The Lap of Luxury
Jul. 31st, 2012 12:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deaneI spent last week with my folks then on Sunday caught a bus to Toronto. I'm working out of the office there for three days before heading back home. Haven't been here in four years so it seemed like it was high time for some face-to-face with my co-workers. It also gives me a chance to visit with my friends in Toronto without having to tie up my mother's car and spend hours driving to and from the city.
The hotel I'm at in downtown Toronto is quite nice. My room has en-suite washer, dryer, dishwasher, fridge, hotplate and, most important of all, free high-speed internet. The company was too cheap to spring for my flights, but two of my bosses did a bit of arm wrestling with upper management and pried loose enough budget to cover my hotel and living expenses for three days. So that's nice.
Oddly, although there is a two burner hotplate in the room, there are no pots to use on it. And while the cutlery drawer contains an egg lifter, there is no frying pan to use it with. No doubt the hotel would provide me pots and pans if I asked, but it just seems a bit odd, as if the kitchen has been outfitted by aliens who have studied the habits of earthlings without quite grasping all the subtleties.
The time with my folks was enjoyable but a bit tiring. It was my brother's birthday and both he and I wanted my mother's stuffed spare ribs. Large dinners are getting to be difficult for my Mom to handle, so I offered to do all of the preparation, cooking and cleanup, with her supervising. In the end I think I only managed to do about 60% of the work, but that was still enough for me to get a good understanding of just how exhausting it can be. Especially in the last half hour or so when you're trying to get all of the elements of the meal to come together at the same time.
Nor did I do myself any favours by staying up waaaay too late playing minecraft a couple of nights. Ah well, it wouldn't be a true vacation without a touch of sleep deprivation.
The hotel I'm at in downtown Toronto is quite nice. My room has en-suite washer, dryer, dishwasher, fridge, hotplate and, most important of all, free high-speed internet. The company was too cheap to spring for my flights, but two of my bosses did a bit of arm wrestling with upper management and pried loose enough budget to cover my hotel and living expenses for three days. So that's nice.
Oddly, although there is a two burner hotplate in the room, there are no pots to use on it. And while the cutlery drawer contains an egg lifter, there is no frying pan to use it with. No doubt the hotel would provide me pots and pans if I asked, but it just seems a bit odd, as if the kitchen has been outfitted by aliens who have studied the habits of earthlings without quite grasping all the subtleties.
The time with my folks was enjoyable but a bit tiring. It was my brother's birthday and both he and I wanted my mother's stuffed spare ribs. Large dinners are getting to be difficult for my Mom to handle, so I offered to do all of the preparation, cooking and cleanup, with her supervising. In the end I think I only managed to do about 60% of the work, but that was still enough for me to get a good understanding of just how exhausting it can be. Especially in the last half hour or so when you're trying to get all of the elements of the meal to come together at the same time.
Nor did I do myself any favours by staying up waaaay too late playing minecraft a couple of nights. Ah well, it wouldn't be a true vacation without a touch of sleep deprivation.
