Atlas the Snowman

Well it wasn't my best work, and unfortunately, thanks to strong winds and oddly enough, above zero temperatures in Calgary, it didn't last for very long. But after roughly 9 hours of work, I finished my snowy version of Atlas the Greek mythical character who holds up the earth. The movie jumps here and there when I took breaks, but otherwise, Enjoy!

Cheers,
Ben Jammin

The Big Reveal

It's that time of year again. The time you've all been waiting for. No, not Christmas, that's still over a week away. Besides this is even more exciting. It's snow sculpture time! I know, I know, I can hardly contain my excitement either. I've just returned home for the Holidays, and conditions are perfect. It's cold but not too cold, there's a solid layer of building material on the ground, and there's nothing good on TV. Conditions are perfect. (Flight of the Conchords reference for those who missed it).

The last few weeks I've been bombarded with questions and requests for what I'm going to build this year. And by bombarded I mean more than just my parents have asked me. I'm going to film the whole making of, and get some better pictures this year, just to show everyone that I'm making it life sized, not only that but Ben Jammin sized. This years sculpture is looking like it'll be just under 7'. I'll post the video shortly after creation is complete, so expect that shortly. 

Without further ado, here are my hand drawn blueprints:

Family and Friends

November

An off month from the sand, but there was still plenty that went on. After finally receiving cancellation confirmation a couple days before the last NORCECA event in Nicaragua (as organized as ever, I know) It was finally time for my first break from sand training in about a year. So where does someone who travels year round go for a vacation? Why, back home of course, to visit friends and family.

I only managed to get out west for a couple of weeks, my longest home visit since Christmas last year, but it was long overdue. After months in airplanes, foreign countries and hotel rooms, it's such a relief to be some place comfortable, among loved ones. As enjoyable as life is playing volleyball, I've gotta take a few moments away every now and again otherwise my brain will turn to mush. Like watching too much TV or eating a lot of candy. Problems that are easily solvable by taking a little time off and letting mom take care of me for a little while.

Following my break, I came back out east to Mississauga for the Olympic Excellence Seminar. An event to help hype up many of the Canadian 2012 Olympic hopefuls. Headed by our enthusiastic Chef-de-Mission Mark Tewksberry, we were led through a series of workshops to promote teamwork and Olympic Spirit.
It worked. Surrounded by past, present, and future Olympians, my desire to join their ranks, as strong a desire as that is, was further strengthened. Though our qualification process will last up until about a week before the actual event, the opportunity seems even more real and even more attainable.

I spent my birthday being filmed and interviewed, something I'm really not yet comfortable with, but I had a bunch of new friends helping me stay composed through it all. Beach Volleyball isn't exactly high profile in Canada, yet, but with time and future success, we'll start to get more support. These media days organized by CTV are a good way to get a little bit of exposure, and good practice for when that exposure starts coming more frequently.

To summarize, I spent November seeing old friends and making new ones, I experienced the comforts of home, and I upped my motivation to keep dreaming the Olympic dream. Such an exotic vacation, it was exactly the break I needed.

Cheers,
Ben Jammin