Union Rules

Tuesday morning we left a 4 a.m. - yes 4 a.m. (anyone who knows me knows how wrong that is) - to meet up with Q's sister and her family and head out to Rochester. Tuesday is also garbage day, so I put the green bin and recycling bins out on the lawn. Like everyone else in Toronto, we have a huge problem with raccoons and green bins full of food waste. Consequently I went out to Home Hardware months ago and bought some Raccoon Check strips to securely fasten the lids down. They are a simple and effective solution - just a nylon strip with backpack type clips on either end. Push ends together and it clips. Squeeze the clips and it releases. Raccoons can't figure it out, and apparently neither can garbage men. Seeing as it was an ungodly 4 in the morning, the coons would still be out so I elected not to undo the straps as I would usually do just before leaving for work. Well imagine my surprise when I got home today to find the green bin still closed and full. I guess undoing raccoon straps isn't in the union contract and therefore the lazy fucks don't have to do it. Seriously fucking ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculous - Q's sister makes this annual trek to Rochester to do some back to school shopping with her kids and this year we decided to tag along. They leave at 4 in the morning (did I mention that already?) so they can beat the traffic. While that may seem logical, it also makes for a very long, exhausting day - which is made worse by the fact that you are forced to spend time in the mall (which I normally wouldn't mind under different circumstances) and can't nap or even rest because check in isn't until 3:00. I was just a tad grumpy by 4:00 p.m. and needed some rest to become civil again.

Our dinners were spent at Bugaboo Creek Steak House, which Q kept accidentally calling Jigaboo Creek the entire time. It's a "Canadian influenced steak house" - which was a new one for me. Of course that translates into the entire restaurant being decorated like a log cabin, complete with moose antler chandeliers, a Mountie statue at the door, and dead animals all over the walls, including a bison head that came alive every 20 min and talked. Either that or the shrooms I ordered as a side dish were kick ass. If you ever find yourself there, order the ribs. Best I've had in ages. Better than any I've had in Canada.

Trip was fun overall though. We stayed outside of Rochester - not actually in Rochester as we wanted to come home alive and with all our belongings. Hit a couple of malls and got a few deals. If we go next year, we'll just meet them down there or go the night before. I don't do early well. It makes me a spinner.