The Olympics... and beyond

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and then you have a trip to the Olympics. Probably not as catchy as the original, but kind of fitting. The flight to Paris was great, despite the fact that we left about a half-hour late. The seat next to me was empty, I had splurged a little and bought a premium seat so there was more room, which came in handy when it came time to sleep. We had dinner (which really wasn't all that bad for airplane food) and I fell asleep pretty easily and slept for most of the flight. I woke up as they were serving breakfast prior to landing in Paris. Paris is a massive airport and I had to take a train from one terminal to the next, but I was not expecting to have to go through security again. I ended up having to dump two bottles of water that I purchased in the airport believing I was through security until I left the airport. Then my backpack got flagged (it didn't at Logan) and they had to take my camera out and make sure it wasn...

Over the years I've written a few of these blog posts from the international terminal at Logan Airport. And just for good measure, here's another one. This may have been one of the easiest processes I've had going through security, checking my bag and the whole nine yards. I got here a little after 4 p.m. for a 7:40 p.m. boarding figuring I may find a few long lines. I was pleasantly surprised. With a little bit of luck, I found a parking spot in the economy garage literally two rows away from where the shuttle bus picks us up and drops us off. I hopped on the bus and got to terminal E in a few minutes and was surprised that there was absolutely no line at security. I showed my passport and then went through security. The only drawback was that I needed to get the full patdown treatment for whatever reason. It probably would've just been easier to go through the security checkpoint naked so they could see I didn't have any dangerous weapons. But, got through and am ...

Ok, maybe that headline is a bit misleading. I did, in fact, make donuts today, which was my final day doing the Yum Yum Shop thing prior to my flight to the Olympics, which happens tomorrow night. However, I will not reach the Dolomites by tomorrow evening. In fact, I won't even make France until Wednesday morning. Italy comes on Wednesday afternoon. But, no matter how you slice it, the Olympics are here and whether I'm ready or not, it is time to get going. Sunday I spent some time doing the stupid little things you don't think about. After making the donuts, I did laundry so it's not piled up while I'm gone. Then I went through and made sure all my bills were paid for the rest of the month. This afternoon I stopped at TD Bank and picked up the euros that I had ordered and after covering a couple of hockey games, stopped in at the office to pick up a few things, go through some last minute paperwork to make sure stuff was in order while I'm gone and take all t...

I am sitting here on my couch near the end of a dead end road in the Lakes Region on a Monday morning. Usually, I would be in the kitchen at the Yum Yum Shop, cooking up donuts and other baked goods, but with the snowstorm coming through on Sunday afternoon into this morning, the boss decided to keep the bakery closed, so I got a day off and in that, got a little time to sit down and put together some thoughts as we get closer and closer to Milan-Cortina. In the last few weeks I have spent some time watching World Cup alpine racing, the speed skating Olympic trials and some freestyle skiing, even hitting up moguls World Cup in person when the circuit came to Waterville Valley in mid-January. The Winter Olympics are always my favorite because I really enjoy the sports that take place and seeing some of the spectacular venues that the World Cup races go through has me ready to see some of the impressive locations that I will get to see in northern Italy in the coming weeks. But there is ...

Less than a month. After the process I’ve been through the last year-plus, it seems hard to believe that wheels up to Milan-Cortina is less than a month away. But here we sit. My flight to Milan (via Paris) leaves Boston on Feb. 3, so as I write this on Jan. 4, it is indeed less than a month until I fly out though it’s more than a month until the opening ceremony, which takes place on Feb. 6.  I have to admit, I’ve been struggling a bit lately. The holiday tournament schedule kind of wiped me out and as we prepare to get back to regularly-scheduled regular season action every night, I am not really feeling it. Most days I just want to go home and go to bed. That, however, would not be terribly productive.  Traditionally I am always excited as time ticks down toward the Olympics. I go through schedules and look at all the information I can find trying to see what I’m going to do or what I have to look forward to. I haven’t really done that this time. Maybe it’s a lack of time, ...

Last April, prior to the Paris Olympics, I made the trip to New York City to attend the Team USA Media Summit, which was a great chance to hear from multiple athletes across multiple sports ahead of the Summer Olympics. I really enjoyed the experience and was looking forward to the possibility of Team USA doing a similar event ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Team USA announced the Winter Olympics Media Summit for yesterday and today in New York City. Originally, I was psyched to spend a few days with the Winter Olympic athletes until I realized that I was not going to be able to be there. I had committed to being the stage manager for the Village Players production of Sweeney Todd, which was in tech week last week, meaning we had rehearsal every night and being in New York for a couple of days did not fit into that schedule. I still wanted to be a part of the event, so I registered and then kept an eye on the schedule as to who would be attending. Knowing I had Tuesdays and...