Flashback to 2002, Day 5

February 14, 2002:
It's Valentine's Day and no one is particularly thrilled about being here and not somewhere else with their significant others, except those wackos who volunteered together. The wife of one couple got up at our briefing at the beginning of our shift and recited the poem she wrote about her husband being her "Gold Medal Winner." Gag. He was pretty funny, though, and jumped up and said they were leaving together. We're all trying to make the best of it and lots of people smuggled treats in to cheer each other up. I had security paw through the box of chocolates I brought to share with the IB gang. They are looking at everything.
We have all decided that Bare Naked Ladies is going to win the prize as the best concert. They were the most entertaining group we have had. The two guys in the booth with me spent most of the night out watching the show. We are busy in spurts so I have been letting the others roam. It's easier for me to stay. If the others don't know how to do something they just give up. I hate to have people leaving unhappy or unresolved, so I keep calling around until I find the answer. I've gotten pretty chummy with all of the different supervisors. Tonight we had a couple who came through the gate and the ticket taker ripped their ski jumping tickets instead of the OMP tickets - they looked the same, but after they are torn they aren't accepted again. Since it was our fault I wanted to make it right. It only took a couple of calls to locate the ticket resolution office at the Delta Center to get new ones printed.
Right after the concert started we had a very unhappy Canadian official sent in to find out why her Gold medal winning speed skater hadn't had her medal presented with the others. They had been sitting out in the cold (and the poor girl had another race today to prepare for!) and had just been ignored. We finally tracked down an official who had postponed the presentation (all the skaters actually get their medals in the arenas, but come to the OMP for formal presentation, later) and told all the others, but not the Canadians. It's starting to look like someone is out to get them.
We also had our first major group of athletes. A whole bunch of young Germans came in, looking for the official German house. We have been trying to get the addresses for all the houses for several days. We tracked it down and sent most of them to 300 North and 400 West (however, wondering if it really is in that iffy neighborhood!) and directed the rest of them back to the Olympic Village. They spoke English well and I felt that they understood the directions, but just hoped that they made it OK.
MIRACLE OF THE NIGHT: Someone lost one of those Roots berets and it was actually turned in!! I figured it was a goner. They are going on the street for about a hundred bucks.
LOST AND FOUND INFO OF THE NIGHT: Each night we put every found item in a separate plastic bag, put a form with all the info available about time and location in with it and seal it up before locking it in a cabinet. Then every day we pack up all the stuff from the night before and send it to a central location, where it is sorted and computerized for retrieval. Tonight the director of the L & F center came in to tell us that we were about the only IB that is doing it correctly. She said some of the booths were sending really dumb things in, like used chapstick, bandaids and a banana!
Another day off tomorrow. I'm half finished. I got my Six Shift pin. It's really stunning - kind of a gold map of the US with the snowflake logo on it and a huge red Utah in the middle that says "Work Force 2002". I know I'll treasure it always!