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.