08 December, 2005 (Thursday)

December 08, 2005 (Thursday) - The morning after
Last night was the staff Christmas party. Before you ask, yes - I was relatively well behaved. No battle wounds. Walked into work with dark glasses, but only because of snow glare not hangover. The night? I'm glad you asked...

Celebrations started last night at 6:30pm at the Happy Valley lodge. It's a largish building which has a few eateries, the company store (selling Big White branded gear), ticket office and cafeteria. I've done a few shifts there (one today) in the ticket office. The Happy Valley area caters more for younger kids, and features tubing (basically you get dragged up a hill on a huge tyre, then they spin you, sliding you down the mountain), snow mobiling and a large outdoor ice skating rink (which will hopefully open this weekend). Both levels of the lodge had functional bars set-up, although the upper level definitely had more ambiance.

The party was for all Big White staff, some 400 or so of us. The majority I'd guess were (rowdy) Australians, with a smattering of other nationalities. Most people were just dressed in t-shirts and jeans. A few of us fashion plates went as far as collared shirts. I saw one stiff in a white dress blazer with a tie. He didn't look right. Think it was the hair and the lost look on his face.

My first half-hour was spent in a line up for cut-priced drinks. There was 4 staff on, but with every second person ordering 2 jugs of beer and a glass of soda pop the line didn't feel like it was moving at all. That kind of set the tone for the night, which for the next few hours felt like something between a pep-rally and a huge buffet. Truth be told, it started pretty painfully.

So, the buffet turkey dinner was acceptable, and I have to admit that the desert was fantastic, but the christmas carols playing in the background interspersed by random pumpings by the DJ were just too much. "Hey there Big White people how are you? Which of you are from Australia? Give me a cheer!". Wait a second. Let me just get out my pom-poms and cheer stick. Oh, and while we're at it - please douse me with cold water and tar and feather me. Easy on the feathers.

After dinner the resort CEO got up to mouth something incomprehensible about 2005/2006 staff. Everybody was cheering and drinking too much. Things started to get more interesting around 8:30pm. I guess the point where people start to get well and truly pickled - a girl climbed the wall to 'ride the moose', people started dancing on tables and chairs (5 tables broken, current record set last year was 7), and just generally getting messy. I was in a bit of a mellow mood, so I just watched and circulated to chat with the few people I recognised.

A few good photos, selective mingling and flirty exchanges later I found myself dancing with the local contingent of my department: Zia has been with Big White tickets for 7 years and seems to be still enjoying it. Tammy does the accounts. Kristi is still studying at school (university) and looks after Happy Valley ticketing on the weekends. Kaisa is from the Island and works mainly weekends too. Josh and I had a quick B52 each, and then onwards to Snowshoe Sam's to continue the celebrations before it got packed out.

Sam's was the same old, just with people dancing on the tables. The dance floor packed out quickly, but the bar area wasn't any busier than last Tuesday. The crowd was just as drunk and frantic as at the work party (that I guess most had come from), which of course meant that bar service was a bit slow (you could tell from the slowly moving lines).

I finished up around 12:30am. Just tired and thinking of my early start the next morning. A lot of people didn't make it in with the bouncers deciding it would be fun to leave people waiting in the cold at around 10:30pm.

Work at 08:00am this morning and quite a few people looking a little on the seedy side. I managed to avoid the worst of it, and was feeling relatively awake after a good breakfast and shot of Berocca in the morning (cold weather always leaves me wanting to sleep even more). Today I was posted in the Happy Valley office. To get there you have to catch Lara's Gondola - basically somewhat like a chairlift, except instead of a chair you get a bright yellow pod that can seat 8. No heating though, so it's quite a chilly trip.

Happy Valley today was on the quiet side. Highlights included serving maybe 10 customers and removing rust from ice skates, in between reading the Salman Rushdie novel Al gifted me before I left and listening to my iPod. There is now rust on my white shirt cuffs. I think I need to buy some fabric softener and stain remover.
... I also think I need more sleep. Another shift tomorrow. Can't believe tomorrow is Friday already. Ski-daze!


Randomness
I want to be poetic -
Wax lyrical
Script song
But I'm too tired
Tonight.

Thoughts on... Youth hostels
I've decided that youth hostels are populated by a few distinctly different types of people:

• Residents: Residents are in the hostel for months at a time. They claim to like meeting new people every day and don't mind that they disappear as fast. Residents like to tell others that they revel in the party atmosphere and the transitory nature of the hostel. They use the hostel fridges for their shopping and cook all their food in the shared kitchen.
• Travellers: Travellers have no fixed destination and are just between places. They like meeting new people going in new directions, which they may adopt for their own. Travellers usually only stay at the hostel for a few days and inevitably look for cheap food and cheap drink. You can invariably find travellers at the hostel bar each night mixing with other travellers.
• Oldsters: Oldsters are 40+, often badly dressed, who stand out from the relativel youth of other hostel residents. Oldsters may be trying to save money or going through some kind of mid-life crisis trying to get back in touch with their lost youth, but whatever the case other hostel residents tend to give them a wide berth. Oldsters can be residents.

Quick profiles
My room mates are great - I'm not gushing, honest. It’s still taking a bit to get used to Jae and Josh’s night shift hours and we’re yet to work out permanent sleeping and cupboarding arrangements (because everybody keeps such different hours), but they’re all easy going and relatively responsible (when it’s required) guys. Without further ado, introducing...

The room mates:

• Dave: A mechanic by trade, Dave hails from Dapto - not Sydney. That's something he likes to be clear on. He likes his sport, is a big hockey fan, but one sure way to get him riled is to compliment Gridiron. Dave likes nothing more than a few beers at the pub (Granville Honey brew is his current preference), a good yarn (and he’s got a few corkers to share), or a few good runs down the ski slopes. Dave is the resident lady's man, with this blond locks and chisled bloke-ness. He likes his food and is a bit of a chef in the kitchen. This isn't Dave's first time in Canada, he's visited a few years ago, touring the mountains. Dave is a fairly accomplished skier, having also skiied Austria. Dave is in ski repair for the season, which should be handy…
• Jae: The organizer of our current apartment, Jae is relaxed, outgoing and friendly. He seems to know half the mountain on a first name basis and is always ready to help out a mate. Before this season Jae was working nights for TPG (an Australian Internet service provider), so he’s kind of used to odd hours. He’s a keen snowboarder and doesn’t mind a few drinks or the odd game of hockey. Jae doesn't mind organising and is more of a socialiser than a drinker. By the end of the season he intends to be able to "skate like a fiend" and ski as well as snowboard. Both Jae and Josh are working night audit in the bigger hotels in Big White.
• Josh: Tall and friendly, Josh is always up for a good laugh. He’s visited Canada previously, and is currently in the process of switching from skis to snowboard – a brave man! A keen fan of Wednesday night chicken wings, Josh isn’t that hard to persuade to head down to the pub for a brew. Josh is best known for his prodigious appetite and his easy sense of huour ("Champagne powder, eh?"). He's into his music and has been known to boogie in his top hat on the dance floor. Josh used to work at TPG with Jae, and is similarly doing night audit this season at Big White.