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The French Will Have His Revenge
It has been a while but you may remember the French guy from a previous post (here). At the last ever department (our dept is merging) white elephant, he decides to retaliate.
Ryan was about to give this to his kids. Good thing he opened it first.
Alex’s face is on a few things in the office. Now Todd’s is too.
All the guys on Alex’s hit list
Ah, tis the season to be vengeful!
ILMN: summer fun in the sun
taking in the view at mission beach
A good friend and apartment mate from the college years is in town and just in time for my company picnic! Andrew Jang seemed like he brought the gloom down with him from Norcal but later in the afternoon the sun poked it’s face out. It’s the third year in a row that my company is having the summer party at the Wave House. Man-made wave machines, hot dogs, hamburgers, and a good time. It never seems to get old. There is a bizarre joy in seeing your co-workers and bosses eat it big time on the wave machine.
(left) kid rocking the mini-wave runner (right) pro showing how it’s done on Bruticus Maximus
This is my second year attending and I swear I’ll get the hang of it before my time at Illumina’s over. Last year Josh and I tackled the larger wave machine aptly titled “Bruticus Maximus” but found ourselves completely dumbfounded by the machine. It is totally unlike surfing and much more like wake boarding. We developed massive whiplash after a few hours of falling of repeatedly wiping out. It’s easy to forget that under that 1 inch jet stream is some pretty hard plastic. This year I went in adament that I would only go body boarding on the wave machine.
Like that was really going to happen.
Tour de Food: Los Angeles (LA Eats 2010)
3:00 pm: Padres Game
ILMN group outing for work! Closest to the field I’ve ever sat at Petco and in the all you can eat section. Downed two wienerschnitzel hot dogs as soon as I got in but decided to save some space for the adventures that would go on later tonight. Sadly the Pads were getting spanked by the D-backs when I left around the 5th inning.
7:30 pm: Boiling Crab (Garden Grove)
A series of rather unfortunate events had me reeling and scrambling to unload a few ISA tickets as soon as possible. On the plus side, 12-14 year old girls are willing to pay quite a fee to see Wong Fu, Far East Movement, and Jay Park. On the other hand, because they are 12-14 year old girls it means they can’t really meet half way or anything to exchange, so we had to take a short trip up to a few places in the southern California region. Joining me on this adventure tonight would be John Yao of SimplyTwo and Project Resonate, Chiyori Angevine, and Joshua Wu.
You wouldn’t believe how many times I have been asked, “are you scamming me?” in the last week while trying to sell my tickets.
First up, Garden Grove. Dropped off a ticket and decided to hit up a local favorite. Cajon sauce slathered shrimp! The first time you go to this restaurant you will be shocked by the masses congregating outside. The wait is excrutiatingly long (45min+). However, if you walk just 3 stores over to the right you will find a To Go shop where the wait is only 10 minutes. The only downside is finding a place to eat this glorious mess.
[left] Boiling Crab To Go. [right] C.Angevine, J.Yao, V.Ho, J.Wu, L.Hui having dinner in Cerritos
9:00 pm: The Hat (Alhambra)
Pastrami Sandwiches and Chili Cheese Fries
If you are a fan of pastrami and you haven’t had this, it is an great experience. The sandwich itself will become a standard that you measure all future pastrami sandwiches to. Many places have better quality pastrami but none in my experience have challenged the Hat’s sheer quantity of meaty goodness. I find myself always comparing any pastrami, reuben, or corned beef to this place. First timers beware. Do not try finishing a sandwich and a chili cheese fries on your own. You simply can’t.
11:00 pm: Wurstkuche (Downtown Los Angeles)
800 East 3rd Street,Los Angeles, CA 90013
This was a recommendation by one of the artists mentioned a few posts ago (Stephen Lee of Feats in Inches). When I had brought up Pinks both Daniel and Stephen shook their heads and named Wurstkuche and Skooby’s as the LA local’s place of choice for their hot dog fixes. I decided Wurstkuche would be our next location upon hearing that they offered rattlesnake meat hot dogs.
The place is right next to little tokyo in downtown LA and this is definitely a happening spot for the mid-20’s crowd. It resembles a modern beer hall with cafeteria-like long tables that really facilitate meeting new people. You’ll find yourself bumping elbows with strangers, shouting over loud music, and eating in a dimly lit room at night. Yet all of this contributes to an experience that is rather enjoyable.
exotic selections in the front
photo stolen from sinosoul.com
beer hall style dining area
left to right: rattlesnake and rabbit, alligator, buffalo
Not quite the exotic meats connoisseurs, we were unable to clearly distinguish the different meats. We could definitely taste that it was different but had the names not been written on a serving sheet, we would not have been able to tell you which was which. The atmosphere and the beers on tap (we didn’t have any) seem to be one of the reasons locals keep coming back.
The dogs themselves are a novelty and there aren’t many places like this. I happily concede that this place is better than pinks, both in food quality and the wait. Definitely the highlight of the trip! Thanks LA for being a great host. Until next time…
i’Softball
Illumina Team Red vs. Illumina Team White squared off in the ultimate showdown for the right to be called ILMN’s best softball team! This year there was unprecedented numbers with 7 full teams (~15 players/team) from Illumina participating. Unfortunately, none of our teams made it too far into playoffs in the biotech league with all of our top talent evenly dispursed among all seven teams. Due to the number of teams, this year there was no tournament style playoff for Illumina teams but the best record from thursday games would play the wednesday games.
The Red team started out slowly this season and along the way lost some players due to injuries and pregnancy. Yup, we almost convinced our 6 month pregnant captain to play catcher. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed. As the season progressed it was clear that Team Red played significantly better against ILMN teams than other companies. After a 3 month season, ending the season with a 9-5 record was great!Today’s game was catered by La Taqueria and the entire seasons fees, jerseys, and hats were subsidized by Illumina.
pics stolen from A.Rebujio
It was a fun season and a learning one for me. Playing softball for the first time since middle school, I learned 2 big lessons this season. 1. Lean back on your swing, 2. on a flyball, an outfielder’s first step is always backwards. Yup, took a few balls to learn not to run towards it and then have to back pedal like crazy.
Team Red wins 12-7 and is crowned ILMN’s best!
Lucky Number Slevin
photo taken by cliq xt
Tales of the office: Earthquake
Been having a lot of earthquakes lately and lots of aftershocks. Has me all jittery. Any sign of la tierra shaking and I’m looking for the nearest table to duck under.
Was eating in the cafeteria today and felt the beginnings of a rumbling. Thought better than to panic so I waited a few seconds to make sure.
it got stronger
I turned to the guys at the next table and was about to shout but was still in mid chew. Just as I get the words, “Do you feel…” a HUGE lady walks by.
As she walks away, the rumblings subside. I have never been more grateful for eating with big mouthfuls.
ILMN: day 365
Aftermath
Photo courtesy of J.Kim (co-worker)
Fooling the French Guy
The Inspiration:
I watched a trailer yesterday of a unique artist that I have been quasi-following for a few years. Ever since a friend of mine showed me a piece of his work in the heart of LA back in college, I was hooked.
A Banksy piece in Los Angeles, CA
Despite his renown sketches, the rogue artist only known as Banksy has never had his identity revealed in public and thats why the trailer for Exit Through The Gift Shop caught my eye. Take a look at his wiki, he’s truly an artist.
The French Guy
At work, there’s a guy that everyone loves to make fun of. His name is Alex G. Now people aren’t mean to him but he’s usually the target of some kind of joke or another due to his thick french accent and overall just funny demeanor. He’s a great guy, he just finished a half iron man last week and loves to joke around.
One time I was at the gym and there was a boot camp going on and there must have been 3 or 4 other French guys (our company has a lot of French people). Even they were poking fun at him. So I guess it’s less to do with the French accent and more that he’s just one of those guys. Plus he’s a little short. Actually, he likes to jokingly trash talk with people so that prompts half the retaliatory jokes that he gets.
Alex and I get along pretty well cause he gets to make fun of me for being the youngest and the greenest behind the ears in the group. It might be his way of establishing seniority, but we’re cool. He told me yesterday he might be switching cubicles and we might end up cubicle neighbors soon.
In any case, I decided he’d be a fun target. Plus I get the added benefit of him being a common target for everyone so there’s less a chance I’ll get caught straight away. I decided to pull a relatively mild prank, I figure the longer I stay at this company the more daring the pranks’ll get. As always though, I try to keep them enjoyable for everyone and edifying.
Enjoy the pics!
Rasterbate his image, assemble, and set up past midnight
The finished product!
Unlike Banksy, I’m not too good with anonymity.
Now comes the toughest part. Waking up in time to see his reaction =P