Don't Try This At Home ... Seriously

So my last 2 posts were pretty delicious and awesome.  I figure that Oreo knew what they were doing, so I picked up a pack of this:

I didn't know what to expect, but they were pretty good.  I would buy them again.

So, guess what I decided to do ...

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Needless to say, this wasn't a good idea.  It was pretty terrible.

Stick to the cookie form.

On the bright side, only 165 sleeps until Christmas!

Hallmark is on the ball!!!

And yes, I did watch several of these movies - all weekend long.

You know what could be more awesome?

... Well, I found this:

And it sort of looks like this:

It didn't really taste 'quite right'.  I was confused ... WHY would you replace the delicious Oreo-ness that makes an Oreo an Oreo

So ... I think you know what is next!

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Real Oreo cookies

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The stuffing

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Yes, 'Premium Italian Chocolate'

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Awesomeness + 2!

It was awesomely delicious.

Try it today!

Awesomeness ...

... made MORE awesome!

I went to Safeway on the weekend, to finally go grocery shopping, and I happened upon this.

So, I bought a pack.  Now, this is what they look like:

Its pretty good. And it looks mostly like the packaging.

It tastes pretty good too.  I give it 2-thumbs up.

But I had decided, it wasn't good enough ... so then, I did this:

I give this THREE thumbs up!

Yes, its that good.

Awesomeness ... made more awesome.

I can't wait to see what else Oreo does for the next "Limited Edition" cookie.

Yes, China ....

Well, that was an eventful week.  I travelled to the future and then came back to the past. I completed my only goal of the trip.

Things that I learned on my trip:

The Maglev train is only "fast"

Yes, only "fast".  I say that because if you want to go super fast, you need to ride the train from 1500h to 1545h where you go 468 kph.  The maximum speed is 300 kph after 1545h. But looking at the video now, I "guess" it seems really fast.

Food

Typically, I like to stick to food I'm comfortable with. But I decided to try different foods (kinda like here where I attempt to eat the vegan dish in the caf) ... up to a point.  I had some dim sum, pig's feet and some dumplings.  The dim sum was really good. I should have gotten 6 of them instead of the pig's feet.  That was less good. The pot stickers (or dumplings) were meh ... Yes, I've never had dim sum ... pot stickers (I've only had them Japanese style - Gyoza).

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At least there was fast-food. Check out the 'McNugget meal.' But no 6-pack nuggets - but 5-packs!? I wonder if they would ever sell the 50 McNuggets for $10 (or the 20 McNuggets for $5 deal).

Public Transit

The subway system in Shanghai seems super safe.  Pushing people on the tracks is not possible since there is little wall thingy.  Also, there are x-ray machines you need to put your stuff through every time you enter a station. Driving in Shanghai is super scary, road lines are 'optional' and sometimes red lights are 'optional' too. Remember, cars and buses are bigger then you, so they pretty much have right of way.

Just Excessive 

There are some REALLY tall buildings in Shanghai.  I had no idea. Plus the stores are crazy. The Apple Store features the world biggest "curved glass" and the Louis Vuitton store sort of just speaks for itself.  I couldn't find a cheesy souvenir store it was all brand names, all of the time. I did get to go to an "antique" street with some merchants and tried my hand at bargaining - bring out them calculators!

Mayweather - Pacquaio

Even in China was I was able to catch Mayweather - Paciquiao I (maybe there will a II - Mayweahter did not outright reject a rematch).  I went to a sports bar called the Camel and there was NO cover!  It ended up being a fight I had expected to see, not the fight I was hoping to see.  I wanted to see a really offensive aggressive fight. Too bad it turned into your typical Mayweather match. Next up for Mayweather is probably my boy Amir Khan (unless he loses to Chris Algieri).  As for Pacquiao, well, surgery for one and then I believe 6 - 8 month recovery period.

Dreamliner

After a week of anticipation, the Dreamliner was not as awesome as I expected. It was only 1-level. The windows do not have any little blind thingys.  There is a button that dims the window, but it does not dim the window completely. Its made of carbon and what not, but that is sort of underwhelming.  Apparently, I should have found a flight that uses the A380 plane instead - that thing is massive.

Other details of note:

• The Internet in China is slow - also try living without Google if your carrier/hotel isn't 'sneaky'
• Apple Maps is better then Google Maps - it didn't put me in the middle of the river while trying to find my hotel (and considering it was the first time in the country, a good maps program is important).  I'm going to say that it was Matt P.'s doing.  Thanks Matt!
• Los Angeles (LAX) airport is one of the worse airports I've been to. It seems like I've been to a lot of them.  Normally there are those "Departures" screen thingy-doodles all over the place; but I didn't see one until I was literally at my gate. The airport is 8-ish terminals big.  I wasn't sure when I went through security if I had to leave and re-go through security again to get to my gate.

It was a good trip.  I learned a lot and got a lot of work done. That was the purpose of the trip (that and going on the Maglev train). Maybe I'll get to go some where more awesome next time - where there are some cheesy souvenir shops

China You Say ...

... "So, are you ok with traveling to China?"

This will be interesting.  I have one goal ... take that super duper fast Maglev train thingy from the airport.

One Year Later ....

... Happy 1 Year Anniversary from being let go from BlackBerry. How do I feel? Hmmm, right now.  Kinda tired. I guess I would say that it still stings from getting let go.  But on the flip side, I was in t-shirt and jeans in January ... and February. So, there is that.

Crystal! and Brodie! still are in Canada, I bolieve they will be joining me soon.  We are almost ready to list our house. Once the house sells, then they will come down and join me.  So the timelines are difficult to track.  Soon we'll be together again!

Good Work Tom ...

... I did my part back in July (What can you do in 900 days!? ...). And Tom finished it! The curse is lifted as you can tell by the 'miracle' catch the Seahawks had in the waning moments of the 4th quarter but the Pats still won.

It was the first time I got to see them "Super Bowl" commercials.  Canada, you really didn't miss much.  Except for the Budweiser ad.

Its a Small World ...

Since I have been down here:

... Matt P. has moved into the same building as me

... Saw Ahmed at the Sharks-Canucks game, he was seated IN THE SAME ROW as Dave and I

... Got a message from an old BestBuy co-worker, Roberto.  He mentioned he is starting a new job the following Monday.  Where was he staying temporarily? Same building, one floor down

... Was in the cafe looking for seats and who do I see?  Xin! Who had left RIM 3 years ago to go to California with her husband

... Went to the company Christmas party and upon entering the party, I turned around and low and behold, its Kyle! Yet another ex-BestBuy co-worker!

Its nice to see familiar faces.

Baseball, Hockey and a Freeway!

I've been pretty busy! So many visitors. Lauren, Rob, Chris and Dave. And so many exciting things have happened! The San Francisco Giants won the World Series! I went into to "The City" for Game 5. No no, I didn't go to the game, but I did go by the stadium and picked up a World Series program. So, Rob and I went somewhere for the next best thing ... Go watch the game under the freeway! 

Check out the setup! Such fancy furniture

That's the freeway

They were streaming the game over the Internet and setup the TV.  The best part of the night?  Around the 8th inning, the streaming signal started to break up and go bad. So they brought out a digital antenna! For the inning they were trying to get a good enough signal to the game would come in.  They had a guy standing there with the antenna adjusting it. Eventually he gave up and they went back to streaming it online ... only missed about an inning.

Last Thursday, Dave and I went to San Jose Sharks - Vancouver Canucks game.

Apparently San Jose Sharks play in the SAP "Center"

Waiting for the game to start

And ME with the Sedins!!!

Needless to say, this was pretty epic.  The seats were literally RIGHT behind the bench! Although, I couldn't see half the game (damn players standing up). And the Canucks won the game! I guess you can say I now have been settled. I have found a bar with trivia, the Britannica Arms Pub!  The trivia is done by Triviolity. Its pretty good (better then the PubStumpers).  I have been a one-man team (and not scoring the greatest, but I'm having a good time). Now all I need is my family to be here with me.

Home ...

... Yes, I found a place.  Its in the same building as my temporary housing, so it was really easy to move - not that I had a lot of stuff to actually move. I would post a bunch of other pictures ... but that seems like a lot of work.  So instead, I made a slideshow ... check it out. Click here to download/watch. The video is about 150 MB but its in HD!

I'm finally feeling like I'm getting settled in. I have pretty much finished all of my administration stuff with the exception of getting my driver's license. I really have not done anything super awesome, because of all of the stuff I've been needing to do.  Also, there is that work thing!

Its like I'm a student again because all of my furniture is still in Waterloo and won't be showing up until April-ish.  So, I had to buy a bunch of the necessities.  Pot, pan, plates, bowls, cutlery, can opener, sharp knives and towels and what not. I figure I'll have to buy some more miscellaneous stuff.

Hopefully next post, I will have some interesting stories to tell.  But we'll see ...

Jeans and a t-shirt ...

... and that's all I've been wearing! No need for anything else! The weather is pretty much the same every day. Sunny ... warm ... sunny ... warm ... every day. Oh, the hard California life.

So, I've been getting settled in. I got a social security number! I found an apartment too.  Just need to sign the lease.  I'm staying where my temporary housing is, just a different apartment. Its a new build (hotel/apartment style) and its within walking distance to work. Plus the best part is that, Matt P. is living in the same building!! He moved in last week. Matt L. helped him move, so I got to see him too!

What else have I done? Well, I finished the South Park: Stick of Truth game (100% of the trophies) ... If you are a South Park fan, you absolutely need to play this game.  It is AWESOME. Also, I've started watching Smallville, "Bajar style" (one episode a day).  Aside from a couple of missed days, so I had to watch a few episodes a couple of nights (sorry Bajar), but I've kept up with it. But its only been 2 weeks ... 14 episodes ... I have another 235-ish to go!

Really, I have not done anything super duper 'fun and exciting' yet ... patience. Haven't even made it to SF!

California ...

… yes!  I'm in California! I'm not officially a Californian, I still eat meat ... HAHA.

The flight and everything was uneventful. There was quite the wait at customs. At least it was interesting.  Apparently someone was caught for fraud at the border. Subsequently, he was arrested. It helped pass the time. I sort of wish I had brought a book, since you are not allowed to use any electronic devices.

On Saturday, there was the an earthquake in nearby Napa County. Which is about a 90-minute drive from where I am. I didn't feel a thing, but I was sleeping. It was the biggest earthquake since 1989 (During the World Series between the Oakland A's and SF Giants).

I haven't really done much anything else right now. I'm still getting settled in. Currently, the best thing is that the cable box down here doesn't suck like the Rogers' cable boxes (since it doesn't actually reset while you want to watch things ...).

What do you mean ...

... there are no Mac OS X (Intel Version) drivers for this thing!?

How am I supposed to update my playlist now!?!

So, this is what is currently on the player:

1. Black Eyed Peas: Where the Love?
2. Fountains of Wayne: Stacy's Mom
3. Avril Lavigne: Things I'll Never Say
4. Hilary Duff: So Yesterday
5. Linkin Park: Numb
6. Nelly Furtado: I'm Like a Bird
7. Avril Lavigne: Ska8r Boi
8. Evanescence: Bring Me Back to Life
9. Michelle Branch: All You Wanted
10. Nena: 99 Red Balloons (Remix)
11. Scott Bakula: Somewhere in the Night
12. Andrew W.K.: Party 'til you Puke

Wow ... those are some fine-fine tracks.  I'm especially proud of the Andrew W.K. song - its a CLASSIC!

The Scott Bakula track was probably during my Quantum Leap obsession ... really ... its not currently on my iPod ... I swear ... really ... *wink*

All Good Things Must Come to an End ...

...  so more good things can possibly happen!

Yes, my time as an unemployed bum is coming to a close. About a week ago I accepted an offer from another fruit company (or in Waterloo, the "other" fruit company).  Apple offered me a position to work as a Software Development Engineer on their SIM technologies team!! Yes, Apple ... Woooooot!!  The rumours are true.  I'm going to California ...

First off, I would like to say this is all Bajar's fault.  I had originally planned on staying local and only applying to local companies (Desire2Learn, Motorola, Aeryon, etc ...).  But he convinced me that I cannot and should not limit my options to the area.  Silicon Valley is the 'mecca' of technology and software development. He said, "Don't you want to see what else is out there?"

So, why am I doing this?  There are several reasons why:

1. Fruit companies
When Research In Motion (RIM) decided to change their name to BlackBerry, I too decided that I will only work for fruit companies! There are only a limited number of fruit companies.  So, my options became very limited:

• Tangerine: Canadian low-cost/no fee bank
• Orange: European cellular carrier
• BlackBerry: Trust me, I tried to get re-hired, they would have none of me
• Strawberry, Peach, Pear ... These are potential names for my startup if I fail at Apple

2. Fairness
Since I had a lot of time off, Crystal and I decided its only fair for her to take some time off. Unfortunately, she cannot work in the U.S. so she will be taking some time off. It is only fair.

3. Matt L.
For more then a decade (with the exception of that 18 month experiment in Ottawa), I have lived no farther then a 1-hour car drive to Matt.  He just moved to SF a few weeks ago, and it would just be weird being like a 5-hour plane ride away.

4. Hippies
The biggest reason why I hate hippies so much is because I'm so jealous of them. There, I admitted it. Now I can turn into one! Must only eat organic certified foods! Vegetarianism! Maybe even veganism! Biking and public transit! Hippies like Apple right?

5. Cost Savings!
What? This doesn't make any sense ... but really it does!  Although rent is like three times more then around here, but consider these things:

• I want to the 'Disney Coast-to-Coast' Marathon medal - moving to California just makes it slightly cheaper for one half of the trip
• Beer is so much cheaper down there - although it will have to be organic certified beer!
• 40 Chicken McNuggets for $29.99! I think it was $29.99, maybe its $19.99 I can't remember
• Summers in Cupertino are between 15 - 25 degrees.  Winters are between 5 - 15.  Who needs winter clothes!?  Who needs heating or air conditioning? The hydro/gas bill has to be a fraction of what it is here
• Considering that a lot of "organic certified" foods come from California, I can only assume the cost of that food is so much more cheap!
• Target has actually good prices ... instead of the fake Target here

Yup, add all those cost savings up and they should really balance out that massive rent increase ... right? I have a degree in Mathematics, I can make the numbers work ... sure.

6. Whatchamacallit
I can't find this chocolate bar in Canada ... its so tasty with its rice crisps and caramel goodness. Plus with a name like that, how can you go wrong!

What can you do in 900 days!? ...

You can finished an 18,000+ puzzle!!

Yes!  At 12:45 pm today, Crystal placed the LAST piece!

Placement of the last piece - Yay Crystal!

The traditional hugging of the puzzle!

A few thoughts:

• This puzzle was actually easier then the last large puzzle I did (9000 piece - Wedding of Cano) - this puzzle was very colourful!
• The puzzle was started on February 9th, 2012 - 11:00 pm*
• The puzzle was completed July 28, 2014 - 12:45 pm.
• Total elapsed time: 899 days, 13 hours, 45 minutes
• There was a puzzle sabbatical from June 2012 to January 2014 - wow ... long time.

The puzzle is complete!  There are no missing pieces ... there was a scary moment where I couldn't find one of the pieces but it was sitting on the Risk box!

Now, what do to?  Maybe I'll go and have an Apple or something ...

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* After the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl.  I feel I have been a curse to the Patriots since I have yet to finish the task.  Now its up to you Tom Brady. I'm no longer holding you back!