Moar Music!

So, 'tis the season to be making lists, and one of the most popular lists right now is everyone's top music of 2010. As a self-proclaimed music-head, I decided to make a list of my own personal favorites from this year.

Adrienne's Top 10 Songs of 2010
(in no particular order)

• The New Pornographers - Crash Years
• The Black Keys - Tighten Up
• Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
• Mumford and Sons - Roll Away Your Stone
• Local Natives  - Airplane
• Yeasayer - Madder Red
• Lady Gaga - Bad Romance
• LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
• Rogue Valley - Cleaning Slates

Honorable Mentions

• Sleigh Bells - Ring Ring
• Dawes - When My Time Comes
• Florence and the Machine - Dog Days are Over
• The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
• Coronado - Deerhunter

Top 10 Albums
(in no particular order)

• Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
• Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
• Yeasayer  - Odd Blood
• Chromeo - Business Casual
• Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
• Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
• Beach House - Teen Dream
• The New Pornographers - Together
• LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
• The Black Keys - Brothers

As it turned out, a good majority of my favorite artists from these lists were at Lollapalooza this year. I didn't make it to all, but I still lucked out with the ones I did see. Here are a couple photos of me rocking it out at Arcade Fire.

Maybe I'll make a couple more lists this year - I know my mom is dying for a Christmas list from me. But for now, I'll stick with the tunes. And if you haven't even checked out these artists this year, better late than never.

Peace, love and poinsettas,

A

White Star has provided you with your own person bellhop!

So I know Thanksgiving was last week already, so this is a little late, but I still wanted to write a little bit about things I'm thankful for. I'm not going to write out a big list of all the obvious (my friends, getting my job, Blair - my cat, etc.) but wanted to one one thing that stand out to me this year - FAMILY.

For Thanksgiving this year, it was the first year that we celebrated without my Dad. He has left Delta/Northwest after 20 years and has started a new job with Airbus. The job has better benefits, includes a payraise, and he gets to keep his flight benefits for our family from Delta. Sounds good, right? Well, the kicker is, it's in Wichita, Kansas. So he's been in France since October, training for this new job, and when he comes back next week, he will be instantly searching for a place to move into in Kansas. Long story short, it sounds like a crazy deal, and it IS crazy  - we have no idea what the next few years will be like with this new job - BUT Delta was a crazy employer and there were a lot of issues already. And Delta wanted to move all engineers down to Atlanta in the next couple year anyway, so might as well move to where you're wanted if you have to leave! Anyway, the point IS, I'm really thankful for my Dad, and my whole family, for making these sacrifices. He is a great role model and I hope that someday I can be someone to look up to for my own kids.

We did have a fantastic Thanksgiving, however. My mom, sister, and I drove to a suburb near Chicago to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins for the weekend. Being the spoiled airline family that we are, driving the 8 hours to Chicago was something that we were not at all used to. But we had a great time and a little bit of girl bonding was included in the drive. And when we got to Chicago, we had a fantastic weekend with our family. I hadn't seen that part of our family for about four years, and it's was great to see my youngest cousin grow up into a real lady, and grab the senior photos of her brother, and meet the fiance of my favorite cousin, just a few months younger than me. We spent the trip playing board games, and (of course) eating! Nathan and his fiance Tiffany are getting married in June, so it feels great to know we will be seeing them again in six months. Here's a photo of all the cousins after playing a game of Guesstures.

This has been a seriously crazy year, and my family has been very important to me. From living with my uncle, Scott, when I was up in Vancouver, to relying on my parents for almost every need this summer while I was struggling with finding a job, I have been very fortunate to be surrounded with family who supports and cares for me. Not to mention, my sister is a fantastic friend and an amazing person! So, that's what I'm most thankful for this year.

I'll leave you with a little something to hum along to while you're trying to stay warm this week. It's definitely getting cold out there! Have a fantastic winter weekend and stay safe, we are supposed to be getting over 5 inches of snow tonight!



Peace, love, and frozen grapes,

A

Beaujolais Nouveau

It's another week into November and it's starting to look like a real winter wonderland outside! Last Saturday, the Twin Cities area was hit with about 10 inches of snow, give or take. And since Dad is still in France doing his work training, guess who was left to snowblow the driveway - this gal. Not exactly my favorite way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Oh well, at least Mom is back home so I haven't been quite so lonely this last week.

I was re-reading my old blogs post-Olympics about how I was beginning a new chapter in my life, being back in Minnesota with a college degree and starting to gain new experience. I made the prediction that 2010 would be, oh gee! - "the best year ever!" And while it's hard to say that one year of your life has been better than all the rest, I would admit to having a fantastic year. And I still have over a month left! I have successfully survived my unpaid internships and a short stint at Target, secured a job with bennies and am preparing to move out to Minneapolis in the next few months! I also enjoyed quite a few fun excursions and activities with my friends, including Lollapalooza - definitely the best weekend of 2010. And deriving from that weekend I have started seeing an amazing guy, which is a major plus when comparing to my relationship troubles from '09. I was definitely right in my previous entries: this year would be about change.

Two blog posts ago I was noting how odd it was that the year was half over, and now it's almost completely passed us. I swear, I will just blink and it will be 2011 already.

I want to finish this short and sweet blog with a little treat that has been floating around the web this week: the new Girl Talk album - All Day. He promised his listeners a free download of the album when it arrived, so if you haven't listened already (hopefully most people have), check it out! I'm crossing my figners to get to his concert in March. TGIF!

Peace, love, and iPhone autocorrect,
A

Week Four

So after all my bitching and moaning about not having a job or money over the summer, that thankfully this blog and all of it's (few) readers didn't have to hear about, I have just finished my fourth week in a real, big- girl-with-benefits job! I'm working with the Minnesota AIDS Project, who hired me on after a great internship from April-August as the new Special Events Assistant.

This means, I will be working on our big special events for the company, mainly our annual Minnesota AIDS Walk, held every May. I have also been taken under the wing of our Communication's Director and doing some work that actually pertains to what I studied in school (imagine that), including social media, some biz writing, etc. So, I think that the position is really perfect for me!

On top of all that, I find working for a non-profit such as ours to be more rewarding every day. It might not give the best pay and although I have no personal tie-ins to AIDS or HIV, as I get branched out of my summer special events corner and start working with the rest of the departments, I am realizing how much I appreciate the work that goes on in our building. We really do some amazing things that have a huge impact on the way people in Minnesota are coping with HIV every single day. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to highlight a few of our services and programs so that my friends and readers can get some sort of  idea of the fantastic work that goes on at the office.

On a side note, I got moved into my new cube today next to the rest of the Development department. I was exiled in a teensy cube on the other side of the building for the first four weeks of work and just got to move today! *Chair dance!* It's definitely nice to have my own space and get settled in. The cube for my future intern is right behind me so once they get hired I can just sass them all day. Actually, although I am pumped to have an intern, if you know me at all, I'm not the most authoritative person so I'm expecting a learning experience for me as well.

Also, TGIF. I'm really itching to get done for the day. Looking forward to a nice night with the girls, and then Saturday with the boy :) IF I don't get snowed in. We have had some amazing temp highs earlier this week, but are expecting around 12 inches of snow tomorrow? Yikes. Not sure I'm ready for that. Will keep you posted on the snow status. I would like to get back into the blogging habit, so if you don't hear from me sometime next week, I probably died in a snowdrift. Can't believe my last blog post talked about looking forward to summer. Now I'm dreading winter and Thanskgiving is in two weeks. Wowza time flies.

Anyway, I will leave you with this earworm, When My Time Comes by Dawes. Cuz I feel like my time has finally come in getting my "real" job and making my mark. *silent cheers*And also because Dawes played at First Ave last night and I'm tragically disappointed that I missed the show. Enjoy.

Peace, love and daylight savings,

A

Hey you're playing with my delirium

So today is May 5th. Wow. Hello 2010, I thought we were still just getting started and you're already almost halfway gone. It's strange to think that if I was still in school right now I would be finishing up my semester in EC in two weeks. It still feels like I just graduated! I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Since the beginning of 2010, and graduation, I have:

• Secured two internships with awesome non-profit companies, one doing special events, one doing public relations/marketing. I am equally passionate about both jobs and am hoping to gain some some excellent experience and knowledge this summer. (There's also the Target job, but that one's just there to make my life stressy)
• Had the experience of a lifetime in Vancouvsie :)!
• Saw Chris Koza, aka loml, perform in St. Paul
• Somehow have managed to keep in touch with my EC friends, PL friends, old roomies, and others all over the world, literally!
• Aaand, yesterday, I did the sad, final move-out from Eau Claire. It's so strange to pack up an entire two years of college life and cramming it all into a room at my parents' house. Not to mention forcing me to really realize that my campus and college days are over and things from here on out are gonna be full of change.

Some of these things I'd like to see for the rest of the year:

• Finish up my 3 jobs/internships and find a real job for the Fall
• Move out of ma and pa Widener's - hopefully somewhere downtown!
• Not get too stressed out working 50+ hours a week and only getting paid for 15 of them
• Being organized! I already have so many weekends/weeks over the next few months and I have to stay organized to keep track of what I'm doing. Organization is not my strong suit, so we'll see.
• Go to Lollapalooza!! (Bought my tickets already so I know that's a go)

Whew! It feels good to write down a few goals and accomplishments. When I started this blog right after graduation almost 5 months ago, I didn't know what I'd be doing right now, and I definitely think I'm on the right track to getting a job I want. We'll see how the rest of my goals go by the end of the year, or at least by the end of summer.

Speaking of summer, I cannot wait for it! With 85 degree weather downtown today, I can feel summer getting close. No one I know has put in their boats in Prior Lake yet, but when that happens, I think that will be the official start to my favorite season. Hopefully I won't be too busy to enjoy it!

Also, my good friend Jeff sent me a mix CD all the way from Ireland and I got it in the mail yesterday. It was such a surprise! Always nice to know that someone is thinking about you. Anyway, here is a link to one of my favorite songs he put on the mix. Check it out!!
Ladyhawke - My Delirium
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN8HwUxFouM

Peace, love, and margaritas,
A

Defying Gravity

Whoah! It's been a helluva long time since I wrote anything here. I guess I got into some sort of depressive slump when I got back from Vancouver, and when it comes to writing online to noone/everyone, my ambition has been low to blog. However, things are not all that bad back in Minnesota. I am a struggling graduate, looking for my dream job. At this point, almost ALL jobs are dream-worthy. I did secure a part-time job at Target and (YAY!) an (unpaid) internship downtown at a little place called the Minnesota AIDS Project both in the first couple weeks of being back in the U-S-A.

So far, I really like working at MAP. I'm one of the Special Events interns and we already have our big event in a few weeks on May 16th, so woohoo!!! I've been kept pretty busy doing tons of logistics tasks like writing and organizing about 40 thank-yous, organizing sponsors, researching past events or with other cities to see what to change, and corresponding with volunteers needed on event day. Also, it's pretty much gay-town at MAP, so baaasically it's perfect for me. Because as my fave Canada faggy, Kris, told me, I'm pretty much a gay man in a woman's body. Hmm, I don't really know what else to say on that matter, feeling pretty awkward now. Moving on.....

So I pretty much decided that 2010 is going to be the best year ever! I'm done with school now, I am at a turning point in my life, and who knows what I will be doing in the next six months. I got back a month ago from one of the greatest and most valuable opportunities of my life, and it's already benefiting me. I'm also realizing a few things about myself, now that my life is heading to a new chapter, and I'm finally ready to let go of some things I've been struggling with. Won't go into detail on this matter, but for the first time in over a year I'm feeling like a weights been lifted off of my shoulders and I'm seeing more clearly. I'm feeling really excited about the rest of the year, and especially summer, now that it's getting SO nice out!

So that's the latest update on my life. I'm glad to be back into somewhat of a schedule because I thrive on being busy. The friend count is low being back in Prior Lake, but other than that, and the fact that LOST and Glee are now on at the same time, everything else is peachy!

Peace, love, and Sue Sylvester,
A


Also, I happened to be thinking about my friend McKinley yesterday, who took his life a couple of months ago. He was absolutely brilliant and adored, and it bummed me out a lot, but I found this poem of his, and it really inspired me. RIP McKinley

Sunrise

This is a poem about sunrise.

This is a poem about watching red and pink respiration finesse the base of the horizon, with eyes closed knowing that this is all there really is.

This is a poem about holding someone’s hand or arm or your own hand or nothing and the rush of morning pours over you.

This is just a poem about sunrise. This is not a poem about anything else.

This is not a poem about a first date, the fact that you hate someone you used to love, getting snubbed by your crush, rushing to see someone who you haven’t seen for ten hours and now it’s almost eleven, heaven-sent individuals or hell-bent residual mistakes.

This poem is about the feeling you get getting up at home or elsewhere carefree and free to appreciate the elation based in the sun and encased in it’s run along the tips of whatever it’s framing. It’s the same window with the same view but the difference is you. You’ve seen every sunrise but your eyes are never prepared for what they share with the morning. It’s about the first warming rays of the day erasing the night’s decay and playing games with your levels of vitamin E.

This poem is not about oppression, about how the possession of wealth has stealthily been divided among society so that while we prioritize money it’s funny that so many don’t have enough, or about how tough it is to live the American dream if you didn’t start out sleeping with riches.

This poem is about 5:00 AM, when you’re awake and don’t have to be, or you do have to but you happened to notice that below the blackness is opening up an orange hue and you forget how tired you are and that the stars are fading just that the trade from night to day is amazing and the blazing entrance makes you remember that it might not always be just you and the sunrise but it is always you and the sunrise.

This is not a poem about anything except sunrise. It’s about standing on the handrail of a second-story balcony thousands of miles from home with the smoke from your Black & Mild getting in your eyes as you strain to see the sun come up over the L.A. skyline. It’s about sitting on the shore of a secluded mountain lake alone at home with the water lapping the fog wrapping around your ankles and being thankful for everything in existence, which to you right now is this sunrise. Sunlight goes much deeper than the eyes, it finds your center, and everyone must be meant to arise a little bit earlier. 

Our worlds revolve around our daily lives, but each day evolves from inside a sunrise.   Wake up.

By McKinley Lukes
RIP 1/18/2010

So many tars

Welp, I'm unemployed! Work officially finished on Friday, after a week of wrap-up around the IBC. We had a lot of take-down and I had no more days off after my Whistler trip for my final week. Our wrap party was a success Sunday night after the Closing Ceremonies, and I must say, it should be illegal to schedule work the day after a party is thrown for 2,300 people, with over $100,000 spent and 11,000 drinks consumed. Pretty awesome time, to say the least.

The rest of the week had a bit more work than we've had recently, and was filled with our final goodbyes to coworkers. Starting Monday, people's contracts were ending and people were heading back to their homes with no job (me included, soon).  It's pretty depressing to think about going back to Minnesota after having such a fantastic time up here. I've been in Vancouver a bit over a month now, I'm finally getting a feel for the city and getting to know the friends I've made, but now boom, work's over, and I have to say goodbye already. Not to mention, the work I've been doing has been amazing!

My sister and mom are coming up to Vancouver next Saturday so I will be spending this next week bumming around till they arrive, hopefully getting some applications in for back home. I am quite excited to see them though! I have been assigned to create an itinerary for our plans next week. Any suggestions?

Here's a pic of most of my fellow runners and me. I will miss working with them so much!

That's all I have for now, just gonna be stuck on the couch for the rest of the night, watching the Academy Awards. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for Meryl!

Peace, love, and Oscars,

A

I love Jim Halpert

The Ganes are over!!! Canada just beat the States in the final hockey match for the gold medal! I actually found myself cheering for Canada instead of the USA at the end; I think they deserved to win on home ground. This week has picked up at work, but today is pretty much the last of the excitement, since the Closing Ceremonies are tonight and we are having a sort of sendoff at the IBC afterwards. Most people at work's final days are sometime this week and I can hardly believe that I am finished working with OBS after Friday. It's pretty depressing, actually. I've grown accustomed to "working" these long days with these amazing people and being able to witness the fantasticthings going on with the Olympics firsthand.

I went back to Whistler yesterday with my friend Alicia and we were able to make it to the 4-men boblsedding final, which was awesome because USA won!!! It was such a close race and we beat out Canada and Germany on the last slide down. We got sooo close to the ice, and the venue looked spectacular. It's really incredible to see how fast these men go by! Alicia and I went to the top of the sliding center to watch the flower ceremony and it was packed but we got a few good photos and even one with the Olympic champion cutie Steve Mesler.

Usher was playing at the Victory ceremony that night, so we of course got in, no problem, with our accreditation. That's another thing I'm going to miss when I get home - the ability to get into sick places with just the wave of my pass. The concert was pretty cool, he sounds exactly the same as on his albums, and obviously, his dance moves were awesome. I was on such a USA high after watching the Americans win gold, so I was pretty much going up to every person wearing red, white, and blue gear and raging about our victory. It was actually the best part of the night, because one of the groups I decided to attack were not just random Americans watching Usher at the victory ceremony, but random American Olympian athletes from the bobsledding and skeleton teams! We hung out with them for most of the concert, and I've now spent most of my day today online trying to track the names and photos of the guys. Totally rad.

A few other tidbits of fun that I've been able to do this week was hold the Olympic medals and snap some photos, and I went to a free Girl Talk concert on Friday night, which was uhh, awesome! Here's a pic of me winning my gold in women's curling.

I think that's all for now... getting too tired to type. Party tonight!

Much love,

A

I've got something to put in you

Another busy week up here in Vancouver. I had another awesome weekend, my friend Sami who lives in Alberta came to visit me, which was so fun. She was my neighbor in Australia and I haven't seen her in two years, so it was so exciting for her to be able to make time and come for a short visit during the games.

Since it was the second weekend since the games have started, the city has been busier than ever. There are honestly walls of people walking down the streets at night and every bar has about an hour wait. Luckily, on Friday night, I was able to get to a media party for people like me working in broadcasting and similar departments so there was essentially no line and a bunch of my friends from work were there as well. Soooo much fun! Almost perfect night except for the fact that my camera was stolen (super sad face). Really bummed about that, but I've been trying to make due with taking other people's photos and using Scott's camera. I spent the rest of the weekend with Sami going around the city and letting her take in the Olympic experience in Vancouver. Both Saturday and Sunday nights we got tickets to the Victory Ceremonies at the stadium downtown, which were super fun. I got wicked close to athletes Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis as they were awarded their medals. An amazing experience. Hopefully I will be able to get Sami's photos from those nights because I have none at the moment.

Work has been the usual, hanging out in the runner's lounge, getting free massages, tracking down celebs. We got a photo with Wayne Gretzky on Monday after waiting for him outside of his interview room for a half hour! Kind of a grump, actually. I also saw Bob Costas at the IBC the other day, and I got a bit starstruck, because he pretty much rocks. Saw him on the escalator going up as we were going down and I told him I was a huge fan. He probably gets that all the time, but I'm sure I made an impact.

I've actually been so spoiled with this job with OBS and I think I've even started to take for granted how sweet the place is. Like, how awesome is it to spend my day searching for celebs in the building, or to be walking to the cafe and look over and see NBC filming live footage for the Olympics just a few feet away. Or to be able to watch the games on TV and see the news anchors talking and know that they are filming at that exact moment somewhere close in the same building where I am. I'm getting pretty depressed thinking that I'm already leaving so soon, right after I'm getting really settled in my life here. I really love most of the people I work with, there's always something to do in and out of work, and just being included in the Olympic spirit has been incredible.

For example, last night I took a spur of the moment trip to Whistler with my friend Emma from work. We left work at 5, got up to the mountain around 7, and I had to be back in the city by 9 this morning for another day of work. We met up with my friend Benny, who is from Australia, and another person I studied with when I went abroad. He's been working up there since December and hooked us up by getting us into "The Fray" concert and a few bars around the village. I caught the 6:00 bus back this morning, and needless to say, have been pretty tired all day. Totally worth it though, and I might as well take advantage of the opportunities I can take with my access to the games.

I'm looking forward to the weekend already, hopefully I can make another trip up to Whistler on Saturday, and if I can get Friday off as well, there is a free Girl Talk concert that I'd die to get to. We have an OBS party Sunday night, but with the end of the games approaching, the work around here is gonna start to get crazy again.

Well, I'm super tuckered out after last night and working all day, so I'm probably gonna get to bed. Post more soon. Goodnight!

 Peace, love, and nachos.

A

P.s. Have you guys been watching the games?? They have been incredible! Every sport has had some amazing competitions and performances. GO USA!

It may be years until the day my dreams will match up with my pay

Hey Hey Hey!! I'm just sitting at work right now, on the runner computer in our lounge. So far this week we have had almost zero projects and things for us to do so we have been spending most of our time at work getting paid to sit and watch the sports, as well as play games like Pictionary and Monopoly. Sweet life, eh? (Look, I'm using "eh," I'm truly becoming a Canadian!)
OH crap! Time out, Lindsay Vonn just lost Gold in the Alpine Combo by falling on her run! That's rough. At least she got her medal yesterday!

Anyway, you can see that work has been pretty hard this week. I actually just got a free 15 minute massage today at the press center next door. Really not a bad job. I have still been running a few errands around the IBC, trying to keep a look out for athletes and other celebs that may be around. We have been going to press conferences every morning to help with crowd control, and sitting in on them is pretty interesting. We get to hear the press rip apart the heads of VANOC and the IOC about all the problems going on during the games. One reporter even asked what their comments were about this being the "worst beginning to an Olympic games... ever." Yikes. Even though I'm in PR, I would not want to be answering some of those questions. However, it is particularly intersesting me to be sitting in on these conferences for that exact reason. I am enjoying seeing more of the press side of the Olympics, since that is what I have studied in, as well as noting how they respond to the conflicts that have been arising during these games.

Other than that, I did get up to Cypress for the men's halfpipe finals last night. What an amazing experience! Seriously, Shaun White is the MAN! Almost a perfect score for his second run, and a gold and bronze medal for the USA! The venue looked awesome, which is quite an accomplishment after the troubles they have been having up there with the lack of snow. I was very impressed. The whole crowd was excited for Shaun, including people from all over the world. It was awesome that everyone recognized what an amazing athlete he is, and cheered him on even though he wasn't from their home countries. My camera died right before Shaun's final run, so I was pretty mad I didn't get that on record, as well as the medal ceremony. Still exciting though! Hopefully I can get some copies emailed to me from a friend. Here is a photo of me, and one of Shaun White after his first run.

Other than that, not much else new up here. The city has just been buzzing with Olympic hysteria, and the nightlife has been crazy. There are hundreds upon hundreds of people roaming the streets at night, all dressed up in Canada gear, wearing flags, playing hockey in the middle of the street, and it is super exciting. Hopefully I will be able to participate in some of the craziness this weekend, I actually have Saturday off.  The weather has still been amazing, and I was able to snap some photos in the city with the beautiful weather.

That's it for today! Wish me luck on all the work I have to do today including watching more speed skating and probably spending more of my meal vouchers on shitty cafe food.

Peace, love, and sushi!

A

Leave me (Like you found me)

I've been working at IBC for two weeks already! The time has definitely flown by since I've arrived in Vancouver, and I'm worried that I'm just going to blink and have to go back home already. I'm not really looking forward to going back home from Canada; having too much fun and not ready for the unemployment/being in debt aspect of Minnesota. I'm trying to take in as much as I can while I'm here though, and not really worry about how much money I'm spending, cause it's all about the Olympic experience, right??

Speaking of Olympic experiences, the city has just been CRAZY since the Opening Ceremonies on Friday night and the games starting on Saturday. The streets are literally flooded with thousands of people, mostly wearing red, and taking in the sights and excitement of the Olympic spirit in the city. Both Friday and Saturday I had to work the late shift at the IBC, which was from 1:30-11:30 p.m., which sounds pretty lame for weekend nights, but ended up kind of exciting, with the beginning of the games.

I got the privilege on Friday night to work "security" for the final lighting of the torch, right next to my work at the broadcast centre. (And by security I mean standing next to the police officers and make sure people had the right passes to be in the torch area. Even the rest of my coworkers weren't allowed as close as I was!) It was pouring rain out for most of the time, and we had to wait outside during the entire Opening Ceremonies, but seeing as there was no chance of me making it to that actual ceremony, this was the next best thing. I stood in the rain for 3 hours waiting for the final torch to make it to the cauldron, which will be lit for the rest of the Winter Games.

Another exciting thing about the lighting of the cauldron was that Wayne Gretzky, the Canadian hockey hero, aka "The Great One," was secretly the final torchbearer, so he brought the torch down from the Opening Ceremonies to light it up.  Once word got out that Gretzky was going to be heading from the stadium down to the IBC, the streets swarmed with thousands of people, rushing to see Gretzky finish the home stretch of the torch's journey. However, none of them were let into the cauldron area, where I was standing and waiting. Even though it was raining, it was totally exciting to see this legendary hockey player come and light the torch, which will be standing as a symbol for the Olympics throughout the rest of the games, especially since I had front row seats!

Afterward, Gretzky left the area, and the crowd around the cauldron was going crazy. They were all cheering and yelling "GO CANADA," and finally the Canadian anthem was sung by a couple hundred people surrounding the torch. There was about a five-minute fireworks show, and the excitement was just incredible. That evening was probably the most "Olympic" and fantastic experience I've had so far in Vancouver. Here are a few pictures to showcase the night:

"The Great One" coming in with the torch!!

Right as Gretzky was lighting the cauldron.

Me with the cauldron in the background, as well as the fireworks behind the crowd watching the ceremony. Soooo amazing!

Gretzky waving right at me! haha

 So as you can see, an amazing night! Saturday was a bit more low key, but I did run some print distributions to all of the broadcasters with a friend of mine, and while we were down by NBC, there ended up being a ton of security around, and Joe Biden came strolling down the hallway towards us. We kind of just stared for a few seconds, but he came over and introduced himself. Seemed like a pretty goofy guy, actually. So we got a quick picture, and even though we were in Canada, it was exciting! Here is the picture we caught by chance around the IBC.

We all look so happy! Well, that was pretty much the excitement of my weekend, I had the day off yesterday, actually, so I just wandered around the city again and took more pictures. It was a seriously beautiful day, so the photos turned out awesome. Hopefully I can post a few of those soon. Gonna be off for now, I think I should give Scott a chance to use his computer, seeing as I don't think I will be getting my own back during this trip.

I think there will be more exciting things going on during this coming week, maybe even a couple events to go to!

Tata for now,

A

And then we'll get down there, way down to the very bottom of everything

Here are a few photos that I've taken around town.

This one is in a part of Vancouver called Gastown, it's just this old, touristy section that has some cute shops, restaurants and bars. This clock runs on just steam, and is pretty well-known around here:

I took these pictures at night and the sky was just beautiful. This next one has part of the skyline in the background as well.

These next few photos are of the torch being carried in around Lonsdale Quay where I take the seabus across the harbour every day. It was super crowded, so you can see the loads of people waiting and then my blurry photo of the runner going by with the torch. Still a pretty cool moment.

I've been doing some other pretty crazy things around here, but while working six 10 hour days a week, it's been hard to post on here. Hopefully I will get a chance to write a bit tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day!! - Gotta go, I have a date :)

XO,
A

If you wanna get it big time, go ahead and get it, get it big time

This week has been so busy! I actually had the weekend off, which I spent mostly relaxing and trying to get my computer fixed (which is NOT happening while I'm in Van, wayyy too much money), but it will probably be the only time I have both days off until the end of the games.It's been so busy, Scott and I haven't even seen each other since Saturday, except briefly at work. I finally went out on the town last Friday for a few drinks and some dancing, which was pretty fun. I'm meeting some awesome people while I'm up here.

Every day at work has been different; I've been all over Vancouver searching for the perfect wrapping paper to wrap presents for executive, I went back to the curling venue to help out there, and am still distributing uniforms almost every day. There have been a couple more sunny days which makes the city just light up and is pretty awesome for people like me who don't live here to see.

Opening ceremonies are today, so I'm so excited. I think that once the games start the atmosphere is going to craazy in Vancouver, and hopefully I will keep getting cooler assignments to do at work. It is pretty cool to see the Canadians getting so excited about having their Olympics on home ground and how proud they are to live here. I got to see the torch being passed the other day by the station where I get on the seabus to get to work. The runner was supposed to come by and pass it at 8:45, and by 8:00 it was already a sea of red. They had a stage with a Canadian band as well as Native Canadians (is that right??? I have no idea, that sounds weird though) playing and dancing. Right before the runner came by, the crowd started to sing, "Oh Canada," which was cool, although I couldn't sing along. When the torch finally ran through the crowd, it was pretty cool, but I couldn't see much with all the people. Mostly I liked seeing all the people come out with their children, wearing red and white clothes and makeup and carrying Canada flags, supporting their country and getting so excited for the torch to come through. I have a few photos of the morning, which I will post as soon as I can.

Till then, here's one picture I took a few weeks ago before I started work at a place Scott took me to called Horseshoe Bay. Such a pretty place!

Peace out Girl Scout!

A

Don't lie to me Vancouver, you've got a little more raining to do

So today was a pretty sweet day at work!
Number one, it was the first sunny day I've seen in Vancouver, which really makes the city even more beautiful, and when you look across the harbour, the mountains really shine. For once I was able to see the whole skyline of the mountains, including the ones with some Olympic venues. Apparently, though, these mountains have been causing some trouble for the games because it's been such a warm winter. The snow usually comes at least a quarter of the way down, but the snow just covers the top this year. So now they are shipping in snow from I can't remember, and covering the hills. Crazy, huh?

Number two, I was able to escape the IBC today with one of the workers in Planning, and went to the curling venue for most of the day to help move furniture around for the broadcasting employees. Not really super exciting, but I did get to pop inside and see the curling rink (where I will be competing for Olympic Gold on the USA Women's Curling Team, FTW!! - inside joke). Here's a pic:

Number three, after we got lunch and finished off our day at the curling venue, Andrew brought me around to a couple of other venues so I could take a peek. We went to the speed skating rink, and then the figure skating venue. Both were awesome!! I don't think Andrew was actually supposed to take me, but it probably won't be a big deal. Here is a picture of the speed skating venue:

And here are a couple from the figure skating rink:

P.s. That's my uniform, can't get really get a view of the awfulness of it, the jacket is okay, but you can't see my disgusting black corduroys or my star trek top.

So, that was my day! Now I'm just chillin at home, looking forward to having my weekend off. G'nite.

Peace, love, and peanut butter,

A

Room 205

I've been a working woman for three whole days now!! I officially started on Monday as a Logistics runner for OBSV (Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver) and during this prep time before the games start, I've ben set to do a variety of tasks. There are quite a few other runners at the IBC, and we haven't done anything too exciting yet, mostly doing things like organizing uniforms that still need to be distributed, putting together spreadsheets, and some other types of grunt-work that no one really likes to do but all needs to be finished behind the scenes to make things run smoothly. Basically, I'm the broadcasting team's little biotch, which is actually okay with me, it's pretty awesome to see how things are being run for such a huge event and show.

Also, I was informed on Monday that I am actually making more than I initially thought, since I am on a unique contract from the States. I will be making 150 canadian dollars a day, seven days a week, even when I'm not required to come in, kind of like a salary pay. However, my shifts will be longer and I will most likely only have one day off a week. I think it will be okay though, I definitely need the money and since I am pretty much here by myself, there's not a whole lot else to do when I'm not working. I am meeting people though! There are a lot of people my age who are just awesome, and everyone at the IBC is so friendly, so I've been exchanging contact info. Hopefully by the weekend I will have some friends! Haha..... ohhh I'm a loser. JK. But seriously...I suck....

Summary: Work has been pretty sweet so far, but I haven't really had time to do anything else. I met my first cute Canadian boy yesterday! And tomorrow I will be working at the curling venue, doing who knows what. Pretty stoked for that.

BUT, it really sucks that my laptop is still broken, I havent been able to upload photos or skype back home for awhile. Sad face.

And one more thing, did you know Vancouver is rainy as hell?? Seriously, every day its raining out. I'm getting a lot of use out of my new rainbow umbrella. Much better than the cold back home though, I suppose! Well thats all I got for tonight! More deets lata...

Misses and kisses!
A

I find the map and draw a straight line

Hey y'all, how's the weekend been? Mine's been a bit busy, in a totally nothing to do, boring yet fun, kind of way. Last I posted, I had gotten into the city, and spent Thursday wandering Vancouvsie. Scott has been pretty busy at the International Broadcast Center (the IBC), and by busy, I mean working about 10 hour days, including weekends. And I don't start working till tomorrow, so I've spent most of my time since I arrived by myself.

It's been surprisingly nice to wander around the city alone, getting to know how to use the public transportation here and how to get around. I did a lot of shopping Thursday and Friday, so I'm glad work starts soon or I'll probably spend all my money before I even earn any. Scott's roommate James was in town for the past three nights, which was cool because he's from Australia and only 28, so we got to hang out and chat while Scott has been working or sleeping. James left to go work in Whistler for the next month today, so hopefully I meet some younger people at work this week to hang out with while I'm here.

Also, yesterday, Scott had to take a trip up to Whistler for work during the day, and I'm not really sure if I will get a chance to get up there again, so he took me with so I could take a look around and do some more... shopping! Whistler was really beautiful, although the weather wasn't the greatest, so the mountain was kind of covered by fog most of the day, and it was super rainy so I had to walk around with my umbrella the entire time.

And not gonna lie, it's been pretty cool wandering around the city and the mountains by myself, being able to do what I want, but if you know me at all, I prefer to do these things with someone. I actually think this is the longest I've ever gone without having someone to hang out with and do things with, which is kind of pathetic. So I guess, that in itself is kind of a new experience for me, so I'm thankful for that. Now, I'm looking for more new experiences and things to learn while I'm up here.

My laptop has been having issues, so I'm going to try to take it into the shop sometime this week if I can figure out the bus system a little better. Till then, I'm using Scott's computer, so I won't have any more pictures up for a little while.

Love you all, my little monsters,

xx,
A

Watch for it

 

I went shopping around town today, kind of got a feel of the city. Vancouver has started to get the Olympic vibe!!!

Also, the third picture, with the building that says IBC, is where I'm going to be working for the next month and a half. I'm excited!! And I got my uniform today as well. More pics on the way. :)

Ryan Reynolds and Pine Trees

I arrived!!! I'm officially a Canadian (at least in my mind), now that I've been here for about 3 hours. I'm at my uncle's place, it's about 7:30 p.m. Canada time (9:30 back home), and to be honest, I just want to go to bed. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, not because I was so excited I couldn't sleep or anything, but I'm mostly just a poor planner. I didn't finish packing my luggage until about 2 in the morning, after I had a couple of friends over to hang out and watch a movie. Probably should have spent that time getting ready, but I'm here, I don't think I forgot anything, and it's alll good!

My flight left at 11:45 this morning from Minneapolis to Seattle, and this is my first trip since I graduated and am now a revenue passenger. I dont liiiiike paying for plane tickets! And I never knew that normal people also have to pay for luggage! 40 bucks for two bags! What kind of crap is that?? At least I'm gonna be making some money up here..

Anyway, I arrived in Seattle, no probs, with about a three hour layover till my flight to Vancouvsie. I made a couple phone calls to some friends, since I have limited phone access while I'm up here, and then decided to get some lunch. So I went over to the airport food court, and there was a Burger King (blech) and a America's Greatest Bagel Co. (or something along those lines). Clearly, bagel sandwiches > gross burgers.

So I picked out the bagel I wanted (asiago and sundried tomato-toasted), what I wanted on my bagel (chicken salad) and the extras (lettuce and tomato). I also wanted to save some money so I decided NOT to get a beverage, and just fill up my water bottle. However, when I got up to the checkout with my bagel sammy, the cashier told me the total was $10.45. Ten dollars and forty five cents for a bagel sandwich!!! Needless to say, I was pretty appalled as I paid her. I don't know if they charge two extra dollars for a toasted bagel, or what is in that chicken salad, but it was quite shocking.

After I ate my overpriced sandwich, the airport had free wifi (yay!) and I scoped out the internet till I flew off to my final destination. It is so warm up here! I was very surprised that I had to immediately strip off my winter jacket for the 4-10 degree Canadian weather (they use Celsius up here, silly!). I guess they are even having issues with some of the mountains because the snow is melting. Yikes.

Another exciting thing today was getting my Olympic accreditation set up, so now I am an official Olympic worker, with an ugly badge with an even uglier photo. But, this lil badge can basically get me anywhere in Vancouver fo' free, including all of the Olympic venues. Pretty sweet eh??

I'm getting super tired now, not only have I been traveling all day, but I've been traveling all day with three large suitcases and a backpack. I definitely looked like one of those annoying traveler/tourists going all over the city dragging my enormous bags of luggage. Little do they know, I can hardly coordinate myself anyway. Not to mention, once I made it off the airplane, through the airport, on the seabus across the river, and on the actual bus to my uncle's street with all my bags, I had to drag them two blocks in the dark to get to his house. Not one of my finest moments.

So tomorrow I'm off to pick up my uniforms, which I've now seen and are bright blue and make everyone look like smurfs, hah. So I'm heading to bed,and looking forward to starting work on Monday!! Thanks everyone for the good luck wishes and to anyone who's reading this!

Peace, love, and tootsie pops.
A

Time to Go

First, I'd like to comment on the Vikings vs. Saints game, since it just ended, and is still sitting in my thoughts. Good job Vikes, for making it this far, I'm not much of a football viewer, but I was rootin for ya. So, good run, and congrats to the Saints. And for you Packers fans, I'm quite amused with the Vikes/Favre bashing on facebook and twitter, way to keep things classy. I actually think the most amazing part of the night was that I actually watched an entire football game, and stayed pretty into it. SKOL, is it? Nice.

Anyway, I leave for Vancouver in three days (yikes!) and am pretty much freaking out. And by that I mean totally excited. I spent the past week saying farewell to my peeps back in EC, and my other favorites here in Minnesota. I know I'm only going to be gone for a month and a half-ish, but for some reason in my head that feels like forever. It's probably going to fly by though, with working full-time, and getting things Olympic-ready at the last minute.

I still don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing there, but I talked to my uncle Scott today, who actually has been working for OBSV (Olympic Broadcasting Services Vancouver) for two years already, and hooked me up with the job. He says the uniforms just got in and are terrrrible. I know I'm not supposed to be worried about what I look like up there, but how am I going to score the Olympian of my dreams wearing black corduroys and turtlenecks? Hmmm, gonna have to find some way to rock it.

In other news, there is no other news. Hopefully though, some exciting stuff will start soon!

Stay posted.

Tots,
A

The Bloggers become the Bloggees.

Ok, so I don't really have an explanation for the title of this post, except that I was watching "Friends" last night, so all you other true fans out there, hope you get it.

I posted the link to this site through my fb status, and will probably put it on twitter, and maybe listed as a website on my fb page, but other than that, I probably won't put it up too many more places or times. I don't really need people thinking I want everyone on the internet to know my every thought and action during the day.

But for those of you who DO want to know, I have been thinking a bit about why I made this blog, and about some of the websites I've been looking at since I've graduated about networking, creating a personal brand, etc. and one that I came across talked about creating a blog to establish yourself. The article described using blogging as a tool to develop skills and knowledge over a period time, and documenting what I've learned. And while I'm up in Canada, I think I'm going to be learning a shit-ton of new things, and since I don't have an exact idea of the kind of work I will be doing there, I can't think of a skill I'd specifically like to develop. However, I do want to document the activities I will be spending time on, and how I'm growing from those experiences. Sound like fun?? K, cool.

Another thought for today, I pretty much realized that other than the time that I will be spending up in Vancouvsie, I'm going to be back home in Minnesota with my parents a LOT. Not that that's such a bad thing, I enjoy spending time with the 'rents, hanging out, getting free, nice meals, you know how it is. However, it just dawned on me that a big reason I love being at home is because my sister is here, too. But she goes back to school in Iya tomorrow, frown face. Gonna miss you, K!

Well that's all for now, peace, love and pop tarts.
A

First. Blog. Ever.

So, I graduated almost an entire month ago, and so far have: applied to four jobs/ internships, played Beatles Rock Band with the family, driven back to EC once, read two books, hung out with my PL faves, and probably most importantly, created this blog. This is my first post ever, and as a PR graduate, I thought, "Hey, a blog may come in handy one day." And if not, then you kiddos can get an inside look into what I'm thinking every once in awhile.

Also, I'm heading to work for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in... oh yeah... less than two weeks!!! and I have gotten quite a few requests and responses from people who all want to know exactly what I'm going to be doing up there, cause I think it's going to be a pretty sweet gig. So for all you stalkers, I'll be posting on here frequently so you can see what I'm up to in beautiful Vancouvsie (my personal term for that awesome city) and which Olympians' pants I'm getting into, etc. Only joking, of course. But really, I am pretty pumped to be working for their broadcasting company, and actually getting paid for it. Hopefully, once I get back, every potential employer will look at my resume and instantly want to hire me after seeing the Olympics listed. We'll see though... **fingers crossed**

So, hopefully this blog actually gets looked at every once in awhile, if not, I think I'll  have fun on here anyway, all by myself.

Well, it is now officially Friday, and I'm going to hit the sack. Another busy post-graduation, no work, no obligation day again.

Signing off,
A