The Olympics are here!

Here are some pictures that I took on Thursday afternoon on Granville Street and Robson Street:


A view of the British Columbia Canada Pavillion




The back side of the Art Gallery. They put a large projection screen. I stood there for a few minutes but I couldn't figure out what was playing on the screen.


If you really look, you will see two people on the Zip Trek going between one building to another. They were screaming the whole time.

I must say that I am impressed with the impact that the Olympics have had on the city. I thought that traffic would be insane and living in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics would barely be manageable; however, yesterday, I was able to go to and from the North Shore 3 times and each trip took me no longer than it would on a typical day. I didn't go through downtown so I can't account for how the traffic was there, but the back route that I took was problem-free.

There were 2 police officers on every second corner along Hastings Street, as well as parked around side random highway exits and parking lots. It definitely feels safe here.

I didn't go out last night durning the opening ceremonies. It was too wet and cold, so I watched it on TV. It was amazing! The effects, the costumes, the atmosphere were all top notch. One of the arms of the Olympic cauldron didn't rise due to a hydrolic problem but other than that, everything turned out great.

After the ceremony, Wayne Gretzky carried the torch from BC Place, down Georgia Street to Stanley Park, while standing on the back of a pickup truck. Many people ran out onto the street to run along side "the Great One". Police officers had to pull up along side the pickup truck as people were getting too close and started to stand in front of the vehicles. The energy and excitment were unbelievable.

Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the Georgian athletes and the family and friends of Nodar Kumaritashvili, who passed away after a training accident on the luge track yesterday morning. RIP Nodar.

Gearing up to the Olympics

Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted. Things with the apartment are just getting organized. We've had our floors replaced but there are still things that need to be dealt with. It's been about a month and a half already!

On a more positive note, my rabbits, Royce and Abby are happy and back living together. It was a lot of work but I'm glad that things worked out in the end.

On my lunch break last Thursday, I went for a walk down Georgia street to get to the mall. I've never seen so many people on Georgia street. There is a definite buzz around town with the Olypmics quickly approaching at the end of next week. I decided to take a detour down Robson street on my way back to the office. I stopped by the Canada Pavillon that was set up at Robson Square. I heard a band playing and decided the head down the stairs to see what was going on. There was a skating rink and a live band. They even had these yellow cushions available to sit on. I've posted some pictures.

It seems like all of the stores have also just put out loads of new Olympic merchandise. I went into Aritzia this afternoon and there were 3 sections of Olympic clothing. London Drugs also had massive amounts of Olympic t-shirts, flags, keychains, pins...you name it, they had it. I've never experienced anything like this. Park Royal shopping mall was decorated with maple leaves and there were many cars in the parking lot with Canadian flags clipped onto the windows.

I can't wait to see what next week brings! I'll be sure to keep you all posted!