Land in Dimension Data - the first day

Bonjour,

Sorry for greeting in French due to just finish watching tennis in Roland Garros.

Yes, this is the first day in Dimension Data, 3 month contract as Java Developer working on Telstra Shared Services Layer project.

I receive my "dog tag" - secure access card, without "mug shot" - my photo on it.

Dimension Data ask me to bring my laptop for the work (I guess they want to get rid of Toilet if it's legal). They "confiscate" it before lunch time for virus scanning, setting up email and printer, blah, blah. People for ITS promise it will be back in an hour. However, I have been waiting till to 6 o'clock and still not see it. So have to read all the documents, specifications, prepared and written by Telstra architects, almost whole day. I have to admit, they are bloody good tech specs, from any point of view. The University of Melbourne, and some other small businesses I worked before, lack of this kind of professional "rubbish".

As a new guy, I am assigned the cubicle "designed" for me. I'm not whinging about how it is closed to the entrance door (almost half of the people in the floor pass me and watch me all day), toilet and an old guy on the phone, pooh-poohing everything all day. I feel very frustrated about the kitchen opposites my cubicle. From the morning after I sit down, there is no more than 20 minutes silent time in there. People keep coming in the kitchen, making coffee, making instant noodles, making big lunch and on and on. But I'm on a diet right now.

I only eat three apples a day during the lunch trying to reduce my weight to Lleyton Hewitt's weight (he is on 60k, but he is taller than me), for my tennis sake. But the great smell from the kitchen just kill me!

As old sayings - "The shortest way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Will bring a gas mask to work tomorrow :-)

OK, that's my journey on the first day in Dimension Data. Hope you don't feel too boring about it. Will ride bike to the office tomorrow!

Cheers!

Best pizza in town tonight

You missed the best pizza in town tonight. Farah, Huili, my friend's whole family (his wife and 4 years old son) and I spent this fantastic night in Mario's Pizza in Collingwood. We ordered four giant pizza and small size one for the kid. We finished all of them at the end. All of them except me were first time came to Mario's. All of them were gourmets, with discriminating taste in food. They reckoned the pizza were delicious and great!

Mario also made a special fest for twenty five people on the other side of the shop tonight, including a baked whole lamb, beautiful Caesar salad, of course, pizza as well. This was the first time I saw Mario cooked something not pizza and pasta. My friend was also very impressed. He wanted Mario to make the same fest for the party in his home next time!

In the end, all the pizza, drinks and cappuccino were only $50 dollars. Can you believe it? However, friends gathering, spending a few happy hours after long time missing each other and a beautiful night, those were priceless.

"How lucky we are," I thought, "Maggie doesn't show up to paid the bill tonight. So she still owes us and we are going to dinner in the most expensive restaurant next time" :-D

Bon appetit! (Or let's say great food forever!)