Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well it has been a very busy week at Panorama with the occupancy level nearing 100%. I have had A LOT more shifts this week. I have done 40hours in the last 4 days with most of them being split shifts although I didnt get to go home on Friday and did a 12.5hr day! My feet were so sore! I have a serving shift tonight so hopefully I make some tips! I had my second serving shift on Wednesday and made $150 in tips!! Its pretty fun. It is like opening a present because you dont know what you will get. I have had one regular, Darren with his two sons come in and ask for me to serve them. He tips WAY too much but thats ok with me =) He leaves today and all up he tipped me close to $300 while he was here. What a nice guy! Aaron and I are using my tips to buy our groceries and then trying to save what we earn. Not that that is much as I only got $90 last pay but that is because I worked little hours. This pay should be better =)

Most the guests will be leaving today so I only have three shifts next week. Two are serving shifts though so hopefully the tips make up for the hours I wont be working..

Aaron and I both worked on Christmas and New Years so we didn't really see much of each other. We celebrated on our day off and went to Carricks for dinner which is the restaurant and Greywolf Golf Course on the mountain. It was so good. It is an Italian restaurant and we had mussels to start and Aaron finally got a chicken parmy while I had some salmon. Yummo!



My first Christmas turkey!

 We have been looking into buying a car so that we can see a bit more of Canada on our days off. We have looked at one car, a Honda CR-V, however it was registered in Ontario so it was a painful process to get it registered in BC so we decided to avoid that road and try find a BC registered vehicle. A guy I work with is selling his Ford Taurus so Aaron and I are going to check it out on Tuesday when we have a day off together. Fingers crossed its good! Aaron and I want to go check out a nearby town, Cranbrook. The bus only runs on Monday and Friday there and Aaron doesnt have those days off so we will never get there without a car. We are also getting the car to use after our Canada adventure to head into our American adventure! Very excited!

We haven't had a chance to go snowboarding again but next week when everything is more quiet we are going to go have a lesson. Most likely on Wednesday as we both have that day off.

Will let you know how it goes!!

The photo I have put up is while I was on the bridge heading to Adventure Centre Carpark. Toby Creek is frozen over now! Oh and it is getting cold again! It was around -4C for a couple weeks but we have just started to plunge into the -20C. It is only supposed to hang around for a week so I hope the week goes fast!

The other picture is of me cutting up my AMAZING turkey that I made for a girly Christmas dinner that we had. It was a massive feast with lots of yummy foods. We went overboard with decorations and we had bon bons too! Yay!

  

Staff Christmas Party and Our first trip up the Mountain!

Aaron and I had a day off together on Wednesday and we finally decided to brave it up the mountain! We walked from Staff Accom to the Silver Platter (the run that is for kids that we have been practising on), we caught the Pomers up to the top. Pomers are interesting.. skiiers tuck the little plug between their legs where as snowboarders have to put it under their arm so for 5mins you're hanging on for dear life and your forearms burn an your quads burn from keeping your legs bent and trying not to fall over! I will have to get a photo of Aaron or I on it for you. Then we snowboarded down the Magic Carpet which is another beginner run then we caught the Mile One Quad chair lift up to Show Off and Horse Shoe. I didn't fall off =) These are supposed to be the 'easier' runs... We went down Show Off first and it was so steep! I went down the whole way braking.. I know there is a term for it but it is when you dig your heels in so you dont go fast. Definitely a beginner. There were skiiers zooming passed me and people in the chair lift going over me. SO intimidating! When we FINALLY got to the bottom I had had enough but Aaron wanted to go again. So we went down Horseshoe this time which we needed to go down to connect back to the Silver Platter to go home. This was just as steep and had heaps of bumps in it so people could do jumps and tricks. So I fell over lots.. super fun.. NOT!

I fell over seven times in total and winded myself twice.. I had to stop and rest a few times because my thighs were on fire from squating and pushing my heels in the whole way down. Definitely booking in for some lessons. Just need the confidence because whenever I pick up speed I freak out then fall over. Or whenever I try to go onto my toes I fall backwards which made up for the majority of my stacks.. Aaron fell over twice... damn him.. I think we might stick to the Silver Platter a bit longer..

We had our Staff Christmas Party that night in the Great Hall and we got a free buffet meal and two free drinks! The them was 'Ugly Sweater' but do you think we could find any ugly sweaters at the second hand store??? NO! So I bought Aaron an I Santa hats and tree skirts!!! So unattractive but it was in the spirit! We had roast pork, beef and turkey with some salads, mash and yummy desserts to choose from. Quite a good feast. They gave away heaps of prizes including two Heli Ski rides!!! Which is where you go up in a helicopter and they drop you of at the top of the mountain and you board/ski down! Crazy hey?! I am kind of glad I didnt win that one..

Work is going good. Aaron is really busy as the snow has picked up again as it got a bit warm and even got to 2 degrees! He has been staying back an hour here and there and even got called in on his weekend (Thursday) to do a full day.. Not happy..

My work has been amazingly quiet. I have had five shifts so far and have been sent home early from all except one! It is supposed to pick up during the week though because it is getting closer to Christmas so we will see. I served my first table last night! And I got a $15 tip yeehar!

We are both working Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.. I wonder if we get paid extra?? Aaron works 7am-3pm and me 4:30pm-10pm so we will see each other for the tiny gap in between our shifts because we are both asleep when we start/finish. Oh well..

Working at Wildfire

Aaron in his Maintenance uniform

Finally started work! It has been a long 3 weeks of waiting!

 I am the hostess so I greet the guests when they walk in the restaurant, grab some menus and show them to their seat. I then "Mis En Place" the table depending on if there are kids or not (taking away wine glasses, getting crayons and colouring in paper) then I introduce them to their server. I screwed up a few times because I am supposed to seat guests in particular sections of the restaurant and I kept getting the sections wrong so not all servers were getting tables... woops! But I got it by the end of the night. I thought it was crazy busy last night as we had just under 20 tables come in through the night but the girls were saying that is quiet and it will be crazy around Christmas time... Great! I am freaking out slightly...

The training for Wildfire was great! We did menu tasting and my favourite was the rack of ribs. The meat just slid off the bone it was AMAZING! They also have haddock which tastes like snapper, rainbow ravioli, risotto, lamb shank (also delicious!), salmon salad and much much more! We also did wine tasting as we are trying to upsell the wines and recommend the best one to compliment the guest's meal. So we tried 16 wines! Which included Cabernet Sauvignon from McLaren Vale (SA), Chardonnay Viognier, Syrah Malbec, Wishing tree Shiraz from Margaret River (WA), No Time Old VInes Garnacha from Spain, Valpolicella Ripasso, Fontella Ghianti, Wine by Joe Pinot Noir, Schug Chardonnay, Wine by Joe Pinot Gris and Canaletto Prosecco. Pretty lucky hey!!



Me in my Wildfire outfit

 I have been working 4pm-10pm which is pretty crap as Aaron works 7am-3pm so we literally pass each other on the road as he comes home and I go to work. And I am asleep when he leaves and he is asleep when I get home. So I have asked the boss if I can have daytime shifts. I have the next three days off so that is good. Aaron and I can finally have dinner together! I am working on Thursday during the day serving!! The manager Scott said he is impressed with my wotk (why wouldnt he be?!) so he is going to have me try serving yippee! Then I am working 5pm-11pm on Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
I also attended a two half day orientation for Panorama which involved a lot of team building exercises like taking your boots off and grabbing some elses and finding that person... Nightmare!! There was like 100 of us and it wasnt very well thought out.. Took forever just to find a matching boot because someone else was looking for the same boot!

We tooked a lot about safety and a guy from maintenance told us of how he had been in an avalanche in the back country and only his fingers were sticking out of the snow. Crazy! No back country for me!!!! I havent even been up on the slopes yet! Am going to go to the ski school and ask if I can book in a lesson..



My Spaghetti Squash concoction



We also talked A LOT about Occupational Health and Safety which was a tad boring but the procedures need to be known.

Aaron and I went down to Invermere a few days ago and stumbled across a shop called Grants. It was amazing! They had grass-fed chemical free meats! We bought some Elk sausage and it was SO dark!! Almost the colour of dark chocolate! I cooked it up last night and made sausage stuffed peppers (capsicum) and they were pretty awesome. Elk tastes like beef and lamb mixed together so pretty tasty!

We also bought some spaghetti squash which they dont have back home and it is like a pumpkin that you stick in the oven and it turns all stringy and you use a fork and empty out the pumpkin and it looks like spaghetti! So we had that for tea two nights ago with a marinara sauce. Yummo!

The elk sausage stuffed into capsicum

Local ice hockey in Invermere

3rd December 2010 Aaron and I went to our first ice hockey game. Columbia Valley Rockies (our team) verse Revelstoke Grizzlies. It was crazy!! I lost count of how many fights there were?! The game is split into 20min thirds and the clock is always stopping like AFL. It is weird watching ice hockey compared to field hockey because they can kick the puk with their skates and they can catch it and put it down on the ground! And SO physical!!! The Rockies ended up losing by I think 7-2.

The game started at 7:30pm so Aaron and I went into town on the 5:15 bus to grab some dinner. We were going to go to Peppi's Pizzeria but could not find it! I asked a local where it was but he believed it was shut and invited us to his local Legion's club, which is the same as an RSL (a club for all the Veterans). His name was Ray and he introduced us to his wife, Anne, who I had met at the Quality Bakery a few days earlier. I love the people here they are so friendly! So they signed us both in and it was only $12.50 for buffet of garlic bread, lasagne, salad and tiramisu. Bargain! And they also had free popcorn as a starter!!  Aaron and I were the youngest by about 20 years and it was so nice and local. We bought some tickets in the meat tray raffle and the 50/50 raffle. We also played some keno and won $15 woohoo! Aaron used it to try some beer (Caribou and Kookanee - the local brew) He liked Kookanee better. Everyone kept coming up and talking to us and asking if we were enjoying ourselves and where we were working in Pano.

We missed out on the Tiramisu because the ice hockey was about to start. So we gave our raffle tickets to Ray and Anne and thanked them for inviting us in. I have to find out if they won anything...

I had my orientation on the 2nd and 3rd which finally got me out of my room! It was very interesting. We met the Senior Management Team and the CEO, Rick Jensen, who was so funny and passionate. One of the Managers told us about his experience in an avalanche where he was buried in so much snow that only his fingertips were sticking out! SCARY! He was in the back country so I wont be heading that way. I still have to get on the mountain as I am still on the baby run off to the side... A few more rounds and I will be up on the green run (the easiest of them all) however it is still massive and steep considering it is only a green slope! And I am nervous for the chair lift.. I will probably fall off!

I finally have word on my job!!!! I have training Wednesday the 8th December 9-5 and Thursday 9th from 2-10. Not looking forward to the walk home at that hour! We will be covering a whole range of things such as wine tasting, menu tasting (you beauty!), setting up the restaurant, learning the cash register system and lots lots more! Cant wait. I will most likely work all of the weekend after that as Wildfire will be opening. I will have to get photos of Aaron and I in uniform and post them up for you to see :)

Aaron and I also found an ATM where we can withdraw money from!!! It is right here on the mountain so that is a massive relief!

The Kings of Neon party was great by the way. Aaron doesnt remember the end of the night.. Naughty naughty.. Below is a picture of the people Aaron and I share our Loft with. From left: Aaron, Joe (ring in), Blucky, Brianne, Jonathon, Johanna, Tobias, Bluey, Kirk (another ring in) and me!

Snowboarding - Take 2

My day in Invermere was very long! We caught the bus at 7:40 and started with breakfast at Huckleberries. It is so like the movies with the lady in her apron and big frizzy hair bringing the coffee out with her strong accent. I had eggs benedict and the hollandaise sauce was see through and kinda gross but I still devoured it. We managed to chill out there until 10:30 then we made our way up the hill into 'Downtown' which is pretty much one street with everything on it. We made our way down the left side towards the end of the street where Quality Bakery is which is AMAZING! We had lunch there and a nice little treat as well :)

Olivia booked a hair appointment at Bliss so Jane and I made our way to Valley Foods and they bought some meat. We then went to Sobeys and tried to be as slow as possible as the bus was 3 hours away.. Sobeys is where you gt the best deal on fruit and vegies. Olivia met us there and thankfully we bumped into Dwayne and Scott who took us to Pano in their car. Long day!!!

We are also having issues with withdrawing money which is becoming a massive pain in the arse! We have contacted TIO and are waiting for a reply. We have thought of a work around which is transferring money to NAB and then doing an international transfer to our Canadian account. Pain! TIO doesnt do international transfers so we are on a tight budget while we wait for the transfers to go through..

We also had a feast that night when our new roomies arrived (Bluey and Blucky - from Aus, Brianne from Ontario and Johanna ANOTHER SWEDE!) I managed to find 2kg of pork ribs for $10!!!! We had roast vegies and potato salad too. YUM YUM!

Aaron and I went for our second snowboard today with Dane. I managed to stay up for the majority of the time which was exciting!! We hiked further up the Silver Platter this time and I was knackered by the top! We had to rest for a bit before we started! We did three trips down the mountain and that took us an hour. Aaron only fell over about twice but I got one on camera!!!! And I lost count again but it was less than last time! YAY! Massive improvement for a second go. I am working on my turns now as I can stop without falling YIPPEE!

We have a Kings of Neon party downstairs tonight so all us 'loft crew' having matching head pieces and glow sticks. Its going to be awesome!!

Drama at Panorama!

Friday brought many surprises and gossip to Panorama.

I was having lunch at the Picnic Deli with four other girls (Hayley, Emma, Olivia and Jane) we were talking about all sorts of things from work, shopping, weddings to the painful process of learning to snowboard. And then all of a sudden a snowmobile comes flying off the mountain and into the Picnic Deli! Smashing the windows and startling everyone. I panicked because Aaron was just scraping ice off the Deli paths right where the snow mobile crashed but thankfully he and his partner had moved on from there. PHEW!  Amazingly, no one got hurt. The snowmobile crashed into the front counter, narrowly missing a customer and the waitress. The waitress got bumped by one of the falling display cabinets and was hit with shards of glass but was otherwise ok. The snow mobile came all the way down the mountain, through the chair lifts where about 50 ski tournament kids were lining up having just finished lunch, over the pathway, through the trees and didn't hit anyone! A miracle! The driver had been bucked off up the mountain as he turned the snow mobile on and it was locked in full throttle for some bizarre reason.

Unfortunately it was the only time I did not have my camera on me but I have a photo of afterwards where a plank of wood is now covering the bare wall. Just letting you all know that the Deli connects to my restaurant, Wildfire.

To add to the drama we wandered on down to the General Store to get some chocolate...mmmm! And there was an ambulance and fire truck parked out the front. We walked in and there was a girl lying on the floor in the recovery position with all these people around her. I bumped into Dane who was the guy we caught the Greyhound bus from Calgary with and it was his Mrs, Gina, who had taken a fall in the guttering at the front door! She had broke her tooth and broke her knuckle! Ouch! So slippery here with the snow!

It has started to get warmer with -6 degrees today. So all the snow is losing its fluffiness and turning icey so everyone is falling over. I made the mistake of wacking my boots together to get the snow off and took myself out but I am ok! No broken teeth thank goodness!

The free shuttle to Invermere starts tomorrow and I am SO excited! Now I can go down whenever I want yay! I am a little bored sitting in the loft all day. There isn't much to do until the season starts.. I have to go pick up my work pants which I had taken up. Love being short... I wonder how much that will cost me??

Aaron got the flu Friday night poor bugger. He had hot and cold flushes and had the shakes.. So I bought him some good cold and flu drugs and sent him to bed with some water. Then I played some drinking card games and went out to the T-Bar again! What a good fiance...! He still wasn't feeling very well the next day so took the day off work. Aaron is at work today though. He just text me and has numb toes again but he is going to try the bean bags we bought so hopefully they will warm his feet up for the afternoon.

So I forgot to update you all on my chat with Nicole about joining an ice hockey team. She said that it was more serious than she expected and didn't end up signing up. She recommended waiting for Windermere lake to freeze over and the town organises lots of events down there like ice skating, ice hockey and all sorts. Aaron and I found a second hand shop in town where we can get ice skates so we might just do that!

Snowboarding - Take 1

The slope was open for staff today for 1hr over lunch. This slope was way too steep and scary for my first go so I convinced Aaron to begin on the Silver Platter (very beginner.. probably 30 degree angle)

The first mission was working out how to get my boots on. There are so many straps! After 15mins of squeezing in and working out how to clip all the straps down we were off. The hike there was interesting as the boots go up to the back of your calves and are angled forwards so you cannot straighten your legs. I felt like the boys at Moto X with their boots on.. 10minutes of awkward walking and we were at the Silver Platter. We hooked our boots into our bindings (another mission that Aaron had to assist me with) Finally I was standing! And moving! AAAAAH! How do I stop?! And then I ate snow... lots and lots of snow.. I lost count of the amount of times I fell over but the best one was when I tried to stop which is where you turn your board so you are facing down the mountain and you drive your heels into the snow. I failed at the driving of the heels part and catapoulted into the air like Evel Knievel and landed on my stomach.. Not so fun.. But its ok we bought helmets this morning so we were fine. 40% off for staff so Aaron and I got both our helmets for $160. Bargain! Aaron did well. Fell over a few times but no bruises. My knees copped a beating but thats about it. It was -22 degrees and we managed to get icycles on our eyelashes on the walk home!

Aaron isn't enjoying working in these cold temperatures. His fingers and toes keep going numb and his heel went black yesterday!! But it has returned to its normal colour which is good. We went to Invermere in the afternoon and bought Aaron some quality boots that are graded for -30 degrees. They are also steel capped and we bought nice thick merino wool socks and these heated bean bag things that stay warm in your boots for up to 6hrs so hopefully when he goes back to work on Friday he will feel his toes ALL day long! He has today and tomorrow off so a few days to chill out inside which will be good.

I met my manager Scott and he doesn't know when I should start at Wildfire. Initially I was supposed to start 1st December but he said he wont need me then so I will be attending orientation on the 2nd and then I will just have to wait and see about a start date...

We went to T Bar last night for a few drinks to celebrate Charlie's 30th (we actually hadn't met her yet) It was pretty fun. I tried a beer called 'What the Huck' made with huckleberries. It was ok, a sweet beer. We met lots of new people. Our whole room was there, sadly four are leaving next week to their permanent residence above the Jackpine pub (Olivia, Jane, Emmett and Patrick) and we are getting a Canadian girl, a Swedish girl and two Aussie guys who arrive on Tuesday.