World Cup 2022 Musings + A Weekend in Tampa Bay

I just got back from an extended weekend in the Tampa Bay area to attend a wedding, and I got to say I had a wonderful time while I was away, and I am not talking about the warm weather. This is going to be a bit of a mishmash blog with my collection of thoughts I had during my time on the west coast of Florida where I feel like I am going to touch on everything. I feel like my mind is being more active, and I am bursting to get these thoughts on this blog post, so let us do this.

My World Cup 2022 Bracket

The World Cup is finally on the horizon, and there has been much expected buzz on the tournament. However, I would argue that there is as much negative press about the tournament (and in particular, the country hosting the World Cup) as there is hype and expectation. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been dogged by scandal. It is no secret that Qatar was able to host the World Cup through bribery, corruption, and shady backroom deals with the horrifically corrupt FIFA and other officials. It is also important to mention that many migrant workers coming to Qatar to build the important World Cup infrastructure experienced poor working conditions, illness, and even death. Throughout this tournament, we cannot ignore these things, and this has led to some people actively saying that they will not watch a single minute of this World Cup (aka "boycotting" watching the tournament).

The Suite Experience At Scotiabank Arena

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see Kevin Hart in concert at Scotiabank Arena, and I was lucky enough to purchase a discounted ticket for a suite. Right off the bat, I want to apologize for the lack of pictures and videos of this experience. As this is a comedy event, video and audio recordings are strictly prohibited. In fact, in order to enter the arena with our tickets, we had to place our electronic devices (smartphones, smart watches, etc.) inside a pouch, which is locked when you enter the arena and unlocked when you exit the arena (you keep the pouch with you).

Stray - You Play As A Cat

Copyright: Annapurna Interactive

I played Stray not too long ago (which is an indie adventure/puzzle/platformer) and I have some thoughts about the game. Stray was the second recent video game I remember getting some publicity in gaming circles where you play as an animal since Untitled Goose Game. The whole gimmick of this game is that you play as a cat, which leads to some interesting gameplay mechanics and content that was briefly refreshing to see, even if these mechanics got boring quickly.

Labor Shortage?!?

I want to use this blog post to talk about an experience I had while looking for a job earlier this year, but before I do that, I need to add some context to this experience.

I hear talk from experts saying that Canada is currently facing a labor shortage, meaning that companies are having a hard time filling job positions as there are either not enough people applying to these roles, or job candidates are not able to match the qualifications of the job itself. From my observations, it seems like most of these job openings are low-paying job openings from the service industry. As awful as the COVID-19 pandemic is, there is a strange positive that came out of it. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a positive shift in how we work in our jobs and the overall work culture (such as working from home). I also find that more people are better able to gauge their overall worth to an employer, and it led to another shift of people leaving their current jobs and finding better-paying jobs and more convenient job environments.