Ramble on

Around this time last year I was spending my days snowboarding, partying and looking forward to my family visiting. I was in Whistler to experience my first white Christmas, and very white it was too.

This year I am back home, and spending my time sleeping and working night shifts in a Royal Mail sorting office, occasionally seeing friends and having a beer or two. The change is still proving difficult to deal with, and I often find myself wishing I was back out there living life the way it is supposed to be lived.

Of course, I do appreciate the little things (Zombieland reference there for anyone who's seen it). Living with my family has its ups and downs, but I can't complain when I'm brought a cup of tea when I wake up, and have a decent meal cooked for me every night. And I may not be seeing much of them at the moment, but I'm back in the same country as my oldest friends. Knowing they're just a train ride away is comforting. Plus, it's Christmas soon. I love this time of year. I put the tree up today, and I'm not ashamed to say I had The Darkness' Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) blasting out at full volume. It's the best Christmas song ever, if you haven't heard it you need to. Now:





Told you so.

So I am grateful to be at home this Christmas. The more I think about it though, the more I know where I want to be - sooner rather than later. I read an incredible article that perfectly captured my feelings about Whistler. You can read it here. For someone who hasn't lived there, my constant rabbiting on about a ski resort probably seems silly and idealistic. But I spent some of the best times of my life in that quiet mountain town. So I'm going back. It won't be for a couple of years, and I'll spend the meantime working towards becoming a journalist and saving some serious cash, but I'm going back. I'm young, I'm adventurous and I want to spend my youth having fun in a place where people don't care who you are or where you're from - they just want to know if you ski or board, whether you're riding Whistler or Blackcomb and whether it's Tapleys or...no, it's always Tapleys.

I'm not stupid. I know if I want to have a family and support them I need to build a career and save some money, which is why I'm applying for every journalism job in the area. I realise the importance of experience and I plan to spend a couple of years gaining some, building up contacts and most importantly getting published.

But the draw of Whistler is too big for me to ignore it. Once I have enough saved up I'll be back out there. I've already convinced one person to come with me, hopefully a few more will follow. Who knows how long I'll stay this time, but I've a feeling it will be for a long time.

Today's wisdom: rum and hot chocolate is the breakfast of kings.