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I swear this is will be the last post about work for the next little while. Man, going to work is tiring. I’m in training until next Thursday and each day begins at 9am sharp. Don’t get me wrong though, I thought the first day went really well. We all got a big binder full of lecture notes and reference material. We also got a schedule of what we’re going to cover for the whole course.

I have to say that this is the most comprehensive on-the-job training I’ve ever seen for any company I’ve worked for. The training is quite impressive. It also nearly guarantees that any software engineer starting at EA will have a known set of skills when they complete the course. This way, managers know exactly what each engineer is capable of even before that engineer starts on a project.

Now that I’ve been spending full days in the Burnaby studio, I’ve had several instances of deja vu come over me. For example, parking my car in the back outside lot this morning (like I did hundreds of time before) made me wonder if this was really 2002. Sitting in the cafeteria eating my lunch today made me realize how many countless hours I’ve spent inside that building. It was all very weird.

Adding to all this was that I actually talked to two people whom I worked with when I was a tester. In the cafeteria, I ran into Cindy who was my lead when I was testing FIFA. She still recognized me and asked me what I was doing here. I told her I was here for training but I’d be at EAX when I was done. She seemed almost relieved when I said I was a software engineer now. She also told me she’s out of QA now and into the production side.

At the end of the day, I was walking to go see Garrett when I heard someone yell out my name. I looked over to my left and it was old Petey himself, the man with the infectious laugh. Peter and I tested Triple Play Baseball together back in 2001. He said that he thought he saw me earlier but didn’t believe his eyes. He went to his desk and checked his Outlook address book, and sure enough, there I was. He tells me he sent me an e-mail but who knows when I’ll get it since I can’t even check my e-mail while I’m EAC. Peter is now a producer on some unannounced game and he invited me to check it out sometime. I will take him up on that offer.

Alright, I gotta try to get to bed a little bit earlier tonight, the operative word being “try”.

I arrived at EA Canada bright and early this morning for my 8:30am orientation. I decided to drive and it took me less than 20 minutes to get there from Port Moody. It was a far cry compared to the one hour plus commute I had before. It was my first indication that perhaps it wouldn’t be that bad to work in Burnaby.

I did orientation six years ago and they’ve streamlined some parts and added other things to the process. For starters, orientation is an all day affair now. That may see too long for some people but I actually think it’s a good thing and they do present some relevant material to get you started on the right path.

They keep things lively by mixing in presentations with filling out forms and going on a studio tour of the facilities. I was given a tour earlier when I interviewed but they were still able to show me things I hadn’t seen before. For example, the cafeteria has it’s own designated person to explain the many, many different choices available to EA employees. I also found out that the new fitness facility is offering a dodgeball league. I love dodgeball! I would be so there if I was working at EAC.

It was during the tour that I believe I spotted Cam, a frequent reader of this blog. I think he was going up the main staircase in Phase II while our group was going down the stairs. I also spotted many people that I had worked with when I was a tester. It was kinda weird seeing them again.

The orientation group was given a lunch voucher so we could sample the culinary delights at noon. During the tour, we were told one of the features offered today was roast turkey. I decided on that. It also came with mashed potatoes, salad, broccoli, stuffing, and strangely, a piece of bok choy. The meal itself was alright. The turkey had a bit too much gristle for my liking and there wasn’t enough gravy. Had there been a generous helping of gravy, the entire meal would have been elevated to a higher status. I then saw what the stir fry station was offering and that looked like it was an awesome meal. Somewhat like Mongolian BBQ, it had me thinking I would have that next time around.

We also had our pictures taken for our ID badges. My picture turned out horrible but oh well. After lunch we had two more presentations and our ID badges arrived for us to take. I was thankful for mine since walking around the facility without a badge is nearly impossible since most areas are access controlled.

The day ended around 4:30pm but instead of going home right away, I used my newly minted access card to go talk to my former co-worker Tim. After chatting with him, I headed over to see Garrett. I told him I wanted to go back downstairs to visit my old stomping grounds, the QA department where we both used to work. He said he’d go with me. I hadn’t been in there since early 2002. The place was the same but different. There’s a lot more people in there now. I recognized three or four faces only. One guy I saw, I interviewed him for a tester position in 2002. I made the recommendation that EA hire the guy. He’s still there. I really wanted to talk to him but I forgot his name and I didn’t want to look like an idiot. Garrett and I finished our quick tour and left.

I’ll actually be at EAC for another several days since tomorrow I start some training specific to my job role. I’m looking forward to it and it means I’ll be able to see my friends for another week or so.

Tomorrow, I begin another tour of duty with Electronic Arts. My much needed week off has ended. In hindsight, I wished I had at least asked if I could have two weeks off. When we were discussing start dates, they said it was mainly up to me. I’ll remember that for next time.

I will admit that I am kinda nervous about tomorrow. Of course, who isn’t nervous when they start a new job. I think I’m less nervous than I was when I was about to start at Backbone though. One reason is that tomorrow is only orientation. Even though I’m working dowtown, I’ll be at the Burnaby studio tomorrow. All the new hires for the week will be given a slick rundown on how things work at EA. A stack of forms will be signed. Our picture will be taken for our ID badges, which we should receive sometime during the day. That’s too bad since I really need a haircut right now and my hair looks like a bird’s nest. We’re also going on a tour of the facilities even though everyone should have had one already and I’m not even going to be working in Burnaby. Lunch will be on EA at the cafeteria, which I’m looking forward to since I’ve not eaten there since the big renovation.

My guess is that I’ll be more nervous for Wednesday, when I actually will be going to the studio I work at in downtown Vancouver. There will be another orientation there, albeit much smaller in scale. I’ll finally be meeting the people I’ll be working with.

I don’t think starting a new job is ever easy for anyone but it’s just something that needs to be done. I’m looking forward to a few months from now where I’ll be productive, happy, and well-loved (hopefully) at work.

I’ll leave you with one final nerdy note. My previous post was the 1337th post of this blog, which I think is quite an accomplishment.

About half an hour ago I was really hungry but my culinary choices were limited at home. I didn’t want to go out either, so I decided on some frozen pancakes. I had two which were awesome and certainly hit the spot. Then I thought that I was too hungry for two pancakes to satisfy me, so I made two more. I regret eating four pancakes now.

In other news, I’ve come to the conclusion that my ears are witness to at least one police car chase a week. Please let me explain the situation. I live two short blocks away from St. John’s Street, a major traffic artery in lovely Port Moody. I’m also up on a hill, so sound travels from St. John’s quite easily to my place.

About every seven days or so, in the early morning hours, I always hear a distinct sequence of sounds emanating the major thoroughfare. The first thing I hear are several sets of police sirens off in the distance. They get louder and more distinct as the seconds pass. It’s clear that there’s more than one emergency vehicle, so it can’t be an ambulance or a fire truck. As the vehicles get closer, I then hear the whine and roar of engines from several vehicles. The sound of the engines indicate that all vehicles involved are travelling at extremely high speed. At their closest point of transit, I can hear them whip by.

I suppose it could be three or four police cars all responding to an emergency elsewhere but that seems unlikely. How often do three or four patrol cars all respond to the same incident while travelling together?

If I’m correct then, police car chases occur quite often in my neighbourhood. If this is actually true, I’m quite concerned then. If they have to happen, I wish I would at least like to know how the chase ends. Police chases never end up in a public crime blotter, unless something really bad happens.

I’ll end this post with a recorded police chase.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q9e_we6VDI]

I like totally forgot to write a post last night. I am so sorry. Um, anyways… I hope to see some of you at the Frog and Firkin today in the late afternoon. We’ll talk about the good times on Shadow-Born!

I can’t speak for anyone else but I sure have lost a couple hours of my life just reading through the various topics that one can find on Wikipedia. It’s interesting and you’re learning at the same time! How is that possible?

One topic I stumbled upon is called the “RAS syndrome“. The acronym stands for “Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome”. The syndrome occurs when a word in an acronym is used with the acronym in describing something. The most common example is the term “PIN number”. PIN stands for “Personal Identification Number” so appending the last “number” onto the term is redundant.

The fact that the term “RAS syndrome” self-references the problem has not been lost on the people who coined it. A list of terms which suffer from RAS is quite lengthy but here are a select few:

LCD display
ATM machine
DVD disc

The whole list can be found in the Wikipedia article.

With all this talk about people leaving for Australia, I thought I’d mention two other people I know who are already in that country. Tim and Kirsten are friends of mine from undergrad who, more than anyone I know, have taken the concept of seeing the world to new heights. Having previously immersed themselves in European culture for several months, they’ve now turned their sights to Australia.

Actually, they’ve been there for several months now so they have quite a collection of stories to tell. In this day and age, what’s a better way to tell people about your adventures than a blog? I highly recommend a read if you’re one of those travelling types.

I guess I didn’t tell everyone that I actually don’t start work until next week. I have this entire week off. My plan for my time off is to relax and get lots of sleep. It sounds simple but sometimes, vacations can find a way to deviate off the intended course.

Last night, I went to see a 11pm showing of Superman Returns. It was very satisfying knowing I could be at a movie theatre until well past 1am on a Sunday night. Walking into the auditorium, I knew the movie had received somewhat lukewarm reviews so I did not expect a fantastic movie. After it was all over, I thought it was better than I had expected it to be. When it comes to DC properties though, I’m still partial to the Dark Knight himself.

Speaking of Batman, they announced today that Heath Ledger will indeed be portraying the Joker in the next Batman film. The film will be entitled The Dark Knight. You can read more here. As expected, Christian Bale will again be wearing the caped crusader’s suit.

In totally unrelated news, I was fortunate enough to help celebrate Bryan’s successful Ph.D. defense today. I congratulate Bryan for all his hard work and dedication over the last half decade. Dr. Bryan, you should feel proud of this accomplishment.

As happy as the defense was, it serves as a precursor to the departure of both Bryan and Sarah to Australia where they will find new adventures. They leave tomorrow! I would like to thank them for their friendship over the last several years. Have a safe trip down under and good luck with everything!

So on Saturday night, I’m coming home from Safeway, primarily to pick up some caffeine-free Coke. I’m driving and I’m stopped for a red light as the lead car in the right hand lane at the intersection of Clarke and Como Lake.

I’m waiting and then I hear this short beep of the horn. I think it’s coming from my left. I ignore it. I hear the beep again. I turn to my left. The car next to me is some blue Volvo I believe. I look at the front two passengers of the car and they’re both looking straight ahead. It doesn’t seem like that car was doing the honking.

I look at the rear passengers of the Volvo. I see two girls in their twenties. The one closest to me starts smiling and waving. She’s wearing an orange toque of some sort and her wavy brunette hair is poking out from underneath that.

So, I start to smile and wave to her, even though at the same time, I’m thinking, “I have no idea who you are.” After a few awkward seconds of mutual hand waving and smiling, I turn back to face the light. The light turns green soon after and I drive off.

They make a left somewhere down the road and they’re gone. As I continue driving, I’m trying to think who do I know would venture out in the boonies. I quickly come up with the answer of no one. I didn’t recognize any of the occupants of the car. Also, nearly everyone I’m friends with lives west of Granville Street. Those who don’t I would recognize in an instant.

I’m almost home before I realize I could have rolled down the window and yelled out, “Do I know you?” Then again, as I write this, maybe that the whole thing was a ploy so that I would roll down my window and they could throw something at me. Though, that seems pretty far-fetched.

I might never know who that was.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7NcfDOL71o]

I like this video for two reasons: it’s from Dave Letterman and it also shares my opinion on Ann Coulter.