Party capital part 3

So off we went tonight for $1 dollar margaritas. Of course the bar is so far away we have to drive, so convince Sarah to lend me her car; she agrees even after I drove it into a snow bank the other night. I agree to be the 'dd', I'm so keen to go out I'm prepared to forgo the alcohol, which is quite frankly a miracle. Jane and I put on make-up and the nicest clothes we can find.

Find the bar which turns out to be a restaurant and we have nine margaritas between six of us for just $9. Getting a good buzz on (love this term, very American!) when the boss realises our table is drinking without food. Shock, horror, anti-Utah drinking laws. So off we go on a drugs run to the State Liquor Store to make our own.

Arrive back at our new friends' place, talk bears, Alaska, rafting, rivers and tele skiing, marvel at the axe in their bathroom and drink serious amounts of tequila (well, Spencer and Jane did, I am having my reward of Baileys now).

It was so much fun. Yes, things are looking up in the party capital.

Party capital part 2

Guess what else. In Utah, you're not allowed to buy two drinks for yourself at once. You can only have one in your hand at any one time. Wow.

Went to this bar the other night with a guy from work - it was a real bar with loads of people and live music and came complete with a few white American hip hop kids; backwards baseball caps, baggy trousers, white chunky trainers. It was so good to be properly out, I can only go so long without an injection of nightlife. Of course we drove there, it was in the middle of nowhere. The locals either have 'dds' (designated drivers) or they take their chances; seems they take their chances more often than not judging by the amount of cars in the parking lot.

Last night I ended up at this enormous house just at the mouth of the canyons, belonging to some guy's grandparents who are in South Utah for the winter. This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice. It was so 70s flashy but pretty cool at the same time; they have a games room in the basement with pool table and pinball machine. Grandpa owns a car dealership. In fact it really was a bit like the Gilhespie's pad; very footballer's wives. There was even a statue of a Greek God in the bathroom complete with fig leaf. We drank Grand Marnier - much nicer than slugs of Jagermeister at the back of the employee van.

And look at the view over the valley in the morning. We're in the middle of a 3 day storm; couldn't get up the canyon at all today so I had an excuse for not being the brightest of sparks this morning.

I've been invited to shoot guns. I feel this is a cultural experience I just can't turn down. Let's hope it materialises!

Party capital of Utah - Salt Lake City

So, here we are. New Year's, and we're drinking sherry after the futile expedition to find some party somewhere in this godforsaken Mormon city.

It started well. El Chanate, dollar tacos, 12 dollar jugs with a good few lifties, ticket checkers and mountain school peeps, courtesy of Jane. We watched a lovely torchlight procession down the mountain followed by some uneventful fireworks (which we didn't see because we were standing at the counter trying to sort our bill. This took over 30 mins.)

We then jumped in the employee van, having first succeeded in getting it unstuck out of the snow, and were joined by some merry campers slugging beer and Jagermeister. At this point it was still looking good.

Exit at the bars. First up, the Porcupine. Which is actually a restaurant. Ditched that and went to the Canyon Inn. Just 10 dollars entrance, including membership for 3 weeks (this is Utah). Brian (the server) advised us to go elsewhere. Half an hour walk down a dingy, dark, winding road - pee stops required - to find the Hogs Wallow. Closed. Here are the two guys who refused to let us in.









So, we then walked half an hour back. Attempted to buy bourbon. Failed, only 3.2 lager allowed as we weren't eating. Met random colleague Ben and his 2 friends from San Fran and Miami who were dressed in suit jackets whilst we were in our scussy ski clothes. Only a back shot of them I'm afraid.

Left Porcupine for the mission home. Long, dark, cold, icy footpaths. No people. Anywhere. Apart from dodgy guy and Daisy the lost dog. 45 mins later, we come across The Huddle, Sports Bar recommended by Ben. 8 TV screens, 8 different sports. Attendance = 15. Membership = 5 dollars. IDed again (Score).

Left again for another mission home, decided to ditch Maggies (another recommended bar) for another day. So over it. So in need of a sherry. Arrive home with 15mins to spare to midnight. ROCK AND ROLL.

It's true. In Utah, the snow and the mountain is amazing, the nightlife is shit. So we're getting up early tomorrow and heading up the hill.

This will be the first New Year's in 6 years that I've not completely overdone it to the extent I've felt awful for a week but had stories to dine out on for way more than that. It feels a little strange! This is what I wanted, but it's all just a bit boring. Please live it up for me in London, at least a little!

Christmas

It's been a very different Christmas for me this year. I miss family Grant. So far, there's been no stress in the kitchen, no talking over each other in an effort to make ourselves heard, no inappropriate confessions of our sins over the family dinner. Instead I'm typing this in the basement with Spencer the house husband checking on the turkey, after a full day's work and a couple of sneaky runs on the hill. I kind of knew I could count on Spence to do the dinner. He not only has the practical skills I lack, he can cook. I just texted him instructions this morning and hey presto, a full dinner appears. Score.

So, what do you think of the illuminated Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus? Jesus has a new blanket over him after the foot of snow we got last night. Here they are in context too, in front of the dome with the snowmen that blows fake snow around. Yes, I know. Scary.

I kind of think these pics are appropriate for my Christmas post. You'll have seen this message before, I'm sure, but I think it's so appropriate, particularly at this time of year. I just love the last line. It reminds me of someone many of you know.

The paradox of our age

We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgement;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.
We've built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.
We have become long on quantity but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods but slow digestion;
Tall man but short character;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.
It is a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Mum sent me this card, as well as a Santa parcel - four presents, all individually wrapped. Totally unnecessary, but really lovely. My Mum is wonderful, I love her to bits.

Mountains

As a counter to the additive post - just look at this mountain. It is so beautiful. And so steep. We're in the middle of a three day storm which should fill up some of the terrain. There is just so much really good skiing here and I doubt I'll even discover half of it this year. Skiing today in about 25cms of fresh snow, even more in places. My legs are killing me from all the back-seat steering I was doing!! I'll get there..... after all, I've got lots of time to practice.


And here's my house, first thing in the morning. It's so big. I haven't lived anywhere so large for so little rent for 10 years.

Land of the additive

Coffeemate. It's just so vile and it's everywhere.

How does this sound?: corn syrup solids, vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated coconut or palm kernel, hydrogenated soybean, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, mon and diglycerides, artificial flavor, annatto color.

Yummy. What's wrong with just milk?

I bought some oatmeal the other day (isn't that a much better word than porridge? It just sounds tastier.) Got to work and opened up what I thought was just a box of oats - to find it had multiplied into lots of baby oatmeal sachets. And the ingredients when I looked? Not just oats. Oats, sugar, salt and a whole host of other stabilisers and stuff. Just how can oatmeal be anything but oats?

Well, at least my food bills shouldn't be too much; it's so hard to find anything au naturel. Just as well really as I got my first pay cheque today: I'm getting paid so little I get a cheque every fortnight. It covers my rent but doesn't even make a dent in all the fantastic new ski kit I've decided is a necessity for this season. Oh well, out will come the cards. It's the American way and I'm embracing it.

Welcome to America

I'm in culture shock. Really. I didn't expect it to be quite so different. We speak the same language, but that's really where the similarity ends. (Although I've already been told to remember Utah is not the US. Of course I'm cheerfully ignoring that and doing my usual generalisation thing.)

So... in Salt Lake City, you'll find..... cars. But no ordinary cars. Monster trucks, more monster trucks and yes, more monster trucks. Fancy a little stroll down the High Street for a coffee? Forget it. People literally drive everywhere, including from one end of the parking lot to the other. It seems so quiet in the streets but people are around, just in their cars and in the malls. Crossing the road is an adventure all by itself.

Salt Lake City is huge. It just sprawls for miles and miles along the valley. You can really see why America is so worried about the lack of oil - if we don't find alternative energy sources, they will have to completely rethink their urban planning.

It snowed a couple of days ago and there's a big storm coming this weekend so we're all getting overexcited. I'm still holed up in this crappy motel with my new roommate Spencer; we're getting along just grand considering I'm waking him up every morning at 5.30 to go to work and he's bugging me with (fortunately) mild snoring and a bit of late night post-beer stumbling. Jane arrives in a few days and we'll be camping in our beautiful 5 bed house with garden by Friday.

Oh, and I forgot to mention my lovely little job in the mountains where I get to talk to people all day and use the posh spa for free. It's all coming together nicely, just as it always does!! I'm a very lucky girl.