Funemployment
Sunday June 19, 2022
I quit my job at Ubisoft.
The past five years have been pretty amazing. I've learned so much from so many extremely talented people and built solid friendships with many I've interacted with over the years, be it from working on the same project, raiding Pokemon together, playing trivia or eating food. My legacy endures with the inclusion of New Zealand on the world map in Watch Dogs, but also the infamous "gas leak" saga, caused by durian candy that I had brought in. It's sad to be another one of many departures, but I think it was a good time for a change. My next job is fully remote (from anywhere!) and still in games, so I'm looking forward to new challenges ahead...and also the possibility of never having to go through another winter again.
In the mean time, I've got plenty of time to have a holiday and enjoy summer in Toronto. I had a friend from Ohio visit over the past few days; I took him on an ice cream tour of the city and we covered six of the many ice cream shops in Toronto, all while biking across the downtown core. We went to Canada's Wonderland and rode nine rollercoasters, including the Yukon Striker, the Behemoth and the Leviathan (turns out I'm not as resilient as I used to be). Last weekend I was in Tobermory with a few friends, and we got to explore the Grotto and Halfway Log Dump at the perfect time of year - sunny, not too warm, but almost deserted since it's not full summer season yet, just the way I like it. Next week, I'm off to Nova Scotia to explore the Atlantic provinces of Canada and enjoy all the delicious seafood that area has to offer.
Posted by Jeremy at 1:48am on Sunday June 19, 2022 :: 0 comments :: 
Countdown to Christmas
Friday December 7, 2018
It hasn't quite hit yet, but the end of the year is rapidly approaching, and that means I'll be heading home to New Zealand very soon. I'm super busy at work, trying wrap things up before going on holiday, as well as preparing to speak to a bunch of high school kids about the games industry and what it's like to work at Ubisoft.
My badminton racquet strings broke. It was really sad. I ended having to borrow a racquet from the front desk but it had no grip and I was getting increasingly frustrated and played so badly. Luckily it was easy to get to the Eaton Centre and get it fixed, but it wasn't that long ago that I had it restrung.
I went to the Cavalcade of Lights at Nathan Phillips Square a few weeks ago. Every year they light up the Christmas tree there and have a big fireworks display too, it was pretty awesome to watch. Though it was cold and slightly wet, there were thousands of people crammed into the square, listening to the music and enjoying the festivities, and I love that kind of busyness in a city. It makes it feel alive and vibrant.
There's tons of Christmas parties coming up and I have to do some Christmas shopping... but it really isn't long until I'm off, and it's slowly beginning to hit...!
Posted by Jeremy at 5:01am on Friday December 7, 2018 :: 0 comments ::
Winter Christmas
Thursday December 28, 2017
The temperature is now consistently below zero, with snow and slush everywhere on the streets. It's strange looking at it from within my very warm apartment, because it can be sunny yet -15C outside, and quite a shock when I leave the building.
Things got pretty busy for me as the year wrapped up. I attended my first Ubisoft Christmas Party at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, where a band called the Cybertronic Spree entertained us by dressing as Transformers and playing the Pokemon Theme Song. There were circus performers and lots of food and alcohol, and such a great atmosphere to celebrate my first four months with the company.
Ubisoft gave us the Friday before Christmas off. I took the opportunity to run a few errands in the morning - even getting in some time to do some Pokemon Go raiding. I tagged along with Victor in the afternoon, and we hit a few nests around the Junction/High Park area, getting lots of Pokemon in the process. It's horrible to play in such cold temperatures, but not too bad if you have a car to go around. In the afternoon, I headed into town to check out the Christmas Market down in the Distillery District, where it was totally packed with locals and tourists alike. I got some chocolate from the famous chocolatier, SOMA, and then went to Chinatown for hot pot and some games afterwards.
On Saturday, my badminton crew had dinner and karaoke at a restaurant out in Markham. The clientele is mostly Chinese, and as a result, so was the song selection. I let it slip the only Mandarin song I knew was Tong Hua, so I had to sing it. The native speakers seemed quite impressed with my pronunciation and singing ability, despite my inability to speak Mandarin, so I'll call that a win for me.
There were two church services on Christmas Eve, both of which I played piano for. It was quite a challenge, trying to make sure everything was in order musically, but I think the worship team and choir came together quite nicely. I was surprised that it all fell into place and nothing majorly disastrous happened, because I only had a few hours of sleep the night before - I got home late from karaoke, around 1am, and I had troubles sleeping because I was so stressed about waking up early in the morning. A family took me for lunch to Swiss Chalet after the morning service, then dropped me home for a quick nap before I came back for the evening service. Afterwards, I went to a workmate's house for an amazing Christmas Eve dinner with turkey, salads, and a cold pasta dish marinated with a Japanese sweet-and-sour plum vinaigrette.
As I walked home, the snow was falling. It was serene and quiet, everything I had imagined a white winter Christmas to be. It was pretty awesome to see the Christmas lights on peoples' homes illuminate the fresh snow with all sorts of colours, and I can finally appreciate all the winter imagery that's so commonly associated with Christmas.
Another church family had invited me out to their house in Etobicoke for Christmas lunch, so that's where I spent most of my day. I managed to call my parents in Malaysia, and my sister in New Zealand as well, and got to hear from my excited nephews about what presents they got and what they got up to back home. I really do miss them, and I'm looking forward to going back to New Zealand sometime next year to see them, and all my other friends too.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:54am on Thursday December 28, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Four Months
Tuesday November 21, 2017
Oh, hi.
I've been here for almost four months now, getting back into routine and doing all those regular mundane things that I never really had the inspiration to write about. I'm pretty much settled in, I've recovered from an injury I sustained while playing badminton, and I've started going back to the gym. The gym in my condo is basic, but as I'm still trying to regain all the strength I've lost in the past ten months, it's good enough. Badminton is now a regular thing too! Also, I've found a church to go to, and I've already started playing piano for Sunday services.
Work is going well. We hit a milestone last week, so there was a mad rush to get a bunch of things in to the build before it was sent off to Paris for review. I'm becoming more familiar with things and I'm gaining confidence as I traverse the codebase. It's still massive, and I'll probably never fully understand its structure, but at least I'm making progress.
Winter is rolling in. It's getting colder and it even snowed last week, which was great for about five minutes, and then my face started hurting. I know, layers, etc. I'll be fine. My walk to work is only five minutes. Hopefully it doesn't get cold enough that I'll develop frostbite in the time it takes me to get from my condo to the office.
I do think about home a lot and the life I had in Wellington. I really miss Little Penang. It's sometimes lonely here, and when I'm by myself, I think a lot. It fluctuates between self-doubt and disbelief - it still amazes me that I actually migrated halfway around the world to a foreign country to live and work. I wonder how people back home are doing, and I wonder about my other friends who left New Zealand and how they're coping. I honestly thought I'd be doing better than this, but some of it is impatience too - I want things to be "the way they were", and I often forget it took me nine years to build up that lifestyle in Wellington, yet I've only been here for four months. I've always been - and probably always will be - an introvert. I find it hard to talk to people I don't know, or socialise at parties or bars or clubs. I find it hard to meet new people and strike up a random conversation without any context.
I guess it's a good time to learn, huh?
Posted by Jeremy at 5:39am on Tuesday November 21, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
A Month In
Friday September 8, 2017
It's been just over a month since I arrived in Canada. The weather is starting to cool - quite dramatically, I might add - and it's a sure sign that winter is on its way. I've moved into my new apartment and assembled all my Ikea furniture with the help of some awesome friends. There's been some hiccups with the bank and Internet and mobile phone bills and all that, but I think most of it has resolved itself, and for the first time in 7 months, I'm not living out of a suitcase. I'm back to cooking as well, and it feels really good.
Work is challenging but I'm soldiering on. It's a difficult engine to get used to, mostly at the moment because of its size. It's hard to know who to ask for help, especially during busy times. I've got a regular Friday lunch crew, and a Pokemon Go crew too, so things are looking up.
I've spent the last wee while making an interactive map of my travels using Google's My Maps feature. It's pretty amazing, and you can see how much of Europe I covered; and despite all of that, I still missed out on places like Croatia, Greece and Turkey.
I did some shopping last weekend with Chi, wandering around Chinatown and then deciding to go to the big Asian supermarket to the east of town. We went to the Canadian National Exhibition the next day, and went on as many rides as we could. I was not particularly happy about one of them, and ended up feeling quite miserable after being suspended upside down multiple times. This weekend, there's supposed to be yum cha!
Posted by Jeremy at 2:59am on Friday September 8, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
London: The Countdown
Friday July 28, 2017
I arrived back in London on Monday and took the train from Stansted Airport to Liverpool Station. I did something I hadn't done in a while - I went out and played Pokemon Go. Legendary raids have been released, meaning Lugia and Articuno can be found in boss raids in gyms all around the city. There was one near Liverpool Station, so I wandered down to see if anyone would show up. Sure enough, even though it was Monday, a small group had gathered to fight the Articuno, but I was unsuccessful in catching it. There were a couple close by, so I followed them around, dragging my luggage with me like an idiot, but neither raid was successful. The District line was in chaos due to maintenance and closures leftover from the weekend, but I managed to make it home for a haircut and quick shower before heading back out to Chelsea, where I met Alice for an incredible dining experience at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. Full writeup in my food blog!
I was more prepared on Tuesday. I joined the PoGo London Discord chat and met with some fellow players near Notting Hill. I followed them around for a good 6 hours during the day, going from the west of Hyde Park and finishing near Marylebone Station. Of the ten or so raids we did, I managed to catch one Articuno and one Lugia exactly, so it was at least a fruitful day. I decided to call it a day and met Theo for dinner at Victoria Station. Afterwards, we saw Wicked the musical at the Apollo Theatre. I really enjoyed it! It was a slow start but quickly got better; Defying Gravity sent chills down my spine. The actors were all incredibly talented - magnificent voices - and the costumes and set design was equally as amazing. I'm so glad I got to see a West End show before I left London.
I met Mash for lunch out in Aldgate East, and then tried to find a quiet place so I could do some work on my laptop. I wandered over to the Barbican Centre in the hopes I could find a spot to sit down, but it turns out Kings College London were having their graduation celebrations there. I snuck in to the basement and swiped a glass of juice and some canapés before leaving. It was getting late, so I took the gross unairconditioned Central line over to Queensway and got some delicious char siu and roast duck rice from Four Seasons.
I met with Daniela and Sean for dinner at Putney Bridge yesterday and Jono for lunch at Strutton Ground Market; the rest of the week will just be catching up with people. It's all happened so fast, but I will be leaving London to work in Toronto, Canada with the team at Ubisoft Toronto. My work permit was approved last Friday and my flights were booked today, so it's all official now.
It's strange how curve balls can completely derail your plans; last year I had applied to a dozen or so companies all around the UK and Canada in the hopes someone would employ me and sponsor a visa for me. Both Ubisoft Toronto and Montreal were interested in me, but had a recruitment freeze on, so couldn't complete the hire. That was when I decided I would try for the UK youth migrant visa, but that meant I needed to get to the UK before I turned 31. Thus, I booked all my flights, sorted my life out and secured my visa for departure in January, when literally a week before I left, Ubisoft Toronto called me up to say they wanted to hire me.
Of course, I took the job. It meant that I'd have to wait 6 months for the work permit to be approved by the Canadian government, but it meant that I was free to travel around Europe while waiting. It's been an incredible time, and I couldn't have asked for a better situation. I've seen so much of Europe, but there is still so much more. I've met cool people and caught up with long lost friends as well. It will be hard to go back to working after such a long time, but I'm honestly so thankful that the job materialised when it did; it means that I don't have to sort out a bank account and social security number for the UK, I don't have to find a flat or contend with the ludicrous bureaucracy here. Ubisoft's relocation team have really taken care of me, and it will make my move quite smooth.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:56pm on Friday July 28, 2017 :: 0 comments ::