Hanging out with Bonnie Blair at the USA House
As my epic Olympic journey draws to a close, I feel like some sort of punctuation mark is in order.
And it is a big ol’ exclamation mark!!!
I had the time of my life taking part in the Office Winter Games Contest and these are just a few of the many reasons:
1) Hanging out with Olympic speed skating legend Bonnie Blair. She is every bit as genuine, spirited and delightful as she seems on camera. My fondest memory is when we were reprimanded for being too loud.Talk about a kindred spirit.
2) Representing Microsoft Office ’10. At various points in the trip, most technology failed me. I.e. I couldn’t find reliable Wi-Fi, had phone problems in a foreign country etc. Some days, the only thing that saved me was being able to crank out a draft in Word and directly upload it to my blog (a new ’10 feature) whenever I found a connection. Kudos to Microsoft Office ’10 for being so social-media friendly and a delight to promote.
3) Meeting “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky.
And greatly putting my foot in my mouth.
4) Seeing my son’s namesake Bode Miller win his first medal–a bronze–in the downhill.
Meeting Al Roker at the Today Show
And then racing a mile in my clogs to meet Bode in person at a press conference, all for naught.
5) Having the Today show’s Matt Lauer steal my moment in the spotlight. I later promoted my blog post about it on Twitter and the Today show commented how funny it was and retweeted it to their 582,714 followers.
Which is just 2 more followers than me.
6) Interviewing. A few of the people I interviewed: six-time gold medalist Bonnie Blair, gold medal aerialist Nikki Stone, CEO of the United States Bobsled & Skeleton Federation Darrin Steele, Director of Media Services Bob Condron, USOC’s Associate Director of Food and Nutrition Services Terri Moreman and so many more.
7) Being interviewed. It was also fun to have the tables turned and receive some media placements of my own. With Microsoft Office’s ace publicity team, I was featured on the front page of CNN Tech, Denver Post, Arvada Press, Mormon Times, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, LDS Living, CNet, Fox 31, Channel 2 and I had multiple call-ins to one of Colorado’s top radio stations, KOA radio.
I would add the Today show to this list had Matt Lauer not stolen my moment.
8) The Canadian men’s hockey team’s dramatic finish. Even though I am proud to live in the United States and cheer for our inspiring athletes, hockey is Canada’s game. The gold-medal-win secured Canada’s record as the nation with the most gold medals ever during an Olympic Games.
The Great One, Wayne Gretzky
This journey would not have happened if it was not for the countless hours Microsoft Office’s team put into it. Special thanks to the United States Olympic Committee for the assistance they provided us. And most importantly, thank you to everyone who voted me there.
==========================
Though I was sad to leave Vancouver, I was thrilled to return to a loving family, clean house, birthday streamers the color of the Olympic rings and a belated party.
Of course, reentry into the real world is not completely smooth after having The Time of Your Life. The morning after I returned, my husband Jamie (notorious for taking long showers to soothe his sore back) used all the hot water.
Me: “My shower was COLD this morning!”
Jamie: “After leaving me with the kids for 10 days, you haven’t yet earned the right to complain.”
You won’t hear any complaints from me for a very long time.
Thank you for following my Olympic journey! Of course, my family’s hilarious experiences continue. We are currently in Aspen/Snowmass and then will be at Park City Mountain Resort the following week. Tune back in for our many misadventures!
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 