THE WEEK THAT WAS

So last week was the first full week that the skate team spent working out in Burnaby. After the first week, here are my thoughts.

First, I get the feeling everyone is getting a handle on the commute. No one is really late and I haven’t heard too many complaints, except about the lack of signage in the underground parkade. Personally, having the shuttle bus run from the Skytrain station right to EA has made my commute much easier. I’d always have trouble getting into the studio before 10am. Now, I’m always there at 10am or before.

Food-wise, I’m still getting used to the cafeteria. There’s a plethora of choices every day. In fact, if you count the smaller cafe in Phase II, there’s actually two places to get lunch on a daily basis, each with its own menu. People complain about the cafeteria but honestly, there’s so much to choose from every single day. Last week, I went out three times for lunch. Once for pho, at the exact same location I used to get pho when I was a games tester. It was surreal and a bit of deja vu at the same time. As if it was a previous life that I had lived. I also lunched at Swiss Chalet just off the Lougheed Highway. Man, I love me some Chalet chicken. It was so good. The lunch outing consisted of Sushi Town out on Hastings Street. I heard so many good things about it but it turned out to be a real disappointment. The service is bad, the tea was cold, and food was pedestrian. I admit it appears they give you a large portion of sashimi when you order it but that’s the only positive I could find.

Back at the studio, we’re still working out the minor details in our space. Our Flavia drink machines didn’t come over with us, so it sucks not having our usual selection of teas and coffees. We do have a Starbucks coffee machine, that is until it broke after the second day. So now on the entire floor, there’s no where to get coffee or a decent cup of warm water.

It’s a bit of a longer walk now to the washrooms and kitchen areas. What I don’t like is having to walk behind people’s desks to get to those places. Unfortunately, there’s no other way to do it. On our old floor, there was a continuous ring that was a common walk space. There was always a wall to separate the foot traffic from people working nearby. This isn’t the case now, so I try to walk as far away from the desks as possible to give as much privacy as I can. This won’t change and I feel really lucky no one can constantly look at what I’m doing on my computer.

The last team from Black Box is moving this coming weekend. Once that happens, we’ll all be one big happy family again. From there, I hope our little studio can once again define our unique culture.