Shiny's News
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2004
1
141
394
Trip End
Ongoing
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Queenstown, New Zealand
Sunday, August 7, 2005
The sleep thing's a bit weird though. I've always been a bit odd with sleep at the best of times so this has really tested matters. Normally, once I'm awake that's it, I can never get back so I have to reluctantly get up. The idea of forcing myself to sleep through daylight, at first seemed an impossibility, but surprisingly, I seem to have adapted fairly well. I guess when you're that knackered and physically exhausted, you just sleep. It's your body's decision, not yours. What's really helping though is my living arrangements. On my first batch of shifts, my sleep catch-up consisted of trying to persevere through the all too familiar 'van on camping ground' scenario, where I would find myself waking intermittently mid-morning to the sound of screams, giggles and a heavy football being hoofed around outside the van. By my third shift I was a walking corpse. The new house thing has made all the difference, mainly thanks to my housemates. Most of the time during the day, they're out and I sleep like a baby. And when they're in, I sleep like a baby so lucky for me they're quiet types. In return, I keep it down when I nip home in the early hours of the morning for coffee and snacks. It's a simple, blissful situation that works, for everyone.
The girlies live just round the corner, up the hill. I've been over a few times on my free days and nights for chats and piss-takes. They've pretty much got a house to themselves. Chicken shares a room with Mee-Shell, Jop (another Jo) and the Mannion. Shiny (the boss) has her own double room just off the main living area. She spends most of the days managing the hostel, and gets time here and there to play Mom to the others, cooking their meals, supplying hot drinks and generally serving as mediator to the odd squabble and debate. John, English guy of similar age, occupies the other double room off the living room. He's working in the ski fields as a physio which, for him is a perfect little earner as there are so many accidents up there. So all is good. Things are cosy and everyone's living merrily and content.
As with most things when they're going well, the tables turned the other day. This time on Shiny. She found out that she can't extend her visa. The result? Two weeks and she'll be a friend and a fond memory. Although she's been preparing for her Oz trip and feels ready to move on, she's understandably very happy here at the moment, so when the news presented itself it came as a bit of a blow. As we all know, two weeks is absolutely nothing so it's quite a sobering time. Soon, I'll be losing a soul mate. And soon, three sofa-molded girls will starve.
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