So last week I began charging my phone at work. I know that sounds like a simple and an uneventful task but it’s made a difference in my life. Some of you are probably wondering why that’s a big deal. Well, there were two hurdles in my way at first. One was the lack of power outlets. The facility I’m in is woefully unprepared for the power requirements of a game studio. At my desk, I have enough power outlets for my lamp, PC, iMac, and two monitors. That’s it. There are no more outlets within a reasonable distance to where I sit. Second, you might be wondering why I don’t charge my phone via a USB cable. At most EA studios, especially in Burnaby, if you plug-in any USB device that has any kind of storage into your computer, the IT department is notified almost immediately. I’ve heard of stories where someone plugged in a USB key and less than a minute later, someone was at their desk. I thought the same restriction was at PopCap but I was told this wasn’t the case.
With nothing to stop me, I now juice up my phone all day via my USB connection. I used to get nervous on the commute into work and not use my phone too much as I’d be afraid the battery would run down before the end of the day. Not anymore. I’ll Internet to my heart’s content all day without any worry about a dead battery on the way home. Seeing the fully charged icon as I leave work is quite the satisfaction. Yeah man, good times.