posted by Jennie C.
I thought it might be fun for those of you who didn’t get to take in the Winter Olympics 2010 to hear from someone who experienced them (somewhat) first hand. I also want to journal our adventures, for my own family’s sake.
It all started with a set of rabbit ears…
Actually, it all started when we began hearing about the Olympics several years back, when Vancouver, BC won the bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2010. My parents always made a big deal out of the Olympics while I was growing up and I was looking forward to participating, maybe even volunteering. I had visions of being one of those figure skaters in the fancy little matching outfits that skate around between performances, picking up all the gifts and flowers that get tossed on the ice for the performers. Ha. OK, that wasn’t my most realistic vision, but I was really excited about getting involved some how.
But then I forgot to pay attention. And the next thing I knew, the Olympics were here and I didn’t have tickets to anything and no plans for participating whatsoever. I frantically looked online for tickets, but the only thing left was a few early rounds of curling. Not being a curling fan (and a little bit sceptical of curling’s qualification as a sport at all), I was heart broken. And because we don’t have cable or satellite TV at our house, I didn’t think we were even going to be able to watch any of the Olympics. The Olympics were practically in my backyard and I had nothing!
On the drive home from work, the Friday of the opening ceremonies, I was despairing. Everyone in my carpool was debating who would be lighting the torch, and I was pouting and harrumphing.
When I arrived home, I went in our bedroom and flipped on the TV (which we primarily use for watching DVDs), with little hope, to see if we got reception through our rabbit ears for CTV, the Canadian channel broadcasting the Olympics. We only get two channels. I nearly wept for joy when I discovered that we did get CTV! There was some hope!
I ran out to the living room and ordered my husband, “You gotta bring the TV into the living room right now! The ceremonies are starting soon!”
I don’t often order my husband around. I often try to order my husband around, but I’m rarely successful. But he did it! Woo hoo. Plan B (which hadn’t existed up until moments before) was in motion.
We dragged furniture around and twiddled rabbit ears and the picture turned out to be pretty darn good. Pooh pooh to all you flat-screen high definition snobs. Pooh pooh I say.
“The Olympics are on!” I hollered at the kids; yes, I hollered.
Inside voices were forgotten in the excitement. The kids wandered into the living room curiously. A TV blasting in our living room was something new to them.
“Look, it’s TV! We’re just like a normal family,” I exclaimed.
Foreheads wrinkled with curiosity, eyebrows raised with interest, little thought bubbles full of question marks popped into the air above their furiously confused and sceptical little minds. No one wandered away. Everyone found places to plop and we all sat enraptured through the amazing opening ceremonies.
“This weekend might not be so bad,” I speculated, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. “Honey, can you get me a beer!?” I roared.
… well, it was worth a try.
Guide Note: “Rabbit ears” is a colloquial term for the most common application of a dipole antenna, “an antenna that can be made by a simple wire, with a center-fed driven element for transmitting or receiving radio frequency energy” (Dipole antenna. (2010, March 29). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipole_antenna). Surprisingly, in this age of digital media, some television stations still transmit their programming via radio signals.
What’s with the whole “guide note” thing you ask? I’ve been listening to the audio book version of the 6th book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy and am having zarking odd dreams these days. Everything has a “guide note”. I might as well embrace it…
