How Not to Host a Party

A little backstory:

I hate New Year's Eve. In my eyes, it becomes a matter of spending 1.5x what you normally would, being around a lot of people you don't know well, having trouble getting home and, after all is said and done - having a fairly average evening. I much prefer spending it at home with my wife and maybe a few close friends, having dinner and getting to bed - allowing me a full day on the 1st to enjoy the fresh start of a new year.

This year, my brother (who lives with us) decided to have a New Year's Party - full decorated, lots of alcohol and suit-and-tie dress code. When he told me about it, I realized I had two choices - I could be a grade "A" a**hole and lock myself in my room, resplendent in my bitterness... or I could grit my teeth, put on a smile with my suit and spend some time with my brother and his friends - thereby making the best of it. I chose the latter option.

For the 2010 Olympics, we, as a host city, have the same choice. Yes, there problems with it - the traffic will be a nightmare, it will inconvenience us terribly, we will probably be overbudget, our handling of the homeless will most likely be inadequate, and our mascots are some bizarre Japanese anime joke. But, when the 100th person on a day asks us where the seabus station is, or how to get to Robson Street, we can either say "It's at the corner of 'Get a Map' and 'Piss Off'", or we can smile, point them in the right direction and wish them a happy stay.

We don't gain anything at this point by coming across like a city of d***heads - and in the end, it has less to do with "being a host city", and more to do with the simple, common courtesy of being a host.

Let's show them what we can do, Vancouver - let's welcome the world.

~Guy