'And oh, it's like cleaning up after an orgy when it's over...'

(a lyric by Them Crooked Vultures that I think is fitting for the way Vancouver probably looks today)


I made a conscious decision to hold back posting about the Olympics until the break was over and I could think about the 17 days that the 'world' was here as a whole. I also made a conscious decision that I would avoid Vancouver entirely (though I did attempt to catch the Colin James show last Monday, but that didn't work out) for the span of the Olympics, based on a couple reasons. The main reason being that the only crowds I can ever handle comfortably are usually concert crowds, and the last time I went to the closing night of the fireworks I enjoyed the event but felt so trapped in that sea of (drunk) people. This may come off as antisocial and that's probably fair, but I thought I'd enjoy the Olympics from a distance, using word of mouth and media coverage to connect me to the event without having to throw elbows to get down Granville Street. I do regret not experiencing the 'buzz' and mingling with people from all over the place, but I'm in an interesting position to comment on the Olympics, having experienced it through the eyes and opinions of others. Also, I'm a lot more interested in what Vancouver may look like today in contrast to a week ago and I plan to do a bit of a walk-a-bout sometime this week to survey the aftermath of the 'world' having it's way with our city.

The analogy that I used in the months going into the Olympics was that, at least from my point of view, it seemed like the Olympic committee was a nervous mother running around preparing for a dinner party and making everything look perfect even though the house is a mess on a day to day basis, and we, the kids, are just rolling our eyes waiting for it to be over. This isn't to discount the fact that lots of people were really excited about the events, the analogy is more to highlight the fact that the Vancouver that all our visitors witnessed doesn't really exist and even those coming to the dinner party know that the house is never this clean (we can put away the fancy dishes now and go back to paper plates, everyone) What amuses me is that those that experienced Vancouver for the first time in the past two weeks will possibly come back and may not even recognize it as the same city, but it's a case of 'only time will tell' to see where Vancouver goes from here and how this historical event will effect us in the years to come.

More to come in my second Olympic post about the coverage I experienced from a distance, from friends and the media...