Feb. 20 Well into the Olympics

It has been an amazing and interesting time here. There have been periods of seeing how people deal with very little to do... and and they may have travelled up from Vancouver for the day- that means a minimum of 5 hours on a bus. There are way too many people for most of the jobs here. However working at a sports venue definitely has way more testing now. In the final race we usually test the top 5 and 3 random so that provides some interest for most volunteers - also hearing the crowds, meeting the athletes and dealing with them when their emotions are running pretty powerfully.

Different stations run pretty differently depending upon who is the station manager - another DCO (one of us) but so many personalities. My main commitment is at the sliding centre (luge, skeleton and bobsled) and we have a superb manager - he is so committed and positive and believes in working together. I spent a day at Alpine and it was great to see the ladies downhill (from the tv in the doping station) but the personalities there are so controlling and manage rather autocratically - so the tension runs high and the people do not have fun. People are settling into their roles and learning to cope with the position that they have been given. Most are very positive but there are the controlling people...and they too eventually get tired.
I worked in Athletes' Village tonight and most people were sent home early because there is virtually no testing left to do here. So I listened to an entertainer on their stage, then joined the drumming circle and in the evening I listened to a celloist/pianist for an hour. Also lunch, dinner and a little socializing. So I totally enjoyed myself. Some went home early and some went to the Medal Ceremony and I volunteered to stay at the village. ... Before working I enjoyed my near daily yoga class.

Yesterday was the most exciting day of working the sliding centre. We tested the female skeleton sliders for the second night. So tonight it was the top 5 and 3 random. Everyone was expecting a gold or at least a placement from Mellissa Hollingsworth. It was devastating that she came in fifth. She cried a lot and all athletes must get to doping control within 60 minutes of finishing the race. Our station manager showed his human side and let her unaccredited parents into the station for a little while (this means a supplementary report for breaking rules) and then they had to leave. The Germans hugged her and each other and talked. Everyone gave Melissa some time and space. The medallist that I processed said that they are all good friends and everyone believed that Melissa should have got a medal. She was proud of her attainment but felt for Melissa. She showed me a scrape on her arm and said that cost her the next medal up......Five athletes were less than 1 second apart after totalling the time for 4 runs. How can they believe that one is better than another. They all seem so dedicated and damned good to me.They have all worked and dreamed about this moment.

Then we gals went up to the mixed zone - at the finish line where the reporters are waiting in a line to talk to the athletes as they come off the track and after being notified for doping control. We got to watch the men - I got up on the dock (special sleeve colors are required for this privilege) just as Jon Montgomery came in first and won the gold for Canada in the skeleton. CTV got the first interview and then they talk to a line of reporters. Then the athletes are placed in a van with the chaperone (and me today) and with a police escort are driven the 300m to the media tent. This is a massive tent with probably 100 chairs and about 20 reporters asking questions - the backdrop that you always see on tv. It was fun to watch Jon answer questions and speak especially when someone asked him what he thought in the time before he knew that he had won. He replied that in the 52.so many seconds that he had not thought about it. A stupid question - as when he crossed the finish line he was the winner. It was wonderful to see his exuberance and again in the station how they are such good friends with one another - from competing against each other on tracks around the world.
Then the athletes and their chaperones and representatives walk the 30 m. to the doping control station. I left after they checked in here as the station gets too full with all of the people and extras are not wanted. Besides it was the end of a great shift. Then we caught the gondola down to Whistler and I jumped onto the bus for my hotel.
I am really getting into these Olympics. I seem to have a bit of a routine and I have enjoyed a yoga class most mornings - so nice to jump on a bus and arrive in 10 minutes. I have enjoyed several days of sunshine and fresh air and I am enjoying the hype and the buzz around Whistler as well as lots of groups playing and people milling and excited and positive. I was not so sure earlier on that it would play out this way as the doping was so slow and not very demanding and lots of people moaning. But as the Olympics started there was a change and for most some acceptance of the pace and looking to enjoy the opportunity just to be here. ...and as I suspected in the beginning I have done my fair share of testing....however not Lindsay Vonn as a VANOC employee did that. I have to wonder why. And the only athlete that has ever had her coat hung up for her. Don't silver, bronze and participation have the same value in some people's minds? They are all Olympians in my mind.

Olympics approaching 2010

....Darned connection....Anyways I have two days off and I was hoping to ski today but the fog is pretty thick. They have cancelled the training runs today and cancelled them yesterday after an accident. The run is 2.5-5km long and they need to be able to see 250m. (travelling up to and over 150km per hour. I see as I log in that unfortunately a luge athlete has just died. There has been a lot of talk about how fast (and maybe dangerous...) the track may be. That will put a damper on what happens next. You have to ask yourself about the risk that some of the equipment and technology has created?? There is excellence and then... I think about the role of risk....often.

Skiied one day last week and really enjoyed it though I spent most of the day on one run as the light was so flat. We are staying at a beautiful boutique hotel in Creekside, a 4km walk or busride from Whistler. I have found a few good special dinners at a couple of hotels around here. I can just about see the alpine courses from the corner of my window.

The position I have as a doping control officer gives us lots of privileges to see where the athletes eat and live. We talk to them (not a social evening but for a few minutes) as we look for various athletes to test. Most are pretty co-operative though a few are bit initially too happy. This year many athletes will go through a blood screen, that is be warned the night before and have blood taken for haemoglobin levels and possibly other things. The long distance and endurance sports seem to be the most likely areas where cheating may occur.

The days are long and the number of people volunteering seems way too many for the amount of work to do. People are vying for where they fit into the wheel and there seem to be way more chiefs than indians...as the expression goes. People are constantly concerned about what the one above will say. So there are lots of rules and decision makers and people vying for turf. For example yesterday in the blood screening one manager says two athletes per room regardless of country and then the next manager comes along and says that they must be from the same country. Another exampe, at one venue your access passes and clipboards (identifying you as antidoping if you know what to look for) can be carried visibly and at another venue they are to be in backpacks or coats. And so it goes. It seems that errors are too frequent in the paperwork and they are checked by several people but sometimes the errors are not caught....spelling, dates, initials in the wrong spot, etc. That upsets the IOC and the seriousness of it is reported back and interpreted by many rules and ultimately striving for a very professional look. I do understand the concerns and it is a challenge however it makes teambuilding pretty hard.
Heck, I am happy to walk the athlete's village or the cross country starting point or whatever...I love being outside and moving so I am happy to be the peon. I figure that people will get pretty tired soon and the competition for so called valued work will decrease. In fact these days that are supposed to be 12 or more hours (reality 9 or 10) are pretty long and I see that some people are starting to acknowledge that. We also have a lot of chaperones, some of whom travel 3 hours each way to get here. Since we have such coveted positions these are all pretty high calibre take charge personalities and many of them experience frustration at the little amount to be done. If you can get over that then it can be fun. It reminds me of work and relationships but in this case it is all compressed into days and so you see the changes much more quickly than in a real life work situation. So yes, I am enjoying it...not in a ra ra way but rather as an observer seeing how all of these people work together, try to become a team, etc. I realize that I like to meet people doing various other jobs around the venue and meeting athletes, etc. I also like time alone and I am happy to read the paper, etc. Yesterday I felt like the Wal-Mart greeter outside checking off who was coming for blood screens. That is all fine till you find out that if they don't turn up you don't know what that means and if they turn up unexpectedly then they are tested anyways. So let them all go in... they know who they are. So I was learning and laughing testing out a couple of Russian words that the Russian doctor was teaching me. Then an Andorran and then the athlete from Senegal and then all of the Norweigans that we had already taken urine from. I manaaged to see the Bermuda people do their national athem with Squamish Indians as the percussion. So there is enough to keep me interested. And I was able to test how waterproof our jackets are because I stood in the rain for 2 hours. And the Japanese boots (blue rubber boots of Jenny's) were perfect.

I will go up to the Whistler and see part of the Opening ceremonies on big screen tvs and see how the village is supposed to double in population today.You meet people everywhere - on the bus, in the bus,,,everywhere...people are all so friendly. Even last night in the lobby as I came in, I met an Austrian who is a long distance coach for one of the Canadian female bobsledders. I have also met an American of German heritage coaching Kiwis. Rather global in their endeavours and so many European coaches. Then I met the guys working for Piston Bully (is that the brand of your snowcat, Andrew?) and the buses will not stop at their location (this is an issue that needs to be resolved on several fronts but hey never mind). And I had time to do my yoga today and I can walk up to the village. I also tried out the hottub that looks directly onto the downhill course. And finally time to write and record a few thoughts. I have tomorrow off and work 11 days straight.

Jan27 Home from Japan already!

Hard to believe that I/we are home already and that I need to pack for the Olympics. I really want to savour the experience that I had in Japan. It was pretty incredible.

For the last two days we went with Andrew and 2 clients to two ski resorts near Sapporo. (He skiied with the clients and we did regular runs). I saw them do crazy (for me, anyways) jumps off the avalanche fence catchers that are perched up the hill keeping the snow off the road. Makes a good jump, I guess.

Then we stayed at the hotel Mercure where Yui works at reception. A first class international hotel and we enjoyed seeing Yui at work and being so well treated.

On the last evening Andrew drove his clients back to Niseko, Yui worked and Trish and I were treated to a wonderful evening with Yui's parents. Norry, Yui's Dad, speaks a little English and Nor, her Mom, speaks very little. So we had so much fun with a little translator calculator, gestures, smiles, etc. Yui's Dad is pretty expressive with his happiness and it is such a treat to see him. The kindness in Nor comes across so well. You can say so much and enjoy lots together with very few words. Tonight was yakitori (grilled skewers) and we tried all sorts.

I found the whole trip a pretty emotional experience. I am so grateful for the opportunity to see and understand more of what Andrew is doing. I see him working with all his heart. He has created a job that you have to be passionate about if you are going to attempt it. There is a lot of managing, juggling, planning, responding to the moment, and interpersonal connections. Spending time with Yui and her family with also pretty special. Also all of the friendly staff at Black Diamond and Freeride. So it was time to leave but not without tears, tears of joy for the opportunity to enjoy all of these connections and opportunities and to see Andrew in 'his space' living his life to the fullest. Being with Trish after all these years was amazing...I enjoyed being with her so much. Hard to believe the twists and turns and opportunities that present themselves in life. I look forward to skiing again in Japan and reconnecting. I am thankful for the experience.

Jan 21 Snowmobiling

We wandered around and had a quiet day yesterday as it was pretty wet snow - rainy snow at the bottom and so pretty wet so the skiing would be pretty icy. We went out for and all you can eat meat bar-b-q with Andrew driving the bus. It was great fun grilling your meat, fish (including scallops, oysters, prawns) and veggies including 3 kinds of dense mushrooms. Today it got colder but earlier in the day not enough new snow to stick to the icy layer underneath. By tomorrow it should be amazing everywhere. So we went snowmobiling and zoomed around for an hour. Andrew ran two tours today to the snowmobiling park in the bus. It was a blast for an hour going up and down the hills and through the trees was the best part. It is not as good as skiing but great for a day out when the skiing was not to be spectacular. The legs should be well recovered and ready for the powder slopes tomorrow. We may get on Andrew's bus if he has space tomorrow and go to a resort .5hours from here. If not it will be great here.

Tuesday Jan 19

Yesterday we caught the bus to the local station and then the train to Sapporo with Yui. It is a good thing that we got on the right bus! A smooth train ride to the old city of Otaru where we wandered around, had lunch and watch the glass blowers - world famous and along the calibre of Venetian glass. We arrived at Sapporo station around 6pm to masses of people in the new huge mall. We visited the food area - lots of samples - pickles, and fishy things and sweets.

Then Andrew picked us up after dropping off clients in Sapporo. Sapporo is a city of 2 million and lots of cars. We worked our way through various side streets that had one lane snowplowed through and finally arrived in the north of the city at Yui's parents home. They were so welcoming and hospitable. We enjoyed sushi, pot stickers, fried noodles, potato salad and deep fried chicken. We sat around a table that is 18inches off the floor. It has a skirt around it and you can extend your legs under the table. This is great because there is an electric heater attached to the underside of the table. I liked the warm...on the feet and legs....even though the house was pleasantly heated. The home surprised me in terms of size and wonderful new and modern design. The big open kitchen eating area with a massive tv in the sitting/eating area. Upstairs are bedrooms and a loft. It seems that you heat the areas that you are in and not the others. Everything is such clean lines and so clean. The kitchen sinks are one massive sink. Food is enjoyed slowly and seems very social here. You take a piece at a time much like our Chinese style. It was a comfortable relaxing evening. Yui did some translating, Andrew spoke some Japanese and it was all extremely comfortable. Nobody tried too hard and we all seemed to enjoy the experience.

Andrew then drove us back to Niseko. It takes a long time to get out of the city - it seems to sprawl on and on.

A slow start this AM. I am starting to understand how the snow drives everything here. Now I understand why they all went skiing the first evening that we were here. It was dumping!! I have never thought about snow conditions before like they do here. When it snows they know where to go. Today is grey and warm - possibly rain/snow at lower elevations. Probably better tonight or tomorrow or at higher elevations. So now I sound like a local. I am hoping for that powder fluff snow that was so heavenly that we experienced earlier in the week. It may be a common occurrence but not everyday. I guess that Andrew specializes in knowing when to go where...for the deep white stuff.

January 18

Well, after 6 days out of the past 7 skiing, we are loving it. The legs definitely required easier runs today. Hope that the snow flies really heavily again and that our legs are ready or recovered for it. We had an easy day today but still keep trying to head out to the powdery or not so powdery stuff. That is more work. And the wonderful lifts - covered chairs quite often and then the antiquated thing that is like a chair without a back. Hang on. We went night skiing last night.. It is truly incredible how far the hill lights up at night - bigger than Sunshine or Louise, I would think and that is just the stuff available at night. The light is really very good for skiing and it looks like a fairyland lit up. ....you really can't ski too far out of the main runs though....tough when your legs are screaming stay on the main run and then I will perform for you. It was mystical watching the snowflakes fly in the light as you go up the lifts. Then the all inclusive lift pass has a shuttle service that we were able to get back to our accommodation.

Yesterday we skiied hard in the am and then relaxed in the onsen before skiing in the evening. Hardly a moment to eat or rest though the legs are starting to complain. Loving the skiing and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Sunday January 17

Well, I can hardly believe it! The sun is shining this minute. I have never seen so much snowing and snow. We will be able to see for at least a few minutes now. Took the day off yesterday. Time for a rest and to encourage us it was -17C with strong winds and all of the gondolas closed because of the swinging. So we read, stayed warm and finally got out for a short wonderful walk taking photos of all of the snow and realizing that we are in Japan.

Andrew took a group to Sapporo and will be back tonight. He seems to change his plans on the fly and no one except him seems to know what will actually transpire. I am surprised at how cold it is here. I am now wearing my down jacket under my other jacket and that seemed to work the other day. Indoor heating seems a challenge. There is no insulation anywhere - not in the roofs, single pane windows, etc. There are room heaters and they must consume a mountain of energy. For all of the technology it is surprising that there is not better insulation.