Saturday Feb, 20th, 2010
What a day, not sure what the temperature was but it had to be at least 15C. Again today I had to walk a little further to catch the bus, as they were on the weekend schedule. Once I get into the City in the morning it is so nice, the city is just waking up and the view is beautiful and you can really appreciate the beauty of the river and the mountains before the huge crowds take over the city. Leaving tonight was crazy, never been in a city so busy. the Sky trains were jammed packed.
Every morning before we begin our shift we meet in the debriefing room. We get a little motivation talk from the supervisors but in a really fun way and lots of thanks from different groups. There is usually a few trivia questions and prizes for the right answers, usually a pin or sometime tickets. My job today was so much fun, I was a ticket scanner. Not as easy as it sounds when there are hundreds of anxious fans trying to get in. Once I got the hang of the scanner it went quite well, there were some that were not allowed entry, either they had the wrong tickets or they had already been scanned. Some were genuine mistakes a few others were questionable tickets. Apparently the schemers have figured a way to sell void tickets to the unsuspecting public. Vanoc has caught on to this and are waiting for the next scheme that they will come up with, they are always trying to be one step ahead but it is not always easy. Anyway the day went by so quickly, as there are 3 games most days, so it is hectic. It is really amazing to see how organized the entire process is: out with one group in with the next. Between games there are crews of people cleaning re-stocking, re programming the tickets scanners, writing, coping and delivering recaps of the games to give to all the media, preparing the ice concession stands, wash rooms cleaned and lots more. It all happens so fast but when the gates open for the next game you would never know that 16,000 or so had just left then the same thing all over for the third game.
The fans from Latvia are so much fun, two guys tried to convience me that one was a pilot and flew in on his private plane, possible but they were only having fun.
Another great part of this job is the people you meet and talk to, today I was working with a girl from Beconsfield, then later in the day you are
talking to people from Latvia and having a great laugh with them.
walked around a bit after my shift and being Saturday night and beautiful day the crowds were insane.
Tomorrow is a another busy day: Canada vs US. It is also Canada day for the volunteers, we are encouraged to wear our red mitte4ns, and there is a Canada day lunch for the workers. There will also be prizes awarded out during the day for various contests.
Look for me at the game tomorrow I am the one with the blue jacket and red mitts.
Notes; Prie of gas here $1.11