Tag Archives: people

Major Olympic sponsor Coca-Cola brings staff from all over the world

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What a great ride!  I just shared the front car of the Canada Line with six of Coke’s representatives.  Splendid in their Santa-red jackets – that wonderful clear red that just happens to be my favourite colour – they were wonderful spokespeople for their company and its culture.  Indeed, it made me reflect that their company’s global employee roster probably outnumbers the population of several nations.

Together, they were a mini-United Nations, gathered from around the globe – two from Eastern Canada, one from Houston, Texas, two from Europe and another from Australia. They were marketing managers, product development supervisors, a truck driver, a product design specialist – an engaging assortment of interesting people, looking forward to their responsibilities over the next three weeks.

It was my pleasure to be the ambassador here, the one on her ‘home turf’ who could say “Welcome” and “Enjoy your stay”.  We are so lucky, I think, to have so many chances to make new acquaintances and share smiles along the way.  In the lottery of life, being born a Canadian has to rank high on the ‘winning ticket’ list.  In this case, it came with a fun experience……and my very first Olympic pin!   The “Red Birds” have landed; who knew that would happen today?

I talk to Smurfs – welcome the world to Vancouver!

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Well, it’s finally here!  After all the rhetoric, arguments, ups and downs, hypes and lows…..it’s here! We are going live in Vancouver, in February 2010, and the world is truly arriving on our doorsteps..

How do I know this for sure?  Well, I have this from the very best of sources.  You see, I talk to Smurfs! That is not my name for them; I am talking about the 25,000 volunteers who are now roaming our streets, riding our buses, taking our trains, and wearing their beautiful Olympic-colored suits, which one of them described to me as “making them look like Smurfs!”.  They are certainly a beautiful shade of not-quite-turquoise-blue, complete with those famous 5 intertwined rings, and they are outstanding as well as standing out in the crowd.

My newest passion in transit is to talk to a Smurf, and – so far, at least – that campaign has been successful.

I have met a banker on leave from his bank in Toronto, a teacher here from Calgary, and – just yesterday – an interesting fellow from the United States who, in his non-Smurf life, runs high-tech companies.  I know a few more of these generous souls personally – realtors, former Olympians, retirees – and they have several things in common.

They love people, they care a great deal, they share a true pride in their countries, and they want to be involved. They also deserve our smiles, our greetings and our grateful support for helping to get this remarkable job done!

Be a sport yourself, I’d say – find a Smurf and greet them today!  Just look for the folks in blue.

Train YOUR Perspective

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These days, with all the changes in street traffic and lane allocations for our upcoming Olympic guests, I have been enjoying the variety of people-watching opportunities on the Canada Line.

Sunday, on a train headed south to Richmond, I was in the front car.  The very front seats (with a great big window) were occupied by a family of four: two engaging young children and their parents.

The little boy was very observant, sharing his impressions of what he saw, first in the tunnel and then out in the clear as we bridged the river and had a view.

As the train ran south along Number 3 Road, his father added the observation that – having driven this route many times- it was odd to see it from this higher level,  from which many of his landmarks did not appear, or were not visible in their usual way. His perspective had shifted and with it, his sense of where he was, too.

Isn’t it interesting how often in life we change our positions, usually without realizing how that has changed our view?

How have you trained your perspective?  How has it trained you to respond?  What does it take for each of us to really change our view?  Have you trained your perspective, or has it just trained you?

Thoughts on a train

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…well, actually, that should read “thoughts on a Canada Line train”, because that’s what I was riding yesterday.  I live in Vancouver, Canada, where we will soon host the world for next year’s Winter Games.  In preparation for that event, one of the new and exciting advantages our Greater Metropolitan Area now boasts is a world-class addition to our Skytrain system (our legacy from hosting Expo 86), running from our downtown harbour core to the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).  That has been named the ‘Canada Line’ (sorry – I don’t know either….).

Now, for those of you who live outside our city, you should know that most of this transit rail line runs underground, so ‘taking the train’ is also a bit like spending some time in a time capsule.  It is its own little microcosm, a sort of ‘thin slice’ of our city and the people in it, and every ride has a flavour all its own.

Yesterday, I rode and sat and listened to my fellow riders.  It was dinner time, my car filled with people going home from work or however they spent their day.  Some travelled alone in thought, some nodded silent greetings to others, many were occupied in some sort of electronic exchange – iPods, cell phones – and a few were engaged in actual conversations.  What struck me most was that it was not until I had exited my train that I heard a single word in my own language.

A young couple with their baby in a stroller were talking to the baby, each other, and – in passing – to me.  I love that about this city: every day I can be exposed to so many different cultures and cuisines, languages and histories.  It made me wonder about other people’s experiences travelling today.

Did you take a bus in Surrey, ride the SeaBus to North Van, cycle in White Rock, park your car in Langley, walk around Deep Cove, take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay, rollerblade around Stanley Park?  What did YOU see and hear?

Where else did YOU go?  Did you take the subway in New York, ride the Marta in Altanta or take the train from the airport into downtown Athens, Greece?  Maybe you walked in Picadilly Circus or took a stroll in Beijing.  I hope you had a pleasant time and shared a smile along the way.  Please take a moment to share YOUR experience with me; write a comment and give us a ‘thin slice’ of your world today.

Vancouver rentals a la 2010

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We live in a cosmopolitan city – a place marketed around the world in ordinary times and furiously exposed in the run-up to the large-scale international athletic competition headed our way in 2010.  All this attention brings excitement, people, and the promise of cash.  It also creates scarcity of things like affordable accommodation.  Here are three stories about rent and space that I heard today:

1. some friends of mine live in a very upscale highrise condo – fabulous views and a great downtown location.  They were recently approached by phone (someone with a heavy Eastern European accent, calling himself Yuri) with an extravagant offer – we’re talking 5 figures a week here – for 12 weeks occupancy.  They (respectfully) declined, thinking Yuri and his friends might do more party damage than the generous offer was worth…….turns out Yuri was a busy boy, calling all their neighbours, too.  I said it was a desirable location, didn’t I?

2.  SFU lost a very desirable tennat for their Morris Wosk Centre for Diaglogue, when the Brits pulled out of their UK House plan.  It seems that one of the businesses involved had to beg off for financial reasons.  The Centre was lucky: they were able to find another tennant, though their staff had to pull out the stops to get things in place.

3. overheard at The Buzz, 901 Homer Street, today.  One North Shore family is taking a February holiday someplace warm and all-inclusive…thanks to an offer from some friends-of-a-friend.  This offer was legit, for $1000 per day for their home for 14 days.  One family comes in to enjoy the Vancouver Games experience, and the other family enjoys a fabulous vacation away from the madding crowd.  That’s what I call win-win-win!  Neat.