I just found out that I got a full time teaching job.. starting the day after telus ends! how perfect is that!!!  With 2 great days of riding, and 2 fabulous party nights.. I am so stoked!!!!!! i heart whistler!!!

 

i now need to buy a bike.. anyone who wants to help me out with this, check my blog in mountianbike colonies!! woohoooooooooo

So a few weeks ago, I decided to learn how to ride park.  I had done a few little jumps years ago but thought that it would be fun that when I rode with the guys and they went through the park, I could actually hit stuff too. 

 

3 weeks, and many many bruises later, I'm trying to figure out how things work.  I have days like today when I can't even do a 50/50 properly.  Then I have days like last week when I was charging through the park and hitting the rails, boxes, barrel jib and jumps without a second thought.  I'm starting to think that park riding is all psychological. I need to get over my little fears and just do it.

 

Oh, and i need to bend my knees.  I'm such a lazy rider.

I decided to end 2007 and bring in 2008 on my board.  6 straight days of riding... and I was so stoked this morning when I called the snowphone and heard it was a powder day.  YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

now tomorrow is going to be great too.. but I need a break so that I can get back on my board on monday :)

For some reason, I volunteered to make Chrismtas dinner.  Mainly i guess I didn'T want to be all alone on Christmas.  When I talked to my mom on the phone, she said 'Do your friends know that you can't actually cook?'  Thanks mom.

 

 

But I am happy to say that I didn't give anyone food poisoning, and i think it turned out pretty well for my first christmas..... probably becuase i avoided making turkey! ha!

 

 

THanks to Jesse for the amazing stuffing and Ben for the Nanaimo Bars!! yummmy!!!

Happy Holidays from me and the fat guy!!

 

 

So the past couple days I've been doing the snow dance at school with the kids... mostly with one of my students who's a sponsored Half Pipe skier and the only one at the school as stocked as I am about this weekends opening.

 

Well today, to celebrate the first real snowfall in town, he wore the ugliest one piece ever.  I burst out laughing.  He said it's his 'first day of the season' suit.  f*cken hilarious.  I see this kid everywhere... knowing him got me a discount on my wax the other day! sweet!

 

so yeah, snowbaording this weekend.. i'm so stoked!! yipppeeeeee

My housemate jsut came home with some 'left over wine' from one of the events at her work.

 

We just drank a 100$ bottle of ice wine.  So damn good!!

So, i have been one busy Carrie since gettign here.

 

I live in a great place in Bayshores with a few roomies who are MIA in Europe right now.  The place is nice, mostly clean (the untidy roomate is leaving in 2 weeks!), parking, fireplace, BBQ and lots of storage and room for people to crash! yippee!!

 

Work is busy. I work at Rogers Chocolate, Permanent part time, 25 hours a week.. mainly becuase with those hours, I get benefits startign Dec 1st.  I also have a one day a week teaching job, and I heart that job.  The kids are great and I have fun with them.  I also work on call as a babysitter/nanny/childcare worker. This fills in all my extra time so that I am now working double shifts most days of the week. Once winter starts, i'm going to slow down on the on call shifts, and just board. i'll also be instructing for the mountain so that should be good times!!  People are always calling me for random jobs too.. for the next 2 weeks I will be the secretary at the school.. 20$ an hour... not too shabby!!!!

 

I've also been trying to hit up as many premiers as I can (when i'm not working) and just chilling..... I was happy that there was finally some patio weather today! yippee for Saki Margs at Cittas!!!

 

Also, winter is almost here.. there is snow on the moutnains.. and so I am starting to get all my snowboard gear... got new boots today (wearing htem now!! woohoo!)

 

so that's my carrie update!! hope you are all well :)

I started back up at the gym this week.... i was feeling tired and in a slump, so figured it would get me back on my feet. It's been great... my knee is a little sore today as is my ankle, but i feel great!!

 

I also rediscovered my love of swimming.  I spend at least 20 minutes after my workout doing laps in the pool.... and I'm usually there very early in the morning, so noone to bother me.  So relaxing.. can't wait to head up north and swim in the lakes... i'm not a huge fan of the clorine!

 

Only 12 days until I'm back up north, looking for a job to fund my whistler move :)

I've decided that i'd rather be working a crappy job in whistler, than a good job here.  So, there we go, looks like I have a semi-plan!!!

 

Now, if anyone cares to elaborate on said plan, go for it!!! :)

So it looks like the 3 jobs I applied to in Whistler went internally.... now I have to rethink my plans for the next year. 

This is only the second job I applied for and didn't get. The first was a summer student AutoCAD designer when I was 15.. and I came second in that process.... yeah, I've been spoiled with the jobs I've had.. working in France, England, the Dominican, Whistler, so I guess I had the dissapointment coming.  If only it was for some job I didn't want instead of THE most perfect job ever!!

 

I'm a huge believer in fate.. and now i'm starting to think that maybe this isn't the right choice for me right now.  It's killing me to say it, because I want to be out there so bad... and it was heart breaking to know that the jobs I wanted are gone.  So now my big decision is... just go out there and get some other job while waiting for something else to open up later in the year, or stay here where I can have a full time with benefits make lots of money job. 

Yesterday in class, one of my student came up to me with this little flower pot made out of foam and a few flowers in it.  He hands it to me and says, happy mother's day.  I had to do everything to not laugh.. or cry.  Apparently to a 5 year old, I am so old that I need to be a mom.

 

That being said, it was my birthday yesterday and the kids found out and asked how old I was. I said 12.  and they had no problem believing this.  I wonder how many parents will send me notes on monday saying, my kid thinks you're 12... you better start working on his/her math skills!

 

kids... gotta love them.... as long as they are someone elses.

A week ago today, Best Friend Cathy came back to London! since then, we've turned the house into residence... late night grocery shopping, ice cream for dinner, and tons of procrastination! it's been great!   I missed her, and am so happy that I now have someone who entertains my crazy ideas!!!!

 

I'm also starting to get a pretty decent tan from all the yard work and track coaching... woohoo, bring on summer :)

At one point I turned to talk to a teacher that had stopped by my class to discuss my high jump team, when I heard my name. I turned around only to be surrounded by my 6 girls with their hands full of paint. Here’s the results.

It took me forever to get onto BC time when I got to telus... Now i'm having one hell of a time getting onto ON time.  Wow, I am going to be bitchy tomorrow... my poor little students!

This past weekend was great.  I headed home for easter, and spent a few very drunken days at home with the family and friends. 

 

On Saturday night, we decided to celebrate my sister and a few of her friends birthdays.  The only rule was, everyone celebrating with us had to wear goggles.  Snow/Water/Safety... we weren't fussy.  We pre drank at my house, and after 7 beer and 16 jello shooters, I was ready for the bar.  It was great running into a bunch of aquaintances from high school that I haven't seen for years... and trying to explain to people why I was wearing goggles.  It was also a very good thing that the bouncers knew us, otherwise there is no way my sister would have even been allowed in the bar! fun stuff!

 

Other than that, lots of time spent with the family, and just relaxing.  Now, the count down is on.... 7 days until Whistler. I cannot friggen wait!

So last night, I got a phone call from my mum.  She said that her and my dad were prepared to pay off ALL my OSAP loan, in a lump sum, and all i'd have to do is pay them the monthy payments i had been paying to OSAP. Basically, this saves me 8000$ in intrest and leaves me with only 3-4 years to be dept free!!  Originally they were only giving me the cash If I stayed in Ontario. So when they called last night, I was worried that this was a bribe to keep me in Ontario.

 

But then, my mum said 'and dad and I talked about whistler.... and we decided that if in September and October you're settling in and you can't afford payments those months, don't worry about it. We want you to be happy.'  WHAT???? after all the arguing about me going out there! I naturally asked if it was an April fools joke, but nope!

 

So, i'm heading to whistler, and my parents just saved me 8000$... AND i get to go boarding in 16 days at Telus.. I am one happy Carrie right now! :)

This afternoon I went to visit a teacher friend of mine.  She just had a baby and is going crazy at home alone so I went to hang out with her for a couple hours and chatted a bit about next year.

 

Thing is, last August, I came back to Ontario from Whistler, and although I can't really say I regret it as I have payed off a ton of dept, and have been having a fab year with my class, I can say that I don't think I made the right decision. Thing is, I didn't really have much of a choice.  I have been travelling tons, and have had a pretty great life up to now. But this summer, things went down back home and my parents asked me to come home. And I listened. I know, what kind of 26 year old still lets their parents tell them what to do. But there are so many other factors.  My parents needed me around, they needed the family back together. There were so many deaths and illnesses in the family that my parents just needed me to be here. So, for the first time that I can remember, I was unselfish and came home to Ontario, as much as I knew it wouldn't make me happy.

 

I knew then that I would be moving back to BC as soon as I could. Hopefully back to Whistler. I was hoping to be there all of this summer, but now with all these weddings (would people stop getting married already!!) I'm going to have to stick around for a bit (and head back for a week or 2 at the end of Sept-beginning of October).  But my parents are trying to guilt me into staying here again. I keep trying to explain to them why I need to go, but they don't see it.

 

Anyway, I went to talk to this friend because she was there when I started my career, I get tons of calls for jobs all over ontario because of her, and she really knows me. So we sat down and had a chat about me leaving.  She is a bit biased because as she is on maternity leave, she wants me to take her class from Sept to Dec next year.  However, after a couple hours, she's 100% behind me. All the doubts I had about leaving have been erased.. mainly because I know I can come back here and get a job if things don't work out in BC.

 

Now, I have to go home on Thursday and confront my parents again.  And let them know this is for real.  My new fear isn't leaving for BC, it's them not giving me the 10 000$ loan they were going to give me to help me finishing paying off my OSAP. And seeing as I didn't win the 649 last night, I need that money. If anyone has a plan that has me keeping the $ and making my mum and dad AND me happy, please feel free to let me know!

23C (74F) and sunny.

 

If I could board, I'd be pissed.

 

But since I can't, bring on the BBQ and beer!

This past weekend I went on my first overnight trip to the US.  THursday night, I headed to Windsor for Korean BBQ with Cathy, John and Cris, then back to his for 'fros.

 

Early friday morning, I crossed the border headed up to Grizzled's place and off we were for a weekend in Northern Michigan.  The sun was shinning, the weather was fabulous, and I was so stoked to get on my board!  We rode at Schuss Mountain Friday.. and there was hardely anyone there.  It was great for me, as it was my first day on a board since the knee injury and i was having some difficulties.  Boarding itself was great... but skating was painful, and stopping and getting off the lifts was just hillarious. At one point I felt like Zoolander as I exclaimed 'I can't turn left!'.  After a couple hours, I needed a break.. so we took the shuttle to Summit mountain. What a joke. about 6 runs, and 2 2man lifts that look like they were the first lifts ever invented.  But, we were the only 2 on the runs for most of the time we were there.  The runs were still groomed from the morning, and it was now 5pm.  It was great! Norbert (grizzled) crossed off an item from his to do list, as he wrote 'skiers suck' in big letters under the lift.  We then headed back to our place to change, have dinner, then call it a night.

 

Saturday Morning, I woke up and iced my knee. I knew that I wouldn't be riding again, so I decided to start the day out with some 'fros.  After a couple, then a breakfast beer with my egg n bagel, I started to pack up my provisions for the day.  This included some beer and filing my camelback with redbull and vodka. Yum. I was sipping at that thing before we even left the Inn.  Norbert went riding, and I hobbled around the village... then sat on a bench and people watched and chatted with some other injured folk.  Lunch time came around, and it was tailgating time.  Nothing like beer and hotdogs at the base of the mountain to cheer a girl up, and I needed cheering up, I was sooooooooo depressed about not being able to board.

 

Saturday was not only St-Pats,but also Carnival Days at Boyne.  Meaning, lots of drinking and costumes on the slopes.  They had a party on the slopes.. which ment having to get a lift ticket and board. And I have to say, I was so stoked to be able to do one run!  Got up the lift with a swift pay off to the lifty, and borded across the slope to the party, where all the random people I met in the parking lot were.. good times, and I was so excited to strap on my board to ride down!  After much more drinking, and some random run-ins, ski patrol was starting to kick us of the mountain. So I went to get my board. But Norbert already had it, and was refusing to let me ride. He said that I should save my knee for whistler and just walk down instead. I tried explaining that it hurt more to walk down the hill than to ride, but he was having none of it. Then, in what is not my proudest moment, I just sat on the slopes in total frustration and cried! There's a great pic of this... there is also a fab pic of me getting pulled down the slope with a ski pole.  I have to say, all i wanted was that one run, and the damn knee police took it away from me.  No worries, i'll get over it eventually!

 

Sunday, did a bit of tubing before heading back home... and yet another fabulous day! The weather was so great all weekend! And i did have tons of fun dispite not getting to ride.   so yeah... that was my weekend!

 

Oh, and monday morning, I walked into my class to find that the ceiling had caved in over march break. No fun at all... what a crappy day that was!

No more bruising, no more pain, and very minor swelling....  I got myself a knee brace, and I'm going to give boarding a try on Friday... if it doesn't work out, i'll sit in the bar and throw pretzels at people. If it does, i'll be boading all weekend, and most of next week.

 

Board is waxed and ready to go...although the cat walked over it a few times when the wax was drying and now has wax covered paws... so much for not letting my housemates know I was hot waxing in the house.. it's a no no! :(

 

So, Michigan, here I come! Carnival at Boyne sounds like it,s going to be awesome! woohoo for road trips. Actually, it'll  be my first trip to the US that lasts more than a day! :)