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My Olympic experience

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:17:00 +0000

Ok, this really isn't my Olympic experience. I was asked to write up a blurb about what it was like to live and work here during the Olympics, and send it to the company. My hope is that it gets published in the company magazine, that gets sent to all the properties, across Canada and the US.

I had to self-edit a bit, and write what they wanted to hear.

The Olympics were a good time though, I just left out the parts that were't 100% positive. I will write those here later, and you can know what it was really like. It wasn't all rainbows and butterflies, like I make it seem. There were a few thunderclouds and bee-stings along the way too!

This is a first draft, and I will look at it again tomorrow and edit it a bit. So, it's not a final product really, but a pretty solid start. It's dry, and devoid of any real personality. I think that the format and style will work, considering the magazine I hope to get it in.

My name is Jon, and I live in Whistler, British Columbia. For the majority of the years I’ve lived here, I’ve worked at both the Sundance and Cascade Lodge properties.

I have been fortunate, living and working in this little mountain town this year, as Whistler was the Official Mountain Resort of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. We hosted the alpine skiing events, Nordic skiing events, and the sliding events, which include bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton.

It has been a great experience living and working in Whistler during this exciting time. While we’re used to tourists up here, we weren’t used to the number of tourists who came, and the varied cross-section of people who visited our town.

The Village was packed every night, full of people taking in Olympic events, free concerts, and simply drinking up the Olympic atmosphere. Athletes, journalists, fans and locals all mingled together, watching, talking, and experiencing the Olympics. Everyone was friendly, and the majority of people had flags, face paint, or national gear from their home countries with them. Strangers laughed together and high-fived each other in the streets, and everyone was excited to be experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime, seventeen-day event.

For me, along with most of the country, the highlight of the Olympics was watching our men’s hockey team take the gold medal in an overtime thriller. Every bar and restaurant was packed, and giant screens showed the game in the Village. When The Goal was scored, it seemed like the whole town started to shout and celebrate at the same time! If Whistler ever experienced a single unifying moment, it was then. We were all Canadians, all hockey fans, and all super excited to see our players establish world hockey supremacy!

The Olympics served to unify Whistler in a way that we haven’t seen before. Everyone in town was brought together as one big mob of people, happy to cheer on athletes of every nation, no matter what their passport said. The Olympics were an excuse to have a big block party, and everyone was invited. Every day was busy, but never overwhelming. Friendships were made, good times were had, and memories forged. No matter where I find myself living in the future, I’ll never forget living and working in Whistler during these Olympics.

Shameless self-plug

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:01:00 +0000

At the hotel, when guests leave, they are emailed a comment card that asks them various questions about their stay. Here's a bit from one that came back today:

What one thing would you like to tell other owners who may be interested in staying at this resort?

We stayed at the Cascade Lodge in Whistler, and the young fellow Jon on the desk was very very helpful and I can't say enough about him, it was a true pleasure to meet him and he made the difference in our stay at Whistler during the Olympics. Thank you!

Woo! I'm young!

Also, it's nice to be recognized for doing a good job.

I feel able to post this, since everyone is saying that these recent Olympics enabled Canadians to be proud and vocal about their achievements!

Mostly though, it'll be nice to keep this in mind as I begin another bout of job hunting. It will remind me to go into interviews with confidence, knowing that no matter what the job, I am able to do it well.

Spine!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:13:00 +0000

I've been quite busy here during the Olympics, occasionally working full days at both my jobs, driving and hotelling.

Yesterday was a day where I did both jobs. I had a trip down from Whistler to the airport at 6:20am, and then picked people up at 10:30 and brought them up. I had to work at the hotel at 3, and had to run through the village from where I parked the work truck to the hotel, so I could be on time. It's too much! I'm going to avoid doing that in the future I think.

Once I got to the hotel, I was a bit tired and as a result, was a bit snippy. One thing I have to deal with a lot at the hotel is people complaining about their room location, and it's one of the things I loathe most.

I checked some people in, and here is the exchange we had. It was a really busy time, and there was much hubbub in the area.

Guest: So, what is our room number?
Me: It's XXX, on the 2nd floor.
Guest: Which way does it face?
Me: Pardon, sorry?
Guest: Which - Way - Does - The - Room - Face.
Me: My first language is English.
Guest: *flabergasted*

Oops.

My co-workers loved it, and for me the guilt has passed.

I guess I can't be going above and beyond, providing great guest experiences, and *insert random hospitality/service industry cliche here* all the time!

Fun Day: Feb 14!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:03:00 +0000

It was a really enjoyable Valentines Day for Carmella and I. Here's what we did.

I worked until 3, and Carmella left a bit early to catch a free concert in the Village. It was Matisyahu, a practicing Jewish reggae/rap artist. Carmella's had his music for quite some time. He raps and sings about Jewish things, world peace, and Jerusalem.

The fans were into it, and the atmosphere was great. There were toddlers and girlfriends on shoulders, and Israeli flags in the crowd. It was a good time.

Carmella and I then went to Swiss House, a restaurant that has been taken over by the Swiss for the Olympics. You can get food inside in the restaurant part, or take-out outside and sit on their patio, next to their TV broadcast pod. Carmella bought us Raclette, which is melted cheese over bread and potatoes, with some pickles beside. It was really tasty!

We were happy that Swiss House is open to the public. Most of the other houses in Whistler, like Austria House, Canada House, and France House, are only open to the athletes and dignitaries of that country. Those houses seem elitist, and I'm not a fan. Swiss House is open to all though, which is great.

Carmella and I then went into the Roots store, as I bought her a great hoodie for Valentines Day. The mogul final was on, and the store filled up with people coming in off the street to watch it. It was a very unique atmosphere, and I'm happy to have seen it where I did. Great fun!

There was another concert on in the village at the time, so the big screens were showing them. As a result, Carmella and I were some of the first people in Whisler Village to know that Canada had won a gold in the Moguls.

I was quite impressed with Alexandre Bilodeau's handling of his win. He thanked the crowd, and was very humble in victory. I think we as Canadians like our athletes to be humble and proud at the same time, and Bilodeau was a great example of a class act.

Here's the hoodie! Valentines Day was a great excuse to buy this for Carmella. It's great because it's a classy hoodie that won't expire when the Olympics leave town. I think Carmella looks like quite the Finn in it!

Olympic Event!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

Here's an email I sent to Er, talking about the biathlon event I went to yesterday.

I'm really enjoying the Olympics, and all the action! I thought it was going to be all hectic, but it's good times.

Here's the email, so I can give you all an idea of what's going on. It's easier to copy and paste, and go see a concert!

Here's the unpolished email:

I liked the moguls coverage, although I didn't hear that comment bc Carmella and I were in a pub that didn't have the announcers turned on. It was a good atmosphere though, with everyone cheering loudly when the canadians were up.

The event was good today, but a bit underwhelming. We got the tickets for free, so it was a last minute thing. It was the women's 7K free biathlon, and there were 80 skiers starting in a staggered fashion, so some were finished before the last ten or so started. There was no drama and no way to know who was winning, other than the scoreboard, which wasn't really helpful anyway. We didn't see any replays on tv later either, so tht was disappointing.

The top 40 women qualify for the pursuit, which I have tickets for. That will be a more fun event, because the girl that got first will leas out of the gate, and then the others follow depending on their time. It'll be easy to follow because the first to cross the line wins.

It was good to go to the event today though, and scope our spots for the next event, and figure out the way the whole thing runs. We had to wait for at least an hour in the rain on the way out, which was unfortunate. They really need to work on their transport strategy for fans exiting the venue.

The vibe in the village was really fun, and it's a different crowd than is normally in town. It's more fun, and a real mixed bag of people.

The event itself didn't really have any sort of olympic feel though, just another race and a lot more flags in the crowd. Lots of foreigners in town too, so that was fun. But if it wasn't for the big set of olympic rings in the back of the shooting range, I wouldn't have known it was any different, so that was interesting.

Time for bed, I have an early day tomorrow. I took some pics (it was foggy and rainy so they're nott he greatest) so ikll hopefully get them up tomorrow.

Biathlon!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:42:00 +0000

Carmella's friend whom she nannies for (and who was a torch bearer too, on top of the Grouse Mountain tram even!) has given her two biathlon tickets! With an unexpected day off and unexpected Olympic tickets, it's going to be a fun day!

I'm wearing my Denmark soccer jersey under my China zip up, and have my Danish Dynamite shirt with me to wave around.

If you're watching the event, look for Carmella's yellow coat, and my burgundy one.

Go Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, and Canada!

A good driving day turns ugly.

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:24:00 +0000

I had a good, long day of driving today. I had been worried about it, but it all turned out well.

I found myself back in Whistler earlier than planned, and decided to stop on the way back to the garage and watch the last bit of the opening ceremonies at Carmella's.

I didn't know the truck was needed again tonight, so took my time eating pizza and talking Olympics.

When I was just about back, I got calls from my boss, my manager, and a coworker, all very upset with me for not bringing the truck back in time and not telling anyone.

My co-worker was mad because the truck wasn't there waiting for him, my manager was mad because it was one more thing he had to deal with, and my boss was very upset because he had a very important client arriving earlier than expected, etc etc.

So I had to eat generous slice after generous slice of that pie that nobody likes, knowing I had made a big mistake.

I will need to be on my game for the rest of the Olys so everyone forgets about it. On a good note, both my clients were loving me today, and one wants to request me for their trip down. If the office finds out I was doing such a great job, maybe they will be faster to forgive me for today's blunder.

Does Vancouver finally have Olympic spirit?

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:54:00 +0000

On the day of the Opening Ceremonies, some think that Vancouver finally has Olympic spirit.

To darken the mood unfortunately, an athlete has died training for the luge. He was from Georgia, a product of the USSR's break-up. The story had John Furlong CEO of VANOC, in tears as he announced the happening to the press. Flags are flying at half mast around the city as a result.

It will be interesting to see how the Opening Ceremonies change Vancouver. I was in Guangzhou, China during the opening of the Beijing games in 2008, and was very surprised how empty the streets were. The usually snarled traffic was non-existent, and Guangzhou's main thoroughfares felt like Highway 7&8, just outside Stratford.

I'm driving some clients around tonight, and am just outside downtown Vancouver at Granville & 11th, and traffic doesn't seem bad at all. I'm only eleven blocks and one bridge away from the hub of the Olympic world, and nothing seems too out of the ordinary. There seem to be fewer cars on Granville, a main artery into and out of the downtown core. Possible we'll see some of the same traffic patterns as I saw in China.

The CBC is telling me about delays downtown, due to protesters and the pure volume of people. It's interesting how my main concern these days is traffic while I'm driving, and parking while I'm working at the hotel.

My clients are having dinner, and I forgot my book. I'm driving them from here to downtown for some partying, then they're heading up to Whistler.

I'm still here, waiting. I'm a bit bored and forgot my book.

Stay tuned for more Olympic stories.

Driving again!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:53:00 +0000

I'm sitting in "The Weeds", the taxi and limo holding area at YVR. This lot got the gardening moniker because it used to be really far from the airport action. Over the years it's been absorbed and is right in the thick of YVR.

It's here in The Weeds that I check in with airport dispatch, telling them my name, company, and vehicle number. In about an hour, I'll be picking up my first drive of the February 2010 season.

I've decided to drive again while the Five Ring Circus is in town, so I can shore up my bank account and shake up my Games experience. I'm still working at the hotel full-time, but felt that a change in scenery will be positive.

I'm driving up and down to Whistler twice today, so it'll be a full day. Traffic has been OK though, so that's a relief. I may run into the Torch Relay tonight, which is famous for gumming up the transportation works wherever it goes. The relay will culminate in rainy downtown Vancouver tomorrow night.

Getting back into the driving scene has been easy, as I already had my uniform, business cards, and driving skill from last year.

I'm happy with my decision to drive again, for a number of reasons. One reason is that it will provide me with an inside view of the Games (if I use the O word, the IOC might slap me down! They've imposed rules on bloggers, and I don't want to let the whole team at jvd.evenflow down by getting kicked off the interwebs!), which will be different and less layered if I was only driving the desk in Whistler, answering panicked calls about parking passes and venue directions.

I hope to post a lot in the next couple weeks, giving The Faithful a unique look at what it's like to live and work in a town where The O Show is being filmed.

Set your bookmarks here, and check back often!

Two Links

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:24:00 +0000

Here are two links to pass on to the faithful.

Carol's in Australia for school, and has once again taken pun in hand and blown the dust off her long-dormant blog. You can find it at www.cvd.evenflow.ca and relive our China experience in the Archive section.

Here's a link to a small piece I wrote and submitted to Craigslist in the Tickets section, in the hope of getting some Olympic traffic. It was fun.
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/tix/1581976776.html

Good night!

Two Links

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:24:00 +0000

Here are two links to pass on to the faithful.

Good night!

Olympic Transit: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:13:00 +0000

Today is the day that the Olympic Public Transit system was rolled out in Whistler, and what a failure!

The system, which will be in place for February, adds many buses, routes, and stops to the existing public transit network, in the hope of efficiently moving Olympic guests around our fair mountain town.

It would be doing the word 'mild' a disservice if used to describe the kinks in the system today. The whole system was one huge cluster of chaos, a knot of failure and confusion.

BC Transit brought in many extra drivers for the Olympics, and unleashed them on their new routes today. All these new-to-town drivers had were timetables and little, hard to read maps that looked like they were printed on a low-on-ink dot matrix printer from 1992.

They couldn't figure out where to go, where to stop, or where they were supposed to be. They relied on Whistler's seasoned bus-riding locals to guide them through town, telling them where to go, stop, and wait.

Routes were forgotten, people were stranded, and everyone was frustrated, especially the new crop of drivers who were being fed to the wolves as a result of inadequate training.

I guess the whole system is being tested from now until the 11th, and the hope is that by the time the world comes, everyone will have figured out what is going on. They have only a small amount of time to make the whole system run like the engine on my 98 Cavalier!

We'll see if we can pull this off. By the way today went, it doesn't look like it!

Olympic Tickets and James

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:07:00 +0000

It's been a busy week for me, as I've been peddling my Olympic tickets. I am keeping my prices in line with current market value now, so I hope I can make the sale and get the money into my account!

I sold a couple tickets for less than market value, and am happy with that decision. However, I haven't seen any tickets that cheap advertised, so my customers will be quite happy. I will have to work harder to make the next sales though, since everyone's tickets are at the same price point.

I'm using Craigslist, and I have to update my posts and track other posts to see what the prices are like. I'm right there with the other prices. People should purchase from me because I will deliver them (if the price is right) to Vancouver.

My ads are here and here.

Today I visited with Carmella and James in the village. James has a snowsuit with attached mittens.

It was a beautiful day today, with blue sky and clouds. We don't often see the sky here!

When he toddles around, Carmella must make sure she's close since he often tips over. We didn't bring him too close to the snow incase an errant skier or rider lost control and hit him.

There's lots of Olympic action in Whistler now, mostly all construction. Volunteers are getting their free gear, and people are beginning to arrive in town. I used to loathe the coming of the Olympics, but not so much anymore because they give me an unusual oppurtunity to benefit financially!

Olympic Tickets for sale!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:35:00 +0000

I bought a healthy dose of Olympi tickets when they went on sale a few months ago. I got some xc skiing, and some biathlon tickets, four of each.

As the events come nearer, I realize that I'm happy to go to biathlon, but that I don't really need to see the xc skiing.

So, I'm going to try and sell my 4 xc tickets, and two of my biathlon tickets.

Any takers?

Let me know!

Carmella and I go to CBC!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000

A few months ago Carmella and I toured the CBC in Toronto, with one of her childhood friends Nancy. Here are some pictures!

Glen Gould sits outside on the street, in front of the Glen Gould Studio. Knowing that he was a depressed individual, I pat him on the head to make him feel better.

Nancy and Carmella explore Mr Dressup's tree! Casey and Finnigan are not present unfortunately.

Carmella and I discuss hockey, after giving Ron and Don the boot.

We then move on to the important newsmaking items of the day, subbing in for George.

A great day!

Gingerbread!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Carmella had the idea of making gingerbread houses this Christmas. I don't have much experience with these Christmas mainstays, but I remember Carolyn having an annual gingerbread party when she was in grade school.

I didn't take part in this yearly gathering, but I remember there was lots of candy, and lots of collapsed walls and failed structures. To me, a gingerbread house is something that rarely turns out like you want it to.

Here are some pics documenting our efforts.

First, we must flatten our gingerbread out on the table, or as Aussies and Martha Stewart (we were using one of her recipes, and watched her make it in a video) call it, "the bench". Carmella doesn't have a rolling pin, so we used some empty wine bottles instead.

We concocted our gingerbread from scratch. Martha used a mixing machine to blend all the ingredients, and so did we. Hers was called Kitchen Aid, and ours was called Jon's Muscular and Tireless Arm.

We must use lots of bench flour, so that our pieces lift smoothly off the table. Carmella downloaded and printed off template pieces, which you see around the edges of the frame. We carved around the template pieces, then lifted them off the bench.

Thanks to copious amounts of bench flour, we are able to make and transfer all the necessary parts. We put them on baking sheets.

The gingerbread pieces must now cool down for a few minutes in the fridge. When they're cool, they solidify a bit.

You must now take them from the fridge and put them in the oven. Carmella's pieces go in first, but as you'll see around the edges, they were in there a bit too long. I got the benefit of experience, and my gingerbread was perfectly baked.

We begin building our gingerbread abodes. It's important to prop up the walls during the initial stages of construction, so we found some hardy cans of baked beans that would do the job.

Success! When we remove the cans, the structures are self-supporting! Good thing we used much icing. Its mortar-like qualities enable us to cover up mistakes and fill gaps.

Carmella concentrates, getting her second roof-piece to stick in the proper place. While we made the gingerbread from scratch, we used Duncan Hines icing. It was much more convenient.

Both my roof slats are in situ, thanks to a handy lime. It put just enough pressure on the walls to keep them from falling in. The lime filled much the same role as the cans of baked beans did earlier, but in a smaller more organic package.

It's time to start decorating! Carmella bought lots of candy from 7-11, and we also used candy we got from our stockings. We had lots to choose from.

Placing the candy on was the most exciting part. My magnum opus is my roof. It looks modern and classic, with alternating druppies and peppermints. I found a box of peppermints from Erik and Minke's wedding, and was happy to put them to good, stylish use.

Carmella's house looks fetching with its Twizzler Pull-n-Peel accents, and the jelly butterfly gracing the front. She has an open door, and a yard with trees. There is also a gummy bear family greeting guests out on the front stoop.

Her roof will keep the rain out, but doesn't have the stylishly-cohesive feel that mine does. As a whole though, Carmella's house would attract Hansel and Grettel first.

They're finished! We put them on the avant-guard couches that Carmella's landlords gave her. They make an excellent staging environment for excellent gingerbread houses!

Once again, take the time to admire my roof. So classic! So pleasing to gaze upon! The roof is highlighted by Panda brand (imported from Finland) black licorice eve-troughs and crown molding.

The front of my house has a door bordered by jelly coke bottles, and a window with four shutters made from gum halves. It also has a gummy bear stuck to the middle and hot lips beside the door. There are bushes made from hershey kisses, and shrubs from Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

The finished neighbourhood! Carmella's creation looks very girl-ish, while mine looks like it was made with less care, typical of a boy. A highlight of Carmella's that you can't see is a giant sour key on the back. The back of my house has some bottle caps and jelly fishes.

Success on the gingerbread house front! The key to victory was keeping the houses small, and the gingerbread slabs thin. That way, the ginger slabs weren't too heavy to stick, and were easier to build with.

For all you future gingerbreaders out there, heed Martha Stewart's advice as we did. Even though she's been hardened through jail time, she still knows how to plan and make a mean gingy house!

Christmas Eve!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 20:34:00 +0000

What a fun Christmas Eve! First, Er called me at about 5am my time to tell me he and Minke had a baby girl! She's just little and is named Anakke. You can seem more pictures that Carolyn took here. Make sure to read Carol's captions!

I went to work, and then when I got off, I went over to Carmella's and started the Christmas dinner we would share. I had most of it ready by the time she got off work at 7. While the chicken was just finishing, we went out with a saw and cut a branch off one of the many evergreen trees in her hood. We decorated it with lights and little Danish flags.

Then, we ate the dinner, which turned out great! After that, we dug into the presents. Mom sent a big box on the bus, which included two stockings and presents from Grandma. We opened them, and it was good times! Here are some pictures.

It was great! Here, Carmella wears the hat I got her. It has little ears on it! Carmella got me a word game and a word calendar. Excellent!

Merry Christmas everyone, and welcome to the world, small Anakke!

What I like about this time of year.

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Christmas season is here in Whistler, and that means a few things. First, lots of people! Everyone's here to ski, and the snow is good. People are here to spend money in our little town, so that's excellent.

Because Whistler wants people to feel good about spending their money here, they've put a lot of Christmas lights up. Thousands of blinding LEDs at the village entrance off the highway.

Christmas doesn't have the same feel at it used to, because I rarely get to spend Christmas with the family. However, I still like this time of year because of the good Year End lists that start coming out.

Various media outlets create Of The Year lists and I enjoy them. I don't even have to look very hard to find them. They range from CBC's Newsmakers of the Year to YouTube's Most Watched Videos of the year. The Globe will have some good pieces coming up too, so I'm looking forward to those.

I like these year-end lists because I get a full year's worth of news in one easily-digestible portion. I don't keep up on my real news on a daily basis unfortunatley, so these Year in Review pieces are the next best thing.

So, enjoy the various Year End articles, pictures, and compilations everyone!

Christmas haircut!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 02:33:00 +0000

I got a hair cut last week, and am happy to have my hair nice and short again. My stylist tried to get creative and leave the top a bit long, which is OK I guess, but I think I'll choose another place next time. Anyway, happy to have shorter coiffed hair!

Skating on Lost Lake

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:18:00 +0000

I went skating again today, but not on my neighbourhood pond. I scouted all the local lakes, and found that Lost Lake was completely frozen. I got my skates on, and hit the ice!

Like my local pond, Lost Lake froze pretty well all at once, so it was as smooth as glass. Times like this don't come along very often, when it's cold with no wind and no snow. It created the most amazing skating conditions. Here are some pics.

I got on the lake before 10, and left about three hours later. For most of the time, I had the whole surface to myself. It was so much fun! When I was ready to leave, some people came and got a hockey game going. I was too tired to put in the social effort and join them, since I'd been out there for more than three hours. The middle of the lake was sort of snowy, from others skating and some frost I think.

In the corners and fringes of the lake though, it was very clear.

Look at the ice! It's so flat and clear. I stayed out as long as I could to take advantage of the amazing conditions. It's supposed to snow tomorrow, so the heady days of skating the lake end-to-end will likely be over. I needed to take advantage of the ice while I could!

It took awhile to get my skating legs back, and they're not fully used to skating yet. I feel pretty good out there, but since it's been 10 years since I've played hockey, there are still some dust bunnies and cobwebs that need to be cleared out.

It was such good fun, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I'll try and get in on a hockey game later, if the ice stays around.

Comments Back Up

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:11:00 +0000

I've re-activated the comment section. You'll have to input a code to confirm you're not a spam bot, but otherwise it'll be the same as it was.

Zip video

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:29:00 +0000

I threw together the footage from Carmella and my zipping adventure.

"I had to show them how it's done in Whistler!"

Pond Hockey

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:34:00 +0000

The pond outside my house has frozen. It's been really cold here, after a bit of a thaw. The pond froze all at once too, so it's like skating on glass. The kids in the neighbourhood kids play on it after school, and have little hockey games. Most kids are about 6 to 9 years old.

I bought some skates in Squamish yesterday, and also a puck and a stick. I was excited to hit the pond and get some touches on the puck!

Today is a day off for me, so I slept in, then laced up the skates, taped my stick, and took to the ice. I was nervous at first, since the ice was somewhat invisible. I peered closer, and was happy to see that it was about four or five inches thick. Beautiful ice!

It was really smooth! Since it hasn't snowed since it froze, there is no shoveling required. I brought a big rubbermaid container out on the ice, and used it as a net. I skated around the pond, and fired pucks into my makeshift net. I was out there for over an hour. Before I went in, I got a pitcher of hot water and repaired some divots in the ice.

It was great fun! I'm going to cruise around Whistler and see how the bigger lakes are doing. They're probably not frozen enough to skate on, but if they are it will be amazing. I hope they're as glassy and solid as my local pond!

Albert!

noreply@blogger.com (jvd) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:21:00 +0000

Last night after church I got to hold my friend Jess' new baby, Albert. He's big! He has a rash from the recent cold weather. He's about two months old I think.

Here's Carmella with James, who she nannys. He's about a year old, and is honestly very advanced. If he can't reach something, he grabs Carmella's arm and aims it towards what he's trying to get. He can also walk now, and will fetch things if Carmella asks him to. Good work James!