our night in a real hotel

On New Year’s Eve, Stef and I got the distinct privilege of staying in a hotel. You read right. We stayed in a real hotel.

We received a gift from a very generous someone who told us that we had to spend this sum of money that she donated on ourselves. So, we chose to stay in the Milpark Garden Court Hotel for one night.

(This gift contributed to a growing number of people who tell us that we can’t give their gifts away. You people are getting clever.)

I cannot begin to tell you how cool it was. We felt like 8-year-olds staying at Embassy Suites for the first time.

As opposed to being trapped in our room all day, we laid out by the hotel pool, enjoying sun and a sense of freedom.

Instead of showering with the roaches of the Mission House, we showered in a proper, functioning, clean shower with plenty of hot water.

Where we usually watched whatever fuzzy nonsense was on our TV (in whichever language it happened to be broadcast in), we were spoiled with 20 crystal-clear channels, including CNN, Discovery, and 7 (seven!!) Sports Stations.

As opposed to sleeping in our bed that is graciously described as having the shape of an inverted camel (instead of a hump, we have a huge dip right down the middle), we slept in a pristine white, clean, comfy, and (oh so) firm bed.

Instead of waking to the prayers of Muslims next door or to the squawking of birds, we slowly woke to find the New York/Times Square New Years celebration happening before us on our aforementioned TV.

And where we usually we slap some peanut butter on a piece of bread and call it a balanced breakfast, we were treated to a breakfast buffet, complete with eggs, toast, bacon, coffee, and fruit.

To say the least, it was a very good start to our 2008.