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Showing posts from 2010

Celeb Hunting

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Friday night, I scored some passes to Club Bud (this time through my sources ;) and Trevor and I took off for a night of celebrity photo hunting! As we waited in line at the Commodore, we saw Benjamin Agosto, of the 4th place US Ice-Dancing Team, talking to the media on the red carpet (the red carpet was only about 5 feet long, but nonetheless...) Inside, we saw Jeret Peterson again (this time with his silver medal--he'd received it at the Medals Ceremony that night.) I stopped Benjamin Agosto to congratulate him on his performance in the Ice Dance and chat about how he was enjoying Vancouver. He had to be at the rink on Saturday morning to get ready for the Figure Skating Gala Exhibition. Upstairs, I pulled aside Michelle Kwan when she walked by to ask how her Games were going. A few minutes later, Tara Lipinsky walked by and I introduced myself (apparently, I also introduced everyone else in the area.) She was gracious and fun, but I had to stoop down about a foot to be on her l

Night Of A Thousand Stars

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Evan Lysacek, 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist, Men's Figure Skating Through the generosity of Bronze Medalist Allison Baver (friend of a colleague,) I was invited to The USA House last night, where the Figure Skating stars were out! I rode the elevator to the 2nd Floor with Evan Lysacek and my heart started pounding. "I Gotta Feeling," The Black Eyed Peas catchy anthem, started running through my head! I met Elana on the 3rd floor and we headed down to the 2nd to get some drinks. In a corner, we found Dick Button chatting with Kristi Yamaguchi and Evan. Nearby, Tara Lipinksi and Michelle Kwan were chatting with friends. There were plenty of other skiiers and athletes I didn't even recognize. After we got a picture with Evan, we wandered around a bit more and Sasha Cohen arrived. We caught her before she left for a picture. Sasha Cohen, 2006 Olympic Silver Medalist, Figure Skating (I saw her skate in Torino, and I loved her on Project Runway!) After USA House shut down, Al

The End Approaches

Mom & Dad left early Tuesday morning. I was able to join them for the 2nd and 3rd period of the Switzerland - Russia Women's Hockey Game on Monday night and we came home to watch the Gold-medal winning performance of the Canadian Ice Dancers. It truly was beautiful. I used to scoff at Ice Dancing, but now I think I might actually like it. And I certainly have respect for what they do. Their performances were so smooth and quick and very artistic. Tuesday after work, I headed home for a quick treadmill run and a shower, and later that night I joined Trevor, Philip, Ryan & Jae for homemade pizza at Ryan & Jae's! It was nice to sit on a couch and just hang out with friends. We watched the women's short program and were so happy that Joannie Rochette pulled out such a great performance in the face of her mother's death Sunday. Work has slowed considerably, as most people have already picked up their orders. Still, the stress of working 40 days in a row is gettin

A Weekend in Vancouver with Mom & Dad

This weekend was all about the food! When Mom & Dad arrived Thursday, I took them for lunch to PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tasty)for Montreal smoked-meat sandwiches. We've been eating here all the time since I arrived, and I used my VIP card to get us pre-Olympic pricing! I had a Reuben sandwich--delicious! Friday we ate dinner at Habit (see previous post.) Saturday night Mom & Dad cooked dinner at the apartment and I came home to home-cooked chicken, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, salad, bread, and butterscotch pudding. It was like being in Millbury again! The Germany-Belarus game was very exciting, with 5 points being scored in the 3rd (final) period if I recall correctly. Mom & Dad went to bed, and I met some of the guys out for a few. Sunday, Mom & Dad met me for lunch and we went to a little storefront here in Yaletown for palateable food served by incompetent servers. Fortunately, I'd made a reservation for Sunday dinner to treat my parents to Coast , recommende

Dick & Barb Do the Olympics

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Mom & Dad arrived Thursday at noon and stopped by my office to say hi. They wandered the city a bit, and then I sent them off to Pacific Coliseum to catch the Men's Figure Skating Long Program. Trevor and I had to finish up some things at our respective jobs, so we arrived a little later. During a break, we saw Katarina Witt and Viktor Petrenko in the Olympic Family area (from a distance - we didn't have access.) We saw the last half of the competition, including Evan Lysacek's Gold Medal-Winning routing, and Evgeny Plushenko's powerful routine and arrogant antics. He held up Number One fingers at the end, and when he went to take the podium, he climbed onto the Bronze platform, over the Gold platform, and onto his Silver platform, where he belonged. After the presentation of the medals, he left the picture-taking in the media area to rip off his medal and storm out of the arena in advance of his competitors. Trevor and I tried to get our picture with the Swiss skat

The Games Have Begun!

Friday night, February 12, I fought back the disappointment as all but 5 of my team took off for the Opening Ceremony. The 5 of us remaining worked to help customers while our office was open until 10pm. After that long day, I went home to shower and watch the Ceremony. I'd recorded it on DVR. My favorite parts were the Olympic Anthem, sung by a fierce opera singer, and Hallelujah, KD Lang's powerhouse performance. I fast-forwarded through the Athlete's parade. In Beijing, I remember I met a friend for a drink outsided during that long procession. Saturday, Nick arrived, and the Olympics began to redeem my disappointment and exhaustion. Nick and I went to Short Track Speed Skating at the Pacific Coliseum and saw Apollo Ono win a silver medal in an exciting match where 2 Korean racers fell and hit the ice! After the event, Nick and I had an amazing feast at Cobre ! We called it a night, and after I worked and Nick wandered around on Sunday, we went to Pairs Skating Short Pro

An Exciting Week

Sunday morning I got up and boarded a flight to Seattle. From there, I hopped on another jet to LAS VEGAS! I was finally taking part in my first Gap Field Leadership Conference! When I arrived, I checked in with Gap and The Mirage, and strolled down the strip with Jeff to shop at The Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. Troy and I took a jog on the treadmill, then showered and met Gina in the lobby for a drink. We hopped a cab to New York, New York, where we had dinner at the Italian restaurant and saw Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity. Monday, we were in meetings all day, and the General Session began at 5:30pm with an address by our inspiring Vice President of Store Operations, Barbara Cook. Jeff (my roommate and former boss) and my old store manager Shannon, had been selected to be a part of the surprise fashion show, a presentation of Summer 2010, starring Gap General Managers as the models! It was great! Then Gap had reserved the Jet Night Club at the Mirage for our exclusive use for

Work is Going Well

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Sunrise is Different Every Morning! Well, I've been here 2 weeks now! I've been pretty focused on work, and it's going well. We had some long days in the beginning, but now we're coming in at 9am and usually getting out at 8pm. I stop by Starbucks every morning for a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte, and lunch is usually a sandwich from PHAT (Pretty Hot And Tasty,) where they serve Montreal Smoked Meat, flown in daily from Schwarz's in Montreal. The sandwiches are pretty darn good! Last weekend was pretty low key. I hung out at friends of my friend Trevor on Friday and Saturday night. Sunday, I had brunch at Provence with Julia, shopped a bit downtown, and we came in to work because the website was going live for more ticket sales. My roommate Frank arrived Sunday, and he was at the apartment when I got home, so we caught up a bit before going to bed. Frank was with us in Beijing. Last night, I met Trevor for dinner at Moxie&

My First Weekend in Vancouver

After the terrible flight to Seattle with large/loud man, I hopped on a 16-seat puddle jumper plane to Vancouver. It was barely half an hour before I was off-boarding in Vancouver, where the sun was peeking through the clouds. Just a few minutes after that, I was in a long line to check in with the Immigration Officer, who, after I told her the truth about why I was here, sent me to the Immigration Office, where, after waiting in another long line, I was told that the paperwork for my Work Permit was not ready, and I was to be released to return to the airport before Monday at 3pm. They seized my passport to ensure my return, and told me that if I did not return by 3pm Monday, a warrant would be issued for my return. Cool! So three hours after landing, I was on the new Canada Line, the train from the airport. I was headed to North Vancouver, where Leslie would pick me up, so I took the Canada Line to the Waterfront, hopped on a SeaBus (ferry) to the other side of the bay. Leslie picked

Though I Love to Travel, I Hate to Sit Next to People

I'm amazed at what people will reveal to those seated around them on an airplane, usually without being asked to bare their soul. The first leg of my trip to Vancouver today was a United Airlines flight from O'Hare to Seattle. B dropped me off at the airport at 7am (Thank you!,) and shortly thereafter I was boarding the plane. I was seated next to a 6'3" 250 pound man who declared when I put the armrest down that "the seats must have gotten smaller! Or I need to lose some weight!" Unfortunately, he didn't really fit in the middle seat assigned to him, so every time, throughout our four-hour flight, that he put his arm back at his side, he elbowed me in the ribs. I had the aisle seat, and after I put on my headphones, he chose our window-side seatmate to strike up a conversation. He's a "real estate investor," dressed in sweats and carrying a "Make Millions in Real Estate" self-help book, on his way to make connections and secure hi