I know it had been a while, but we just got internet at our new place. This one might be kinda long, so you might want to grab a snack and a drink because I am not the best writer and you could get bored.

Before I forget....for some reason people think it is really weird that I have a toothpick in my mouth all day.

Since last Wednesday at a lot has gone on and I have been a busy little man once again.

Thursday was the day the new life in Breck started. My mate Tom(he is from england it isnt friend, its mate) and I were just hanging out in the hostel when three goofy looking guys who no one could barley understand walked in. Ike, Stew, and Alistar were from Cape Town, South Africa and they were on summer break from school looking to ski and work around the area for the winter. Like most people who come into the hostel they had no luck finding jobs and living was just another catastrophe. We all talked around the table for a couple hours or so, trying to understand their south african lingo and make out there english words under their STRONG accent. To make a long story short we all got it off good and wanted to get a place together that was cheap and where we could fit lots of people in.

Friday there was a new ad in the paper. A 4 bedroom house in summit cove, about 15 min from breck and 5 min from keystone mountain. We called them up quickly and went right down to the house. The house is behind the owners house who are an older couple who are so giving and caring. The old man still runs scrap metal so there is equipment and junk all over the place. What do we care though... As we went into the house we realized that it was fully furnished including kitchen supplies, bedding, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and everything else you would need to live in a house. We all got together, talked it out, worked out the math for the rent then told the old folks we would take it. Gram and Sarg were their names, they asked for the $500 deposit before we left, between all of us we had $50...they said that was perfect!

So the next day we moved into the house, rent is cheap $240 month. I share a room with Tom, seems to be working out just dandy so far.

While we were moving in i got a call from someone who works at the mountain. He was my cousins cousin mother-in-laws sisters kid or something he said. Anyway we talked on the phone then he gave me a job. JUST LIKE THAT! Been searching for jobs for over 1 week and a half and some random guy who got my number from someone gave me a job over the phone because he heard i was a good guy, hahaha sucker. Like getting a job wasnt enough I bravely asked if they were looking for more people and he said just bring your buddies in and we will give them an interview.

Here we are over a week later. Me and 4 of the South Africans have a job together. We have the perfect house, which is the cheapest anyone has ever heard of, and the Gram and Sarg bring us food a couple times a week. Last night we just feasted on 5 steaks, potatoes, cherry pie, and fresh bread for a nice meal. Never mind the 4 boxes of donuts and pastries we had for breakfast with our rasinbrand they brought over as well! Life is good!

So we all went through intense training to become lift operators for 4 days. It was boring, but money was coming in and we all could use a little bit of that at this point. We all passed the test so we are offically employed with a FREE ski pass, %50 off all food and drinks, excluding alcoholic beverages.... And get front row parking along with a bunch of other junk that i do not feel like typing out.

The first day on the job was pretty cool, in the morning we set up the lifts made it look nice and got everything going, we have to arrive 2 hours before they open to get everything done. After running the lifts for a few hours in the morning i got sent on a mission. First I got to ski to my next destination to help others get a later lift running. Then having a snowmobile escort I was driven around the mountain working on getting a couple more lifts ready to use. My first day was spent running lifts, talking to some friendly folks from NH!, skiing, and ridding the snowmobile. Obviously i just put in the good fun stuff, but there was some hard work involved... believe me!

Yesterday Ike, Stew and I hit the slopes. It has snowed over 30 inches in the last 4 days so you can imagine how good that was! We skied til close then went to the church in town who have a community dinner for kids like us every Sunday night. SO much food, and so tasty as well. OH, and i forgot to mention every Wed night there is an employee dinner at the mountain. Yup, you know it, 2 free meals a week! YUMMMY!

Saturday night i tried snowboarding for the first time, I wasnt bad for a rookie. There is night skiing at Keystone 4 nights a week so we will be hitting that up as well.

As for today, it is beautiful out high in denver of 62, while here it may hit 50, but i am on a mission and cant ski until at least tonight. Need to get my oil changed. Also for some bad news, my windshield has a crack in it, so i need to fix that somehow...hopeing it will be covered in my warranty, but i doubt it.

Next time will be in a more timely manner so you can understand when everything is actaully happening.

Make the best of everyday!

From the Sunshine State,

Nate the Great

Miss ya all, feel free to send pictures of whats going on with life back home!

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