Yesterday I was the tourist Part 1

I woke up and got a message from my friend that a couple of them were going to Vancouver in 30 minutes. Did I want to go? Most definitely.
It was really frustrating meeting up because none of us had phones and we got confused on where we were meeting so we ended up missing the 11'clock bus. So while we waited for the noon bus, we went to Starbucks. A Starbucks worker dropped a whole box of stirring sticks so Kindra and I helped her pick them up. There must have been 500-1000 of them. So the girl said our drinks were on the house.

A bunch of Canadians were watching the games on a big screen down in Whistler. They keep track of how many metals they have and all where their Canadian gear. It's really cool.



I think this guy was a photographer for the Mongols ( yes, I was looking over his shoulder at his pictures when he finally woke up.) This part of the trip I think he was so out of it haha.
Apparently they ran out of hotels so they are having people stay on this cruise ship. I think that would be annoying because it's in the middle of Vancouver and Whistler. So no matter where you want to go it takes a good chunk of time to get there.


The trip down to Vancouver was beautiful! The pictures taken through a bus window couldn't do justice to what it actually looked like. The mountains are beautiful.

Yes, that is the Olympic Cauldron. Our credentials got us close enough to touch it while everyone else was behind this huge fence. I felt pretty important.
Okay, I have to run off to work. I'll post later on but you guys probably won't see it till tomorrow. I work until 11 which is 2 am for you east coasters. I don't have time to proofread so don't judge.

Short but sweet?

Dear nice people who read this random blog,
Today I had off. I last minute went to Vancouver with 3 friends. It was really neat/beautiful/fun but I am exhausted. I will post details/pictures in the morning.
Love,
Dottie

Little letters

Dear uniform,
Thank-you for keeping me warm and dry.

Dear death hill and slippery slope of death part b,
I hate trying to walk up/down you guys (and your cousin hills, trickery and decepticon) when it's been snowing. You have yet to make me fall but I know one of these days my backside will be well acquainted with you. When that happens, we will officially never be friends.

Dear rude broadcasters,
you know the rules why must you yell at me? And you can run but you can't hide from us. We're good at our job haha.

Dear Gondola,
You are awesome. I like riding you to work each day. ( I did not take that picture but I hope to take some and show them to you later)


Dear Hot Hand, Heat factory, or any other brand of heat producing packets of chemicals,
I love you, I love you , I love you.

Dear Armin Zoeggler,
Why did you get third? I wanted you to win. You are my favorite but shh! don't tell the others. I'm suppose to be unbiased. Also I wish I would have taken this photo or even gotten a photo with you but no can do when I'm suppose to be working...

Dear Olympic store,
Please get these gloves back in because I really want some.
Thanks.Dear Fairmont,
You are an awesome hotel that I love but why are your lights in the rooms few in number and the bathroom light switch outside the door?



Dear Friends,
This picture is cracking me up. Also imagining you guys as each one of them is even funnier. Do you agree?

Belle- Kate
Ariel- Taylor Brantner
Cinderella- Katelyn
Snow White- Lauren
Jasmine- Jenelle
Alice- Anna M.
Sleeping Beauty- Marie-ClaireOkay Happy Valentines day, all. Today was fun because it was the first gold metal round. I wasn't in fun positions but it was still interesting. The fans were crazy haha. The broadcasters were even crazier. They all just want to get their shot even if they aren't allowed to be in a certain spot.

Day 4

I rolled over in bed. What time is is?, I wondered. My ipod said 2:15p. 2:15! I have to be at work at 3p. How did I sleep that late? Maybe it was because I didn't feel well last night. Okay, what do I have to do before I leave. I struggled to cut my getting ready time down and figure out what to wear and leave in less than 15 minutes. I ran out of the hotel and asked the doorman to drive me to the Gondola station because if I walked/ran I would be cutting it too close. We got into the hotel car and I look at the clock. 11:34 a. What?
me: "Wait, is it 11:34 in the morning?"
doorman's thoughts: no, lady it's 11:34 at night. The sun shines at night in this part of the world
doorman's actually words: "Yeah. What time do you have to be somewhere?"
me: " 3'clock. I feel like such a retard."
doorman's thoughts: this lady is stupid and crazy.
doorman's actually words: "It happens all the time. No worries. Do you need to go anywhere else in the village?"
As my roommate can attest, alarm clocks and I never have the best relationships. I always end up oversleeping and I just don't function in the morning.
haha anyways the kind doorman dropped me off at the grocery store in the village and I even had time to go on a short run before work.
Work was kind of fun. I knew more of what was expected of me today so it was easier to tell broadcasters when they were in the wrong. Yesterday, I got walked all over but today I didn't care what they thought of me. It was still frustrating with trying to keep broadcasters where they are allowed to be but I hope that gets better.
One of the weirdest things today was that I was at the finish line and it was raining and when they sent me to the start house it was snowing. It's crazy weather up on that hill. I was just glad that we are wearing our uniforms now because they keep me so much warmer and dryer.
The guys started from the women's/double's start house and the women will start at the juniors starthouse. The (best) guys are going 2-3 seconds slower than they were when they started at their original start house ( about 200 m up the track). By starting at the women's starthouse, the first curve is actually the 4th and the starting hill is not as steep. It's all pretty crazy, if you ask me.
In other news, I like speed skating and I'm sad that the only days I have off are the only days that speed skating has off.
I'm still having fun, guys. Thank-you for all your prayers, e-mails, and comments. They are so encouraging! Happy Valentine's Day!

Olympic mascots

For Katelyn:

Miga is a young sea bear which is actually part killer whale and part Kermode bear ( a rare white bear only found in British Columbia). She is based on some legend

Quatchi is a young sasquatch from the mysterious forests of Canada

and lastly
Sumi is an animal spirit from the mountains of British Columbia....

So this is all very interesting. I found it all on the vancouver2010 website. They have a lot of information and cool stuff there.

Day 3

Well, today was an early start but not bad once both I and the sun were "awake." There were more broadcasters today so it was tough telling them multiple times to be in a certain place, only to come back and find them else where. I think though it will get easier as time goes on. I like my 2 leaders. They know what their doing and they're good at it.
We were told at breakfast that our venue was selected to go live today even though it was still training. Then our day ended sooner than expected because of really unfortunate events. I hope the rest of competitions go better than today.
Tonight is opening ceremonies, so a bunch of us are getting together to watch them on t.v.. You have to have tickets to go to the ceremonies and they're 3 hours away so it would be unwise for most of us who have another early start tomorrow to even try to go. I am fortunate to have a 3'clock call time, so it will be nice to sleep in ;)
Hope you guys enjoy the opening ceremonies.

Day 2: a day of learning

1. There are different words and phrases that I'm picking up, which is making communications a lot easier. Apparently wash room is a bathroom, tuque is a beanie or toboggan, Zed is a "Z"- I had know idea when they told me to spell something with a "zed" what that was. I've met a lot of people from different countries so it's been really fun. A lot of people are so friendly.


2. I love the Olympic mascots. They are really cute and make me smile.

3. This is what my hair is naturally doing right now after wearing a "tuque" all day. Glamorous, I know.


4. This is what I found when I came back for the day. The people who make my bed also put Uno nicely on the pillow to greet me haha
5. So since I'm the only Asburian doing my job on my venue, I'm the only one who has to work tomorrow therefore I got to go home an hr earlier than everyone else. I'm not mad about it but it does call for an early morning. Bus at 6:15 a, Breakfast by 6:30, and work at 7. But I think I only work til 1 so not too bad. Then tomorrow night, I think a bunch of us Asburians are getting together here to celebrate the opening ceremonies since they are down in Vancouver- a 2-3 hr drive depending on weather and traffic.

6. I had 3 horrible dreams last night, the last one being that the gondola (like a chair lift for skiing except cooler and my way to work if there's no bus) didn't work and I had miscalculated how long it took to get to work and therefore was late on my 2nd day and fired just like that. So when my alarm went off, I made sure I got up and ready in plenty of time. I arrived 30 minutes early to my venue. Better there really early then fired and sent home lol.

7. It is amazing how many people it takes to put on a event this size. Someone told me it's as if we put on multiple superbowls in 17 days. There's drivers, runners, security, logistics, broadcasters, caterers, different depts of audio, video, radio, print, etc, and so much more. It's incredible.

8. The music selection for the last two days at our venue during training has been interesting. I've heard Kenny Rogers, Harlem Globtrotters theme song, Dr. Dre, and Weezer are some of the ones I remember.