sometimes glass glitters

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zx. 20+. wants(1 gpa to stay abv 4.00 (2 big watsons dog/guitar lessons/tohoshinki cds/dvds/polaroid camera(on a whimsy)/new sandals/dresses!/skirts/tops/shorts... (3 summer holidays to come soon

more than diamonds

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goodbye


designer: eminence.
image: Sara Bareilles' Site
background: Photobucket quote: Terry Pratchett

Saturday, May 16, 2009


Work and Travel 13th May to 15th June (YNP time)

13/05/09 (Wednesday)

After doing lots of administrative stuff and filling in forms at the hotel, the next morning we were brought to Gardiner to get sorted to different locations and positions and where I found out I was going to be at Mammoth Springs doing work as a kitchen crew (something different from what I was offered at the interview but oh well.) Then we were fitted for uniforms (mine still doesn't fit quite properly, but it has humongous pockets that can fit my long wallet, so that's an unexpected perk) and brought to eat lunch for the first time at the Employee Dining Room (henceforth referred to as the EDR). The food was quite nice (probably because we were all starving from not having a proper breakfast), typical western fare but we had to rush through it since we still had orientation talks to sit through. After that we met the personnel manager at the office, got our room keys and had the rest of the day to ourselves. Of course being super tired and still not used to the time difference, the day was spent on eating, unpacking/packing and sleeping.

14/05/09 (Thursday)

The next day we reported to work for the first time and received a nice nalgene bottle and cap which the other staff here seem to kind of want. We were one of the later batches, so on our first day, it was actually the fast food restaurants' trial lunch for employees. After being given a tour of the place and taught how to do a bit of stuff, we were set to work. I was stationed at the ice cream place for a while but due to my inferior arm strength (and inability to scoop out the too-frozen ice cream properly) I managed to get away and do lobby work (aka clean tables, clear trays, sanitise surfaces, clear trash, clear trays, wash trays...) for a while. Then they started to do the employee lunch, which was a trial before opening day. It wasn't that bad, and we even got to eat the cafe food for lunch before being given a debrief, clearing up the whole place then being able to call it a day. (And at first we were thinking training would only take up a few hours. =S) As usual was too tired after that to do anything but eat dinner, bathe and nua around. Think I really will get fat if I keep on eating like this. Been eating a bowl of salad with lunch and dinner for fibre, avoiding carbo, though there's lots of meat and protein anyway. =/

Since we decided to do laundry today we chucked our clothes together so it would make a bigger load and not waste space/soap powder etc. Then we went to play cards. Learnt a new game called Saboteur which involves tunnels, maps, not so kind of direct nor creative thinking, a bit of vague scheming and gold. We played with our RC Kevin/Kevan/Kevon? (can't remember how to spell his name) And by the time we finished the game + our laundry we were once again super tired. Still haven't quite adjusted to local time yet, waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning, and a couple of times throughout the night. This was one of the most miserable nights I remember since I woke up in the middle a few times, my arms were aching and I managed to shut my eyes for a few minutes before waking up again with my arms feeling terrible then struggling to get back to sleep. )=

15/05/09 (Friday)

Dear's first day of work, short day at work (safety training, tour, going through booklets), going visitors' centre, to rec hall, going up part of Beaver Pond (steep path, connection up the mountain, ELK!), drinking hot chocolate

16/05/09 (Saturday)

First good night of sleep
2nd day of work, Lobby from 1030-Closing, cute german baby, chinese tour group, buffalo meat, 35 months =)

17/05/09 (Sunday)

Runner 1030-CL Not so very nice cashier, hectic getting things + short lunch and dinner

18/05/09 (Monday)
Boards training

19/05/09 (Tuesday)
Boards + rex training at pub + star gazing

20/05/09 (Wednesday)
off day, cloudy skies! raining, terraces, raining, nuaing, rec hall bball!

21/05/09 (Thursday)
Lobby till 4pm, peach yoghurt ice cream, NO POWER (until 130), SUCKY grades, marshmallow cake, pool tournament, beer, foosball, rec hall bball + badminton + table tennis ^^

22/05/09 (Friday)

23/05/09
Moving to Canyon + very very long wait for the bus + first black bear sighting (it was only a cub, but you can definitely tell when people see a bear because of all the cars parked by the side of the road and maybe a ranger or two telling people to stay away)

24/05/09
First day at training (exactly the same materials, just more long winded and boring) Ate my first tootsie pop ^^ It's like a lollipop on the outside and caramel on the inside, very very sticky.

25/05/09
More boring training + CG's first day here + first hike to lower falls of the canyon + osprey, chick and nest sighting

26/05/09
More training + Dear's first day here (luggage sighting) + dear moving into the dorm across

27/05/09

And again more training. It's hard and I'm quite lazy to do conversions from their units to ours, so most of the stuff said has no impact on me, just a bunch of numbers to remember that's all. =/ Also I have a lot of trouble keeping track of the date and day here since I only remember work shifts (if I do at all).

28/05/09
Shakedown (super screwed up cash register + cashiering computer programme)

29/05/09
Opening day (Cashiering + losing $5!) <- I blame this entirely on the fact that we didn't have the clips on the cash drawers that day. Must have pulled out two $5s instead of 1. )=

30/05/09
More cashiering (exact amount ^^) Mean customers )= + CL (busy counting and cleaning) New friend! (Hudson ->the dishwasher now chef) Pretty sunset from the cash register

31/05/09
More cashiering (exact amount ^^) -> Cutting hours! Supposed to work from 415- CL I reached back to my room at about 730 when the cafe closes at 935. But whatever, I worked kind of long hours the day before so I was glad to be out.

01/06/09
Mt Washburn bus tour (George the tour guide + bus driver) + Condor sounds? + waterfalls + nice elk with antlers + falling asleep on the bus + meeting 2 singaporeans not with xanterra + maple nut ice cream + trip back to mammoth!

Serving (stir fry station) -> steaming fingers + French tour group + Chinese tour group + cleaning up + James the super hot runner + hating steam wells + burning steam wells + warped plastic and metal steam wells

02/06/09 OFF DAY
Did some research on our travelling things and searched for lodging and things like that. Quite excited about the travelling bit. I mean yellowstone is beautiful in all it's natural glory, but I'm a city kid. I want my mix of sushi shops around the corner next to fast food outlets, transport, supermarkets, oh and stable internet connection! (vital especially for registration of courses happening within the next few weeks or so).

03/06/09 OFF DAY
Circle of Fire tour! Woke up early and went for the Circle of Fire tour with dear. The driver that took us was the same one that picked us up from the airport when we went to Mammoth (though of course he didn't recognise us). The weather was cold, wet and slightly miserable. (I'm starting to notice a pattern for my off days...) We went around to the Upper Falls and Artist Point, then to Lake to pick up other guests before going to the West Thumb Geyser Basin, where because there was a hot spring there (steaming and warm) and there was a breeze, I happily went and stood where the steam was blowing towards because it was warm there. (Without of course thinking about the consequences like condensation etc) So once I stepped out of the nice warm portion of steam, my jacket was wet, my hair was damp (with little droplets of condensation on it) and it was coldddddddddd. =S Our yellow bus was our warm and dry refuge of the day. We saw fumerals and hot springs there. After which we went to Old Faithful to watch (of course) Old Faithful go off. So we saw geysers and had quite a rushed lunch there (since we waited quite a while before Old Faithful went off and we couldn't be late for the bus since the bus driver probably wouldn't wait for us). Then we went by Firehole River (when people of old saw the steam and felt the heat from the water, they thought there was fire in a hole in the water heating it up, hence Firehole River) and Firehole Spring (which is really pretty 'cos it looks like there's a blue flickering flame in the water). The other explanation at that time was that the river was flowing so fast it created friction on the rocks it went by and hence, there was heat! We finished the day going by Madison River and reached Canyon at about 4+, which was just in time for dinner.

04/06/09
First day back at work, totally no mood though. Much prefer nuaing about in the room/going on tours and maybe even on short hikes.

05/06/09

06/06/09

07/06/09
SNOW! It snowed through the night and in the morning everywhere was covered in white powdery snow! It's so exciting and very very pretty (but also very very cold). After lunch we trooped down to the space between the two dormitories and built a snowman, had a mini snow fight and I tried (quite sadly) to make a snow angel. Needless to say, after that we went back and drank hot milo and did laundry within the next few days. I was slipping about on the snow and I managed to make snowballs (and threw one at my boss, which he kept reminding me about the next few days after at work.)

08/06/09
Did serving at the pasta station today and kept repeating the different options for sides (Cream of Broccoli soup, Minestrone (mini-stroni) soup, Vegetable soup or Green Beans tens and thousands of times till I actually finished my whole bottle of water (never happened before) at work and ended up with a sore throat at night. )= Thankfully the next day I had an off day, though it means that my off days will be spend miserable and sick.

09/06/09 OFF DAY
Was planning to go for the evening wildlife tour but there was no space for us and I wasn't feeling quite up to it so we skipped the 930pm campfire as well. (Since it's held daily there probably will be another time we can make up for it). Went to shop for medicine and popped flu pills which I hope will work to get rid of the sore throat (because knowing me and my nose, a sore throat will soon be followed (usually it's preceeded) by running/blocked nose and phlegm etc.

10/06/09 OFF DAY
Went on the Wake up to Wildlife tour at 645 in the morning (super early, super cold and super sleepy). Our store of cup noodles came to good use, since the EDR isn't open so early in the morning and we had to make sure we got there before the tour bus left. (Since they don't wait for employees and we had to check to make sure there was space for us). We sat on the historic yellow tour bus, which is very cute, quaint, small and obviously yellow. It could only fit 13 people, so it was very very lucky that all 4 of us managed to make it on. We started out the day seeing mountain sheep, then a bald eagle (roosting near its nest) followed by lots of bison, elk, 3 wolves (!!!), a big horned ram and finally a black bear. ^^ Would love to see a grizzly, foxes, coyotes and a moose some day soon though. Moose are the rarest animals in the park (since the fire of 1988 took out most of their habitat, they moved away) but they have been sighted now and then.. Might go for the same tour another day or maybe the evening tour or one to Hayden Valley (we went to Lamar this time) to see if we get a chance to spot different animals.

11/06/09
I went to work thinking I would be working from 1120-5 as a cashier, so when 5pm came and I finished counting my bank, I very happily told Graham (my manager) that I was going to go. He then asked if I was going for my 30min dinner break, to which I replied no. He then gave the evillest laugh ever when he said I wasn't going home now and that the schedule (skedule for americans schedule for brits) changed! I was supposed to be serving at Lodge Favourites (the worst station EVER) that evening, but I whined that I was sick and he let me serve the Stir Fry station instead (exorbidant prices for beef (which we don't usually eat much of anyway), garlic chicken, shrimp and stir fry vegetables (I miss our leafy ones with garlic and all). Managed to finally get off work at about 1020pm or something. Still feeling miserable and sick.

12/06/09
1120-CD day again (2nd in a row) Cashiering in the morning till 5pm then front running till CL (which basically involves stocking up everything + cleaning up one area of the cafeteria and lots of running around) Needless to say it was also a very tiring day (and I'm writing my entries backwards so it'll seem weird now and then).

13/06/09
Cashiering from 1120am-935pm, cash drop of 1951.71 (and I was over by $1.70), super long closing because of new extra cleaning duties (closing at canyon takes super long because the place is bigger and in addition to sanitising everything + cleaning everything, we have to sweep and mop as well. =S Very very tiring day. Corn dogs for lunch weren't as nice as the first time I tried it though. But still reminds me of pasar malam waffle hotdogs ^^

14/06/09
Got my social security card today, need to fill in some new tax hold/withdrawal/whatever sheet thing which the guy at the personnel office isn't too sure about how to do, so we shall wait and see in a few days. Now it's cg's turn to not be feeling well after I'm recovering. Hope she doesn't get sick/stay sick for too long.. Have to go for work in about an hour and 20 minutes or so. Cashiering again today, will be hot running tomorrow (aka refilling food, plates etc for the servers) then I'll have two off days again! Don't know what we have planned though. =/

15/06/09
Had my first experience hot running (aka topping up food + utensils for the servers), super busy running around actually. And steam wells and warmers are so supremely not suited for people with glasses. It keeps fogging up and takes a few seconds for it to clear before I can see what I'm doing. Though I can see vaguely well without my glasses, I don't like the lack of clarity. =/ Extremely tiring day though, acquired a few new little burn marks and I think I sprained one of my toes. Made plans to go cascade lake and on the Northern Range tour tomorrow, until I heard that the trail to cascade lake was going to be swampy from the rain. And with me not being too fond of swampy lands, I'm wondering if I should go.. But! I should be going camping at Ribbon Lake on Wednesday night (we're tagging along with people who have a car) and we're going to have a campfire and smores and all! ^^