So Christmas went surprisingly well for my first one away form home. Not that I didn't miss being home, but it ended up being really cool. I worked, figuring at least my mind wouldn't be on the fact that I was away from home on Christmas. It worked pretty well. I was able to treat it like any other Thursday. But while I was at work, one of my supervisors from the Gondola location invited me over for dinner. It ended up making my day! There were eight of us all together in their fifth wheel and we just hung out and ate and talked and watched snowboarding videos (we are in Tahoe after all!) So it turned out to be a really nice Christmas "family" dinner. So I guess being a grown up isn't all that bad. You just get used to doing things a little different. 

As a bonus last night after work, the same friend called and invited me to watch the UFC fights down at one of the casinos. He's an MMA fighter himself and knew I love boxing. So a few of us hung out and watched the fights, which are pretty cool, even though none of his fighters won!

So far, so good. And getting better!

The Giant Sno Mo

So here's the gigantic snowmobile that I drive at work. I haven't had a chance to get online much lately. Six day work weeks are great for the wallet, but not good for much else! So for the last five days in a row, I drove this thing in circles, okay more accurately they're ovals, for about seven hours a day. It's still pretty fun, except when people decide that they should sled across what is obviously a snowmobile road and make me hit the brake to avoid hitting them and their kid on the sled! The last two days of driving were a bit miserable. People are just too retarded for words. But all in all it's a pretty cool job!

** So here's an update on the snowmobile, a few things I forgot to add the other day. Apparently it's one of 6 in North America and costs $35,000! So not only is it a huge beast, it's pretty rare, which I suppose explains all of the random people that take pictures of it and occasionally feel the need to sit on it when I run inside! The looks on their faces though when I "catch" them sitting on it are classic!

My mommy is awesome!!

So I get a package in the mail from Mom yesterday and she says 'be sure to call me, I want to hear your reaction'. I know what you're thinking... scary. Trust me I felt it too! 

So I get home and call her and when I open it I find out that she sent me Christmas in a box!! Little Charlie Brown tree included! So I set it up on my night stand and am totally making my roommates crazy jealous!! Although now she has succeeded in making me insane because the note very specifically said don't open until Christmas! What the heck! But I'm all scared that her mommy-sense would be tingling if I cheated! So I'm waiting... and waiting. I know it's only been one day... it's presents, hello!

Exhibit A

So in closing, my mommy is the bestest ever!!

Dumped... no not what you think!!

So I've been dumped from the Gondola location where I've been working for the last two weeks! I guess it's a good thing though since it means the California side will be opening on Thursday. So today I spent my first day at the California Main Lodge getting set up for opening day. Tomorrow I go for snowmobile training, which should be pretty fun. Although you'll laugh when I finally  get a picture of the ginormous snowmobile I'll be driving! 

So this happened a day after I got a real taste of winter on the mountain. Monday was windy and snowy and very blizzard like! I know it's ignorant to say, so I'll just hope no one who has climbed Everest will ever read my blog, but it felt like Everest up there to me! (I really have to stop reading books about Everest! This is where stupid ideas are born!!) We were out working in driving snow and windy conditions... it was awesome!

This was the view on the walk to work. This is the grocery store at Heavenly Village. The mountain directly behind is where I was headed. There's usually a pretty big difference between here and up top. There's a difference of about 3000 feet.

This is what we dealt with once we got to 9200 feet. Visibility was not too great. We got our surface lift started in the morning but the heater wasn't working so we couldn't keep up with the snowfall. It was open for about an hour total! The Magic Carpet is basically a giant conveyor belt so it's harder to keep open during the snow than the other lifts.

This is where it really started feeling like Everest! We had to move these carts by hand since we didn't have our snowmobile yet. So imagine dragging three of these through knee deep snow at 9000 feet! Not too much fun! 

Because it stayed so cold all day mountain ops were able to blow snow all day. 

Until Monday I had been spoiled by the sunny 50 degree days and had just been wearing sunglasses to keep my eyeballs from melting from the reflection off the snow. After trying to see in wind driven snow without anything on my eyes I decided to invest in a pair of goggles and a face mask keep my nose from falling off! So here's my new super hot look! 

Since I'm sure any bank robbery jokes would be construed as terroristic threats I'll keep them to myself and hope no one looking like this robs any in the near future!!

So I already have a pretty gnarly tan from wearing sunglasses all the time, so I figure this getup will help me avoid the coveted goggle tan! I should be nearly transparent by the time spring rolls around!

So that's the deal. I got a taste of life on the real mountain and now I have to move over to 6500 feet and get used to a whole new deal! But I guess that's the point right? So far, so good!

Office with a view

So I've been trying to post these for about a week. This is my ride to work every day. It's a 20 minute ride each way, so basically I'm getting paid to look at the lake for 40 minutes each day. 

We were coming down a little later than normal this day, so we caught the beginnings of the sunset. Pretty awesome!

Snow

So finally we are getting some snow! Friday when I left work they were calling for 135 mph winds on the mountain. We had to close up early and make sure things were tied down really well! I was off Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't get to see if there was any carnage or not. The ski school was closed yesterday anyway, so I got lucky and didn't lose a day. From what I hear we've only gained a few inches up top which is all we have here in town. But I guess something is better than nothing! There was a large storm system coming through and they were predicting somewhere in the range of 3 feet in as many days. That hasn't happened yet! But as strange as it is, I will admit, I'm enjoying it. The temps have dropped about 30 degrees or so in the last couple days and has been cloudy and snowing on and off, and I'm ok with that! Weird. I guess your attitude about things change when it affects your livelihood! 

So my other news today is that I went to church here for the first time today. I have never to my knowledge been to church where I didn't know anyone! So this was a pretty big step. I have intended to go to church since I got here, but could never talk myself into it! It was pretty cool though. I went to one that a cab driver told me about my first couple of days here- Sierra Community Church. The worship was pretty good, although it was rough for me. But once the pastor started preaching I got sucked in. He had all kinds of historical insight and facts that he threw in. It was pretty cool! So it was actually a really interesting sermon, which was good because it made me forget I was sitting there alone! I've asked for Sundays off, so I will probably keep going here in the mornings and maybe check others out on Sunday nights.  Hopefully I can get plugged in somewhere.

So that's about it. The roommate situation is going well. The girl from New Zealand moved out and I've got a Chilean and a Brazilian now. They are both really friendly and outgoing so I've met more people in the last week than I have since I moved here! Hard not to meet them when they're hanging out in your living room! It's been a cool change though. The other night I had my first kind of quintessential hippie experience here. There were about 10 of us hanging out in our living room, just sprawled all over. One guy brought a guitar and everybody just kind of hung out jamming and singing. It was a pretty cool time. So things have definitely gone in an interesting direction the last week or so. 

So now with the snow I should be working pretty nonstop through the season. I have probably been the luckiest hourly employee here so far. I was told I would be cut all this past week, but was able to work the entire thing! So far, I am the only person I know of that has worked two full weeks! 

So far, so good!

So this is weird... and possibly unhealthy!

Ok so last night I'm minding my own business when I go to the fridge to get something to eat. Nothing strange about that. Then as I'm staring into it, I realize that at that moment I have 5 different kinds of cheese in there! Now I don't think that an average person should ever have 5 kinds of cheese in the fridge at any given time! It just doesn't seem healthy! So I don't know exactly why I think it's odd or why I felt the need to share it, but at this very moment I have cheddar, cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella, cream cheese and something that resembles american cheese (because it's cheaper than my delicious deli american which I eat by the pound- also not a healthy choice!). So there you go, you've been given a window into my refrigerator and by extension my soul- I love cheese!

Snowball Effect

So yesterday I got a call asking me to start working today! Finally! So I was pretty stoked about that- had to run out and buy snow boots real quick! Just as I was putting my laundry away and getting ready to settle in to Conspiracy Theory and go to bed early, Anna (whose family's house I went to for Thanksgiving- she's been great showing me around town here) called and asked if I wanted to go on a night hike. So I bounced right back up from my bed and got redressed and we ended up going on a 4 hour hike in the pitch black. It was awesome, and would only have been better with some moonlight. Needless to say once I got back home I was too amped up to fall asleep and didn't until after 3! So that was not pleasant. Even after I fell asleep, I didn't sleep well and then had to get up at 6:30 to go to work! For every choice there are consequences! It was worth it!

So today was my first day of work. The California Main Lodge is still not open yet, so I am working with the ski school over at the Gondola location, which is about a 20-25 minute walk from home (depending on if I'm wearing ski pants and snow boots or not!). For now it is still alot of prep work. Today I did everything from moving tables around and organizing ski poles to running a lift and painting! Fortunately that fits my 'jack of all trades' side. I'll be getting five days a week starting Monday and then once the Cal lodge opens I will just slide over there.

Now, that's alot to process in 24 hours, but there's more. I know, it boggles the mind! Of course when I got off work, I decided that I would lay down for an hour and nap rather than be a productive member of society. So I'm laying down for, no exaggeration, three minutes and someone walks into my apartment! So yeah, on top of all the other excitement after nearly two weeks of being by myself with nothing to do, I get a roommate today! We only talked briefly so I don't know much about her, but she seems nice enough, so we shall see how this works! I must be more mature than when I was in college and hated every roommate I ever had! 

Right?!? At least this time I knew what I was getting into, so I'm sure it will work out just fine. But maybe pray about it for me anyway! 

So the snowball is rolling now, and will be picking up speed as I get into my first week of work and having a roommate. So far, so good!

Flurries!

So we're getting a light rain/flurry mix here at the bottom of the mountain,  at about 6200 feet. Nothing is sticking down here, I think it's still just over 40 degrees so it may be too warm yet. The tops of the mountains are all fogged in so hopefully it's snowing hard up there at about 10000 feet! So with any luck, maybe I can get moved over to the gondola, which is where we will open first, so I can get some work in before the California side opens. Last year I heard that we got a good snow on Dec 6th and the California lodge opened up a couple of days later. So it can't be long now! 

Of course, now I have my library card, so I'm not as bored! Yesterday I took 2 books out because that was the limit for my first time. I am sitting in the library now because I finished them both last night! I have maybe a little too much time on my hands right now! So I'm going to take a handful of books out today since they are closed tomorrow and Friday, and I will not be going out tomorrow or Black Friday! (Unless I hear about a really great deal on snow boots- which I still don't own and need before I start working! Yeah maybe I should get on that! :D 

One of the books I read yesterday was about the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race, which goes from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Fairbanks, AK. I couldn't put the thing down! I figured I would read a coupe of chapters to get started and then watch a movie. Nope! Read the entire thing in one sitting! It was called Yukon Alone- good book if you like that sort of thing. It definitely didn't sugar coat it, but it really made driving dogs sound appealing to me! I was kind of bummed I didn't get that job in Alaska this year! Oh well, maybe I'll have to try Alaska on next winter! We'll see how I do with snow someplace warm before I go crazy and end up with -40 windchill or worse! I think I'll go crazy in carefully thought out stages rather than just jumping over the edge! (Although that kind of takes the fun out of it!)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I probably won't be online for a couple of days with the holiday, but hope everyone has a good one! Be thankful for what you've got!

Getting a PO Box makes it official- yikes!

So after a bit of a rough weekend, I'm back in a good mood and feeling like I'm pretty settled  in here. It's still kind of hard not having a way around other than my feet! I don't see that many other people since I still don't have a roommate and still not working. Hopefully that will change soon though- snow in the forecast for tomorrow and Wed. and we actually had some clouds today... so fingers crossed! I know once I get working I'll be busy enough to stop thinking. I don't know, I must be more social than I think I am! Still can't force myself to jump into other groups though. I mean, I'll introduce myself and say hi but just inviting myself to hang out is still not my style. Too bad I can't have a dog... that does the trick.

So anyway, today I felt pretty good and went to the post office and got a PO Box. So I suppose I officially live here now. For six months anyway. The real reason I got the box was so I could get a library card! D'oh! Yeah I am that nerdy! So now at least I can stop my brain from atrophy.  I brought only the book I was reading when I left home and finished it on Tuesday! Too bad the library was closed today, but at least that gives me a reason to get out tomorrow.

So another cool thing that I found out today is that the buses are free all this week! They are royally screwing up all the routes so they are letting everyone ride for free all week long. Yes, once I start working I can ride for free anyway, but this gives me an excuse to explore a little more this week. Fortunately there were people at the station to tell me what new bus route I needed. I could have sat there all day and never seen the B route; and after walking about 4 miles I wasn't really in the mood to walk all the way home as the sun was setting!

-End pointless rambling-

Pray for Snow!

Looking back toward the mountains just before sunset.

Sierra, a timber wolf/ german shepard mix that is one of the coolest dogs I've ever met! (No offense to Kona, Poppa or Max... Angel- you should be offended! :D )

So these are the kind of shortcuts I'm talking about! Forget dirty alleys!

Obviously this is not ideal skiing weather!

So seriously... we need snow! I had another training day today but now  I won't get to work until we get snow. They say they need 4 or 5 good nights of making snow to get a few runs open, but they are in another part of the mountain. I've asked to be moved over there though until the California side opens, so hopefully it will start getting cold enough soon. It still hasn't been super cold over night so I don't think they have been making snow. So we need a blizzard here soon! 

So I have a much better idea of what I'll actually be  doing and it eases my mind a little to know that the actual teaching will be pretty limited. They hired 15% more coaches this year, so they will be getting the 4 and 5 year olds that the assistant coaches like me would normally get. So that works for me! I will be doing all kinds of other stuff too. It looks like there are about 50 jobs that are covered by assistants so I could be doing anything from checking kids in, to fitting them for boots, to rental tech, to running a lift. I also put my name in for snowmobile driver so hopefully they look just far enough back to miss that one big ticket about 2 1/2 years ago!

Yesterday we learned to tech bindings and got certified on Rossignol bindings. Frankly this scared the crap out of me at the beginning of the day! Although once I found out there was a chart I think I picked up on it quicker than most. So this is what I could be doing when I am a rental tech. I would have to adjust the bindings on all the kids' skis when they came in. On a holiday weekend they tell me we run over 300 kids a day! But it seems like there is enough variety to hold my interest for a few months no problem.

So today, I'm sitting through another boring 'let's go over the handbook' meetings when we come upon the section that says "No food in the forest because of the bears"! This of course segued into a conversation about the bear and coyote contingency plan! This was by far the most interesting part of any orientation I've ever been to! I don't know why I hadn't thought of them before, but apparently they do have a problem with both and I will almost definitely be seeing them on the mountain! So how awesome is that!

We also got our uniforms today... awesome bright red ski vest and jacket! Thank God they went to black ski pants instead of the red... I mean honestly!

So after work I went to lunch with a girl from work, Anna. We ended up taking a walk with her dogs after and she showed me all the shortcuts from one end of town to the other. So that was pretty awesome! There's a whole network of bike tracks through these fields that lead wherever you want to go! So that's what the pics are of today. 

Tomorrow I am supposed to go hiking with a guy from work, so hopefully I will have some great shots to post then!

Day 2- Orientation

** As promised- the rest of the pics from my first day in Tahoe.

So after two unsuccessful attempts at telling people about the blog I should probably just walk away! But here goes nothing...

So orientation was today. Nothing exciting there- hour after hour watching video clips and listening to generic info. I still haven't been given a real clear job description, although the official title on my time card is Children's Center Attendant. I think it is more of a catch-all position that includes alot more than skiing instruction- which works for me cause the skiing scares me a little more all the time! So I have department training tomorrow and Thursday and will get all the details then.

It's still sunny and almost sixty degrees here, so barring a freak storm opening on Friday doesn't look promising. So what has me flipping a little now is that I may not get regular hours for a while yet. I can't be sure but I'm preparing myself to be without work for another two to four weeks! Yikes! So not only am I not able to use this time to learn to ski, I'm not sure I can really check things out for fear of running out of funds before I get a paycheck. Love these little snags! So hopefully for the next couple weeks I'll be exploring Tahoe on the cheap.

Pray for snow!! (Never thought I would be saying that!)

Day One in Tahoe

So this is my first blogging attempt. I've officially been in Tahoe for 25 hours now and decided this would be the easiest way to keep everyone up to speed on what's going on with me.

I got in last night and got settled into my apartment. I am the first one there so I don't have to deal with any roommates yet. This of course is nice because I get first dibs on bed, closet space, etc, but it would have been nice to have someone to bounce my questions off of. Although I guess the point of something like this is to figure things out for yourself, so that's what I'm doing. So I usually just walk around and see what I see...

Today I walked about 11 miles according to my trusty map. I found myself in a Starbucks and actually having a drink, not once, but now for the second time. That should help stifle my internet habit since I have to one- walk about 3/4 of a mile to get here, and two- sit in a Starbucks! What the heck!

Anyway, I found the library and a few other necessary places on my way to the lake today, where I spent about 3 hours walking around and taking pictures. The pics at the front of this post are from my first day here. I took more and may post them later, but this gives you a taste of what I am looking at for the next five months. Oddly enough though there is no snow on the ground here. Today it was 60 degrees and gorgeous. I checked out bikes on craigslist and if I had found a good deal would have definitely bought one today. This place was made for it! That would make things just about perfect at this point. It would definitely shorten up these trips "to town".

So that's about it for my first day. Tomorrow I have orientation and will find out exactly where I will be working and what I will be doing.  So far, so good.

** I had a little trouble uploading all the pics from today, I will try to post more in the next day or so.