Tomorrow is my last day at work. My first day at work was June 13, 2005. I can remember as if it were a month ago. I can even remember what I wore that day. It was cloudy in the morning but still a tad muggy. By the end of the day, it was blazing sunshine. I got taken out to lunch for my first day. It was Joe (now studio head), Dan (who helped me get the job), Ron (who would later advise me on race relations), and myself. We ate at the Papaya Hut. Later on, Greg would find a maggot in his food and the Hut quickly lost its popularity around the office.

The great thing about a blog is that you can go back and read what I wrote that day.

So a little over a year afterwards, I am departing. Part of me still can't believe I'm leaving. I've developed such a routine that it will feel a bit weird knowing that I no longer work near Granville Island. I will, above all else, miss the people I work with. These are some incredibly smart, creative, and good people. I hope I have half as much camaraderie at EA as I did here.

I will leave you with a small anecdote. I mentioned this before but everyone at the company receives a caricature of themselves when they start their jobs. About six months into my own tenure, I noticed people who quit the company would leave their caricatures behind. I began collecting all of these caricatures. I then put them up in my cubicle with a red "X" through each of them.

In the old office, everytime someone quit, I would just slap their caricature up on the wall. When we moved to the new place though, I began arranging the caricatures in neat rows and columns. I even printed out a title sheet which I placed above the pictures. I called it "The Wall of Fallen Heroes". I'm not sure why, since it doesn't really make any sense. Anyways, people would give me caricatures of people who had been fired but I would toss it back at them. "The Wall of Fallen Heroes" was only for people who left voluntarily.

People would sometimes comment on "The Wall" and its possible effects on morale but management never talked to me about it, and I knew they had seen it. "The Wall" has quite a few entries in it now, about nine or so.

There would be times where I would stare at "The Wall" and wonder if I would ever make it there. Tomorrow, I will move my own caricature with the rest on "The Wall of Fallen Heroes". People have volunteered to continue my work after I leave. One guy wants to make a picture book out of all the caricatures. Another wants to continue it in its present form.

So, when the day ends, I'll be looking towards a new beginning and new opportunities. And I'll be soon writing another "first day at work" post.

0 Comments

Due to the desire to avoid massive crowds tonight and also due to a nasty, day-long case of heartburn, I decided I'd skip the fireworks show.

Instead, I took in the poorman's version of the show over the Internet. Sad, huh?

0 Comments

If you went by just the name, you'd think Comic-Con would only be about comic books but that's hardly the case these days. The convention is now another great venue for movie studios to show off their new films, whether it's comic related or not.

That explains why Borat made an appearance at Comic-Con this year. Apparently, he stumbled out of a women's washroom and then tripped while walking on stage.

Click on the pic above for the video. Listen for a woman off-screen who says at one point, "not funny".

0 Comments

I saw Clerks 2 on the weekend. It was an entertaining movie which was almost funny from start to finish. It was absolutely hilarious in several parts, especially a scene where two parties engaged in a Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings debate. I am sure such a debate has occurred in parents' basements a million times over!

Now, the movie isn't for everyone and it's something I accept. If you like Jay and Silent Bob, and the other characters in that universe, you won't want to miss this flick. Now as surprising as it seems for a movie that features a donkey sex scene and a frank discussion about ass-to-mouth, this film does have an honest emotional heart to it.

The movie would be pointless if it was just a series of crude jokes strung together, intercut with Jay dancing and swearing. It actually does have a story to it which makes the ending all them more satisfying.

As always, head on over to Kevin Smith's blog for some good readin'.

0 Comments

Canada Day long weekend was a few weeks ago but I only got the pictures from it now. Through a bit of planning and a bit of luck, many ex-SJCers who had thrown themselves to the far corners of the world, returned to Vancouver for a very special weekend.

There was Adam who returned from Toronto. Tom came all the way from London. We cannot forget about Nenagh who travelled the farthest, who arrived from wintery Australia. Last but certainly not least there was Frank who made his away across the water from the Island.

The first "official" activity of the weekend was a blast from the past, ball hockey in the parkade next to SJC. Hockey at SJC has fallen on hard times in the last few months. With Tyson busy with finishing up his Ph.D., there wasn't anyone else to take up the organizing mantle. Plus, none of the new residents seem very keen on playing hockey.

So, it was an absolute delight to see the eight or so people show up for hockey for possibly the last time in this incarnation. We played hard in the heat and had some fantastic games. Two hours later, we were all very tired but also very satisfied.

After hockey ended, Tyson had to go pick up Tom at the airport. Adam and I chilled out in Tyson's room and also showered (separately). The next item on the agenda was a third floor patio BBQ where many others would join us.

The BBQ was well-attended with Nenagh arriving just a few short hours after getting off the plane. I give her credit for coming in her jet-lagged state. Tyson came back with Tom soon after. He hasn't changed a bit.

As the evening wore on, they was much food and drink to be had. In general, it was just good to talk to people I hadn't seen in a long time. You can see pictures of the whole day in my brand new gallery, which is a new feature here at et.com.

Now, if you're wondering why this day is divided into two parts, I do have a reason. Near the end of the evening, there was an amazing battle of wills between individuals. I believe the incident merits it's own post, so you'll have to wait for that.

0 Comments