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This should have been a light day...
Oct. 13th, 2004 07:02 pmBut it didn't turn out that way, for some reason. Persnickety fate, perhaps.
The Motel 6 I ended up at last night turned out to be next to a Denny's, and since it had been a dog's age since I'd been to a Denny's, I went in for breakfast.
Quoting the screen persona of a certain governor of California, "Big. Mistake."
It took 40 minutes for the food to arrive, and in the end, I splashed coffee all over my fresh new white tee shirt, so the whole experience put me in a certain mood.
Upon leaving the hotel, I set out for the local Wal-Mart to acquire a case of inexpensive motor oil and maybe a tee or two. I ended up shopping at the Sam's Club that often can be found next to any given Wal-Mart, and got what I needed.
I finally hit the road around 9:30 am, in plenty of time to make it to Toronto, find my hotel, check in, freshen up, and get to the conference hotel.
Hitting the Mother of All Traffic Jams™ at the so-called "Bluewater" crossing from the U.S. into Canada ate two hours out of the day. The line of trucks was moving so slowly that I'm certain the guy I spoke with is probably still there. The rumor was that some kind of job action was under way on the Canadian side, but I didn't ask any questions as I went through passport control.
The distance given my mapquest was about 100 miles wrong, and on the short side. Given the overall length of the trip was given at 1750 miles or so, that's a little more than 5% off, but 100 miles is 100 miles. Plus the last 10 miles of the printout didn't correspond with the situation on the ground, as it were. I eventually got to the hotel and checked in with about 18 minutes to get changed, etc. and get myself down to the Sheraton for the opening reception.
I sort of kind of made it on time. Met a lot of old friends. Mingled. As opening receptions go, it was okay. I took my leave around 8 pm and walked back to my hotel, the Sutton something-or-other, where I sat down, got relaxed, and tried to get online. Dialing did nothing, which is to say that connections were made, just not where it counts (i.e., the modem). Activating the TV internet worked, but the interface is quite limited (it will not, for example, properly display the LJ home page, and I'm too tired to remember if there is a simplified version of that page). So, I called downstairs, asked them to cancel the charge, and inquired as to there being any internet places in the vicinity. It turns out there is at least one, a few hundred yards from the hotel on Yonge Street (the next block over). Membership is $5, which includes 90 minutes of connectivity (cheap, compared to other places I've been).
It's been a fairly full day. I need to get back to the room and get to sleep. The translation that's been hanging around my neck like an albatross needs to be put to bed tomorrow morning, since the conference will start to occupy all my time starting tomorrow afternoon.
Cheers...
The Motel 6 I ended up at last night turned out to be next to a Denny's, and since it had been a dog's age since I'd been to a Denny's, I went in for breakfast.
Quoting the screen persona of a certain governor of California, "Big. Mistake."
It took 40 minutes for the food to arrive, and in the end, I splashed coffee all over my fresh new white tee shirt, so the whole experience put me in a certain mood.
Upon leaving the hotel, I set out for the local Wal-Mart to acquire a case of inexpensive motor oil and maybe a tee or two. I ended up shopping at the Sam's Club that often can be found next to any given Wal-Mart, and got what I needed.
I finally hit the road around 9:30 am, in plenty of time to make it to Toronto, find my hotel, check in, freshen up, and get to the conference hotel.
Hitting the Mother of All Traffic Jams™ at the so-called "Bluewater" crossing from the U.S. into Canada ate two hours out of the day. The line of trucks was moving so slowly that I'm certain the guy I spoke with is probably still there. The rumor was that some kind of job action was under way on the Canadian side, but I didn't ask any questions as I went through passport control.
The distance given my mapquest was about 100 miles wrong, and on the short side. Given the overall length of the trip was given at 1750 miles or so, that's a little more than 5% off, but 100 miles is 100 miles. Plus the last 10 miles of the printout didn't correspond with the situation on the ground, as it were. I eventually got to the hotel and checked in with about 18 minutes to get changed, etc. and get myself down to the Sheraton for the opening reception.
I sort of kind of made it on time. Met a lot of old friends. Mingled. As opening receptions go, it was okay. I took my leave around 8 pm and walked back to my hotel, the Sutton something-or-other, where I sat down, got relaxed, and tried to get online. Dialing did nothing, which is to say that connections were made, just not where it counts (i.e., the modem). Activating the TV internet worked, but the interface is quite limited (it will not, for example, properly display the LJ home page, and I'm too tired to remember if there is a simplified version of that page). So, I called downstairs, asked them to cancel the charge, and inquired as to there being any internet places in the vicinity. It turns out there is at least one, a few hundred yards from the hotel on Yonge Street (the next block over). Membership is $5, which includes 90 minutes of connectivity (cheap, compared to other places I've been).
It's been a fairly full day. I need to get back to the room and get to sleep. The translation that's been hanging around my neck like an albatross needs to be put to bed tomorrow morning, since the conference will start to occupy all my time starting tomorrow afternoon.
Cheers...
