Rainy Daze...

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown
July 30th 2007

Published: August 5th 2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

It’s a dreary day here in Queenstown- cold, grey, with a steady mist falling. After several days of beautiful weather, a front finally moved in about 4 days ago, and it has been raining ever since. We actually had some pretty strong storms last Wednesday and Thursday- the creek in our backyard was a raging torrent! Cory and I wanted to get the inner tubes out and raft right down into town… Alas, there were no inner tubes to be found- nor any wet suits, more significantly- so we passed, and left the rapids to the trout. I’m sure they had a ball… The worst part about the recent weather is that it isn’t cold enough to change the rain into snow… I know, I know- this coming from the very same individual who has been complaining about being COLD ever since his arrival in New Zealand… But really, the mountains desperately need more snow to improve the skiing conditions. Everyone keeps telling us late July, early August- that’s when the conditions get good. Well, it can’t get any later in July, and early August starts tomorrow, so let’s make it happen, for crying out loud! Honestly, if that’s the trade off- being cold for a bit of snow- Ill take it. Bring on the extra blankets and multiple layers!
Quick update on the job front- I know I left last week on a sour note, whining and moaning about the gig at the Sofitel. Well, after Week 2, I’ve decided that it really isn’t THAT bad… Granted, working 38 hours in 4 days was a little much, but I think part of the problem was that I was new, and was being forced to learn and absorb all of these new procedures and routines in such a short time… Not that it takes a rocket scientist to work in the Hospitality industry, but still, its always trying to be “The New Guy” when starting a new job. Everyone expects you to just know how the gig works, but you don’t, and thus feel like you’re being a burden and slowing everyone down when you ask questions. You’re struggling to just keep moving in slow motion, while it seems that everyone else is cruising at Ludicrous Speed… Frustrating, to say the least, especially when you’re working in an environment such as a 5-star hotel, where EVERYTHING has to be just so… Anyway, all that to say that after 38 hours in 4 days, I pretty much new the ropes, despite being exhausted, sick, achy, and all-together miserable. I spent my 2 days off recovering from the whirlwind that was my first week at the Sofitel, and then it was back to it. For some reason, the shifts this week weren’t nearly as long as those last week. I had three evening shifts- 2 staring at 5:30p, one at 4p- and my first breakfast shift, which started at 7am. I knew what to expect from the evening shifts, but was pleasantly surprised to find myself getting off work at 11-1130pm every day, rather than 1-130am as I had the previous week. Honestly, I still haven’t figured out the rhyme or reason as to why some days we got off at 130am, and others we had everything finished by 1130. Last week, we had TWO tables one night, and were still there until 130am. This past Thursday, we were at capacity in the restaurant with a big tour group from Australia, and I was prepared to be there until 2am or later. Somehow, we got off at 1130 that night. You figure it out… Anyway, at least I felt like I had a life this week, as opposed to the blur of last week. All told, I think I worked 27 hours in 4 days this week, as opposed to the madness of last week. The breakfast shift I worked was pretty good as well. I didn’t know what to expect really, and was not excited about the prospect of having to be at work at 7am. For those of you that don’t know my sleeping habits- 7am is EARLY for me, on any day. My brain doesn’t really start to function until about 10am, unless I give it a caffeine kick-start. So, needless to say, when my alarm went off at 620am, I was not a happy camper. Combine the early morning with the fact that I didn’t sleep very well that night due to a nagging concern that my alarm wouldn’t go off and wake me up, and you can imagine what my mental state was that morning. Not good, to say the least. A quick shower to try and wake myself up, and then it was off into the pre-dawn darkness to the place I least wanted to be headed towards. I have to say, though I got off to a slow start- the whole having to learn the breakfast procedures deal- it turned out to be a good day. I made myself a Flat White (A Flat White is a style of coffee- In NZ, there’s a list of coffee types a mile long, each made a slightly different way, most of which I am slowly learning to identify and make. I think it’s the European influence on the culture. Anyway, to avoid putting you to sleep, Ill save you the mundane details…), and came to life about 830. I was working with two girls I had not met before- Sinara, from Brazil, and Maria, from Argentina- who are both veterans of the breakfast shift. That’s all they work, and they’ve got it down to a science. Anyway, I worked primarily with Maria, as Sinara was running the Room Service orders, and she had me cracking up from the get-go. She’s got a hilarious way of using sound effects and motions to describe actions and tasks that she doesn’t know the English words for. Clicks, whistles, pops, and snaps, combined with a lot of hand waving and facial expressions- too funny! Add to this that she made a point of calling me “Nicolas” in her Argentinean accent all day, and it took the edge off such an early start to the day. She was telling me all of these stories about when she worked for Disney on one of their cruise ships- I could just imagine her dressed up like Minnie Mouse, dancing around in the heat and humidity of the Caribbean for all these little kids… Hysterical! Needless to say, she saved the day, and turned what could’ve been an awful experience into something a little more tolerable. I don’t know if Ill get to work with her again or not- all I’ve got is night shifts this week. 5 consecutive night shifts (Wed-Sun), to be precise. FUN. Its going to be a trial of endurance, that’s for sure. Cory has 5 consecutive morning shifts (Wed-Sun as well). We’ll see if my new attitude towards the Sofitel has gone back to sour after next week. Something tells me it might…
Anyway, since Cory and I both have today and tomorrow off (Two days off in a row, TOGETHER!! Unheard of…), we took it upon ourselves to make some plans to take advantage of the fact that we are actually living IN NEW ZEALAND… Honestly, I still can’t get over that fact. I find it quite funny to think that this is my reality. Crazy… Anyway, back to the aforementioned grandiose plans- We found out about the coinciding consecutive days off too late to plan any sort of excursion away from Queenstown, so we decided to focus on a few activities in and around town that we could knock out while staying local. Read: bungee jumping and skiing. We were planning on going bungee jumping today off the LEDGE in Queenstown, and hitting up Coronet Peak tomorrow with some friends we have that work there, but the weather has put a damper (no pun intended…) on everything. The idea of bungee jumping in the cold, wind, and rain just doesn’t sound appealing to me- go figure… So, we cancelled those plans, and did some low key stuff around town. It was actually pretty cool to get out and walk around- the surrounding mountains are all shrouded in thick layers of clouds. I couldn’t even see The Remarkables from the waterfront, the cloud cover was so thick. Its pretty crazy- most of the mountains look like they’ve just been leveled where they meet the clouds. A different view on Queenstown, to be sure. As long as those clouds are dropping heaps of snow, its all good. I stopped by Luciano’s to tell them that I have no days off this week, and thus couldn’t pick up any shifts there (Bugger…) and now find myself at the Vudu Café, working on my blog. It really is an ideal day to just hang out in a café and read or something. The Vudu is a cool little place, located on Beach Street in downtown Queenstown. Apparently it has been voted the best café in Queenstown for something like 3 years running. Good coffees, this amazing cake/pastry/thing called a Caramel Sweety, good music, and a warm, wood-burning stove. A good place to cuddle up to the computer for awhile… Good people watching too- despite the weather, there have been people milling about all day, bundled up in their coats and rain gear. The waitress at Vudu is pretty cute too, which is a bonus… 😊 So, it’s a café day today, and we’re hitting the slopes tomorrow. I went and got my skis all lined up, got my lift pass, and am ready to catch the bus to the mountain tomorrow morning. Should be a good day- apparently it is snowing on the mountain, according to the Ski Office here in town (But that’s what they always say… “Conditions are FANTASTIC!!”, “Fresh powder!!”, “Best snow all season!!”- I’ve heard them all several times already. I hope this time they’re right… Who knows- I guess we’ll find out tomorrow!
And on that note, I’ve got to use the loo- coffee goes right through me (As do most other liquids… The Tilley Family Curse- small bladders!). Too much information?? Sorry, but its my blog… That’s just the way it goes! (Again, no pun intended…). 😊

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