Throwback Thursday

In honor of the Olympics, which are starting tomorrow, I thought I'd throwback to when I worked at the Olympics… I cannot believe that that was 4 years ago! So much has happened since then. In 2010, I started dating Adam, worked at the Olympics, and promoted the World Equestrian Games. In 2011, I finished my senior year of college, got engaged, moved to Indiana for my first job at Indiana Wesleyan University and Adam went to Marquette for grad school. In 2012,  Adam and I planned our wedding, I had the best/worst year of my life in Indiana (made great friends, loved my job, but had such a hard time being long distance), He got a job at BMO Harris bank, and then we got married and I moved to Milwaukee. 2013, was our first year of marriage, some job transitions for me, and Adam graduated from grad school. Now 2014 finds Adam with a new job and us moving in a month. It's all very exciting. I am so thankful for the people I have met and the person that God is shaping me into.

Reading over those old posts 4 years ago was brutal. (If you decide to re-read them, you can start here but I warn you to grab some cheese because I provide a lot of whine…whew, thankfully I have grown up a little the past 4 years.)

Happy Thursday! We're looking forward to curling now that we curl. Are you guys looking forward to any specific sport?

Olympics

via

I am probably the only American who has no idea what is happening in the Olympics since I don't have the cable. It's really weird. I am so going to have to figure out how to fix that problem. It's also weird seeing as the last Olympics I was in the thick of everything.  Here's the first day from the last Olympics when I was there if you need a refresher. It's crazy because I can vividly think back to that time in my life. It was right after Adam and I started dating. Right when Kindra and I's friendship was just starting and I was unsure about so many things in my life. I can see God's faithfulness over the last 2 1/2 years. He has changed me. The last year has been especially difficult and I would never ever wish it upon my worst enemy or upon myself again but God has used it to show me so much about Himself, myself, Adam and our relationship, and life in general. There are things I wouldn't have learned if I hadn't been through the last year but I am so thankful that I have learned those things. I am so thankful for how God has changed me and opened my eyes to more of who He is, faithfulness, and to flaws in myself that I needed to work on.

I remember the energy of the Olympics and the excitement when we got there. I had a lot of cool experiences at the Olympics (and a lot of not so cool experiences haha) but I would not trade going back to the Olympics for the spot I am in now. Sure, I read some Facebook status of students from Asbury that are there now and have a twinge of jealously or want to tell them to shut it, you're at the Olympics so stop complaining haha but in all reality they are in for a real treat and learning experience that I have already had my time for and I can't really get mad at their complaints because I looked through my old posts and boy was I ever a complainer! Still working on that. I am excited for the next few months. I have a lot of fun things plan and things to look forward and I feel so at peace with where I am in life right now. I haven't had that for so long. Sure, I still have my days where I freak out or have an emotional day because I am far away from Adam, friends, and family but God led me to this place and I know he has a plan for my life. I have met truly wonderful people here. I absolutely love my coworkers and Marion isn't as bad as it once was.  (It's not a dream life here but I'm not so mad about my surroundings these days).

Happy Tuesday ;)

day 10

I am exhausted. I had another 12 hour day so I really can't remember all that went on today. I lost a bib for right's holders that had my bosses a little worried/annoyed with me, which didn't feel good. But I later found it so I think I'm out of the dog house for the moment. I'm getting to know the USA team from the 3rd event at my venue, which is really fun. My bosses are teasing me about how much I talk to them (which really isn't that much time lol). My boss radioed up to see if I was okay at the start house and after I said yes, she asked if I had talked to the team yet haha I smiled at one, I said. She just laughed.
The track in Whistler is said to be the fastest in the world so they are still having problems with crashes in trainings and safety concerns. Actually 2 out of the 3 Swiss teams pulled out of the 3rd event. It's crazy because they are supposedly the best (according to my American athlete friends).
The events tonight were really exciting. They were the final 2 heats for both women and men and they were very enjoyable to watch. The fans here are so fun. Tonight a guy dressed in a full body spandex (Asbury, think BJ Pugh but gold instead of green) suit that was gold colored and ran around with a Canadian flag to cheer them on to get gold. It was great.
A lot of people drink here including fans and co-workers, so I've been asked to go out to drinks and party a lot. Even tonight while I was working, there were 5 Canadian guys who each had 2 beers so they offered me some. I said no thanks but it's just crazy how much people like to party. The gold medalist from the men's event was shown down in the village celebrating his victory with a pitcher of beer. I find it rather ridiculous.
One thing my roommate and I were discussing tonight was how interesting it is to watch the Olympics on a Canadian channel and get their perspective about the games. We sometimes watch the western feed of NBC but mostly the Canadian channels because they have more events (that we want) on. They show their athletes a lot so sometimes I begin to think of them as "mine" too. It's interesting. The main difference between NBC and CTV and the coverage of the games is that NBC shows a lot more of the backstory of the athletes while CTV just shows the event.
Anyways, I have to work in the morning and I'm so exhausted that I can't think of stuff to write. I just wanted to write a little something to keep you guys updated.

Day 9- a time for everything

There are 2 terms that I may have mentioned but probably not explained.
pin- Pins are very popular at the Olympics. Teams, broadcasters, organizations, and whoever else (even us Asburians) make pins for the Games and give or trade them with different people. Many people collect pins from past Olympics and trade to get newer ones (some people are very obsessive about the pins). You usually get a pin for doing something nice for someone or just as a nice gesture from one person to another. It's another way to bring people from different cultures closer together. (I will show you the pins I have collected in the next few days)
bibs- there are bibs, armbands, or sleeves that are different colors and coded depending on who has them. The bibs are basically oversized pennies (ones used in sport practices) and are used to make sure people are where they are suppose to be. We give bibs out to broadcasters who are filming in certain positions to keep track of how many spots we have left and it makes it easier to spot the crews in case they aren't where they are suppose to be.

Today was very loooong. I worked 12.5 hours so my mood about the whole thing kept changing. Sometimes I was very annoyed with broadcasters and just kept thinking, "I'm watching professional sledders". While other times, I was just so excited to be apart of everything and meet the neatest people.

My friend Vera and I were the only jr. Liason officers this morning so our first task was to unlock about 25 commentator booths. This was a very retarded task because the keys are in this huge bunch with all these labels on them that get to be very confusing. How you know what key to use is based on the number on the door handle but they aren't in any kind of order. At one point we got to this door and the label for the key was there but there was no key. I don't know how they ended up getting that door unlocked for the commentators because I was sent off to the starting house before we were done that task. ( I will have to get a picture of our bunch of keys later for you guys).
On the way up to the start house I saw a Liechtenstien pin and instantly wanted it but I chickened out asking the Liechtenstien people when I saw them. At the start house I kept thinking about the pin, so everytime I saw the coach I smiled at him. Eventually he sent over someone to give me a pin. I was legit excited haha.
The broadcasters this morning were not very happy with the spots they were allowed to film in. They kept trying to get me to let them film else where. Some were nice about it and some weren't. I didn't really like it at all.

Some broadcasters make me feel like that ...
When they are like that...
I got to meet 2 pushers from the USA 4-man bobsled team. They were so nice. I asked them where they were from and the one said Chicago.
"Oh my boyfriend is from there. Yay, I'm so excited. Where are you from? (I asked the other one)
" California."
I smiled. " Oh cool."
"Nothing? No, I have family there. Or I've been there? Anything?"
"Yeah, I've never been there. I can't help you out at all....... Well, I want to go there. Does that count?"
"Okay, I'll take that."

I asked them about the sport since I'm not very familar with a lot of the winter sports. It was very interesting. They told me that it's all about the start. The time lost in start is multipled by three with how much time you'll be behind at the end. You need strong, fast pushers and a good driver. It use to not matter if the driver was a good pusher but the sport is now a lot more competitive so the driver needs to also be a strong pusher too. It was all cool to learn, I hope I can talk to them tomorrow too.
I've found that these next two sports have friendlier teams and coaches. Tonight, I was freezing at the start house so one of the Korean coaches brought me hot chocolate. He was so nice.
I have another long day tomorrow so I don't know when I'll post next. Hopefully the broadcasters won't be mean. I got yelled at a couple times today, which is just wearing when I have such a long day.
Love you guys. Thanks for all the prayers and nice comments.

Yesterday (Day 8)

Dear faithful readers of this blog,
I am sorry that my post was a tease to you. The internet wasn't working this morning so I didn't realize that it had posted.

Anyways yesterday was beautiful. It was one of the first clear days since I got here over a week ago. I could see all the mountain tops and the weather was so pleasant. I loved it.

This is from down in the village.





My roommate (Kirsten) and I in front of the Olympic rings. A load of people were getting their pictures taken here haha. It was crazy.

The guy on the left is Armin Zoeggeler's coach (my favorite slider from Italy) and I have no idea who the guy on the right is.

This was a candy apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. It looked amazing.


This was my splurge for the day. I bought a Snicker's candy apple (sooo good) and split it with my friend, Will. He said I was the best friend ever haha ( if all I have to do is share food with someone to be the "best friend ever" then that's fine with me ;)

Work was pretty easy yesterday. I only had to work 3-8. I was in the mix zone for half the time and the office for the rest. The mix zone is not my favorite because it's usually busy and broadcasters can be crazy. But there are some good things about it. It's at the finish line so you can watch the big screen of the race and the athletes are usually nicer at the end and not as intense/focused as they are at the start house. The office has become by favorite, though. You get to stay warm, watch the whole race, and you're usually only busy when you have to deliver start lists and results between heats. It's nice.

Day 7

Has it really almost been a week? I feel like I'm in a time zone out here. I never know the date, time, or even the day. I thought today was Thursday for some reason.

I slept into today which was nice but I didn't feel that great today for some reason. My head and back were hurting. I didn't have to go to work till 2 so by the time I got there, the competition runs had already started. I just had to sit in the bio (broadcast information office) all afternoon, which was nice since my head was killing me and I didn't have any medicine with me. I was in there to answer the phone (which didn't ring at all), answer questions, and deliver results/start lists to all the commentator booths/trailers (there are about 25 booths and 3 trailers). The commentator booths actually smell really bad (usually a really weird plasticy smell or really strong smoke...weird if you ask me) so I kept holding my breath when I opened their doors haha.

I was suppose to stay until 11 because Skeleton had 2 training heats of both men and women (so 4 training heats total) but my bosses decided we could all go home at 8. We're just there if broadcasters are there and there was one Aussie crew coming at 8:30 for some reason so we passed on the information to security and skedaddled out of there. My bosses had been there since 9ish so they were ready to leave.

I think I'm going to like the Skeleton. It looks really cool. If it's on, you guys should check it out. Tonight, I was at the start house for training, which was really low key so I got to see a lot of the athletes. I'm excited.

Yesterday I was the tourist Part 2

Couple facts about Vancouver: Rated as #1 livable city because it always has activities going on.
It is like NYC so a lot of movies are shot there because it's cheaper.
It is even called Hollywood North.

Yesterday in Vancouver, my professor gave us a tour of the media center where he is stationed. He gets to work with the legends of the industry. He was showing us around and everyone seems very low key, it's not until you get to know them that you realize how talented they truly are. He kept pointing people out and would whisper to us what they were known for (he's the vice president of NBC, she designed all the look of the graphics for the games, he designed the graphics machine that everyone now uses, he decided where every microphone/audio piece would go in each venue- stuff like that haha). It was really neat. My professor is really talented and very knowledgeable. I just kept smiling and tried to take it all in like a sponge.


The torch looked really cool so there are a couple pictures of it. We took a ton haha. Sorry if the lighting is bad but I don't feel like fixing it at the moment.

The Olympic rings :) (oh our professor told us the floating wood has a net underneath it to stop submarines....

Us touching the torch and laughing at the people behind the fence haha.. we're jerks, I know.

The hoards of people behind the fence.
Had to get a jumping picture.
These guys know what's up. They were being pushed down the road in a bobsled. So fun.
My sweet brother looked up Vancouver and told me some cool stuff to see. He said Vogue Theater was really cool so when I saw it down the street, I was really excited. It's an old theater and actually now they are showing the Olympics on a big screen they set up. It was really neat to see.
I just wanted to be silly Vancouver looked really cool. It had old stuff amongst all the new stuff. Also you could see the mountains in the background sometimes, which was so amazing to me.

Everyone in Vancouver had those mittens I really want. I was becoming really green with envy. Then I saw the Olympic superstore and they had mittens. I was so excited until I saw the line to get in. The store was huge and the line went all the way down the outside of it. I was so sad, especially when I saw this tempting window display. You are so mean, Olympic store. We're fighting unless I can get those mittens at the Whistler affiliate tomorrow.
This is my friend, Kindra. She is awesome. The fun thing about the Olympics is that you get to know people you have known about for the last 3 years of school. She was given those two pins by broadcasters and apparently they are the most sought after pins of the Olympics. It's surprising how obsessive people get about the pins. My professor offered to trade her the top pin for 3 or 4 pins. He then said she could probably sell them on ebay for $50. Crazy times. She was telling us about them and was said, " A grown man probably designed both of these pins." One has pikachu one it.
I kept seeing these hats in Vancouver. They are so cute but are $30. I don't think I'll be getting one even though the racoon and moose ones are my favorites.

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.

Early this morning

Excerpt from my journal
It's a quarter til 2 in the morning local time, which really means my body thinks it's almost 5 am. This might explain the tears in my eyes threatening to spill over. The last 24 hrs have been stressful. I had to get everything done and there simply wasn't enough time. I woke up this morning, long after my alarm had gone off (sorry Marie) to realize my flight was the only one canceled. I then spent 45 minutes figuring out a new flight plan. I should have gone back to bed after that if I was smart but I wasn't. I called different departments of the company I'm working for to make sure it would be okay to arrive at midnight and they assured me it would be okay. I arrive in Vancouver , exhausted. The accreditation place is closed. My professor (who is staying in Vancouver) isn't answering his phone (which is understandable) but leaves me unsure of what to do. My new friends, B...and R..., make sure I'm okay before heading off to the city. As of now, I'm sitting in the last shuttle bus for Whistler....all by myself. At least 60 seats and I'm the only passenger. Seems pretty ridiculous.
The worst part is arriving in a country as a lone girl and having no idea what to do and having no one to call/talk to. Luckily, B... and R... lend me their phone and help and then these nice Olympic people found me a bus going to Whistler so I wouldn't have to sleep in the airport.
I arrived at my hotel at 5 am local time (8 am Eastern time). I was up by 9:30 and off to get my accreditation activated by 11:20. The accreditation lets me into my venue and gets me free transportation/ other benefits. Before that I got my uniform and met up with various people.

Day 1
Met everyone on my crew. They are all very nice. There is one other girl from the states and she happens to be my roommate. The others are from Whistler/Vancouver, London, and Australia. I'm already picking up their accents. Our leader is from London so that's the accent I'm really picking up (just for you Katelyn haha). She says brilliant a lot.
Today was just setting up and learning our venue/responsibilities. The work and "fun" I believe will pick up as the days go on. Tonight was training for the broadcasters, crew, and even the athletes. So we got to see some of them go down the course. It was really neat.