The first thing the sentence above brings to mind for me is Wayne's World. But it doesn't just apply to Aurora. I've been here nine months now and, without being too cheesy, Whistler is much more than a ski resort.
With a huge transient population, both in summer and winter, and a comparatively small number of natives, you might think it hard for Whistler to form an identity.
In fact, it's quite the opposite. Everyone here, from the manager of the biggest hotel to the lowly dishwasher, knows people are here to have a good time, to enjoy themselves and to make the most of what Whistler has to offer. Few come here with career aspirations, and few come here with long-term plans. People come to Whistler to snowboard, or ski, or bike, or simply take in the incredible scenery and natural beauty.
And it may be the mountains in the background every day as you walk around; it may be fact you can trudge home tired after a long day's work and be cheered up by the sight of a bear and its cubs in the woods next to you; it may be the fact that no-one is in a hurry, no-one is stressed, everyone is friendly and open - in fact, it's probably a combination of all of these things plus a hundred more - but Whistler is the place I've felt most in tune with. I can see why people get hooked.
Having said that, I am coming home in a couple of months. It's hard to believe I will have been away for almost a year when I get back, but on September 17th I will arrive back in England. It's difficult to know what to expect, but there are a whole bunch of people I can't wait to see and plenty of things I'll need to get reacquainted with. The family, the missus, all my fantastic friends, fish and chips, cheese, the Blades, Jeff Stelling, ale, proper bacon - the list is fairly long, so I'll stop there. I will miss all the fantastic people I've met over here, but there'll no doubt be a long soppy blog on that in a couple of months so I'll move on.
This month has been spent watching football and watching the World Cup. I was going to say enjoying but there have been so many distractions from the actual football this year that the tournament has been somewhat tainted. Between shocking refereeing, blatant cheating from players who are supposed to be among the best in the world or vuvuzela nightmares, I feel a bit disillusioned with football at the moment. There were some fantastic stories, like New Zealand's success, Italy and France's shocking performances, and the enthusiasm if the whole continent of Africa in getting behind their teams, but put it this way: I can't wait to get back on the kop at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane.
There'll be another update this week, hopefully with pictures.
Today's widsom: label machines are ALWAYS fun
