Friday, February 12, 2010

Carpe Diem

OMG guys, I am so fucking excited! The opening ceremony is TONIGHT! We have reservations to watch it on the big screen at our favourite pub at 6pm, and I honestly don't know how I'm going to be able to focus on my very important all day meeting with potential new collaborators.

I've heard the ceremony's going to be pretty damn spectacular - after the ice fishing debacle in Torino we all knew it was going to be cheesy, but didn't know if it was going to be good cheesy or embarrassing cheesy. People I know who've been to the dress rehearsals say it's the former, so that's good. And there will almost certainly be mounties in dress uniform, which is obviously even better.

To help us get in the mood, a group of us went to watch the torch relay come through Vancouver City Hall yesterday, a few blocks from work.

City Hall, looking almost as fancy as my bike

There was a massive crowd despite the cold and the rain, and the atmosphere was electric. On the news each night for the last 105 nights, we've seen the torch weaving its way across Canada - they've managed to get it to within an hour's drive of 90% of the population, which is no mean feat in a country this big and this cold - and when it finally entered the city of Vancouver yesterday, it made everything feel so much more real.



Sorry about the dodgy camera work - I was trying to balance on a rather narrow and wet wall!

And suddenly, there it was! This was as close as I could get, I'm afraid:



 





And then it was gone... heading South on Cambie Street towards BC Children's Hospital, where I'm sure it brightened the day of some sick kids.



The crowds have been getting bigger every day

The relay continues today; a big group of people from my lab is taking a super long lunch break at Granville Island to see the torch come through there and get loaded onto a dragonboat for its journey downtown. Unfortunately, my all-day meeting means I can't join them, but I'll make sure I get a seat near the window of the North-facing 15th floor meeting room and will try to catch another glimpse as the torch passes us again.

So: tonight is the opening ceremony, Saturday (and maybe Sunday) will involve some pavilion crawling (my friend who briefly appears in the video above is a big Guinness fan and wants to try the Irish House first), and we're attending sporting events on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There's a rumour that Stephen Colbert will be hosting a couple of live shows that will be open to all - so we'll obviously be looking into that too!

I will of course be blogging everything (eventually, when I get time! For the latest news, try Twitter - you don't need to sign up in order to read my updates), and I'm also hoping that Mermaid (currently in Whistler to catch her first events) will provide a guest post or two for a different perspective.

I wish all my lovely blog friends could be here - it is so fucking exciting!!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

12 comments:

  1. YEY! Have a beer for me on the crawling... maybe even go by the Swedish house for a "snaps" ?? :)

    I'm so excited about this. Another thing to bet about and to hope and feel proud of. I really really hope that the Swedish team will make us (whatever, you knwo what I mean) all proud.

    [I'm trying to fend of thoughts of Salt Lake since that was a _horrible_ olympic year and only remember Turin that was superb!]

    Go hockey teams!!

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  2. Hey, K and I might be into pavilion crawling with you - haven't talked him yet, but I'm sure if I say the words "Irish House" he'll say "when and do I have to leave?"

    Will text you to let you know :)

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  3. Chall, will do!

    I love the big sporting events. It's going to be a great year, with the World Cup in South Africa this summer too!

    On the hockey front, I'd rather remember Salt Lake City than Turin :)

    Kyrsten, definitely give me a call! We'll be heading down there some time tomorrow afternoon, exact destination TBD. And feel free to contribute a guest post or two as well - I bet you'll get some awesome photos tonight!

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  4. Yay!!! I'm so excited to watch the opening ceremonies tonight!! I'm sure the next couple of weeks will be amazing!

    Will you have reduced hours at work? I know in Calgary, during the Stampede, hardly anyone works, so I thought it might be the same :)

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  5. Oh dear, no Finnish pavilion. Well, try to enjoy it anyway.

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  6. The death of the Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, on a practice run today has obviously cast a long, dark shadow over what was supposed to be such a happy day. We will raise a glass in his honour tonight, and I hope the opening ceremony will contain some kind of tribute. I'm leaving now to meet my friends; enjoy the ceremony, wherever you may be!

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  7. eeeeeeeee.. it's about to start. I am SO amazed that the american commentator said "there will be the famous CAnadian singers as McLaughlin, KD Lang .... " eeeeeee :)

    And yes, Cath, I agree - that is very sad that it happened with the skiier and I hope that it will be solved why/how.... clearly it must have been something strange in the slope?

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  8. I'm such a sap. I'm watching the photos from Vancouver and crying. I really miss the place. Gosh, it's truly gorgeous. I really hope that more people now will understand what a truly magnificent place it is......

    (clearly sentimental but it's so splendid! )

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  9. I hope you had fun at the opening ceremony!

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  10. Thanks all! It was awesome fun and I hope you all enjoyed it too.

    Chall, I cried too, but only twice - less than expected!

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  11. Such profanity Cath... I'm shocked

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  12. Obviously not a regular reader, then :)

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