tiredThe wedding reception took place at Petruzzello's Banquet and Conference Center in Troy, Michigan. It looked gorgeous on the inside -- flashy chandeliers, nice couches -- but didn't live up to the first impression. The service was variable, from quite good to moderately clumsy. Most of the food was merely edible (the main courses) to okay (the side dishes), though the ice cream was excellent. The first serious flaw was the sound system: it was so loud that it actually hurt my ears, and I wound up leaving the banquet room early. (My partner came back and told me when they turned the sound down somewhat, so I was able to go back in and get at least some food.) One shouldn't need earplugs at a banquet, and one should be able to converse at a normal voice level with other people at the table. The second serious flaw was that the banquet hall seemed to be the only smoke-free part of the building that was accessible. After abandoning the cacophany of the banquet hall, I found the formerly acceptable foyer/lounge area occupied by smokers who rendered the atmosphere unbreathable. Now, I have nothing against smoking indoors -- but I expect to have access to habitable space myself, and there just wasn't any.
It's not a venue I'd recommend, and if there's another family event there, I'll insist on being left somewhere decent instead of going back.
December 13 2007, 07:30:48 UTC 13 years ago
When I visit other states where indoor smoking is allowed, my contact lenses get all watery and bothersome and I feel like I can't breathe.
It's amazing how physically intolerant I've become of cigarette smoking considering my father smoked the entire time I was growing up. I have nothing against a person who wants to smoke, I just don't want to breathe it and my body protests if I even try.
I can't even sleep in a hotel room where a previous guest has smoked - the smell bothers me to the point where I cannot sleep.
December 13 2007, 16:51:57 UTC 13 years ago
I'm vehemently against the new Illinois law that will ban smoking in all publically accessible buildings even if privately owned. That's a very dangerous political and legal precedent, telling people what they can do on their own property; and it's a wickedly effective tactic to advance it by first applying it to an unpopular group. Sooner or later they'll apply that to something *I* do, and then I'll be even more unhappy. So I'm speaking up for smokers' rights now.
December 13 2007, 17:50:27 UTC 13 years ago