Erin Go Braugh! Slainte!

This was the first year since I was in Australia that Katie and I have been apart for St. Patty's Day (and even then I had friends with me) :( And last year certainly topped the list of amazing St. Patrick's Days. So this year I meandered into The Corner Bar in Vancouver and found myself a great little place to celebrate. Between Roger, the two Irishmen, Paul and Mick and the Aussie Simon, my glass was always full, a smile on my face and good Irish entertainment the entire time.

But St. Patty's Day is pretty simple... drink and have fun!

Well my St. Patrick's Day was not celebrated quite like usual. It usually consists of lots and lots of beer starting around noon. It's definitely my drunkest day of the year. And by about 5pm I'm ready for a quick cat nap to only start drinking again. Ahhh, I love this holiday!! So it's easy to see that Kel and I celebrate this holiday 100% and with a lot of passion...last St. Patty's proved that! lol

This year was the complete opposite, but I had a lot of fun! My friend Danielle and I decided to make an Irish dish. Chicken with cabbage and bacon and BOXTY!! aka potato pancakes. Delish! It was good company and good eats. And later we watched "P.S. I Love You", which made me want to go to Ireland even more....


Anyways, the best holiday never disappoints no matter what you do! And when you're among the Irish you're bound to have a good time!

Won't You Be My 'Neighbour'...and ride the ZipLine With Me?

Being as I've been a weekend warrior because the transit is so cheap then, I decided that I would check out a Wheelchair Curling event during the Paralympic Games. The place was only half full so I got to stand when I wanted and was really pretty darn comfy.

Katie, I was alright as far as commentating went...Robin, who MC's the World Cup series sat next to me and kept me up to speed the entire time. He even told me who everyone was and what they were like and pretty much anything and everything he could to keep talking to me. He was cheering for Switzerland and was rooting for Norway to win against Canada. I'm still trying to figure that one out! There was no doubt in my mind Canada had the game!

Mr. Rogers came about when Darryl Neighbour made a good play and the gentleman next to me stood up and yelled out "Won't you be my neighbour?!" It was a classic moment, kind of like amazing punch lines that occur in the moment. But it was a tight game and it came down to Canada's last rock that blocked out Norways final curl. The energy was awesome!

Although I don't remember what I did directly after curling, I know I ended up in line at the Zip Line at Robson Square. It was worth the wait! Especially when I coaxed Alexi from Montreal into staying in line and doing it with me! So much more fun when you do things with other people, even if you've only just met them in line!

One inspires many...

Well, I'm on my own now out in BC (well without Katie anyway)...left to my own devices, can't sit still, gotta check stuff out...

My plan for the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies was to watch them from a pavillion downtown after going on the zipline. Well, instead of doing that, I listened to the woman on the bus, made myself a little sign,

held it up and said with a big smile on my face, "Anybody have an extra ticket?" It took me less than a minute to find a ticket for the right price!

'One inspires many' is the motto for the Paralympic Games and I believe it is true. It alwasy starts with one person, one thought, one dream or vision, one action and then somewhere it becomes something great. It would have been tres cool if Katie had been able to stay out here! Then again, I wouldn't have gotten the ticket I did if there were two of us....I guess it's all perfect the way it is!

We believe!

I really have no idea what to write for this post. This video is a montage of 17 days of absolute amzingness. Looking back at those two weeks is like looking at a mosaic of hundreds of pictures...a bit of a blur.

Words can't describe what it was like to be here, to be Canadian and to have the privelage of hosting the world. The Olympics is about sport, and it's also about peace through sport. The energy the Olympics carries with it, even the torch relay back in December in Leamington, is something that is unexplainable.

The Olympics are a feeling for me now. Bigger than sport, bigger than a gold medal; it's a feeling in my heart I'll always carry with me.

It's believing...

Seeing Gold!!!

As Canada took to the ice in the final Gold Medal match against the USA there was a calm confidence among the city and all it's people. I think everyone in the country said a hockey prayer and left it up to the hockey Gods having complete faith in a positive outcome.

After a heart wrenching end to the third period, we all took a collective breath and said, "Alright, let's do this!" AND WE DID!!! In an unassuming Canadian way, I feel as a country, we just knew we would win that game...we believed!!! It was just our time, for this gold and every other gold we got over the games. It was time for Canada to shine, to claim ourselves a spot amongst the top in the world and to fight for a sport that runs like blood through our veins.

It was truly a uniting moment for us, as Canadians, as hockey fans, as a country; a full circle moment and at the end of that game, there were tears of joy and pride and high fives at every turn!

One thing I know for sure is that a goal scored by Sidney Crosby led to a medal of Gold and a new era for Canada post Vancouver 2010...words cannot describe the emotions and footage will never do it justice. As Canadians we all know what we felt and it felt DAMN GOOD! GO CANADA GO!

HARD! HARD!...WHOA,..whoaaaaa...

Kel and I attended the Bronze Medal match for Women's Curling. We've never watched it live and, well, never actually understood the game. lol. But after we caught on it was a great time and surprisingly pretty intense. Although we were cheering for Switzerland, China won bronze respectfully. All in all a great morning. The highlight:seeing Quatchi!!

Later that day we watched the Canadian women snag silver and watched the Men's Canadian Hockey Team overtake Slovakia. It was an intense last 5 minutes but we held on. Go Canada!!