Surviving Another Week

So another week has gone by in Sweden and I have no new significant injuries! What better reason to celebrate?! Oh right, Jesus. That guy.

So Christmas in Sweden is a little bit different. Christmas eve is the big day here. All the kids open their presents in the afternoon and have a massive dinner that evening. Christmas day seems like a time for everyone to get wasted and go out partying.

Christmas eve here was pretty impressive. We all chipped in some cash and a few of the girls put on a feast and a half. We sat about 20-25 people at the dining table and waited for the food to be ready while drinking our glögg (mixture of various spirits and julmust - Christmas cordial).

Emil got a weird skateboard-type thing called a Ripstick. It's only got two wheels and you move forward by wriggling from side to side. With great difficulty we took turns zipping around the living room and the dining table trying our best to do tricks like side sliding and monos. There was a fair bit of crashing but with a little bit of grace we- and the tree- survived the evening.

When called everyone leaped up to fill their plates with Swedish meatballs, potatoes, potato gratin, sausages, salmon, Christmas ham, various types of Swedish bread. Everything tasted amazing. I was mowing through the food in a hazy attempt to eat everything at once. After my second plate I was ready to collapse in a swollen food coma. Despite the crazy amount of partying going on this week I am doing my best to behave as work takes priority for the time being and a hangover coupled with a lack of sleep is the last thing I want right now. A few weeks down the track I might brave the prospect - scratch that - next week is new years eve! Time to see how the Swedes compare with the Norwegians in the new year celebrations.

As the first week in the ski school draws to a close I am able to breathe a sigh of relief. I was pretty nervous on Monday morning as I was charged with organising 26 skiers and 4 instructors- three of them with many years more experience than I. I then had a group of 7-8 year old Swedish intermediate skiers and finished up with 3 intermediate Swedish Adults. Strangely enough everything went far more smoothly than I could have hoped for.

Mental Note: Take it Easy, Nutjob

A very long but very cheap trip to the doctor's shows that my hand is not in fact broken, not even fractured. It just hurts like hell and should sort itself out without a cast or anything in a couple of weeks. How lucky is that?

Not as lucky as some things... Today we were changing over a few more advertisements around the resort. One of the big ones half way up the mountain meant that we had to get on the lift with our gear (ladders etc) and walk down to the poster. Once we'd finished we took our ladders and the old sign and headed back down to the base. It's quite a hike back down so we jumped on the old sign and slid down the mountain on our butts. It was a bit chaotic and out of control but it went well at first until I went over a crest to be met by a pretty crazy-steep, ungroomed ski-run covered in giant icebergs. Yay. It's a miracle I'm not dead. There I was; careering out of control on a huge sheet of plastic, skimming through a minefield of rock-solid chunks of ice. I managed to avoid most of the bigger ones but didn't manage to spare my butt and back the impact of a few of the smaller ones. (the boxs of screws I had in my pocket is going to leave a pretty serious bruise on my thigh). I somehow managed to spin myself around so that I was flying head first on my back through this gauntlet of pain shortly before I started heading towards one about the size of a horse. Jocke watched in horror as the scene became more and more ridiculous. By some manner of divine luck I managed to twist myself so that my shoulder slid up the iceblock and I finally managed to come to a stop. Shaken, stirred and bruised... but nothing more... I got up and walked away.

I spent the next few hours thanking my lucky stars and acknowleding yet another warning shot accross the bow to take it easy this season.

Timbuktu

My first day of work went pretty well. Going around setting up advertisements around the resort and changing over signs in ski racks etc. Not the most glamorous job in the world but it was pretty cruisey and a good way to meet everyone. After work the ski school has an afterski set up at the Holiday club which was pretty sweet and it was there that the first of the English Fridays took off. It was such a relief to be able to be myself once again instead of the constantly looking and thinking introvert I am in Swedish social situations as my brain computes what the hell is going on around me. It was funny to see the fear in some peoples' eyes when I greeting people in English over breakfast - now they know how I feel! It served to separate people into those who are brave and want to practice and those who are embarrassed and suddenly go silent.

We all headed back to Klappen for a sauna (about my 5th in a week) and some beers before we headed out to the Timbuktu concert.

A bunch of people from one of the other staff housing places came over and brought with them a random guy from Sydney who had just arrived looking for work. He made me feel a hell of a lot more sane: he speaks no Swedish and has no job lined up - he is also the only other non-swede I have met in Are.

It was a pretty crazy night all in all. A ski season wouldn't be complete without me hurting myself in a stupid way so I thought I would break one of the bones in my hand by slapping Jocke on the ass with a glove right as he put his elbow back. I also lost my phone and almost got arrested as I got into a fight with some drunken dude who insisted that his father built a couple of plant things on the side of the road. Thankfully Jocke pulled me away before the police ran over to see what the commotion was all about. At least with a broken hand I can still ski!

Funnily enough, despite all the misfortune that I encountered it was a good night and thoroughly helped to make me feel at home with the people around me.

Big Catch Up

Two weeks in Perth went very well. The boat trip was magnificent, I got to catch up with just about everyone and enjoyed the fantastic weather I was blessed with for my time there. There were a few people absent including my mother so it wasn't quite the same as my usual drop-ins. I wrapped it all up with the new bond film with Kenny from which we went directly to the airport. Kenny quite logically pointed out that having several small plastic bags packed with protein powder probably wouldn't wouldn't look so good as I fly through Singapore so they stayed in Perth and I went on.

Two weeks in London took their toll. It's a bit of a tradition when Ben and I see one another to go a bit overboard and this was no exception. The first weekend I caught up with Ben, Adam, Vic, Ranga, Muel, Shirley and a few others. While we didn't make it to the Church we still did plenty of damage at the Walkabout on Sunday to wrap up the 4 day weekend. I managed to be a little responsible during the week and Ranga and I made it to the gym a few times, got through a bit of homework and was generally a well behaved and rational person. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the following weekend. Saturday night I caught up with George from back at camp in the states as well as Alex and Simon from Montreal. A mixture of house parties, bars and clubs; George, Ben and I ended up crashing on couches in some girl's living room.

6 of us woke up and headed out to breakfast and thought; hey, why not start the day with a pitcher of margaritas? Why not indeed. Over breakfast we talked up the 'experience' of the Church for George, a native Brit who had never experienced the equisite spectacle that is the Church. Apparently it far exceeded his expectations and he can't wait to return. From chatting up girls dressed up as boys to motorboating painfully old women with excessive breast implants (George!). From being fought over by the super twins to having an unwanted sidekick step in. It was one hell of a Sunday. We've all vowed to do it all over again once the season is over.

Naturally after a bender like that I contracted a bit of a cold which I am still trying to shake off.

I flew into Stockholm and caught up with everyone from the good old days at the Hard Rock Cafe. What started out as stopping by for a quick meal and a quick hello turned into a shower of shots at Pub Anchor. That pretty much put me out of commission for the rest of my time in Stockholm but that was a-ok with me. I still had to finish off my Vardskapet (village/company study package), sort out a phone, bank account etc before getting up to the snow.

Before jumping on my mightnight train up to Are I met a crazy old drunken Finnish dude in a hawaiian shirt at the train station who insisted on having a lengthy but limited conversation with me. I figured I could use the practice but I'm not sure whose Swedish was worse? His or mine? 8 hours later the train came to a screeching halt as they pulled back to drag the corpse of an alg (like a small moose?) off the tracks. I have been to Are a couple of times but never seen it so covered in snow!

I'm living in a massive house a little out of town. At the moment we're only about 20 but at capacity it holds about 45 people. Not everyone has arrived and it won't be full until early February. So far I have a room to myself but there is a second bed that's bound to be filled before too long. My first night here was spent meeting everyone, having a giant sauna (it holds about 15 people) while drinking beer. It was all a big blurr for a variety of reasons but I gather much fun was had by all. While I am frequently told how good my Swedish is I am constantly reminded how much I have to learn! I can get by well enough one on one but in a group situation I have no choice but to sink into the background as I struggle to follow the rapidly changing conversation topic.

It is because of this that I have decided to test out English Fridays to give myself a bit of a chance to be myself. All my housemates seem to like the idea as it will give them a chance to practice their English.

Timbuktu is one of Sweden's biggest hip hop artists and I have been listening to him for a few years now; not only in an effort to maintain my Swedish but also because his music is pretty sweet. He is playing at one of Are's most popular clubs this Friday and all the staff are buzzing in anticipation. I have not spoken to one person who isn't planning on going. I hear there are 250-350 staff here so far with more set to come in the next few weeks. Should be a good night out...

So far work has been pretty cruisy; a lot of meeting, talking, looking, getting fitted out for uniforms and snowboarding around the area. The resort is divided up into 5 or 6 different locations; with 3 different ski school locations. I am based in the town center which has a pretty mixed demographic. Sounds like for the first part of the season I will be taking ski groups as more and more snowboarders come along later in the season. This week was our introduction week while tomorrow I start my first day of 'work' where I will be helping set up signs and getting the ski area ready for guests. The majority of people won't be starting until the 22nd of December when the season really kicks off. There is enough snow to have the resort running at full capacity but as there is hardly anyone around they aren't opening the lifts up as much as they could. This is a good sign for a good season - although having said that many resorts that experience early falls seem to 'use up' their snow early and not get much more later on.

Mental Note: Yoghurt and Choc-Chip Cookies Taste Like Ice Cream

So I haven't quite finished my certification; but I came damn close. I knocked off both my exams on Tuesday while my examiner was passed out on the desk... hungover. Now just one and a half assignments stand between me and completion. With a bit of luck should be able to get it all sorted while I'm in Perth.

I set aside about 4 hours to pack everything up today when in reality I got everything done in about 45 minutes and had a nap for a couple of hours. Starting to get a hang of this packing thing... First thing in the morning I fly out to Perth before starting my travels once again. I could use a bit of sun and the beach awaits.

I've set up a day trip over to Rottnest to catch up with the few remaining while I am back in town. A friend of a friend has a tidy little 60ft. Sunseeker for the day and while the weather was looking a bit questionable earlier in the week, in true Perth style it's shaping to be fine and 24. Just how we like it. A perfect opportunity to get some colour before I return to the darkness of the north.

Having said that I got plenty of sun on Saturday at the AAMI Derby Day at Flemmington Raceway, a little too much in fact. I got a taste of spring racing and I must say I'm a big fan. There are few times where people really put in the effort and really go all out to look their best, even if it is for just one day. I was surrounded by a Perth army and a few people from work. It was only a taste of the races and in years to come I'd like to have another crack.

In world news; It's official, Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States. We should all expect the world to be a very different place in the next few years but I must say my curiosity lies in what will happen to the world's economy. When you stay in one place you don't feel the effect of economic crises so quickly. It takes time to set in; prices slowly creep up as the costs of transport, production and storage inflate. When you move around, it hits you like a tidal wave of poverty (yes I am being that dramatic).

Take the example of the Australian dollar compared to the currency of my next destination; the British Pound. Back in June, the British Pound bought 2.03 Australian Dollars; so let's say I'd saved about $10,000 I'd be able to buy 4,900 pounds. Not too bad eh? Fast forward to October 10 - not even 4 months later - that same amount will buy me 3,840 pounds. Think about it like this: even making use of the poor conversion rates of late, that means that a little under AUD$3,000 has vanished into thin air. Poof. Gone.

There is a lot you can do with $3,000 I assure you.

Thankfully things have improved a little in the past few weeks; the Australian dollar is back up to almost 88% of its June value compared to the 77% it was a little over two weeks ago. Using that $10,000 example; that's effectively an extra $500 back in my pocket - but I'm thinking it's going to be a while before things get back to a positive place. I'm even having to rethink the Singapore stop-over shopping I had planned: for a while there the Australian dollar was faring worse than the Singapore currency. Ouch.

I am going to do my best to be frugal in my first months of travel and hold out to spend the Swedish Kronor I am soon to earn while my Australian nest egg sits incubating at the whims of the world economy.

I finished up in Sales with my best month to date; securing myself a tidy little bonus to add to my worthless savings. Saying goodbye to everyone is a good chance to take stock of your time in a place. Everyone at the gym chucked in for... cash (they thought it'd be more practical than booze for a traveler - shows what they know!) and a card that was, for lack of a better word: touching. Made me rethink all the crappy messages I have left in people's going away cards. At least I'll know for next time. There are some good people at that place; I was sorry to see the backside of the gym even if the place is falling a part in one way or another.

Suddenly realising time was running out to make that visit she'd often spoken of; my sister cut it close and came down with Lee on Sunday night to take a look around Melbourne and get in a few meals out and a movie. Amy had talked it up a bit because Brad Pitt plays an over-the-top Personal Trainer named Chad who rides his bike everywhere. For the next two days my name was Chad. At least I don't have the bad blonde streak through my hair although I was considering highlights... I suppose it was an OK movie, but the Cohen Brother's grim view of the US doesn't really do it for me. Burn After Reading portrays America as an adulterous army of bumbling idiots out to screw each other over or just screw each other. I'd at least like to think this wasn't the case.

Packing up my things has included doing my best to get through the rest of my groceries in a day. As I have a tendency to buy in bulk I have a fair bit to get through and it's essentially an impossible task. In doing so however, I have discovered that When you crumble choc-chip cookies into your bowl of yogurt, muesli and milk there is a distinct ice-cream flavor in there. It's quite odd but pretty tasty but then again - and breakfast ceral is no exception - when aren't cookies appropriate?

Now Where Was I?

Now Where Was I? Oh yeah, Melbourne.

Starting to wrap things up in yet another city in yet another country. I can hardly stay in one place more than 6 months and call myself a wanderer can I!? Thankfully that is not something I have done in over two and half years, but I am cutting it close this time.

Melbourne is a funny little city. It certainly stands out against the rest of Australia. Football crazy hooligans one minute; Versace toting laté drinkers the next. It is a city of contrasts.

In many ways it is a little slice of Europe plonked in the corner of Australia that most reflects European weather. This leads me to conclude that European sensibilities are somewhat climate born while the same could be said of Australia? Is the country's general attitude governed by its agreeable weather?

Brendan gave me a call the other day to meet up for a few beers while he was in town. He had a hotel room opposite the crown casino which gave us front row seats to the Crown nightly flame show. It is a pretty spectacular sight to see balls of fire erupting in unison 20-30 metres high. Energy crisis? What energy crisis? The flames where so massive that we could hear the fireballs erupting from about 800 metres away through the hotel's double paned glass. Brendan thought he could feel the warmth of the flames but I just told him to ease off the wine for a while. A few beers turned into a bit of an all-weekend bender (something that I do not regularly partake in of late) that was no doubt a significant contributor to me catching a cold early the following week. Mental note: stop going mental.

Another month wraps up and as such we all attend another sales launch. I keep telling myself that I only have a few weeks left and I can get out of this .... of a job. Last month I did ok but felt as though I performed far from spectacularly- much of my success to be attributed to luck more than anything. Nonethless to my surprise I was presented with 2 sales awards and had to get up a give a little speech about how I went about reaching my targets. Ouch. A bottle of champagne and a vip ticket to the Caufield Guinneas later, I sat down a little bamboozled.

The other side of my job seems to be increasing in relevance in the world. The super-sized US has long been known as the world's fattest nation. But what is little known that the latest comprehensive study into the health of Australians has won us the world heavy-weight title. Australia is the fattest nation in the world with 26% of its citizens classifiable as obese; a full percentage point ahead of the soon-to-be Barack-led nation. Experts are now calling for extreme measures like gym discounting and denial of surgery based on body mass index (BMI) to rectify the situation. Can you say subsidised personal training anyone? This is of course bad news and should not be celebrated. Bad inappropriate James. Bad.

As the days count down I am realising I have little time left to complete my certification. I better pull my finger out and smash through these last few assignments. I wrap things up in Sales at the end of October and a week later I say goodbye to my clients and disappear to the west. I am excited to have that feeling once again; waking up from a (hopefully) good night's sleep and thinking... Now where was I again?

The Power of Veto

Finding out that my insurance won't cover my surgery put the wind up me a little; and that's an understatement. There aren't many I know that could take a $4000 blow on the chin and keep a smile on their face. I was feeling pretty shaken for the better part of the day until on my way home a thought occurred to me... I don't HAVE to get the surgery do I?

With that in mind I called up the surgeon and we had a bit of a chat: Turns out the odds of improvement were slim and the knee should really heal itself over time with the formation of scar tissue. With strengthening exercises and care I should be fine without it.

Oh.

So the decision to pull out was not a difficult one and so far so good. I have a lot of work to do to get into shape for the season. Lots of stretching, stability exercises and other stuff not nearly as satisfying as throwing around big weights but I think I can force myself to get into the hippie pilates/flexibility/balance side of things if it means I can avoid the knife and hopefully make this my last serious injury.

It's nice to be able to make some decisions about my own body for once. After all, it is mine and when it comes to what happens to it I do have the power of veto.

In other news flights are booked and I am outta here.
- 5th November -> Perth
- 13th November - > Montreal (via London)
- 27th November - > London
- 3rd December - > Stockholm
- 6th December - > Are

The Contender

Seems I have a doppelganger. Peter Thorpe has placed his flag in the cyber-sand with No, The Other Thorpedo. Like me, Peter is a traveler and has decided to document his antics. Hailing from Saskatoon he has set up shop in Sydney as a fire safety engineer. He uses abstract references like genuflection. I have to admit that one sent me to the dictionary. Apparently genuflection is the act of kneeling in passing the Blessed Sacrament as a sign of devotion. Using a term like that in everyday language? How abstract. Power to you Peter. Still, I am the orginal and... you guessed it, the best.

Back to the Drawing Board

Or thin this case? The operating table.

So turns out I don't have any significant cartilage damage but the bone fracture is causing me some issues and leaves me in a precarious position.
Of these three mine is the third case. It has left an angular edge on the joint which causes cartillage irritation and possible tearing/rupturing. My procedure is going to be focused on bone remodeling to ensure I have a smooth surface for the cartilage to sit on and reduce the friction. The good news is that the surgery is scheduled for next week; the 26th of September. A little better than the wait I had in Canada eh? Expected recovery time is 3-4 days off my feet. A week-10 days on crutches. 6 weeks before doing any impact.

In my position I can devote a lot of time to rehabilitation and muscle hypertrophy to I should be pretty strong by the time I start in Sweden.

My start date has been set quite a bit earlier than I expected. My birthday, the 8th of December, is the first day of the introduction week.

So it would seem that despite my best efforts, my body is far from perfect. Hopefully with a little help from my good friend scalpel we can take another step in the right direction so for now; back to the drawing board.

You Know What REALLY Grinds My Gears?

I now see the folly of my ways. Never again will I let my email address loose in cyberspace. I am now paying the price.

4-5 times a day... "Hey I would like to meet you ut I can not get msn to stay online. I am always online here ChirawanPisit-nazsyc.blogspot.com kelly :P"

What did I do to deserve a schizophrenic bot who can't spell harassing me constantly? What sins have I committed and what must I do to repent?

A look online shows I am not alone in my harassment hell but what is to be done about it?

Let us pray to the great internet god; Bless me Google for I have sinned. The sins of sinners are brought back upon me and yet they, who are not human (or rather computer programs designed to piss people off), know not what they do.

Wait, did I just resort to prayer? Now THAT really grinds my gears.

Still the King

The Up? It's been a long time in the making; but I finally got offered the job in Are. I had to pretty much harass poor Jonas; the director of the ski school in the north of Sweden, but I got there in the end. I got an email early last week saying that I made an excellent impression on the interviewers last time and now that I have my ski instructor's certification and a bit more Swedish under my belt? I am in. I am just waiting for a final email confirming my start date and then I am hitting up Singapore Airlines to sort out my ticket at the end of the year.

But what would good news be without a little dose of the bad to go along with it?

The Down. So I finally got an appointment with a highly coveted orthopedic surgeon here in Melbourne. It took me over 6 weeks to get in but I got to see him. About five minutes later, a quick look at my old MRI and a poke around and he could see that unlike my previous diagnosis of just a tibia fracture; I have some cartilage damage as well. Shit. I am booked in to have another MRI later this week to take a closer look at it and will most likely need surgery again in the next month or two.

The big questions are, will I make a full recovery in time? Will my insurance cover it? And will anybody ever insure me again? I did it before and I am going to do it again. I am fitter and healthier than I have ever been so I should be equipped to handle the recovery process with a vengeance.

Anyways, this is a travel blog and traveled I have. This weekend Mamma shot over to Sydney to pay my big sister a visit and nurse her through her hip surgery (what a grandma) So I decided last minute to jump on a plane and join them for the weekend. Coincidently Pappa was at Melbourne airport on his way to Sydney one hour before my flight... small world. I changed my flight over (resulting in a 4am wake up on Saturday morning for me) and met him at the airport for the first of 3 breakfasts. The weekend turned out to be a little family reunion of sorts; the first time we have all be in the same city for almost 4 years. I spent most of the weekend eating, but managed to squeeze in a quick personal training session with Amy and went out with Dad and his girlfriend of three years (who I have not had the pleasure of meeting until now) for lunch on Saturday. Mamma flew in Saturday night and we did a lot of eating and a little walking. The weather cleared up for a walk along Coogee beach before shooting back to the airport on Sunday for the flight back to Melbourne.

In the meantime. Sales sucks but it gets me money (hopefully hit my bonus and then some this month; so far so good!). Training is kick-ass but I am getting no sleep (5am wake ups and 13-14 hour days). Study is coming along very slowly, trying to squeeze in some progress but by the time I get home I am dead to the world. Ah well, I can take it. After all; I am the king of ups and downs.

Some Things Never Change

As much as I might change in some ways; the old James always comes out here and there. So I am well behaved, work a lot, eat healthy, study during the week and a lot of the weekend and generally lead a healthy, responsible life.

This doesn't mean that I am physically able to say no to going out for a 'quiet beer' and have it end up being a big night out where I inevitably run into Mr. Jagermeister. One of the other trainers at work asked me out for a few beers at the local and what started out as a few games of pool over a couple of jugs turned into a big pissy night with stupid dancing and pulling stupid faces in front of the camera. Sweet.

I got myself a new house-mate this week. After putting a couple of ads online I got about 50-60 calls/texts/emails about the room. Seems like the market is pretty tight right now. I narrowed it down to two girls and a guy and to help me make the final decision I got all three of them down to the Arcadia on Saturday night for a few drinks. Best idea I ever had. I was leaning more towards one of the girls but after a few drinks and a bit of normal conversation Ben stood out miles ahead of the rest. A 25 year old legal accountant from New Zealand and his two beautiful leather couches moved in on Thursday and so far so good. Seems like he keeps similar hours to me, has some study to do that'll keep me motivated to get mine done and is pretty keen on his training.


Last month I moved over to the role of a sales consultant with the temptation of commission being dangled under my nose. My first few weeks went really well and I hit my sales target and landed myself a tidy little bonus for the month. This month has been rough. It's one of those 'in between' months and with all the promotions we've been offering of late, it's been hard to find potential members. Looks like I have fallen shy of my target for this month. Not so sweet.

I have started taking on clients at work and I'm loving it. Still doing sales for the time being until I am fully qualified (still 6-8weeks away), the extra hours and experience certainly keep things interesting. Personal Training is a job you can have a bit of fun with provided you have the right clients. So far I have a couple of really cool people to train and because I am not relying on it as my source of income; I can be a bit picky about who I decide to train.

Practicing what I preach is a pretty important aspect of PT for me at this stage. Hopefully I won't fall behind like some trainers who eat crap and hardly work out at all. While so far I am taking my training seriously and being mindful of my diet, when I do go out I am still drinking a lot of beer and grabbing people and lifting them up when there is a camera around.

But hey, some things will never change.

Things sometime take a turn for the... unexpected?

I put it off for a while and realised the stupidity of the whole situation. I was going to be taking a risk with my knee that is still not 100% from my latest injury, the season was looking pretty average no matter how it turned out and I had a bit of debt racked up so I thought... the hell with the snow. I'm going to get a job.

And so that's what I did.

I landed myself a tidy little apartment with a super-sweet catch basically meaning I pay way less than I should for way more than I should be able to afford. Sweet. And as you can see; Melbourne in winter? Not as bad as everyone says.

I got myself a job so quickly I am sure I set some sort of record. I sent off an email; 30 mins later I had a phone call; 16hours later I had an interview and 24 hours later I started work. Wham. I am working in administration for Australia's second largest chain of fitness centres; Genesis. I am also studying for my certificate 4 in fitness part-time which will qualify me as a fitness instructor and personal trainer; I thought it would tie-in nicely with my snowsports qualifications in preparation for future non-shitty non-Australian seasons. Not that Hotham are going to be hiring me again any time soon. They weren't too pleased when they got my 'I'm not coming' phone call. But hey. That's what you get for telling me to sit tight and suck it up for two weeks.

I have slowly been getting myself settled in, catching up with the masses of Perth people who have made the exodus to the east coast: Oli, Monque, Simon, Miles, Miranda and I have recently heard from Mark Nevin as well. There are a lot of us here.

Genesis had their 11th birthday party on Friday night and things got surprisingly wild. Free drinks were flowing all over the place which made for an interesting cocktail of people. I even ran into one of my roommates from Whistler who was a friend of a boyfriend of someone at work. Small world eh?

Saturday was quite possibly the strangest, most surreal night of my life. If I am not open-minded I don't know who is. We'll leave it at that.

So as it comes up on one month in Melbourne things certainly didn't turn out quite the way I had expected. Welcome to James the Wanderer.

In Limbo

So there is still no snow. Awesome. I must say I didn't expect to be held up in a hostel in Melbourne.

So what does one do in this situation? Why go on a massive bender of course, what else? I have been partying it up with my dorm-mate Paul from Seattle. Actually it's probably now a good thing that he's gone: I'd venture a guess that we were a bad influence on each other in one way or another.

So as I wait around for the snow to come I am keeping other options open; I might even find myself staying in the city and getting a... wait for it... normal job? Pretty unlikely that I will actually do that as it feels a little dumb to walk away from snowboarding but cash is soon going to be an issue.



In the meantime I am closely watching the weather and it's finally getting colder. Not much snow falling just yet but as long as it gets cold then at least they can fire up the snowmakers

Oh by the way...

I suppose, considering this is a travel blog and not just a space for me to vent when I am feeling particularly preachy, I should do some travel-blogging instead of being Al Gore's smallest fan.

I am still in Melbourne and looks like I am here a little longer than expected. My first staff meeting has been pushed back indefinitely due to lack of snow.

If you will take a look at the date on this webcam image you might notice that is today. Not exactly looking like ideal conditions for snowboarding is it?

So for now I am setting up at a hostel in the city and waiting until it gets cold. Awesome.

You know what really grinds my gears? (WARNING: Preachy Rant)

People.

Quite simply put: people never cease to amaze me with their utter stupidity. In between my wanderings I somehow manage to find a little bit of time to spend on Facebook. Shocking; I know.

During that time I have come across a couple of groups of Facebook that say something along the lines of "15,000,000 for lower gas prices" or "Amazing new way to lower gas prices!". I try to ignore a lot of the crap that goes around on facebook because otherwise I will have discovered a new way to rot my brain (I have enough of those thanks...) but it seems that more and more of my 'friends' are joining these groups and as such, showing up in my mini-feed.

When I first see these things I instantly think: pffft... like anyone is stupid enough to think that a facebook group can make a difference, let alone 15 million of them! But seeing this more and more often has driven me to click on the link and see what's going on. OVER 1.3 MILLION MEMBERS!?Utter insanity. OK. So there are a lot of stupid people out there. But this is only the beginning. If you type in "gas prices" in facebook's search bar you get 500+ groups showing up (Facebook searches max out at 500 by the way) many of which have in excess of 100,000 members.

So what is inside these groups? Nothing. Perhaps something like: "description: If you think gas prices are too high Click on "Invite People to Join" from the menu on the right."

Really?! I didn't realise that was all there was to it. So if 15,000,000 people join this group oil companies are going to have this sudden epiphany: "Oh.... I get it now. People don't want to pay so much for oil products. I had no idea. Quick Bob, turn off the giant crude oil geyser that we use as a reading light on the oil rig at night!"

So while this is the largest group I came across I must admit that not all groups take such a simplistic approach. Some of them have an idea!

We need to take some intelligent, united action. (this is my favorite part)

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. (this is my second favorite part)

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

Try to buy from like Kangaroo, BP, Phillip's 66, Chevron, Shell, or Q-Gas.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

Genius! In fact that is so intelligent I don't know why people even taking economic classes at university. They should just hang out with THIS GUY!

Because really that is the problem. Petrol stations are simply over charging consumers. They are getting away with it and it's getting worse and worse. It has nothing at all to do with suppliers, increased transport costs, conflict over supply areas, increased labour costs, inflation, inceased market demand and ultimately the cost of crude oil.Sarcasm aside for the moment there is really only ONE thing that consumers can do about the price of petrol. Buy less.

I know it's a complicated notion to get around but I will try to make it simple. My very out-there theory is based on two principles.

1) If you buy less, you spend less and therefore you will have more money.

2) If people buy less generally then this will positively affect the supply:demand ratio and drive the price of oil down right up the chain of supply.

Sure it's a tough concept to grasp. Deal with it.

Here we go again...

A 5 week stopover in Perth: About 15 trips to the beach... in Winter! Ah that is really why I came home. I missed the sun and the sand. Not many places in the world where you can do that in Winter. It was good to catch up with everyone after all this time. People have wives, dogs, houses and... children!?

A few random nights out remind me that Perth is actually not all that bad. Some quiet days reminded me that it is a really small town with small people and small things to do.

And here I am back on the road again. Staying with Oli and Monique again; much as I did a little over two years ago. This time however I won't be going too far away; Hotham is a mere 5 hours away by bus..

I want everyone who reads this to send me positive, knee-mending vibes as the chances of me coming home early with reinjured tibia fractures are scarily high...

End of the Journey

We finished things up in Are nicely. Clinton and I both passed our exam quite comfortably and proceeded to part ways. He's headed off to Greece with his girlfriend as I jump on a painfully long train journey down to Stockholm. 2 Weeks in Stockholm consisting largely of going to the park for a few drinks with the Hard Rock crew. I shacked up at Valeria's place with my own room: Something I have never had in all my time in Sweden.

It was good to see everyone in Stockholm again. 6 months had passed and very little had changed. About the biggest difference I could see was that Jason was now fitting comfortably into his role as manager and they had added Brisket to the menu. Wow.

A couple of short weeks later I jumped on a plane to London- it was a bit of a near miss as my flight was canceled and the replacement almost didn't match up with my connecting flight. It all turned out in the end and I managed to meet up with Ben who had come out to Heathrow for dinner and drinks. Good of him to make the effort as I wasn't going to have time or the money to make my usual week or two pass through London city.

And here I am. Back in Perth after 2 years and here I will stay for 6 weeks before making the trip over east for the season in Hotham. It's good to be back.

I made a run for it

Once again a long gap between posts; paticularly taking into consideration the events of late.

Last news from me entailed pappa's visit, some crazy good snow conditions and a ski induced, repeat knee injury. The same knee I injured about 14 months ago. Though thankfully it's not the same type of injury. A bit of ambiguity remains as to the severity of my situation: I was walking more or less normally in less than a week, so that is a very good sign. I have since been down to Oslo to have an MRI but it will be a while before I am in one place long enough to have the images examined.

As I was heading down to Oslo anyways, Clinton and I headed out on the town to see the sights. One very random night got us an invite to the Backstreet boys who were playing the following evening. At the time we thought it was a brilliant idea but in the light of day our sober/hungover states helped us weigh up the steep costs against the novelty value of the whole thing.

One very long day later saw us make it up to Åre, in the north of Sweden. 12 Hours is a long time to be on a couple of trains but it wasn't too bad really. We've come up here to do the level 1 Swedish ski instructor's certification. Concern over the condition of my knee prevents me from taking part in the pratical component but I am still able to attend lectures and sit the written examination at the end of the week. I am quite happy to just chill out while Clinton seems to be wearing himself out quite quickly with long days of skiing. Sitting in lectures he struggles to keep his eyes open a lot fo the time.

It's nice to be back in Sweden; I can actually understand people again. My whole time in Norway I was very resistant to learning the language out of fear of bastardising my Swedish. I seem to have more or less succeeded in keeping things relatively stable.

So far I love it here in Åre. It has everything that Geilo was lacking. That town was a little too quiet for me- a few bed-bound weeks made me realise that more than ever. I am making enquiries into working here next season. With a bit of ski instructor's experience under my belt I should have a much better shot than last time.

What Else is New?

Dad had mentioned the possibility of paying me a visit; an idea I suspected he would never follow through with but sure enough I was given all of 48 hours notice before he rocked up in my hallway. Go Dad. His arrival was welcomed by all. Along with Pappa Thorpe came ridiculous amounts of snow. 36 hours straight crapping down snow. Fresh snow is something that has been missing from Geilo for neigh on two months now.

Yesterday we hit the slopes and Dad found himself getting his ski legs back after two years by pounding through knee deep powder. Despite being a ridiculously busy time of year (the busiest in fact), I managed to get some time off to go skiing with Pappa.

Glorious snow. Amazing snow. We finished off a long hard day of riding with a solid 2 hour nap followed by after-ski at the highland hotel and on to Hos Martin for more shenanigans. Everyone was a little curious at first but Dad quickly blended in and chatted up a storm. Dad was happy to tell and many were more than happy to listen to Dad's pontifications about my childhood and general theorising on why I am the way I am. It could have been worse. The night carried on almost to closing time.

We awoke this morning after these dumping days to a pure blue sky with the brightest sunshine I have seen in a long, long time. The snow was soft and fresh, the lifts weren't particularly busy and the visibility was infinite. In a word it was the perfect day. We did a little off-piste skiing which had mixed levels of success...

I was on skis for the day to hang out with Pappa a little more. I am pretty decent on skis but I had never tried going through the park. Oh my god it is easy to jump on skis. I was getting huge air with no effort at all. Much more than I can on a snowboard. I wanted to take it easy but the temptation was too strong. I jumped higher and higher and even threw in a grab or two.

"Oh so this is what everyone is going on about!"

Run after run I said to Andrew that we would do just one more, just one more.... just... one... more. I hit one of the bigger jumps and got some serious air and landed with a little bump and kept on skiing... Something felt a little odd.

"Wait. What's this? Oh right, I seem to only have one ski on, I guess I had better stop."

Click. Smack. Ow. A searing pain shot up through my body coming from... my left knee.

"Hmmm, this feels a little familiar. Have I done this before?"

Having just come from the medical center 800 kronor poorer, it seems as though it is probably not all that serious; hard to say with any certainty until the swelling has gone down. So far it's rest, ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and crutches. Regardless of how things progress from here it is safe to say that my season has come to a close a few weeks earlier than expected. But yeah, what else is new?

Sick...

Easter here is hectic. Lessons flying all over the place. Normally if you have an open spot its unlikely it will fill up with a private but now it seems to be the opposite... That means lots of snowboarding :D

I started out the week with a kids group class that was pretty fun. I had the pleasure of Caroline's company; one of our more naturally talented instructors; one from whom I can learn a lot about dealing with young, non-English speaking children. We skied together for 2 days before she took over the group and I headed off on my board.

There are people everywhere.. craziness. Lift lines, lines at the grocery store... lines, cars... people everywhere! It's nice though. To have our quiet redneck mountain country town inundated with people gives it a bit of life towards the end of the season, just about the time when I had lost it with the tranquility while longing for... well something else.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the best to the two birthday kids; the soon-to-be father of one David Kennedy as well as my beautiful, talented, generous and wise mother; Joanne Thorpe- without whom I would never have made it to where I am today. Happy Birthday peeps.

Mats' little brother Lasse has once again graced us with his presence for a few days. Despite the fact that he is only here for 4 days he came baring a bottle of Grant's Wiskey, Sambuca, Fisherman's Friend, Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, 8 bottles of Smirnoff Ice and 48 beers. Oh dear... what have we got in store for us I wonder?

While Pappa Thorpe mentioned the idea of coming to visit me at some stage while I was here in Geilo... not only did I not expect him to actually go through with it, but I would hardly consider 2 days to be what one would consider 'notice'. So at possibly the worst time of year, with huge lift lines, difficulty getting time off work, lack of available accommodation, an overloaded house here (Lasse as well as a couple of random friends of our landlord) and general chaos Dad has decided to drop in for a few days. How nice. I am sure we will have a blast and put his time in Stockholm to shame. Good thing I asked him to bring along some duty free alcohol; seems like we're a bit short of it this week eh?

Today I finally got Marek up on the mountain with his Kites. Yup. Finally. It was sick. Totally incredible. I am addicted. I must say that just as I was getting the hang of it the wind died off and we had to pack up. That's not to say I didn't have the time of my life. Flying the kite is easy; admittedly when we first launched it I went flying head first a few meters but I managed to get it back under control and got underway. At first I was having trouble keeping the edge of my board in the snow and just about flew into some power lines... I had to land the kite, ride down to the lift and start again. This is more or less what kiting is about at first. Buggering around getting used to it, fixing tangled lines and the like. But I can see the appeal and I am surely going to be a huge proponent of kiting from here on in. Must get better at it soon though. Not much time before I am heading back to Sweden. To put it mildly; Kiteboarding is Sick.