Wednesday, 7 January 2009
A Month In... Things I Miss...
You might think that there couldn't be anything that someone like me could miss when living in a ski resort and being paid to ski 6 days a week. But there are...
Privacy - I have no space of my own. My 'private' space is shared with three 18 year olds. The best thing, however, is that they are rarely in between 7pm and about 2am or later the following morning. But when they do return, they are likely to wake you up, sometimes dragging in some young girls to impress them with the apartment and the fact that they live with an old man! "How old?" one girl was heard to ask at 4:35am one morning...
Healthy Meals - Staff lunches, when not eating on the slope consist of soup, baguette, ham, cheese and lettuce. Staff suppers rarely have anything that looks like it grew in the ground. Chips, chicken nuggets, beef and mash potatoe seem to be the regulars.
Fresh Fruit - My body craves fresh fruit and I grab every opportunity to eat some, keeping a stock of fruit in the apartment and eating bowls of it, when allowed, from the guests' breakfast buffet.
A Comfortable Bed - My bed, or bottom bunk, is designed for children and the wooden slats that support the mattress regularly pop out as you roll over at night.
Lavatory Paper - This often goes missing from the apartment lavatory and can be found on the beds of the 18 year olds. It seems to disappear very quickly! I now keep a private stock to ensure I don't have to use an old newspaper or paperback book.
Newspapers - I have hardly seen any news. All I know is that most of the news is bad news, so perhaps not seeing a daily newspaper is not so bad. I occasionally do make it online and wonder why I started to look, so perhaps I don't miss newspapers.
A Decent Cup of Tea - I so miss a decent cup of tea.
The Archers - What is happening in The Archers? Actually, I'm not missing this so much.
The Tube - I'm not missing this at all! The Funicular railway under the glacier reminds me of The Drain, so it's not so distant.
Caffe Nero - I didn't think I would miss a decent cafe latte, but I do! Most of the coffees here are short and strong. I like strong, but I'd love a little more milk.
London Pride, Harvey's Best, etc - I do miss a pint of a decent ale, however Le Pub Windsor does have around 100 beers in stock and Kwak is on tap. It's a little on the strong side, but it beats all these horrible lagers!
Privacy - I have no space of my own. My 'private' space is shared with three 18 year olds. The best thing, however, is that they are rarely in between 7pm and about 2am or later the following morning. But when they do return, they are likely to wake you up, sometimes dragging in some young girls to impress them with the apartment and the fact that they live with an old man! "How old?" one girl was heard to ask at 4:35am one morning...
Healthy Meals - Staff lunches, when not eating on the slope consist of soup, baguette, ham, cheese and lettuce. Staff suppers rarely have anything that looks like it grew in the ground. Chips, chicken nuggets, beef and mash potatoe seem to be the regulars.
Fresh Fruit - My body craves fresh fruit and I grab every opportunity to eat some, keeping a stock of fruit in the apartment and eating bowls of it, when allowed, from the guests' breakfast buffet.
A Comfortable Bed - My bed, or bottom bunk, is designed for children and the wooden slats that support the mattress regularly pop out as you roll over at night.
Lavatory Paper - This often goes missing from the apartment lavatory and can be found on the beds of the 18 year olds. It seems to disappear very quickly! I now keep a private stock to ensure I don't have to use an old newspaper or paperback book.
Newspapers - I have hardly seen any news. All I know is that most of the news is bad news, so perhaps not seeing a daily newspaper is not so bad. I occasionally do make it online and wonder why I started to look, so perhaps I don't miss newspapers.
A Decent Cup of Tea - I so miss a decent cup of tea.
The Archers - What is happening in The Archers? Actually, I'm not missing this so much.
The Tube - I'm not missing this at all! The Funicular railway under the glacier reminds me of The Drain, so it's not so distant.
Caffe Nero - I didn't think I would miss a decent cafe latte, but I do! Most of the coffees here are short and strong. I like strong, but I'd love a little more milk.
London Pride, Harvey's Best, etc - I do miss a pint of a decent ale, however Le Pub Windsor does have around 100 beers in stock and Kwak is on tap. It's a little on the strong side, but it beats all these horrible lagers!
One Month In... The Job
To be paid to ski must be a great job. Well, yes, it is!
What can the down sides be? Well, there are quite a lot actually...
I have spent the last 5 days without a voice and have been guiding people around the slopes in the cold weather using what croaky voice I have left along with sign language and mime! I finally had to take a day off to see the doctor to finally try to restore my normal vocal abilities at the cheap price of 50€.
Occasionally guests have skiing accidents. So far I seem to have had to deal with two. The first guest that had an accident I made ski off the mountain, take a chair lift, then ski all the way off the mountain to the hotel where he was then driven to the local doctor's emergency department. He didn't have a broken leg, just a dislocated shoulder. The second accident involved the group setting off for a lovely day of skiing in falling snow only to be cut short within ten minutes. Very soon my hands were covered in blood as I tried to stem the bleeding from a scalp wound caused by a close encounter with a ski edge. All ended up well after 20 stiches.
I also have to share a room with three 18 year olds. Not only are they 18, but they are away from home for the first time. It's a little like living in an open zoo, sharing sleeping quarters with 3 chimpanzees. You never know what mess you will find the not-very-spacious living quarters in. Why can't 18 year olds squeeze a toothpaste tube without getting most of it all over the bathroom? Is there some special technique that I have learnt that I should be training them in? Any help would be gladly received.
What can the down sides be? Well, there are quite a lot actually...
I have spent the last 5 days without a voice and have been guiding people around the slopes in the cold weather using what croaky voice I have left along with sign language and mime! I finally had to take a day off to see the doctor to finally try to restore my normal vocal abilities at the cheap price of 50€.
Occasionally guests have skiing accidents. So far I seem to have had to deal with two. The first guest that had an accident I made ski off the mountain, take a chair lift, then ski all the way off the mountain to the hotel where he was then driven to the local doctor's emergency department. He didn't have a broken leg, just a dislocated shoulder. The second accident involved the group setting off for a lovely day of skiing in falling snow only to be cut short within ten minutes. Very soon my hands were covered in blood as I tried to stem the bleeding from a scalp wound caused by a close encounter with a ski edge. All ended up well after 20 stiches.
I also have to share a room with three 18 year olds. Not only are they 18, but they are away from home for the first time. It's a little like living in an open zoo, sharing sleeping quarters with 3 chimpanzees. You never know what mess you will find the not-very-spacious living quarters in. Why can't 18 year olds squeeze a toothpaste tube without getting most of it all over the bathroom? Is there some special technique that I have learnt that I should be training them in? Any help would be gladly received.
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