Turkish Delight

Friday morning, I arrived at my office around 10:30 since I was officially on vacation and only here for the Christmas lunch. But compared to the May visit, when everyone was in to meet with people from the new parent company, the place was empty. There was one salesperson troubleshooting for a corporate client. It turned out most people would be heading straight to the restaurant from home. This was one reason why some folks questioned why we signed another lease instead of downsizing to a smaller location because everyone worked remotely.

Mangal Kebab House was a large restaurant in a strip mall near Warden and Ellesmere. Given there were 10 of us, we ordered a large platter ($155) and a smaller one ($80) of grilled meat called Karışık Izgara. There were also a spinach pide called Ispanakli ($20), a Sucuklu or sausage pide ($23), and Karides Tava which was a plate of pan-fried shrimp ($28). It was a tasty and very full lunch though the flavour wasn't exceptional. The grilled meat wasn't better than Laheeb in Ottawa and the pide were worse than Pizza Pide.

It was nice catching up to people I haven't seen in person for a few years, and to meet new employees. One talked about their son graduating from university; having adult children when they were only in their early 40s seemed like a throwback to the last century. Another was back in town visiting family after moving to the U.S. a month ago. They had recently divorced (I was surprised finding out in May that they were married given their young age) and it was the spouse who wanted to relocate to Colorado. They decided to go ahead with the move anyway, not just for a fresh start but they were also an avid camper and skier. 

I got a lift back to my rental from a new hire. It turned out they grew up near the restaurant in the Victoria Park area but currently lived in Ottawa. If they pass the probationary period, they planned on moving to Calgary. First, Ottawa wasn't much cheaper than Toronto. Second, their parents were already in Edmonton for the same cost-saving reason. Finally, their friends have all left Toronto either to save money (Montreal) or to pursue acting careers (L.A., NYC).

Whether it was their young age or passion but they were keener than I am about technology. Outside of work, they collaborated on numerous side projects including game development, malware detection, and a verification platform for landlord and tenant. I told them they might have to look into disclosing these work to prevent the company from claiming ownership through their employee contract.

Upon arrival at my airBnB, they asked me if we were in Etobicoke because of the nice houses. I remembered that given the size of Toronto, some people have never ventured much into the West-end (or East-end). Gritty Bloordale was very different from the lawn and bungalow of Etobicoke.