I'm not Useless Anymore! It is now Day Four!

Hola! Bonjour! Awesome day today!
I woke up to this: OK so you can't REALLY see the fat flakes of snow, but they were there, I promise. Beautiful view from the cabin window!
And then I got ready for my first shift. Do I LOOK like a keener? Because I am SUCH a keener:
I checked in at the Athlete's Village. Once I got there I received word that I had almost two hours to kill before the revised arrival time for my chef de mission. I loitered in the break room for a minute before I saw a sign that said, "Extra time on your hands? Call Jason to help Event Services". So I did. I ended up working 90 minutes at security screening, filtering athletes and coaches through the metal detectors. I was at the rifle checkpoint, but didn't think to be freaked out by that until later. Did I mention I hate guns?

And later, I helped check my team into their accommodations. It was great to meet them! They are very nice, and I am now able to relax a little about the whole language thing. I spoke French with her, and she spoke a little Spanish and French back, and we got along quite well. They have a townhouse for their team, and it's really very nice! After I left them to unpack a little more, I grabbed dinner in the dining hall (BBQ chicken, rice, green beans, Thai noodle salad - all quite yummy!) and left for Whistler as the Torch was arriving tonight!

Whistler was CRAZY. I have never seen it so busy! It was just packed at Skier's Plaza at the base of the gondolas. There was music and entertainment, and red mittens everywhere! The crowds were a little much for me, so I hiked up the mountain a ways, past the first tower on the Fitzsimmons chair. Looking down on the excitement was beyond words. I was also in the fantastic position of being right on the route that Julia Murray, the Canadian Ski Cross athlete that Westminster Savings is sponsoring for the Olympics, brought the torch by on the snowmobile. Um, yeah. So it would have been a whole lot better, closer, clearer if I HADN'T fallen down the mountain just a little when I jumped in excitement at seeing her 10 feet from me. This is the picture I took after I fell. Um, see her? Yeah, me neither.

She lit the torch of Steve Podborski, legendary skier! He skied down into the village and lit the torch of a young Whistler resident chosen to light Whistler's cauldron. See that glow in the middle? That's Steve lighting Tyler's torch. It was a PHONE camera; don't give me a hard time.
It was a great day!

And it's my Day Three (should've brought Rock Band)

OK, so still bored here. But I have had two glasses of wine, so I probably shouldn't write much tonight...
Remember I said they were putting finishing touches on the Medals Plaza? Almost. Done. More banners with a beautiful mountain background.
First shift tomorrow - YEY! Except the timing of it means I will probably miss the Torch Relay coming through - BOO!
But I am still super excited because I am quite tired of being all by my lonesome, thank you very much. I haven't skiied yet due to being "on call" but I hope to get up the hill early next week once my shifts are settled. And I am enjoying my explorations of the village - it's just that it doesn't exactly take all THAT long to walk from one end to the other, and you can only walk back and forth so many times before people will start to notice you in your weirdness. So I ducked into a movie today at 4:30. Can't remember the last time I've done that! I had the ENTIRE movie theatre to myself. And then I slunk home to watch Vampire Diaries.
Tomorrow - driving the chef de mission and getting her settled in her accommodations at the athlete's village. And a stop for more wine - I'm almost out!

Whistler Day Two

This morning I was aimless. I hadn't even been here 24 hours and I'd already started and finished one of the four books I brought with me. AND watched 3 hours of Lost last night. I turned on the TV but there was nothing on. I watched a whole 12 minutes of the Maury show, and I'm pretty sure it was the same show I saw last time I watched Maury 9 years ago - "I ain't yo' baby's daddy". Turns out he WAS her baby's daddy! Who knew! Yeah, so 12 minutes was enough of THAT so as soon as I ate lunch I took off into the village for a stroll. Note: No Andorran flag. What's up, Olympics?

Our friends were here last Friday and said they didn't see much evidence of the Olympics coming to town. I'm not sure if they've pulled it all together in the last five days, but man! There are stages everywhere for all the live events that will happen, the finishing touches are being made to the Medals Plaza, and the road restrictions are evident with signs, volunteers and extra transit everywhere. The banners on the light posts are colourful, but even more so are the people strolling through the village. Today I saw members of the Russian team (easy to spot, giant letters spelling RUSSIA across their chests, speaking Russian loudly and smoking like chimneys. So stereotypical!) and members of the Polish team. I also walked past Switzerland House and Canada House, where they're gearing up to host some pretty awesome parties! I picked up a Pique magazine and I'm planning what to do on my time off.

I may go in to pick up an extra shift tomorrow. My Andorrans haven't arrived yet, but apparently they can use a few extra hands stuffing welcome kits for the athletes, so as soon as I hear the word I will head to the athlete's village. I checked out where my bus leaves from (12 minute walk from the cabin) so I'm all set. The bus conveniently picks up and drops off right in front of Sachi Sushi, only my favourite sushi place in Whistler! I may have to call ahead before I get off shift some days...

It was beautiful today! Sunny and about 2 degrees; truly a beautiful mountain day.

First Post from Whistler!

Hey all,
I have arrived in Whistler! I was expecting a little more fanfare, but nobody seems to have realized yet that the most awesome volunteer is now in their midst. I went into the village to pick up some bread and milk, and it is all-abuzz. Volunteers everywhere in their snazzy uniforms; decorations and excitement!
I arrived with a ridiculous amount of luggage, all of which was excruciatingly heavy, but made it to the cabin with no real struggle. I have so many ideas of what I want to do until my first shift! I brought books, DVDs, work, exercise gear... and all I've managed to do so far is buy milk and have a cup of tea.
And I have to say - I already find that it's too quiet! I will be happier when the boys come and visit, that's for sure!
I am still waiting to hear when my first shift will be. I am an Assistant to the country of Andorra. Once they check in, I will know more. In the meantime I had better brush up on my French and Spanish! And on another note, my cousin is in labour as we speak. Push, Annwen! Can't wait to meet my new little cous-nephew or niece... I think technically he or she will be a cousin once removed. Best wishes come your way! Tamsin

Hey! Where have I been?

I know - I have been IN A FUNK.

But I may be emerging, so here I am again. I'm feeling more prepared for my month away volunteering at the Olympics. The boys are back to the school routine after playing their hearts out over the Christmas break.

I have a friend who is posting pictures and writing EVERY DAY on her blog. I did that last February and I have to admit, I liked doing it. But since January did not go so well on the blogging front, I am not going to commit to posting every day this February. Especially since I will be in Whistler and working like a dog to make sure the athletes I am responsible for will have the best Games ever! But I will try to take pictures (when authorized to do so of course) :-) and write about my Games experience here.

As for the boys, Jack says "How YOU doin'?"

And Ethan's all, "Look at me, I'm awesome!"

And that sums them up just fine.

I'm a Creep

We've had a good Christmas break so far. Today we decided to go to "Puck & Stick" at our local arena and then stay for Public Skate. The boys had a good time playing hockey although Jack was ticked off because the sticks were all too long for him. He made sure to tell the Skate Patrol that they should get shorter sticks. Oh yes he did. Ethan was playing hockey with a friend and I was on the bench for this part. I'm nursing a sore throat and I actually can only whisper at the moment. You can imagine how easy it was for me with no voice to get the boys off the ice for the zamboni to come clean it. Luckily Skate Patrol rounded them up and we went off to have a bite to eat before we all laced up for family skate time.

The big draw for me today was that Simon Whitfield, a triathlete who won Olympic gold in Sydney 2000 and Olympic silver in Beijing 2008, was skating and then signing autographs. Mike and I have watched this guy race for the last decade, and he seems like such a nice guy, and an amazing athlete to boot.

Jack nearly ended the poor guy's triathlon career by skating into him to say Hi. Luckily Simon is quick on his feet and Jack only took out the two helpers. It was obviously time to take our skates off and so we joined the autograph line.

We only had to wait a few minutes before our turn came up. Jack and Ethan had a nice little chat with him as he signed their flags, while I nodded and smiled. Simon asked how old they were, and said he has a 2-1/2 yr old - he likes to see what is in store for him!

What I wanted to say: "We've really enjoyed following your races over the years! I was jumping up and down when you won in Sydney, and I nearly had a heart attack in Beijing at the finish. Congratulations on your career!"

What I actually managed to say: "I've watched you for 10 years..."

which, when croaked out in a hoarse whisper, sounded unbelievably creepy.
Then Jack said, "Mummy can't talk today. Can she have an autograph?" Saved by my 5 year old...

Hopefully I'll get my voice back before I meet anyone else.

Christmas ROCKS!

I realize it's been a month since I posted, and I left it on a bleak note. The boys have been challenging here and there, but are well aware that SANTA IS WATCHING THEM, so every now and then we are lucky enough to experience good behaviour! Sometimes even from both of them at once!
Although it has been the usual crazy hectic-ness that is December, Christmas time is so much fun! I DO love this time of year. Tomorrow I am going to sleep in til 8 am! You heard me! 8 AM! Can you even stinking believe it?
Anyway, next week I am going to post top and bottom ten for the year, but for now let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Oh yeah, and I only got your cards in the mail today. By a Christmas miracle they may make it to you on time!
Ho ho ho and xo,
T.