Day Seventeen: Final Day
Monday May 16, 2011
Jimmy, Tony and I took an hour Caltrain ride to San Jose, where we visited the Winchester Mystery House - an eccentric mansion owned by Sarah Winchester, famous for stairways and doorways to nowhere so that Sarah could confuse spirits. A lot of the architecture and furnishings are based around the number 13, which she believed to be lucky. It was certainly an interesting experience.
I'm sitting here just after the security checks at San Francisco International Airport. It's sad... I've really enjoyed my time here with three of my workmates - I couldn't have asked for a better three to be with really. The food has been excellent, the weather practically perfect, the sights astounding. The work ahead will be difficult - like any other project - but we have learned a lot in our time here and hopefully we'll be on the right track to make the game as specified.
I will miss the American-sized portions of food, their delicious candy (I've brought a whole bunch back to New Zealand anyway), the good weather and the free lunches. I will not miss tipping, carrying loads of cash around and not having the full price listed.
It's been awesome but it's time to go. Thanks for a fantastic seventeen days, San Francisco.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:35am on Monday May 16, 2011 :: 1 comment :: 
Day Sixteen
Sunday May 15, 2011
We decided to go our separate ways today, so it was nice not having to stop every so often so Tony and Jimmy could have a smoke (although I bet they relished not having to go into every damn candy store they saw). I headed into town at 10am and took a bus to the Golden Gate Park. It's a really serene place, kinda like a huge version of Western Springs.
I wanted to go see the penguins at the California Academy of Sciences, but admission was a whopping $30, so I flagged that. The area around the entrance, known as the Music Concourse, was scenic and had three fountains in line with the main stage at one end of the park. I got an American Hot Dog for lunch and went to the Japanese Tea Garden afterwards. Admission there was $7 and I can't say it was really worth it but I was definitely glad that I went. A lot of the ornamental features reminded me of the trinkets you find in Zen Puzzle Garden, which is fantastic, and certainly a job well done. I also saw some squirrels running around. Yay squirrels!
Further west, there was Swan Lake where a lot of waterfowl had gathered around the lake's edge. There were also some paddle boats that people had hired to explore the area. It's spring so there were quite a few new adorable ducklings and cygnets waddling around. I continued further west, following a little brook running beside the footpath, until finally I reached the bison paddock. Disappointing.
I bussed back to town and did some shopping around Westfield and Macy's. On the top floor of the Macy's building, there's a cheesecake shop with the most delectable selection of cheesecakes like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake, Pina Colada Cheesecake, Strawberry and Cream Cheesecake... I settled for the Mango and Key Lime Cheesecake and it was soooooo gooooooood.
I wandered around the area for a while, stopping by the Yerba Buena Gardens where there was a memorial to Martin Luther King. There was a water feature with a waterfall that you could walk behind, and inscribed on several plaques at the back were excerpts from MLK's famous speech. I ended up walking to Chinatown for dinner where I had salt and pepper spicy prawns. Together with the cheesecake, I'm pretty sure I undid all the walking from today.
Last day tomorrow :( I'm not ready to leave!
Posted by Jeremy at 5:31am on Sunday May 15, 2011 :: 1 comment ::
Day Fifteen: Working from Home
Saturday May 14, 2011
The offices are in the process of being renovated so we were told to work from home. We took the opportunity to return to the pancake house opposite the apartments since they're absolutely packed on the weekends. Still, even on a Friday morning, the place was almost to capacity - we were wondering if there was some kind of public holiday that we were missing. I ordered a Hawaiian waffle - a large waffle covered in pineapple, banana, shaved coconut and sugar, topped with a mountain of whipped cream. SUGAR RUSH~!
We did actually do work though (I did at least). We went in for a rather intense meeting - there was a lot to learn and take in and plenty to think about in terms of the architecture of the game.
I went to get a root beer float from A&W and took it home where I slipped in a bit of Jack Daniels. So good.
Big day tomorrow!
Posted by Jeremy at 1:10am on Saturday May 14, 2011 :: 0 comments ::
Day Fourteen
Friday May 13, 2011
I'm just waiting for my Mac to reinstall OSX, just so all Sidhe's company secrets are securely disposed of before we leave for New Zealand. From a tech standpoint, I think we're in a good position to head back and continue the project. The biggest beneficiaries of the stint here were definitely art and design, but it's been a great experience for all of us and certainly the exposure to a different company would be one of my most important.
I had a very calming dinner last night - prime steak - and then a few drinks at the bar (see the comment about Malibu). The steak wasn't the best I've ever had, but like the Chinese meal I had a few nights ago, it was a relief to have a solid chunk of meat.
So since I don't have a Mac anymore, I guess I'll have to go back to documentation...
Posted by Jeremy at 1:31am on Friday May 13, 2011 :: 0 comments ::
Day Thirteen
Thursday May 12, 2011
Second to last day at work. The offices are being renovated on Friday so we'll be working from the apartments. We have a meeting with the OpenFeint guys so we'll go to that but otherwise today is really the second to last day.
I've developed a liking to Malibu and Coke. I might get a bottle at duty free....
Posted by Jeremy at 6:05am on Thursday May 12, 2011 :: 0 comments ::