On some days when I look at my Facebook feed, all I see are people answering quizzes and tests, varying from "How well do you know my vagina?" to "What kind of potato are you?"
Perhaps I'm getting all old and crusty but I refuse to click on any of those things myself. Part of the reason is that I try to keep the number of apps installed on Stalkerbook Facebook to a minimum. The other part is that most of those quizzes are poorly written. Most of them on Facebook have just been ported over from web-based quizzes that were quite popular many eons ago from 2005. The authors would generally skew the results so that if you just once gave a chicken a "reach around", Linus would be the Peanuts character you resemble the most.
Please, let's all get back to the basics. Why can't we just continue to post pictures of drunken outings like we all did before?
About two weeks ago, I got my assessment for property taxes. I've never had to pay property taxes until this month. Lucky for me, we have this "grant" program here in B.C. that knocked my taxes down a few hundred dollars. Still, it's a lot of money for something I never used to think about. To make it worthwhile, I better go to the local community centre, take grade five at the closest elementary school, and get a tour of city hall.
So today was the second Tuesday working out in Burnaby. One of the things myself and another co-worker have discussed previously was the lack of nearby KFC locations when we worked downtown. Knowing we were going to the 'burbs, we talked about being closer to KFC locations. In fact, where we work, we have nearby locations at Metrotown, Brentwood Mall, and on Kingsway by NCIX.
We were both looking forward to partaking in "Toonie Tuesdays". This is a KFC promotion where just over $2 gets you two pieces of chicken and an order of fries. We thought it was too soon to go last Tuesday. Today, we almost pulled the trigger on our first "Toonie Tuesday". Unfortunately, I was already starving and opted to the cafeteria instead. I had the tuna steak, which tasted great but left me with a queasy stomach afterwards.
I'm almost certain that next Tuesday I'll be ordering two "Toonie Tuesday" specials.
So last week was the first full week that the skate team spent working out in Burnaby. After the first week, here are my thoughts.
First, I get the feeling everyone is getting a handle on the commute. No one is really late and I haven't heard too many complaints, except about the lack of signage in the underground parkade. Personally, having the shuttle bus run from the Skytrain station right to EA has made my commute much easier. I'd always have trouble getting into the studio before 10am. Now, I'm always there at 10am or before.
Food-wise, I'm still getting used to the cafeteria. There's a plethora of choices every day. In fact, if you count the smaller cafe in Phase II, there's actually two places to get lunch on a daily basis, each with its own menu. People complain about the cafeteria but honestly, there's so much to choose from every single day. Last week, I went out three times for lunch. Once for pho, at the exact same location I used to get pho when I was a games tester. It was surreal and a bit of deja vu at the same time. As if it was a previous life that I had lived. I also lunched at Swiss Chalet just off the Lougheed Highway. Man, I love me some Chalet chicken. It was so good. The lunch outing consisted of Sushi Town out on Hastings Street. I heard so many good things about it but it turned out to be a real disappointment. The service is bad, the tea was cold, and food was pedestrian. I admit it appears they give you a large portion of sashimi when you order it but that's the only positive I could find.
Back at the studio, we're still working out the minor details in our space. Our Flavia drink machines didn't come over with us, so it sucks not having our usual selection of teas and coffees. We do have a Starbucks coffee machine, that is until it broke after the second day. So now on the entire floor, there's no where to get coffee or a decent cup of warm water.
It's a bit of a longer walk now to the washrooms and kitchen areas. What I don't like is having to walk behind people's desks to get to those places. Unfortunately, there's no other way to do it. On our old floor, there was a continuous ring that was a common walk space. There was always a wall to separate the foot traffic from people working nearby. This isn't the case now, so I try to walk as far away from the desks as possible to give as much privacy as I can. This won't change and I feel really lucky no one can constantly look at what I'm doing on my computer.
The last team from Black Box is moving this coming weekend. Once that happens, we'll all be one big happy family again. From there, I hope our little studio can once again define our unique culture.
Tonight, I was ready to present my treatise on the political and economic situation in the Middle East but darn it, I'm just too tired to give the effort it requires. Instead, please enjoy the video above of kittens playing.
