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!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Two Links
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
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!
Olympic Transit: Day 1
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Olympic Tickets and James
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Olympic Tickets for sale!
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!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Carmella and I go to CBC!
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.
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!
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