Day 29:Olympic Fever!!

Vancouverites are happiest when they're complaining. The weather, taxes, and how much they hate the premier of the province, Gordon Campbell. (Ironically, when I last lived in BC 5 years ago, there was a massive push to recall the election and have him ousted. Five years later, I'm passing posters along the street calling him Gordon "Scambell" and demanding they recall the election and have him ousted.)

The Vancouver Sun published bits and pieces of a 120 page protocol document published by the much reviled VANOC which encouraged people to "wear socks that match your pants, "to "smile gently and with sincerity, (but not too much!)", and to approach foreigners on the street and introduce yourself if you speak their language. 

This lead one guy to twitter, "My socks don't match. Am I still world class?" 

So the Olympics are an easy target, money is going out, and there's no guarantee money will be coming in. The Cowichan sweaters were not made by Cowichan Indians but rather in the USA, and the bouquet the winning athletes receive on the podium will have no flowers grown in BC, but rather Equador, (can you say carbon footprint?). 

But the fact is, the Olympics are here and there's nothing you can do about it now! You might not like it, but you may as well jump in, it's only ever going to happen here once. And that's what most Vancouverites are doing.

So yesterday when we heard the torch relay was going to pass by our school, we wondered if we'd be let out to watch. We were! 

It was grey and drizzly, and I only had my old crappy camera, but this is what I got. 

Easy to see us! We're all in white chef's jackets.

The Korean schoolgirl in front is sporting the coveted 

"red olympic mittens". Is the weather cold enough for mittens? No!

Is it warm enough for schoolgirl miniskirts? No!

Stories about the security for the games are already circulating. 

Tomorrow, spectators for the opening ceremonies must arrive 

at least 5 hours in advance!

The official Olympic Dogs.

Here is the van that carries the torch bearers and the extra flames, 

just in case the Vancouver drizzle puts one out. 

And there she is! (I have no idea who this woman is).

You can see a few of my classmates here, and the flame being 

passed from one torch to another in the center. 

The ladies hugged each other, 

posed for a few photos, and the new one was off with her flame!

The flame then wound its way up to my neighborhood, and passed by Riley Park where Trevor Lindon took over. There was also a rumor that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be running today. 

So the final buzz is all about the lighting of the caldron. Now that Wayne Gretzky has run, many people are disappointed, he was definitely the favorite in the running. 

Nothing about food today. Fish, fish and more fish. Processed two trout and a salmon today. While my filleting skills are improving, I'm so sick of looking at these.