Christmas Party 2022

Today I went to the clinic’s Christmas party. It was held at the Mandarin in Vaughn, the neighborhood of my old work. It was nice to see some of the places I haven’t seen in over 3 years. Ekaterina provided me with a ride to the restaurant to save me the hassle of taking the bus. On the way there she accidently took the wrong ramp to Black Creek Drive and started heading south. A quick u-turn at Lawrence Ave. soon got us heading in the right direction. The little detour only delayed us a couple of minutes and we arrive right at noon.

Entering the restaurant we found out that we weren’t the first there when we noticed Simon waiting for us. I talked to the concierge and they showed us to a table they prepared for us in the back. We were the first people to be seated and waiting for the others to arrive. Pedro, Rosa and Giuliana were the next to arrive with Jessica arriving shortly later.

The Mandarin was a nice choice. The buffet style of eating allowed vegetarians and non-vegetarians to pick exactly like to eat. There was a large selection of food and it all looked fresh. I started with a small plate with appetizers including some shrimp, mushrooms, egg roll and pasta salad. The next plate was for the main course which included mixed beef, ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy. My third and final plate was for desert and I included several small items including Black Forest Cake, chocolate dipped marshmallow and some bacon that I missed on my first round. Even though I ate more than I usually do, I am glad that I was able to limit myself to just 3 small plates. In the past I would have had pigged out had several more. During the meal I drank water and had a virgin pina colada.

The conversations were lite and jovial and we finished up just after 2 p.m. and said our goodbyes at the restaurant entrance. The temperature had gotten colder since we arrived and the wind had picked up. Ekaterina took me home and I thanked her for the ride and proceeded to variety store for a Coke Zero and a mint Aero bar to help digestion. After the big meal I just wanted to rest and relax and had a quick nap.