I should have posted this on Thursday when I actually took these pictures, but since then I have been so busy and/or tired. I just couldn't make it happen. Anyway, here are the first pictures of the building I will be working on. It is Building 8 of the Anaheim Palms Corporate Center. I think the name for the building once it is completed will be the Anaheim Palms Telecom Center, so named because of the massive data pipeline that runs underneath it.

These were taken on my new phone, a Motorola v600. I'm sure you all remember the string of bad luck I had with cellphones, right? Well the Motorola that was dead on arrival was replaced. The new one arrived about two weeks ago, on the Tuesday before last. I guess I like it. It's not amazing, and I didn't fall in love with it instantly like I did with the Samsung. The annoying thing about it is that the call and hang up buttons are on opposite sides from what I'm used to. Normally the call button is on the left side, but in this case that is the hang up button. I've been caught several times when I try to save someone's phone number and lose it when I press the hang up button instead of calling the person. I'll get used to it eventually, but right now it's a little aggrivating. Anyway, the pictures the phone takes are not really amazing either. I'm positive I got brighter colors out of the Samsung.

Talking about what phone is better, what I like, dislike, the good, the bad is all pointless because I have a phone, and I'm stuck with it. My only hope right now is the sweepstakes to win an iPhone I entered.

Now, the building. The first picture is of the outside of the building. The sun was at an angle that made it difficult to get a good picture, but whatever. There it is. It's big.

The second picture is of the entrance to the building. As you can see, it is very utilitarian. This building is currently a dilapidated warehouse. That will change. It won't happen in a hurry, though. Expected completion time is two years. That is very different from the eight months I kept hearing at first.

On the table there are applications to join the project, and on the wall above the table is a picture of what the building will eventually look like. It's hard to see in that picture, but I've posted it here, as well.

Once you walk in, you see the view in the next photo, here. From the entrance you can see straight down to where the podium will be, just to the right of the minivan.

The two pillars in the front will be removed after additional roof supports are added. This will give spectators up front a clearer view to the podium, and further back where it would be difficult to see anyway, there will be big screens showing a video feed from the cameras pointed at the podium. That way everyone can be happy! In the current building, Building 5, there are a number of pillars that are wider than the ones here. These pillars are about 10 inches square. The pillars in Building 5 are perhaps two feet square, and they are right up front. Some people get some really not so great seats, thanks to these. Assigned seats really don't help either.

Here we see the blueprints for the building. In the middle, there are seats already arranged. In these seats, there is room for 5,000 people. Notice the extra room in the back for more seats. It is estimated (by me) that at maximum capacity the main room can seat almost 6,000.

I'd like to call your attention now to the room just to the left of the far left wing of seats. I know it's a little hard to see, but click on the pic to enlarge it. See that it is divided into a series of rows by a set of dividers of some kind. That is the Women's Restroom. It covers more area than some houses: 3,000 square feet. Finally, the biggest problem with the current conference center is addressed: long lines at the restroom. The Men's Room wasn't pointed out, but I believe it is the one on the opposite corner from the Women's Room.

Also Worthy of note is the large area on the right side of the floor plan. The area here is going to be a warehouse, as before, but much nicer and more corporate business-looking. On the right is a picture of this area. As you can see, it is quite a large space. To give you an idea of how large this area is (since my camera doesn't come close to giving an accurate feel), each of those stacks was well over my head. The tallest ones were perhaps eight feet tall. The area itself was easily large enough for four basketball courts to be placed side-by-side with room in between for a good number of spectators.

In this last shot is an overview of the warehouse. There are some structures far in the back you can see that will be replaced by a bunch of other stuff, including the Women's Room. Also, all the windows along all the walls will be removed (and replaced with Macs. Ha!)

As I said before, my cell phone camera completely fails to capture the 'majesty' of the future Telecom Center. At least enough is shown to give an idea of what needs to be done. It will be a long, hard job, and I hope to be here long enough to see some really drastic changes, which I plan to document here.

I'll try to keep you all posted, even this week, which will be hectic. I will be at E3 starting with a party this evening. To see all the news I and my coworker churn out, visit my employer, Nintendo Players, linked at the bottom of the right column. Also check out the blog of Praxis, a.k.a Chris H. where he and I will be posting personal thoughts on the convention.