Locked and Loaded
All systems are GO for my trip!
I got my working holiday visa on Monday last week and resigned from work the next day. It was a much less cathartic event than I expected, but it makes everything much easier because I don't have to tiptoe around anymore (you might notice a few extra posts appearing on this blog now, as well as some odd conflicts about "visiting the UK again one day" which I wrote because I didn't want work accidentally finding out about the move before it was official).
My round-the-world ticket is now paid for, the Vancouver accommodation is booked, and I'm going to do a
tour through Banff and Jasper before meeting up with a bunch of people in New York. We'll hire a car and drive our way to Montreal through the beautiful north eastern U.S. states in the middle of Autumn.
Excitement++! :)
the (no) snow trip
Last weekend was my last hurrah on a sydney snow trip. :)
There were a massive sixteen people staying in our lodge (sauna! heated floors! an open fireplace!) and with the company, it was set to be the perfect snow trip... except for the fact that there was no snow.
I'd never been to Thredbo before, so I was looking forward to it, but all I did was pay $91 for a day lift pass to scratch my snowboard on rocks and grass. Bleh.
The snow conditions were pretty comical. Some of the lifts had been converted to walk-on, walk-off lifts by necessity, and we travelled halfway up the mountain over grass and shrubs. The only snow you could see from the lift were the trails, and that was thanks to the snow guns. :p
We had a lot of snowboard injuries that day. The base of Mark's board started peeling off and absorbed water, Monica's got run over by a skiier, and just about everyone sustained scratches by running over rocks.
There were some highlights though. At the top of Merritt's chairlift there's a really cozy restaurant with long wooden benches and a beautiful view outside. And after a morning of snowboarding, nothing was more appealing than curling up in the warmth with a chicken stew and hot chocolate (or beer).
We also had a great time off the snow - played some poker, big 2 (not thirteen!), toasted marshmallows and drank. Lots of fun :)
Thanks Ling, you rock my world!
Like a scene from a dream...
I'm not usually so observant on these matters, but I swear to god: there are
firemen auditions happening just down the road from my work.
firemen auditions!Hundreds of youthful, strong, attractive, heart-of-gold citizens just milling around waiting for exams, or whatever it is they do to become shiny new firemen.
I was required to walk past this building on the way to work, and again at lunchtime. Tragic, really...
I'm going to Tetsuya's!
How exciting! My bestest buddy Cam is taking me to
Tetsuyas on August 31st. Ten extravagant courses of food for the bargain sum of $180 per person.
In fact, here's
the current menu in pictures. I can't wait :)
