Some good news.

My ankle is feeling better, the pain isn't very bad and the swelling is going down, and the bruising has gone a not very nice yellow colour, which is a good sign, my esteemed Uncle Rob informs me. 

I spoke to Gord, my boss, and he said there should be no problem for me to get on a course later on. He said that Norquay do one every month, as do Sunshine and Lake Louise, so between them there's almost one starting every week, so basically I will be able to work and instruct, so that's good news.

He said not to rush back in to things, because he did that before and it meant that things just got worse. If I went back before my ankle's strong enough I think it would pretty much guarantee that I did it again, so I'll just have to wait it out. 

As far as doing something else goes, he said that he thinks pretty much all the jobs on the mountain are filled at the moment, but that he'd speak to a couple of his colleagues up there to see if they have anything available. He also said they always need people around Christmas, so I may well be able to get something, we'll just have to see.

He also said that all the physios in town are really good, so that's reassuring.

Good news overall, just got to get better now.

Disaster Strikes

On Thursday night while crossing the street in town I fell on the ice and hurt my foot. The middle of the roads are always the worst, with the cars compacting the snow into really slippery ice.
It was cold out so I was walking a little fast and as I crossed the street I slipped and fell. On Friday Aven took me to the hospital and an x-ray revealed that I tore the anterior-key ligament (I think it was) in my left ankle.
This means my foot looks like this:

They gave me a Gel brace to wear if ever I had to get around:

This has two bits that go in the freezer so when I put it on it keeps my ankle chilled. I've also got crutches so I'm able to keep pretty mobile but I'm not gonna lie, it pretty much sucks.

The doctor said that it could be as long as 6 weeks before my ankle is fully healed, but I may be able to ski within 3. I'm going to speak to Gord (my boss at the Norquay ski school) on Monday to see what he says about me starting later or something, so far all he's said is not to worry about skiing and to just get better. Nancy's kindly said she'd also see if there was some other job I might be able to do for the time being to keep me occupied and, more importantly, paid.

Today was Norquay opened, so it could have been my first day's skiing, but instead I'm on the sofa with my foot up tackling insurance claim forms. Oh joy.

Getting around on crutches is not as easy as one might think, it's pretty tough on your shoulders and my right leg, the one I can stand on, begins to ache after a while.
Another big risk is having one really muscular, toned bum cheek and one flabby weak one, so I'll have to think up some exercises to avoid lop-sided hotness . . . just kidding. Seriously though, it is especially frustrating because I felt that I was building up a really good level of fitness at boxing and now that will be pretty much totally undone.

Let's just hope I can make a speedy recovery. The doctor gave me the address for a physiotherapist and which he said would speed my recovery (I guess it ought to seeing as that's the point of physiotherapy) so once the worst of the pain is over I'll head down there and see what it's like in terms of cost.

For now, plenty of film and tv watching, plus I brought A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and there are a couple of other books here left by previous occupants, so hopefully I'll be able to keep myself occupied.

Another boxing session.

Another pretty intense workout at boxing tonight. In addition to all the other stuff we normally we also did this thing where, in pairs, you throw a ball to each other, for the first 2 minute interval using only your jabbing hand and for the second only your cross hand. Doesn't sound that bad? The ball weighed 12 kilograms, so it was pretty tough.

It's definitely clear that my cardiovascular fitness is much better than my muscular endurance, and I felt the strain in my arms far more than in my ability to keep going, which I'm pleased to say I was always able to do. Apparently Tuesday is their "tough class" so I'm glad that I still felt good and the end and not defeated.

In the sparring my first two fights were with two of the women there, which was a little weird, especially having come from a club where that meant I would be defending only. My third fight, however, was with a chap called Jon-Jon, clearly quite experience and, although he was a little older and not so quick, he definitely landed a couple of punches. I was kept on my toes which is always good, and I was happy with my footwork in places, sidestepping round his guard to land a couple of cross-punches.

Also, I've gotten better at skipping.

A quiet night tonight, but tomorrow we'll probably head out to the open mic in town again so that should be cool.

Snow!

It snowed tonight while I was out round at Thom's house, so after getting back I took a couple of quick pictures to capture it before it gets driven over in the morning:

Yay, snow! 

Snowfall expected.

We've heard there's a snowstorm expected tonight which should bring 10 to 15 centimeters of snow. Exciting stuff, especially since I should be getting my ski pass tomorrow!

Last night Miguel managed to keep his lobster hands until 12, and then for another hour which earned him a drink from me, so that was pretty funny.
Going out in Canada, though, seems to be like going out in England about 2 years ago, as I discovered when in a club full of people going "we . are . your friends. You'll . never be alone again." and "put your hands up for Detroit", which was a little bit what going out was like in first year of uni. Some things do make it only hear a little bit after they come in England, as I regretfully found out when the DJ mixed in, "PaPa Americano" and I nearly just left straight away. I thought I'd lived through that little number quite enough after hearing it every second while at work at Christ's. Matt, Martin, I thought maybe I'd have gotten away from it by putting an ocean in between, but its followed me across the Atlantic to ruin clubs out here as well . . .

Miguel loses a bet.

A few of us went and played pool today at a place where it's free during the day, and during on game Miguel and I made a little wager. I won the game, and so now Miguel's fingers have been bound on each hand, and he has to stay like that until midnight tonight:

Let's see if he manages it.

Miguel Wins the bet.

Aven displayed very little in endurance or staying power and undid her hand-binding before the evening was over, and so Miguel won the bet. I was very disappointed in her for this. Ah well, to the victor the spoils.

This morning, thanks to us getting a T.V. upgrade, I've been watching Football (English football, mind) on Setanta sports, which has been nice. I must say Chelsea had an embarrassing game against Sunderland, and Everton were pretty upsetting against Arsenal. The Mersey-side boys are going to have to pull themselves together to avoid dropping into the relegation zone, I think.