A difficult day today, at work. While we were told that there would be restructuring and the potential for layoffs… I don’t think anyone anticipated the depth and degree of what happened today.
Yesterday (Thursday), we received an email telling folks to work from home – and that all our offices would be closed. Today, over the course of the morning, meetings were held with people who were informed they were let go.
I’m saddened to say: I was working towards a management position at Grubhub, and after the 2024 Year End Review, it was determined that I would not be offered the position.
While not quite a ghost kitchen, Wonder sets up a physical location that is capable of producing food from its 30+ restaurants. This is how they’re able to offer such a wide range of options on the same order. And they’ve figured out how to prepare a wide range of foods (pizza, steak, pasta) without gas, and without the need for vents or stoves or flames (it’s all electric).
Apparently, Wonder can cook a pizza in 88 seconds, and can cook pasta without water. It’s a little mind-bending, actually.
For those not familiar with the show or series, the decontamination chamber was an area where crew members would go after away missions. The chamber was designed to remove harmful pathogens, and involved the crew members rubbing medicinal gel over one another’s bodies, while bathing under a blue colored UV light.
That’s the scientific explanation for the chamber. For those of us who aren’t 100% Trekkies and blinded by fandom, we see it for what it is: a bit of visual erotica that aims to nudge this Sci-Fi show a few steps towards softcore pornography.
For me, I’m going back to the Mart – a place where I worked for an age, an age ago.
My first day at the Mart was in 2002, and my last day there was in 2007.
It’s been 22 years, since I first set foot in that building for work. And today, I’m headed back.
I spent my time mostly at the craps table, learning the rules of the game. Had a fun time betting, and feel like I did pretty well. That is, up until I lost all my chips.
Craps seems like a seductive game. There’s a lot of momentum with it, and a more cooperative game that I”m used to (versus something like Blackjack or Poker).
Today? I was in even earlier than usual. And the thing I noticed was that the main “Grubhub” sign, opposite the elevator banks, was dark. And when I stepped off the elevator, some other motion detection got triggered and the sign flickered to life.
For my test, I placed an order with Taco Bell… but failed to cancel it in time. So the order ended up getting delivered, and I threw my meal into the fridge.
Fast forward to today, and my conundrum: I’ve been trying to eat healthier lately, so part of me wanted to avoid day-old Taco Bell. But there was another part of me that acknowledged the fact that I spent my own money on the test order, and the act of not eating the food would just be a waste of money.
Came across some chatter in Slack, around an upcoming move for Grubhub – over to the Merchandise Mart.
Or, for some of us… a move BACK to the Merchandise Mart.
I ended up playing at a single table the whole night, and was joined by other coworkers: L to R it’s Luis, Lin, and Kiran.
Of note: all three of them did pretty well over the course of the night. But by far, Kiran was hitting Blackjacks more than the rest of us. I think he got at least 9 or 10, over the course of the evening.
It’s definitely weird to think of myself as a morning person. The Felix from 21 years ago would argue against this kind of behavior, if he wasn’t so busy taking naps.
It’s weird, the kind of special memory powers a long-running blog imbues. I forget important things like the birthdays of close family members, the kids’ names of close friends. But by god, I’m able to remember the last time I saw a window cleaner outside my office window.
Group drinks, a lot of fun conversation about cocktails, food, New York, and good bars in Chicago. It was an early night for me, but definitely enjoyed spending time with coworkers – outside of the office. And all of us, on the same side of the computer screen.
Got into the office early this morning. With our updated office rules, folks are supposed to be in the office at least two days out of the week. I tend to go on slower days, and in the mornings… I’m usually one of the first on the floor. There’s sometimes a few folks already at their desks, but today…I was…
Went out after work with a few coworkers, and the spot we ended up picking was Spin – a ping pong bar downtown. Surprisingly, the last time I was here was also for a Grubhub event, back in 2018. Which in hindsight, seems like a lifetime ago.