures were incredible! At some point you will be able to see some of his pictures on www.totallyawesomeadventures.com. Even if you can't find Jeff on this web site, I think you will get the point!


On our day off, Joe and I met up with Bill and Jeff P. who were skiing down the "Learners Run" for a few hours before they had to go to work. This slope is at the base of Blackcomb and is totally free! It is serviced by a couple of "magic carpet lifts" and by one triple chair. The runs are green and are about as long as any runs you have to pay for in the Toronto area! More free stuff the guys have found in Whistler!

Apres ski consisted of a visit to the nearby Whistler Sliding Centre. We were lucky enough to watch some training runs in the Men's Luge event. It was amazing to walk down the course and see how high the sleds etc. climbed up the vertical walls of the banked turns. These guys hit speeds of 150 kms/hr when they reach the bottom (turn 16--Thunderbird). Turns 14 and 15 are chicane-type turns and are nicknamed the 50/50 turns for obvious reasons (you have a 50/50 chance of making it). I was lucky enough to have an excellent camera with me (which was supplied and transported to me--even with all my objections, by my lovely wife Laura).

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!

Joe and Lou's Excellent Bus Adventures

Joe and I decided to take the bus to try and get the full effect of these 2010 Games. We have become acquainted with the routes up and down our mountain to our "chalet." We know that the no. 6 bus will take us down Blackcomb mountain to Merlins (for apres ski at the base of the ski run behind our hotel) with the terminus at the bus loop (just at the bottom of Blackcomb and Whistler gondolas.  This is also where you can find the "GLC"  (Garibaldi Lift Company) or the "Irish Pub" that other people on our Bell team seem to like for apres ski). We can take a variety of routes through town by bus or by car and generally we know that all the roads are two-way in Whistler. We also found out that the no. 10 bus will take us directly to our Athlete's Village venue. Take our beloved no. 6 to the no. 10. Spit, spot! Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt!

Enter the Games! Apparently, Whistler Transit does not have enough staff to handle the crowds for these Games. They too have imported drivers from across Canada to try and move people around town and to the variety of venues in the region. There were droves of buses scooting around town which were "out of service" as the new drivers were learning their routes. There were scores of drivers also riding the active buses (ghosting), again trying to learn the routes.

Enter the problem! Just in time for the Games, the bus routes have been modified. Also, just in time for the Games, some roads have turned from two way traffic into one way traffic. Let's not forget about all those new bus drivers trying to keep the bus on the correct route! Then there are the locals (of which I now include myself) that thought they knew the bus route (before it changed). What you get from any passenger waiting for a bus are rumours which turn into advice which become legend!

I know it's a little off topic but before I go any further I have to say that both Joe and I have had our fill of the food at our venue. It is not that it is unpalatable, but we both like a little more flavour in our food and let's face it, even though "Michael Smith" is the master chef, we are still eating cafeteria food. Anyway, Joe decided to have his own lunch that day and I would have too but I'm not that ambitious about lunch. I went down to the lobby at the predetermined time and found that Joe had not yet arrived. That wasn't a big problem because I knew that he wanted to have a wholesome lunch before heading out. It wasn't a problem until I saw the no. 6 bus come around our loop. In a panic, I called Joe to get his ass down to the bus stop or face missing that no. 6 bus. When he answered the phone I know he had a mouthful but I heard him say he would be right down. The bus still hadn't left when he got down and with sweat on his forehead we made a run to the bus stop. We caught the bus but we didn't have time to talk about how we were going to make the no. 10. The bus driver just handed us a bus schedule but a "ghost rider" explained what we had to do to catch the no. 10. It was only after we had sat down that Joe admitted he had scalded his entire mouth wolfing down hot pasta. The sweat on his forehead was not just from rushing down the elevator but also from pain!

Our trip home on the bus was just as eventful, but it had nothing to do with the buses.  After we took the shuttle to the entrance of our venue, the "smurfs" (smiley, happy volunteers in uniforms of blue including hats, God bless them) directed us out a fenced in walkway which led to our beloved no. 10 bus. Just like cattle, we followed their direction because they haven't lied to us so far and because they are just so cute. It was all a ruse though because the gate which led to freedom had been locked at 9:00 pm and it was 9:05 pm. In any thriller movie, that's typically the time that panels come down on the fence and something evil enters to smite some of the good guys!  In that vane, I grabbed hold of the locked gate and exclaimed "I want free!  I want free!" (That was me re-enacting a scene from a movie) We now had two options to escape our venue.  We could either go through the tent where the scary RCMP officers sniff out our vehicles or we could go into the Welcome tent where the "smurfs" typically scan (yes, just like an airport) visitors.  The Welcome tent seemed more appealling as I had heard a rumour that the RCMP had a new box of latex gloves and they weren't afraid to use them.

We banged on the exit side of the Welcome tent door and somehow the "smurfs" seemed perturbed!  "This door is exit only!" ("So is my butt," I thought, "now let us out, I want to go home!")

"You must exit through the gate!" 

("Twenty grown people have tried that and lived to tell the tale" I thought!  The way is shut!  It is constipated! Get a hold of the RCMP! They have new latex gloves and they're not afraid to use them!") 

After much pleading, the "smurfs" finally agreed to let us walk in through the out door.  There were several brooms and ice-scrapers in a garbage pail at the entrance to this Welcome Centre!  There were handles on the outside of the entrance doors that conveniently looked like D-rings.  I joked that I should take some of these brooms and ice scraper handles and slide them through the D-ring door handles and lock them in for a while!  I bet the gate would be opened up pretty quick when it was the "smurfs" turn to go home!  I don't think I can trust a "smurf" any more!

We found that there is a short walk from where we exit the no. 6 bus to where we pick up our no. 10 bus.  Since the bus routes intersect, it would have been too convenient to have a bus stop near that intersection point.  We needed to cross at a side walk and found a "crossing guard coach" showing what I was assuming to be a volunteer (in civilian clothes wearing a high-vis vest) how to wield a "stop sign."  He was telling the young lady to be assertive and make sure that there is no indecisiveness in the raising and lowering of that "stop sign."  I thought that in itself to be amusing but I am easily amused these days riding the bus routes of Whistler!  We heard an ambulance siren wailing in the distance and the crossing guard coach jumped into action!  He ran into the middle of the intersection and started screaming orders at his crossing guards!  "Let that car pass! You, move over there and stop that traffic!  Come on people!  Look alive!"   I guess our crossing guard coach must have felt that 20 minutes of instruction on how to raise a stop sign was somehow invigorating for volunteers!