Just in Time?

Two observations from spending a few days wandering around Vancouver.

There is a lot to be done over the next twelve days. It is amazing how many places are still not ready. Fortunately the sporting venues have all been done for a long time. Vancouver is using many existing facilities for Olympic venues (like the Stadium where I am working) and the additional ones like the speed skating oval and the sledding run have been finished for a long time.

However, there are dozens of pavilions, houses and celebration sites being set up across the city to entertain and engage the spectators, athletes and citizens of Vancouver between sporting events. They range from pavilions for each of the Canadian provinces; to sponsor pavilions by companies like Coca Cola, Bell Canada and Heineken; to country houses for the U.S. (private), Switzerland, Russia and The Netherlands; to outdoor plazas with huge video screens and places to eat and drink. While one or two are already in operation most are scheduled to open the day after the Opening Ceremonies. I have walked by many of the ones in downtown Vancouver and based on their state of readiness it will be a busy two weeks for lots of trades and set up workers.

The picture shows Alberta House on Saturday. It was not quite ready for the entertainment, information and refreshment services that it will be providing starting on the 13th. A sprint to the finish.

My other observation for the weekend is the number of VANOC staff and volunteers that I have seen while walking around. On the early bus going to my training yesterday, out of four passengers, two were Olympic volunteers and one was an Olympic staff member. The blue volunteer uniforms were undoubtedly designed to make them stand out in a crowd. It works based on how visible the volunteers have been to me on the streets of Vancouver.

I'm off to my job-specific training tomorrow. I finished my two pre-requisite online courses tonight so now I just need to re-read the job-specific manual one more time.

Environment Canada (the weather people) reported today that it was the warmest January in history for Vancouver. Visitors will have to travel to Whistler to see any of that cold, white stuff.