Nothing but healing and minimum wage

So it's been a while, but I'm not sure whether you all noticed, I kinda hurt myself... Just saying. It's actually been a really frustrating few weeks. The last time I did something this bad was at Prep school dam push off tiles was a brutal game. Some say the origin of the Hunger Games. I basically died.. I mean I had a really nasty cut on my right knee. This time, it was ever so slightly worse. Anyway, not to go on about it as the first week was pain free. A breeze some would say. Only minimum hobbling, not to mention getting everyone's sympathy. This was especially felt when I attended the weekly bar crawl from the hostel. Sober I might add. Ending up in a night club where your right leg is out stretched at an angle on a bench to take the weight off the cut but still bopping away buzzing off all the diet pops and fruit juices. I've never had so much attention. I think the Canadian females had never seen such incredible static dance moves. 

Yet when the next morning came, little did I know the pain relief injection would wear off at such a crucial point. Typical. So it's been one of those periods where basically I'm drugged up on Ibuprofen and just resting up.

So in the meantime, what have I been able to do? Well, whilst staying stationary on my bed letting everything heal up.. I sowed my ski pants back together.. a life skill taught to me by Mrs Shergold during my textiles class (Age 11), see below.

I'll be testing the stitch work soon hopefully. And I should probably mention that one of the biggest reasons I wanted to minimise pressure on my leg, and get it as healed up as possible, was because I accepted a job offer and didn't want to begin with a mild disability, outside of my Dyslexia.

So after declining one position, and having put my name down for multiple others, it appears as if my CV was passed around the mountain. So what is the position? Well it was described to me as someone who will be in logistics and up on the mountain. And with a job description so vague that the people in HR had really outdone themselves, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Apparently I get to drive ski-doos though so I was pretty excited. 

Well having now completed my first few days I'm a little more informed. I'm a warehouse attendant. Yep, basically the mountain equivalent of a Tescos shelf stacker, and on minimum wage to boot. What more could a man want or put his Engineering Masters towards. Anyway, if it allows me to extend my time here and is interesting enough then why the hell not. I haven't turned my back on my career, just put it on hold. But this will certainly add to my life skills, just not what's on LinkedIn.

I would like to add that this week we lost a friend from our little band here at the hostel. One of the first people I met in Banff was a relatively sophisticated, passionate cook called Cole. This guy is an absolute wizard in the kitchen and is a crazy skier on the slopes. Popping 360s off gnarly cliff drops. It's been brilliant skiing with him. Unfortunately he's left us now for the season. Sad times indeed but he's gone to another resort further to the West, Big White,  and we have said we'll go visit him. Plus it'll be a nice change of scenery. SO here's to you Cole, and your questionable dress sense. 

Cole sending it to the year 3000.

So what about those stitches. Well i'd be damned if I was going to go into a clinic and get someone to take them out. So I did it myself in what is actually a simple procedure. I only slightly concerned myself when I didn't know if one of them was absorbable or not.. having tried to yank it out and feeling sick from the pain, I determined it was most likely that and it was fine to leave it in/ I hoped it was as there was no way I could get it out without opening the wound. Pics below highlight Dr Bridges at work. Fun times.

A tidy job if I do say so myself.

So as for everything else. Job is 5 days a week. the norm is back and I'm trying to enjoy life out here. Below is the view from my "office" and we move various packages and items around the mountain. I'm happy. The team is good. Everyone is Aussie here, feel sorry for the one Kiwi. I'm looking forward to getting back on the ski's by the weekend and hopefully having more to write about.

Completed my first day!

Everyone loves Hi-Vis, and a moustache.

Something I have noticed is the lack of safety culture I have become so familiar with from the Oil and Gas Industry. So far I have been trapped in a lift on my first day at work and had to wriggle out. A large bin has almost squashed me twice and the HSE element that is always churning away in my head has gone ballistic. Not to mention the safety engineering side.. something quite different to HSE but still equally important, I've legitimately thought of a load of ways to improve their systems to make life easier already but firstly it's my first few days, secondly there's no money in this industry, and thirdly I'm on minimum wage ffs and it's not likely going to change. So for the moment, I'm trying not to kill myself anymore and enjoy the skiing, when I get back to it.