As some of you may recall, my MIND WAS BLOWN a few years back when the Edmonton Public Library tweeted me about a book called Ultimate Porno. Since then, I like to think I'm hip to the ways of the internet and their ability to comment on experiences I've made public, yet still consider somehow to be private - but sometimes, the magic of the internet still surprises and thrills me.
Behold.
I posted last week about MY AWESOME BIRTHDAY TRIP and how it was awesome. I also briefly mentioned the annoying frat kids in the pool...but only briefly, because the rest of the weekend deserved a lot more attention.
While I devoted very little copy space to the frat kids in my blog post, I spent a lot more time on it in my Trip Advisor review, which I faithfully wrote upon our return. Here is the paragraph in question if you're too lazy to click:
My ONLY complaint had nothing to do with the hotel itself - a huge group of rowdy, heavily drinking fraternity kids from Seattle were at the hotel preparing for a booze cruise (because the drinking age in BC is only 19! Wooo! Chug chug chug! OMG, I'm gonna barf!) and they completely took over the outdoor pool and hot tub for a few hours, making it uncomfortable for the few guests (us, another couple) who were there for a quiet swim and who really really wanted a few minutes in the hot tub. Hotel security came out at one point to tell them no alcohol at the pool, but that just made them sneakier.
Again, totally not the hotel's fault that their pool was invaded by Girls Gone Wild: Vancouver Edition, but it was still annoying.
I LOVE Trip Advisor - for months before Katr and I go anywhere, we spend untold hours perusing the Trip Advisor reviews for every juicy detail (good or bad) about where we might be headed. Because I appreciate reading good, detailed reviews, I try to write detailed reviews as well - it's my way of giving back.
A couple of days ago, Katr got a voicemail on her cellphone from someone at the Pan Pacific, apologizing for the "Ladies...I tentatively use that term" in the pool on the weekend and asking if Katr would please call her back. Baffled, Katr turned to me.
Katr: How did they know about that?
Me: Ooooh. Well...probably from my Trip Advisor review.
Katr: But how did they figure out to call ME?
Me: Ooooh. Because our room was great? And I included the room number in the review? So that other travellers might experience the room 1910 glory?
Katr: I see.
Katr suggested that *I* call the Pan Pacific back, since I was the one who *started it*. And that's how I ended up talking to KaPo at the Pan Pacific, who was HILARIOUS.
I got the full scoop on the frat kids - how, after their booze cruise, they managed to break a glass in the pool, which meant the hotel had to drain the pool. Those asshats ruined swimming for EVERYONE! We commiserated over how, in our day, we wouldn't have been staying at 5-star hotels for our teen drunk fests - we'd just go to our local "swimming hole". I also laughed (she didn't) over the previous Trip Advisor review of the Pan Pacific, which is entitled "I slept in someone else's vomit". Frat kids strike again!
Then she offered Katr and I passes to the Pan Pacific's mostly-weekly Opera Buffet, which sounds divine. Thanks, Pan Pacific! We are always ready for hot opera action.
It's funny - I sometimes feel like I missed out on those carefree days of drunken Spring Break-style buffoonery that seem to be a common element in most people's lives. But then I remember that even as a young person, I was a huge square. And I feel very fortunate to have found a lot of other squares to hang out with. Thanks, fellow squares!
