Friday: Wake up at 7. Dead tired as night before did group work at uni till 10pm after clinic for 7.5 hours - ARGH! Expect to be picked up at 0730hrs - end up having to wait 45 mins and didn't really have a clue where they were. Get picked up by aunty to wait at my cousin's house. Shortly after, cousin & gf arrive. We're off. Stopover at Brown Brothers for lunch - bit early at 1130hrs and kitchen only opens at 12pm. Head off to free wine tasting. Just sip some wine and thinking it's a wee early for alcohol on a Friday AM, but do it anyway. Moscato is yummeh. Sit down for lunch. Order a trout salad - pricy but comes with more wine. Trout salad is AMAZING until I come across a little dead mosquito at the bottom of the pile. Notify waitress. She apologises and offers either complementary wine or dessert. Of course, I pick dessert - a chocolate plate. But guess what? It comes with another lot of wine. We end up leaving the table with about six half-full wine glasses! Another two hours and we're at Ray's Ski Hire where we get the chains and I end up spending $59 on OTG goggles. Bit annoyed I splurged that much, but then realise it's Japanese branded so somewhat OK about it. After the windy road up the top, I realise we didn't even need to use the chains. Road wasn't even that snowy. Either way still excited. We check-in to our rooms - basic but good enough. Off to the rental store to grab our boards and boots. Have home-cooked dinner in absolute silence. Awkward. Cousin turns off lights earlyish - I don't know what to do? Go to sleep? But I don't want to yet. Watch TV but there's nothing on...can't stay awake for the midnight game between Paraguay vs Spain

Saturday: Awake 0830hrs for 10am board lesson. Am the first to wake so get ready. Notice it is very sunny outside and blue skies above. Have raisin bread with jam for brekkie. By the time we get gear on, we realise we can't make the 10am class. We have 2hrs to burn. Ride the chairlift up and awesome feeling - wouldn't mind just riding it back and forth. Take in the view and take photos. Camwhore a bit. Whilst waiting for class, try one-footed glides. Slippery. 12pm finally comes round. Class is not exactly private. Glad I'm not the only one noob. I realise why does my upper and lower body feel so segmented and unco-ordinated? and why can't the Magic Carpet go a bit faster?. Once class finishes, head back to lodge for lunch. At about 3pm head back up to practice more. Prefer my heel side much more than toe side. Take more than my fair share of tumbles. Meet Jaz, a 14 y.o. girl from Traralgon who FOOSH and screamed out in pain so I came to help her. Had a look at her wrist and think it's either a fracture or sprain. Calm her down and settle her - she thanks me. Sun sets fairly early around 4:30pm so head back. Home-cooked dinner again - play the tasting test with Veron's potato & leek soup. I failed. Watched Ratatouille and Moonbreaker before the first half of the Netherlands vs Brazil match. Can barely keep awake.

Sunday: Alarm at 0800hrs goes off. Terribly tired. Sunny again outside but it's melting all that precious snow! Breakfast is English muffin with baked beans - nom! Decide we will not attend Lvl 2 class this AM as we really would have no hope if yet to master Lvl 1...decide to just practice. Hear my name called out and it's Jaz from y'day with her mum. She is now in a broad arm sling and her mum tells me she fractured her scaphoid! Says I am welcomed down at Traralgon if I happen to visit there...ask cousin to take a photo of Jaz and I - ha! My cousin's gf also goes down with a little injury - an old meniscal injury aggravated. I tell her to ice it so we make a blob of snow and plop it on HA! She can't FWB through her left side and I think McMurry's is +ve. ANYWAY, return gear at like lunchtime. Eat steak sandwich and it comes to about #20 with orange juice & side chips. Ugh! Leave at around 3.30ish and it takes FOREVER to get back to Melbourne. Sigh. Am aching all over the place and struggle to stay awake in the car. Finally in the city - eat at Won Ton House for dinner. Am just wanting to get home by now 'cos a bit over it. Finally home at 9.45pm and glad to be back :p