Got my Oympic acreditation

Monday was a crazy day because it started at 2am in the morning with 100 k winds and the power going out - five times before it finally failed. All the big ferries were canceled (the run from Gabriola to Nanaimo is more sheltered and was just running late). As it happens the float planes started running again first and although the flight was more than a bit bumpy in a 6 seater beaver I got to Vancouver for lunch with Claire. Coming across the strait and flying into Vancouver harbour over the mountains is an amazing trip that I could do over and over again. After getting accredited and outfitted in my mountain uniform I had the opportunity to visit the Main Press Centre for the Olympics. it was very interesting and it was great to meet some of the Whistler team and the photo managers. They seem like a good bunch and the humor reminded me of OR humor at its best. The MPC is much like a small town with everything a print journalist could want including a shopping mall, bank, massage room and food court, to say nothing of 600 work stations and about 200 photo-editing suites. All the camera companies have facilities to fix camera/lens and they have the latest "stuff" to loan the photographers to try it out - long lenses etc. The big agencies - Reuters, Getty etc have seperate private spaces. The 2600 reporters could actually cover the games without leaving the building. All of the main spaces have the names of Islands in the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia), the main press conference room is Gabriola. When or if you watch the Olympics you will see the mountain backdrop of Vancouver fairly frequently. Just think of me up at the top of the mountain at the biathlon course with the press photographers. PS WOP on the badge stands for Whistler Olympic Park.