Saturday Skiing

 I finally got to go skiing! I decided to try to sleep as late as I could, and when I woke up at 11am, I knew I had enough time to catch the bus by noon. I showered, got ready, grabbed my two apples, the only portable food I had, and headed down into town. A nice sunny day, it was beautifully warm and I was happy to be able to open up all my windows and air out the room a bit. Being home during the day is such a strange thing to me, but it was nice to wake up and actually feel warm without having my heater on.

The walk down into town wasn't too bad and I'm glad I wore my light thermals and left the extra top layer at home. The mountain was extremely warm as well, with spring conditions and only a few patches of hard pack snow and ice near the tops where it had been skied off day after day. The Greengates lift was on wind slow, and the first ride up was painfully long, eager as I was to tackle the moguls underneath me. I did a nice mogul run, then went up Greengates again, it trying my patience, and headed over to the t-bar. I met up with Owen after a few runs; he was sitting with his buddies at the picnic tables outside of Heidi's. I was happy to chug some water and also to say hi to Gary who was sitting at another table with some of his friends.

We took a few runs as a group, then I skied back down to Greengates for another few runs. I had my music again, and I was happy, oh so happy, to be outside for the afternoon, enjoying the mountains. I always feel like I ski better after snowboarding, as if it loosens me up, and I did a few runs on the moguls, Exchange, and explored some off-piste areas I hadn't really explored much before. Just after 3pm my form was getting a bit sloppy, which always frustrates me, and decided to head down to the bus. The grey clouds were gathering like a swarm of bugs gathering en masse for the kill. I got on to the bus just as it was starting to rain, having just missed the bus I was rushing towards, and after changing my shoes and using the toilets.

I intended to read my book, but figuring it would be better not to hurt my head I closed my eyes and put my head back, opening my eyes occasionally to take in the view and not get motion sickness. When I arrived back in town it was sprinkling out, and I walked the short block over to the Mountaineer Building. The door was open when I arrived and I ducked my head about, hoping it was only Giana at work. I said hello and told her it had just started raining up top and that it was unseasonably warm.

I went to the kitchen for some water after exchanging my skis for my snowboard and tucking the skis and poles into my hiding place beneath the table. I got a little distracted in my ravenous starvation, and started to use up the last of my food in the fridge. I made myself a savory yogurt by putting olives and a bit of olive juice in my plain yogurt, which is actually a lot tastier than you would think.

I then started munching on the red cabbage, and being sick of hearing myself crunch so loudly I put it and a carrot in the microwave. I poured a bit of sweet chili sauce I had found in the fridge on top of it and the flavors combined into a very nice Asian-tasting stir-fry-like dish, to which I added some cauliflower after warming it up. Sweet chili sauce has never been my favorite condiment, definitely favoring those without added salt and sugar, but it added a unique flavor to the veggies I eat every day.

After scarfing down some food I picked up my things and headed up the hill. I'm not sure if it was the chili sauce, the yogurt, or the fact that I ate anything at all, but I felt quite a bit nauseous walking up the hill, and had to stop quite a few times. I certainly was dragging my feet up the hill, but I made it, and plopped my things down on the floor in my room for the moment. I was happy to change into my comfy sleeping clothes as I put a bunch of clothing in the wash, then turned on the TV to see if anything was on while I opened the packages I got from my mom.

I ended up watching Happy Gilmore for the first time, and started watching another movie, Laws of Attraction, which I truly didn't think I had the patience to finish watching, but then sort of sank into a relaxed glazed-over feeling. I'm also surprised I still was warm enough from the day and the hike up to not need to put on more clothing or use the heater, though I think Di did eventually turn it on after she was done cooking.

I had opened my packages from mom, containing the Lord of the Flies book, some steel cut oats, my favorite Bengal spice tea, C and multi vitamins, my face lotion and a card. Yes, I was set! Moms are so great, and now I have all my favorite things here. I just need my hand weights now! The sad thing is that it truly is cheaper to buy things like vitamins back home and send them here than to buy anything like that here. I'm surprised that package only cost about $18 to send, maybe $20 including the packaging, and it got here rather fast. I thought she had only sent it at most a week ago, and still it had to be picked up in Frankton, which Di was nice enough to do for me, especially since it would have been ages before I could have made it there.

After watching the movies I headed back upstairs where my clothing was hanging to dry around my room and I took a nice relaxing shower, played Star Ocean a bit, and then took a nap in anticipation for another night of anything-goes.   

The Beast Within Reemerges

 For the first time in a little while I enjoyed geographically where I was this morning. I couldn't sleep - the great outdoors was calling me. As I lay in bed this morning, wrestling with strange dreams and being half awake thinking, I forced myself out of my intermediary sleep and began dwelling on what I should do for the day. It dawned on me that the best way to fight my sleeplessness would be to go snowboarding tonight after work. Even a bit of exercise in the morning, which I had plenty of time for, being wide awake just after 6am, would not combat the hours of drinking and standing around tonight, and honestly, I'm just tired of my eyes being puffy and sleepy. Time to be me again.

I'm a morning person. I love being out and about in town, feeling the crisp cold air on my warm face, radiating warmth from within after a hot cup of tea, a few push ups, and a shower. The snow pants also help. I gathered together everything I would need for night riding, it being much much easier to carry lighter-weight snowboarding boots and my snowboard down into town, put my jeans in my bag and decked myself out in my black ski pants, matching perfectly with the black tank top and button-down shirt. The black knit Roxy hat just topped it off perfectly, as would have my grey ski boots and black and white skis... but I daydream. There's no skiing for me today, just glancing up at the misty mountains, the waning nearly full moon drifting back behind the Skyline Gondola complex, yielding its spotlight to the lazily rising sun.

I felt the energy I had so lacked the last week or two - night time energy is difficult for me to procure, which is why I was glad I had it last week, but this week is a bit different. Carrying my board down into town and hearing the swish of my pants, knowing that while everyone else was freezing in the -4C weather, I was more content than I ever have been walking down to work. As soon as I got to the third floor of the Mountaineer Building I unlocked the front door with my master key, cleverly labeled 'full access,' and stashed my board down behind the table in the room outside the server room, hoping to hide it from Charlotte more than anyone. I placed my boots inconspicuously underneath the board and put the rest of my gear under my desk. Time to get the mail, and time to start my day.

Skipping straight ahead to ending my work day, none of us really got much done in the last few hours of the afternoon – even the phones were quiet but I was there to answer them. I reconciled most of the Underground Coffee accounts, did my Cinderella duties, and packed up boxes of old invoices and cash-ups to be brought out to the warehouse.

“It's 4:45,” I said to James as I my feet landed on the soft cream colored carpet in the executive office suite. I was already decked out in my ski pants, knee pads, thermals and ski shirt.

We said our goodbyes at the office and checked to see if anyone else was going to join us for our pre-5pm $4 Kilkenny date then headed straight to the pub. Five minutes to spare. Sweet. The first few sips of the frothy, creamy head of the Kilkenny were the sweetest, most delicious sensation, as if the entire essence of the feeling of finishing a work week on a Friday could be summed up in one smooth, gentle taste.

After Tom arrived I had already finished most of my beer and he had gotten me another one; it's such a delightful feeling to start drinking on a relatively empty stomach. Just after 5:30pm I headed back up to the office to get my boots on and grab my board. I got on the bus around 5:50pm and we set off about 15 minutes later. With a drunken smile I listened to some music, put my head back and closed my eyes.

I took three really good runs, riding switch, not caring if I fell, stacking and rolling back onto my feet again, and then met up with Giana and got a ride back to the office. I changed my clothes and headed to Harry's, where I ordered a water and sipped it half-asleep at the bar. I chatted with Gaz for a bit and then sat alone, zoning out in my post drunken post riding peacefulness, until Edward from Brazil came up and asked me why I was alone. Little did he know that I was surrounded by friends – Nat was there of course, Greg and Adam were in the bar, and I was just relaxing and chilling out. Still, I think he fancied me and bought me a beer and invited me to come over and play pool.

I did a bit of a douchebag thing to Edward, and while I definitely did take some time to chat with him, I wasn't quite feeling the right vibe and spent most of the time talking to his friend James, a pommy fellow who teaches at one of the English Language schools. A lot of his past and present students were hanging out with the group playing pool. I met Satsuki from Japan, who had just passed an exam, Luca from Italy, who couldn't keep the cue ball on the table and asked me to explain my sarcasm to him several times because he couldn't get past the language barrier, and another young man whose name I forgot from Saudi Arabia. I chatted with James for quite some time and after he left with his snowboard and all sorts of gear to walk a half an hour up past where I live and even farther up the hill, I was talking with Luca for a while, and then with the Saudi Arabian guy. Luca skis back in Europe and does a bit of race training here; it would be really nice to get to ski with him at some point so I got his number. I was talking with the Saudi Arabian chap about the middle east and he was telling me that the big cities are definitely tourist friendly, especially Dubai, and that it's ok for women to travel alone. He also said I would quite like Egypt. I agree I could go alone, but I would have to be careful, especially of cultural differences. He says there are no bars in Saudi Arabia, and the weather recently got up to a record 65C! How is that even possible??

After chatting for a while I excused myself to use the bathroom and then went back to Giana who had just ordered a pizza and offered me a few slices. The ingredients on the pizzas in this town are just such gourmet quality – the pizza at Harry's is California style, like most places around here, including Winnie's and Cow Lane Pizza. There was some sort of sausage that was spicy and flavorful without being greasy or fatty.

I grabbed some waters for me and Giana and sat and relaxed by the fire a while. She was socializing with Claudia, Greg, a lady named Katie that I met, and a few other people I never actually got introduced to. They were going to Barmuda so I followed them over, but though I wanted to hang out with Giana, I lost my energy when I got to Barmuda, and didn't feel the right vibe. Chris was there, and I recognized one of the bartenders as someone who had been up to the office. I also saw Will, Nigel's friend from work, who told me that he was showing his family the YouTube video, which made me quite happy to hear.

Giana was nice enough to have gotten me a red bull when I told her I was losing my energy, but it wasn't really enough to boost me back up. I put my coat on when I thought I heard they were moving on to Bardeaux, but apparently they had intended to stay at Barmuda longer. The place was packed, much to our satisfaction, mostly with a group of people who seemed to be dressed either like they belonged in Alice in Wonderland or a deck of cards – I couldn't be sure. There was a hot Indian-looking girl who was dressed as a bunny, very sexy, and some other men in tuxes and top hats and women in sexy costumes.

I guess I must tend to stand in bad places, or just get grumpy when I'm tired, but I don't care if you're a rich bitch or a drunk sloppy 18 year old backpacker, but I really hate getting pushed and bumped into at clubs. I could tell I was done for the night, and could definitely relate to what Iain always says about it not being good to be out when you're on bad form, so I excused myself and told Giana I would head over to Bardeaux later, but I needed to chill out for a while.

I headed straight to Revolver, hoping some thumping house music and a change of scenery would wake me up, but alas it did not, and the back area was already closed down. I did achieve the second objective while at Revolver, which was to test out their NY-style pizza. They only had pepperoni but that was ok – it wasn't the freshest at 1am, but it was still NY style, and they did have parmesan cheese and chili flakes to sprinkle on it, and a leather couch to relax on, so I was quite content. I'll have to try it another time though, when the hot cheese is dribbling off the sauce and the dough is chewy and warm. Mmm... NYC pizza...

I went back to the office to grab my bag, and honestly didn't even have enough energy to go back to say goodnight to Nat. It may have been bad karma, since I did sneak a sip of gin, which I mixed with a little tonic water in the fridge, from the top of the fridge at work when I had stopped in earlier. I sent Giana a text saying my head was hurting from my over-exhaustion and made my way up the hill back home for the night, looking forward to skiing the next day.  

Thursdays

 I had a fairly draining day at work on Thursday; Thursdays are always the worst. It always makes it tougher to make it through a sedentary day when you have no energy, ironically enough. At 5pm I couldn't get out of the building fast enough to join Nat for a curry date at Bombay Palace. I tried a dish that I hadn't found on the Tandoori Palace's menu – though I forgot the name it was another lamb dish which was allegedly somewhat BBQ flavored though I couldn't taste it. They made it reasonably spicy, but more flavorful spicy and even though I hardly put any rice on my dish my mouth certainly wasn't burning, may have been a tad sniffly though. I don't like the lamb at Bombay Palace – the cuts are way too big for a curry dish and it's always gamey and tough, though the butter chicken does melt in your mouth. I may have to settle for chicken next time I'm in there.

After dinner I walked with Nat over to Harry's and relaxed by the fire as he began work. I was still quite worn out, physically from not having gotten enough sleep the night before, a tired that no amount of caffeine would be able to cure. I was looking forward to meeting up with James for a beer at Monty's later in the night, but for a little while I just needed to zone out and stare into the fire.

I had an epiphany last night while I was sitting by the fire at Harry's, taking a moment to warm up and chill out. Exhausted from the day I even began crying, in a way I tried to both hide and embrace, crying being an excellent release from stress in my opinion. "I don't mind working hard - I love working hard," I said to several of my friends last night, "I just like to have a focus, a goal to work towards."

It's difficult in my job here, and also was the worst part of the trial at Les Alpes, because I'm being told what to do by several people and having to do small tasks here and there. Yesterday was actually a perfect example of the frustration stemming from my tasks, when I was asked to call up a company to request missing statements and invoices, and while I was on the phone realized that the ones that were missing matched up to each other. "Maybe you should figure out what you have before you call," the woman said on the phone. Honestly, if they wanted to get paid, I think they could afford a tad more patience.

I'm not sure if I get paid to think at this job - I suppose in some ways I do - I am paid to use good sense and judgement, pay attention to detail, and be able to use logic, but at least I don't have to take my work home with me. Last night I felt, in a small way, that I almost was taking my work home with me, knowing there were several tasks I left unfinished, though I had no responsibility to work on them or think about them while I was away from the office. The important thing that I realized was, I want to take my work home with me. I want to work on something. I want to go back to the science lab. That's when I started crying.

I was afraid, like a bad relationship, to go back. I was afraid of the commitment, afraid of failing, afraid of not finding satisfaction and happiness in that line of work, as if I'd rather not do it at all than not be satisfied. Yes, I saw my lab research like a bad relationship that had caused me heartache and apprehension. Well, at least I know the best thing is to admit I have a problem, and maybe, just maybe, if this feeling sticks around, I can do something about it.

Instead, I came back into the moment and did something about my lack of beer at the end of my work day. I said goodbye to Nat, who was busy making pizzas for the women there for the hens party, and made my way back up to the office, about a quarter or half past 6pm to see if James was still working. “I figured you'd still be here,” I said as I saw him at the desk.

James said he would be another 20 minutes or so, and understanding quite well that the most efficient work gets done when no one else is in the office I left him to it and checked my email and facebook and all those fun things sitting over at my desk. In just a few moments we were off to beer happiness at Monty's Thursday night Recession Session.

I got the first round of Monty's Black beer and James got the second. It was definitely smoother and easier to drink than some of the thicker dark beers, with the same flavor that I absolutely love. I'm glad I had waited about an hour after dinner to enjoy my beers; they settled my stomach and didn't overfill it – perfect. I chatted with James over our delicious beers about work mostly, both working for Good Group and working while traveling, agreeing that while you're on holiday traveling if you don't enjoy your job it's best to quit. On one hand I'm hoping that James will take over Tom's job in payroll, and I think that's what he wants to do, but the trouble there is that they really need someone to be there long term, whereas James is definitely on a see-how-it-goes basis with any kind of work, as am I. I'm still hoping to find a job to work at night by the end of August, but I'm very much settled into my position now, and its perks, and I would quite honestly miss my desk and my job if I left it without having something better lined up.

As we were chatting Hannah came inside to use the loo and suggested we head over to Pub on Wharf with her and Bobbi after our drinks. James and I are in total agreement that we need to get the whole office together for an after-work drink some time. We've had drinks with Hannah and Tom, and I had seen Rochelle out that one time in Harry's, but we definitely need to go to a pub in town after work with everyone, including Yvonne and Giles. The work bar is alright but we need to get the Good Group office out on the town, not sheltered in one of our own bars either.

James and I walked over to Pub on Wharf, where I was quite happy that we stayed inside to drink for half the time before heading outside for James and Bobbi to smoke. Leaving wine still in their glasses, Hannah and Bobbi decided it was time to head home for some dinner some time around 9pm, leaving James and I to head over to Harry's, as I always do. I at least wanted to show him some of our own bars, Harry's of course being my favorite. We stayed for a short time, and I decided to drag my exhausted self back up the hill, both worn out yet in a way full of energy from such a hearty dinner and three pints of black beer. 

Wednesdays

 Wednesday. What can I say about Wednesday? Wednesdays are quite good days, getting to the time in the week where the town is a little more active, I'm not quite tired out from the week yet; Wednesdays are also normally Ladies Night, and Wednesday is always pay day!

The best part about this Wednesday was the weather – the ski fields had gotten just a bit of snow this week, and it was warm and sunny in town. I waited for Hannah to get back from lunch and practically ran out of the building, sunglasses and book in hand, and walked over to the fish n chips shack on the water, enjoying the last hour of sunlight before it disappears behind the mountains again before 3pm. I happily ordered my fish and chips meal, knowing full well it was suited for two people, but I had been starving for the last few hours. The man in the tiny shack, full of oil and grease, could have been cut and pasted out of a lobster shack on Cape Cod or a street vendor stand in NYC. It's nice to see a blue collar worker not afraid to get his hands dirty in such a posh town, especially across the road from fine dining places like Les Alpes and Botswana Butchery.

The fish was succulent and tender, with a delicious crisp coating, not as greasy as PJs but greasy enough that you know it's authentic; the chips were nice and thick and tasty as well. Sitting on the stone wall looking over the lake basking in the sun was a well-deserved treat for my day. I loaded heaps of malt vinegar and pepper salt onto my plate and enjoyed my meal while fending away the seagulls. I read my book a little bit as I picked at the last of my chips, satisfied, yet not too full, since my stomach had been completely empty, not having eaten breakfast in about 5 hours. I went for a stroll to drop off my business cards at the Q1 apartments, and then returned to work, knowing the work day was nearly over.

This Wednesday we didn't have Ladies Night because of the ski school party on Monday, which I heard was quite good. I had intended to go home and rest and then walk down later in the night but I was pretty well exhausted and didn't want to have to put forth the energy just to check it out. At the end of my work day I texted a few people to see if they wanted to head over to get $2.50 beers at Fraser's but I ended walking over by myself and ordering one, just to get the night started and finish up the work day. There were a few people in Fraser's, more than usual before 6pm, but I got bored almost immediately and wandered over to Harry's.

Harry's is practically my living room at this point. I wish I could afford a quiet drink or two in there, but instead I just hang out on the leather sofas by the huge fire and ask Nat to pour me non-alcoholic drinks all night. He's gotten quite good at making my favorite n/a cocktail, a mix of cranberry and orange juice with just a bit of club soda and an orange for a garnish. I'm not convinced that pouring sodas out of the bottle for each drink is the best way to do it. I won't contest the fact that soda out of a gun can be a bit yucky, and sometimes flat, and definitely less classy, but I'd rather have my soda cold when it hits the glass. When I've had diet cokes both there and in Skybar it just doesn't taste the way I like it.

I had a very relaxing evening chatting with Nat and playing pool. When he suggested we play at first I said no, but then told him that I'd be happy to play on one condition: that I don't have to try. I actually play far far better when I'm just messing around one on one, instead of playing doubles or playing out in a social setting. I had more fun playing pool than I have in a long time, and made a few more of my around the back corner shots. I seem so wobbly I have doubts I'll even hit my ball let alone sink it, but I have a fairly decent success rate on that shot and actually used it to get the 8 ball in later that night.

I played a game with Jared as well, which was nice, because his shots aren't as dead-on as Nat's are, so I feel the game was evenly matched. After our game the bar was slowly getting a bit busier as it was after 9pm and getting closer to the start of the pool competition. I was curious to see what else was going on in town and had found a flyer laying on the table outside at Fraser's that Melt, a new bar/club around the corner from Harry's on Shotover St was giving free champagne tonight. I left my jacket and backpack safely with Nat and made my way around the corner, the night air still being on the warm side.

When I arrived at Melt I was honestly the only person in there, other than the barman of course. Steve from Ireland kept me entertained for at least a solid 90 minutes, telling me about his travels around Asia before he arrived in NZ, including his night out in Vietnam where he and his friends were taken to a place where they would play with snakes, kill the snake, cut it open and scoop out its heart with their fingers, then take a shot with the heart and blood in it and wash it down with some sort of liquor. Well, that's a new one.

Around 10:30pm I got a text from Rich, a guy I had met volunteering for the Winter Festival and who I had texted about going for a beer at Fraser's earlier, and he and Stefan and his friends were downstairs at Daruma. Thankfully I didn't have to leave Steve all by himself – a handful of blokes had just walked in – and I went downstairs to the sake bar. I was convinced to have a sake bomb with Rich, Stefan, their friend Wade or Wayne, and three girls whose names I don't remember who work at Bombay Palace – though I do remember one of the girls is from Bali. Though I enjoyed doing a group drink, the girls had bought 1% beer to use for the sake bomb so they wouldn't get too drunk, which we promptly made fun of once we looked at the label.

I convinced the group to head up to Melt to get free champagne. I thought the boys would maybe get a cheap drink there or something, and felt sorta bad that it was just us four girls getting free drinks and no money was going into the bar, but at least more people know where Melt is now, even if they do have very strange men's toilets with no dividing walls...

Anyway, the gang was going to head to Buffalo club, and I myself went back to Harry's where the pool competition was just ending and I was talking with Nat again. Just after midnight I walked over with Gaz, another bartender from Harry's, to Skybar. Thoroughly exhausted at this point, not having been out so late yet this week and still sort of recovering from both last week and my exhausting night at Les Alpes, I stayed for just a short while then took a cab home around 1am. Skybar was having its pimps and hos party, and while the bar definitely wasn't dead, it could have used a few more people. I really enjoyed the decorations, especially the bed they had draped with tiger print throw blankets and fancy pillows. Skybar is a nice cocktail bar for sure, and I wish they could get more people in there. It's in an odd location on the side of town, next to banks and the shopping mall, not really on a nightclub row like where Barmuda is located.

I had the cab drop me off on the intersection of Dublin and Edinburgh so I could get my little bit of a walk in so I could sleep better, and played a bit of Star Ocean before relaxing into sleep for Thursday.  

C'est La Vie!

 Today I found out either 1. why working as a waitress in Queenstown is shit, or 2. that I'm just not suited to work in any restaurant that happens to serve fondue. It's probably an intricate combination of both.

I arrived at my trial at Les Alpes a few minutes before 5pm and met with Steven, the floor manager. He suited me up in a white button-down frilly shirt and a long tan bistro apron and introduced me to the table numbers and menu. Cheerful as he seemed at times, very rare times, he seemed like he certainly had a chip on his shoulder, ascertained when he told me he had been working there a year and was more than happy to leave asap which is why they were looking to hire someone. I was introduced to Jess, and was assigned to be working with her in the back section of the restaurant near the fireplace. Originally the plan was to follow her for a few tables and then take a few of my own. Little goes according to plan in restaurants.

I met Cody from Michigan who had done several other jobs in the restaurant before recently starting as a waiter. Basically everyone who works there is French, or possibly American – his voice and mannerisms at the table sounded quite familiar to me as far as a restaurant setting goes, but sounded out of place in our current environment. Gavin, the bar man and barista, was from England, and quite sociable as well, him being my favorite of the bunch, quite friendly and helpful, more so than anyone else.

Before our tables started filling up I was to polish the plates with white vinegar, a menial task that seemed largely inconsequential as far as the cleanliness and appearance of the plates, but at least I was looking busy and it wasn't terribly draining. After a while of waiting and being introduced to the way things were run I asked Gavin to make me a coffee, after having seen Jess make one for Cody and Gavin having made one for one of the cooks. I asked him for his specialty and he made me a delicious mochaccino, with drinking chocolate mixed in with the espresso shot, topped with foam, poured in such a way as to produce a swirly pattern that I myself would be hard-pressed to reproduce.

I just happened to take the cup from him and went to move it to a less obvious spot back in the kitchen when our first table of customers walked in and Jess sat them in our section. After taking a sip of my drink I took a step outside the kitchen, to be told by Steven to stay with Jess. Thus started the wave of everything going wrong, not terribly wrong mind you – I truly thought they would keep me on even just to not have to explain everything all over again to everyone who dropped off their CV – but apparently they were looking for someone who just fit in a bit better. I'll save time and my sanity by not whinging about every little thing that wasn't quite right, but sometimes two things just don't fit together.

I did have a pleasant time working at the restaurant, and as Steven said at the end of the night, I was a bit lost. Though I'm always keen to help out my fellow servers and do what's necessary, I'm not used to waiting on the entire restaurant, and maybe I wasn't supposed to, because I was finding things here and there to help out with, and trying to take the initiative without doing something wrong. After the first two tables the restaurant got quite busy, and I was trying to greet guests and take orders, while still learning how things are done, and the hour of chaos, as most restaurants have during their peak period, was not the best learning environment.

Similarly, I felt that the restaurant itself wasn't the best environment for me. I knew that it would be a lot of hard work, especially during the 2-3 peak and prep hours, for not much hourly pay, and apparently they don't give a staff meal, other than some junk the kitchen throws together around 3pm. The only food I got to try was some left over mushroom and classic fondue that I saw Steven stuffing his face with and asked if I could have a taste as well. I'm quite certain that having the coffee and “tasting” some of the fondue wasn't the best impression I could have made, but honestly Steven didn't make a good impression on me either, and I had a feeling I wasn't going to be compensated for the trial. It was kind of a mutual not giving a shit, though I was sort of hoping I would be hired, work a few shifts, and then leave if I didn't like it.

I find it a bit ironic that I'm being rejected from the jobs I normally do in America, both ski instruction and waitressing, but maybe it's the fact that I know I do a good job at what I do and I won't settle for working my professions for shit money in shit conditions, and much like the try outs at Coronet, I don't think my heart was in this either. I think it's a great experience to be working in the office and babysitting as well. The office job is giving me a new perspective on things, and I still think it may land me something in one of the bars, though I'm not sure I'd be happy bartending full time in this town either, and babysitting pays very very well. It's like the office job equates to ski instruction in Park City and babysitting equates to restaurant work since the pay is so good.

It always feels a bit rough being rejected from something, but the thing that I get worked up about is that they really didn't appreciate the four and a half hours of hard work that I did put in. Then again, at least it was only four and a half hours, for quite a sound learning experience, and an evening of personal entertainment. Really, what else was I going to do on a Tuesday? Oh yeah, sit in bed here and play some video games to relax – I better get on that. Ciao!

Monday

 Monday Monday Monday. What to say about Monday. I definitely made a Monday out of this Monday, especially after being out every single night in the past two weeks except for the previous Tuesday! I left work about ten minutes after 5 and walked straight home, not even stopping anywhere or browsing shops or buying groceries, just straight home in the nice warm early evening, before the sun had truly faded from the sky. I even had a solid hour of daylight sitting in my bed looking out the window. I spent most of the night playing Star Ocean, which I greatly enjoyed, and washed my white ski jacket as soon as I got home. I think most of the dirt got washed away, except for the ever-hard to remove dirt on the ends of the sleeves. Let me say it felt really really good to walk home when it was light out for the first time in almost 2 weeks, and just sit around and do nothing until I couldn't stay awake any longer around 10:30pm. Any other night I would have been bored, but I had quite a satisfying night on Sunday, and quite a few excellent nights last week, parties, new friends, adventures, skiing, meeting a new family to babysit for. It was definitely a night to step it down a notch to be able to experience the thrills and highs of the last two weeks and the experiences yet to come.

I feel like I'm settling into my job a lot more, understanding the ins and outs, and getting used to the perks, such as having my freedom to manage my own time and have meals as I like. I spent the entire morning cleaning up the office bar area. At first I was just tidying up a few things, then I tried tackling the dish washer, then I thought it wouldn't take that much longer to do what I was doing, and before I knew it I had spent all morning cleaning when I probably should have just called the cleaners! I even got a bunch of pollen on my blue button down shirt from the wilted flowers I was getting rid of, but I pretty much drew the line at trying to set a fire while wearing clothes that weren't black, so I left that for the next day.

I spent the afternoon continuing to sort invoices, enter them in the computer, and continue to reject people calling soliciting payment. I was quite satisfied with myself, having kept myself quite busy during the day, varying my workload so I would keep motivated and actually being a senior member of the staff compared to our newest recruit, James, who was hired to manage Al's accounts, especially since Ann is away for another two weeks. James seems like a good guy, new to Queenstown and staying at Last Resort backpackers, which is where Sam and Ruth stayed for a few days because they knew the owners from the last time they were in Queenstown.

My Monday was quite mellow and relaxing, kind of like when you go crazy on vacation and then go back to work to relax!

A Hidden Jewel

 Some days it feels like when you're in the right place with the right person the right things tend to happen. The culmination of my crazy week of working, going out on the town, night skiing, and meeting new people led to a lovely evening date and the discovery of the Britannia Royale, another hidden jewel in the lovely town of Queenstown.

Just moments after I had arrived in front of Harry's I saw Andrew walking up the sidewalk past Bella Cucina and Buffalo Club.

“I hope you weren't waiting long,” he said.

“No, no more than 5 minutes at most,” I responded. “Where's Stu?”

“He's not coming,” Andrew responded in his delightful Scottish accent.

Ah, it's a date then. Wonderful! I'm not sure if I was happier that we would be dining alone or that I wouldn't have to eat more pizza. In fact, Andrew didn't seem terribly particular about where we went. I mentioned if he liked curry and he said it sounded like a fabulous idea. Ok, curry it is!

I really never get sick of curry – there's so many different kinds that are all so tasty. I tend to go there at least once a week and it never gets old. We wandered over to Tandoori Palace and sat at a table next to the window. We ordered our curries and some of the yoghurt sauce for dipping. Our conversation spilled into the realms of video games, general geekiness, traveling, our experiences in Queenstown, and life in general.

We wandered around town after dinner – I was taking Andrew on a mini-tour of the town and talking about all the interesting things I had seen and describing a lot of the bars and restaurants. We wandered up the stairs and into Britannia. I had wanted to show Andrew the interior and I politely asked the waitress if it was alright to step inside. They welcomed us in and suggested we look at a menu. We said we already had dinner but took a good look at the dessert menu. Although not intending to dine we both fell in love with the description of the Britannia Royale, two scoops of raspberry and apricot ice cream sailing on a boat made of chocolate.

We took a seat in a booth in the back dining room, the area that looked most like the inside of a pirate ship. Surrounded in an ambiance of flags from the United Kingdom and old world style candle holders and old wooden seats we continued our conversation. My time with Andrew on our little date was relaxed but never boring – I felt that we had so much in common it was quite disappointing that he was going to be leaving the next day, or leaving at all. He would have been a great companion this season, allowing me to show my geeky side, and apparently being quite compatible at meals.

When our ship came in we were dazzled by the intricacies of the artwork. The two ice cream scoops lay inside of the chocolate boat, looked over by a tall mast and sails made out of hard butterscotch candy. The plate was adorned with swirls of raspberry sauce and whipped cream. After admiring it a moment we dug into it and enjoyed a pot of earl grey tea as well. This was a prime example of how perfect some moments can be in Queenstown, and in life, when you're with the right person. The right things just seem to happen.

After our dessert we went out to Pog Mahone's for a glass of Kilkenny during their 9-10pm happy hour. A little strange, but I don't mind, we shared one beer. Since we were both so full and aren't terribly keen on drinking the one glass of rich, delicious beer was enough. We sat at a table by the fire and chatted for a while, enjoying the night and the ambiance, enjoying our date, and a little tour of the delightful things Queenstown has to offer.

At the end of our night Andrew was kind enough to walk me back up to my house. I love how the Western Australians can be so chivalrous. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and I wished him a safe flight home. I have his business card so I'll be able to keep in touch. The more nice guys from Perth I meet the more I want to head out there again. Well, if not this trip, maybe next year.