Isaac didn't win anything at the party - our friend Pat won a go at parasailing and Naomi won a heli skiing trip, which would be absolutely super if Naomi could ski well enough (she's a newbie) - and he came home complaining that he didn't like alcohol after all, but I think he had a good enough time.
I went skiing today with Isaac and Pat! Well they were snowboarding, but the visibility was virtually nil and I didn't want to spend the day falling over so I hired some nice skis - K2 Silencers - from our rentals department and had a brilliant day. It felt so good to get some speed up without panicking, so nice to be able to absorb whatever came up underfoot, even if I couldn't see it, and amazing to be able to rip down the blacks. It reminded me just how much I loved being on the snow, and how much fun it can be. I will carry on with my snowboarding, and I know I'll get better the more miles I do, but it's nice to know I can take time out of being a rookie and feel confident again.
We've had a bit of a run of bad luck with Jaffa though - the other night we went to start her up and she was dead as a dodo. Fortunately our friend Mark was over so he gave us a jump start and we drove around for half an hour or so before returning to our flat, switched it off and went to start it again - dead again. So yesterday morning I called the AA* - this being a small town, it was the same (English) guy who 'jumped me' a few weeks ago, as it were, when I had to replace one of the battery terminals. We got her started and we drove around for half an hour or so before going down to the AA garage to have the battery tested. It hadn't been doing its homework. We paid for a new battery to be fitted and went off, broke but happy.
Today she started first time and Isaac, Pat & I drove up to Cardrona. We parked at the bottom of the access road and hitched up with a crazy British lady who drove like The Stig. We had our stella afternoon and hitched back down the hill. I got a ride first, with a father & daughter from Brisbane, leaving Isaac & Pat to find another ride, and when I reached the bottom I went to get into Jaffa - there was a funny buzzing noise coming from the dashboard. I turned the key and there was nothing. Not a sausage, though the buzzing noise stopped. I turned the key back, the buzzing noise came back. Damn! I thought I'd call the AA again quickly, because the sooner I called the sooner they'd be there. I made the call but as I was talking to the woman who answered, I saw that by some bizarre coincidence, the AA van, with the same guy driving, was coming down the hill - I literally ran out in front of his car to get him to stop, and told the woman that the AA man was already there! He gave us another jump (I'm exhausted) and told us that the buzzing noise was one of the relays, which might need some attention, and might be what was draining the battery. I called up to work and told them I wouldn't be in early because I had to take Jaffa to the doctor's and got back in to drive off. I looked down and realised that the lights were on....yes I'd left the bloody lights on. What an idiot. Thank goodness for the AA! So hopefully she'll behave from now on.
*the Automobile Association, a breakdown service. Not Alcoholics Anonymous, who wouldn't necessarily know to bring jump leads.
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