Friday 30 December 2011
Yours truly
I wrote something. It got put in an on-line mag. I'm sort of happy and horrified. Eek! :) http://www.whitenoizemag.co.uk/
Thursday 29 December 2011
Bus stop bullshit
I was standing at the bottom of the Prodains lift, waiting for the bus back into Morzine after a morning of riding over to Avoriaz, eating far too much at Changabangs and deciding to head home for a pre dinner service snooze. Standing in the bus queue with me were the usual assortment of people you would expect to find in a ski resort, tourists, natives (for want of a better word, I'm not being judgemental about the French or anything) and seasonnaires. The seasonnaires can be split into subspecies, some of which would be those that work and those that bum around. I imagine that the species of seasonnaire standing in front of me in the queue was of the bum variety and I make this assumption based on the bull doo-doo he was spouting. It was the kind of stuff that makes me cringe when I hear it, the kind of 'break free from the chains of society' nonsense that some people use to justify their chosen way of life. "Yeah, I didn't want to be a part of the system you know, I didn't want to be fed into the suburban slave classes who are like, totally enslaved you know, like, incarceration by aspiration, you know what I mean...", this and more priceless pearls of wisdom were being bestowed on a pretty girl he was talking to. I don't know how she felt about it or him, but I was thinking "Geez, this guy is full of shit!". If you don't want to conform to the 9-5, get a job, get married, suburban, raise a family lifestyle then fair enough. There are many people that don't want to conform to that, but don't feel the need to talk bullshit to justify their life choices. Different strokes for different folks. Sorry, rant over, it just annoys me when people think they're so damn unique for breaking free and so on, like they're the first person to ever have done so, or think they're the first generation to ever have done so. I'm all for travelling, expanding horizons, not settling for a hum drum existence but you don't have to be a cock about it. Bla, bla, bla, I'll get off my soap box now but I bet in the summer he goes to Thailand to "find himself".
Time, it seems to be literally vanishing! The first guests came and went and so did Christmas. I did get a lovely beanie hat, fleece lined with a giant bobble on it from them, for a Christmas gift, very sweet!! We have our second lot of guests now and it takes a moment for your brain to adjust to new people in the chalet. It's going to be a weird thing for the next 18 weeks, to have a totally new set of people every week. I didn't imagine it would be this odd, but just as you get used to one lot they disappear and others appear. They appear far too quickly too! I'm talking of course of the nightmare that is transfer day. Get them up, fed and watered, make sure their bags are packed, walk them to the bus for 9AM. Hugs and kisses and heartfelt goodbyes and waving until the bus is out of sight then frantic cleaning/cooking/tidying/organising/bed making/jacuzzi draining etc.etc.etc. This goes on until 2PM when the dreaded phone call comes "the bus is in Taninge, time to come to the office". This is when you look at yourself in the mirror and think you've seen better looking piles of dog sick but you have no time to do anything about it, slap on your clean uniform and race to the bus to greet the new lot, with a HUGE smile on your face which hides the utter panic that is occurring inside because you've just remembered that really important thing you forgot to do before leaving the chalet. Get them to the chalet in one piece, stop them wandering off into town (like herding cats at times) then the week starts again as they sit down to a big pile of freshly baked brownies and listen to your welcome speech. Repeat 18 more times and the season is over. Time, it's being robbed from me, I swear.
New Years Eve tomorrow. Time for reflection, thinking about the year past and the year to come, family and friends present and absent, new friends and old friends... when to book that ticket to Thailand to find myself.... Ha! See what I did there? Anyway, it is New Years Eve and no doubt I shall be reflecting, what a crazy time I've had lately. A relationship over, the end of an era with Blanca dog, moving home, moving life, moving boxes and yet more moving, a new qualification, a new direction, a new country, a new snowboard. 2011, I had big hopes for you as a year and you've certainly been an eventful year!! That much is definitely true. So where will you be when the clock strikes and 2012 is ushered in? Who will you be with? What hopes will you have for the new year? I will most likely be at a seasonnaire house party, in the staff accommodation affectionately known as Basra. A dear old friend of mine is coming to Morzine, we've been friends since we were 10-11, so I'll have the old and the new, which is great! We'll be eating left overs from all the chalet dinners we'll have cooked and be supping on opened wines our guests didn't drink throughout the week, we'll be super stoked to be in the marvellous mountains and we'll be thoroughly hammered by the time the clock strikes midnight. My only hope for the year (apart from peace on Earth, which I wish for all the time but it never seems to happen) is that it keeps snowing and that I get to ride some awesome powder, other than that, I'll leave 2012 to do what it will with me, no big list of resolutions, let's just see what happens. If I don't get to say it to you personally at the moment the new year comes in, have a fantastic New Years and may 2012 be good to you and yours!
Time, it seems to be literally vanishing! The first guests came and went and so did Christmas. I did get a lovely beanie hat, fleece lined with a giant bobble on it from them, for a Christmas gift, very sweet!! We have our second lot of guests now and it takes a moment for your brain to adjust to new people in the chalet. It's going to be a weird thing for the next 18 weeks, to have a totally new set of people every week. I didn't imagine it would be this odd, but just as you get used to one lot they disappear and others appear. They appear far too quickly too! I'm talking of course of the nightmare that is transfer day. Get them up, fed and watered, make sure their bags are packed, walk them to the bus for 9AM. Hugs and kisses and heartfelt goodbyes and waving until the bus is out of sight then frantic cleaning/cooking/tidying/organising/bed making/jacuzzi draining etc.etc.etc. This goes on until 2PM when the dreaded phone call comes "the bus is in Taninge, time to come to the office". This is when you look at yourself in the mirror and think you've seen better looking piles of dog sick but you have no time to do anything about it, slap on your clean uniform and race to the bus to greet the new lot, with a HUGE smile on your face which hides the utter panic that is occurring inside because you've just remembered that really important thing you forgot to do before leaving the chalet. Get them to the chalet in one piece, stop them wandering off into town (like herding cats at times) then the week starts again as they sit down to a big pile of freshly baked brownies and listen to your welcome speech. Repeat 18 more times and the season is over. Time, it's being robbed from me, I swear.
New Years Eve tomorrow. Time for reflection, thinking about the year past and the year to come, family and friends present and absent, new friends and old friends... when to book that ticket to Thailand to find myself.... Ha! See what I did there? Anyway, it is New Years Eve and no doubt I shall be reflecting, what a crazy time I've had lately. A relationship over, the end of an era with Blanca dog, moving home, moving life, moving boxes and yet more moving, a new qualification, a new direction, a new country, a new snowboard. 2011, I had big hopes for you as a year and you've certainly been an eventful year!! That much is definitely true. So where will you be when the clock strikes and 2012 is ushered in? Who will you be with? What hopes will you have for the new year? I will most likely be at a seasonnaire house party, in the staff accommodation affectionately known as Basra. A dear old friend of mine is coming to Morzine, we've been friends since we were 10-11, so I'll have the old and the new, which is great! We'll be eating left overs from all the chalet dinners we'll have cooked and be supping on opened wines our guests didn't drink throughout the week, we'll be super stoked to be in the marvellous mountains and we'll be thoroughly hammered by the time the clock strikes midnight. My only hope for the year (apart from peace on Earth, which I wish for all the time but it never seems to happen) is that it keeps snowing and that I get to ride some awesome powder, other than that, I'll leave 2012 to do what it will with me, no big list of resolutions, let's just see what happens. If I don't get to say it to you personally at the moment the new year comes in, have a fantastic New Years and may 2012 be good to you and yours!
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Your hair smells of... shampoo.
The first guests have arrived and I could not have asked for a nicer bunch. They are a lovely family and are making my job nice and easy by being so laid back and relaxed. Still worried about Christmas day though, just because there's such high expectations put on the day, I'm not just talking about guests, it's anyone really. We all tend to build it up and then are usually ultimately disappointed that it wasn't that perfect image we had in our heads. That makes me sound like I don't like Christmas which isn't the case at all and anyone that knows me well will tell you that I LOVE Christmas! Anyway, Christmas is soon, the chalet is looking cosy, the snow is falling like crazy, the guests are nice and every so often I can hear a little person ask a big person "how many sleeps is it till Christmas?". Aaaaww, how sweet.
It's not all super easy though, it's bloody hard work chalet hosting. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I don't think I was prepared for how exhausted you get after service. It just drains you and the thing is, when you're exhausted and thinking you could sleep for an age, the realisation comes that this is your life for the next five months. Then you get a text from someone in another chalet making mountain/beer plans for later and suddenly you remember how amazingly awesome it is that this is your life for the next five months. Happiness occurs.
This blog, informative (and hopefully at times amusing), is meant as a diary for me to remember lots of bits about my season in the Alps, that I might otherwise forget. Either through a Mutzig fuelled memory loss episode or just through the passing of time. So this part might be a bit random, but there's things I need to just note down.
Your hair smells of ... shampoo.
Dutty. "I'm STUCK!!!!" (from inside a duvet cover).
Alright there pal (said in a Scottish accent).
Allan and Lynn.
Basra and Berger-al-Arab.
Dirty Du Bois.
We can just hug it out.
Pineapple yoghurt swirls in the tomato and lentil soup.
Forgetting part of the main course and bringing it out halfway through dinner and having the balls to announce it as "and now for the best bit of your main meal".
Scaring people in boiler rooms.
Beer on the window sill.
Drinking wine out of coffee mugs.
Look at the elbow and the high five will follow.
Need any washing doing? (at 2:30AM)
D-12-Sprint
I'm sure that's not terribly amusing to those who have no idea what I'm chatting about, sorry.
Day off tomorrow. WOW!! Finally I'm heading out on the mountain. It's been snowing like mental and despite everyone else having been out, I've been good, looked after myself (I have a cold, don't want it to settle on my chest and then be out of action for weeks). So tomorrow is the day, there's meant to be blue skies and sunshine and I will finally get to ride my new set up. Yikes. How exciting!!!!!!
Off to cook for the little ones now, then the big ones, then beer and then riding some fluffy powder in the morning. Five months you say? Hmmm. Don't know if that's going to be enough?
It's not all super easy though, it's bloody hard work chalet hosting. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I don't think I was prepared for how exhausted you get after service. It just drains you and the thing is, when you're exhausted and thinking you could sleep for an age, the realisation comes that this is your life for the next five months. Then you get a text from someone in another chalet making mountain/beer plans for later and suddenly you remember how amazingly awesome it is that this is your life for the next five months. Happiness occurs.
This blog, informative (and hopefully at times amusing), is meant as a diary for me to remember lots of bits about my season in the Alps, that I might otherwise forget. Either through a Mutzig fuelled memory loss episode or just through the passing of time. So this part might be a bit random, but there's things I need to just note down.
Your hair smells of ... shampoo.
Dutty. "I'm STUCK!!!!" (from inside a duvet cover).
Alright there pal (said in a Scottish accent).
Allan and Lynn.
Basra and Berger-al-Arab.
Dirty Du Bois.
We can just hug it out.
Pineapple yoghurt swirls in the tomato and lentil soup.
Forgetting part of the main course and bringing it out halfway through dinner and having the balls to announce it as "and now for the best bit of your main meal".
Scaring people in boiler rooms.
Beer on the window sill.
Drinking wine out of coffee mugs.
Look at the elbow and the high five will follow.
Need any washing doing? (at 2:30AM)
D-12-Sprint
I'm sure that's not terribly amusing to those who have no idea what I'm chatting about, sorry.
Day off tomorrow. WOW!! Finally I'm heading out on the mountain. It's been snowing like mental and despite everyone else having been out, I've been good, looked after myself (I have a cold, don't want it to settle on my chest and then be out of action for weeks). So tomorrow is the day, there's meant to be blue skies and sunshine and I will finally get to ride my new set up. Yikes. How exciting!!!!!!
Off to cook for the little ones now, then the big ones, then beer and then riding some fluffy powder in the morning. Five months you say? Hmmm. Don't know if that's going to be enough?
Saturday 17 December 2011
Tears, tartiflette and Tibetan bar
Today was the day, the day the tears came. First cry of the season and we're 17 days in. It's been emotional. So, so, so tired and there seems to be so much to do before Monday. It feels like we've been deep cleaning forever! Someone asked if my fridge had been switched off this morning, unbeknownst to me someone had overloaded the circuit and tripped it and it had turned itself off, but literally only for a couple of minutes. Before we ascertained this, I ended up in floods of tears and getting whisked off by my resort co-ordinator and manager for hugs and reassurance. Thing is, everyone else has their chalets sorted but mine is a tip and that's because it's the one we're using as a base, to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at and hang out in. So, I'm kinda having kittens at the thought of getting this place ready for guests at midday on Monday.
Drama and emotional trauma aside I am happy to be here. It's been snowing so heavily and I know that when I FINALLY get out boarding it's going to be awesome. We were meant to go today but because some people haven't pulled their weight and there seems to be so much to fit in before Monday, our afternoon on the slopes was cancelled. Poo. All is not lost though. We had tartiflette for dinner, cooked by yours truly and by all accounts everyone liked it. Then our manager told us there was a vicious rumour circulating Morzine that there are free seasonnaire drinks at the Tibetan bar. So despite being tired as hell, and old enough to know better than to go out, I'm going to go out. It'll be the last Saturday night for a LONG time that I'll be able to go out without the worry of transfer day happening on Sunday. I've put my glad rags on and put make up on, lots to try to look less like the living dead and more like an alluring chalet girl. There is also a rumour that the ski instructor will be out tonight...
Drama and emotional trauma aside I am happy to be here. It's been snowing so heavily and I know that when I FINALLY get out boarding it's going to be awesome. We were meant to go today but because some people haven't pulled their weight and there seems to be so much to fit in before Monday, our afternoon on the slopes was cancelled. Poo. All is not lost though. We had tartiflette for dinner, cooked by yours truly and by all accounts everyone liked it. Then our manager told us there was a vicious rumour circulating Morzine that there are free seasonnaire drinks at the Tibetan bar. So despite being tired as hell, and old enough to know better than to go out, I'm going to go out. It'll be the last Saturday night for a LONG time that I'll be able to go out without the worry of transfer day happening on Sunday. I've put my glad rags on and put make up on, lots to try to look less like the living dead and more like an alluring chalet girl. There is also a rumour that the ski instructor will be out tonight...
Friday 16 December 2011
Late night, at a crossroads in old Morzine...
... stood a chalet girl and a ski instructor. Is that a massive cliché? Probably.
More cleaning now. More blogging later.
More cleaning now. More blogging later.
Wednesday 14 December 2011
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
I'm tired. Deep cleaning is not fun. People are tired and emotions are running high. Interactions can be fraught and tense. Some situations are not easy, some people are not easy, I know I can be one of those people on occasion , but I'm generally quick to apologise when I do snap or make a harsh comment. I feel things keenly and sometimes it takes me a while to warm up again after things have gone awry. I feel the stress of are we going to get it all done? Am I going to get my paperwork filled in correctly and on time? Will my first guests be nice? Will I ruin Christmas dinner for them? Am I going to work well with someone? Will I ever make it on to an actual slope on my snowboard? I feel at times a bit overwhelmed. Those are the worst of times.
When the snow is falling, the sun is shining on the mountains and I'm with good people, it sometimes takes me a minute to grasp that I'm here for the next five months. When I'm surrounded by people from a fair few different walks of life coming together as a unit, enjoying free booze and food for seasonnaires then dancing the night away, I have to remind myself that this is, in fact, all mine for the next five months. Mine to enjoy. Times full of laughter, fun, friendship and great memories being made. There have been plenty of those times so far, thankfully. Those are the best of times.
Right now is tired times. I never thought that cleaning a bathroom could feasibly take 2-3 hours. But then again I don't usually do it with a toothpick, toothbrush, 2 different colour cloths and at least 3-4 different products. I tell you what, those guests had better pull the plug up and appreciate just how clean that plug hole is....
When the snow is falling, the sun is shining on the mountains and I'm with good people, it sometimes takes me a minute to grasp that I'm here for the next five months. When I'm surrounded by people from a fair few different walks of life coming together as a unit, enjoying free booze and food for seasonnaires then dancing the night away, I have to remind myself that this is, in fact, all mine for the next five months. Mine to enjoy. Times full of laughter, fun, friendship and great memories being made. There have been plenty of those times so far, thankfully. Those are the best of times.
Right now is tired times. I never thought that cleaning a bathroom could feasibly take 2-3 hours. But then again I don't usually do it with a toothpick, toothbrush, 2 different colour cloths and at least 3-4 different products. I tell you what, those guests had better pull the plug up and appreciate just how clean that plug hole is....
Monday 12 December 2011
Wisdom of youth
A young man once said to me, there will be many more Swainos (sp?) and I hope that the young man turns out to be right! Now if you're not employed at my company or happen to have been in Val d'Isere, Morzine or Meribel in the last few weeks then you won't know what I'm talking about. That's fine, just accept the wisdom.
I am sitting here, on the comfy sofa, enjoying the underfloor heating in my new chalet. The chalet I'll be running from the 19th of December to the 29th (?) of April. I think it's fair to say I'm happy as a clam. (I must admit I'm never sure about that saying, has anyone ever actually ascertained whether a clam is genuinely happy?)..... I must be tired, my mind is going off on random tangents.
Saw my lovely http://warandpiste.com/ girls today on their book promo tour through the Alps. I can't tell you how great it was to see familiar, friendly faces. That's not to say I don't like the people I'm with, but there's just something about seeing friends that brings comfort. Especially when they're such lovely friends. Alex Thomas wrote the most wonderful acknowledgement to me in the book and it made me a bit emotional. So in the quiet, cosy warmth of Dotty's coffee shop in Morzine, a few of us shed a few tears. Thinking about it now makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and has made my eyes leak a little bit again. Thanks for stopping in girls, it was 'rad' and 'sick' to see you! xxx
Short post tonight cos I want to get as much sleep as possible before the deep clean of the chalets starts tomorrow. Yet again, it's going to be a long day with hard, hard work. Followed by a long night with hard, hard drinking. Off to Cavern for free seasonnaire drinks and then L'Etale for free seasonnaire food. Rock on! We get a lie in on Wednesday morning, so that's awesome.
I'm off to my little room under the stairs, cos that's where chalet girls sleep (but this little room has an ensuite wet room and underfloor heating, so don't feel too sorry for me!).
I am sitting here, on the comfy sofa, enjoying the underfloor heating in my new chalet. The chalet I'll be running from the 19th of December to the 29th (?) of April. I think it's fair to say I'm happy as a clam. (I must admit I'm never sure about that saying, has anyone ever actually ascertained whether a clam is genuinely happy?)..... I must be tired, my mind is going off on random tangents.
Saw my lovely http://warandpiste.com/ girls today on their book promo tour through the Alps. I can't tell you how great it was to see familiar, friendly faces. That's not to say I don't like the people I'm with, but there's just something about seeing friends that brings comfort. Especially when they're such lovely friends. Alex Thomas wrote the most wonderful acknowledgement to me in the book and it made me a bit emotional. So in the quiet, cosy warmth of Dotty's coffee shop in Morzine, a few of us shed a few tears. Thinking about it now makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and has made my eyes leak a little bit again. Thanks for stopping in girls, it was 'rad' and 'sick' to see you! xxx
Short post tonight cos I want to get as much sleep as possible before the deep clean of the chalets starts tomorrow. Yet again, it's going to be a long day with hard, hard work. Followed by a long night with hard, hard drinking. Off to Cavern for free seasonnaire drinks and then L'Etale for free seasonnaire food. Rock on! We get a lie in on Wednesday morning, so that's awesome.
I'm off to my little room under the stairs, cos that's where chalet girls sleep (but this little room has an ensuite wet room and underfloor heating, so don't feel too sorry for me!).
Friday 9 December 2011
Of wine tastings, mine sweeping and tartiflette...
Today was wine tasting. Today was also our day off. Last night was a big night out. Wine tasting topped up our alcohol levels and so the day went on.
Pub after wine tasting. People are strapped for cash already so early season mine sweeping is happening.
We're waiting for tartiflette to happen, but everyone is hammered and the cooking process is far from smooth. Every single member of staff seems to be crammed into our chalet and I'm pretty sure one of the tartiflette pans just went on the floor. Kitchen is a state, as is everyone else. Apparently I'm cooking breakfast tomorrow, my partner in that task seems a bit worse for wear. It's not going to be a good service.
I learned something today, from a group of people who know their shit: a steezy backside 1 is better than a shitty 7. Bonus points for you if you know what I'm talking about.
Sometimes, when you look around and assess the situation, you've either gotta get in deeper or get the hell outta dodge. Tonight I'm choosing to get the hell outta dodge, tartiflette or no tartiflette...
**In the nick of time, as 3 nannies start giving the first aid trainer a lap dance**
Pub after wine tasting. People are strapped for cash already so early season mine sweeping is happening.
We're waiting for tartiflette to happen, but everyone is hammered and the cooking process is far from smooth. Every single member of staff seems to be crammed into our chalet and I'm pretty sure one of the tartiflette pans just went on the floor. Kitchen is a state, as is everyone else. Apparently I'm cooking breakfast tomorrow, my partner in that task seems a bit worse for wear. It's not going to be a good service.
I learned something today, from a group of people who know their shit: a steezy backside 1 is better than a shitty 7. Bonus points for you if you know what I'm talking about.
Sometimes, when you look around and assess the situation, you've either gotta get in deeper or get the hell outta dodge. Tonight I'm choosing to get the hell outta dodge, tartiflette or no tartiflette...
**In the nick of time, as 3 nannies start giving the first aid trainer a lap dance**
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Mutzig, really?
Okey dokey, karaoke. I hate it when people say that, but I typed it and I can't be bothered to delete it. Everything is a lot of effort today.
It's snowing. So much! Went to Les Gets the other day for training and it was green, dumped massively over the last few days and now it's actually difficult to get there because of all the snow!! Totally amazing. We've got a day off on Friday and we're thinking of taking a little hike and maybe building a kicker to session. YAY!
KJ and I had our cooking night yesterday. We made thai fishcakes, tarragon chicken, red berry pudding. The evening went fine. We got some good feedback and some pointers. We did think we'd screwed it up for a while, putting our 12 chicken breasts in the oven a bit too late but it was fine, over-salting our fishcakes but they turned out great too. We made a few minor errors like forgetting to clear the bread after the main course and some other little things like that. Overall though we were happy in the end and our trainers were happy with us.
So we went out to celebrate. Thank God I only took a bit of money out with me otherwise I'd be in a much worse state today. One bar for a pint, one bar for toffee vodka, one bar for Mutzig... oh yes. Lots of chat and checking out staff from other chalet companies. Seems like the streets are crawling with new seasonnaires. Good night out but suffering today due to very late bed time, 3 hours sleep is not enough to function properly.
It's snowing. So much! Went to Les Gets the other day for training and it was green, dumped massively over the last few days and now it's actually difficult to get there because of all the snow!! Totally amazing. We've got a day off on Friday and we're thinking of taking a little hike and maybe building a kicker to session. YAY!
KJ and I had our cooking night yesterday. We made thai fishcakes, tarragon chicken, red berry pudding. The evening went fine. We got some good feedback and some pointers. We did think we'd screwed it up for a while, putting our 12 chicken breasts in the oven a bit too late but it was fine, over-salting our fishcakes but they turned out great too. We made a few minor errors like forgetting to clear the bread after the main course and some other little things like that. Overall though we were happy in the end and our trainers were happy with us.
So we went out to celebrate. Thank God I only took a bit of money out with me otherwise I'd be in a much worse state today. One bar for a pint, one bar for toffee vodka, one bar for Mutzig... oh yes. Lots of chat and checking out staff from other chalet companies. Seems like the streets are crawling with new seasonnaires. Good night out but suffering today due to very late bed time, 3 hours sleep is not enough to function properly.
Sunday 4 December 2011
Public speaking
It turns out I'm quite good at it. Though to be fair, I probably could've told you that. The thing is I have zero confidence in myself and when I persistently get chosen to give presentations, to stand up in front of crowds and talk, to get up in front of a class and teach, I somehow always pull it off but question why people keep asking me!? I wonder how it is that you can be good at something and have zero confidence in your own ability? I had to do my version of the "welcome speech" to the chalet guests tonight and apparently I passed with flying colours. Not only was it to my chalet mates, it was to our trainers and two special guests - one a legendary chalet host within the company and the other, the financial director of the company, yikes! Actual feedback from the night "I've never heard a more smooth flowing, natural sounding and friendly first welcome speech ever. Well done, you have set the bar high for your fellow trainees".
I rock. Fact.
I'm also drunk. Fact.
And that's probably why I'm a cocky twat at the moment! Let's see how my first cooking session goes on Tuesday... *she says preparing to fall flat on her face, give people food poisoning and eat humble pie*
I rock. Fact.
I'm also drunk. Fact.
And that's probably why I'm a cocky twat at the moment! Let's see how my first cooking session goes on Tuesday... *she says preparing to fall flat on her face, give people food poisoning and eat humble pie*
One drink, yeah? Just ONE drink...
Isn't this how all good evenings start? OK, maybe not ALL good evenings but some certainly start that way. I just wanted one beer, sadly we're not allowed any booze in the chalets during training (apparently the debauched lot of trainees from last year ruined it for everyone!), so I had to go out last night. Think of it as part of training. If I think of it like that then I don't feel so bad about my thumping head, dry mouth and extreme tiredness. It's all part of the experience eh?! Thankfully today is the start of cooking demos, so all I have to do for most of the day is sit and watch people cooking. The only thing I have to do well at today is the welcome speech, it's my turn to do this tonight and there's some managers coming along, so I better get it right!
We had to do some presentations yesterday, my group had to do 'The Season of the Chalet Host'. We compiled a list of statistics based on an 8 person chalet and a 20 week season, and read them out. Might not sound thrilling but it was.
One season, one host.
160 guests, 160 perfect guest questionnaires ;)
140 cakes baked, 1920 meals cooked.
50 glasses broken, 600 toilets cleaned, 300 Jägerbombs consumed, 16 hissy fits pitched.
3 chalet fires, 2 ski injuries, 30 skiing days lost due to severe hangover :(
1200 eggs cracked (20 on the floor).
720 bottles of chalet wine consumed by guests (unknown quantity consumed by staff).
1400 toilet rolls fluffed, 60 new friends made... chalet hosting, best decision ever.
That last line, best decision ever, that remains to be seen but I'm positive at the moment! We were going to include a line about how many new people you sleep with or "countries conquered", but we thought we'd best keep it clean for management. ;)
We had to do some presentations yesterday, my group had to do 'The Season of the Chalet Host'. We compiled a list of statistics based on an 8 person chalet and a 20 week season, and read them out. Might not sound thrilling but it was.
One season, one host.
160 guests, 160 perfect guest questionnaires ;)
140 cakes baked, 1920 meals cooked.
50 glasses broken, 600 toilets cleaned, 300 Jägerbombs consumed, 16 hissy fits pitched.
3 chalet fires, 2 ski injuries, 30 skiing days lost due to severe hangover :(
1200 eggs cracked (20 on the floor).
720 bottles of chalet wine consumed by guests (unknown quantity consumed by staff).
1400 toilet rolls fluffed, 60 new friends made... chalet hosting, best decision ever.
That last line, best decision ever, that remains to be seen but I'm positive at the moment! We were going to include a line about how many new people you sleep with or "countries conquered", but we thought we'd best keep it clean for management. ;)
Saturday 3 December 2011
Training days.
Food hygiene this morning. Company structure this afternoon. Food hygiene was good. I mean as good as it can get, learning about E-coli 0157 and clostridium perfringens, and washing your hands constantly. Had some lunch and amazingly enough we're watching cooking programmes now, cos it's not like we have enough cooking in our lives already!
Right, I've got to take advantage of this down time to get an article on green snowboarding issues written.
À bientôt.
Right, I've got to take advantage of this down time to get an article on green snowboarding issues written.
À bientôt.
Friday 2 December 2011
The eagle has landed ... and the fields are green.
YAAAAAAAY! I'm here. The eagle has landed and the fields are green, sounds like code speak between two secret agents dropping off a briefcase full of top secret documents. But it's not, I have landed and the fields are indeed very, very green. There is not a flake of snow to be seen, so it's safe to say that I won't be testing out my new set up just yet.
What a journey! We were late leaving Wimbledon, the ferry was delayed because of bad weather during the crossing and the drive seemed to go on forever. We left Wimbledon about 3:30pm and we got to Morzine at about 11am. Guess what? There was one girl wearing a onesie on the bus, just one, and it WASN'T me!! So far so good though, there's a couple of people that I reckon I'll be spending some quality time with in my resort. Met an awesome girl called Sarah who's just come back from mountaineering in Nepal, she's rad. Shame though she'll be in Verbier for the season.
We're chilling at the chalet at the mo. Had some breakfast, getting settled in, getting acquainted with some of my training buddies and hearing war stories from seasons past. The chalet we're in for training is lush: http://www.vip-chalets.com/chalets/Dakota-Lodge Have a look!
I've heard good things about tips from returning staff, so fingers crossed I'll be able to live off tips and leave my wage in the bank... best laid plans and all that. Better dial up that mega-watt smile and get a polo shirt one size too small! Haha!
Some dude has just walked in, cutting the sag massively, and when he introduced himself he said 'awwright darlin' in a proper geezer accent. There aren't too many hoorays here, I'm guessing that Hugo, Cristabella, Tarquin and Isabella are all in Val d'Isere. Seems like there's more normal people here, less of the silver spoon/trust fund brigade, living off Daddy's Amex crowd. Which is good, cos my Daddy hasn't got an Amex so I wouldn't be able to keep up, it's the budget tour for me and seems like there's a few others that this applies to too.
Shower time and then maybe a wander round the town. Throat feels like crap today, but that's to be expected I guess after 20-21 hours on a bus/ferry/car and no sleep. Going to dose up on painkillers and get on with it.
Check ya laters alligators!
What a journey! We were late leaving Wimbledon, the ferry was delayed because of bad weather during the crossing and the drive seemed to go on forever. We left Wimbledon about 3:30pm and we got to Morzine at about 11am. Guess what? There was one girl wearing a onesie on the bus, just one, and it WASN'T me!! So far so good though, there's a couple of people that I reckon I'll be spending some quality time with in my resort. Met an awesome girl called Sarah who's just come back from mountaineering in Nepal, she's rad. Shame though she'll be in Verbier for the season.
We're chilling at the chalet at the mo. Had some breakfast, getting settled in, getting acquainted with some of my training buddies and hearing war stories from seasons past. The chalet we're in for training is lush: http://www.vip-chalets.com/chalets/Dakota-Lodge Have a look!
I've heard good things about tips from returning staff, so fingers crossed I'll be able to live off tips and leave my wage in the bank... best laid plans and all that. Better dial up that mega-watt smile and get a polo shirt one size too small! Haha!
Some dude has just walked in, cutting the sag massively, and when he introduced himself he said 'awwright darlin' in a proper geezer accent. There aren't too many hoorays here, I'm guessing that Hugo, Cristabella, Tarquin and Isabella are all in Val d'Isere. Seems like there's more normal people here, less of the silver spoon/trust fund brigade, living off Daddy's Amex crowd. Which is good, cos my Daddy hasn't got an Amex so I wouldn't be able to keep up, it's the budget tour for me and seems like there's a few others that this applies to too.
Shower time and then maybe a wander round the town. Throat feels like crap today, but that's to be expected I guess after 20-21 hours on a bus/ferry/car and no sleep. Going to dose up on painkillers and get on with it.
Check ya laters alligators!
Tuesday 29 November 2011
T minus 38 hours...
Wow, what a whirlwind the last few weeks have been. I've got 38 hours to go. 38 hours before I'm getting on a coach and heading off to the ALPS! Things have been a bit hectic. Back from visiting my Dad in Portugal. Metro ski and snowboard show with War and Piste. Freeze festival with War and Piste, such amazing fun, totally sick and rad (yes, I did just write that). http://warandpiste.com/index.html for those of you wondering what that is. Seeing friends and family. Then things took a turn, you couldn't make this stuff up, seriously. This weekend was meant to be the last big hurrah with all my friends, but it went slightly awry. I had an appointment on Friday with an ENT consultant, he put a telescope thingy up my nose that then dangled down my throat - felt pretty grim. The upshot of all this was that he wanted me to come into hospital on the following Monday to have a biopsy of my adenoids. Yeah, that kinda put a spanner in the works. I had literally every day planned and there was lots to fit in. So I had to forego seeing some of my oldest and dearest friends on the Friday night so that I could get most of my packing done because on Saturday I had plenty to do.
Just to add to my last minute stresses my car failed the MOT and I needed to go get two new tyres put on, so off to the breakers yard for a couple of part worns on Saturday morning and back to the garage for the re-test, passed, yay! Then into town to find a costume for my leaving do - the theme was T. Back to the house to sort out stuff. Non-stop, go, go, go!
My leaving do was fantastic, my friends made such a big effort, they came from far and wide and I feel so honoured to have such amazing people in my life. There were tigers, truckers, Mr. Tickle, Teen Wolf, Titania, the Trotters, a tampon, the three Trines and many more! It was awesome, it got messy and the next day was a very hungover day.
I said goodbye to some people on the Saturday and Sunday, now I know I'm only going for 5 months, and I'm only going to France, it's not like I'm moving to outer Mongolia for 3 years but it's still sad to say goodbye. What I was surprised about was how certain goodbyes felt very different to the way I thought they'd feel. I have some friendships that have really only blossomed recently and those goodbyes felt harder in a way than some others. The one goodbye that I thought would really affect me, didn't, not the way I thought, it was weird. Maybe that's because there's only so many times you can say goodbye to one person and everything that that person means to you. Funny thing the human psyche, how emotions and thoughts don't always play out as you expect them to.
Anyway, that was a brief deep and meaningful interlude. Back to the nose/throat story. The hospital on Monday, anaesthetist put the frighteners up me massively explaining the risk to me with my asthma and the start of a cold, said he was unsure about proceeding but because I'm leaving on Thursday they were going to push ahead with it. Told me this would be the time I'd be most susceptible to a chest infection, which is the last thing I need to take with me to the mountains! Anyway, I had the biopsy done, results come next week but the consultant has a gut feeling all is OK. When I came round from the anaesthetic I was so concerned with what I'd say and what utter drivel I would talk but I surprised myself by being remarkably coherent. I know someone who said something about telling her husband to get some logs, and the recovery room nurse said the best one she had was a woman who had to feed her chickens and apparently went to get out of her bed. Today my throat is feeling pretty sore, but the ice cream is helping! Haagen-Dazs Pralines & Cream, mmm. A side effect of the intubation is that the uvula takes a bit of a beating and today it's swollen and seems a lot longer than usual, so long and dangly in fact that it's making me gag. It's pretty gross. So long as I'm quiet it's all good. Me being quiet is strange. One of my friends said she could tell I wasn't talking much cos my text messages were even longer than usual! Ha!
Last bits of packing to get done tomorrow but I'm pretty much there (I hope!). Should only need a few hours of mucking around. Got to get the car cleaned up and cleared out. Get my room sorted, looking neat and tidy. Then final drinks with a few friends tomorrow night. Getting a lift from a friend up to Wimbledon on Thursday which is where the coach is departing from, yay, didn't much fancy the train up with a suitcase, boardbag and rucksack. Massive bonus.
How do I feel about going away? Excited, apprehensive, on the cusp (of greatness or failure, don't know which yet?!), shy, out of my comfort zone, adventurous. A whole mess of feelings. I've been practising chalet menus (that have been well received by friends) but haven't managed to cook it all so I'm nervous about cooking. I'm concerned everyone else will be 12. I'm afraid I won't cope with everything I have to do. I'm afraid of failure, I always am, always have been and when I was younger I would always sabotage myself, might as well fail before even really trying. But without sounding like a twat, I've not really failed at anything I really wanted to achieve in the last few years - certain things like my environmental science degree and my teaching qualification. I have a t-shirt that has the word underachiever on it and over the last few years a few people have commented on it and said I'm anything but, I don't really see it, I'm not an over achiever, I just want what I want. The point is, I want to do well and I'm afraid I won't, it worries me but all I can do is try my best, at everything - cooking, hosting, drinking, partying, snowboarding and everything in between!!!
OK, last thought for the day, over the last few months people have asked me "what do you do?" and I answer with "I'm going to France to be a chalet host", because that's what I'm going to do, that's my adventure. Why is it that the very next thing that comes out of their mouths is "what will you do when you come back?" Why? Why ask that? It's annoying to me!!! I don't know what I'm going to do after that, when I come back, if I come back? All I know is that I want to focus on this next adventure and I want to enjoy every second of it, live it while it's happening, because it'll be over in the blink of an eye and next April/May I'll start wondering what's next, but not until then. So if you see me out and about and I tell you I'm going to be a chalet host in France then just congratulate me.
Xx
Just to add to my last minute stresses my car failed the MOT and I needed to go get two new tyres put on, so off to the breakers yard for a couple of part worns on Saturday morning and back to the garage for the re-test, passed, yay! Then into town to find a costume for my leaving do - the theme was T. Back to the house to sort out stuff. Non-stop, go, go, go!
My leaving do was fantastic, my friends made such a big effort, they came from far and wide and I feel so honoured to have such amazing people in my life. There were tigers, truckers, Mr. Tickle, Teen Wolf, Titania, the Trotters, a tampon, the three Trines and many more! It was awesome, it got messy and the next day was a very hungover day.
I said goodbye to some people on the Saturday and Sunday, now I know I'm only going for 5 months, and I'm only going to France, it's not like I'm moving to outer Mongolia for 3 years but it's still sad to say goodbye. What I was surprised about was how certain goodbyes felt very different to the way I thought they'd feel. I have some friendships that have really only blossomed recently and those goodbyes felt harder in a way than some others. The one goodbye that I thought would really affect me, didn't, not the way I thought, it was weird. Maybe that's because there's only so many times you can say goodbye to one person and everything that that person means to you. Funny thing the human psyche, how emotions and thoughts don't always play out as you expect them to.
Anyway, that was a brief deep and meaningful interlude. Back to the nose/throat story. The hospital on Monday, anaesthetist put the frighteners up me massively explaining the risk to me with my asthma and the start of a cold, said he was unsure about proceeding but because I'm leaving on Thursday they were going to push ahead with it. Told me this would be the time I'd be most susceptible to a chest infection, which is the last thing I need to take with me to the mountains! Anyway, I had the biopsy done, results come next week but the consultant has a gut feeling all is OK. When I came round from the anaesthetic I was so concerned with what I'd say and what utter drivel I would talk but I surprised myself by being remarkably coherent. I know someone who said something about telling her husband to get some logs, and the recovery room nurse said the best one she had was a woman who had to feed her chickens and apparently went to get out of her bed. Today my throat is feeling pretty sore, but the ice cream is helping! Haagen-Dazs Pralines & Cream, mmm. A side effect of the intubation is that the uvula takes a bit of a beating and today it's swollen and seems a lot longer than usual, so long and dangly in fact that it's making me gag. It's pretty gross. So long as I'm quiet it's all good. Me being quiet is strange. One of my friends said she could tell I wasn't talking much cos my text messages were even longer than usual! Ha!
Last bits of packing to get done tomorrow but I'm pretty much there (I hope!). Should only need a few hours of mucking around. Got to get the car cleaned up and cleared out. Get my room sorted, looking neat and tidy. Then final drinks with a few friends tomorrow night. Getting a lift from a friend up to Wimbledon on Thursday which is where the coach is departing from, yay, didn't much fancy the train up with a suitcase, boardbag and rucksack. Massive bonus.
How do I feel about going away? Excited, apprehensive, on the cusp (of greatness or failure, don't know which yet?!), shy, out of my comfort zone, adventurous. A whole mess of feelings. I've been practising chalet menus (that have been well received by friends) but haven't managed to cook it all so I'm nervous about cooking. I'm concerned everyone else will be 12. I'm afraid I won't cope with everything I have to do. I'm afraid of failure, I always am, always have been and when I was younger I would always sabotage myself, might as well fail before even really trying. But without sounding like a twat, I've not really failed at anything I really wanted to achieve in the last few years - certain things like my environmental science degree and my teaching qualification. I have a t-shirt that has the word underachiever on it and over the last few years a few people have commented on it and said I'm anything but, I don't really see it, I'm not an over achiever, I just want what I want. The point is, I want to do well and I'm afraid I won't, it worries me but all I can do is try my best, at everything - cooking, hosting, drinking, partying, snowboarding and everything in between!!!
OK, last thought for the day, over the last few months people have asked me "what do you do?" and I answer with "I'm going to France to be a chalet host", because that's what I'm going to do, that's my adventure. Why is it that the very next thing that comes out of their mouths is "what will you do when you come back?" Why? Why ask that? It's annoying to me!!! I don't know what I'm going to do after that, when I come back, if I come back? All I know is that I want to focus on this next adventure and I want to enjoy every second of it, live it while it's happening, because it'll be over in the blink of an eye and next April/May I'll start wondering what's next, but not until then. So if you see me out and about and I tell you I'm going to be a chalet host in France then just congratulate me.
Xx
Sunday 23 October 2011
Sunny Sunday stroll.
Sent from my BlackBerry®
Monday 17 October 2011
Jamming forks into my ears...
I've just landed. Back from a week at my Dad's in Portugal. The holiday was brilliant, great weather, great food, great company, as always. I always have a great time with my Dad.
The reason why this entry is titled forks in my ears is because that's what I wanted to do to myself on the flight back from Lisbon. Just so that I wouldn't have to listen to any more of the inane drivel that was passing as conversation on my flight. The couple sharing my row talked in painstaking detail, for the best part of an hour, about every single meal they had consumed during their holiday. Not in a foodie way mind you, just talking basics, not extolling the virtues of an Atlantic oyster versus the characteristics of one from the Mediterranean, just the mere basics of what they ate, what time of day and where they were. I don't think I've ever heard such a dull conversation about something that can be really very exciting.
Across the gap into seats d, e and f there was a middle aged couple and one other person. Thankfully for her she fell asleep instantaneously and was spared the two and a half hours of sudoku arguing, flight analysis to ease the woman's frayed nerves, a discussion on 'serif vs sans serif' and an in depth guide to the intricacies of the man's iPad. This last one was particularly interesting because he had absolutely no clue what he was talking about and in essence what he told the woman was that an iPad is magic, it's powered by magic, works like magic and presumably, I'm extrapolating here, you pay for it with magic... Magic beans perhaps?!
Yes, I could well have put my headphones in and listened to music, if only I'd been less efficient when packing, my headphones were in my case in the belly of the magic flying beast.
:)
The reason why this entry is titled forks in my ears is because that's what I wanted to do to myself on the flight back from Lisbon. Just so that I wouldn't have to listen to any more of the inane drivel that was passing as conversation on my flight. The couple sharing my row talked in painstaking detail, for the best part of an hour, about every single meal they had consumed during their holiday. Not in a foodie way mind you, just talking basics, not extolling the virtues of an Atlantic oyster versus the characteristics of one from the Mediterranean, just the mere basics of what they ate, what time of day and where they were. I don't think I've ever heard such a dull conversation about something that can be really very exciting.
Across the gap into seats d, e and f there was a middle aged couple and one other person. Thankfully for her she fell asleep instantaneously and was spared the two and a half hours of sudoku arguing, flight analysis to ease the woman's frayed nerves, a discussion on 'serif vs sans serif' and an in depth guide to the intricacies of the man's iPad. This last one was particularly interesting because he had absolutely no clue what he was talking about and in essence what he told the woman was that an iPad is magic, it's powered by magic, works like magic and presumably, I'm extrapolating here, you pay for it with magic... Magic beans perhaps?!
Yes, I could well have put my headphones in and listened to music, if only I'd been less efficient when packing, my headphones were in my case in the belly of the magic flying beast.
:)
Sunday 9 October 2011
War & Piste...
A friend of mine is bringing out a book...NEXT WEEK! I've had a sneaky peeky already, I have in fact read the entire thing and I canNOT stress enough how much you need this book in your life! Check out http://warandpiste.com/index.html for the inside scoop and take a look at the blog entries. Have a read of this one: http://warandpiste.com/blog/archives/79 for a good description of just what a chalet host is. I'm hoping I'll be more "wonderful creature" than "fuck-up artist"!!! LOL!
Good luck Alex Thomas http://warandpiste.com/about.html I hope the book launch goes off with a bang and that the book does as brilliantly as it deserves to. I promise you that if you get this book, you'll love it! You'll get snow sports, travel, adventure, fun, romance, friendships, a giant rabbit called Snowli, the Austrian bomb squad and so much more. Head to Amazon on the 13th of October!
Good luck Alex Thomas http://warandpiste.com/about.html I hope the book launch goes off with a bang and that the book does as brilliantly as it deserves to. I promise you that if you get this book, you'll love it! You'll get snow sports, travel, adventure, fun, romance, friendships, a giant rabbit called Snowli, the Austrian bomb squad and so much more. Head to Amazon on the 13th of October!
Indian summer - hot stuff.
So the move is done! Hurray! It was horrendous. Had to keep the keys a few extra days to get it all done, but I'm now in and settled with my friends. Moving happened during our mini-heatwave, our late Indian Summer heat. It was amazing weather, didn't enjoy it so much when I was schlepping boxes about and moving furniture, but after that was all done, it was brilliant. We had a BBQ last Sunday and it was hard to believe that we were in England on the 2nd of October and not in the South of Europe on a hot summers day. It wasn't just the weather that was amazing though, so much about this last week, has been totally, mind-blowingly amazing. That BBQ night was tremendous, making new friends, meeting such interesting people, feeling that flutter again! Brilliant! A friend, VB, said that a year was a milestone and that things would change. She was right, wise old bird that she is. A polar shift one could say.
I'm packing again, I'm off on holiday. Going to Portugal tomorrow to spend a week with my Dad. It'll be so lovely to see him and spend some quality time with him because, unless he comes to see me in Morzine (which is doubtful, he's not a winter sports sorts of person), I won't actually get to see him until next May/June - yikes! That's the problem with a global family really, everyone spread out over the globe, but thanks to social networking and Skype etc. the world really does seem much smaller than it actually is.
I've been practising my chalet menu. So far I've cooked about eight things out of the recipe book (not even a tiny fraction of it really!), and they've all been received well! Going to wow my Dad with a recipe or two this next week.
Got a new snowboard this week! I went for a Bataleon Violenza 153 and it came with Burton Escapade bindings. Pretty sweet and got it all for £200, which I thought was a bit of a bargain! It's in my room and it's the first thing I've laid eyes on for the past few days, helping to get my excitement building for the coming Alpine fun season!
Just a last little thought for today, as I sit here in this gorgeous living room, in this gorgeous house that's in a beautiful bit of countryside, I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful to have such wonderfully giving friends around me. KH and LH have taken me and I really can't thank them enough. I mean, doesn't it just blow your mind when someone really helps you out and welcomes you into their life?! It blows my mind and I'm so stoked that I can count on friends like them. Not only them though, AH, DS and DM helped me move, not just once, but twice and I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends.
Time to get on with the suitcase, swimwear and summer stuff is the order of the day, it's still 30+ degrees in Portugal! Boof! :)
I'm packing again, I'm off on holiday. Going to Portugal tomorrow to spend a week with my Dad. It'll be so lovely to see him and spend some quality time with him because, unless he comes to see me in Morzine (which is doubtful, he's not a winter sports sorts of person), I won't actually get to see him until next May/June - yikes! That's the problem with a global family really, everyone spread out over the globe, but thanks to social networking and Skype etc. the world really does seem much smaller than it actually is.
I've been practising my chalet menu. So far I've cooked about eight things out of the recipe book (not even a tiny fraction of it really!), and they've all been received well! Going to wow my Dad with a recipe or two this next week.
Got a new snowboard this week! I went for a Bataleon Violenza 153 and it came with Burton Escapade bindings. Pretty sweet and got it all for £200, which I thought was a bit of a bargain! It's in my room and it's the first thing I've laid eyes on for the past few days, helping to get my excitement building for the coming Alpine fun season!
Just a last little thought for today, as I sit here in this gorgeous living room, in this gorgeous house that's in a beautiful bit of countryside, I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful to have such wonderfully giving friends around me. KH and LH have taken me and I really can't thank them enough. I mean, doesn't it just blow your mind when someone really helps you out and welcomes you into their life?! It blows my mind and I'm so stoked that I can count on friends like them. Not only them though, AH, DS and DM helped me move, not just once, but twice and I feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends.
Time to get on with the suitcase, swimwear and summer stuff is the order of the day, it's still 30+ degrees in Portugal! Boof! :)
Monday 26 September 2011
Higgledy-piggledy house
It's lunch time. I'm surrounded by boxes, junk, tat, eBay packages and just tonnes of mess!! Got until Thursday to get it all done and dusted! I hate packing and moving. I'm also a bit sad to leave my higgledy-piggledy house.
Going to stay with friends for a couple of months. Makes sense, save up some money before I head off to the mountains and work my season as a chalet host (earning tuppence a week!!).
I hate moving, I hate packing, I hate sorting through stuff. I especially hate it when you come across stuff that triggers sad memories. It's a bit weird because I came to this house under really awful circumstances, the break up of a 6 year relationship, on the brink of teacher training, having lost my dog a few weeks earlier. Now I leave in a MUCH better state of mind but it still hurts when you come across photos and other reminders of your past life. But then again, I still see him, so every time I see him it's a reminder of happy times, when we were in love but also of the bad times with lies, betrayal and lots of sadness. It's been a year. Apparently it will take half the length of your relationship, to get over it. So I've got a couple of years to go. Urgh. Hoping that distance will help the healing go faster.
I am an optimist though and I'm much more a glass half full person, so I've got to look forward and when I do, I'm in awe of what's about to happen. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. Go to the Alps and work a season. Imagine, I'll wake up in the mornings, see the sun rise up over the mountains, warming the slopes that I'll be riding... it fills me with all sorts of excitement! New friendships, new adventures, maybe even new love?
So as I chuck more stuff into the charity bag and think about loading up the car to do another tip run, I am hopeful, happy and looking forward to the next chapter!
Going to stay with friends for a couple of months. Makes sense, save up some money before I head off to the mountains and work my season as a chalet host (earning tuppence a week!!).
I hate moving, I hate packing, I hate sorting through stuff. I especially hate it when you come across stuff that triggers sad memories. It's a bit weird because I came to this house under really awful circumstances, the break up of a 6 year relationship, on the brink of teacher training, having lost my dog a few weeks earlier. Now I leave in a MUCH better state of mind but it still hurts when you come across photos and other reminders of your past life. But then again, I still see him, so every time I see him it's a reminder of happy times, when we were in love but also of the bad times with lies, betrayal and lots of sadness. It's been a year. Apparently it will take half the length of your relationship, to get over it. So I've got a couple of years to go. Urgh. Hoping that distance will help the healing go faster.
I am an optimist though and I'm much more a glass half full person, so I've got to look forward and when I do, I'm in awe of what's about to happen. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. Go to the Alps and work a season. Imagine, I'll wake up in the mornings, see the sun rise up over the mountains, warming the slopes that I'll be riding... it fills me with all sorts of excitement! New friendships, new adventures, maybe even new love?
So as I chuck more stuff into the charity bag and think about loading up the car to do another tip run, I am hopeful, happy and looking forward to the next chapter!
Saturday 9 July 2011
Mobile technology - don't yawn!
So I'm just trying out this blogging by email, from my new BlackBerry Torch. Let's see if it works?!
:)
Sent from my BlackBerry®
:)
Sent from my BlackBerry®
Friday 3 June 2011
Start lines...Finish lines
So then gang, I am on the sprint to the finish line!! Friday was the end of my time in school, I'm glad it's over because it was really hard work, and to put in so much effort into something that you're not sure about, is quite a draining experience. I've still got a load of work to do to complete the course, one assignment and a mammoth essay. Had the dreaded PDP evidence folder interview, that could've gone better but I passed. Anyway, the teaching is over and I am still, as yet, undecided about whether teaching is for me. Apparently I'm alright at it and all my friends can see that I'd be a good teacher and that I enjoy it, but for some reason I'm still uncertain.
I did my first ever open water swim race on Saturday morning, I'm definitely recovering from that! It was a harrowing experience, despite having swum that distance before in the pool under race conditions, when I got in the lake I panicked. It was cold, it was unknown, it was murky and scary. I thought I'd be OK, I had a mantra to repeat to myself (I'm just going for a little swim, that's all it is) but as soon as I put my face in the water I freaked out. Thanks to my wonderful friend Nic, I got round it, but only because she didn't leave my side and encouraged me the whole way round. I'm going to do it again, of course I am, I'm no quitter and one bad experience will not hold me back.
On bank holiday Monday I did my first 10k run! It was brilliant!! I absolutely loved the experience. My furthest training run was only 7k so I really went for it on Monday and my time isn't too bad, did it in 1:10:40, plus I went for a wee half way round (not Paula Radcliffe stylee, I actually ducked in to a portaloo) so one could say that was about 3-4 minutes so race time could be brought down to 1 hour 7 minutes. But anyhow, adjustments aside, I'm totally stoked with a time of 1 hr 10 and it's totally spurred me on to do more. I'm already entered for the Tunbridge Wells 10k in September but I need to do more in between, maybe even a half marathon?!
That's quite a lot of achievements I feel and to top it all of it was my birthday on Tuesday, I turned 34. I hope that my 34th year is going to be much better than my 33rd. 33 was full of heartache, loss, loneliness, stress and lots more bad stuff, only towards the end did I turn a corner and have some good stuff happen. I can be proud of that good stuff because it was all my own doing as well, and that's one valuable lesson I've learned over my annus horribilis, that is actually about me, about my strength and my power and my decisions that make the good stuff happen! I am finally learning that I am actually the master of my own destiny and if I want something I have to put in the hard work to achieve it, and now I know that I am actually capable of it! So it's been a year of self discovery through all the bad stuff, and I'm ready to put that bad stuff behind me. Eyes to the front, the future is beckoning me and who knows what that future might hold?!
Thursday 5 May 2011
Crap at blogging...
Goodness me, I am so utterly crap at blogging! I can't believe that so much time has passed since I last wrote something. I'm great at Twitter and Facebook but when it comes to this...
I guess though that I've had a fair bit on my plate over the last few months, what with a 6 year relationship ending, starting my PGCE, moving, mending a very broken heart etc. Well now I'm about a month away from finishing my PGCE and I canNOT wait for it to be over. I'm still undecided about teaching! One thing I'm going to do before I decide to embark on a teaching career is go to the slopes and do a snowboard season. That's definite. After years of not being able to because his job was important, he didn't want to do another season just yet, the time wasn't right bla, bla, bla, well guess what, I think the time is right, now.
So finish PGCE. Find a summer job. Pack up life and head to mountains somewhere. That's the plan. Just to add a little extra to my plate, I'm competing in a lake swim event and a 10k run at the end of this month. That's a total first for me, well in my adult life anyway. I'm actually really relishing the challenge of getting fit and I'm looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead, not just the fitness ones.
I'll endeavour to blog a bit more often :)
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