Christmas Everyday

Season's greetings, one and all. Well, I tell you: the last few weeks, matter of fact my whole time in Calgary (and Canada), has been magical. I've had the best of luck imaginable. Working hard, I've been, too. Two jobs, some long hours and money coming back in. My car, the mighty goose is now registered and insured and on the road; still not paid-for entirely, as yet, though that day will come. She's a bloody ripper, too.
       I was living under the roof for a while of Isaac Hill and Yazid, awesome people and good times. Really good base camp. Then the landlady found out about me and I had to get out of there. Then, as by chance I met some people, who's first words to me were "Hello friend, do you happen to like organic vegetables?" I said, "Sure," Then we all went and pillaged the bins out the back of a greengrocer's store caleed Planet Organic. Found so much fresh stuff: mangoes, tomatoes, yams and avocados, etc., etc. A rainbow of stuff mad to waste. Then we went to their place, just up the street from Isaac & Yazid's, and had a big cookoff and drank some wine and mead. It was the day after I finished up my sewers-work with BB Services.
       It just so turned out that they had a room available, and, after I had gone back to Edmonton and picked up the goose, I moved on in. It's been an awesome time with these guys, too. Kindred spirits and good people. They eat well and even made up their own batch of cider, which we bottled and partook of the other night. I guess you could say we're all on the hippy side of things. It's been good to tap back into this way of life -- especially before I go up and get into the oilfields in the newyear.
       All kinds of other craziness has been happening as well, like winning a $250 flight voucher to anywhere at my work christmas party at the Best Western. It's just been ridiculous and ever-humbling. I must be doing something right, I tell you. Going for a weekend away at the mountain of Revelstoke for New Years. By the name of the place alone, it's going to be wild. Yes there vill be revelry, (revelations?), and stokededness. Huzzah! Also just so happens that Isaac and Yazid AND my new housemates had been planning to go there for ages. Just meant to be, I guess. It's all just meant to be. Magic in the air, my friends.
       Christmas was really nice as well. Bit of wine, cider, mana and Mother Nature with Nick whom I live with. Good to catch up with people back home and across the world and Mum called, too. She's looking well, rosy cheeked as always, haha what a go-getter! To all of you, season's best greetings. May you feast, love, drink, be merry and watch cricket. Just go out and spread the love; Feliz Navidad!

     

Base Camp

Why hello there, ladies and gentiles.
       Well I'm still in Calgary, and I have two jobs now. By day, I am working with a small company, playing sewer/stormwater cleaner's assistant. Basically I drive around in a truck, inspect manholes and walk/stand around. It's a pretty cruisy job and I don't mind it at all.
       By nights and on the weekends, I'm working at a Best Western doing some catering and bartending and whatnot for minimum wage. The pay is pretty lousy, but the hours are reasonable and the work pretty easy. Late nights though, considering I have to get out of bed at 5 every day. But it's money for jam, and as soon as I start getting these fortnightly pay cheques, I'll be on the way up good and proper. Plus I get to wear a bow-tie to work. Ridiculous how dapper I look at minimum wage.
       I have been through a pretty hectic period: breaking laptops, losing (and finding, thank Christ) passports, driver's license and banking fuckarounds, being broke, lounge-sleeping and worrying too much; but I have been killing it. Taking care of business and getting shit done. Constantly on the move, constantly busy. It's taking a bit of a toll no doubt, seeing as I'm always tired and cannot stop thinking, thinking, but I am taking some pretty good form into the Christmas period.
       The general plan I have right now is that I stay in Calgary until Christmas, stick it out with these jobs and pay off my car's rego and insurance and get it on the road. Still waiting on a license from QLD Transport, but I can't afford it yet, anyway -- I spent way too much money in Edmonton and BC. I should start getting decent cheques in a week's time, but until then I am still pretty skint. All the money in my Commonwealth account is now gone! Haha pretty standard Jimbo, but at least it has gotten me to the point where I am now making financial plans and budgeting myself and actually learning to watch my money. Valuable lessons here.
       After the New Year ticks over, I'm going back to Edmonton; I'm going to run around in a frenzy until I get an oil rig job and stick to that until April. This is where the big money is, and I'm really banking on it to work out if I'm to be a shot at the drive down south. Consequentially, it'll do me a bit of good to learn about the oil industry. There's some pretty tight parallels to the industry up here and coal in Queensland. All good knowledge for a journalist, eh.
       Back in Oz, Mikie is working like a bastard and looks like having a solid amount of money in the bank when he gets here at the end of february, so things are looking up for this trip. We are both going through all that unpleasant hard-working real-life shit that we have to to climb that metaphorical mountain and make this trip happen. We're going to make it. No doubt.
       Also I'm trying to fit in some snowboarding and San Francisco, but who knows when that will happen. Not before Christmas, but as far as I'm concerned still both definite. As far as the weather goes, it has been snowing from time to time, but it is an unusually warm start to winter. Minus 21 has come around a couple of times though (plus a bonus windchill to take it down to -28). Not really that fun. I don't mind the could though... acclimatising. So many layers and thermal pants. Huzzah. Snow is awesome.