I'm en route...

So I was on the radio on Friday morning! Live 88.5 in Ottawa. I love the radio bits because the public can’t see how red your face is getting…

I’ll be doing regular updates on Live 88.5, so stay tuned to the station to hear me live!

So, I’m actually on the plane (on my way to Vancouver for training) writing this; trying to keep my mind off how anxious I am and wondering how long this bump on my forehead will last. Yes, I have (what I think looks like) a massive bump over my left eyebrow, which I’m sure, will develop into a solid bruise by the end of the day.

So how, may you ask, did I get this bump? Well in my hurry to get myself to sleep last night (as I had a 7am flight this morning), I ran into my kitchen, turned off the light (which is directly over my kitchen table and chairs), then remembered that I had to get my cell phone out of my purse – which was directly in between my legs. You know that initial blindness you get when you turn out the lights? Takes your eyes a couple of seconds to get your “night eyes”? Well….I didn’t wait for those eyes to kick in and just rifled down to reach for my phone. My forehead was then swiftly met by the top of my kitchen chair. So I expect to be donning a bruise that looks much like Bert’s (from Bert and Ernie) uni-brow. I was so tired at this point that I whimpered out something that sounded like a soft cry, mixed in with some delirious giggles. Awesome start! I can hear people now….”who’s the chick with the uni-bruise?”.

So at this point in my journey (about a half and hour away from touchdown in Vancouver), I thought I’d let you know how I’m feeling. Anxious, excited, scared, curious, and tired, yet very confident. There is so much “new” with this job. New organization, new people….lot’s of new people, new standards to set, and a new energy to feel.

I want to talk about the energy for a second. The Olympics doesn’t happen every year – I mean our last Olympics was in 1988. I was 8 years old and had not yet experienced the thrill of competition in sport. Now, having watched many Olympics on T.V., cried during medal ceremonies as soon as they started to play ANY national anthem, and having had the experience of being a high level athlete (well, I still like to think that I am – even at 30!), the Olympics are so much more then just competition. It’s a chance to really see and feel our country; the dedication and prowess of our competitors, the empathy and support of the locals for every athlete – not just their own, the feeling that all Canadians are rooting for the same team (as we seem to have strong rivalries between our Canadian sport teams), and ultimately a chance to show the world the best of ourselves. So what’s that energy going to feel like?

I’ll let ya know!!