Burstposting I: The Legacy Begins

o/~ Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring-ring Kzintiphone!! o/~

Well, this is a weird couple of weeks!
More busy than weird, actually.
I don't have time to sit down and write one big huge post with everything in it, so instead, I'm gonna break
this down into smaller posts and put them up whenever I can. This is the first of these "Burstposts".



I'm hungry.
Ever since I started working at Amp'd Mobile, I've been hungry. My appetite has increased.
Maybe it's the air conditioning, keeping the workplace cold, and forcing me to wear long-sleeved t-shirts.
Maybe it's the bicycling I do to get there and back (halfway in the morning, all the way in the evening).
I get up, I got to work and have breakfast on arrival, I eat lunch about 2-3 hours later, and when 4-5pm
rolls around, I'm starved. I mean, literally starving, stomach-grumbling, the whole bit. This is insane!
This doesn't happen at home!
And this didn't happen at Naughty Dog, or Jamdat.
I'm somewhat stumped.

In other work news, last Thursday and Friday saw my group and I working from our respective homes.
New furniture was being assembled and put in, and it was decreed that it would be better if we weren't in
the way, so hey, telecommuting! It's the wave of the future! The workplace of tomorrow! Or some junk...
So Wednesday Evening, the laptop and assorted doodads was crammed into the backpack and taken home.
We had the following Monday off for Presidents' Day, so we wouldn't be back until Tuesday (yesterday).

We had spent most of Wednesday programming our new Motorola phones, which takes a while.
So what happens the next day? Why, we're told to reprogram our phone with an even newer version of the firmware!
I spent two hours on the phone with a coworker and we helped each other program our blasted phones.
And I sent my brother off to pay the storage unit rent. They totally slammed us with fees because we paid late.
(I didn't get paid until the 15th, so it's not like I could do anything about it)
I really need to find a nice little 2bedroom place so we can empty the storage unit. Between the room I'm
currently renting and the price of the storage unit, I can probably find a 2bedroom that fits the bill.
It would be nice to have access to ALL my CDs, Legos, and furry art again, not to mention various other things.

Friday, Pascal was out, so I had to go pay off the phone/DSL bill in Beverly Hills myself.
I decided to go there in a clockwise pincer move, but hopping on the bus to Century City with my bicycle,
then cruising down Wilshire Blvd. to La Cienega, paying the bill, then continuing down La Cienega, cutting
through Cheviot Hills, and winding up back home by way of Palms Blvd.
I had lunch at the Century City Shopping Center, which is in the midst of some urban renewal. They're building
a brand new theater, which is good 'cause the one there sucks. They stopped doing matinées altogether, for one.
The food court got relocated to an upstairs section with both indoor and outdoor seating.
The Century City Shopping Center is an upscale mall, so the only lowbrow franchise there was, strangely enough,
Panda Express (the so-called "Gourmet Chinese" chain). I selected a place called "Mr. Hana" and tucked into
a large dish called "Tappan-Yaki". It was a big plate of steamed rice, with stir-fried veggies on top, and two
kinds of meat on top of that: tappan beef and chicken teriyaki. It was very tasty.
I walked around the mall a bit, ducked into a Puzzle Zoo store and looked at overpriced collectible toys.
I overheard an employee tell a customer that they were closing soon. Permanently. I guess sales are bad.
But fret not, PZ has at least two stores left: the flagship in Santa Monica, and one in the Beverly Center.
As I walked around the mall, I noticed a black woman headed in my general direction. There was an almost
palpable aura of attitude radiating from her. She was walking at a firm pace and going in a straight line.
So was I. I calculated that our paths would intercept and collision would probably ensue. I increased my speed
ever so slightly to make sure I would clear the collision zone before she got there. I got it almost right.
She bumped my elbow with her own as she passed by and kept right on walking.
So much attitude...

I climbed on my bike and left all those rich people behind. A short trip down Santa Monica Blvd, then on to
Wilshire Blvd, headed Eastbound into Beverly Hills. It was slightly downhill, so the cruising was good.
A black BHPD officer in a nifty police pick-up truck waved at me. I waved back.
I hit La Cienega and hung a right. I arrived at the designated SBC payment center/mailbox place and paid
the bill (GRRRRRRR!). I made a wacky little Japanese kid laugh.
As I stepped out of the place, I was hit in the face by a large drop of rain. OH HELL NO!!!!
I clambered on my two-wheeler and took off down La Cienega like a shot! I was NOT going to get rained on!
The rain didn't actually kick in, only a few drops fell here and there.
By the time I reached the Toys'R'Us on La Cienega and 18th St, the rain had completely stopped.
I figured I was safe, and went into the TRU. I had to lock my bike to a lightpole first, because nobody
in the shopping center thought of putting up bike racks. Ijits!
This TRU seems well-taken care of, as opposed to the one I usually go to, which a little beat-up and short
on stock. I found a small die-cast Venator-class Republic Cruiser, perfect companion for my Death Star
and Imperial Star Destroyer. I also picked up a new Lego X-Pod (the green one with the mini-dino critters).
As I left, it started raining. CRAP!!
I went down La Cienega some more and stopped at Venice Blvd. I found a covered area near a bus stop and
waited for the MTA to present one of its many fine (HA!) and clean (BWAH!) buses driven by a friendly (RIGHT!)
and courteous (HAR!) operator. 30 minutes later, I strapped my bike to rack and rode the bus home in a crowded
conveyence filled with people of dubious hygiene and piloted by a surly yeti. Sort of.

It's no use being nice and courteous to MTA (L.A.) bus drivers. They're all schnooks. They are! All of them!
The difference with Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica) and Green Bus (Culver City) drivers is startling!
And the Blue and Green buses are nicer to boot. Cleaner, better upholstered. You still get some weirdos and
some people of dubious hygiene, but it's not so bad when the environment is so much nicer.

And to think my brother has to deal with MTA every weekday while he does his radiation therapy.
He tells me what a great relief it is to climb aboard a Green Bus after the MTA portion of his trip to USC.
Oh yeah, Sibling Update! He's got radiation therapy for 3 weeks. After that, we're not sure.
Pascal will not do anymore chemotherapy, that's for sure. He's still kicking ass.

So anyway, I got home only mildly soaked and was able to finish my work.
I can't remember where I had dinner...
I remember that Pascal and I did the smoked salmon/cream cheese/Il Fornaio buns thing one evening.
One other evening, we took the bus to Westwood and ate pizza slices at Lamonica NYC.

So anyway, that's it for now.
There's much more to come, including a bunch of Netflixing, and also some fuzzy cellphone pictures of a
strange futuristic little boat we saw in Marina Del Rey on Sunday.
Arrrrrr!!!