Month: August 2020

So on Wednesday, I did actually go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. I normally get my teeth cleaned on a Saturday. It’s usually very busy, with many people in the waiting room. The schedules are all off, so even if I show up on time, I still wind up having to wait up to 15 minutes before I’m actually brought to a chair.

Maybe it was because it was a Wednesday afternoon or perhaps we’re in a pandemic now but when I arrived on time, there was no one else in the waiting area. I was seen immediately. I have to mention that I was made to sign a waiver when I arrived. It basically stated that I recognized that it was a risk coming to get dental care and that I attest that I was not sick, did not have any symptoms, and had not been around people that had tested positive. So even the clinic knew that getting dental care would put yourself at some risk and they wanted you to realize and acknowledge it. I signed it but I will admit I hesitated ever so slightly before doing so.

The dental assistant that did most of my cleaning looked pretty much the same as before in terms of PPE, except that she had a full face shield on, which was new. As far as the actual cleaning went, it went smoothly and she did a great job. I have to say, this particular dental assistant made me feel comfortable during the whole procedure. She did my cleaning the last time as well.

Of course, I did not forget for one moment that my cleaning was done while we are living in exceptional circumstances. This particular clinic does not have individual treatment rooms. Instead, it’s more like an open office environment, where large and tall shelves that hold all the equipment separate the treatment areas. You can hear other patients talking to their own dental assistants and dentists. More importantly, everyone is breathing in and out the same air. Air can freely mix from one treatment area to another.

The entire time I had my mouth open, I was wondering, how many aerosolized particles from other people’s mouths are getting into my own mouth and nose?

After the cleaning was done and while I still sitting in the chair, they pushed me to book my next cleaning. In my case, they wanted me to come in four months from now instead of the regular six. This is because I probably should get more frequent cleaning because of some potential gum problems. I told them I’d phone them later to tell them what day I would be free but they wouldn’t accept that. They made to choose a day right then and there. I said yes to some random day in December but the latest WHO guidance is very much still in my mind. What I just went in for is something they discourage given what is going on.

There is some speculation with the latest modeling that this fall is could be a very bad for public health and if that’s the case, I wouldn’t hesitate to cancel my appointment if things take a turn for the worse. In this province, with the way that young people are screwing things up for the rest of us, it’s looking pretty grim.

I have subsequently talked to someone else about dental visits during the pandemic and they said their clinic had individual treatments rooms with actual walls and each room had a large, medical grade air filter. That sounds way more safe that my clinic. Maybe the key is to switch to that clinic?

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As I wrote in an earlier post, I was scheduled to (briefly) return to work so that I could pick up my personal items and possibly a new chair for my work from home setup. That excursion to the studio was completed and I can now describe the experience.

I originally thought it would feel surreal going back to the studio but that wasn’t what I felt at all. As soon as I parked and took the elevator up to the main lobby, everything seemed quite familiar and comfortable, even if there had been many changes since I was last there.

In the lobby, there were desks set up, manned by facilities staff, all behind plexiglass, ready to check people in and out. I had to check-in, so that they could keep track of who was at the studio and at what time. I was given the option to take as many empty boxes as I needed and a cart if necessary. I knew I didn’t have a ton of stuff to take home, so I only took a single box, without a cart.

With my box in hand, I began walking through the studio. I immediately noticed that were signs and arrows on the floor everywhere. The signs said to give everyone space and masks were required inside the studio. The arrows were like any of the arrows you’ve seen at stores, trying to get people to move in a certain direction.

There were lots of signs placed on chairs were people used to sit, basically informing people not to sit there anymore. The lobby arcade was shut down, with the machines unplugged. Our main coffee shop was also shut down, with no one there.

I then passed by the cafeteria. It was closed and it seemed like some of the equipment had been moved out or packed away. All the chairs, benches, and tables were re-arranged in a way to prevent people from using them.

Going past the cafeteria, I had to use a stairwell and it was there I realized that they had designated some stairwells as going up only and some as going down only. They didn’t do a good job of labeling the stairwells as such though. There was no signage on the doors of the stairwells letting you know what direction it was going in, so it was kinda confusing at first.

It was at this point I noticed that many of the walls had been re-done with new graphics during the five months that I was away. It’s a shame that everyone is at home now because the studio does look a bit sharper with the new looks.

I also became aware of how many people were actually working at the studio. While it was definitely very empty compared to pre-pandemic times, it was not the complete ghost town that I expected. Obviously there was staff to process the people coming in to pick up stuff. There was also security present. I was, however, surprised to see lots of janitorial staff. The washrooms were all still being cleaned and such.

I also saw some people who were at their desks, doing actual work related to game development. I don’t know what their job function is that EA would have extended them the option to come back into the studio to do their work. I’m guessing some of them might be QA who need to physically be around multiple dev/test kits to do certain types of testing in a reasonable manner. Though, I swear I saw a designer while I was there. Not sure why they were there.

Anyways, what was a bit of a shock was seeing my desk. About five months ago, I left work on a Tuesday I believe, and I had no idea that I wouldn’t be coming back for almost half a year. My desk was pretty much the same as I had left it. A few things under my desk had been moved around as IT had to install some equipment to allow us to power cycle our workstation and dev kits over the Internet. Otherwise, it was my desk, frozen in time from five months ago.

It took me only ten minutes or so to pack up all my stuff. I didn’t really have a lot to bring back. I had to dump some cookies I had left in a Tupperware container. I also threw out some stuff I didn’t need anymore and recycled some papers. Everything indeed fit into the one box I brought from the lobby. It wasn’t all that heavy either, so I didn’t need a cart to bring it to my car.

In the end, I decided not to pack up my desk chair at work to bring it home. It was just a bit too bulky and inconvenient for me to get it into my car. For all the trouble it would have been, it would not have given me that much benefit.

So, I brought my box of stuff back down to the lobby, checked out with the facilities people, and I drove home.

I didn’t have a lot of time but I managed to take a few really bad photos while I was there. As you can see, there is good reason for me to have pre-ordered a new smartphone, my current phone takes terrible photos.

I have an appointment to go to the dental clinic tomorrow for a cleaning. I was originally scheduled for a cleaning in April but of course, that could not happen as dental clinics in this province were closed at that time.

Local clinics opened back up many weeks ago but I decided to wait to see if it was safe to go. I guess I’m not ashamed to say that I was willing to see if the initial batch of returning patients encountered any difficulties from an epidemiological standpoint. I didn’t see any evidence of this after more than a month, so I felt somewhat ok to book an appointment.

Of course, less than a day until my appointment tomorrow, the World Health Organization released new guidance today on dental health. In summary, WHO is now recommending that people “delay routine, non-essential oral health care”, which includes checkups and dental cleaning. This is exactly the type of procedure I am partaking in tomorrow.

I have two options for tomorrow: one is to cancel the appointment and incur a financial penalty for cancelling less than 48 hours from an appointment or I could just hope for the best and go through with my appointment. In this province, there have been no documented cases where someone got sick from a visit to a dental clinic. On the other hand, it’s not difficult to see why the WHO deems dental clinics to be a higher risk place to be.

Life was never easy but it seems like even the most mundane things now are much tougher to get through.

I know I shouldn’t eat so close to bed time but I just boiled two hot dog wieners, slapped some hot sauce on them, and ate both of them. They contain a lot of sodium but damn, they’re great snacks.

I’ll always associate home made hot dogs with the pandemic. When I did my first serious pandemic grocery store run, where I was trying to buy enough food for at least a whole week, I bought wieners, hot dog buns, and condiments as part of my purchase. For the first few days of staying at home from work, I made hot dogs for lunch. It turned out the relish I bought gave me diarrhea but those hot dogs sure were tasty.

I should be sleeping but I am wide awake right now. I had a cup of decaf coffee around 9pm tonight. Maybe that is responsible for my current indefatigable demeanor. And yes, I am aware that decaf coffee actually contains some caffeine. I’ve had the same decaf coffee around the same time before though and I was able to go to sleep. What is different tonight?

Well, tomorrow morning might be a problem but I’ll worry about that later.

Life at times can be very ironic. In the past, I’ve written several posts, including my last post, about heading to work to pick up my personal items. Well, it turns out that I woke up this morning with a bit of a stuffy nose. It was very mild and there was no mucous involved, as you might have if you had a cold.

Since mid-March, I have not experienced anything close to have a stuffy nose, but today, the day I was supposed to go into work, my left sinus had a bit of congestion. So, I faced a bit of a dilemma. The instructions from work state that no employee should come into the studio if you have any of the following symptoms: cough, trouble breathing, fever, congestion, nausea, diarrhea, and some others. I find the diarrhea one odd. Diarrhea is fairly common in my opinion and it can be caused by many things other than a virus.

Anyways, I did have a bit of nasal congestion and if I wanted to follow the instructions to a tee, I should not have gone in today to get my stuff. So, out of an abundance of caution, I stayed home today. I felt fine otherwise and by the early evening, the congestion was gone.

I don’t regret being careful. Being careful should be the norm these days. I wish more people were more cautious. Luckily, there are a few more spots next week where I can come get my stuff. I was able to re-book for next Wednesday.

I’m scheduled tomorrow to go to work to pack up and transport home my personal items. I have not been to the studio for about five months now. I already know it will be surreal to see everything when I get there. I know that the studio will look different than the last time I saw it. It will feel familiar to be back but at the same time it will feel strange.

I’m still undecided about bringing my work chair back home with me. My home chair isn’t great but it isn’t terrible either. If I do bring it home, I will eventually need to bring it back, which is a hassle.

Disregarding the chair for a moment, I believe I’ll be able to fit all my belongings in two banker boxes. I don’t have a lot of stuff. Not sure where I’ll put all of it when I get home but that’s something I’ll have to figure out.

I’m looking forward to seeing the studio tomorrow. It will be odd.

This morning, I pre-ordered the Pixel 4a, which Google announced today, after months of false starts and speculation. Though the phone was officially announced today, it won’t actually ship to me for another 40 days or so. I think I can count on one hand the number of products that I’ve pre-ordered in my entire life. This isn’t the type of thing I usually do.

I debated with myself whether or not to wait until the phone was actually available to buy it, or even wait for its first discount to purchase it. I guess I should explain why I even considered getting a new phone. My current phone is a Nokia 8 which I purchased around 2017. While it performs most of the necessary functions I require from a phone on a daily basis, it definitely has degraded from the day it arrived in the mail. The camera does not work great. When I want to take a photo, it frequently is out of focus. The view finder shows the image as all wavy, as if we’re watching a cheap TV show where we’re doing a flashback to a previous episode. Luckily, the plastic camera lens cover on the back of my phone fell off almost a year ago, so the two rear cameras are totally exposed to the elements now. I learned a few months ago, that if the camera gets all wavy, if I press my finger against one of the camera lenses directly, it sorta resets them and the waviness is fixed for at least one photo. What a janky way to take a photo.

The mic is also screwed up intermittently. Sometimes I’ll make a call and all the other person will hear is static. They can’t hear my voice at all. This can be problematic when I need to talk to the bank or some governmental agency.

Lastly, the phone is no longer getting active support from Nokia. It received two years of meaningful updates but Nokia is now only releasing security patches every three to four months. The last security patch will arrive in October of this year.

For the last few months, I’ve held back on my personal discretionary spending. We live in very uncertain times and it just seemed smart to not go crazy with impulses buys for things I didn’t absolutely need. I don’t regret that strategy but today, I allowed myself a small indulgence and I think that’s ok.