I’m a covetous person by nature. I like things – pretty, shiny, cute, useful, throbbing. Of all the things, there are very few I actually need– but my want list is large and greedy and usually unobtainable. Some of the things I want make sense: an iMac and a Pentax K20D. I like gadgets, see, and those are two gadgets I do not currently own. I’m well aware that I already HAVE a computer – or 7 – but I’d like an iMac so I can make full use of my new discovery (I’m not afraid of Photoshop anymore!). I also have a camera (okay, 3 cameras) – but the K20 is better than all of them put together. These are logical, if wholly unnecessary, things to want.

Other things I want are less easy to come by. This is the complicated list: I want a pug and a Jeep. Difficult, but not impossible – after all, I once had a Vespa 250 on that list, and a house. I got both of those things; why would I not assume that I will eventually get the others? I may not have the patience needed to wait, but I have the gift of glib and an amazing ability to justify out loud.

Some things I want, however, will not be as easy as relinquishing my iron will over my credit cards. These are the impossible, the fanciful, the never-gonna-happen-without-bending-the-laws-of-physics kind of wishes made idly while lying naked in nest of damp laundry and covered in pudding:

I want an entire outfit made of the same material as the pants worn by Azerbaijan in the Vancouver Olympics Opening Ceremony.

taken by zanthinegirl

These are amazing. I yearn for these pants. I was excited when I saw them on TV, but that excitement rose to a fever pitch when they showed a close-up: the pants are paisley, man. I LOVE paisley.

taken by zanthinegirl

Azerbaijan ROCKED the ceremony with their outfit, blowing the rest of the world away with style and aplomb. I am jealous that I’ll never be able to get my hands on some Azerbaijanian Glory without going back in time, taking up a sport, mastering it, and relocating to wherever the heck Azerbaijan with enough time to be declared a citizen and qualify to compete at the Olympics. It breaks my heart just a little to think about what could have been, if only. I love you, Azerbaijan Pants. Please be mine.

I’m also kind of coveting the uniform worn by Team Russia – I love the red and yellow swirlie things. Yesterday we saw a Team Russia SUV decked out in swirlies and the Sochi 2014 mascot, and it looked really cool. I’m thinking about visiting the HBC Hellhole downtown to see what they’ve got for Team Russia – I’m not holding my breath that they bothered to stock the amazing Azerbaijan Pants – but it depends on how long the line is. I’m fickle, and I hate crowds. I’m not even remotely Russian, not even a little – but I find the accent sexy, so that has to count for something.

I really wish I had known how exciting this would all be: I’d have taken some time off work so I could experience all that the city has to offer. I’d love to be able to bring more coverage of the crazy things going on with my own unique flavour, but by the time I’m done the work day I just don’t have the energy to hunt out the fun. It’s kind of making me sad – this would have been a great opportunity to expand my content (because there’s SO LITTLE OF IT), but I just didn’t know.

Next time the Olympics come to Vancouver, I’ll be ALL OVER IT.

Although I haven’t been to any sporting events or venues, I’ve still gone to a couple events. The first was the ill-fated dress rehearsal before the Olympics even started, and while I managed to keep my promise of not sharing any secrets (you have no idea how much it pained me to not say a damn thing about the four enormous ice  boners erecting from the floor), I still got an update or two out of it. Last night was another first – I was there for the medal ceremony where Alexandre Bilodeau received his gold medal for Men’s Moguls. I’d never been to anything like that before, and it was amazing – the place went wild, and it seemed that every person in attendance was screaming for joy. Hearing a crowd of 20,000 singing O Canada is pretty unbelievable – I sang along with the rest, completely caught up in the moment. It was really something else, and I’m so glad I got to be there. We often laugh at patriotism and seem somewhat ashamed at admitting pride for your home country, but there it is – I love Canada and being Canadian, and I couldn’t be happier for the successes had at these games.

Even if I think Team Russia’s uniforms are prettier than ours.

medal ceremony for men's moguls

pride of the nation

You know, I’ve never blogged from a Winter Olympics medal ceremony before – especially one where Canada is getting a gold medal on home soil

Oh, wait.

THIS IS AWESOME!

I have my camera out and EVERYTHING and no one is kicking me out! Okay, none of my friends will sit with me – they’re all in row O and I’m the only seat in row N – but Olympics! In Vancouver! Gold medal! Guy in a hoop! An upside down girl wearing sexy PJs! This is so cool!

I love my friends – Reilly, Miranda, Josh and especially Shan – thank you for sharing this with me!

French people are crooning passionately at us!

The Olympics are like a 2-week orgy for people who are into pin collecting. There have been hundreds if not thousands of different pins – some Olympic-themed, some not – created for the sole purpose of distribution and trade amongst the rabid masses. I do enjoy collecting things (if it’s small and cute, chances are I have a collection of it somewhere), but I’ve never really been into the whole pin thing. Standing in line for hours for free crap seems like an epic waste of time to me, and a little greedy – I’ve seen how crazy some people get when free things are on the line. I love swag as much as the next person, but I’m not going to humiliate myself just to get a free t-shirt or bottle of water.

That being said, these are really cool:

shiny!

The black Gastown pin is courtesy of the Gastown Blog, but the two red ones are from the Apple store in Pacific Centre. They’re free; you just have to ask an employee for a set. I actually didn’t even need to ask – I went to the mall at lunch and arrived just as they were handing them out to people as they walked in. Score! They’re very cute and not covered in ugly text or logos. Word on the street (the street being Twitter) is that the Apple store in Oakridge Mall is giving out a different pin altogether, so if you’re into this whole “collecting” thing you may want to get over there soon as I imagine supplies are limited.

There are a few pin trading events going on during the Olympics, so if you’re really into this you should keep an eye out. The Fluevog store in Gastown also seems to be getting into the game – now these, I want. They’re exactly the kind of pin I collect for my jar:

this jar has actually been replaced with one twice as big, and is almost full

I may not be attending any sporting events during the Olympics, but I somehow still get to go to all the good stuff.

Cypress Mountain offered a special deal to people willing to buy passes to the shortened season: live with the fact that you can’t use the hills for all of February, and get two tickets to a Victory Celebration. Josh, Shan and Reilly all bought season passes, and collected a total of 6 tickets. They asked if all the tickets could be for the same night (you weren’t allowed to specify which night you wanted; they were distributed at random), and were given 6 for the one night where the performer hadn’t been announced yet: February 15th.

Not knowing who was performing was a minor bone of contention as we scoured the internet for any clue. The 15th is Quebec night, but VANOC didn’t necessarily stick to the celebration province when picking performers. As of right now, we still have no idea who will be the musical guest this evening.

Then again, who cares – we get to attend the ceremony that will give Canada the first gold medal earned on home soil.

WOOOOHOOOOO!

It’s funny – I don’t give most of a damn about sports of any kind, but there’s something seriously fantastic about watching your country kick some ass surrounded by friends. We all watched Alexandre Bilodeau win last night, and we cheered as though we had any idea what we were looking at; as if we understood the rules and scoring and minor mistakes made by others that gave Bilodeau the glory. We were totally into it, and all our natural cynicism was set aside to be truly excited for the skinny guy on skis who is apparently better than the rest of them. It was awesome.

And tonight, the night where medals for only one event are being awarded and for all we know Nickelback could be headlining, we get to be there in person as they raise our flag and Canada gets their first home-grown gold medal. I could not be more excited and thrilled that I get to go – even the thought of the national anthem (the proper one) being played and sung by thousands is making this snarky hipster nerd a little choked up with emotions.

I haven’t yet had much time to join my city in Olympic celebration, but that all changes tonight. I’ll be spending much of this week downtown, standing in lines with the best of them – I think I almost understand what this is all about, and I choose to cast off the shackles of jaded oppression and throw myself into the party. GO CANADA GO!

Internet Olympic Hilarity: Renee happened to be on the Wiki page for the silver medalist from Australia, and captured this seconds after Canada won and seconds before it was removed:

oh snap! (click for big)