London 2012, Photo Edition

Here are a fraction of my photos from London 2012! I'm sticking 'em under a "read more," because, holy cow, there are a lot of them.

The view of Olympic Park from Westfield Mall.

From Russia With Love

While London 2012 is obviously amazing, the winter Olympics are totally my thing. And because there was nothing doing on my last morning in London, I decided to take the opportunity to get myself excited about Sochi 2014 by visiting Sochi.Park, a fun little set-up in Kensington Gardens. It had to be a quick visit, though, since my travel time is so long and I had to get myself there and back and then to Heathrow to catch my flight. The website said it didn't open until 10 am, so my plan was to be the first one through the door and get out of there by 11.

It took me a little while to find it -- I should've gone to a different tube stop than I did, but all that mistake did was give me a walk through a really beautiful section of Hyde Park I'd never seen before. I spent a few minutes looking at the pretty pictures of Russian scenery that were displayed outside (and sounding out words in the descriptions written in Russian!) before walking up to security... only to find out that they weren't open yet. LAME. They told me it'd be another 10-15 minutes before they'd be letting people in. By the time they did open it was almost 10:30 and I was stressing out a little, but then I got inside and... time no longer mattered. Oh man, it was glorious.

It started off with a short video about "the new Russia" and the Olympics, which was more than enough to get me excited for 2014, and then we were led into a room about the Krasnodar region of Russia where we could play some Wii-like games and get free stuff. That led us into a room built to look like the interior of a train station and exterior of a train going to Sochi's Olympic Park -- then you walk into the train, where there's info about transportation in the area; apparently the Sochi City airport is brand new, and there are lots of new railroad lines, and the train journey from Olympic Park to the ski village is going to be free during Games time. After exiting through the back of the "train," there's a room dedicated to Sochi's sponsors, primarily a technology company. I thought it'd be awful and corporate, but there was actually REALLY cool stuff in there! There were all these interactive Olympics-related games along the walls, and I played one that's a Russian/English translator quiz. It was four questions and I completely guessed on all of them, but I got two right and it told me I'm almost fluent in Russian! Haha, what a liar! :P But I'll take the praise, I guess! There was also a luge simulator and the opportunity to put on some Sochi athletic gear and take pictures in it. So I posed with a snowboard and in a bobsled, because why not? My willingness to look ridiculous earned me a friend in the Russian girl who was in charge of decking me out in the equipment.

Then there was a "4-D movie experience," which was pretty neat, followed by a room about Russia and sponsored by a beer company. Hah. I think there were some technical difficulties going on in there when I arrived, and the working part of it was pretty crowded, and by now I really needed to get myself out of there, so I pretty much went straight through and found myself in the gift shop. It's a good thing everything was too expensive for me (including the keychains), because everything was SO PRETTY! I'm as blown away by the Sochi graphics and color scheme as I am iffy about those of London. They're so beautiful, and so appropriately Russian. I can't wait to start stocking up on Sochi 2014 souvenirs!

In case you haven't realized, my experience at Sochi.Park switched my thinking from "it'd be pretty cool to go to the Olympics in Sochi" to "...yeah, okay, this has to happen." So the Darci Needs To Go To Sochi 2014 Fund is now officially accepting donations. I wonder when the ticket lottery starts...

But anyway, the gift shop led me back outside. There's also an ice arena as part of the park (seriously), but obviously that wasn't really in the cards for me. Alas. I was running way behind schedule at this point and booked it back to the flat, where I tried to finish up the food I had left before booking it back onto public transit to get to Heathrow. The tube made this extremely interesting, as the train I got on because its destination was Terminal 4 changed destinations halfway through the journey. Doncha love when it does that? So I had to get off and wait for another train, which didn't come for ten freaking minutes. I ended up being plenty early though, so no harm, no foul. I did see some athletes from Peru on the tube on my way to the airport! They were talking to this little British boy that was with his dad, and they gave him a keychain -- he was SO happy! Ahhhh it was adorable. I wish I knew who they are, because they're my favorites! I also saw some Bulgarians in the airport, and apparently the family of one of the American rowers was on my flight home.

Actually, I kept a list of all the countries I saw accredited people from, so here it is!
-Argentina
-Russia
-Korea
-Kazakhstan
-Ukraine
-Brazil
-Canada
-Qatar
-Mongolia
-Ireland
-Czech Republic
-Spain
-Switzerland
-USA
-Netherlands
-Azerbaijan
-Great Britain
-Norway
-Equador
-France
-Fiji
-Portugal
-Romania
-Italy
-Montenegro
-Maldives
-Angola
-El Salvador
-Slovakia
-Lesotho
-Bulgaria
-Uzbekistan
-Armenia
-Suriname
-Seychelles
-Malta
-Peru
-Chinese Taipei
-Sochi's National Organizing Committee

Not bad, right? ;)

It's kind of crazy to think that it's all over, and even crazier to think that it happened at all. It made all those hours roaming the wellness center and all those awful newspaper deadlines more than worth it! It's kind of funny, though, that there are so many things that I didn't get to do; I didn't see Big Ben, I didn't visit Queen Mary, I didn't drink tea at the Tate Modern, I didn't get chips at Golden Fryer. But I spent every moment doing Olympics things and I don't regret a single second.

Expect some massive photo updates within the next couple of days! :)

The Best Laid Plans

Just when I thought I had everything about London 2012 figured out, the curveballs started coming. I knew my charmed life was too good to be true! :P

When I went to the women's triathlon an hour early, I got a nice spot along the cycling route but couldn't see the swimming and running. When I went to the marathon two hours early, I got a great spot in Trafalgar Square. So, being the logical mastermind that I am, I figured, "hey, why not get to the men's triathlon two hours early! I'll definitely get a better spot!" Well, due to a happy mistake, I thought it started at 11 when it really started at 11:30 so I was two and a half hours early... and was LITERALLY directly across the road from where I was last time.

I did the same walk from Green Park station, and I felt like I was in a legitimate competition. I mean, everyone going in that direction was going to the same place, so I don't know why nobody else seemed to be in a hurry. But I was doing some Olympic level race walking, and actually imagining the commentary in my head. "Oh, an untied shoe! That's unfortunate." "Ouch, getting stuck behind old people on the stairs is gonna cost her." The milk in my cereal this morning must've been drugged, because I swear these are not normal thoughts. Or maybe it's just delirium brought on by sleep deprivation.

But anyway, I reached the road in the park and as I began walking along it, I started to realize that it was fuller than it had been at the women's triathlon when I'd gotten there. Uh oh. I decided to walk further down and see if I could squeeze in somewhere, but I quickly abandoned ship at the next crossing point in the street and went to the other side; there was just no way I was going to get anywhere. So I walked back up the road looking for space on this side, and found it right in front of where I stood for the last triathlon. The best laid plans, man.

So now I had two hours before the race even started, and by this point my body is completely giving up. I don't think I've ever stood/walked so much in this many consecutive days and my back, feet and shoulders are pretty much screaming in agony all the time. So the standing wasn't fun, but I'd somehow managed to place myself in between a lovely English couple (that lives in Portugal now) and a group of three English ladies who were all chatty and friendly. They were a good time! When I pulled out my American flag (I bought a big one at a souvenir shop the other day because of reasons), the man on my left and the woman on my right said, "Well, I don't think we can let you put that one out!" Hah. We come with a reputation! ;) The flag also attracted the attention of an American journalist who was reporting for a news station in Orlando, and I let him interview me for his story.

The race itself seemed much quicker than the women's; it was definitely fewer laps, which I didn't realize, so suddenly people were leaving and I was like "...wait, what?" But there was some drama with one of the British riders who got a penalty, and two riders apparently crashed on the transition out of the water. We found all of this out because the guy behind me had his phone out and was watching the live feed of the race -- LOL I love technology!

When it ended, I went to a nearby stand and got a jacket potato for lunch, and then just sat for a little while because everything hurt. I did some people-watching, and then it was back up to wait in the massive queue for the bathroom and then to Tower Bridge to see the giant rings! Both of those took longer than expected, so I had to hurry to make it to 3 Mills to pick up the stuff Laura left for me at reception and meet up with Jo by 4. The first part of that went smoothly; I got two certificates of appreciation from LOCOG, another Games Maker pin, and a thank you pin. But 4:30 rolled around and there was still no sign of Jo. Conveniently, Lesley was on her way to out Tesco, saw me sitting outside and came to my rescue! :P It turned out that Jo had more work to do, so I walked over to Stratford and did some browsing (and sat on the floor for awhile, because I was developing a limp due to sheer overuse of my feet) while I waited for her. It took a little while, but I really like keeping an eagle eye out for members of different delegations so I was easily able to busy myself. Slight side note: how many Russians were sent to the Olympics? Because, oh my god, I saw them EVERYWHERE. And I also seem to notice a very disproportionate number of Kazakhstani athletes walking around. Hmm.

Jo ended up getting there at around 7, and she'd thought of a plan to try and get me into Olympic Park. It worked on the first attendant we had to get past! And then it failed. The giant LOCOG accreditation badges you see everyone official wearing is basically an all-access pass into the park, and I am without. :( They were also simultaneously making announcements that you're only allowed into the park if you have a ticket valid for today, so that shot my backup plan in the foot. All park tickets are sold out, the box office on site only does ticket collection (no sales), and that was kind of that. Definitely a bummer, but all I can muster is mild disappointment. The crowds there are so extreme that I feel like I'd just get annoyed if I had to walk around in it. And I also realized that my London 2012 goals were to, a) get event tickets, b) watch an event, and c) see Olympic Park. I have tickets, I watched FOUR events (three from the front row, no less!), and Olympic Park will be there for the duration of my lifetime. So I'll get to come back to London and frolic in an empty stadium and have photo shoots (Amanda, you in?) and it will be glorious. Besides, seeing the dress rehearsal was so worth it. (Nobody working at ceremonies understands my decision, though. They all think I'm crazy. I'm like ".....................................................YOU ALL TAKE SO MUCH FOR GRANTED WORKING HERE, OKAY? THIS IS THE COOLEST EVER.")

It was great seeing Jo one last time before I leave, though, and she said she's going to visit the park on Saturday and take tons of pictures (and more at the closing ceremony) for me, so I can at least live vicariously through her! She headed home after our failed efforts, and I did some souvenir and omg-thank-you-for-giving-me-your-house-for-a-week gift shopping, all of which was extremely successful. The London 2012 Shop was so gross, though. There are so many bodies in there and it was warm and humid and smelled like people. Grosssssssss. It's also kind of hilarious that the viewing gallery of the park, which was free when I went on Thursday, now costs £2 to get into.

I decided to call it a day after that, as it was getting late and I was getting hungry. It's so weird to think that my trip is basically finished. But I have tomorrow morning to do things, and I think I'll close things out with a trip to Sochi.Park in Kensington Gardens. Because I ALWAYS need some Winter Olympics in my life!

Dagenham, A Reprisal

TODAY WAS THE GREATEST.

And I can't even talk about the things I saw! But I WILL tell you that I was in the vicinity of four major musical talents, and today's rehearsal was only for the first half of the ceremony. So there's that little nugget of awesome.

Dagenham is a hike even from Mile End, which is a hike from where I currently am. So to get there at 9:30, I left at 7:30... but I woke up before my alarm went off today. I think that means I got an appropriate amount of sleep, but judging by the way I have to stop myself from nodding off every time I'm on the tube, I highly doubt that's correct information. But anyway, things at Dagenham have really changed since I left! There are tons of huge new props that I hadn't seen yet, and the costume department has taken over the old workforce volunteer break area -- I walked in there and was confused out of my mind. But the check-in tent is still the same ol' check-in tent, and that's where I found (and surprised) a handful of volunteers and found Sara B., the lovely organizer of this little rendezvous. Then I got to put on my vest and get down to NOT work, because that would be illegal. :P

I had such a good time! There were some great reactions to my return, from Glenda staring at me suspiciously for a few seconds before deciding it was okay to give me a hug, to Solomon's "wha- oh my god!" to Jo's stressed out glare turned shriek. :) It was really fantastic, especially because it was all happy surprise! And they were all perfectly okay with me... not working. Because working would be illegal. Hah.

I love everyone there so much, and it's really weird to think that this all ends when the Paralympics are over. Usually when you leave a job, the most of the same people are still around in a few months' time. But with London 2012, once the final closing ceremony is finished, the office gets dismantled, everyone disperses, and London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd. is no more. It won't even exist. So this amazing team won't just be changing over time, it'll suddenly blip out of reality. I can't even plan on visiting again in the future because by then the 3 Mills Studios offices will either be a barren wasteland or filled with the people of an entirely different production. It's really kind of depressing to think about.

But what's not depressing was all the stuff I got today! Laura -- the lovely, lovely, LOVELY Laura -- gave me an opening ceremony program from her stash, another ceremonies t-shirt (teal green this time!), a Games Maker pin, and my 25 volunteer sessions pin. So now I'm all swagged out, and get to stop by 3 Mills tomorrow to pick up my certificate!

That's probably all I can really say about today without spoiling the surprise and ruining a future blog post, so let's suffice it to say that I was at Dagenham for a full 12 hours, and after my half-day shifts of yore I'd nap the second I got back to my flat. So right now, sleep is far overdue.

Tomorrow I'm going to go to the men's triathlon and try to get into Olympic Park with Jo. I'm actually really optimistic. There are reasons for this that I won't talk about in fear of jinxing it, but the Olympics gods have been on my side for every single second of this trip and I see no reason for that to change tomorrow. So let's go. LET'S. GO.

(Also, the photo at the top is the actual Dagenham site. Allow me to introduce you to the circus tent, rain clouds of doom, and concrete as far as the eye can see. Isn't it glorious? :P I found it on this blog, Life Begins @ 40, written by one of the Pandemonium drummers from the opening ceremony. He wrote a fantastic three-part recap of his time working on the ceremony, including banging on buckets and "bang the drum so your mum can see you on TV." It's a great read, and I highly recommend checking it out if you want to hear about things from a performer's perspective!)

Of Public Transit and Olympics Feels

So, today. What can I say about today?

Well, I got to sleep for slightly longer than I had the night before, which was cool. But now I knew how early people start arriving at these road events, so I decided to make into central by 9 to stake out my territory for the women's marathon that started at 11. The course started at the Mall and wove through the city, and I got a suh-WEET spot on a barrier in Trafalgar Square, right across the street from Nelson's Column. It was seriously the coolest setting for a race ever. I wish I could've been at all the other landmarks simultaneously!

The crowd was really sparse when I got there which meant that I could sit down during the first hour or so of the wait. There were about seven people in a row that decided to follow my lead and sit down too, which kind of kept other people from lining up behind us for a while. But then a lady decided to encroach on my territory, so I stood up to stake out my space and she tried to elbow her way in between me. Just as I was grumbling to myself about her, it started drizzling and she went away. Woo! The rain, however, did not go away. With about half an hour before start time, it started pouring and it was on and off from there. It ended up being fine, though. I hate rain SO much, but I had my umbrella and the people around me were all talking and laughing and made it very bearable. And then the sun came out! And went away again. But then it came back! Sort of.

Then the race started, and... that was it for a while. The runners did four (I think?) loops of the course, so they came back, it just took a bit. There was a LOT of waiting around, but again, the crowd was really great and even the cycle of less than stellar people shoving in next to me didn't dampen things because they each left after a lap. Psh, amateurs.

I'd told myself that I'd only stay for the beginning and maybe a lap or two, but who was I kidding? Once I get on a barrier I do not let go, come hell or high water. So I hung around until the runners made their last pass by us, and then I walked to Leicester Square and had a late lunch in Chinatown, basically because I wanted bubble tea. My next stop from there was the CoSport will call office to see if I could pick up the tickets that had been bought on Chandini's credit card. It's up at Edgware Road, which is a complete hike and close to nothing significant. But I've been using public transit SO much and I didn't want to spend the money on a tube fare, so I decided to walk it. I went from Leicester to Piccadilly to Oxford, walked Oxford Street all the way down to Marble Arch, and then north to Edgware Road. It was kind of a lot, but I wanted to see all the flags on Regent Street anyway!

When I got there, I told the man at the door what my problem was, and he said I could pick up the tickets with 1) a letter from Chandini requesting I pick up the tickets for her, 2) a copy of her passport, and 3) the order number. I, of course, had none of those, so I decided to head to Victoria Park's London Live screen and use the wi-fi at Mile End station to let her know what I needed. At that point, I still wasn't sure if I'd be visiting Dagenham or not, so I figured I'd get everything from Chandini at some point tonight and go pick up the tickets in the morning. However, I checked my email and found out that a) I AM going to visit Dagenham tomorrow, and that b) it's an all-day thing. So I won't even get to go to the event the tickets are for, but hell if I was gonna give up getting my hands on them now that I knew I could! In the fastest get-something-important-done-via-Facebook conversation ever, I got a hold of Chandini while crouched against a wall in Mile End, got the necessary documents, and immediately swiped back into the tube to literally retrace my steps. They were really, really long steps, too.

The office closes at 7 and I started my return journey at 5:45. By the time I got there it was nearing 6:30, and I had to restrain myself from running flat out to the office. But I made it there in plenty of time, and voila! The tickets are now in my possession! My hands were literally shaking when the girl handed them to me. Maybe it was the excitement, or the relief from the intense anxiety of the previous hour, or the fact that I was getting really hungry. Maybe it was all three. But I was legitimately flipping out! I can't even go, but the fact that I have tickets to an Olympic event is beyond words. And now, of course, there's the possibility of getting into Olympic Park. I've been told to arrive at Dagenham at 9:30 am, and the rehearsal itself doesn't even start until 4 pm. Depending what time I get out of there I MIGHT try and go at night, but I'm not holding my breath. My plan right now is to try and sneak into the park with my ticket on Tuesday afternoon; if someone stops me, I'll flash my ceremonies volunteer badge and tell him/her that I missed the event because of a dress rehearsal (which isn't even a lie! YAY!) and just want to walk around the park and spend money. Hopefully this doesn't have to happen, but if it does, let's hope they take pity on me. Because legitimately all I want to do is see things, buy some international food, and watch live coverage on the screens. And probably cry a lot.

After becoming the proud owner of two tickets to synchronized swimming at London 2012, I decided I really did need food, so I came back to the flat to eat dinner. This was when I found out that the men's 100m final would be taking place tonight and I decided that I wanted to watch it at Victoria Park's London Live. Because dammit, I was determined to get there eventually! I ate super fast and ran out again because by now it was 8 pm and my travel time to Mile End is kind of ridiculous. Victoria Park is also not really close to the station, and they stuck the screens back in the middle of freaking nowhere, so after all was said and done I was there for about 20 minutes, tops. I got there just as the runners were warming up on the track, and then saw the race, the thousands of replays in varying speeds, and the medal ceremony for the women's 400m. And then I turned around and did the whole long commute over again. Sigh. Probably not the most worthwhile thing I've ever done, but watching this race with a crowd was really memorable and definitely a cool experience. There were also no wood chips at this location, so that was a plus. But I think I spent more time traveling today than I did actually doing anything; I'm pretty sure my entire trip out to Victoria Park (the second one) was free because I'd hit the daily fare limit. OH, and we get travel cards with our event tickets that are good for the entire day of the event, so tomorrow I travel for free! God, my bank account is so happy.

Hah, I won't even get to say anything about what I do tomorrow. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy my last week or so of keeping ceremony secrets! :)