The delicate hours

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, the life of a ski bum is not all beer and skittles. I for one do not even like beer, although I am quite partial to skittles.

Consider, however, the following: Each day you and your housemates go out into the cold and have a rollicking good time. That good time just the right kind of fun, and the eating facilities at the ski hill are just the right kind of inconvenient that you often don't eat as much as is prudent. That good time is also tiring, usually in proportion to its goodness. The better the snow, the more tiring the turns and the more you ski.

This is an equation that doesn't add up (which means it's an inequality, rather than an equation, but anyway). At the end of the day, the various members of the household inevitably stumble home, tired and hungry, to recharge their batteries before the night's activities or the next ski day. Usually a few hours of sitting around and eating is sufficient to restore everone's spirits. But during this time, a certain degree of tact is required.

These are the delicate hours. From about 4:00 to about 6:30 each evening, life in my house is a bit like nap time at preschool, but with vastly more internet. I'm sure this scene is played out in similar ways in houses across Rossland. Everyone will mooch around, or sleep, until someone makes dinner and life is restored to the household. During this time, a careful balance must be struct between being antisocial and annoying the people around you. One of the best things about my most excellent housemates is that everyone manages this balance pretty well, and that quite spontaneously, someone will make something awesome for dinner.

So there you have it. For around two hours a day I have to be quiet and as unannoying as possible. Life is tough. So, how was work today?