My Baby's Been Stolen

The day started out like any other, up at 730am for a sweet day of ripping up the slopes. Only today was different we just had 15cm of fresh powder snow and I thought I'd take advantage of my Staff Pass and snowboard at a different resort-'Lake Louise'. WOW what a great decision that was, 3 of us got the bus out there and the conditions wee AH-MAY-ZING. The day was going brilliantly right up until the lifts closed at 4pm and it was time to go home. Then it went all wrong.

I put my snowboard on the rack with everyone elses and went inside for a quick toilet break before I got the last bus back to Sunshine Village. I came out no more than 5 minutes later and thats when it hit me..... my baby had been stolen. 460 GBP ($900) worth of brand new snowboarding kit had simply vanished. AHHHHH! So annoyed! Its things like this that make me loose faith in society!

As if thats not enough suffering for one afternoon, I filled out a Theift Report only to leave empty handed on my way to the bus stop. Thing is the last bus left 20 minutes ago. It was 4.50pm at this time. By 5pm I had decided to hitch hike back into Banff, I couldnt go home now because the Gondola closes at 530pm which left me bedless, snowboardless, and downright cold. It was at this point that Mother Nature thought she would jump in on the 'make Matt miserable day' and pull a violent blizzard from nowhere, of course blowing into my face as im trudging along the highway with my hand out hoping that someone would take pity on me and pick me up. I have to also add that I was still wearing my snowboarding boots which are definatly not made for walking long distances! I endured this for another 4 miles before anyone stopped for me.

So by 6pm I'm back in Banff and need to fill out a formal report at the police station so I truddged along the road only to arrive and find out that the station is closed and only in opperation between Monday and Friday.

To make matters worse I had to be at work the following morning for ASIP training but of course I was stuck in town!!! Thankfully I managed to sleep at a friends place but I was violently ill all night long, dry heaving. So I got a grand total of 30mins sleep and was up at 630am for the bus ride to work. I arrived on time only to throw up during the training sesion and be asked to leave.


AHHHHHH the last 24 hours has been a bitch.

Thats me done complaining now.

The New Life

It all began that fateful day of my job interview... my life sat in the balance between getting the ultimate dream job or failing and heading home. I was merely applying for a Cashier position but the stakes were high, Sunshine Ski Village was receiving 150 resumes a day, it looked tough, and it was. I scored the interview (I'd won the first battle) and it was flawless, I arrived on the first bus and was over an hour early, anxiously waiting by the log fire place for Craig to walk through the door of Creekside Restaurant. Smack bang on time at 9am he came and introduced himself to me. The following 45 minutes went brilliantly, I went home and anxiously waited on a phone call..... which never came.

9am the next morning was possibly one of the worst phone calls I've ever received "Hi Matt its Craig from Sunshine, I'm ringing to say unfortunately you were unseccussful in your interview". Well shit! Back to the drawing board and once again I was up against 150 people! Time to lower my standards... I applied for a Dishwasher Position (also at Sunshine) and once again got an interview offer within 24hours, score, praise God! I got the call while I was doing my shopping, "I know its late notice but can you make an interview in 30 minutes?" YES! I ran 2 miles up Tunnel Mountain to the 'HI Hostel' I was staying at and by the time I got to the top I was exhausted, sweaty and certainly in no state for an interview, but I had less than 10minutes to get to the coffee shop now! A quick deodorant shower was suffice as I threw my resume and visa papers into a folder and ran out of the hostel. Needless to say downhill was MUCH easier than uphill and I arrived with 2 minutes to spare.... phew!

Tick tock... tick tock, 10minutes passed, then 20. I was beginning to wonder if I had the right coffee shop. 30minutes, 40...... 45 minutes late Mark introduced himself to me, grabbed a coffee and sat down. The interview went like this " DO you want a job?" yes " can you start Monday?" yes "see you then!"
Oh man couldnt that have jsut been said over the phone!?

Thing is I had a job and I was stoked! 2 weeks later and i'm now living on the top of the mountain with 200 other staff members. Litterally 2 minutes walk from work and even less from the closest ski lift. With spectacular views of the Rockies from my window, cheap accomodation @ only $200 a month, a unlimited free ski pass for numerous different resorts, what more could I ask for..... oh did I mention after only 3 days they got me out of the kitchen and into the original position I applied for!? Bonus huh!

I now work 7am-8am shoveling snow (if it dosent snow, I dont work) 9am-12pm is my daily ride break where I can rip up the slopes at my own leasiure and have a brilliant time. Then I return to serve people and clean the buffet area from 12pm- 7pm. Add 2 days off a week and you have the ultimate of all jobs!

I LOVE LIFE!