Day 1: First Day at Cypress + Canada & Poland Get Silver

I woke up with a bit of a hangover to rainy skies but... that has not come even remotely close to wiping the smile off of my face. Today, I finally get to put on my sexy uniform and do what I came here to do: be the "face of the Games," as they call the Event Services (EVS) folks here, and greet the world to Cypress Mountain: the venue for all the freestyle skiing and snowboard events.

I got dressed and headed downtown, where I had a quick lunch with Andrew and some of his friends who just got down from the zip-line at Robson Square (one thing that I have to go on before I leave!). At 15:20, I boarded the SeaBus, which brought me to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. The Olympic Bus departs from this location, bringing spectators and volunteers up to Cypress Mtn. as no private vehicles are permitted at the venue. We left at 15:45 and got to Cypress about 40 minutes later. It was a funny site... There is really no snow anywhere except for the runs and the peak. Also, I don't think I have ever seen so many buses in one spot. Most were plated with California licence plates but some were also from Utah. I heard there are also about 30 coaches from Quebec. It's a big event... :)

After checking in at the Workforce Check-In tent for my 17:00 shift, I headed up to the Venue Operations Centre to meet with my team, our leader Sandra, and the VANOC crew. The site was already buzzing with all the freestyle skiing action. What was on today?

• 16:30 - Ladies Mogul Qualification
• 19:30 - Ladies Mogul Final

I was assigned the role of a Ticket Validator for the evening. It's fun because you get to mingle with the crowd and watch the event at the same time (the run was clearly visible from the validation area). A couple of other volunteers and I were fortunate enough to see the actual silver and gold medals runs! Seeing it live is absolutely amazing! Both Hanna Kearney (USA - Gold) and Jennifer Heil (CAN - Silver) flew down that mountain to an incredible support from the thousands of fans on site.

In other news, Poland's Adam Małysz also got silver today in Men's NH Individual Ski Jumping, losing only to Simon Ammann of Switzerland by 7 points.

What else can I tell you about... They fed us well! I had a potato & bacon soup, sun-dried tomato and basil pasta with caesar salad (with real Canadian bacon), an apple, and a granola bar. It was really good! What else... My team, Bravo20, is really fun. There is one more Quebecker in it, Christian, from Richelieu, so I get to practice mon français. The whole EVS team is really energetic and enthusiastic, which is important since we really have to rely on team work to get things done and... we need to keep moving to stay warm. Even though the temperature today was above zero, it was windy and really wet. The uniforms are waterproof and quite warm (thank you, HBC!) but it's really the action that kept us warm throughout the evening. Since the crowds vacated the venue quicker than we anticipated (probably because they were cold and hungry as wait time at concession stands was over an hour), we got to go home an hour early.

We left the rain-soaked mountain at around 22:10 on an Olympic bus. I met two more fellow Montrealers on board. They were also volunteering at the venue, fixing up the moguls in between runs. When I got back downtown, I visited the torch again and continued down along the shore to check out the Olympic rings that are floating in the Burrard Inlet, between Vancouver's Waterfront and North Vancouver. I will take some night shots of both sites tomorrow, when I bring my camera with me...

It was an awesome day, really. I'm exhausted but that smile I woke up with is still on my face, only bigger! Can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow... :) Good night!

Day 0: The Opening Ceremony

2010-02-12. Not an ordinary date in Canadian history. This is the third time we're hosting the world for the greatest sporting event, and today we're kicking it all off! 17 incredible days are ahead of us. Years of waiting and preparation are behind. Let's party! But only after we pause for a moment in silence...

That's because today is also a day of mourning, for Georgia, after Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed in a horrific crash at Whistler, on the luge track, just hours before the opening ceremony. A grim start to this rainy day...

I kicked it off by meeting with an old friend from Montréal who's here working with CTV/RDS at the International Broadcast Centre. Pierre-Luc is one of many junior journalists contributing to the stories you read about on the net and see on TV.

We took the SkyTrain down to Main/Science-World station where Russian House (Sochi 2014) is located. From there, we walked along False Creek towards BC Place, where crowds were already lining up for the opening ceremony. After a brief pause for few Chinese dumplings, we continued through the downtown core, enjoying all the street action. And there is plenty of it here: from LiveCity areas to celebration sites to international houses, pavilions, and cultural centres... the city is buzzing! Police forces from all over Canada are patrolling the streets (I saw a few of our own Montréal cops!) but there aren't many protests and it's incredibly safe in the city, even late at night.

After the stroll, Pierre-Luc went to work to cover the main event and I headed home to change, pick up the bottle of my free wine (volunteering perk #28), and head to Kate, Dionna, and Marion's place on Quebec Street, for the opening ceremony house party! Why there? Well, A) they are 3 really cool girls I had just met on Wendesday, and B) the view from their 11th floor balcony gives straight onto False Creek, BC Place, and the downtown core. It's absolutely spectacular (and no, I still have't figured out a way to transfer pics from my camera onto my work laptop... but when I do, you will see what I mean.)!

The party was wild! I won't get into the details but watching the ceremony with a large crowd (there must have been at least 30 people there) of rowdy Canadians, drinking and cheering, and looking out the window to see the place where it's all happening... I mean... words can't describe it! Hopefully, my pictures will :)

My buddy Adam finished his shift at the main ticket place and joined us around 11:30pm. The party went on until about 1am at which point we headed out to see the torch (see picture) that Wayne Gretzky had lit up earlier on. My friend Andrew and two if his buddies (Dustin and Dan) joined us. Adam went home 'cause he had an early morning shift the next day and I hit the party scene with the boys. We had some drinks and watched parts of the ceremony that was replayed on all networks and all screens at the bar, to finally end up at some club called Odyssey, where we partied well past 3am. After some well-deserved pizza, I made it home without remembering much of how exactly that happened, and crashed at 5am...

So there you have it! The Games are open. The parties are on. The world is watching.

Tomorrow, I start my volunteering journey! Stay tuned...

I am already having an absolute blast here and I hope the tiny bits of it that I can share here with you are enough for you to enjoy these special times we live in with me...

Enjoy the Games, Canada!