The Olympic Torch
Ever since we moved to Vancouver we've heard nothing but news stories about the Olympics but today is the first time I've been genuinely excited about it and I'm now officially on the bandwagon! My morning started with a much busier ride into work. The SkyTrain was twice as busy than usual and I had to stand with mere centimetres between me and the people around me. After arriving at Waterfront station (and receiving my complimentary newspaper) I was actually surprised when I got outside to see that the streets were still quiet (but it was only 6:55am I guess)!
I got to work at 7am as usual and worked for the first hour and half. Then we found out for certain (I'd brought my camera along in case) that the Olympic torch was passing right by our office so me and my mate (with the bosses approval of course) went outside to join in the excitement for an hour. None of our colleagues really worked either and most of them used the excellent location of the office to their advantage by opening the windows and sitting on the ledge with their legs dangling out (you don't seem to get the over protective health and safety stuff out here like in the UK haha)!
The atmosphere was great and everyone on the road seemed to get their own chance to be a 'celebrity'. Everyone who drove past the crowds were honking their horns and getting cheers, the best reception going to the garbage truck and it's driver who honked his horn wildly and lapped up every bit of attention that was going! I had a really good view of the torch when they eventually came around and I got some good photos which you can check out below. My friend also used my iPhone to take a video of it which I have posted at the bottom of this post.I felt in a really good mood once it was time to get back to work and the whole event seemed to lift everyone's spirits. At 3:30pm as soon as it was time to finish work I got my march on and headed straight to the station skipping the usual 'Friday beer-time' in the office so I could avoid the chaos. Luckily it worked and although the station was very busy I managed to get on a train within minutes and get a seat too, let's hope this becomes a trend.
After months and months of talk, speculation and predictions the games are finally here. It's so nice to see Vancouver buzzing with even more energy than usual and it's great seeing so many smiles on peoples faces. I'm looking forward to the whole experience, one thing is for sure - it's going to be unique!
