Another one bites the dust

The end of another city, the end of another Tear Down. And this one was an even bigger challenge than any of the other ones I've been involved in.

Thanks to an amazing team effort, things went well and we finished ahead of target -- at 2:15 AM. So instead of an 18-hour day yesterday, I worked a relatively easy 17:45. I"ve said it before and I'll say it again: thank goodness I'm paid hourly and am entitled to overtime compensation!

Had a looooooong shower when I got home, and finally made it to bed at 3:00. So why, then, am I up and writing at 7AM? Stupid ringing phone! Damn, there goes any chance of a good sleep-in.

But at least Tear Down is done and the circus run in San Diego is now a memory. Did I mention that I beat my budget by a whopping 47%? I rock.

Bring on Long Beach, where we're expecting some heavy hitters at our Premiere Party!!

Mining for more metal medal(s)

Two more short track speedskating silvers brings our total haul to 24 medals, placing us 3rd in the overall medal count. We're "only" 5th in gold medals, but I'm damn stoked about being only one measly little medal behind the US. Combined with the seeming endless array of near misses and 4th places, I think we are gonna kick some serious German, American, Russian, Austrian and Norwegian ass in Vancouver in 4 years' time.

Bring on 2010!

And bring on Tear Down! Yup, only one more day to go until San Diego is history. Of course, it's gonna be an 18-hour day, beginning at 9AM and going on 'til 3AM (our estimated finishing time). Still, we'll get it done and it's gonna feel great.

Absolutely defies description

Canadian female speedskaters rock!

First, Cindy Klassen becomes a 6-time Olympic medal winner, with 5 of them coming in these Games -- a best-ever Canadian performance. Absolutely defies description. Cindy defines excellence with a Canadian Olympic best-ever one gold, two silvers and three bronzes in all of her Olympic competition.

And what can you say about Clara Hughes? Already the only Olympian ever -- male or female -- to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Olympics, she wins her first-ever Olympic gold to bring her overall total to one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in all of her Olympic competition. And she's my sporting herione to boot! Absolutely defies descrption.

22 medals overall. Yippee!

A couple of days to go yet

As if my sporadic posting on Canada's Olympic glory wasn't irresponsible lame enough, I have to admit that it probably ain't gonna get much better in the next while.

I'm so freakin' busy at work that I've become a basket case. My friend Lucky even tells he half-jokingly that he doesn't want to be around me. But I can't help it -- I'm hooped! I just lost my entire staff of one, thereby leaving me as a department of one. I've had to assume that person's duties, plus other additional administrative duties due to a restructuring that has resulted in the loss of another position. Not all of the rights to do those administrative tasks haven't yet been bestowed upon me, meaning that I have to get other people to do some of the things that I'm expected to do, but can't. Tear Down is fully and completely upon us (and I'm waaaay behind in getting ready for that), and there are some major logistical changes involved this time that me and my colleagues are not completely at ease with. I'm dealing with a nightmare of a business supplier that makes me wonder how anyone can conduct business without any kind of integrity or professionalism. I'm considering a job change that may or may not eventuate, depending on what someone at Head Office things. And I haven't been sleeping well lately.

Am I excused yet for my lame behaviour?

But now back to the Olympics, where Canada is still going strong. 20 medals total? Unbelievable! How 'bout that gold medal for the Canadian men curlers, eh? And that gold - silver finish for Klassen and Groves in the women's 1500m speedskating. Ni-i-i-i-ce! I can't believe I considered Cindy's earlier performance a bit disappointing, cuz she's earned a stunning 4 medals in these Games, a best-ever result by any Canadian. Combined with her bronze from Salt Lake, this makes Cindy our most decorated Olympian ever with a gold, two silvers and two bronzes. Ni-i-i-i-ce!

And a couple of days to go yet. Just like our time in San Diego. God, I can't wait until Tear Down is over!

A harvest

I've been so far behind in my blogging about Canadian Olympic glory. But the update is: we rock!

There have been...

• ...a few disappointments, like the Canadian men's hockey team losing in the quarter-finals and the Canadian ladies taking home "only" a bronze in Curling
• ...a few agonizingly close calls, like Beckie's 4th place in Ladies XC sprint and Helen Upperton's 4th place in Ladies Bobsled
• ...a few rising-to-the-occasion performances of a lifetime, like Francois Bourque's 4th place in Men's GS and Kelly Vanderbeek's 4th place in Ladies Super G
• ...and an out-of-the-blue, never-even-anticipated, where-the-hell-did-that-come-from result: Gold to Chandra Crawford in Ladies XC sprint

And that is what the Olympics are all about!

Canada is kickin' its best-ever medal total, with more to come! We're on track to show the world that we may just possibly top the medal standings in Vancouver in 4 years' time. Could that really be true?!!

Nothing new today

No new medals for Canada today. Yet.

Sigh.

The Best Ever

Canada's best ever Olympic result in ANY sport!

Men's Skeleton: Gold medal, Silver medal, Fourth place.

It doesn't get any sweeter than this, baby!

A hard-on for Bronze

My friend Patsy says she has a hard-on for bronze. When she plays in volleyball tournaments, she crazily hopes her team finishes in third place so she can bring home one of her favourite medals. I've played on plenty of teams with Patsy, and the rest of us are gunnin' for gold while she's content to add another piece of bronze to her family jewels.

Sometimes I think Canada is like Patsy. Aside from Salt Lake City, where we totalled 7 golds among our 17 total medals, we tend to mine for bronze in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Pan-Am Games, etc. Seems as if Torino is no exception. Don't get me wrong -- I'm stoked we keep taking medals left, right and centre! I just hope that we get someone else at the top of the podium to join wee Jennifer, our moguls champion.

After my update yesterday, Jeffrey Buttle skated a strong free to take the -- you guessed it -- bronze medal in men's Figure Skating. I didn't get to see him or any of the boys skate, of course (damn my job -- when will I learn to take all my holidays during the Olympics?!), but a bronze medal should answer some of his critics (hello Joubert and Sandhu -- weren't you finishing 6th and 13th, respectively? hmmmm?) and puts him in the record books as an Olympic medalist. It just kills me that some little kid with a big heart and some great artistry is now an Oly medal winner. Good on ya, mate!

Today, thus far we've won a bronze in women's Snowboard Cross. Dominique Maltais snuck home in 3rd place, but unlucky Maelle Ricker (from Whistler, no less), the leading qualifier and favourite for gold, took a nasty tumble and finished out of the medals in 4th. In fact, she was lifted from the hill by medics, but hopefully she's not seriously injured. Bummer, dude.

So our total creeps to 9 medals. We're 5th in the medal standings in overall medals, but way down the list in the generally-accepted ranking criteria of golds. And that's why we really need a few more golds -- if we end up with only one gold, we could win 20 medals overall but still be considered waaaaaaay low in the standings. Plus we need to get over our hard-on for bronze.

Go Canadian Olympians! Continue to make us proud!

More hardware!

I'm way behind in my Olympic updates, but I have a good excuse. I took 3 days off and went to lovely Palm Springs, California. I was hesitant about leaving town, seeing as how all I realllly wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch The Games. But my friend Lucky told me that I had to go, and that I would thank him for it.

Well, I will be kissing the ground that Lucky walks on from now on, because he is a prognosticating god. More on that later, but suffice to say that I had a great time in Palm Springs and am very happy I went. I came back to San Diego yesterday afternoon and felt like I had been away for-fucking-ever. I was refreshed and revived, I had a bounce in my step, and I was grinning from ear to ear. My staff could see that something was up, and they were right. It was the start of a whole new era.

Nurse Girl has left the circus and I'm on my own. From the already-smallest staff in my department, my group has now been cut in half: from two to one. The "one" is me. Toute seul, on my own, making my own way. But I'm excited at the upcoming challenges, I'm excited about the potential, I'm excited about what I know I can do. I absolutely love my job, and I'm stoked to be starting a new era where success is dependent on what I do, what I accomplish, what I manage. I'm very much a team player, and will rely on the other members of my department (cuz they rock!), but I'm excited at being the undisputed captain of my ship. And that's the reason I had such a bounce in my step at work last night. I took advantage of Nurse Girl's last few days to get my butt outta town and enjoy three uninterrupted days off myself. And the results showed in my attitude last night. And my attitude will continue to be very positive and results-oriented.

But all of that aside, imagine the homework that I had to do this morning -- checking up on all the Olympic results from the past 3 days, finding out how many more medals Canada has taken home, and just feeling like I'm up to speed again. So while I was gone...

• A silver medal for the gals Beckie and Sara in the women’s Team Sprint Cross-Country Skiing event. These gals rock, seeing as how they’re the standard-bearers for the rest of the world competing against the European juggernaut of XC excellence. Quite honestly, it’s these gals against the world.
• A bronze medal for Anouk Leblanc-Boucher in the women’s 500m Short Track Speed Skating.

And this just in: today has been a BIG day for Canada in Torino!!!

• A silver medal for our ladies Speed Skating Team Pursuit squad!
• And not to be outdone, our men do the same thing – they've brought home a silver medal in the Speed Skating Team Pursuit event!
• And a bronze medal for Mellisa Hollingsworth-Richards in women’s skeleton!

Whew, I’m exhausted. But keep the hardware coming, Canadian Olympians!

And all you readers out there, have a terrific day!

In a Klass-en all her own

Coming in as the world record holder and favourite, I have to admit that I had high hopes for Cindy Klassen. So doesn't it speak volumes of my hopes for Canada when I see her bronze medal as a bit of a disappointment?

Let me clarify. Oh my God, an Olympic medal is a huge achievement. But such is the level of expectations that people have for Canada's team at these Games -- and for Cindy herself -- that I was confident that she would bring home a gold. Still, she's got her second Oly medal (after a bronze in the very same same event four years ago) and is still looking for more.

Canada had all three of its skaters in the top 9, with Kristina Groves 8th and my sporting heroine Clara Hughes 9th. I checked out Clara's split times and noticed how slowly she started, but how much ground she made up in her last couple of laps. Typical of Clara, a slow starter. But it bodes well for her pet event, the 5000m. Fingers crossed...

Congrats to Cindy. She's in a Klass all her own.

Jennifuh

She did it! After missing an Oly medal by 1/100 of a point in Salt Lake, Jennifuh is now the Olympic champion. Yay Spruce Grove girls!

And Canada currently sits 3rd in the medal standings : )

Silver oven mitts

It's started. The incessant rambling commentary by US Olympic broadcasters, that is. I watched part of the Opening Ceremonies last night and was dejected confused by how much Bob Costas seems to loooooove the sound of his own voice.

It's Olympic time and viewers need to beware: self-indulgent broadcasters will rule the airwaves for the next two weeks! Just turn the sound down and enjoy the action. And of course, that would work, except that all you'll see is American athletes in thoughtful, behind-the-headlines, feel-good, hometown story, up-close-and-personal profiles action. I'll probably be able to count on one hand the number of Canadian athletes I see over the next two weeks. Only when we win medals will we show up on the American coverage -- so I'm hopin' we pick up 20 pieces of hardware!

People complain that CBC is no better in the bias department. Puh-leeze! Having watched Olympic coverage in Australia and the US, I can honestly say that the CBC's coverage is way better than both Channel 7 and NBC. At least the CBC will commit to broadcasting events that don't even feature Canadians. Sure, we get our share of home bias, but there's a commitment to showing the whole event, or at least the relevant portions thereof, instead of just the fact that Janie Smith from Espanola, Ontario finished 12th.

But enough about that. I'll just try to enjoy the Games as best I can.

I missed Canada marching in, but I'm sure they looked resplendent in their HBC outfits. But one quick question for ya: did you see the host Italian team as they brought up the rear of the Parade of Nations? What was with their outfits? Jeepers, I've never seen an Olympic team march in wearing silver oven mitts before.

I'm back

OK, it's official: I'm back.

My fitness still kinda sucks, but I've gone for 5 -- count 'em, 5!! -- runs in the past 12 days. That counts as being back in the groove. Or at least on the road to fitness. Or at least in the game. Regardless, I went for a run today with 50/70, a colleague of mine. Both of us would have bailed if the other wasn't there to suffer together offer support. We drove to La Jolla Cove and ran along the coast, a course I discovered on my own last weekend.

I'm incredibly embarrassed to say that the past two times I've run on my own, I stopped and walked for a minute or two. And that's something I've NEVER let myself do in the past. Obviously it's an indication of my complete lack of mental strength these days.

Today, however, I felt strong. 50/70 is a good running buddy for me, and it was just enough to make me soldier on and feel like I have something to build on. Unlike the past two times on my solo runs, I didn't feel like I would die at the end of 10 40 minutes.

It's a very slight shift in the landscape, but an important one. Now I just gotta stick with it through the next few weeks and make sure I don't find excuses to skip runs.

Readers: feel free to ask if I've gone for a run lately. I'm sure if you all gently remind me, I'll succumb to the peer pressure feel more motivated!

I love Mondays

Last night, my roommate and I had some of our colleagues over for a few drinks. When a couple of people asked what I had planned for Sunday night, I responded with a coy, "I'm having my baseball team over for drinks." Truth be told, of course, there is no baseball team. I was really hosting the other boys on my team. Even though our numbers are modest, we've got a good bunch of guys, including a Kiwi, an Aussie (the new hottie), and Canadians. There are some other team members within our ranks (Argentinian and American), but the United Nations didn't come out in full force last night.

It was fun and I always enjoy spending time with my teammates. We enjoyed some wine and conversation at home, then headed out for the best nightlife that San Diego had on offer for a Sunday night.

It might not have been the most exciting night out ever, but it was still fun. Heading out with my teammates is a much-needed part of this crazy lifestyle that I find myself in. If I can't be surrounded by my circle of friends in Vancouver, hanging out with these guys is a pretty darn good substitute. And of course, Lucky and the Hire Guy are particularly fun to go out with. They always keep me entertained with their humour and unabashed love of life.

Today, I had only 3 things on my Day-Off-To-Do List: (1) get a haircut; (2) go for a run in Balboa Park; and (3) go out with Nebraska Girl and her Gay Boyfriend. Now, the Gay Boyfriend really isn't, but he's so adorable that me and some of the boys would really like him to play on our team, and Nebraska Girl fully recognizes that. Anyways, we're off shortly to the House of Blues to celebrate the end of an accomplishment for those guys.

Unlike most people, I love Mondays!

Secretly I'm hoping for 20

Yesterday, they put in a big screen TV in the kitchen at work. I figured it was just a one-day-only thing for the Super Bowl, but it turns out that it's gonna be there for the duration of the Olympics. It's as if they read my mind! I was wondering how I could maximize my viewing time, whether at home or work, and this definitely makes it a lot easier.

And it's time to do some medal predicting for said Games. In Salt Lake, Canada kicked its best-ever result by picking up 17 medals, including a whopping 7 gold. Absolutely unheard of for a country that religiously chalks up 80% of its Olympic medals in the bronze column.

This time, I'd love to say we'll match or beat that total, but anything can happen. Jeremy Wotherspoon could fall two steps into the 500m again, we could have some heartbreaking 4th places again from the Jennifer Heils and Bourne & Kraatzes, or we could again have underperformers like....well, I won't name names. Then again, we could have the surprises like in Salt Lake: Cindy Klassan, Clara Hughes, Beckie Scott, and on and on and on.

Look at the number of medals we've won in the international sporting arena so far this season alone: in luge, skeleton, bobsled, figure skating, hockey, short track speed skating, long track speed skating, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, curling, snowboarding. To say that Canadian athletes have been tearing up the ski hills and ice tracks and skating rinks and cross country courses of the world is a remarkable understatement. And it absolutely blows me away that we have very legitimate medal contenders (legitimate GOLD medal contenders, no less) in every sport except biathlon, nordic combined and ski jumping. Hell, we really could blow open the medal vault and take home a new record haul!

But I'll be cautious and try to keep my schoolgirl enthusiasm optimism under control. I'll give it a go and make a prediction think Canada will take home 15 medals. Fewer than when we had the near-home-court advantage in Salt Lake, but still a respectable total that will see us finish 5th in the medal standings.

Of course, secretly I'm hoping for 20 and a repeat of our 4th place (dare I even hope beyond hope for a 3rd place result in the Race of Nations?!). And I think we can realllly do 20 and 4th place (or maybe 3rd)! Really, I'd just like all of our athletes to perform to their potential. Heck, if that happens, we could come home with even more than 20! But I'll just stifle that little schoolgirl inside of me, sit patiently, and wait for the Opening Ceremonies to kick it all off. God, I'm all giddy with anticipation!

Some people live for Awards Season. I live for the Olympics. My name is Jeff and I'm a self-admitted Olympic freak.

I love pushing shopping carts uphill

So tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, is it? I've never been in the States during Super Bowl, and I'm beginning to understand just how big of a deal it really is.

Apparently none of our local staff want to work, because they'd rather be gettin' piss drunk and lookin' for a lay watching all the cool new commercials that will debut during the game. And don't even get me started on what it's going to be like in Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack, where our site is located. They're hosting a big Super Bowl party and I expect that there will be a fair bit of tailgate partying goin' on.

Now who should I cheer for?! Well, I've only ever been to Pittsburgh's airport and to drive from the airport to Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia. I have no real affiliation with Pittsburgh. Seattle, on the other hand -- well, that's just a whole 'nother story (as they tend to say here).

I looooooove Seattle. I love to party there, I love to meet my friends there, I love to celebrate NYE there. I love to go on a good road trip there, I love to compete in volleyball tournaments there. I love to partake in the simple pleasures of a "Seattle cocktail," which is made of approximately 9/10 rum and 1/10 coke.

I love to visit the late-night hotdog stand across from R Place at 2AM to get a Polish sausage with all the fixins. Of course, I don't love puking my guts out and waking up the next day to blame the sausage for my intestinal discomfort (oh no, it couldn't have been all the Seattle cocktails!). But I love watching Suzie invent the 90-degree vomit at the dearly departed Camlin Hotel. May she rest in peace. The hotel, that is, not Suzie!

I love the dearly departed Timberline and the Sunday afternoon T-Dances. I love taking Tape Girl there and have her become the most popular thing ever to set foot in the lesbian corner. I love going to Manray and bugging the cute DJ to "Just play my song.....pleeeeeease!" And I love having him play it on the video screen with the caption, "This is for the mildly attractive guy who just returned from Australia"

I love the Pride Parade and the Party in the Park. I love the Pride 10K, where I set my personal best time on a hilly course, no less. I love going to the bars and feeling like I'm the new guy in town -- mostly because I am. I love being asked to be in an underwear contest in front of hundreds of strangers. I love lookin' at all sorts of attractive men and being hit on by some of them. I love pushing shopping carts uphill on the way to the bars.

I guess I'm cheering for Seattle. Go 'hawks go!

3 days

I've got 3 days off IN A ROW next weekend. Sunday through Tuesday, February 12-14 are all MINE!

What the heck should I do? Any ideas?

Ocean spray

As I drove home from work tonight, I noticed some tiny drops of water on my windshield all of a sudden. I was shocked at the sight of "rain" as we haven't had a drop since I got here on January 10. Then I realized it was ocean spray from the Pacific as I drove along the part of the road that is directly adjacent to the beach. Not rain, but ocean spray. Yippee!

Went for a run on Saturday morning with a friend from work. It hurt a bit. Went for another run this morning with another friend from work. It didn't hurt a bit. Until after, at which point I realized my right calf hurt like hell. Just when I was triumphantly celebrating the fact that my achilles heel injury, which has been my.....well, my achilles heel, didn't hurt on Saturday, I'm reminded of the old lingering pain that my calf likes to throw in to remind me that I'm not a twenty-something thing. If it ain't one thing, it's another.

If it ain't an achilles heel injury, it's a calf injury. If it ain't rain, it's ocean spray. If it ain't.....jeepers, if it ain't bed time.