Live from BC!

Day one in British Columbia, and it's great! A much needed vacation in deed! We are in the small town of Pemberton at the Pemberton Valley Lodge. It's about the time that I am glad I could afford to spend a night or two in a hotel. This place was a little pricey ($124 Canadian, with pet deposit and 13% Tax), but about the cheapest place you can find within 50 kilometers of Whistler (that allows dogs) the cheap Motel in Mt Currie ($60 Canadian + Tax)... As apposed to to actually staying in Whistler which is about $199 Canadian + Tax.
As for how I got here... James and I took the whole day to get here... which is normally about a 6 hour drive. We stopped in Vancouver, and walked around the town from about 11:30AM, until about 5:30PM. It was fun... I will post the pictures soon. I forgot to bring my camera in, and I'm too lazy to go get it. It was interesting to find out that they sell Absinthe in Vancouver... actually, now that I'm at the Lodge, I had a bit of that to help me relax for the evening.
After a bit of driving, I started to figure out the reason the British Columbia license plate says "Beautiful British Columbia" first hand. This has to be one of the most Beautiful places I've ever been in my whole life! I can't believe I haven't been here sooner.
I guess in the end, it is unfortunate that all the camp sites are closed around here. Our original plan was to camp out. After all, it only gets down to about 40 degrees at night, but apparently it is too cold for the BC natives to want to camp in... oh well...

anyway... I'm on vacation!

later,
SteveO

And I have a day off

So, today started a week that I have off. To be honest, I really don't know what to do with myself... I just get up, go to Renton, get a cup of coffee, and go walk along the trail. I think I'm going to leave on Friday and take a trip up to Whistler with James and Jaani. That would be nice... get out of the house... away from the Ev... and just have a nice vacation. I think I've earned it. I worked 1000 hours in the time most people only work 500.
I also got my side window deflectors in the mail today... $35 plus $15 shipping and handling. Which beats the dealership at $160. I guess they can only get away with charging so much because none of the stores carry 2007 accessory parts for the Honda Accord... anyway, it will be nice to be able to open my window without water coming in.
Other than that... Jaani is doing good. The new puppy has made him a little jealous, but I guess Ev doesn't leave the puppy here during the day, so it isn't a problem. I'm not sure what she does with the puppy, but I don't really care. I don't have to give her a ride to work, and in the process the puppy disappears somewhere.
well, it's not my problem at least... anyway, that's it for now. Until next time.

Later,
SteveO

Weekend Update!

Well, it's official that tomorrow is my last day at MS GTO (Microsoft Game Testing Organization). So, as of now, I have an orientation on Tuesday, and I start next Monday working on the Zune. Microsoft's version of the Ipod.

As far is this weekend's activities, I finally got out to Bremerton to visit James. He was throwing a Oktoberfest/house warming party. We sat around and enjoyed some home made beer and moonshine! Also I got to see all the work he has been doing on his and his parents' houses. He has been keeping buisy. removing chimneys, walls, and stairs... as well as adding windows, doors, and painting.

After the tour of his house, I slept over there, and we went to the Staircase camp site in the South East corner of Olympic National Park (at the northern end of Lake Cushman).





The car ran great all the way up there, and it was a fun and very scenic drive... although I must admit it was kinda rainy. But the car loved the curves on the road, and the rain did manage to wash most of the dirt off. I think it was only the second or third time that I had 4 people in my car. I have yet to actually fit 5 people in there, but I think it would be comfortable.





Once we finally got up near the trail head, we found a rock that was nice enough to hold the camera for us to take a group picture.


Then we kept driving a little further until we got to the campsite...



Right where the staircase rapids end, and Lake Cushman begin is a camp site, with a view of the edges of the Olympic Mountains. Here, you are just getting into the rain forest, and the real beauty on the peninsula starts to begins it's full strides.

This was the end of our journey this time, only because we spent so long getting there, we didn't actually have time to hike the trail at all... not that we would ever be able to reach the end of the trail in under a week... but still, it was neat to see the beginning of this great trail.




Here is a map of my weekend points of interest...

View Larger Map

Who is this you might ask? The newest member of the pack I guess you could say. When I got home on Saturday night, this little girl was at home waiting for me. Her name is Payal. She is really lovable, and pretty well potty trained for a 10 week old pug. Jaani is still jealous of her getting any attention, but the little guys is learning to get along with her.





We were all tired today. I was tuckered out from all my walking around yesterday, so today we took a nap together.






So, in short, it was good to have a weekend off. when you've sold your soul to Microsoft, you really start to appreciate your time off as much as you can.

so... that's all a wrote.

Later,
SteveO

Getting Coffee in The Redmond Town Center

Mass Effect (the game I'm working on) has gone into RC (realease Candidate) mode! Which brings one thing to mind... coffee!

I just realized there are 16 Starbucks related coffee places within walking distance of my office.

11 of which (one on each floor of the 3 buildings) are starbucks coffee machines that offer freshly brewed cups of coffee. Just push a button for size, type (left coffee (regular), right coffee (decaf) or hot chololate) and it grinds the beans, brews a single cup, and despenses it into your cup... dumping the used beans into a trash can underneath it. These are located in the mini-cafeterias where they keep a microwave, disposable dishes and cutlery, and the fridges that contain free pop and juice.

Then each of the 3 buildings there is a Starbucks coffee shop in the cafeteria. Here I can also get a nice healthy meal if I don't feel like going to one of the other 15 places to eat (within walking distance).

Plus in the Mall there is a starbucks in the food court, and another one over by Fat Burger (where they buy us lunch on the weekends, and yea... it really is named Fat Burger), Blimpie Sub, some thi place, Subway, Taco Time, Dairy Queen, and McDonalds... and the list goes on...

So, keep in mind as I work through another RC in the Game Industry... I'm walking up and down 3 floors of stairs four times a day... and walking a little to get my food every day... and having slim fast for breakfast... and not eating a lot for dinner... I do get more exercise than I did at Bungie... and the work environment is better too!

Anyway... that's an update for now.

Later,
SteveO

New internet connection!!!

we just had comcast hook up a new internet connection today, it's great!

I'm happy to be back online again... from home at least.

Work is good, I think my term at GTO will be extended, which looks really good for both Microsoft and Volt. I'm happy about it. My manager was impressed that not only could I answer almost all the questions he had for me, but I also could find the answers to the ones I didn't know within a few minutes. it looks like all the time I spend playing with google has helped my ability to find what I need when I need it.

Other than that, I'm happy to have my new car! it's awesome! so far I am averaging about 10mpg better than the Astro! Which means that I am spending somewhere around $100 less per month on gas! I think, that's what I'm estimating... I get about 26mpg... and after doing the math, the astro got just under 16mpg... most of my driving is just to and from work... 6 days a week... I'm averaging about 58 hours a week.

anyway... work work work... isn't that what dad always said? anyway, I guess I'm finally listening to him.

anyhow, I work in the morning. goodnight.

Later,
SteveO

My New Job

I started my new job on tuesday, and I love it. They moved me over to GTO to work on an RPG called Mass Effect. It's a good game, but really what I'm happy about is having an office. I share it with one other person, but it still feels like a promotion from Bungie.

I currently don't have internet access from home, and I'm at work right now, but that's just a little update... I went hiking last weekend, and it felt good to have three whole days in a row off.

Other than that... pretty much normal.

Later,
SteveO

a sad goodbye...

It was a sad goodbye today. I am done at Bungie.

On the up side, my manager gave me a very good review for GTO. As a result (I think) I start a new position on Tuesday at Building 5. Located between Macy's and Bed Bath and Beyond in the Redmond Town Center (with 2 other MS buildings). The perks are that I will get a MS parking pass and have on site parking. Finally, I will be working with one other person from Bungie.

The down side is that I have been listening to horror stories about working at main campus on video games, and I don't get that week off that I really was looking forward to. I just get 3 days... oh well, it's better than only one day... or no days off a week.

well, anyway... It also looks like my lease is really a 1 year lease... man I feel stupid. They told us it was a 6 month lease when we signed the papers... but it said march 31 2008 right on the papers... That just sucks. but I guess on the lighter side, that means I have 6 more months to look for a house. Don't worry... I want to buy one on my own. no co-signers.

anyway... I'm tired. good night.


Later,
SteveO