Olympic Gold Medal

I GOT TO SEE A GOLD MEDAL! It was Mo Tae-Bum's gold for the Men's 500m Speed Skating along with his bouquet of flowers. It looked great in X-ray vision - first picture above.

Last night was a banner night for seeing athletes - lots of USA hockey players (Jack Johnson, Patrick Kane, Joe Pavelski and some of the women that I didn't get to see up close) some USA long track speed skaters (Tucker Fredericks and Brian Hansen) and many, many, many more athletes from other countries that I don't know. Some of them looked very tired after a hard day of training. We even had Jacques Rogge (president of the IOC) come through.

Some of you have been asking so here it is - the other picture is me at work. Now you can see why my neck aches. I need an apple box (maybe a 1/2 apple) to get me to the right height. All in all, I'm having a great time. Nice crew to work with (also from all countries). I work with a cute young woman from Germany, 2 nice ladies from China, a sweet First Nations guy from northern BC, an older gentleman from India and one of our supervisors is from Romania. I am the crazy American in the bunch and I try hard not to be the "ugly" American. It is getting easier to get through all the accents and figure out what everyone is saying. I'm amazed at how well everyone speaks English for being here such a short time. I wish we Americans were made to learn to speak other languages as well. We're lazy in that regard.

Collin went up to Grouse Mountain at 2:30am last night to participate in the Torch Parade for the Today Show on Wednesday morning. If you didn't see it, I've been told that you can see it on NBC.com but I can't be sure because we can't get NBC.com here in Canada. Let me know if it's there. He had a great time but didn't get home until 6am. So for his birthday he got to sleep in and go to school at noon. We're also taking him out on Friday so we can walk around town, see the sights and take a look at what they've done to improve seeing the outdoor flame.

More later.

Opening Ceremonies from my living room...

It's been a busy few days here in Vancouver. I've been working like crazy and trying to fend off the flu. By the way - whatever is in oscillococcinum - it works! Twice now I've gotten fever and chills, taken this stuff and been fine. I fully endorse it and will always keep it in my "bag of tricks."

The pictures above, except for the daytime pic of the flame were taken from our apartment during the opening ceremonies. The flame is just to the right of the building with the green and blue lighted line. You can even see it during the day. Nice! There's a bit of controversy about the flame though. As you can see from the picture, there is a crappy fence around it. You can't get close and any picture you take of anyone in front of the flame has that crappy fence in it. Garbage! They are supposed to be "looking into it" to see if they can figure out what to do.

Collin has been involved in the Torch Parade at Grouse Mountain every night (picture tomorrow) and Sunday was absolutely gorgeous for walking around - too bad I was sleeping off my graveyard shift and missed it. Keith and Collin walked home from downtown Vancouver across the Lions Gate Bridge. They were beat after that trek. I have Friday off from every job I have (miracles do occur!) so I will be headed into town to visit the Aboriginal Center and see what else is happening.

Athletes I've seen in the last couple of days include J.R. Celski, Apolo Ohno, Shaun White, a few American bobsledders and many tipsy German snowboarders. I also saw Stefan Read, a Canadian ski-jumper. All these guys and girls look so young! Or, more possibly, I'm just old.

carrying the torch...

Here's my view of the Olympic Torch as it came through my machine today. Very cool. Keith and Collin saw the torch carried along Marine Drive this morning and got some great pictures. That's Flat Jennifer (Flat Stanley's sister) in the foreground. She's visiting and we've promised to show her a good time.

At work I saw many many athletes. I always say "Go USA" when they come through and they usually stop to chat for a minute. A few bobsledders today. They'll be headed up to the Whistler Athlete's Village soon, but are staying with us for a few days. Apollo Ohno actually came through my portal today. Yes, still cute.

It was raining on and off today. And I hear they're getting a little more snow in the mountains. Yeah, we don't want Vancouver to be embarrassed. On my way home there was something else going on where the Opening Ceremony will be. The crowds were packed again and the SkyTrain was standing room only. I also noticed that the doors to the ramp for the SeaBus had a sign on them that said that they will be locked until 4 minutes before departure. It's going to get ugly when we all try to get where we're going at once.

I'm trying to stay awake a little longer tonight in preparation for my next three nights of midnight to 8am. I haven't made up my mind about that shift yet. While it's quiet and drama-free, time seems to stand still at times. I think of all the shifts, I prefer 4pm to midnight. I have a few of those next week.

What's scary to me is that I recognize some people's bags now as they come through the machine. I don't know if that's good or bad.

More soon.

Ohno spotting...

Yeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaa! I saw Apollo Ohno today!!! A group of Americans came in through our portal and he was one of them. Yeah! I got to see an athlete that I recognized! Working at the worker's entrance, I thought I wouldn't see anyone. Okay, I can go home now! That made my day! I'm glad the athletes can go in any entrance.

In other news, after work I headed over to The Hudson Bay Company - official purveyors of everything Olympic. They call it the Olympic Superstore and they are not kidding. First of all, I had to wait in line to even get in. They let us in 20 at a time and the place was mobbed. Everything imaginable with the Olympic Logo or Canada or the mascots was available. There was a huge wall of pins (I bought 2) and a section set up for pin traders to do their thing. I wandered around in a daze for an hour before coming out with only 2 tee shirts and 2 pins. I really wanted a hand knitted First Nation Sweater, but I didn't have $350. I figure I'll knit one myself. I saw a few girls in Russian uniforms, some Korean team men and a bunch of media people there too.

Tomorrow is my last day for the day shift. This weekend I'll be back to the graveyard for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

PS - Oh yeah, Apollo was a cutie!

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

Well, actually, the Russians are here! Walking around in their cool orange-ish and white uniforms. They all look like coaches to me, though.

I saw lots of Americans in my portal today. I had a regular day shift so I was busy all day. Most of the Americans I saw were team support people, but I said "Go USA!" anyway. I think one was a snowboarder, but I don't know who they are (except for Shawn White) so lets just say I didn't see any American athletes today.

It was a beautiful day here and the sun was out for a while. Too bad I was inside an old barn with an X ray machine and lots of police.

As I was headed to lunch, I saw a gaggle (?) of Swedes headed away from me. Is it a gaggle? What do you call a group of Swedes?

There was also a dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies today at the stadium. I had to fight the crowds in the SkyTrain on my way home after work. And as I saw the hordes surging into the stadium through the portals, I thought about how lucky I am to be working at the Athlete's Village instead of one of the venues. And, best of all, my boots are finally broken in!

More fun in the Olympic Village...

This is the shirt that is supposed to be sold only at the Athlete's Villages (Vancouver & Whistler). Keith loves his. And Collin loves his snowboarding shirt so much that he is refusing to ever take it off.

Athletes are finally coming in. There were a few busloads last night. Stuck in the workforce entry like I am, I didn't get to see anything exciting. However, I do get to see people in their uniforms wandering about.

Country uniforms seen so far: Russia, Polska, Italia, Czech.

Flags hanging from the balconies: Great Brittan, Germany, and many that I don't know. Also, the Aussies have a HUGE banner with a boxing Kangaroo on it that's causing quite a controversy. Apparently the athletes are allowed to hang their country's flags from their rooms. However, the roo isn't on their flag and some folks are upset. Leave it to the Aussies to stir up a fuss. I knew I loved them.

Police Departments: Too many...including, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, Ontario, and many other towns that I don't know. There are three cruise ships filled with law enforcement here. In the village, as the saying goes, you can't swing a cat without hitting one.

We have a guest - Flat Jennifer (Flat Stanley's sister) is visiting from our friends in Los Angeles. Look for pictures of Flat Jennifer having fun at the Olympics. Tonight I may run her through the X-ray machine......

Oh yeah - starting to get crazy here - this is just one section of Walmart. And I didn't even take a photo of the Canada Hockey Team paraphernalia which goes on for about two aisles. They are serious about getting the gold in hockey. Lots of TV ads about it being their sport and in "their house". I'm afraid I'm gonna have to be an American on this one. Go USA!

X Ray Operator Art

Here's what happens when you are tired and press the wrong button. The machine flips the image and tells you it loves you. I love my machine too, it's the prettiest one of the bunch. And the smartest.

Just came off 3 nights of midnight to 8am. It's a lot like shooting night for night. Lots of standing around and trying to stay warm while not much happens. I think I'm too old for the graveyard shift.

I hope I'm doing a good job. Today after work we walked over to the Village Shop to see when it would open. We're all hoping to buy something cool that you can only get at the Village. Since you can slap an Olympic Logo on just about anything, I hope the Village stuff is not crazy. I'd settle for a nice polo shirt. I'll let you know what I get.

Another day of security...

Wow! This job is great! I've met people from all over the world in the last few days and had a good time working with everybody. Standing on cement for eight hours isn't pretty, but eventually I will break in my boots.

Sorry I don't have good pictures yet. I'm trying to be a good employee and not take pictures inside the Village. This picture is the decal on one of the gazillions of Olympic cars running around town. I'll try to take more pictures as soon as I can. I did get my first pin today from a very nice man from Tucson.

I've been surprised to find many more Americans around than I thought there would be. Yay! Go us!

I can't wait for the athletes to come in... I'll let you know who I see.

More later - I'm going to bed!

I am a bad American!

Here I am in Canada, ready for the Olympics and I just realized that I have nothing to show that I'm American. I suck! I might be able to dig up a Pittsburgh Penguins pin, but I need an American flag or something!!! We're allowed to pin trade and to wear pins on our lanyards while at work so look through your pin collections and send me a flag or something that will proclaim my American-ness.......

In case you are wondering about the little guy on the logo - he's an inukshuk. There's a large one near English Bay and they are very fun to build. I have one in my front yard. See below....

What is an Inukshuk?

The mysterious stone figures known as inuksuit can be found throughout the circumpolar world. Inukshuk, the singular of inuksuit, means "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."

The Inuit make inuksuit in different forms for a variety of purposes: as navigation or directional aids, to mark a place of respect or memorial for a beloved person, or to indicate migration routes or places where fish can be found. Other similar stone structures were objects of veneration, signifying places of power or the abode of spirits. Although most inuksuit appear singly, sometimes they are arranged in sequences spanning great distances or are grouped to mark a specific place.

These sculptural forms are among the oldest and most important objects placed by humans upon the vast Arctic landscape and have become a familiar symbol of the Inuit and of their homeland. Inuit tradition forbids the destruction of inuksuit. An inukshuk (also known as inuksuk) is often venerated as symbolizing an ancestor who knew how to survive on the land in the traditional way. A familiar inukshuk is a welcome sight to a traveler on a featureless and forbidding landscape.

An inukshuk can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Built from whatever stones are at hand, each one is unique. The arrangement of stones indicates the purpose of the marker. The directions of arms or legs could indicate the direction of an open channel for navigation, or a valley for passage through the mountains. An inukshuk without arms, or with antlers affixed to it, would act as a marker for a cache of food.

An inukshuk in the form of a human being is called an inunnguaq. This type of structure forms the basis of the logo of the 2010 Winter Olympics designed by Vancouver artist Elena Rivera MacGregor. It is widely acknowledged that this design pays tribute to the inukshuk that stands at Vancouver's English Bay, which was created by artisan Alvin Kanak of Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories. Friendship and the welcoming of the world are the meanings of both the English Bay structure and the 2010 Winter Olympics emblem.

Sources: Wikkipedia, James Marsh - The Canadian Encyclopedia, Norman Hallendy – Inuksuit: the Silent Messengers

All Bundled Up and Ready To Go...

Okay, so not a great picture of the incredibly cool uniform (it was dark outside) and not a great picture of me (Keith was making me laugh) but I am thrilled. The boots are comfy (they better be - I have to stand up for over 8 hours) the jacket is cooler than cool (3 in one jacket with the softest fleece inside jacket). The only problem is we have to wear the uniform, the entire uniform (ski pants and all) and it's warm here now. When I say warm, I mean high 40's all week. No need for all this ski gear.

That's all for today - I'm exhausted!

Today I became official...

Wow, when it rains, it pours. After weeks of not knowing when I was getting my uniform and passes and schedule, it all happened in about five minutes. I picked up my work pass this morning and found out I'm scheduled to get my uniform tomorrow. And they sent me a work schedule - I START ON MONDAY!! Yikes! I'm a little nervous. Monday was supposed to be another training day. I'm jumping right into the fire. Now I just hope this can all fit in with my other two jobs. We'll see how good of a juggler I am.

So, one more training session tomorrow, one free weekend and the fun begins.

The picture above is the lanyard that holds my work pass along with the pins I've collected so far. I know...I'm so cool.

McDonalds Gets a Gold...

Proud Sponsor! Here's a new look for Keith's favorite "restaurant".

The town is plastered with Olympic logos and sponsors and proud, smiling Canadians with red maple leaves painted on their faces and "Believe" on their jerseys. There is an Olympic countdown clock in town and a general grumbling about road closures and "damn tourists", but I think it's going to be fantastic here for the Olympics. This town is great for walking and beautiful from every angle - you can't take a bad photo if you tried.

I'm anxious to get my uniform and accreditation. The uniform is a very cool black jacket and ski pants with Vancouver 2010 embroidered on the back and the logo on the front. We also get boots, gloves, scarf, bag and hat (toque for you Canadians).

I check my email every 2 minutes for a message to come in for a fitting. I have no life.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!!!

VANCOUVER... ROAD CLOSED... GET USED TO IT!

Friends and Family,

I'm back at the blog. Sorry, it's been a while. So the big story is that I'm working at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Just to catch everyone up here's the back-story: We came here to beautiful British Columbia from Los Angeles over a year ago. I was certain that my 20 plus years of experience in the Film and TV production business would get me a production job here eventually. But without knowing any people in the business, it's been a bit difficult to even get in for an interview. Maybe after the Olympics…

During the Olympics, TV and film production will come to a standstill here in Vancouver. Imagine trying to move a film company around a town where 2 million people are coming to visit; lots of streets are closed to traffic; and it's impossible to get a film permit. So, I decided to try and get a job WITH the Olympics. I had hoped to work for NBC on the production end of things -- hell, I've worked for NBC before in production on lots of TV movies, and I even worked for them as a story analyst, but I couldn't find a way to get an interview.

So I eventually got a job with the Olympics working security as an X-ray Operator. I've had many training sessions throughout the fall and winter. It's been fun learning about a job that is so different from everything else I've ever done. But it hasn't seemed real until today. Today I went to the venue I'll be working - the Athlete's Village. It's an amazing, wonderful sanctuary for the athletes and I am privileged to be able to work there. Sorry, no pictures from inside and no insider info - I am working for a security company after all. However, I want my friends and family to share in the experience as much as possible.

That's all for today. I have more training next week and at some point I have to get my uniform, which is awesome and I get to keep it. More later.