#248 - Margaritas and Guac

I really wanted to stay in bed this morning when that 7 AM alarm went off.

There were a few moments when I contemplated using one of my Personal Days, but eventually I relented.

I gave myself an extra twenty minutes and that seemed to be enough to get my ass out of bed and start my day. It’s looking like it will a hot one today, so I opted for a light golf shirt and shorts. The city can get hot and sometimes there isn’t a breeze to cool you down.

And there is all that concrete!

The ride to the train was very busy. Traffic was backed up enough that I started to consider other routes. Turns out there was a minivan with it’s hazard lights on sitting in my lane.

Even past that, the lane to turn onto the road to get to the station was plagued by construction teams unloading large drainage pipes. I opted to drive past it, make a U-turn and come back at it the other way. Probably saved a good ten minutes doing that and good thing too!

The train was about ten minutes out by the time I got to the platform. I could fell the heat of the day on my forearms. People say you can’t feel UV, but my forearms have been detecting high UV for all my life, and I don’t even have to look to know its going to be a High UV day.

So, cover up out there.

I brought my folding baseball cap in my bag for just such an occasion.

Someone got on the train with a scent that nearly yanked all the hairs out of my nose.

I can only describe it as burnt champagne. Sweet and acrid. Like burning chemicals, it lingered in my nose. If the scent had a volume setting it was set all the way to eleven.

I skipped having any breakfast this morning because of last night’s Rosie’s burger. I am still full and I don’t think I’ll make a stop for my breakfast sandwich either. There’s a good chance people will want to go out for lunch as it will be their last day at the company.

I didn’t bring a lunch for that reason.

I’m hoping the city isn’t too busy with all the FIFA games happening soon. I’ve marked my calendar with all the local games, so I don’t coe into the city on those days.These trains are busy enough as it is. But even so, the summer tourist season is upon us, and the kids are out of college and university, with the grade schools out soon. The city will swell with people out looking for a good time.

It is nice to see the bars and restaurants with their patios full of happy people.

I miss that aspect of living in Niagara and meeting my friends for a pint. They were good times. But like Toronto, Niagara swells with tourists in the nice weather and driving there is a nightmare for me. But that is the price we have to pay to see our mates these days.

I would be nice to meet with friends at the end of my workday in Toronto. There are so many good places to go, but I always make a beeline to get home and there isn’t anyone to go for a pint with here in town. But I can dream.

I guess it’s a sad state of the animation industry that we only tend to grab a beer with each other when one of us is never coming back again.

The train I am on is standing room only again. I got onto an all-stops since I wasn’t in so much of a hurry to get to the studio. I initially or subconsciously wrote “I wasn’t in so much of a hurray!” Both statements are true!

The walk to work was great, the weather was warm but not overly so, and because I was half an hour later than usual the pedestrian traffic wasn’t as bad. I arrived at work to find four people who work on my show already there. I was the only one from my department who came in.

I suspected there would be a farewell lunch today for at least one of my co-workers who was leaving the company on Friday. Instead, plans were made to go to a Mexican restaurant in the Distillery District afterwork that had a large patio with misters to keep us cool. It’s a place I always wanted to try but never had the opportunity to try. So, I was in just for the experience.

I can’t count how many of the 3D team came by searching for snacks only to be disappointed. Our snack fairy wasn’t at the studio today and I think there were a lot rumbling tummies. Someone suggested that they buy their own snacks at the convenience store, but we all know free snacks taste the best.

I spent the day doing revisions on other people’s work. These were paintings that really need to some extra attention. You get one or two of these per episode when you don’t get designs for the location in time.

But to be honest, I enjoyed doing the work with no one around to distract me and thankfully there weren’t too many Teams messages either.

I didn’t bring a lunch with me today. See above.

There is a little convenience store around the corner that sell turkey and roast beef sandwiches, so I popped out to grab one. It wasn’t a great turkey sandwich, but it wasn’t the worst I’ve ever had either. For the price it was acceptable.

I thought it might be nice to eat outside, but I took it indoors, grabbed my can of Dr. Pepper out of the fridge and joined three colleagues at a small round table. One of them was the one who was leaving on Friday, and it seemed like a good choice to share a meal with them.

I came back to my desk after lunch with revisions on my revision and dove into them with a renewed vigor. The day went fast and I felt good just getting work done and checking off boxes. Another one completed.

By five, we got ready to leave the studio and walked to the Distillery District. The restaurant went by the name El Catrin Destileria and featured giant black scones the size of dinner table hovering overhead. Mister doused us in a refreshing cloud as we were seated. It had a substanstial patio and the vibe was great.

We ordered a flight of four Margaritta’s and some guac and chips.

They brought out a bowl and prepared the guacamole right at our table. The tortilla chips were thick and fresh. And it tasted better than any store bought guac I had ever tried.

The margarita’s arrived on a wooden platter. An original, a strawberry, a passion fruit and a pineapple. I got a pineapple to start and was happy with my choice.

We chatted about all kinds of things, sometimes reminiscing and the topic of what was coming next had to come up. Two of four people at the table would be gone as of Friday. But it was a jovial time and I was glad to have taken the time to spend with them all.

We ordered another round of margaritas, and I got the strawberry one this time. It was good but I preferred the pineapple offering. I ordered a dish that had some chicharon and was cautioned that it was spicy. The ladies at the table declined, one didn’t eat beef so not really a surprise. I shared it with the other fellow with us and we enjoyed it. The meat was delicious and eventually it became more and more spicy, to the point where I was sweating from the food and not from the heat. The strawberry margarita did it’s best to quell the fires raging in my mouth.

Eventually, we had to call it quits as the others had previous engagements and kids to get home to. I walked with my friends until we came to the street where I had to turn, said our goodbyes and parted. I made my way to the train station, while the other two headed to the parking garage to get the car and investigate the smell of a dead body they had said they noticed this morning when arriving. I was fine to have missed that part of the evening.

There weren’t any express trains running at this time of the evening, so I sat and waited for about fifteen minutes for a train to arrive. Not too long to wait really.

The volume of passengers was significantly less this time of day and I got a seat without any issues. I fired up my laptop and got to writing since I hadn’t managed to get any done during my lunch hour. And since it was an all-stop train, I had plenty of time to let me fingers tinkle the keys.

The privacy screen is working like a charm, just like I hoped it would.

I can see that my absence from the household has triggered kiddo #2 to corner my wife and get some one-on-one time. No doubt he has her driving him here and there and getting him this or that. I don’t think she’ll get any peace and quiet until I get home and then she has to deal with me.

Poor thing.

Tomorrow, we have a studio party at four thirty in the kitchen for our departing President. One of the original founders is supposed to be coming back to attend. I know the two of them have lunch planned for that day as well.

Company booze isn’t the best booze, but it is the cheapest. They are likely to have some snacks and food things there as well. It will be nice to end the day with a little social gathering and spend some time with the team just being humans and not busy worker bees.

Arriving home later than usual, the traffic driving from the station to home was less than I am used to. It made the drive enjoyable.

I went out to the backyard with Robyn, and we sat and caught up on each other’s day. I went to tour our garden, and Robyn planted some extra flowers we had left over into a pot. It was a great night to sit out on the back deck and enjoy our space. The flowers are clearly enjoying the warmer weather, particularly the begonias, which seem to have plumped up considerably in the last twenty-four hours.

After sitting for a little while longer, we headed upstairs to watch a show. We put on something new, as there were no new episodes of our current shows to watch. Netflix had a new series out that the Duffer Brothers of Stranger Things fame had something to do with. The show is called ‘The Burroughs,’ and stars Alfred Molina, Geena Davis and Bill Pullman.

It has a fifties retro-feel and is science fiction. There was some sort of monster type thing in the first episode anyway. The Burroughs is a place for people nearing the end stages of their lives and is in some way a special place. Which, I assume, they will divulge as the series continues.

They’ve had some good scenes so far and the interaction between characters is enjoyable to watch. I think we’ll give this series a chance to grow on us.

It’s ten thirty and I’ve just taken my sleep meds.

And I just remembered that I haven’t played a game of chess today! Almost let that streak go cold!

Time for a quick game and then off to bed to get a good night’s sleep.

Until tomorrow.