Random Olympic Snippets : Today's Colour is Red

by Lisa Ovens

That's right, only Red 2010 Winter Olympic Items today. Let's begin with a building under wraps...

This is the Hotel Georgia, a historical building on the
corner of West Georgia Street and Howe Street in downtown Vancouver. It's being restored and a 48 storey glass residential tower will be squeezed in behind. Yes, everything downtown has to be tucked right in; space is at a premium here. And for years developers have been having a hayday "tearing them down" and squeezing them in.

My cousin Jen and I were reminiscing about bars we used to refresh at in Vancouver that have since been destroyed (not by us!) and the basement bar in the Georgia came up: the Chameleon. It was a hot, tiny club. And it was very red.

Olympic visitors who like to party should be prepared: most downtown Vancouver clubs are tiny in comparison to night clubs in other North Amercian cities.

Please visit the Hotel Georgia/ Residences website and see "the old meets new" architecture.



My "Paint the Town Red" Shirt is here!!!

 Thanks to Olympic cereal sponsor, General Mills, I received my free gift with cereal purchase on Friday. I had no choice but to order a kids size large because they had run out of adult sizes.
I was concerned if this adorable red shirt would fit...and it does! It will look even better when I drop a few more pre-Olympic pounds in preparation to paint Vancouver Red!

For the whole story and a review of the cereal, please click here.

Seeing  RED?

Many British Columbians see RED when they think of Premier
Gordon Campbell. But the audience of the Today Show probably just saw the RED mittens Gordo handed out to the hosts as he promoted the Winter Games in New York yesterday.

 By the time you read this, Campbell will be on his way to Olympia, Greece for the lighting of the Olympic Flame. Don't worry, he brought the torches with him. Yes, the torches that look like joints...geez...no matter what we do here, there's always a weed reference :o) 

The Red Mittens: Only $10 and for sale at the Hudson's Bay, Home Outfitters and Zellers with proceeds going to Canadian Olympic Athletes. Here's a link where you can order online Red Mittens.   

End red.

Gift With Purchase...Signature T-Shirt!

By Lisa Ovens

                                                       photo by Lisa Ovens

General Mills, the official cereal supplier to the Canadian Olympic Team and the 2010 Olympics decided to “Paint the Town Red” and get Canadians into the games by offering a free T-shirt. I stumbled across this give away a few weeks ago and decided I wanted in on some free Olympic swag: it can’t be all about the enamel pins! The red shirt is adorned with a white graphic shaped like a maple leaf, and its design consists of Canadian athlete signatures. It looks good.

I don’t usually buy boxed cereal. I am a “buy bulk, slow cooking organic oats for breakfast” kind of person these days. So I had to hit the grocery store to see what the selection would be. It seems to be either various Cheerios products or Oatmeal Crisp flavors. Oatmeal Crisps it is.

On the cereal box it says “Free signature T-shirt”. What they really mean is “Gift with Purchase”. It’s the only way to get the red shirt. Being the Maple flavour freak that I am, I chose Maple Nut.

Mini Review: Oatmeal Crisp Cereal

A bowl is about 260 calories (based on one cup dry cereal with milk). First of all, the box opened with ease. I’m a lefty and sometimes the package opening process doesn’t go well at the best of times. I garnished with carefully sliced strawberries, which for some could be considered risky blending the maple flavor with strawberry flavor. But the strawberries are in stock so I go for it. (Banana might be the better fruit pairing) This cereal tastes pretty good, but the crisps are quick to turn soggy. I am a little blown away by the sweetness of the Oatmeal Crisps, but what would I expect: I 'm used to eating organic oats and water with a little fruit. End review.

Now to get my free T-shirt...

Inside the box, I found the panel with the code needed. I logged onto General Mills website, and entered the code. Cool, it worked. I found out the shipping was on them – great! I arrived at the page to select my red or white T-shirt (the white one with red graphic “2010” was recently added). I selected red because it’s the one I know from the cereal box. Now things become dicey. When selecting the size, I am not able to check off the adult size medium, or any adult sizes. It’s not working. I call General Mills and ask the CSR about the glitch. She informed me there are no adult sizes left. “But this contest is only a few weeks old!” I exclaimed. Actually it started back in June she tells me. I said I wasn’t up on kid sizes, but this is approx. how big I am, "do you think a kids size large will fit?” She said the large would fit a teenager. I thanked her and hung up. I finished the transaction and received the confirmation email within 30 seconds. Start to finish, this was a good customer service experience.

I am locked in...The T-shirt is on its way.

Now, I am wondering why all of the adult sizes went first. Free offers on cereal boxes are usually considered kids territory. Once I am done with my box of Oatmeal Crisps, I just might pick up another one, get the code and order another shirt. But this time I’ll give it to a kid. We can’t paint the town red without the kids during 2010.

I’ll let you know when the shirt arrives!