Lake Union/Lake Washington

Yet more photos from various lunchtime walks from work last week.  Probably similar, if not the same, as ones I've posted before.  Sorry.

Construction Day 4

And finally it is done:

Clearly (!), that is the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger and other Bond films, complete with ejector seat, bulletproof screen, revolving number plates, radar tracker, hidden telephone, front gun activator and tire scythes.  Classic.  Or maybe just sad.

Victimhood

The whole of America is gripped by the Supreme Court nomination hearings and voting.  In the same way that people rubberneck when there is a car crash.  And this is more than just a fender bender, this is a total train wreck.  A disgraceful reflection of partisan politics and a sad indictment of the current state of American politics.  I don’t know if the guy was guilty of the crimes he has been accused of – a classic he said she said scenario that is probably never going to be proved one way or another.  However, I am much more inclined to believe the woman than the white privileged a-hole with everything to lose.  Regardless, I don’t think this guy should be nominated for the simple reason of clear right wing partisanship – for a lifetime position on the Supreme Court that is supposed to be fair, even-handed, completely impartial and non-political, the aggressive way he criticized Democrats at the hearing was beyond alarming.  I think it was a disgrace when Republicans refused to vote in Obama’s choice to the Supreme Court in the last year of his presidency, especially with their smugness about it, and so I think and hope this is some sort of re-addressing the balance.  Having said that, despite the wide opposition I suspect the 1 week FBI investigation will be for nothing and he will get voted in – the Republicans are going to force it through before they lose control of the House after the mid-term election.  And I truly hope that they do get walloped in the mid-term elections (though I have that nagging fear at the back of my mind that they won’t, such is the apparent stupidity and idiocy of vast swathes of American people).

Local Fast Food News

Although Seattle sadly still doesn't have an In-N-Out Burger, it has got as far north as South Oregon so is slowly getting closer.  However, Seattle is getting it's first Shake Shack.  And the good news - it's within walking distance of work.  So might be worth a (rare) visit - if I can bear to brave the obnoxious Amazon employee crowds that are bound to congregate there.  They've already put me off going to a number of other restaurants and food trucks in the vicinity - they descend like locusts on the best places and make them unbearably crowded at lunchtime.  Perhaps it might be better in the evenings - apparently all the restaurants around the Amazon buildings don't get much dinner business but one of the conditions of their lease (from Amazon) is that they have to remain open in the evenings.  Hence a load of complaints and some going out of business.  Says a lot about how much control Amazon has over Seattle.

Toxic

No Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, world leaders in the UN were not laughing at Trump's speech because they loved his honesty and respected him.  Nope, I think everyone was fully aware just how ridiculous his remark was about his administration being one of the most accomplished in US history.  Subsequently, Trump claimed that people were laughing with him.  Nope, that is another untruth.  People were laughing AT him, not WITH him.  Deluded fool.  As for the political shenanigans with regards the Supreme Court nomination, well that is just shocking.  This guy's alleged behavior is disgraceful, if unsurprising, but the timing about when all these allegations have come out and then trying to rush through the vote for his nomination is just pathetic.  This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how toxic American politics is going to become as we get closer and closer to the mid-term elections.  Even here, they've already started airing a bunch of attack ads on one candidate or another.  It would just be perfect if Mueller's investigation revealed a load more bombshells in the upcoming weeks.  It's difficult to judge whether all this or Brexit is the biggest political shitshow going on right now.

Construction Day 3

Construction Day 2

Construction Day 1

Shoes

I ordered a pair of shoes a couple of weeks ago, but never got an e-mail saying they were ready to pick up at the store.  But when I tracked the shoes, they said they had been delivered to the store last week.  So yesterday I went to the store to find out what was going on.  And, basically, they had lost them - they looked everywhere whilst I waited around but no luck.  They confirmed that the shoes had been delivered to the store, but they weren't where they should have been and weren't anywhere to be found.  And, unfortunately, my size was out of stock so they couldn't find a replacement pair in-store or even order another pair for me - so I had to cancel the order.  Then I got a phone call today saying they had found them - and so went in today to pick them up.  And for all the hassle, they gave me a load of discounts so in the end I paid about half the price for them than I would have paid yesterday.  Nice.  This is why I like American customer service.

Ellen

Another celebrity interview thing at work – in the footsteps of Bill Gates, Alicia Keys and Sir Elton John, today it was talk-show host, sometime actor and comedian Ellen DeGeneres.  I think she is much bigger here than in the UK – mainly because she was one of the first celebrities to publicly “come out” on American TV, and definitely one of the highest profile.  In the UK, I only really knew her from the film EDtv!  And more recently I guess, as the voice of Dory.  I’m always curious how much these big stars are paid to do these corporate gigs – must be a lot (and at a minimum, a big contribution to her charity).  As a talk show host herself, it must be awful to be interviewed in such an amateurish way as this.  As an open lesbian and a big proponent of LGBT+ rights, that seemed to be the primary focus of the interview – I guess it loosely fitted into my company’s goal of promoting diversity, but is obviously her passion.  She seemed much like how I’ve seen her in clips from her talk show – smart, talkative and with a razor-sharp wit, even when answering questions she’s probably been asked a million times before (with plenty of digs at Trump thrown in, predictably and amusingly).

Healthy (Not)

Had a biometrics screening at work today.  I wouldn’t say I dread doing these, but I definitely don’t like them because I don’t need a stranger to tell me that I’m overweight, my blood pressure is high and my blood lipid levels are not good.  I already know this.  But I have to do it to ensure that I earn credit towards my medical insurance (works out to saving about $250 a year).  I haven’t weighed myself for a while, but was definitely disappointed today to find out that I weighed a touch more than I thought I did.  But what really bothered me was my blood pressure, which was way too high.  I’m not surprised – I wasn’t feeling well last night, and I think that was symptomatic of an elevated blood pressure.  I think it’s always been high – I’m definitely a high stress person at the best of times – but whatever combination of food, exercise and stress I’m currently under is making things worse.  So it’s clear that I need to take steps to reduce my weight and blood pressure.  I think that starts predominantly with diet, more so than exercise, because I know I go through periods where I eat badly – and I think since coming back from the UK this has been one of them.  I need more fruit, more veg, a lot less snack food and a lot more moderation.  I bought myself a blood pressure monitor a while back that I haven’t used yet, but now I think it’s time to actually start using it regularly so I can track my health.  We shall see, I’ve said this before but not followed through.  But these warning signs seem more serious.  First of all I really want to see if I can help myself, before I have to resort to taking any meds.

Gift Cards

As I was going through my kitchen drawer the other day, I came across two $75 gift cards that I forgot I had.  Nice.  I think they will go towards clothes - I need to seriously upgrade my wardrobe.  I've been sorting through my clothes recently, and it's a really sad state of affairs.  All my stuff is either too old, too worn, too unfashionable or poorly fitting.  Depressing. 

The Emmys

I didn’t watch the Emmys.  I never have, and I probably never will – these narcissistic award ceremonies do not interest me.  However, after perusing the list of winners and reading a few online articles about the ceremony, I did come across this tweet about Matthew Rhys’ win and Keri Russell’s non-win which is absolutely hilarious to the few people who actually watched The Americans, including me:

Keri Russell never getting an Emmy for The Americans is like when Elizabeth had to keep killing people while Philip went line dancing and f*cking up at the travel agency

It’s sad how few people will appreciate that joke – nobody watched the show, and now it’s ended forever.

The Circus

There is one program on television that is absolutely guaranteed to rile me up and have me shouting and swearing at the telly, even though I’m watching it by myself.  And, surprisingly, it isn’t a sporting event.  It’s The Circus on Showtime.  It’s a documentary style program that follows some of the political stories each week.  And the reason it gets me so agitated is that it is the only program I watch that covers Trump’s rallies/news conferences and general Republican goings on in more detail, without being too scathing compared to something like John Oliver’s show.  And it’s disturbing just how many untruths, misinformation and downright fabrications come out of Trump (and his cronies) every day, and the way all his supporters lap up his lies.  It tries to be a non-partisan show, but it is difficult to think that way when for example they did a Steve Bannon interview yesterday that made him seem absolutely unhinged (which he is).  And when you see coverage of these Trump rallies, it is scary just how passionate and inflamed his base can get.  And as much as there are all these articles predicting how badly Trump and Republicans will do in the mid-term elections coming up, I worry that just like 2 years ago we are underestimating the support he has.  His supporters are predominantly old and white – the kind of people who are guaranteed to come out and vote.  The Democrats still seem mixed on just how left and progressive they can be without turning voters off – and whose supporters are predominantly young, multicultural and less inclined to get out and vote.  So as much as people may dislike Trump – and I think the vast majority of Americans do recognize that he is an embarrassment and entirely unpresidential – I’m not sure that will be enough to vote against him in numbers when things like the American economy are doing so well (though I think this is despite of rather than because of Trump).

Arachnophobia

There are absolutely loads of cobwebs and loads of spiders outside my house at the moment.  I have no idea why this is, maybe the weather we've had this year?  I certainly didn't notice the same thing last year.  Fortunately, for the most part they are staying outside - any spiders I see inside get killed immediately, and I have come across a few biggish ones that the thought of them crawling across me when I'm sleeping gives me nightmares.  But as much as I like the spiders being there because they kill all the annoying bugs, I think I need to get some spider killer spray and take action before winter - otherwise once the weather starts to get wetter and colder, they'll start to take cover in all the nooks and crannies in the house and eventually make their way inside.  I can't have that happen.

Redmond Watershed Preserve

Went for a morning walk around Redmond Watershed Preserve today before the rain came in.  It was somewhere I was sure I had been before, but the trail didn't seem familiar.  But a quick search of this blog reveals I went there 2 years ago, so there we go.  This might be my go-to inclement weather hiking trail - it's not far (30 minute drive away), it's about the right length (4.5 miles, with the possibility of more with some spurs) and flat enough to work up a sweat but not be totally exhausting, it's not too busy, it's mostly through forest providing some nice cover from any rain, and best of all no dogs allowed (I think because horses are allowed on some of these trails - I didn't see any horses, but I definitely saw plenty of dung!).  It's not a particularly picturesque walk, but this is a trail more about exercise than taking photos (though I did take one photo).  And as a bonus, it's in Redmond (home of Microsoft) which has a small English shop that sells sausage rolls - a rare treat in the US! - so that was my lunch sorted out today.

Light it Red

It was World Lymphoma Awareness Day today, and so we were all asked to wear red to work today.  So what better opportunity to debut one of my more recent internet purchases, and also display a little patriotism!

Seattle Sports

Seattle has the Mariners - it's baseball team that currently owns the longest postseason drought in pro American sports.  They had a chance to break the streak this year, but the second half of the season went tits up and so the streak continues.  Even my rubbish team - the San Diego Padres - managed to complete the season sweep of them this year.  That's not good.  Then we have the Seahawks - one time Superbowl winners, but they should have won more and I feel like their chance of winning more has long gone.  Then we have the Supersonics - the basketball team that acrimoniously moved away in 2008.  And the Sounders - admittedly one of America's more successful soccer teams, but this is the MLS we are talking about so it doesn't really count.  But then there is one more professional sports team in Seattle that isn't as well known as the others but is by far the most successful - they just won their third championship in 14 years this week, with a young team and a genuine chance of this being the start of a dynasty.  I am, of course, talking about the Seattle Storm - and what sport is this I hear you asking?  Well, it's the balls to the wall action of professional women't basketball.  Nope, I have never seen them play and have no intention of.  Professional ice hockey can't come soon enough to Seattle. 

Florence

Naturally, a lot of the news over the last few days here has centered on Hurricane Florence bearing down on the East Coast.  In this day and age, it is still sad that they can't definitively and accurately predict the path it will take - so they are just telling everyone to evacuate.  And unsurprisingly, despite an ordered mandatory evacuation, a load of people will stay behind and try to ride it out.  So expect fatalities in addition to a lot of damage and flooding.  I could so easily have been living in North Carolina - I've been there quite a few times for work, I've interviewed with different companies there, and I've been offered jobs there.  Indeed, for the job I took in Texas I actually interviewed in Wilmington - which is the coastal town in North Carolina which looks as though it might be right in the crosshairs of the hurricane - since that is where the company is headquartered, and where they wanted me to actually work.  I have thought about, and still think about, moving to North Carolina for work - the cost of living is good, the food is great, and the people are nice.  My industry has quite a strong presence there, and in fact most of the remote contractors that I work with are based there.  It's only a shame that there doesn't seem to be much to do in North Carolina - you're not really near any big attractions, and to me it doesn't have the appeal that the West Coast does.  At least you know that hopefully the Trump administration will have learnt from the mistakes in Puerto Rico and handle this disaster in a much better way - you'd expect so, cynically, as much of this is Trump supporter country.

A throwaway blog post

I've been watching a LOT of YouTube videos recently.  Everything from British people sampling American candy, to angry dogs, to clips from The Fast Show, to kids reacting to Queen songs.  Here's a good one, that you might already have seen.

 
For some reason, the only video I can include here has Spanish subtitles.  Whatever.

Pants

I finally spent a gift card I had for REI today.  REI stands for Recreational Equipment Inc, and is a shop that sells sporting goods, camping gear, travel equipment and clothing – quite big in the US, and founded in Seattle.  I think I got the gift card from work, maybe from a step challenge a while ago, but I am prone to hanging onto these things for ages so glad to actually use it.  Probably should have done so a long time ago, since their flagship store is within walking distance of work.  I purchased something that I’m not really sure how much use I will fully get out of, but you never know – some convertible pants!  Yes, some hiking pants (that’s trousers in English-English) whose legs can zip off to create shorts.  Probably the kind of thing that would have been useful for me to have 15-20 years ago when I went backpacking, but probably less so now… but at least I can say I own a pair now!

American Football

Sorry, another sports posting!  It's the first weekend of the NFL season.  But I have to confess to an increasing indifference towards what used to be my favorite US sport.  I think this is partly because I don't have a team to support any more (RIP San Diego Chargers), partly because I hate the preponderance of glory fans in Seattle (though the Seahawks will probably not have a good year), partly because the game has become somewhat politicized, and partly because it is just too unwatchable with it's unbelievable number of advert breaks.  Fortunately, I have unsubscribed from some sports channels which limits how much I can watch on a Sunday.  So no excuses for not getting out and going for a hike then!  And even though I haven't been writing many blogs or posting many photos, I have been doing a lot of hiking/walking recently - though not any trails I haven't done before.

Inglaterra 1 - 2 Espana

I still have absolutely no clue about how to regard the UEFA Nations League.  Are these friendlies, kind-of-friendlies, not friendlies?  Should I care about the fact that we lost to Spain?  Can we get "relegated"?  Aren't there qualification spots to be had - in which case might we want to attach more importance to these games?  Very confusing, and I'm not sure how much I like it - certainly puts more pressure and even more playing time on the Premier League players.  I'm sure they love that.  All I know is that none of the main sports channels here were showing the game, so I had to watch it on Univision - a Spanish-language channel.  That was "interesting" - more about understanding the context and lilt of the commentary rather than the actual words.  England maybe a bit unlucky not to get a draw - didn't see anything wrong with the injury-time equalizer.  And as much as I hate Man United, hope Luke Shaw isn't injured too badly as I think he is a good player and has had to endure a horrible history of injuries and Mourinho as a manager.

And just turned over to watch Serena Williams totally implode in the US Open final - 3 code violations and she got a game penalty.  That's right, a GAME penalty not just a point penalty.  She has absolutely lost it.  Reminds me of when she threatened that line judge a while ago.  For such an acclaimed and high profile athlete, that is not a good example to set.  Could you imagine Roger Federer doing anything like that?  I don't think so - he is class.  But the crowd were booing so loudly and treating it like a wrestling match with the umpire as the villain - hilarious. 

Not My Dream Job

Not enjoying my job at all at the moment.  Lots of little things are annoying me more than normal, stuff that I should be used to by now – cube neighbors having their volume too high on their headsets when they are on teleconferences so that I can hear the entire teleconference without the need for a headset, loud and long conversations about work-related issues in Chinese so that I can contribute absolutely nothing to the discussion, people who sit near me who I don’t know and don’t speak to and don’t even acknowledge any more, etc.  Generally, I’m still not that busy and still feel very expendable – not helped by the fact that someone who left about 4-5 months ago has inexplicably been allowed to rejoin.  This is yet another Chinese colleague who used to be at the same level as me but is now a couple of rungs above me (even after rejoining), someone who I don’t particularly like, and someone who I am not glad is back (I am not going to his welcome back lunch today) because I think he is a direct threat to my position and my advancement.  He went to work for a rival company in Seattle, but the fact he came back so quickly indicates a lack of character and that he is a quitter – a viewpoint I’m not afraid to share, mainly because after my Texas experience I can say the same thing about myself!  But I guess things could be worse – some other people in my group have been working long hours and into the early hours recently (I heard 4 am the other night!) to complete a deliverable.  Naturally they will probably get rewarded and recognized for their hard work, when I would perhaps argue that they have shown a lack of planning, a lack of time management and an inability to negotiate more sensible timelines.  But the fact that I have not had to work stupid hours probably reflects badly on me when it shouldn’t.  But as per norm for me, I tend to fixate on the negatives rather than the positives about my job.  The grass is not always greener on the other side; I should be grateful that I’m paid as much as I am to do as little as I do; and work has not, and I don’t allow it to, take over my life.

TREASON?

A Fox News guest:

"My book actually uses science and real data and true psychological theory to explain why it is quite possible that this president is the most sound minded person to ever occupy the White House."

Am I going to believe this, or an upcoming respected journalist’s book which has members of President Trump’s own leadership team calling him “unhinged” and “an idiot”?  And that’s on top of the anonymous article which attacked Trump that got published by the New York Times yesterday.  Which is frankly hilarious – and extremely damaging to Trump (“amoral”, “erratic” and “ill-informed”, from someone senior within the administration no less).

Commute

I thought this morning’s commute would be hellish, since it was first day back to school today (the teachers here did threaten to strike, but I think they might have backed off).  But it really wasn’t as bad as I feared.  Maybe the longest it has been since coming back from my holiday, but nothing like as bad as it can be (35 minutes from leaving home around 9 am – which isn’t bad, but I’ve been doing a lot of commutes less than 30 minutes recently which is really good).  Perhaps not all the schools started back today – my commute takes me close to a couple of schools, but I didn’t see or get stuck behind any yellow school buses and I didn’t see any kids actually waiting on the side of the road to be picked up this morning.  And I wonder also if perhaps the bigger source of traffic will be when the university year starts again.  My place of work is quite near to the University of Washington, so I imagine the traffic there makes a huge difference.  A quick online check indicates that the university academic quarter starts on September 26.  So perhaps I’ve still got a few more weeks before the commute really takes a downward turn… (I also notice in this post that I’ve got into the bad and nonsensical habit of putting month before day when saying or writing dates, without even thinking about it – thanks America.) 

Nike

"Believe in something.  Even if it means sacrificing everything."

And so Nike have started an advertising campaign featuring the polarizing (that's an understatement!) face of Colin Kaepernick.  He is basically the originator of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest black rights.  And naturally, the redneck racist Trump base have gone absolutely crazy over the decision and started to boycott Nike and set fire to or otherwise destroy/ruin Nike products in really very petty displays of anger (why on earth would you piss on your own shoes?!).  Again, the ignorance is bewildering and these people just don't understand the point of the kneeling - it was never a statement against the flag or the country, but a means to publicly protest racial inequality.  Of course, Trump shows his ignorance by stating his disapproval.  But then, Trump has always had balanced and considered responses when it comes to sensitive subjects like racial inequality.

Labor Day

It was Labor Day today - the nearest we get to a summer bank holiday here (the first Monday in September).  According to Wikipedia, it honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.  Whatever, it's just nice to have a day off work!  A lazy day for me, in what has been a very lazy weekend.  I'm kind of disappointed with myself, since we've had pretty good weather over the weekend and so it was a good opportunity to get out and do stuff.  But I just didn't feel like it - a combination of still not feeling 100%, but also feeling a bit down and so lacking the motivation to do anything - a classic symptom of depression...  I don't regret not going down to Oregon for the weekend - my original plan - but I should still have made better use of an all too rare long weekend.  That needs to change.

(Are Made of This)

One of the more interesting side effects of my messed up sleeping patterns and waking up so early is that I have a good recollection of what I've just been dreaming about.  And, sadly and unsurprisingly, I clearly have no imagination.  All my dreams are contemporary and reflect some wishful thinking about events that could happen or will happen in the immediate future or the immediate past.  For example, just the other night I was dreaming about a school reunion with friends and classmates who I haven't thought about for years and who I can't even remember all their names.  No fantasy elements to my dreams, no sci-fi, no high-adrenaline action, no weirdness.  If I was trying to look for symbols in my dreams, then I would be sadly disappointed.  Perhaps the dreams say something about my current state of mind, but nothing insightful that I didn't already know.  Personally, I think over-analyzing dreams is a load of hokum - but sometimes dreams can be the sub-conscious trying to tell you something.  Clearly my sub-consciousness sucks as much as my consciousness.  I should not plan on being able to write some fantasy novel series in my retirement.   

Current Affairs

It's difficult to break habits of a lifetime.  And if you're happy and content with those habits, then you don't feel a need to change them.  But what if they are perceived as confusing, disturbing and unhealthy by others?  Then should you change your habits even if you don't want to?  I consider an addiction, maybe even an obsession, with news and current affairs to be such an example.  Why get one newspaper a day, when you can get 3?  Perhaps all sharing the same political leanings.  Why watch one news program a day, when you can watch 3 (on top of numerous news updates and discussion on the radio)?  All on the same network.  Not to say a continuous news feed available whenever you want from your phone.  This level of intake is not rationale, nor logical, nor sensible.  These are just the same daily news stories getting recycled and regurgitated over and over and over again.  And, for the most part, the importance of these stories is minimal at best and their negativity very dispiriting and depressing.  Which is why I seriously limit my input -  and why I think other people should as well.  I know they won't, but they should.  You don't need to watch and listen to such a large overlap of information to be informed about the world around you - and don't get me wrong, you need to be informed in this age of Trump and Brexit.  But one newspaper and one evening news program should be more than sufficient for this.