I confess: I'm an Olympic junkie. Attach those five rings to any sport and I'll watch it.
I also suffer from the occasional bout of insomnia. A brief interruption of my sleep in the middle of the night sometimes sets my mind off thinking about stuff, and I can't get back to sleep.
Both of these syndromes clashed for two weeks in February.
I usually rely on a menu of get rich quick through real estate, exercise equipment that makes fat melt away and miracle cleaning device infomercials to help me doze off. But with a 12-hour time difference between here and Sochi, I was welcomed by a steady diet of curling, alpine skiing, biathlon, luge and, of course, hockey.
I didn't get much sleep, but boy, it was worth it.
There are few opportunities for Canada to stand out on the world stage. I don't know how many viral photos I've seen where our prime minister is on the edge of a G20 photo, if we are recognized at all. Sure, some people think we live in igloos, play hockey 24 hours a day and live on maple syrup. But slowly, that's changing - Canada is becoming cool.
How did we suddenly find this new notoriety? Did the world wake up one morning with the revelation that the Great White North was now a different place than they thought? Our governments spend millions attracting tourists to our country - a huge industry employing thousands of people. They encourage businesses to set up operations here. We've even brought TED to Vancouver. We must be doing something right.
I've got a friend that says if you have to tell someone you're cool, you're not. It has to come from your actions, how you handle yourself and how others perceive you. The Olympics is an opportunity to show what we are made of. Every time we won a medal, it shined a light on our country, and it's those collective lights that help shape how others feel about us.
We played fair, we competed hard. We had a beer machine at Canada Olympic House.
I think the real stories that define us were Alex Bilodeau's second win in moguls, and how much his brother Frederic, who suffers from cerebral palsy, inspires him. Or how Gilmore Junio gave his only Olympic opportunity to Denny Morrison who went on to win silver in speed skating.
I think the most Canadian moment was Justin Wadsworth, a Canadian ski coach, running onto the cross-country course to give Russian skier Anton Gafarov a replacement ski after his had broken and he just wanted to finish the race in front of the home crowd. Actions like that define us. Actions like that make Canada cool.
So the next time you travel outside North America and someone tells you to wear a Canadian flag because people like Canadians, remember Justin, Alex, Gilmore and all of our Olympians, not for the big things they have done, but for the little things that make our flag the symbol it is, and the respect you receive because of it.
The Olympics alone don't define us, but I think it's a big part of our story. And worth every nickel we invest to support it.
Now, I wonder when my ab-inator will arrive?
