#skipping queue because christmas yay

[duplicityvn]

Hey!

How do they like to celebrate Christmas, if at all? What would they like as a gift?

Finally: what would be the list of them for Santa in childhood and now? What is the biggest difference and why?

thanks for everything!❤️

hello! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays 🎄☃️

How do they like to celebrate Christmas if at all?

-Griffin: would prefer a solitary celebration, just you and him, maybe a walk through town to check out the Christmas lights and the big tree, drinking hot cider or hot chocolate.

-Tris: has big family celebrations, so you would definitely be dragged to that, dressed up in something cute he probably picked out for you based on your preferences. You'd meet a *lot* of Solis family members but it's okay if you don't remember everyone's name! Just don't forget to give Abuelita many besos or you'll offend her.

-Dell: sitting in front of the fireplace next to the tree you both decorated, reading Christmas books or poems and snacking on treats. He doesn't celebrate Christmas but would definitely go all out if you did or wanted to.

-Taipan: both of you in your matching Christmas pajamas, cozying up in bed together with all the comfy and soft blankets, watching those adorable and sometimes silly Christmas movies. Yes, especially the Hallmark and Lifetime ones.

What would they like as a gift?

-Griffin: he wouldn't ask for anything! Just your company and your happiness matters to him. But if you were to get him something, maybe a nice pair of binoculars, or a new journal to record his bird findings. Even a new lens for his camera if you're feeling generous uvu

-Tris: please, he'd get you everything you wanted. He might get emotional if you got him a nice pair of cuff links or new dancing shoes. Even a class so the two of you could learn a new dance.

-Dell: while he wouldn't want you to spend money on him, he's really into vintage fountain pens and wax sealers.

-Taipan: he would honestly be pretty hard to shop for. he would love handmade items tho, like blankets or scarves or anything, especially since he gets cold often uvu

What would be on their list for Santa as a child versus now? Biggest difference and why?

-Griffin: as a child, he probably asked for birding books, cheap disposable cameras, notebooks and scrapbooks. as an adult, he'd probably ask for new lenses, a specific birding book by an author he likes, and maybe a gift card for photo printing. There's not much of a difference for his 'wants' between his child self and adult self, he just grew more serious about his passion.

-Tris: as a child, he asked for (and received) the newest toys and gadgets, things that were popular with other kids. As an adult, he'd rather donate things for other children than ask for anything. The biggest difference obviously is that he doesn't really want for anything, so he doesn't ask for anything now. He realized as a child that he only wanted those things to 'fit in' and be liked by other kids. He grew up and would much rather make some poor child's holidays better than try to figure out what, if anything, he wanted.

-Dell: books, and lots of them. Always loved reading as a kid. As an adult, it's much the same, but he also likes to write and play around with letter making and such, hence the wax sealers earlier. Like Griffin, not a huge change, mostly gotten more serious and into the things he likes as he got older.

-Taipan: kid Tai loved sports, so he'd probably ask for new gloves and bats or basketballs/soccer balls/footballs. Typical sporty things. Now, he wouldn't ask for anything, except maybe a clean bill of health. Obvious difference here. He's not into material things anymore, and he'd much rather live a day without pain and illness than have anything else.

[fisididrosa]

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#me and my manager were practically skipping around the department after our details were passed to a local gp to get onto the list to get t

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Also, Lateral Flow covid tests? About as much fun as you imagine. It made me sneeze. And my eyes water. And I get to do it twice a week for the foreseeable. 

Yay.

(The joy of working somewhere that provides NHS services)

(Also. Negative. Which is a yay. My nose is not pregnant.)

9 notes • Posted 2021-01-09 18:19:27 GMT

#4

So these came today…

(Thanks to whoever gave the heads up about ASOS having stock in various sizes… I had been eyeing these up for ages! And they were in the sale!)

9 notes • Posted 2021-08-07 19:06:13 GMT

#3

Trying not to cry because Dani is in my telly box.

I can't put into words how much joy it gives my heart seeing DPed on the timing graphic.

12 notes • Posted 2021-08-06 08:28:28 GMT

#2

@baellerin one of the mini kits that was in my Christmas stocking. Mother admits to just feeling a bit evil! 😂😂😂

32 notes • Posted 2021-01-10 22:15:08 GMT

#1

Diggia. In a Daniel Ricciardo hoodie.

That’s it. That’s the post.

35 notes • Posted 2021-05-13 20:04:52 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[phakjira198]

December Recap

This is a recap of what I’ve been doing in the month of December. Since I no longer have a guy to talk to, there’s nobody that knows what I’ve been doing daily and my memory is shitty, so it just feel like I’ve just been wasting my life away when in reality I’m doing a lot of useful and fun shit. So here we go, my December recap. 

1 -> Studied for Stochastic modelling all day. Studied by myself for a little in the morning, and then went to Samyan Mitrtown to study with friends. It’s a lot more effective when I study by myself, but I promise Nat that I would help her out, so I went and study with her. But she told me that morning before I left that Prime was gonna be there as well, so that was like the first time we had an interaction together since everything went to hell 5555555. And it has been the only time since as well. When I arrived he had like one the fakest “อ้าว hi” I’ve seen and we avoided talked to each other at first, by talking through First (lol), but eventually we addressed each other directly. Thank god. Anyway it was fun that day. Didn’t actually study that much, but I still got a 100 on that exam so eiei. 

2 -> Stochastic Exam in the morning and then I went to the Doctor because of my rash. At first I was gonna do Hi Tech work, but the rash was just buggy me so much that I can’t take it any more, so I went to the doctor and turn out it was an allergy reaction. 

3 -> Hi Tech work all day (by myself) at Starbucks. 

4 -> Hi Tech work all day but today with friends at I’m Park Starbucks. It was a lot of fun, we filmed a video around the different parts of I’m Park. For Mewii part, I was driving and Tam was filming her in the car 55555. Went to I’m Park at like 11 and stayed there until 9:30 pm. Had to วนรถ several times to minimises parking cost 55555.  

5 -> Father’s Day. I think I was dead that day, but can’t really remember lol 555

6 -> Senior project work + TOEFL 

7 -> Blockchain all day. Had a blockchain training session that Por arranged about private blockchain using hyper ledger. 

8 -> Skipped Blockchain thingy in the morning because I had to do some senior project + TOEFL work. Then went to the Blockchain thingy in the afternoon: we did lap that show the basic implementation, but it was kinda boring, so Praew, Nong Boss and I played a lot of speed racer typing game thingy 5555. 

9 -> Senior project meeting in the morning. TOEFL session with Aj. Savitri at Mitrtown and then spend the rest of the evening there. Bought a pair of Uniqlo jean so that I don’t have to pay for parking and then bought Taco bell for dinner cause I was hungry and I would have something to do in case there was a traffic on the way back home (which obviously there was one 5555). They placed my order wrong, usually I get the spicy soft shell taco thingy, but they gave me a hard shell taco that was filled with something that look like beef. So I was reluctant to eat it at first, but then I googled the menu and found out that it was chicken, so I ate it 555. Also bought my dad a mug and teas for his birthday. 

10 -> Dad’s BD!!! Went to the temple in the morning for you know the annual thingy. Then went to have a birthday lunch with my dad’s friends, which Mutt also joined so that was kinda fun, but I was very tired by the end of it. So I had an afternoon nap when I got home. Then we had to go out for dinner at China place with like ANS parent gang. When I got there Praewa and French already had their laptop out working, so I got my laptop out and started working on my senior project presentation as well 5555555. Anyway the dinner was kinda fun ( I didn’t want to go at first, but I’m glad that I did). I had 2 glasses of beer and 1 glass of wine, and got to talk a little bit with Praewa. 

11 -> Senior Project Proposal Presentation 

12 -> This was a very very random day indeed. Had breakfast at Plaza Athenee with K’Ban and เตี๋ยขวัญ. It was delicious and I ate a shit load. Their Egg Benedict wasn’t really that good though, I was disappointed, but the rest was really good. Then, somehow K’Ban talked with one of the waitress who is from Chumporn and came up with a conclusion that her family has homestay there, so she was like let’s go there today, and I’m like WTF, but my dad was like okay, and I was still like WTF. Anyway I told my mom and dad that I’m not going on the car ride back home and that they can go. Picked up Prim M at 19:00 and drove to IKEA and then came back to Samyan at like 23:00, arrived home at almost midnight 555. 

13 -> TA HW stuff, Senior project stuff, TOEFL stuff. 

14 -> TA HW stuff, Senior project stuff, TOEFL stuff in the morning and afternoon. Then ตี้ at cassette, groove in the evening till midnight again 555555. ตี้ with Tam, Kan, Pat, Non, and Pond. 

15 -> common thonglor, ANS reunionish kinda thing. 

16 -> TOEFL? can’t really remember. So sad 

17 -> session with Aj. Savitri. 

18 -> Dinner with Senior Project research group at mitrtown + went to the book fair and bought shitload of books. 

19 -> TOEFL 

20 -> Lunch with Pare and Kao 

21 -> KBTG Young Tech Scholarship all day 

22 -> Morning = doctor, Afternoon = King Power with Mom, Evening = Nails 

23 -> Lunch = Tam, the onion chicken thingy, got a Starbucks cup from aj naragain. then Hangout with Mutt till night. 

24 -> chill day at home, read the economist all day 5555. 

25 -> Went to ICON siam with mom to have a very very late lunch and finallyyyy get to have a Paella. Then had a little Christmas dinner bbq dinner with Tam, Kan and Pond. 

26 -> can’t remember what I did 555555 but I think I went out. Oh I remember now, I went to see Khun Yai eiei

27 -> Went to Central World with mom and dad to have the Michelin ramen. We went to get queue at 10 am and got the eat at 1 pm. The ramen itself was quite disappointing, but the day was fun. 

28 -> Stayed in bed all day 555555 watched series. Damon Slayers and Emily in Paris. 

29 -> Senior project all day baby. 

30 -> Went to Ratchaburi with Fam and stopped to have a very very late lunch (3pm) at Nakorn Pathom on the way back. 

31 -> Book everything for samui and surat, very tiring and very draining. Then drove to Paragon to go to sea life to reflect back on the year, but couldn’t find parking 55555. I mean I did try for 30 min and then give up, so I drove back to a cafe close to my house is now writing this blog and the 2020 recap blog. 

[asterinjapan]

‘Tis the Season

Jingle bells, jingle bells…

Good evening (night) again! I just got back from Disneyland, they had to sweep me out again with the final calls, oops. Anyway, going to Disneyland in December is like meeting a friend who goes ‘what do you mean you’re not in a Christmas mood yet?’ and then immediately throws a fully decorated Christmas tree in your face. Get in that Christmas mood whether you like it or not! Haha.

Anyway! I got up at 7:30 ish, got into the subway to Shin-Kiba without needing to be pushed in for once (this is a busy subway line), and then made the transfer to Maihama station, which leads directly to the Disney resort. The music that guides you to the entrance was changed to Christmas jingles, and then immediately upon entering, BOOM! A giant Christmas tree right in your face. Lights and decorations everywhere.

So uh, good morning to you too, Disneyland, haha. I started the day with one of my favourite attractions (PhilHarmagic, a 4D play with Disney songs) before the first scheduled event: the Christmas parade! It didn’t have all that many floats, but it was very cute and the outfits were lovely. I kinda kept stalking it because I couldn’t for the life of me get Anna from Frozen to look in my direction, so I was on a Mission, haha.

When I went to explore Fantasy Land after that, I was in for a surprise – the Haunted Mansion was still donned out for Nightmare before Christmas! This was also the case last year during Halloween, but if my memory serves, they changed it out again before actual Christmas. Not this year, oh no! I quickly got a fast pass for it, had a churro, and made it back to get in the actual attraction. Ahh, I love Nightmare Before Christmas, what a nice surprise.

One incredible healthy lunch (cheese dog) later, I went to Pirates of the Caribbean, which was inexplicably also decorated on the outside. “But Pirates has nothing to do with Christma-“ ‘LISTEN TO OUR BANJO VERSION OF JINGLE BELLS!” Amazing.

I love Pirates, and this is also by far the most exciting attraction I go into (yep, one drop. And it always takes me by surprise anyway). Nearby was Stitch’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and since I love Stitch and the songs they play here, I couldn’t skip out on it. And since I hadn’t gone on the Western River Railroad since 2010, I decided to hop on there too right after. It’s – not super spectacular, but a fun ride either way. (But now I still don’t know why they throw in dinosaurs at the end, since the train’s horn overpowered the voice over. It shall always be a mystery! … Until I google it, I guess.)

Some shopping and pictures taken at the giant Christmas tree later (with Mickey-eared Christmas hat on!), the Christmas parade was on again, so I snuck into the crowd and tried to take new pictures. I did actually succeed, although the amount of photos I have of the floats for Beauty and the Beast and Frozen is kind of disproportionate compared to the rest, haha.

I took way too many pictures today to begin with, considering I skipped a parade (gasp! But in my defense, I’ve seen the Happiness is Here parade 3 times now, and the last time was 3 months ago – I’m good for now). But Christmas decorations!

Anyway, the waiting time for the Haunted Mansion was now down to 13 minutes (that has to be on purpose), so I went in again. The sun was starting to set by now, so one ride in Pirates later, the next show was starting. It was a projection on the castle however, and after the first few minutes I decided I’d rather walk the park some more, since I didn’t have a good viewing spot anyway (people started to queue for those like 2 hours in advance. Thanks, but no thanks – it’s not freezing like back home, but it’s not super warm either). Anyway, yay for nighttime photos! After dinner (a slightly more responsible shrimp cutlet with rice), the dreamlights parade came on. It’s been renewed this year, and for Christmas, they updated the songs! … Well actually, they threw in a bunch of bells and occasionally faded into Jingle Bells and We wish you a merry Christmas, but close enough, haha.

The wait for Haunted Mansion was now down to 4 minutes – that has to be an purpose too, since 4 is the unlucky number here in Japan and surrounding countries much like 13 is for us. (4 can be pronounced as ‘shi’, which means ‘death’. It’s also why some buildings don’t have a fourth floor and it’s unlucky to give someone a gift consisting of four parts.) So uhm, yeah, I went again. Gotta keep the Christmas spirit and all! (Although now I just have ‘Kidnap the Sandy Claws’ stuck in my head, not the most traditional Christmas carol.)

For the last rounds, I went to Philharmagic again, and then to Pooh’s Hunny Hunt, which is a fun attraction if a little trippy, but I have personal issues with Pooh bear, so I didn’t go before (the waiting line for it was over an hour during the day, but down to 12 minutes now). I took some more night shots and found the sky was clear enough for my camera to pick up the stars, so that’s pretty cool! Also hey, is the waiting time for Haunted Mansion still 4 minutes? Hmmm.

Four time’s the charm so in I went, but it was close to 10 PM after that final ride, so I made my way to the exit just when they started to announce the park was closing, oops.

And so back I went, making it back to my hotel a little past 11 PM, ahem.

 So that was Disneyland during Christmas season – pretty cool, although for me I was mostly excited about the Haunted Mansion, as was probably evident by now.

I should go to sleep soon, only a couple of days left! (Okay really, I’ve only been in Japan for 4 full days now, I’m barely halfway, it’s just that the trip is short, haha.)

Tomorrow, I’d planned on visiting the Hama Rikyu garden and the Odaiba area, so we’ll see. I might change plans completely, I’m not sure yet! Gasp! (Okay, I have like twenty options, so it’s more like ‘which meticulously planned trip will I actually make’, not ‘let’s take a train and just see where I end up’, that’s too adventurous for me. Gotta keep it real, yo.)

Jingle bells, jingle bells… See you!

[help-who-am-i]

Do you secretly like to go grocery shopping? No, I actually dislike it. I still feel pressured to pack everything, pay and leave as quickly as humanly possible for the next customer in the queue and I’m nearly 24. I’m so British, it hurts...

What wild animal would you love to have as a pet? OK, in truth I wouldn’t like to go and capture any wild animal unless I deem it necessary (i.e. orphaned, injured). If I could adopt a rescued wild animal who is unable to be rehabilitated and re-released, I’d like it to be a corvid, psittacine or fox.

What brand name do you think is just way over the top expensive? Well, which to choose? I’m just going to stick them all in the burner and go with designer brands in general.

What’s your favourite magazine to read, if you read them at all? I don’t read magazines, I lose interest far too easily. I used to buy car magazines but found them too technical for my understanding, so in that respect my favourite magazines are animal mags because I can at least understand them.

Do you find it hard to concentrate in really loud places? Yes.

Do you tend to get more sleep on the weekends or during the week? Currently, during the week because I’m unemployed (it’s OK, you can throw tomatoes at me).

Breakfast; yay or nay? Sure, if I’m up for it. Not bothered either way - I’ve survived with or without it. Did faint once when I was a child because I skipped it however, so I’d make sure your children get the energy they’ll need for their active daily lifestyles.

What’s your opinion on Tiger Woods, after all that he’s done? I don’t follow up on celebrity gossip, sorry.

Do you feel the media can be too harsh on people? Absolutely, and they know it and know that people love the gossip they create - it’s how they get £££. I’ve seen too many articles written by authors who haven’t done their research properly, or have severely exaggerated something, and it makes me want to hit my head against a brick wall.

Are you comfortable talking to strangers? Generally speaking, yes.

What’s the most creepy experience you’ve ever had? Probably the TV turning on by itself on midnight of Halloween. Actually pretty mild experience as things go, I know of others who have experienced far worse.

What’s the most boring game to exist? Why do you dislike it so much? Naughts and crosses. Too simple and repetitive.

Do you lie about not having extra pens, so you don’t have to lend them? Haha, I used to do this at school a lot, but now I don’t need to lie because I genuinely often don’t have >1 pen on my person.

Do you think the world is really going to end in 2012? N/A

^ Have you seen the movie 2012? What’s your opinion on it? No, sorry.

Yay, you’re going out on a date! What do you wear? What?! That’s not a yay situation, that’s terrifying. I have so many questions. Who with? Age, interest, gender, sex, location, how long have I known them, how much do they know about me? This will all determine what I decide to wear.

What’s the last movie you saw in theatre? Was it good? Aquaman. It was good, I liked it.

What are some of your biggest fears? Never feeling like I have helped to make the world a better place, failure, being taken advantage of, disappointing others, death of loved ones.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A fire(wo)man or a vet.

Do you think there is a lot of pressure on students these days? Absolutely.

Do you tend to like surveys with long detailed questions, or short ones? A blend of both is best.

On average, how long would you say you’re on the computer per week? That’s very hard to gauge... especially since my weeks are very unstable currently. I’m going to politely refrain from answering this question because I can’t give a consistent answer.

Do you like your music loud? Yes, especially if it’s rock music.

If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would it be?

I don’t like touch, but I’ll need it to save myself from detrimental physical damage unfortunately. Sense of smell, I think.

Would you rather have no computer or no cellphone for a week? No computer.

What’s your favourite thing to have for dessert? Pumpkin pie.

Do you tend to straighten or curl your hair more? I don’t do either any more, but I used to straighten my hair for school.

What’s your favourite summer sport? Scuba diving.

Can you dance, or do you just completely fail at it? I can if I genuinely want to, which is very rare.

What’s your favourite YouTube video? What’s it about? Jax Jones, Years & Years - Play (Visualiser)

The animation is so good! The dance routine really flows with the rhythm of the song and the style of the characters (Jax and Olly) is adorable yet cool. Isn’t it catchy?

Do you get nervous when you’re about to get a haircut? No, I’m very lazy when it comes to having my hair cut. I’m notorious for letting my hair get many split ends and just generally not looking after it properly. What can I say? Wild at heart.

Choose one: Hanging out at the beach, or playing some winter sports? Ooh, depends what’s going on really. If the winter sports involve snowboarding, cross-country skiing or husky sledding then I’m game, but if someone’s bringing a boombox and organising a BBQ on the beach after a dive then I’m so game for that.

Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Yes, and it’s not always a good one. Nature isn’t always nice or beautiful.

What’s the coolest place that you ever been too? What’d you do there? So many cool places... I’m going to pick Banff in Canada, though. Very touristy, but very friendly with great food, sports and leisure facilities. Great wildlife and natural scenery, too.

Don’t infomercials make you laugh? What’s your favourite? I have never seen one.

What’s your most played song on your iPod? I no longer have an iPod.

Oh look, a shooting star! What’s your wish? To become a successful and influential veterinarian.

When you were a kid, weren’t I Spy books the coolest thing ever? Never read one. I remember reading Famous Five, Spot the Dog, and the odd Christmas story about poor old abandoned teddy bears up in the loft.

What do you do to pass the time when you’re waiting for something? Browse Facebook. Used to read a book, but I’m usually too anxious to concentrate properly.

What’s the earliest time you ever had to wake up? Was it hard for you? Around 3am. Sometimes. I think what made it easier was that I was getting paid for it, and I wasn’t the only one. We were surveying for bats.

What radio station do you listen to most? Capital (London).

Whenever you take pictures, do they always end up posted on Facebook? No.

What’s the background on your computer right now? Just a colourful art background of a yellow Audi TT on a colourscape.

You have unlimited money, what do you do with your life? Wouldn’t that make quite the difference? I clear my parents’ mortgage. I use it to overthrow corrupt people and organisations. I use it to travel to places and help people or animals in need. I use it to qualify as a vet surgeon. I use it to help businesses become more sustainable, more responsible, more ethical and less wasteful.

Do you want to do something to make a difference in the world?

Yes, I want to become a vet and be able to volunteer for wildlife rescue organisations while helping domestic animals as a stable form of income. I want to discourage cruelty, carelessness and destructive behaviour and encourage compassion.

[wayneooverton]

A dreamy winter holiday in Whistler

Sometimes even when you’re a travel blogger, you need a holiday. A holiday from endless holidays. Yes, yes I know, and the award for most self-indulgent whiny intro to a blog goes to…yours truly.

Moving on.

This year I went home for the holidays, which was really nice. I was mostly offline (except for my absurd Instagram Stories – seriously, follow me on there. I have no filter at all), and spending time with old friends and family back on the East Coast of the US. It was mellow and wonderful, and just what I needed to reset the old internal clock, and also weirdly make me appreciative of my life in New Zealand.

But come January after a few weeks at home, I was getting itchy feet and needed to get out of small town Virginia again. And ever since I got hooked on snowboarding at my home mountain of Treble Cone in New Zealand, I knew I had to squeeze in a cheeky trip at some point while at home.

Also, sidenote, I brought my snowboarding gear home with me because I got sent a ski bag, wait for it, called the Douchebag. Yes, it exists. Finally a bag for me!

Ok, I just have to gush about flying for a second; if you are not a travel nerd, skip this section.

Living in New Zealand, when I fly home to the US, I always try and fly Air New Zealand. Apart from being pretty much the dopest airline out there (so trendy, so funny, so quirky), two years ago I finally started collecting my miles with them to get status. Yes, I did in fact travel for almost a decade and never collected miles with any airline. CRINGE.

But, now that I have tasted the beautiful glorious benefits that come with airline loyalty, in addition to no longer being completely broke, I book pretty much with only airlines I have loyalty on. Last year I hit Silver status with Air New Zealand Airpoints, which means that I get one recognition upgrade per year. I managed to nab a great deal on a Premium Economy (the middle class) flight to San Francisco and then put in a free upgrade request to Business. And boom, got it the night before. Yay.

Once you’ve flown business class on long-haul international flights, your world will be rocked. Disclosure, I did this all on my own, nothing sponsored.

The Air New Zelaand Economy Skycouch

Air New Zealand’s main North American hubs are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Vancouver. Knowing that I wanted to squeeze in a ski holiday, I booked my flights back to New Zealand via Vancouver, BC in Canada. And by happy chance I also managed to get upgraded to the secret Skycouch from Vancouver to Auckland. On Air New Zealand, you can get a whole row to yourself in Economy where the bottom of the seat pops up and converts the row into a flat bed with special bedding and everything. Holy crap.

And as luck would have it, North America was having the winter of a lifetime. And as a novice snowboarder passing through BC in January, there is one place you go – Whistler.

Whistler is pretty much the Mecca of winter destinations, and I had been hearing about it for years from all my friends in New Zealand who have done winter seasons there. It’s big. It’s epic. It’s famous. I had to see what all the fuss was about.

I wanted a solid week somewhere with great snow, easily accessible lifts and long, varied runs of all levels, where I could really focus on improving AND feel comfortable. Whistler ticks all of that. Also there is an entire cafe/shack on the mountain that sells different grilled cheeses called Ollies. SOLD.

As a general rule, I don’t like hyped-up destinations. Setting the bar impossibly high will often leave you disappointed. Maybe that’s the pessimist in me speaking, but it’s true. Aim low and you’ll always be happy, I say!

Let’s not delve into my attitude around that any further though, shivers.

Anywho, I was nervous Whistler would be too commercial or too touristy, but holy crap I loved it. Like, I-looked-into-changing-my-flights-to-stay-longer loved it. It was just what I needed at just the right time. Yes, yes there is a reason it’s consistently ranked North America’s #1 resort.

So without further ado, here is the vaguely chronological journey of my week vacation in Whistler. Tag along. Pull up a chair and a cup of tea, get cozy and stay for a while.

It’s no secret; most of the trips I do nowadays are for work. They are amazing and I love them, but they aren’t exactly a holiday. My trip to Whistler was a much-needed holiday, where I didn’t need to work 20 hour days and fry my brain.

I had only three things on my mind in Canada that week: snowboard, sleep a lot, and eat poutine. Repeat.

I also booked my whole trip the week before I left around Christmas for the beginning of January, which I advise you NOT to do as it is busy and peak season. All the good pickings for condos and apartment rentals were snatched up and I spent a small fortune on accommodation. However, I could literally ski to my door at Blackcomb which made it worth it. And there was nowhere else civilized and reasonable, also making it worth it.

Which also leads me to my second point, for those (like me) who are unaware, the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort is actually two mountains – Whistler and Blackcomb, makes sense right? There are dozens of chairlifts and gondolas that go up both, and there is an incredible freestanding gondola linking the two mountains with the village sprawling below along both mountains.

Breakfast poutine in town at Stonesedge is a must, the coziest spot ever

Maple bacon donuts are a MUST – The Portobello Bakery in the Fairmont

When I arrived in Vancouver, everyone was freaking out because it was snowy and icy. Um, hello Canada, that’s kind of your thing. But the locals ended up telling me that it actually doesn’t often do that in Vancouver. Sure.

Whistler is less than a two hour drive from the Vancouver Airport, so it’s easy to get there, though it was dumping snow the day I arrived, and yours truly was too cheap to rent a 4WD car. Luckily, most of the rentals have snow tires on them, which ended up being obligatory, and I did a slow cruise down to Whistler behind the snow plows on the scenic Sea to Sky Highway. No rush, I was on holiday.

With so much snow, I was fizzing. I knew the riding was going to be great, and oh my was the village of Whistler so cute. It was a real-life winter wonderland.

So. Much. Snow. Yes, yes YES!!

My first day back I was rusty. I am such a cautious snowboarder, but I am determined to get better, which is why I book so many snowboarding trips.

If you want to work on improving in a comfortable resort, Whistler is the place to be. The runs are long are there are so many different ones of all levels, I didn’t really have to repeat any of them. I mean hell, they have a run that’s 11 kilometers long. They had runs that progressed exactly with my ability which was perfect for me.

My days were pretty similar. I would wake up, go get coffee and walk over to Whistler mountain, catch the gondola up and spend most of the day riding on the mountain before catching the Peak 2 Peak Gondola and crossing over to Blackcomb and riding down. I ate a lot, I spent a lot of time in my onesie, and I read. It was so chill and great. Each day I felt like I was riding better and better.

I was also lucky enough to be there for the Deep Winter Photo Challenge, and managed to nab an invite. Six professional photographers are invited to Whistler to come and shoot for 72 hours in bounds at the resort and put together a slideshow with music of their story and shots and share them with a live audience on the Saturday.

Honestly, it sounds like one hell of a challenge, but amazing to watch. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was sure surprised when I showed up and pretty much all of Whistler turned out for it! It’s a huge event, and one of the biggest and most respected winter photography competitions in the world. Pay attention Liz.

It was such a fun night, meeting everyone at the event, watching the different shows and hearing their stories. For me, this whole ski/snow world is new, and I love getting these tastes for it with bright eyes.

The vibe was so amazing, and it reminded me so much of Wanaka. In fact, I kept feeling like I knew everyone, when in reality I didn’t know anyone. But they all could have blended right in in Wanaka! I got lots of feels and felt super inspired, and had a great time afterwards too and getting my first real taste of the Whistler nightlife. Oh my.

You can watch the winner’s show here, and follow him, Guy Fattal on Instagram. His shots are so inspiring and make me miss Whistler everyday.

Finally I had my absolute best day ever snowboarding while I was in Whistler. I am not exaggerating. Every time I remember it I get the biggest, dumbest grin on my face. It was the best.

Halfway through my trip we had an epic powder day, around 30 centimeters, so epic for me. One of the amazing Whistler girls invited me along to try out Fresh Tracks, where you head up the Whistler Gondola at 7:15am, have breakfast at the the Roundhouse Lodge, and then you get to ride the mountain before it opens to the public. Oh, and it’s only $21.

We had planned to go and it happened to be a powder day, so we got there early to queue up – only the first 650 are allowed up – the tickets are not day specific.

Sidenote – it’s not usually -17 degrees, that was just a major cold snap

So after that morning, I truly understand what all the fuss is all about on powder days. I’ve had powder days before here and there, but nothing like this, and not where I was first on the mountain.

We basically had whole runs to ourselves, I was the first to make the tracks on them. It’s basically flying, guys.

Looking down my board was covered in snow and powder was flying all over me and in my face. I became fearless, falling couldn’t hurt me; it was like landing on a cloud. It was a huge step forward for me with my riding, and a day I’ll never forget.

If you were in Whistler on that day, I was the crazy loon in a yellow jacket screaming and hollering all morning as I carved out tracks. What a memory! Pure euphoria and joy.

Guys, I really get it now.

I rode until I couldn’t ride no more.

Unsurprisingly, the next day I couldn’t get out of bed. My body was so sore and it felt like I had been hit by a bus, so I did the only sensible thing you can do when faced with that situation; I went straight to the spa. This was my holiday!

After an amazing massage and a few hours spent soaking in the hot pools at the iconic Scandinave Spa, I felt like a new me, and was ready for the next round.

I went snowboarding until the day I left Whistler, and each day I felt better and more confident, and I was gutted when it was time to head home. But be warned. A week isn’t enough, and Whistler is one of those places that gets under your skin. I know I’ll be back.

Have you been to Whistler? Do you ski or snowboard? Are you a fan of winter wonderlands? What’s your dream holiday?

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