Confronting Fear

Today I confronted my only fear head on - SNAKES!
It was not planned, had it been planned i would not have been able to do it.
Ever since travelling through AFRICA and having some close calls with snakes I have had nightmares frequently, waking in wet sheets and feeling anxiety all day. People say snakes are a good sign in dreams, NOT as far as I am concerned. I dream of albino Mambas chasing me down and swollowing me whole, I stay alive in their stomach as the acid eats through me....
Zombie dreams I love, snakes i simply can not do.
Today I was told by my friend that he had a new business and we needed to tend to it......he is in the reptile business it turns out and owns 25 snakes, all different kinds of pythons. All of which he had to take out and clean and feed.......I had no say in the matter.....there was no where to go unless I wanted to stand outside and freeze to death.
I felt so stressed, probably as stressed as the live rats we fed them.....
Snakes (shiver), just writing this makes me have to stop and breath deeply.........
Tonight will be a long sweaty night, some thrashing involved and a long grumpy day tomorrow.

Avoiding Dinner Time

Many of you will be in shock to read I have been avoiding dinner!!
Me making an effort not to eat - yeah right.
Well its not so much the food as sitting down to consume it I hate.
Travelling alone means dining alone majority of the time - its an awful experience at the best of times, but when you have to try and firstly find a decent restuarant, reasonably priced in a foreign destination it really sucks!!
I find myself walking the streets, finding a problem with every menu I read just to prolong the sitting down and eating......
I ofen end up in a Japanese restuarnt so I can sit at the sushi train and not look and feel like such a Nigel..... or I end up at a vending machine eating yet another giant twix!
I have to say though, of all the meals I have eaten out here in Canada I have yet have a dining experience that I would recommend to anyone. We are so spoilt in Australia!!

Dog Sledding

Just as my bruised ass crack is recovering, I now have a new injury, a massive bump on my forehead where I got totally whipped by the dog sled rope, it sounded like my skull cracked and by golly did it hurt. On a positive note I was extremely tired last night and slept for 12 hrs. So now I am a egg head and will wear my 'took' (beanie) permanently until it goes down!
Dog sledding was loads of fun though, you get to hang with the dogs before you head off and they are pretty big scary looking dogs, some are wolf like with blue eyes, some look more like a dingo and others are those big bear dogs.......but so cute and cuddly. You end up laying in the snow with them licking you and play fighting...... BUT they are super keen to get out and start running, so they howl, and talk, and scream and bark until you get underway.
We did get a brief rundown on how to drive the sled and there were a lot of rules, and terms and recommendations but I was too side tracked by the dogs to pay attention. So when the owner said I was up first I totally shat myself, felt the anxiety kick in and on I hopped. Managed to stay on, even over the big bumps and down hills...had to jump off and run a bit to catch up but it was so cool. The dogs love it, they hate it when you make them stop so they can wee and poo, cos the last thing you want when you are sitting in the sled it their crap being flicked back into your face. The shards of ice are pretty bad when you are trying to film. So anyway I hope I got some great shots, took some film footage although it may make you sick to watch as I dont have a steady hand.......will post later when I have a faster computer.
If you ever get the chance give it a go, it was much more intense than I though it would be, 7 dogs all able to pull 500 pound that love to run and run and run tied to a sled that can go pretty damn fast. If you let go that thing keeps going and going and going!!

Weewee TeePee

I just came upon the cutest invention for all those mothers out there!! Its called a Weewee Teepee, and its a little material cone that you put on the baby boys willy when you change his nappy!! Save you from the golden shower that takes you by suprise! Such a great idea!! $10 for a pack of four.

10 Breathtaking Moments

1. Sunset at whistler from the top of the mountain with a beer in hand


2. Walking through the village, listening to RHCP, Xmas lights glowing, snow sparkling, realization of where you are


3. Stepping out onto a Lake frozen over and covered in snow and feeling like a goddess putting your fresh footprints onto this clean canvas of beauty


4. Skiing down the slopes, no one around, at total peace


5. Sleeping in a bed after weeks on a floor, who would have thought that could be breathtaking!!


6. Seeing for the first time a snow flake big enough to actually look like the ones on the xmas tree


7. Snow covered mountains with a bright blue backdrop


8. Going ass up in the pub and landing hard on your ass bone - literally breath taking for minutes!!


9. Flying down the tube park run in a tyre thinking you are about to die, and then hitting your already sore bum on an ice bump - Super ouchey.


10. Eating Haagen Daaz icecream, need I say more
    

Rewind

Yes I have been a total slacker! No I dont have a job! Yes I am still an alcoholic!
SO backing right up, rewinding in random order I will add my views and comments that you have all been dying to hear I am sure.
After 20 odd attempts to find a job and an interview I still was unsuccessful. I basically chose the worst ski season in the middle of a recession to come to Canada and it has not gone in my favor at all! NOR has the fact that I can not commit to the long term or find accommodation helped.
I have however been very fortunate, I have a wonderful girlfriend who went out of her way to keep me sheltered and adequately liquored up. Huge Thank You to Sal, you are a total sweetheart! Also a big kiss to her room mate Kara that put up with me also. Forever in your debt.
I was also extremely lucky to be lent all the necessary kit to ski, skis, boots, stocks, pants, goggles the works......To the friend of a friend, of a friend, Julia or is it Julie, you dont know me at all but you are ever so kind to lend me it all.
Also to all the crew who kept me busy and entertained constantly into the wee hrs of the mornings for 6 weeks I love you! I feel 21 again. Just with bad knees, very sore ass, ongoing hangover and a crap back those parts all definateley feel 30yrs and 11 months.
Once I came to terms with the fact I wasnt getting a place to live and a ski pass FOC with the job I didnt have I went out and bought a pass and didnt look back! Even thought the snow hasnt been the best I made the effort to go up as often as I could and loved every minute of it. Round of applause to those of you that spent the day on the slopes with my slow ass, green, sometimes blue and once black choice of run, you are all very patient! Love you!
Leaving Whistler was like ending a relationship, my heart is still aching, I fell in love with that place and could have so easily stayed......
To be continued.