Hey everyone! I have been really busy over here, its non stop all the time and I'm loving it.  I worked loads leading up to Christmas, like 13 days straight and by the end of it I was completely spent but it was all fun.  It really gets insane on the mountain over this time of the year, but its all slowing down now, which is good because I have been able to get some serious snowboarding done.  I'll try to recap some of it for you, going to be a bit difficult as this lifestyle tends to hurt your memory (or liver?! Both I think).. but here goes! 

New years ever started off looking like a washout.  The clubs here were charging on average $100 just to get in which was ridiculous!  We decided to just start at home and drink and see where it led. I had to work until 9, so we had a few sneaky beers at work and by the time it was home time, I was well on my way.  Serving people tipsy is as fun as it sounds, believe me! Im sure I wasn't holding it together as well as I thought I was haha.  Anyways, I got home and a bunch of us were all drinking and running around our building getting into the spirit, the whole building was going nuts.  It was about 10 oclock and everyone was trying to get taxi's to go to some house party about ten minutes away.  It seemed impossible.  We caught a bus to the village and were waiting with about 200 other people, hunting for a cab.  One came and it was for this couple, I convinced them to let me in (I was flying solo at this point, no idea where everyone else was).  After a little bit of convincing they let me in and about half of whistler followed me.  Anyways I get there and this party is absolutely banana's! Its exactly like the American keg parties in the movies.  The house is packed, people everywhere!  I found some friends of mine there and end up bringing in the new year with fireworks and everything! Had an awesome night! Check out the photos below..

After that my friend from home Tatey came over for two weeks from the UK on the 6^th of January.  It was awesome catching up with him and we wasted no time doing just that! Honestly we went nuts, to sum it up though, it involved.. boat races (skulling comps), atomic bombs (double red bull vodka with a jeiger shot – yes, they live up to their name completely ruin me everytime), Ray Charles (1/3 Jack Daniels 1/3 Baileys 1/3 Kaluha), Random people, Even Randomer photos with them, Snowfights, Steak dinners.. and even some snowboarding.  Good times!! Again, check the photos. 

Since Tate left, I have been trying to chill out a little bit to try and save some cash.  My awesome parentals made the debonair gesture (after slight twisting of both arms) of buying me a laptop for my birthday (three months early) and its so good to be back in contact with everyone.  If you don't have me on msn, add me (wise_plan@hotmail.com) because you can talk (microphone) over it and its way cheaper than phone.  Again, massive thank you to Mum and Dad for the comp, its perfect!

I have met so many cool people over here already, so many guys I think ill be mates with for many years to come.  Im really enjoying it, I think im cut out to be a ski bum for quite a few years yet haha.  Now that everything is settling down, I am thinking of getting a second job to try and get some money together and start thinking about my plans for after the season.  Its all completely up in the air at the moment, and I am not in any real hurry to make concrete plans anyways.  Just taking it all as it comes at the moment.  Loving it. 

OK well that's about all I can think of right now, I'll be in contact much more from here on in, but that basically wraps up my last three weeks.  In a word – Chaos.  Enjoy the photos, and hope to talk to you all sooner than later. 
 

Take care.

Dean xx

Hitting the rails in the night time jam.  Good times.

New years eve.. leaving a house party cause its being broken up by angry cops.  put a girl on the back of the car while angry cop yells at you!

Got some snow on your car mate?

The village.  Bluebird. Amazing isnt it.

Its some view.

Some of the cats i work with at our work party.  Good times.

This little guy is quite common around these parts actually! This is baby one though.

Options, options!

Views.

Snowboard heads..

Merlins payday friday..

Ladsey.

Ass races.. harder and funner than it looks!

Tatey, Myself and Jake just taking in the fresh air.

Tate and Me, just pondering.

Thats it for now! Peace!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all well and enjoying the warm summer nights I'm sure are happening right now in good old West Oz.  Over here it has been pretty cold, but I have been here a month already so of course I am an old hand at it now (yeah right, I got frostbite on my face the other week, it went black and everything).  Well, last time I wrote a big email I was kind of still figuring out what I was doing, but I have been seeing some weird, different and crazy stuff since then, that I thought I would share with you all.

Ok well.  This place.  The mountains.  I have tried taking a few photos from up the top of the mountain so I could show you guys, but it literally doesn't do it justice.  Its amazing.  The clouds sit over the valleys like a blanket and once your up above that snowboarding it is so clear and cool.  Another thing that's weird here is that it goes dark at like 4:30.. and even at lunchtime the sun is still sorta not even half way up.  It never goes right up above you at anytime!

The food here is nowhere near as good as back home.  I might have said this before but food, as it turns out is one of my favourite things.. (kookdog you would not be happy with any of it over here man!!).  All the fresh stuff we don't think about is really expensive and isn't anywhere near as nice (like cheese, fruit and veg, salads, milk, etc.) There's no vegemite at all.  None!  So anyone who cant sleep because they are thinking about what to buy me for xmas, a 44 gallon drum of vegemite would be lovely!

There are so many aussies over here its insane.. and all the staff people who have come over for the season all have no money, its so funny.  Whenever I walk past anyone on the phone to home, they are just like, "..and I don't get paid till next week, and I have $34 to last me til then".. yet everyone still goes to the pub and gets marinated anyways, then just eats rice all week.  Funny stuff.

So the sports they place over here are crazy too.  Ice hockey is awesome to watch, they smash each other into the glass so hard, everyone in the team has broken noses and blood lips by the end of the game.  Unlike the AFL, the teams play 3 games a week, so there is always hockey on TV or at the pub.  We have free cable in our apartment, and it has two dedicated hockey channels!

My new job is really really easy and super fun.  It's a rental shop for skis and snowboards.  Im being trained up as a cashier which will be even easier.  But basically people come in from all over the world and we get paid to mess around with the other people we work with (all lads, some from England, some Canadians and a few French Canadians (idiots, honestly..) and some New Zealanders, and help them into some gear and get up on the slopes.  Everyone loves the Australian accent, so I just play it up so much, Ive even been running 'strewth' and 'dinkum' heaps just to add to the authenticity haha!  I know, I know, but you gotta give the customers what they want, ya know! The first customers we had was a prebooked group of 120 non-english speaking male Japanese school students (all like 16 years old). You can imagine trying to ask them if their boots fitted properly, cause they are all so nice and would never tell you they didn't fit even if they were killing them! So basically I just relied on the 'thumbs up' for answers to all questions.  By the end of it we were high-fiveing them and all, they were the funniest kids out!  Another thing about work here is that, of course, our boss knows we are here for a good time, we will be drunk a lot and probably (always) hungover.. so they don't care.  All they ever say is 'just make sure you show up, that's it".. its awesome!

One last weird thing about over here.  Dogs are treated like people. Dogs can come in any shop, any pub, anywhere!  Its ridiculous.  I like it cause I just play withy them when I am work and people bring them in, but when your in a shop having a look around, and dogs are running through the isles its freakin' insane.  Its because the snobby people wouldn't come in peoples shops if they didn't let them have their dogs in there.  On that note, I saw Arnold schwarzenegger's house up here in Whistler.  Its so massive and sooo awesome.  Paris Hilton was up here the other day and there are always rockstars and stuff around.  It's a super spin out seeing them.  Our taxi driver was telling us that when Kid rock and Pamela Anderson were here (before they split up), they were like running around the village messed up on all these drugs and everyone was laughing at them and stuff. Weirdo's.

Apart from all that stuff, I have just been snowboarding as much as possible, getting into work heaps now, skating a little bit and of course going out and running around.  Its really great over here and we are all having an amazing time.  If anyone was thinking about it and not sure whether to do it.  Just do it.

Well I am going to leave you with some photos and stuff, but send me emails and keep me updated with whats happening with you guys in WA or wherever you are!  I'll do the same.

Take care everyone. Speak to you all soon!

Dean xx

Little action shot of me ripping haha..

Well everyone, I'm in Whistler and it feels like i have been gone for about a month, just cause its all been non-stop! Havent had time to stop and chill and write about it all or anything. I think i'll just put a few random photos up and let them tell the story haha. All in all Whistler is a very cool place, and Canada in general is pretty rad. Still getting used to the snow, cause it just snows all the time. Havent had a chance to go snowboarding yet as the mountain hasnt opened. Anyways, here is the story so far in photos.

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This is at the hostel in Vancouver. They have these things in the middle of their pitchers (jugs) that they fill with ice and it keeps the beer cold. It like unscrews from the bottom and yeah, pretty smart thinking really. Would be amazing for summer.

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Here are some crew from Vancouver. That place is cool but when you go from one club to the other it rains on you and everyone is soaking wet! Well all the tourists were haha.


Here is a shot of the village. It doesnt look as good as it does now, with the snow everywhere. But you can get a bit of the jist. I'll get more cause it honestly is one of the craziest places. I work in that building in the middle of the photo.

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Here is us as tourists, with one of the mountains in the background.

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This is the building we are living in. Snow everywhere.

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This is our first night out in Whistler.
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Shortly after this we were singing (screaming) Queen in the middle of the packed dancefloor. Missed the bus home so treked up the hill, where snowball throwing resulted with Treasure and Me reslting in knee deep snow and then running the rest of the way up the hill. This tires you out.. and if your treasure, so much so that you dont wake up until 5:30 the following night. Well until next time!

November 12th '06