This is not clickbait. Instead of yet another “season prep” post, here are two ordinary off-season work days: Monday and Tuesday of the first week of November, right after the chaos of moving and my cat BamBam catching the sniffles from the stress.
I’ve split the notes into: what’s *actually* happening (=WH) and what I am thinking (=WT). Sometimes, they match.
Monday
06:30
WH + WT:
On the way to work. It is cold and dark outside but at least we’re not late. A bit anxious because it’s my boyfriend CG’s first day working at the new resort and my cat BamBam’s first day alone in the new apartment. That spicy thai doesn’t sit right. I’m glad I pooped already.
07:30
WH:
Meeting with big boss and marketing about a gimmick add-on for our weekly adventure ski show, as suggested by our service company. I said I don’t see the benefit as it would just introduce confusing new branding. But if Marketing says it would definitely help our numbers, ...sure.
WT:
I’m glad big boss is asking for input, but isn’t this a plain numbers decision? Why are we not running impact numbers? Maybe no one knows how? Maybe we’re all just pretend adulting? I know I am.
Meeting was adjourned to the next day.
10:30
WH:
After unloading a literal truck load of chairs for the new mountain restaurant, I get in the truck with the driver to help her navigate back down the gravel switchbacks and unpaved service roads that already have ice and slippery snow on them.
Both the truck and her are overheating and cursing in Polish. The steep roads are getting to them. A bottle of cooking oil gets loose and rolls around the cabin. Truck driver and I both fear it will lodge under her pedals. I catch it, and continue to calmly guide us down to safer roads.
WT:
Send calm vibes...be...the truck whisperer. Oh, look! Olive oil. I’ll stick it over here. Is that a pee bucket? Of course it is. She must be covering long distances and it’s dangerous to go pee at a truck stop as a woman. I like her drapes, they’re pretty.
17:30
WH:
Back at the main office. All the head-of’s are standing around chatting. CG is offered a Feierabend beer also, but declines. There’s a bit of banter and we head off.
WT:
Oh god I hope his first day went well. Oh no, he looks tired, I hope he’s OK. Please don’t take the beer, please don’t take the beer, please don’t take the beer... oh thank god he didn’t take the beer. I hope they’re not gonna be weird about it now. I just wanna get home to BamBam. She needs her medicine. I’m so dirty from work, I feel disgusting.
Tuesday
07:30
WH:
Meeting with big boss, Marketing boss and contractor on conference call. Marketing boss had a great idea to just use existing mascot with an extra branded backpack to promote the weekly ski show. The service contractor talks more than she listens, but agrees.
WT:
Nicely done people. Service contract lady, you’re not doing yourself any favours not reading the room. I get it though, you are trying to justify yourself. I smell fear.
08:00
WH:
We’re putting metal covers on the electrical cable tray for the alpine coaster. It’s cold, we have to lie on the ground to hammer them into the teeny tiny sockets. We talk about horses. Colleague M tells me she has a horse named Dakota. I tell her about the Dakota people I read about in a book called: “Native American Wisdom”. I mention that I also read oppressive patriarchy and the evolution of agriculture go hand in hand and how nomadic cultures, broadly speaking, had more gender equality.
I get no response.
WT:
God, I wish I had someone to talk books with. I wish I was a nomad. Not a digital one, but with a tribe, roaming free in nature. I would take BamBam with me and we’d just ride and ride and ride. I wanna get out of here. Not...here-here. I like the mountain. But out of this system, out of this version of the world.
12:00
WH:
Safety meeting and on location walkaround for the technical inspection of the ski show infrastructure. There’s the TÜV assessors, the big boss, police, the technical head-of. Everyone is being very sombre and serious but vibes are positive. Mostly.
WT:
Uh, a gun. I wanna touch it. Focus! I am not super sure what exactly my job is here. I’ll just write it all down and try and put a system around the chaos. Don’t get nervous now Hanni, you’ve been a showrunner for ages, this is just another show.
18:30
WH + WT:
Home. We do laundry, clean, cook, talk about work, CG’s son and my sister. I finally unpack BamBam’s new GPS collar. It even glows in the dark.
Once we ride free across the prairies I’ll need to be able to find her.
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