Snow arrives to stay!

Hi!

Onto my blog now, I hope to cover everything up to date.

My first topic is work. Nick allowed me to rant about work while we lounged after my first day on the job.

So work up here is pretty disappointing. I can't really get into it. Most employees aren’t overly enthusiastic, just there for the money. The customers aren't as friendly as at home, and no one really has any taste for a good coffee. Forced to work with an automatic espresso machine (for big dummies) and it does my head in everyday. I do get along with everyone though, and lunch time isn't gourmet jimmy anymore but 'Montreal smoked ham.'

There are about a thousand odd employees staying in my staff housing (consisting of about 8 apartment blocks). More than 50% are Aussies. There is probably about 1 Canadian to 5 Australian employees. We’re hearing a bit about Australia day plans, apparently it is really big here. We Aussies are expected to behave in mischief such as replacing Canadian flags with Australian and snowboarding in either Australian flag jocks or bare skin naked. Ha! The people in staff housing are awesome. Everyone in the same boat, everyone shares at least one interest and I’m lucky to be around it all the time. It makes me so passionate about the sport, while I’m getting so much boarding done, I’m not losing interest.

At home I’m cooking a lot and experimenting different meals. I hope to come home being very familiar with different dishes. Away from Australia, I’m here almost alone, it’s easy to realise that cooking is a cherished independent skill to have. And when you get as many compliments as I do from my v. friendly room mates, you just want to keep going. I’m also writing a lot in my diary which I’ve never done before. Reading back on it is a good laugh. I get a better understanding of the past events reading back on my diary. So that’s another thing I’m gonna keep up.

Nick arrived with bells a little over a fortnight ago. As you can see he is all over this blog, very enthusiastic about being here he is. Right before he came I was so home sick I could have dropped everything. Luckily enough he brought a bit of home with him so he has kept me going ever since.

Our apartment consists of ongoing tunes, laptops laid out on the coffee table, a TV with very little use and a packed fridge. We all respect each other’s things (“Don’t touch what isn’t yours” SLAP!) Ha! Not to that extent. And our apartment is considered very homely by almost every outsider. Due to the season’s slow beginning, we have had even more time off to bond into the little family that we are. We have a set roster for dinner and dishes and we contribute $100 on each pay day which is fortnightly for supplies.

We have our own internet! Finally! So Skype is up and I am making good use of it each night. So expect a call to arrive sometime soon.

Jimmy.