A week of treacherous weather conditions have introduced us to the darker side of life in Whistler - a few warm days followed by some very cold ones resulted in much of Whistler village (and the ski slopes) being covered in an inch or so of ice, making getting around a touch troublesome. Leo inadvertently found himself able to slide from the top of our road practically to the doorstep after a late shift at work the other night, and most of the house have found themselves on their backs at some point. I staked my claim for most spectacular fall of the season the other night when, having emerged from a drinking session at a friend's house, I proceeded to slide the length of the driveway on my back, coming to a halt with my feet on the bonnet of our taxi. Tears of laughter from my ever-sympathetic housemates (as well as the taxi driver) followed, bringing back memories of the unfortunate lamppost incident from episode three.
As ever, we have continued to burn the candle at both ends; we've had various visitors for the past week or so, and have done our best to show them the delights of Whistler by day and night. We had a reasonably dramatic late night incident the other week when Coote took it upon himself to get off the bus, unannounced, approximately three miles from home - a bad idea when it's -15 outside. I was apparently unconcerned, but fortunately Emily took charge of the situation and ordered him a taxi, which managed to find him on the bus route home. While his alcohol-soaked brain deemed it a good idea at the time, he later admitted it was "a bad choice"...
Our working lives are still looking reasonably fruitful - Leo is stashing away the cash as ever, and looking to save enough by the end of the season to take him interrailing around Europe in the summer. Coote and Emily are soon to join Leo at the Keg, thanks to two of his fellow bussers heading back to Australia - four of our ten person house will be working at the same place! I, meanwhile, have taken my first steps into the world of bouncing - news which will come as a surprise to most of you. I initially thought it was some kind of weak joke when I was asked to be a doorman at the bar next door to the Spaghetti Factory, but no. Fortunately, the punters at the Crystal Lounge haven't started any trouble yet, so my main job is standing by the door and giving people a stamp when they want to go for a fag. I am fast establishing myself as Whistler's least threatening doorman (they only have XXL or larger shirts for doormen, so my shirt bears a certain similarity to a tent), and my next shift is Australia Day on Wednesday. I'm reliably informed that this is essentially an excuse for Aussies, and Whistler residents in general, to spend all day drinking, so expect me to be dragging people out by the scruffs of their necks come Wednesday night...... perhaps not.
Thanks to the ice, the snow has taken a turn for the worse over the last week, with a bone shattering crust over much of the mountain. Coote, who has gained a reputation for laziness during his time in Canada, has seized the opportunity to spend extra time in bed, and the two of us went up the mountain the other day, only to be down within an hour - we are gradually becoming snow snobs. We've also managed to get our hands on a snowboard, and Leo decided to give it a go the other day while the snow isn't up to much - Emily and KK are also giving it a go for a week while they have friends staying, resulting in plentiful whining about board-related aches and pains. Talking of aches and pains, we've had the first few serious injuries of the trip in our extended friendship group, with a broken foot, torn shoulder ligaments and a broken wrist unfortunately putting various friends out of action in the last few days. As of yet, we remain unscathed, but are counting the days - getting fixed is an expensive business out here as well - $1000 for an X-ray... and people complain about the NHS...
We've also started saving for an end of season blowout trip to Las Vegas with an assortment of friends from Whistler - I'm stashing away $10 at the end of every shift, which will be going straight on red when we get there. Judging by my past record in Nottingham casinos, I don't hold out much hope for returning with any money... Flights and accommodation are actually surprisingly affordable, and Leo is tossing up whether to join us - he will be underage once more unfortunately! Either way it should be a good way to end our time out here - the plan is for two or three nights there, and I hope to be waking up to a tiger in the bathroom at least once. All in all, everything is well and we're still loving life out here - a dumping of snow over the next few days is all that we need. Until next time...
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
2011
So, the New Year arrives and we are now a third of the way through our trip - it is going scarily fast! The festive period here has certainly been eventful, with Leo and Coote's birthdays, a handful of house parties, two metres of fresh snow and Christmas with the family all keeping us busy. It was great having Mum, Dad, Nat, Granny and Aunty Sarah here, particularly as them making it here was looking unlikely due to the snow-induced travel chaos just before Christmas. Thankfully they did make it (a day late) and all was well... until they caught a pretty horrific stomach bug. Nat was the first to fall, closely followed by Mum, Aunt Sarah and Granny, resulting in Christmas Day in bed for the three ladies - and somewhat putting a downer on the Christmas meal we had planned at Leo's place of work. Fortunately, an assortment of housemates stepped in to bump up the numbers, and all was not lost - a fillet steak was very welcome after eating budget pork chops and sausages rather too regularly over the previous couple of weeks. Coote's Christmas dinner was undoubtedly a low point in his recent life - while enduring a traditional Christmas Day hangover, a solitary McDonalds trip before work took the place of Jackie's turkey and trimmings; Jesus would have been turning in his grave.
Our working lives have finally taken a turn for the better, with the tourists flooding in and providing us with some much needed hours. I've been putting my degree to good use whilst cleaning up children's sick from the floor of the Spaghetti Factory, and Coote's job at the Brewhouse has provided a tidy pile of Christmas tips. Both Coote and Leo spent New Years Eve at work; fortunately I finished work at 9, so was suitably inebriated by the time they arrived at the NYE house party at around 1am. Leo has taken the 'working hard' concept to extreme lengths - he hasn't had a day off since the 13th of December, and was called into work at short notice on New Year's Day, much to my amusement. Coote and I are still on the hunt for a second job as our hours are likely to drop again after the Christmas rush; I've got my heart set on a 'Sandwich Artist' role at the local Subway. Leo's housekeeping work at the hotel is proving more fruitful than expected - he is allowed to take home any food/drink guests leave behind after checkout, and he returned yesterday with a bounty of goods including a full bottle of gin and half a bottle of rum - great success!
Leo's pile of money which has been building up due to his excessive work schedule was put to good use with the purchase of a pair powder skis. He had been looking for an excuse to splash out for a while, and his prayers were answered the other day when he took his skis off at lunch to find one of them had a large crack beneath one of the bindings, and was flapping around when he took it off. KK and I became the devil on his shoulder when he was tossing up between two pairs, and he eventually caved and forked out almost $1000. The powder skis are certainly coming in handy as there has been no shortage of snow recently - two metres fell in the space of four days around Christmas, much to our delight. Mum was less impressed - skiing in Whistler proved a far cry from the neatly groomed slopes she prefers, and she wasn't infected by the powder-loving mentality of the locals. Nat and Dad enjoyed it a little more, and we enjoyed showing them our favourite spots so far, despite the Christmas lift queues. We're now entering a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -20°C but clear blue sky making for some pretty spectacular skiing weather.
Christmas at Buckhorn Place has also seen a number of visitors from England - Emily's friends Giles and Steph were with us over Christmas, and Emily's friend Paul and Kara's friend Vicki have been with us over New Year. Giles split his time between skiing in the day and developing his pole-dancing skills in the Whistler nightclubs in the evening; Steph, who doesn't ski, quickly immersed herself in the Whistler nightlife and even found time for some snow-related activities around hangovers, including snowmobiling and tubing. Paul and Vicki have also proved welcome additions to our crew - Paul has displayed an impressive ability to fall asleep in seemingly adverse conditions (see Facebook photos), and braved the ten minute walk back from our New Years party in just socks, having misplaced his shoes. Shoe theft is unfortunately becoming a recurring theme - we had a house party to celebrate Coote and Leo's birthdays where several pairs disappeared and the shoe burglar struck again on New Years Eve; we are yet to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately Kara's relentlessly party-orientated lifestyle seems to have caught up with her, and she has just got home having been diagnosed with bronchitis - whether she will be tempted by locals night at Longhorn's tonight remains to be seen...
We're preparing for the final Ashes test of the series tonight - the cricket channel has been a sound investment; most of the games run from mid-afternoon here (just as we finish skiing), and last until we are ready for bed, meaning we don't have the time difference problems faced by viewers from England. Coote's money is on an England victory, while I fancy a draw... but what do I know. Graeme Swann has become a revered figure in our household, and we are eagerly awaiting more sprinkler antics if they seal a series win. Having skiied for thirteen consecutive days before and during Mum and Dad's visit, I've been looking forward to a couple of days off, and none of us three managed to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to hit the slopes today... there's always tomorrow. Anyway, we wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you at some point in 2011 - much love, Josh Leo and Sam.
Our working lives have finally taken a turn for the better, with the tourists flooding in and providing us with some much needed hours. I've been putting my degree to good use whilst cleaning up children's sick from the floor of the Spaghetti Factory, and Coote's job at the Brewhouse has provided a tidy pile of Christmas tips. Both Coote and Leo spent New Years Eve at work; fortunately I finished work at 9, so was suitably inebriated by the time they arrived at the NYE house party at around 1am. Leo has taken the 'working hard' concept to extreme lengths - he hasn't had a day off since the 13th of December, and was called into work at short notice on New Year's Day, much to my amusement. Coote and I are still on the hunt for a second job as our hours are likely to drop again after the Christmas rush; I've got my heart set on a 'Sandwich Artist' role at the local Subway. Leo's housekeeping work at the hotel is proving more fruitful than expected - he is allowed to take home any food/drink guests leave behind after checkout, and he returned yesterday with a bounty of goods including a full bottle of gin and half a bottle of rum - great success!
Leo's pile of money which has been building up due to his excessive work schedule was put to good use with the purchase of a pair powder skis. He had been looking for an excuse to splash out for a while, and his prayers were answered the other day when he took his skis off at lunch to find one of them had a large crack beneath one of the bindings, and was flapping around when he took it off. KK and I became the devil on his shoulder when he was tossing up between two pairs, and he eventually caved and forked out almost $1000. The powder skis are certainly coming in handy as there has been no shortage of snow recently - two metres fell in the space of four days around Christmas, much to our delight. Mum was less impressed - skiing in Whistler proved a far cry from the neatly groomed slopes she prefers, and she wasn't infected by the powder-loving mentality of the locals. Nat and Dad enjoyed it a little more, and we enjoyed showing them our favourite spots so far, despite the Christmas lift queues. We're now entering a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to -20°C but clear blue sky making for some pretty spectacular skiing weather.
Christmas at Buckhorn Place has also seen a number of visitors from England - Emily's friends Giles and Steph were with us over Christmas, and Emily's friend Paul and Kara's friend Vicki have been with us over New Year. Giles split his time between skiing in the day and developing his pole-dancing skills in the Whistler nightclubs in the evening; Steph, who doesn't ski, quickly immersed herself in the Whistler nightlife and even found time for some snow-related activities around hangovers, including snowmobiling and tubing. Paul and Vicki have also proved welcome additions to our crew - Paul has displayed an impressive ability to fall asleep in seemingly adverse conditions (see Facebook photos), and braved the ten minute walk back from our New Years party in just socks, having misplaced his shoes. Shoe theft is unfortunately becoming a recurring theme - we had a house party to celebrate Coote and Leo's birthdays where several pairs disappeared and the shoe burglar struck again on New Years Eve; we are yet to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately Kara's relentlessly party-orientated lifestyle seems to have caught up with her, and she has just got home having been diagnosed with bronchitis - whether she will be tempted by locals night at Longhorn's tonight remains to be seen...
We're preparing for the final Ashes test of the series tonight - the cricket channel has been a sound investment; most of the games run from mid-afternoon here (just as we finish skiing), and last until we are ready for bed, meaning we don't have the time difference problems faced by viewers from England. Coote's money is on an England victory, while I fancy a draw... but what do I know. Graeme Swann has become a revered figure in our household, and we are eagerly awaiting more sprinkler antics if they seal a series win. Having skiied for thirteen consecutive days before and during Mum and Dad's visit, I've been looking forward to a couple of days off, and none of us three managed to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to hit the slopes today... there's always tomorrow. Anyway, we wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you at some point in 2011 - much love, Josh Leo and Sam.
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