I woke up before 8am this morning because I needed to be at work at a specific time for my orientation. No one wants to be late on their first day, so I left myself with plenty of time. I can’t remember the last time I was awake before 8am. Actually, it was probably just over a year ago when I had my first day at PopCap. I had to be there at 9am to start my on-boarding with the office manager Linda. I never arrived at work that early ever again after that first day.
Back to the present however. So my first day was pretty standard. I’ve had my fair share of first days now, for better or worse. I signed a whole lot of forms. I met a whole lot of people whose names I forgot right away. I got slightly confused by some of the layout on one of the floors. I got dropped off at my desk and fiddled with my computer to get it the way I like it. I started reading a whole bunch of documents that only partially make sense to me right now. So yeah, all in all, that’s what I expected.
I also was shown where all the bathrooms were in the studio. Now most people won’t admit to this but every new employee, no matter where they start work, tries to figure out where the best place to poop at work. It’s true and you know it. I used to think I was the only one but I was dumb to think that. Case in point, my last place of employment. After PopCap was shutdown, we were all at the bar and I guess there wasn’t a lot of reason to be discreet about some things anymore. The alcohol might have helped too. Anyways, people were saying very candid things about the studio and some of our co-workers. One topic that came up was where was your favourite place to poop. It caught me off guard because so many people had favourite bathrooms to do their business. We were located in a building that had a lot of options. Apparently a lot of people used the bathroom on the fourth floor because it didn’t have a lot of tenants and it had a large handicapped stall. My own favourite was a restaurant bathroom that was located in the office building. I was able to get access to the bathroom via a shared staircase, which allowed me to not have to go through the restaurant itself. This bathroom was really nice. A big stall, modern fixtures, music on speakers, and almost deserted in the mornings when the restaurant was closed to the public (and when I usually did my business).
Today though, I was kinda dismayed by what I saw. There are three men’s bathrooms that I saw. None of them at first glance seem to be a clear-cut winner. It may take me a few days to figure out if there’s some hidden gem somewhere in the building that no one has told me about. I hope there is one. I may even discreetly ask around if there’s an unspoken secret location.
For all of you who have a favourite private spot, appreciate what you have!