I'm not exactly sure what the title of this post refers to but I do know Old School has stood up to the test of time, if that test involved four years. It's as enjoyable today as it was the first time I watched it in the SJC TV room. Wedding Crashers be damned, I've taken all my wedding guest ettiquette from that movie.
Author's note: This post may contain embellishments to increase drama.
Though the two studio are viewed separate entities, EA Canada in Burnaby and EA Vancouver downtown share a lot of infrastructure. As such, when something goes offline in Burnaby, we get e-mail notices downtown as well.
Today, we got one of those e-mails. At around 4pm, we received a message from IT that the Burnaby studio had experienced a power fluctuation. Phase I lost all power, while Phase II suffered a slight flicker but recovered to full power almost immediately. With Phase II almost ten years newer, they were likely saved by a much more advanced warp containment field located right next to the Phase II lounge, you know, right next to those funky, velvet chairs.
You can imagine what a loss of power means to a video game studio. Programmers can't program, artists can't art, producers can't produce (I will refrain from making a snide remark here), and development directors can't DD. A follow-up e-mail noted that after consulting with BC Hydro, the ETA on power restoration would be 8:30pm.
My friend Tim works in Phase II and I began to get worried for him. The loss of power means a loss of order, which means a loss of civilization as we know it. The people in Phase I would be looking jealously at the occupants of Phase II. No power means no web surfing, no coffee from the Starbucks, no afternoon snack from the EAt cafeteria, nothing. I know human nature like the back of Jessica Biel's hand. I knew trouble was brewing.
Things were going to get violent and nasty. The focal point would be that walkway that connects the two Phases, the one with that weird bump right in the middle. Phase II would probably barricade that area while Phase I would probably make some sorta siege engine from old Xbox dev kits. In front of my shrine to Kristin Bell, I prayed for my friend's safety and well-being.
I saw he was still on MSN, so I sent him a good luck message. Several nervous minutes went by before he responded. When he finally got back to me, he was breathless, or as breathless as one can get on MSN. Apparently, I was right. He had just returned from battle lines. Phase II had somehow rallied their people and managed to beat back the initial invasion force. Their triumph was not without a cost though. Tim was lucky but several good people were lost in the repelling of the invaders. People from Phase I were swinging original Xbox controllers around their heads and then flinging them in deadly strikes.
I didn't get any more details from Tim, partly because he went silent and partly because I really wanted to get a coffee. I'm pretty sure power got restored to all of EAC before 8:30pm. Man, it's gonna be awkward in the cafeteria lineup for some people tomorrow.
I've been riding on the same bus for over a year now. For the first couple of months, I didn't mind but now, I'm starting to despise that bus route.
Between the old people that smell like a pharmaceutical factory, bus drivers who think the bus should be 80 degrees Celsius, people who open the windows to get the temperature down to -14 degrees Celsius, and last but not least the general low-class yahoos that get on, I'm having a hard time dealing with the commute.
As an example, let me explain what happened last week. I get on the damned bus and take a seat. I close my eyes, partially to rest and partially so that I don't have to look at the freak show that are the occupants of this travelling side show.
Two seats away from me, I hear a young man talking on his cell phone.
"Um, hello? Listen, I'm still trying to get a hold of my lawyer but I'm coming in for sentencing today and I just wanted to let you know I'm gonna be late."
Wonderful. I can do nothing more than continue to listen.
"Yeah, I'm at the top of the list for this morning. I was wondering if you could sentence those other people and move me to the bottom of the list."
Nice. I think back to the summer of 2005 when I rode the bus from UBC to work every morning. Not only was the bus not crowded, most of the riders were young people, mostly female... and law abiding. Now, I have this, somewhat akin to once living at the Temple on Coruscant but forced to move to a dishevled hut in some arid desert.
Granted, the young man was not bothersome in any way while on the bus. I even listened intently as he spoke with his friend during the trip. Yep, he even admitted it was kinda stupid to be carrying that weapon when he got arrested.
I wonder if they rent bus buddies. People who accompany you on the bus so that you have at least one person you don't dislike onboard, like a single-serving friend. Man, I am on fire with the movie references tonight!
So last week I'm in the company store buying a second Wiimote for my Wii. I see there's a draw for a PS3. As I'm filling out the form, the dude at the counter says, "Just to let you know, that's a draw for the right to 'purchase' a PS3."
"Um, ok."
Had I known that, I wouldn't have filled it out in the first place but I was half way done anyways, so what the hell.
This morning, I get to work and there's an e-mail in my inbox with the subject "CONGRATULATIONS". I open it up and the store has told me I've won the draw. I have the right to purchase a PS3 for $659.99 and it'll even get delivered to my cubicle.
The first thing that comes to my head is "oh crap". I don't want to spend $700 on a PS3. I only know one guy that owns a PS3 and I work with dozens of people who consider themselves hardcore gamers. Sure, I'd take it if it were free but there's no way I'm forking out money for the PS3 while Sony works out the kinks.
The e-mail goes on to say that if I've changed my mind, I should let the store know ASAP so that another lucky winner can win the right to purchase their PS3. I respond right away and respectfully the decline the honour. With that, I push away my fleeting chance to own all three next-gen consoles.
I dodged a next-gen bullet there! Probably because I was using cover much like Scott Mitchell, Logan Keller, or Marcus Feenix all do. Points for the references.
