2010vanfan I would like to start by saying thank you merci to everyone that posted a comment to enter my latest pin contest! It was really exciting to hear from so many people! The winner of the ‘100 days to go’ and 2009 Halloween pins is Patti J!! Thanks Patti! And, ’cause I was pretty excited about so many entries I also drew for a second prize… an RBC pin, which will be going to Vicki Y! Yay! I like giving away prizes! In fact… if you read a bit further into this post I will put up another pin contest! But, as a lot of today (November 4th) was 100 days to go there are definitely some activities to cover about the day… First off, my Mom Sharon and Amanda from Australia were strolling through downtown Vancouver today, and they very sweetly thought of me near the Vancouver Art Gallery and even took a picture for me!! Amanda the Aussie with the Olympic Countdown Clock - on 100 days to go!! This is so sweet! I couldn’t believe it when they told me they’d taken pictures specifically for me! What a wonderful thing to be surrounded by people feeling the Olympic Spirit! This may be a ‘little thing’ in the ‘grand scheme’ of things… but to me it is the little things that light up my day! I hadn’t even thought of stopping by the Olympic Countdown Clock yet they thought of me while walking past it! I feel very privileged to have so many wonderful people in my life! * * * * * OK, had enough sappiness out of me yet? Probably! There were definitely things going on today. The Mascots were in Whistler (sounds like Gregor Robertson and Ross Rebagliati were too) and people everywhere were wishing each other “Happy 100 days to go” (OK, well, I was wished this at least twice today by Robyn and Krystal, so that is nearly ‘people everywhere’ right?). Something I hadn’t heard anything about until a Tweet today, was the lighting of a set of Olympic Rings in Coal Harbour! Apparently they lit them up at 5:45pm tonight! And yes, I had to work (rats) but I’m a little sad that there hadn’t been a bigger deal made of this! If I had known a few days ahead of time I probably could have sorted out having my break then and made an effort to scurry down to see the lighting! But I found out a bit too late! Request – if you know of an upcoming event, or know of people that know these things… please let me know!! I’m all about experiencing the Olympics and I’m sad when I miss cool things like this! Anyhow, here’s what they look like (and yes, I’m going to try to see them tomorrow night!). Premier Gordon Campbell (I love how many Team Canada uniform pieces he wears!) and VANOC CEO John Furlong with the newly lit Olympic Rings in Coal Harbour! * * * * * Oh, and did you know I’m an Olympic nerd?? Of course you did! I recently did something very silly, which I regret… I didn’t go to Victoria for the arrival of the Olympic Torch in Canada. Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to me at all to go over, but on the day, and on the days since then, I’ve felt like I really missed out on something. Now, I had been thinking for a while that it would be neat to see the Torch Relay as it passes through Calgary or Montreal, our previous Olympic Host Cities, so when the pang of missing Victoria really set in the other night, I made the decision that I will go and see the Torch Relay as it passes through Montreal! I visited Calgary already for the Red & White Game in August, so I feel that I’ve already done some tribute at least to Calgary. But Montreal… I’ve never been to Montreal… and I’ve not seen the Torch in person yet… and plane tickets on Air Canada were pretty darn cheap! So I decided to buy my Air Canada tickets to Montreal and go be involved in this historic event! I am so very, very excited! I am so very, very grateful that we are hosting an event of this magnitude that gives me the opportunity to go and explore my own country! I will leave Vancouver on December 8th, spending the 9th exploring and the 10th following the Torch, and returning on the 11th (with some more exploring time). I am so excited! But I’m looking for help/ideas! I have not been to Montreal, I don’t know where to stay or what to do (besides the Torch Relay) while I’m there and I’m looking for your help! Send me some suggestions or thoughts! I look forward to hearing from you! * * * * * And finally, a new contest! The Mascots will be celebrating their 2nd birthday this month (November 27th!) and I have a pin for you! (Though I don’t have a photo tonight! I will tomorrow night!). It is the Mascot Birthday pin, which is also the HBC pin of the month and is limited to 1,200 pins (I think, please correct me if I’m wrong). Anyhow, it’s super cute! If you’d like to win one of your very own post a comment answering the following questions before 5pm on Sunday, November 8th! Question: What word is Mukmuk’s name derived from? And what was the original language? I will put your name into the draw twice if you can tell me what sports equipment is in Mukmuk’s burrow in his intro video on the Vancouver 2010 website! With that little bit of excitement… bonsoir, goodnight!

Mukmuk (the sidekick) is an adorable little marmot whose name is derived from the Chinook word 'muckamuck' or food! Chinook was the trading language of the First Nations People!

I really enjoy reading your blog! It is fun to enter the contests. I left a comment about two contests sponsored by Coca-cola that you may want to share with your readers!

Oh yes, Mukmuk, is my favourite 'mascot'! He doesn't have a lot of pins but he's enthusiastic and such a hard little worker!

Whoops I forgot to mention that Mukmuk had a Snowboard in his burrow along with several other cool Olympic 2010 items!;)

Mukmuk is a marmot and his name is derived fomr the Chinook word muckamuck. He had a snoboard tucked into his burrow. Always enjoy reading your post - such fun
Pam:P

Mukmuk (the sidekick marmot) gets his name from the word ‘muckamuck,’ Chinook jargon for ‘food,’ because he loves to eat! Chinook jargon was a First Nations trading language.
In his burrow, Mukmuk has a snowboard, a hockey stick, a curlink stone and the orange item that sits on the floor (not 100% sure what it is).