To all my lifties

I've come to some realizations this season of being a lifty and here they are.

Things they don't teach you in training

1. No matter how warm you dress, if the temps don't reach above 10F you're going to be cold.  I have worn 2 pairs of base layer, long sleeves, t-shirt, fleece, and jacket and still froze my butt off.
2. Always, ALWAYS ration your food.  Unless of course you want to buy a ten dollar sandwich, and honestly, what lifty can afford that?  You may pack your whole fridge, but suddenly it's gone, and the day isn't even half over.  (This is especially important while working a mid or top station, when your job is watching chairs go by.)  "Oh crap, I just ate my sandwich, chips, apple, cheese, candy, cookies, orange, breakfast burrito, and your lunch and it's only 9:30!!!"
3. A pen, suspenders, Velcro, and garbage are suddenly the most entertaining things you currently possess.  (If you're lucky you have a dry erase marker and glass cleaner in your shack.)  Skills of self entertainment are (one of) the most important skills you can possess on a slow day.  I spent my Christmas entertaining myself with my suspenders for a solid 30 mins.  I then spent another 30 mins checking and rechecking all my pockets (I have about 12) for something else to entertain me.  (My pockets were empty.)
4. Those things that you do in the privacy of your home, those really weird things you do when not even your significant other is around, start to show up at work. (heads out of the gutter.  Pervert.)  I have caught myself making strange noises, talking to myself, dancing to the song "Maniac" even when the music isn't playing.  I'm not sure if this is everyone, or if I am just becoming more comfortable in my skin that I stopped caring about what I look like.
5. Music is a necessity!  Not optional!  Dance parties are part of the lifty lifestyle.  Especially solo dance parties that take place in a lift shack, while bumping chairs, checking tickets, ect.  The best dance parties have actual music playing.  Although some take place in silence.  I've been caught rocking out at the top of Tanaka, pens as drum sticks, the works, by numerous coaches and ski racers.  (The coaches find the humor in this, the ski racers do not.)

That's really all I have.  Good thing no one actually reads this, and if you do and you stopped by in hopes of a life update, I'm sorry to disappoint.  Not this time.