Last few days in Waterton.

Because we have so much snow, it's been hard to do much during our few days off. We went for a drive and saw some chipmunks and ground squirrels, I sunbathed on a rock, we packed, went for a drink....and that's pretty much it.

We are leaving at 3pm today! We're going on a roadtrip with Al and Alex to Nelson, where we'll spend a couple of days before we go to the farm to start work there.

Our boss, Claudia, gave us a thermos each, mine says 'cowgirl' and Seamus' 'cowboy'. Claudia is fantastic, she has taken care of us so well since we've been here. I'll miss her.

THE END.

WE ARE DONE! I am so happy! The last few days at work were pretty crappy, for one reason or another. Finishing was so good. I finished at 3pm, and Seamus was working until 4.30pm, so I had a martini the second I finished...alone. Then we went back to the Resort for the evening for a lot of drinking, and talking, and some pool. I got a bit drunk...but it was fun. The weather's warm and sunny again, so we have a nice few days ahead of us before we leave for Nelson.

I am so proud, we managed six months in this place! We are heroes. I love Waterton but I'm so glad to be leaving.

(We're watching the hockey (go Canucks!) and it just occurred to me what an awful song 'Oh Canada' is. It has NO TUNE.)

OMG PLEASE STOP SNOWING.

The sunny photo was taken seven days ago. The snow photos were taken today. The "view" from our apartment, and our building from outside. THIS IS STUPID. What is wrong with Waterton? We had 26 degrees and sunshine for ages and now this. Where did spring go? The snow is waist-high outside. It hasn't stopped snowing in days...not even for a minute. The snowplough went into a ditch so the roads haven't been cleared, and it's impossible to walk anywhere. STOP STOP STOP. Tomorrow is our last day of work, then we have three days off (because our manager is an angel), and we were hoping to do some hikes. Now what will we do? Drink, most likely. This winter is TOO LONG.

Lack of sleep.

I AM SO TIRED. I was woken up at 3.14am by some boys screaming. Don't worry, they weren't children. They just aren't worthy of being referred to as 'men'. The boys live in the flat across the hall, and keep us awake most nights by:

a)going to the gym at 1am, and GRUNTING with every weight they lift (the gym is directly below our bedroom)
b)getting way too involved with whatever computer games they play
c)having parties almost every night of the week
d)banging on our door at 2am to see if we'd like to come to aforementioned parties
e)throwing bedframes down the stairs

Every night for the past week, we have been woken up by them. It hasn't always been this bad...primarily because they only moved in recently. But I also think it's a sign that summer is coming. Everyone in Waterton is way too excited....both our co-workers, and the big-horned sheep. We are more and more convinced every day that we could not survive here in the summer. Sure, Waterton is beautiful, and there'd be more hikes open but faced with the following prospects:

a)working 40 hours a week in a shitty job
b)sharing our flat with two 19-year-old stoners
c)putting up with staff parties all night, every night
d)Waterton being packed full of tourists

Yeah...we're ready to leave. I am way too old and boring to put up with what we're dealing with right now. Seamus and I both start work at 6.45am most days, and being woken up every night kind of wrecks my chirpy demeanour. Today is my one day off this week, and now I realise it's even worse to be woken up when you don't have to work the next day.

I can't wait to get an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep! But then I remember...we're staying in hostels for most of the next three months...I forsee a lot of crankiness this summer...

No more Box 178.

We are leaving Waterton in NINE DAYS. Five more days of work, four more days of relaxing. For this reason, please do not use the Box 178 address! I will close this PO Box next week. No more post and chocolatey gifts for us :(

If you do have any reason to send us stuff, we will be staying with Seamus' family for a week at the beginning of June. I can give you their address if you need it. And yes, mum, the address is correct. North American addresses are crazy short. And boring. I have to ask people their addresses about fifty times a day when they call the hotel to make reservations. This is a typical Canadian address:

14, 182 17th St West
Calgary, Alberta
T1M 2J0

How boring is that? I wouldn't want my street to be a NUMBER. That can never be a point of conversation, can it? Like, some British street names are really cute, or mean something historically/geographically. Can you imagine a conversation about living on 17th street? "Ah cool...that's...right next to 16th Street..."? Some people LOVE grid systems. I hate them. I like windy roads, and non-grids make much more sense to my apparently chaotic mind. Do you think this is a legitimate reason not to move to Canada?

March for Maddie.

A few weeks ago, I read a blog post on Alpha Mummy about Maddie Spohr. Maddie was a seventeen-month old girl from California who died a couple a weeks ago. Her mother writes a blog about her family and their life. Unfortunately, I didn't find this blog until after Maddie died. I spent three evenings after work reading back over the entries, laughing, crying, and some in-betweens. Heather is a fantastic writer, funny and moving and clever. I don't know these people but I feel like I do. Maddie was premature, and underwent a lot of illness and pain in her life. But nearly all of the hundreds of photos on her mother's blog are of Maddie smiling, laughing and pulling faces. That girl was BEAUTIFUL. You can see the life and spirit in her eyes and smile in every photo. I feel so MUCH for Maddie's family right now, it's difficult to explain. I know I have a tendency to be overly sensitive, but I challenge you to watch the video a few posts down on Heather's blog and not cry. It's heartbreaking.

I have thought of Heather, Mike and Maddie every day over the last week or two. And so has the rest of the internet. In certain internet circles, people have turned their blogs purple for Maddie. March for Maddie is a series of sponsored walks in honour of Maddie, and with donations going to theMarch of Dimes Foundation. Thousands of people on Twitter are trying to persuadeHugh Jackman to donate $100,000 to March of Dimes in honour of Maddie (Hugh Jackman decided he would donate $100,000 to one individual's chosen charity, but the individual has to convince him in 140 or fewer characters, which is a very interesting idea from the social networking perspective...but that's for another time).

I know nobody who reads this knows Maddie or her family either but if you are touched like I have been, please post the following words into your twitter update:

RT @RealHughJackman PLEASE donate your $100k to March of Dimes in honor of my baby #Maddie http://tinyurl.com/dnewtk

Hopefully this'll help convince him to choose March of Dimes. Alternatively, if you are able to donate money to Heather and Mike's March for Maddie, please do so.

This post is purple for Maddie.

Snow and sore throats.

After a ten days or so of 20 degrees and higher and sunshine, there's a snowfall warning for tonight. 15-20cm of snow overnight alone, apparently. That's not fair! It's nearly May! Honestly, the weather in the mountains is crazy. And I have a really sore throat, I think I am going to be ill for my days off. And only five more days of work left! Thank goodness...