In need of a day off!!

Wow, what a week! Sunday saw a brief visit to the snow centre in town for a welcome and sign up session before i started work on the Monday. It was only an hour and there were loads of fresh faced young uns keen to get started. I filled out my welcome pack which consisted of my details (bank and personal) my sign up for a NZQA qualification in tourism, which i do as i work and read through my NZski crew handbook which listed all my duties, benefits and do's and don'ts. I also got my employee ID which entitles me to free skiing and loads of discounts in town, HURRAY!! I left wondering when i was going to sign my contract though but was just so happy to be finally starting that i skipped home like a girl and spent the rest of the day beaming.

On Monday i had an induction day at the local theatre. I had wondered why it was in such a big venue but as i entered the building there were hundreds of people waiting in the lobby. They opened the big doors to the auditorium and we entered the theatre to a rousing round of applause from our HODs (Head of departments). It was kinda creepy but also very cool. We found our seats before having to sit through a day of presentations and interactive exercises. It was kinda lame but i enjoyed it and it was a great way to get to know a few of the guys i will be working with on the hill. It was a sight to behold at times. A huge theatre full of everyone wearing hoodies and beannies and a massive variety of facial hair, even on some of the women!!

I got home feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer professionalism of the whole day. I had expected a bit of a slapdash company running the mountain but they sure know their stuff. They even have a rewards scheme where if i get recognised for excellent work i can get nominated for a sno sport award. At the end of the season the guy with the most nominations gets a scholarship to go work a season in the states. Last year a guy from rentals spent winter in an awesome resort in Utah. Sounds pretty sweet eh?

Tuesday was my first real day on the hill. Had to get up at the butt crack of dawn for the first time in an age and really struggled to get ready. Kate drove me into town as she had to work too. I got onto the staff bus with all the other bleary eyed newbies. The drive up was amazing. Coronet Peak is on one side of this huge valley with the Remarkables on the opposite side. That first morning we drove up through the cloud and the sunrise i saw above the clouds blew my mind! It bathed the mountains in bright pink and made the clouds settled in the valley look like marshmallows. In all a pretty good start to the day really. Started my shift with a tour of the huge base building, meeting loads of people along the way that i will struggle to remember the names of. Also had to pick up my uniform but it seems everyone at work has a 21 inch waist! They had to order me fat boy pants! Not such a problem as the trousers look kinda lame and cheap and it means i get to wear jeans until my XXL trousers arrive.

By the afternoon of my first day i was back in the groove and once i got the till system sorted i was flying. It certainly helps that i work with some really cool people. Billy, who is from London but prefers to say he's from Edinburgh, and Tee who is a kiwi from Cambridge in the north island. They were both really supportive and helped me out when i got stuck with a few things. When they told me to go for my ride break i was out of the door in a split and out on the snow. Got to ride most of the mountain whilst munching my lunch on the fly. I had already stuffed the pockets of my ski jacket with carrots and nut bars to save time. I was pretty tired after my break but keen to get back to the shop. The only other thing that i found a wee bit difficult was cashing up the till but I'm sure with a bit of practice I'll get it.

The next day i worked with Billy again and couldn't help but notice he was getting a lot of female attention from one of the girls in guest services. She came into the shop a few times and they were pretty obvious in their flirting. She introduced herself to me and i couldn't help but overhear her talk about her flat and how it was spread over 4 floors. I asked her if she lived in Greenstone terrace. She said she did and i told her i did too. I then joked that she was probably my neighbour (remember the smoking hot Swedish girls i saw move in? Well, i still haven't really seen them!). She said she lived at number 24 which meant that yes, she actually is my neighbour. We had a laugh over it and arranged to meet for the bus in the mornings, turns out she is actually called Lisa and she is from Australia. When she left Billy said he couldn't believe that he had spent the night in the house next to me. So i guess their flirting was because they are seeing each other. She seems really nice and Billy is really cool. He's a good looking lad (Kate fancies him!) too and they make a cute couple. Just hope they keep the noise down.

The rest of my week has flown past. Each day i have felt more and more comfortable at work and have met tons and tons of people. Another cool thing is that a lot of reps come into the shop to train us up about products and things and they also like to give great discounts and free stuff! I got told to order a free pair of dirty dog sunglasses and get 20% of wholesale giro helmets which usually retail for $300. The goggle reps are coming next week so I'm hoping to hit them up for some free shit too.

The winter festival started yesterday so Kate, me and our friends Mike, Aya, Laura and JC (a guy called Kristan who i call Jesus Christ) met in town to watch the fireworks that start the festival and have a few sneaky beers. The town was packed! The fireworks were quite good too by Q town standards apparently.

So we have had a very eventful week. Lots of new experiences and new people and some very early mornings which i am gonna take time to get used to again. It has been awesome though. I am proper tired after 43 hours at work and loads of skiing too. Wouldn't change it for the world though.

Peace

D

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