The Waiting Game

There is a Swollen Members song that goes ‘Good things come/to those who wait/but no one ever said how long it was gunna take’. Now, far be it from me to suggest that you listen to Swollen Members, but judging from the events of this past spring, I would say it’s fairly accurate. Let me explain.
Beginning when I finished school, technically around the end of April, but more realistically right about here.


















Or actually, maybe here.



















No, no it was definitely right here.


















Regardless, I had checked out, and my mind was on the whole 'whats-next' business.
Once I had finished school, I was on the hunt for something to do for the summer, or the rest of my life, whichever I figured out first. First stop on Kieran’s list was grad school. I learned a few things about grad school, such as a) they were probably going to expect me to work pretty hard, b) I hadn’t applied, so getting in was going to be difficult, and c) I didn’t know what the hell I would do once I got there. So that idea got tossed. Which rapidly brought about the other option, working, which I rather like because it involves money.

After kicking around a few ideas such as, but certainly not limited to; prostitution, pros - lots of money, cons - its prostitution; professional skier, pros - skiing, fun, cons - I’m not a very good skier; and astronaut, pros - space, lots of babes, drink Tang, cons - space program ending, long training time, astronauts probably don’t know how to party, I arrived at a conclusion. Stick to what you know. And it’s debatable, but I know a total of three things. Writing, skiing, and manual labour. Now, I’m not saying I am an expert or an authority on any of the three, but they are what I know. After making that monumental decision, all was left was finding a job in that field. This next part may come as a revelation, but there are not thousands of jobs lined up for a skiing, writing, manual labouring, 98% of a BA in History carrying 22-year old male. Shock, I know.
But here’s the good part. In the last month, I have managed to nail down all three.
First, FasterSkier.com was nice enough to offer me a summer internship as a reporter/journalist writing and coming up with awesome ski content. Check skiing AND writing off the aforementioned list.
Second, a friends’ dad who I worked with in high school was in need of some help for random jobs around Almonte. He’s a rad dude, doesn’t like working too hard, and has not yet grasped the purpose of Facebook. Not that it’s important; we just have some funny conversations. Check off manual labour and sweet farmer’s tan.
Third, and possibly the most exciting. Nakkertok, the ski club which I have been a member and raced for my entire skiing career, if you can call it that, has hired yours truly as an assistant coach for the next 11 months. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything for a full 11 months before. Skiing, pure awesomeness, CHECK.

So there you have it. In the space of one short month, I have managed to line up three things which I massively enjoy, and even better, have managed a way to survive financially. I waited, took advantage of some sweet opportunities, and capitalized when things fell in my lap. Thanks, Swollen Members, for the tip – in return, I will listen to some of your music. Downloaded illegally, of course.