I thought it was going to Thursday tomorrow. When it occurred to me it’s only going to be Wednesday, I got the distinct feeling this week is dragging on. I then realized why. For the last two months or so, I’ve been working from home on Mondays, so after two work days where I’m actually at the studio, it’s usually Thursday. Well, I joined the FIFA team on Monday and I can’t work from home anymore. 🙁
I’ve only been there two days but it seems like a whole week by now. Tomorrow is just hump day! When do the holidays start? Not soon enough is the answer!
In my many years of being a game developer, I’ve had a lot of trailers come out for the games I’ve worked on. Up until today, none have been narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Since I’m super low on the totem pole, this came as a total surprise to me when a new trailer dropped in the morning and there was Sir Patrick Stewart’s voice saying silly things about our game.
I don’t want to know how much money EA paid him to do this gig, I’m just very pleased I worked on something he lent a voice to, even if it was just a trailer.
When I was at Disneyland, I saw so many people who had bought Disney gear from the stores inside. People really get into the whole Disney thing, buying t-shirts, hats, jewelry, toys, pretty much anything you could brand with Disney, they sell, and people buy.
The mouse ears headband must be in the top three in terms of sales. I didn’t think those things are my style but at the same time, I wanted to bring something back that would be a reminder of my trip. I was at the Frontierland portion of the park, in one of the stores, when I happened upon a replica coonskin cap. These caps were all the rage in the 50s, when the Davy Crockett TV show was on the air. So many little boys had one at the time. I have never seen the show, nor am I a big wilderness fashionista but the coonskin cap was relatively cheap at $15 (the mouse ears are at least $25!) and it’s really unique looking.
I didn’t realize it until I brought it home but this cap also has value beyond its novelty. When I arrived back in Vancouver, I discovered the temperatures had dropped considerably since I left. It was below freezing at night now. With my refusal to turn on the heat for any lengthy period of time, I was chilled to my bones. As an experiment, I put the coonskin cap on and to my surprise, it keeps me rather warm. It makes an appreciable difference in how much it keeps the heat in. I wear it at home on most nights now and I kinda wish it would make a comeback fashion-wise.
I had dinner with two friends this evening and I took the train home. When I arrived at my station, I got off the train car, and I was greeted with a most peculiar sight. Amongst the many people who had also stopped off at this station was a man who had bought a TV. How do I know he had just bought a TV? Because he was trying to carry a 58″ Samsung TV, in the box, all the way home.
The box was massive and he was trying to balance it on his shoulders but with the size and weight of the box, he had to awkwardly tilt his head to one side. He seemed to not really know what to do next after getting off the train. He had brought the TV box past the fare gates. He went one way towards one end of the station, stopped, and then put the box down. He then picked up the box again, went the other way and stopped once more. I think he was trying to figure out the best way to get the TV down to street level. There are two sets of stairs and two elevators to choose from but it seemed like he wasn’t sure which option was the best.
It was really cold this evening, so I couldn’t watch him make up his mind, so I kept on going so I could warm up at home. Seeing a man trying to bring home a large 58″ TV, still in the box, using public transit brought up a lot of questions for me. Was this a planned purchase? Or did he happen upon a Black Friday sale and did an impulse buy? Was public transit the only option to get the TV home? Could he not afford, say a taxi home? Most people that can afford a brand new 58″ TV can probably also afford a few more dollars to take the TV home in taxi.
I hope that the man with the new TV got it home safely and is enjoying as you read this.
I have returned from vacation and was about to steel myself for a bus strike but it seems that labour talks have proved to be fruitful. In the last hour, the strike has been called off. Had it not been, there would have been three days of no bus service, starting with Wednesday. I know lots of people were scrambling to make alternative solutions to get to work.
Even though I have a car, it’s kinda on its last legs and I would have preferred to not put commuting miles on it. I was prepared to make a 30 minute walk from the train station to work but that won’t be necessary anymore. I am pleased.
Over the next few weeks I’ll also write about my trip to Anaheim. Yes, I did go to Disneyland.
I’ll be joining the FIFA dev team starting in December, so I decided I should get a quick vacation in beforehand. I’m spending a week in the Anaheim area. Blog posts might be sporadic during that time. I’m looking forward to the warmer weather. I’ll update you as I can!
According to my trusty calendar, it’s 41 days until Christmas. I know it’s cliched to say this, but where did the year go? I think 2020 will be an eventful year for both myself and the world.
A few weeks back, I wrote about my new habit of having a cup of decaf coffee in the evening. I add milk and sugar to it. Just enough milk to turn it a nice shade of coffee brown and about 3/4 of a tablespoon of sugar. It’s a great little treat in the evening for me but now I’m starting to wonder if I should cut back on the sugar in my evening coffees. The Internet tells me that a tablespoon of sugar is about 12g. Maybe in the grand scheme of things, that isn’t a lot of sugar in the evening. I don’t drink soda, eat candy or chocolates on a daily basis, so this would be my only real source of pure sugar. I wonder what the coffee would taste like with just milk?
I normally work from home on Mondays but with the long weekend, I’ll be working from home tomorrow, a Tuesday. I’ve been working from home one day a week for a few weeks now and I gotta say, it’s great.
My work from home days are much less stress-free and there are times when I get more done and am more productive on those days compared to my “regular” commute to work days. My particular business unit doesn’t have an official work from home policy but some other parts of the company do. I wish it were more universal and more people had the chance to partake.
I just got back from the wrap party. It was pretty damn good. There was lots of food and it seems like almost everyone attended. For the last hour, it was open bar too. Lots of people took the day off tomorrow, which means it’s a four-day long weekend for them. I, however, have an important 11am meeting tomorrow instead. I need to go to bed.
