Ciao Torino

Now that the Olympics are over, what news results will I obsessively search for to distract myself at work? I am so pleased we came away with 24 medals. Just last Monday I was being all negative and wondering if we could top SLC. And even without the coveted men's hockey gold, a lot of other athletes got to shine in their well deserved spotlight without being overshadowed by h-0-c-k-e-y.
So sadly, today I deleted my CBC Olympic Newsticker from my desktop and I feel oh so ... empty.
Yesterday's closing ceremonies were interesting and I admit that I didn't watch all of them, only the relevant parts featuring Canada and Andrea Bocelli who has the voice of an angel. I had tears in my eyes listening to him sing. Can we give him honorary Canadian citizenship so he can sing for us in 2010? Perhaps David Foster will compose another Olympic opus for us too?

So, that was some spectacular 8 minute tribute to Canada.. er, .. Vancouver. Seriously, advertise the city of Vancouver please, not all of Canada. I saw a lot of stereotypical crap (like hockey players and a bunch of other people aimlessly running around) which I guess is the best we can pull out for the limited amount of showcase time. I was confused by a lot of things but I did enjoy the native invitation extended by the Musqueam and Squamish representatives as well as the fact that Avril Lavigne got cleaned up and sang an occasion appropriate song.
However, I still don't appreciate that ridiculous inukshuk logo which has nothing to do with the native groups of the Lower Mainland. And it looks juvenile. It seems more like a mascot than a logo. There had to have been other designs that were more attractive and more representative of Vancouver which is one reason why I refuse to take down the Olympic bid logo at the bottom of my sidebar. I think it represents everything that Vancouver used to sell itself AND Whistler, let's not forget about that important location, to the IOC. They should've just stuck with that. I suppose in the end it won't really matter, but for now, there are 4 years of stress and cost overruns to get through in order to make things look effortless for two weeks in 2010. The cost of the modern Olympics hardly seem worth it, but if you have attractive Olympic gear, that will solve all problems. Has Tu Ly been hired to design for that yet? Last week I bought one of those Olympic white snowboarding hats with the red maple leaves and braids. That hat is so damn cute... it just looks good on everyone. Definitely a good design.
Oh ... and a side note about Canadian Olympic gear -- it is now 20% off at the Bay, so go and get your gear unless they are out of stock and then in that case order it online. There is free shipping to the Bay closest to you, where you can then pick up your order!

Well, this is enough reflection on Olympiad XX and procrastinating for today. I'm going to go look for a warm corner to sleep in until it is time to go home.