State of the Sink

I have to wonder what's up with sink stoppers.

I mean, are we really at state of the art here? I'm in a very nice Hilton. And, if i haven't mentioned, I love the Hilton chain. I love them better pretty much with every stay, which is saying something. They work hard to give me everything I need to make it bearable for me to be on the road so much. So, (nod to Penelope Trunk and her promo links), here's the free promo, Hilton. Full disclosure: I'm a Hilton gold member, which just makes it all the better. Nothing like a premier program that really makes you feel special and gives you perks you actually want to have.

But the damn sink stopper doesn't work. I don't lay this at the hotel's feet. Were I filling out the survey, I'd have to say, no, I didn't report the problem and therefore gave them no opportunity to fix it. Because I've grown tired and jaded and have reported this problem at multiple hotels in multiple cities in the past and they maybe don't fix it or maybe fix it and it breaks again immediately. In fact, I get so disappointed when the sink stopper seems to be fixed and then gives way, that I'd rather not have my hopes raised.

I know this sounds silly. But I wear contact lenses, the non-disposable, semi-soft, oxygen permeable kind. Which means they cost $150 each. I don't mind this, because they last for years. As long as I don't lose them. Like, down the drain, for instance.

No, I don't want to have LASIC -- I see better with my contacts than EVERY person I know who's had any kind of vision-correcting laser surgery. Color me deeply unconvinced. Let me keep my contacts and let me not wash them down the drain while cleaning them for the night.

Here, I am, in my lovely hotel room, with my Kindle 2, my Blackberry Storm, my Dell Latitude laptop and my Heys plastic luggage. Oh, and my new laptop bag. All pretty much state-of-the-art technology, at least for a luddite like me. But the sink stopper construction is the same technology that's been in use for, near as I can figure, the last 40-50 years. The same that I've been crawling under sinks and adjusting for my entire contact-lens-wearing life (which is 32 years now, for those keeping count). Did all the plumbers gather together, decide rubber stoppers were passe and the stick/pulley design could never be improved? Am I traveling with a plastic drain screen because I'm the only one who has a stake in whether the sink will seal?

Yeah, yeah, I know -- everyone else has had LASIC.