Packing it up and putting it away – the city winds down (the blue jackets plot)

David Lam park is looking more like David Lam park and less like LiveCity Yaletown every day.

Science World is no long Sochi Russky Dom.

Scrim (the pretty decorative fence cover) has been removed from all of the fencing.  Heck, most of the fencing has been removed.

Yesterday a big crane/boat thing was pushed into False Creek to remove the buoys holding the barrier across the water in place.

The crane being pushed into False Creek.

Things are going back to normal in Vancouver.  Well, as normal as they possibly could be after hosting a very successful Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  Some things will never be the same.  We have the Canada Line, improvements to the Sea-to-Sky highway, new sports facilities (I hear that you’ll be able to try bobsledding with a pro-driver next year!).  But it isn’t just the infrastructure that’s changed, I really believe it is a lot of hearts that have too.  Writing this, I have some confused  combination of Dr.Seuss’s Grinch blending with the Vancouver 2010 motto in my head.  Let’s see…

“And what happened then? Well, in Vancouver they say that everyone’s heart glowed three times brighter that day. And then – the true meaning of the Olympics came through, and our athletes found the strength of *all*Canadians , plus two!”

Ah dear… my PODS (post-Olympic depression syndrome) must really be bad!  I’m turning to children’s books for comfort.  Thank goodness for Dr. Seuss!

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Besides watching the city slowly be transformed from Olympic and Paralympic Games host to regular city, today was the first day I’ve had a chance to look at the blogs that I used to read every day.  It is wonderful to get to read posts from Christina, Joyce, Rachael and all the rest on my ‘Daily Read Sheet‘, even if it is after the fact.  We had similar experiences and we each had unique experiences, but all in all it looks like everyone had an amazing time, and we’re all quite sad that it is over.

And yet, somehow, there is something afoot…

I hear murmurs from all directions… from people volunteering for Vancouver 2010… from people working for VANOC, contracting companies or the Olympic Superstore… and from fans of the Games…  I am hearing ‘See you in London‘ often in a slightly hushed voice but I am hearing it a lot.  We’re going.  And we’re planning already.  Many of us have already registered to volunteer (you can do so by visiting the London 2012 site here) and a few are even looking for jobs (yes, I’m one of those).  As John Furlong said to us in his speech at the Closing Ceremonies of the Paralympic Winter Games – “Once a blue jacket, always a blue jacket”.  And there are going to be ‘blue jackets’ showing up at Olympic and Paralympic Games around the world for a very long time.  (Some of us are already planning further than London – on to Sochi… Rio… Annecy/Munich/Pyeongchang…).  Oh! And if you are interested in London, you may want to consider registering for ticketing.  You don’t have to buy any tickets yet but they’ll add you to the list so that you don’t miss out on ticketing updates!

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I am working on getting my new blog site set up, however as I am going to be hosting the site myself instead of using an online host it is a bit more complicated than I am familiar with.  It is taking a little longer than I had hoped, especially as I have post ideas stirring in my brain.  I think I may be launching it anyhow, with improvements to come as I learn how to do the things I’d like to do.  So keep your eyes peeled over the next few days and I’ll see what I can do!

As always, thank you merci for your continued support and your friendship and enthusiasm.  It has been a great ride made all the better having shared it with you.