Dances with Words

Time :: 8:30am
Temperature (outside) :: -1 deg C
Conditions :: Very windy. Only the very keen will even venture outside today, let alone ski.

It’s Darts Day again today (well, tonight). I’m ever-so-slightly nervous about it, which is silly because last week I had fun. I can’t find our team on the draw, and there are a couple of different “TBA”s and we are probably one of them – but which one? How do I know where to turn up and when? So many questions…

Elicia’s gone to work at Dinner Plain today, an even smaller town about 10kms down the road. They have a lot more residential apartments there because the land is freehold (instead of leasehold like us) but they are also far more expensive. Elicia’s work has rooms there, but they don’t have a permanent remedial masseuse so Elicia and another girl from up here will be travelling over once week each.

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #18
Don’t get sucked in to watching too much tv. The reception is bad anyway, and surely you can find other things to do in the evening, even if you don’t want to go out every night.

Time :: 8:00am
Temperature (outside) :: -2 deg C
Number of restaurants/eateries here at Mt Hotham :: 13
Conditions :: A fresh 5cm of snow fell overnight, so despite a brisk wind this morning it will be excellent skiing!

We have a King Size bed up here – it’s actually two single beds zipped together – and it is Huge. We have a Queen at home and it’s big enough, a king is getting ridiculous. It’s not even like sharing! You can lie wherever you want and spread out however you want and there’s very little chance that you’ll cross bed-space with your partner. It’s extravagant, but I also sort of like knowing that I’m sharing a bed with Elicia…

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #17
When you come back from skiing or snowboarding, put your skis and/or snowboard in the shower recess. Then, when the snow that is collected on your gear melts, it goes straight down the plughole. Handy.

Time :: 11:15am
Temperature (outside) :: 3 deg C
Percentage of air made up of methane when we woke this morning :: 90%
Conditions :: A bit windy and foggy this morning, but there’s still a lot of people heading out to the slopes.

We said goodbye to Elicia’s uncle and cousin this morning. It’s been great having them here. Our other friends from OG that were up this weekend are out getting a last ski in, then they will come back here for some lunch and head off as well.

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #16
Have a “Nanna Nap” in the afternoon. This is a 45 minutes-or-so nap late in the afternoon. After snowboarding all day, this gives you the energy to party all night!

Time :: 9:00pm
Temperature (outside) :: -3 deg C
Sore places on James’ body :: 9
Conditions :: It was a great day today! Mostly sunny and plenty of snow on the ground. A bit windy, but still good snowboarding!

We all went out today: Leasha’s Uncle Chris, cousin Sam and I all got lessons this morning – Chris skiing, us two snowboarding – and it was really great to get some basic skills happening, I’d suggest it for anyone. Elicia had to work this morning, but she came out for a short time later in the afternoon when she finished. I tried to show her what I’d learned, but I’m not sure I conveyed it very well…

And woah, do my legs hurt! And several other parts of my body (the snow wasn’t as soft as last time) – but mainly the muscles running down the top of my thighs and into my knees. When we got back we jumped in the spa and sauna (I love living here!) and that helped a bit – but I can tell I’ll be even sorer tomorrow!

It’s been great having some family up. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but it still felt special to be able to see some familiar faces again! Chris is a builder, and he helped with a few handyman jobs around the place that I’m too nerdy to know much about – much appreciated! I tried to learn what I could so next time I won’t be so incompetent. We’ve also spent a bit of time playing cards and having snowfights, and skiing/snowboarding today of course. They are going back home tomorrow.

It’s been a great weekend, but I haven’t done as much work as I was meant to do – I was goin got do it tonight but I think it will have to be an early start tomorrow, because after extensive exercise today my body is ready to crash.

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #15
Sleep.

Time :: 9:30am
Temperature (outside) :: -3 deg C
Pieces of broccoli in our fridge :: 6
Conditions :: Lots of snow fell overnight. It’s still falling softly, not too windy, it looks great for getting out there!

It’s the first weekend of the school holidays, and there’s been a huge dump of snow so it’s a lot busier than it has been until now. Good to see.

Elicia’s uncle and cousin arrived last night, they’re staying on our futon for the weekend, and they’ve picked a beauty – it looks fantastic out there! We can’t go snowboarding today – our lift tickets aren’t valid Saturdays – but tomorrow we’ll be out there no worries.

Some friends from Ocean Grove church (back home) also came up yesterday. They’re staying in the same building, but not in our room. And both people kindly brought us a big box of fresh fruit and veges – very welcome! Our little fridge is packed now, we’ll be eating all this stuff for the rest of the season… very cool.

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #14
When there’s four of you living in a small studio apartment, don’t have beans for tea.

Checking the temperature this morning.

Time :: 11:00 am
Temperature (outside) :: -4 deg C
Smell of smoke left on clothes after a night at the pub :: Very Strong.
Conditions :: fresh snow all over the place, but it’s still falling and briskly windy.

We got some wristguards yesterday in anticipation of doing lots of snowboarding today, but it’s really not ideal conditions, and because we’re still learning we thought it might be better to wait. Our Season 6 lift passes can’t be used on Saturdays, so it will have to be Sunday – but that’s okay because Sunday they’re predicting much better weather!

We had a friend ask for some photos of us in the snow (hi Ness!) so we braved the extreme conditions this morning and I’ll post the results to our gallery as soon as I’ve finished writing this. There’s nothing too wonderful, it’s too cold even to stand still long enough to build a snowman, and the wind blowing the snow makes it sting your face.

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #13
Don’t leave the outside window open overnight. We have double windows, with a cavity in between about 10cm wide for extra insulation. Last night we left the outside window open a smidgen (it really does get hot in here) but when we woke this morning the cavity was full of snow! And the window was frozen in position so it took several minutes of scooping ice and snow to manage to close it again… lesson learned.

Walking around the other day, I had to take a shot of these gum leaves totally frozen in ice and snow, yet still green and apparently loving it. How can something live totally frozen? And these are baby leaves too, right near a young trunk. Respect.

Time :: 8:30am
Temperature (outside) :: -2 deg C
Bullseyes I hit in Darts last night :: 2
Conditions :: Wind, fog and some snow.

I joined the local darts competition last night. It’s a season-long comp mainly for staff members. I’ve never played darts before in my life, and I won my first game! The guy I was pitted against held the darts in one hand while drinking beer out of a jug* in the other. He was leading for most of the game. It was fun, I joined mainly so I could get to know a few people, and I think it’s going to fulfil that purpose well. We’ll have to see if my skill levels increase over the season.

Elicia and I were planning to get some snowboarding lessons today, but after looking outside I think it will have to wait even longer. We have friends and family coming up this weekend to visit, and we wanted to impress them with our skill…

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #12
If you’re going to join the darts comp, get some proper darts! The ones you can borrow are dodgy at best.

*A jug, as in it holds enough beer for 5 or so glasses.

Time :: 9:00am
Temperature (outside) :: 2 deg C
Number of times we will use vege salt in porridge again :: 0
Conditions :: Fine day again I think. They’re predicting more snow over the next couple of days.

We had a bit of a heat wave yesterday – it got to 4 degrees! Today looks like it will be sunny again, and to celebrate we’re escaping to Bright! Bright is the nearest biggish town. As in, at least it’s got a supermarket. We’re going shopping for supplies that are too expensive to buy up here, but it will be nice just to get out of this apartment for a while and see some countryside that isn’t white! Maybe we’ll be able to go outside without wearing 14 layers of clothing – yay!

Handy Tip for Living at Mt Hotham #11
Leave the side off your computer. My computer has been crashing a fair bit, and I think it’s due to the heat – at least, leaving the side off seems to solve the problem, so I’m assuming that’s what it is. I’m developing a theory that the lower air pressure provides less cooling power. It makes me look even geekier, too…