Countdown to Vancouver: Starting to feel the crunch

Countdown to Vancouver 2010 Olympics: 14 days; 23 hours; 7 minutes

Days until departure to Vancouver/Whistler: 10 days

To: Nick

Just so you know, I didn't manage to making those business cards that you suggested me to make. I haven't even had the time to buy the card stock to print them out on.

However, I assure you, they are on my long list of things I need to do before I leave Toronto. In fact, they are among one of my more necessary tasks going forward.

It wasn't until this past Monday that I began to feel my departure date to Vancouver (and my second ever plane ride, though first in my memory) creeping in on me. Up until then, the event still felt far away to me, and so I always felt that I'd have plenty more time to get my stuff together and organized to head west.

Now I realized, oh crap, there's only two more weeks left until I have to leave for Vancouver!

Suddenly time seemed to contract in on itself. Now I didn't have enough time. There were millions of things I still had left to do: organize my schoolwork in order to keep from falling behind in my three classes that I am taking this semester at the University of Toronto, call my credit card company to make sure they don't freeze my card when I travel out there, clean my room, prepare my clothes, get batteries... just a multitude of things that come from realizing that you're not as prepared on any issue as you'd like to think.

One of my main concerns is the packing of clothing. I'm based in Toronto, therefore, I have not been accredited nor have I received my uniform. And I won't be getting it until I arrive in Vancouver, or even Whistler.

This presents a problem, in that I don't know how warm the components are or how many layers I'd be needing of my own clothing on top of what is given by Vancouver 2010.

Granted, I will have clothes for when I'm not volunteering, but the crux of the issue right now is - should I supply my own snow pants to wear underneath the black pants they will be giving us? However, I do understand that the Whistler Park volunteers will be receiving what may amount to snow pants anyway due to the fact that we're stationed on a mountain.

All I know is that I don't want to be a shivering, miserable human being at Whistler.

The Vancouver Olympics Volunteer team for Whistler Olympic Park did hand a number of suggestion to us Whistler Olympic Park volunteers in what kind of clothes to bring, including:

- Thermal underwear

- good socks

- water-proof winter boots with good treads

- winter gloves

- a warm jacket or vest to wear beneath your games jacket as it's not lined

- hand and feet warmers

I shouldn't be too badly worried I guess. But again, I don't want to be a shivering cold human being during one of the greatest opportunities to share my patriotic pride.

The uniform by the way looks fantastic doesn't it? The colours are extraordinary and just looking at it makes me excited to wear them. I'll try and get some pictures done with me in them.

Cheers!

Grace

A Little Bit About Me

I was born in Victoria, British Columbia, but raised in Toronto, Ontario. I am of Korean heritage by birth, but on the inside, I bleed like a proud and true Canadian.

My name is Grace. I am 23 years old and a volunteer press assistant out of Whistler's Olympic Park. And this blog is about my cross-country experience at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

My journey towards the Olympics began close to two years ago in 2008, when I saw an article telling those who would wish to be a Vancouver 2010 Olympic volunteer in The Toronto Star. And in a state of what may later be referred to as insanity, I applied as a volunteer, thinking that there is only a slim chance they'd agree to have me.

At that point in my life, I was at a crossroads. I was attending the University of Toronto only part-time, having almost failed out of the Life Science Program the year before. I worked two part-time jobs to fill in the time between mulling my future and my life ambitions. I didn't know what I wanted in life. But I did want something that I could be proud about. And sciences wasn't cutting it for me.

It was as if by applying to volunteer at the Olympic games, I was able to discover what I was passionate about: sports, spirit and the emotional high I get from being a part of it. I took that knowledge and ran with it.

So many things have changed since I submitted my volunteer application. I have since returned to school full-time at the University of Toronto, but this time as a Books and Media Studies major with a minor in History and Biology. I also volunteer with the Toronto community chapter of Rogers TV and write for the university's newspaper The Varsity as the associate sports editor. And I hope one day that this will become my life career: to work in sports media.

Vancouver 2010 started me on my journey to self discovery. And now, heading over to the Olympics, it will hopefully lead me on a brand me journey towards my future.

It will be a month full of new experiences, new opportunities and hopefully many wonderful people and stories that can be shared and told.

This is mine.