Whistler: Day 2
5 February 2010
My second day was a lot slower than my first, so I was able to take a better look at who and what is around me. But first, I think I'd better explain some things for the less-informed.
What I'm doing in Whistler is volunteering as a Chaplain Coordinator in the Multi-Faith Centre. I'm basically an admin assistant (but let's be honest, I'm a secretary with a cool uniform) and my job is to make sure everyone who comes through our doors finds what they're looking for. This could be a specific religious service, someone to pray with/for them or simply someone to talk to when things get stressful. We're open to both athletes and volunteers and the Multi-Faith Centre caters to the five major religions: Budhhism, Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant), Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
We're located down the hall from the DVD Lounge, where athletes can "rent" movies or watch sporting events on the available TVs. We get a lot of athletes looking for the Lounge because of the cross-country events going on in Canmore, AB right now! One Swiss athlete, when Kathy said "You can find God here, but no TVs," replied "That's important... but not right now!"
Getting into the Village is pretty cool right now -- soon it will become one of those daily routines you complain about, but still think it's amazing deep, deep down :)
First, you have to get to Function Junction.
You go through the Security tent -- your ID tag gets scanned, your jacket and belongings get x-rayed and you walk through the metal detectors. Very Airport-y, except that the security guards are cheerful and happy to be there!
After Security, you get on a shuttle bus that takes you to the Check-In tent, where you get your ID scanned again and, if you're a volunteer like me, you get a little card with numbers on it to track your shifts. Every so often, instead of a number, there is Mukmuk (a Vancouver Island marmot and the Mascots' pet) which means you get a pin for your lanyard! The first one you get is on your third shift (tomorrow for me!)
Exit the tent after grabbing some water & our daily newsletter (if you want) and walk to your building!
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Day 2 was full of phone calls about meal tickets & part passes and a lot of down time. Kathy and I drove from our condo and arrived at 8 as Msgr Jerry was setting up for Mass. Because the athletes & volunteers are still arriving and getting settled, no one was expected for it. Kathy and Msgr Jerry talked instead, while I got started on my office-y stuff... like my Facebook post. I also made up a phone list in Excel, so no judging, ok? I also spent a lot of time emailing David, our coordinator (remember him from yesterday?), who is still picking up chaplains from the airport and getting them settled and accredited in Vancouver about contact info and schedules. Very exciting stuff, for sure.
Nick, another of our chaplains, arrived for the morning shift and went on a Village tour with Kathy. A few people came in to look around, but were gone by the time I realised anyone had come through our door. (My office is right next to the front door, but my door is situated in such a way that I can't see the other door... Most people just pop their heads in and keep going down the hall, so it's not easy to jump up in time to welcome them if I'm the only one here. Also, because of where power outlets and phone jacks are, I have to face away from my door. I'll have photos of my office at some point.) Anyways, Nick will be leading worship on Sunday -- I'm pretty excited for that. It's been awhile since I've been to church on a Sunday!! I like Nick; he has 5 kids and still has the willpower to have hobbies. Right now, he's knitting a toque! Very nice guy, easy to talk to... but he likes spiders. Sorry Nick, I don't think we can be friends anymore... While we were talking, he and I talked about pets and how attached people can become to them. He said that, in a survey of pet owners, the majority of people said that if they saw their pet and a stranger drowning and could only save one, they'd save their pet. My first reaction would definitely be to save my animal, but I couldn't say for sure if that would be my final decision. It was an interesting thing to think about. Dave Klassen, a chaplain with Athletes in Action, a sports-based ministry, was in as well. We got along pretty quickly and it wasn't long til we started picking on each other for fun.
At lunch, Kathy & I went to the dining hall and had Shepherd's Pie. When I went to get ketchup (fancy ketchup, from McDonalds), I got an unexpected back rub from someone who thought I was someone else! "You're not Vera!" said a very embarrassed volunteer. "No, but my glasses are," I replied. I have Vera Wang frames. This guy and I talked for a bit in the lineup, then I got my ketchup and went back to my table. Kathy was now surrounded by hungry policemen (from the OPP - Ontario Provincial Police) on one side and starving firefighters (from Whistler/Squamish) on the other. Behind us were chefs that hadn't seen daylight til then. We spent the meal joking and laughing with everyone around us, especially the firefighters! I explained what the MFC was, when they asked, and there must have been some kind of inside joke because they all burst out laughing when one guy asked if there was a priest available for confession. Later on, they were joking about each sneaking a piece of fruit out of the hall to take home. "We'll have a real nice fruit basket by the end of the day!" The guy who asked about the priest turned to me and said, "Uhhh, I have a confession to make..!" We laughed at that so loudly that other tables turned to see what was going on.
After lunch, we returned to the MFC to find the afternoon shift of chaplains, including a Hindu man. He's quite nice, but very hard to understand. Lorraine (the other admin) and I got cornered in our office when he came in to complain about the buses. Apparently, the night before, his bus to Lonsdale Quay from here did not leave at 4:30, as advertised, but at 6:00 instead. And then this morning, the driver drove right by the entrance to the Athletes' Village and went straight to Whistler. Also, he was hungry and wanted his meal voucher. "Now would be nice, please." I have no control over any of this, nor does Lorraine. So.... suck it up and deal with the tics and glitches in the system til they get sorted out. Not everyone's job is simple or easy.
Once my shift was done, Kathy & I planned to see the torch go by the Village on its way to Whistler. We walked through to the front of the main village and saw no shuttles, so we walked. Actually, we ran, because we'd spent a lot of time recapping the day with the afternoon chaplains and Dave prayed for us before we left. When we got to the main gates, everyone said we'd missed the torch! Turns out they were wrong. Five minutes later, we got to see Don Taylor (you know, that guy from Sportsnet Pacific! Everybody knows Don Taylor..!) running with the torch up Highway 99. It was great!
Next, we headed straight across the highway to Function Junction's retail areas to see if we could find some kind of decoration for the MFC so it's not just bare walls. We didn't find anything, but Kathy may have found a couch to buy! And I traded my life savings for camera batteries. When I went to take photos in the morning, the batteries died. I was not amused.
When we got home, we took a nap before leaving to see the cauldron in Whistler being lit. During our naps, the owners of the condo came home. Don't worry -- we knew they were coming, but not when. Needless to say, Kathy was quite surprised when they turned the light on in her room! We talked with them for awhile, then headed to Whistler to see the events up there. We missed the cauldron lighting, but we did see the speeches and small ceremony after. It was all at one end of the village and we saw it on a giant screen at the other end... We weren't sure where anything was! Later, we met up with Kathy's sister, Laurie, who is also an Olympian! The resemblance between the two Kreiners is amazing! I got a photo with Gordon Campbell, who is going to stop by the MFC to check it out and visit with us. "I'll need it!" he said. It seemed like every time we turned around, we ran into someone who knows Kathy -- it was great! I met two former Olympic curlers, Canadians; one of them ran with the torch earlier.
I met up with Kris for dinner & a beer... We went to the Mongolie Grill and had a great time. It was so much fun to catch up. We wandered the Whistler Village for a bit, then met up with Kathy & Laurie again and headed home around 10:45.
I was asleep almost immediately... I'd been up since 6:15 am!