Mint Candy

I displayed some classic OCD tendencies today.  A few weeks ago I found this delicious assortment of mint candies, and I want to get some more to bring back to the UK with me.  But for the life of me I can't find them anywhere.  And so despite having loads of work to do, I spent most of the day driving to different supermarkets trying to find them.  I went to 3 of them in total - all of them said they had the candy in stock online - but amongst all the other holiday candy, I couldn't find what I wanted.  So frustrating.  I can't even order them online for pickup.  I'm going to try one more place tomorrow morning - the same place I think I got them originally, which is probably where I should have tried in the first place - but if they're not there then I will have to give up disappointed and angry with only the dwindling memory of this mediocre minty American chocolate.   

SAD

I really hate this time of year in the Pacific NW - it's dark, wet, cold and miserable.  And it seems even worse this year.  This Thanksgiving Weekend was a great example - a long weekend, ruined by our region being hit by about 3 Pineapple Expresses during this time.  What does this mean?  Lots and lots of rain.  So all my plans to get and about each day were ruined.  And when I did go out, it just wasn't very enjoyable and I think I caught a cold in all the dampness.  I can deal with light rain, but not heavy rain and when it comes with flooding and landslides (some of my planned hiking trails have been affected).  It's this time of the year when I really miss living in Southern California.  And at the very least, I think this is the time of year when I really need to take a vacation to somewhere warmer and sunnier.  Yes, I am definitely suffering from seasonal affective disorder this year.

Premier League US TV Rights

So, a deal has been reached for who has the rights to air the Premier League over here.  And the current broadcaster of the Premier League, NBC, won the rights for the next 6 years in a highly competitive bidding war.  Apparently they had to pay over $2.7 billion for the rights - over double what they paid for their current rights.  I think that says a lot about the increasing popularity of "soccer" and particularly the Premier League in the US - it works because the games air early in the day over here, so they don't clash with any of the big US sports.  I'm not unhappy that NBC retained the rights, their coverage is good and extensive, but with one major caveat - the main channel that shows Premier League games, NBC Sports Channel, is closing at the end of the year.  I'm sure that NBC will air the games on another one of their channels - they've got plenty to choose from.  But as long as they don't start airing most of them on their streaming platform, then I'm okay with that.  But today was not a good indicator of things going forward - every single game today, including the big one in Man Utd vs Chelsea, was streamed - which as someone who likes to record games so that I can watch them when I wake up, is a problem because I can't record games being streamed.

Omicron

Well, I guess that's just my luck.  We have a new mutant COVID variant spreading like wildfire, just a few weeks before I'm due to go back to the UK.  And with the potential to totally f*ck up my travel plans.  Just typical.  I got a little bit nervous with lots of European countries going into lockdown.  But this new variant is a much bigger deal.  And now we see UK travel and mask rules tighten.  I'm okay with mask stuff - I'm used to that here.  But the COVID testing is an expensive pain in the ass.  The lateral flow test that I've already ordered and paid for (despite it being the same as one of the free NHS tests) - that I have to take within a few days of arrival - is now redundant.  I have to get a PCR test, and "self-isolate" until I get a negative result - which could take a while, especially since the labs are probably going to be backed up with loads of testing with these new rules.  Let's hope I can get the test and results quickly - even though inevitably it's going to be a rip off.  I'm starting to question whether I should even do this trip now - the risks seem higher than before.  I'm worried about things like getting a positive test at some point during the trip, someone on my flight testing positive, someone in my family testing positive, the UK going under lockdown again, the US re-entry rules becoming much more restrictive again, etc etc.  But we've not crossed that red line for canceling yet.  And I have to remember that this trip is not just for me, but I think it's important for certain family members that I'm back home this Christmas - especially after last year's lockdown debacle.  

Black Friday

Ah, the Black Friday sales.  When the only things for sale are the things you don't really need.  Take last year - this is what I got in the sales:

And guess what.... even after a year, it is still sitting in my spare room in it's box - unopened and unused.  What a waste of money!  So this year, I haven't splashed out on anything nearly as extravagant - just a few basic things where I was able to save a few bucks.  Plus some more James Bond trading cards - but I would've got these regardless of whether it was Black Friday or not!  

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving!  As per American tradition, it's at this point that I'm supposed to say what I'm thankful for.  You know the usual platitudes - family, friends, health, money, food, "freedom of religion", etc.  So despite what the world throws at us - whether it be a pandemic, extremism, Father Time, etc. - at a base level I am thankful to still be alive, and that the people I care most about are still alive.  And, for the most part, in good health.  Now to gorge myself on a massive Thanksgiving meal that I didn't cook myself.  Nice.         

Thanksgiving Eve

A bad work day today.  It shouldn’t be like that.  It’s the day before Thanksgiving – and traditionally this is a slow day and you’re allowed to leave early or log-off early.  We normally get an email from upper management telling us as such, and it was noticeable that we didn’t get one until much later in the day – I suspect sent out somewhat reluctantly.  But did I have an afternoon meeting scheduled?  Of course I did.  And was the meeting cancelled?  Of course it wasn’t.  And was the meeting a nightmare?  Of course it was.  I know I’m not the best communicator – but when you’re dealing with other people who are also not good communicators, but on top of that whose first language is not English… well it’s a recipe for disaster.  When someone is reviewing something I’ve done, there’s only so many times that I can say I don’t understand what you’re saying or please explain what exactly needs to be changed.  It’s unbelievable.  And the thing that they are talking about is the same thing that I changed in the first place because they asked me to do so.  It was driving me insane.  There were numerous times that I had to mute my microphone during the zoom call so that I can scream out in frustration.  The ironic thing is that it wasn’t even a Chinese I was dealing with, it was a Russian.  My god, they might even be worse than the Chinese.  And the sad thing is that I actually like this person – just working with her can be really tough.  And this meeting was really just the topping on a crappy day.  Too much work, too much incompetence to deal with, too much stress, and too little thanks for all our hard work at this time of Thanksgiving.  I can feel my blood pressure elevated, I’m suffering from some really poor quality sleep recently, I’m getting into bad eating and bad lack of exercise habits, and I don't feel good about myself right now.  I was planning to go for a walk at lunchtime but I couldn’t get out thanks to being so busy.  Hopefully I can do so over the next days – despite the rain in the forecast.  I have got plenty of work I need to do that I could easily keep myself busy over this Thanksgiving break – but I’m not going to, I need the break.  And then I have, what, 9 days of probably very intense work before coming back to the UK.  On top of all the million other things I need to do before I fly back.  Fun times.

Song of the Week #85

For this week's selection, an iconic artist from the 90's.  One who I didn't care much for or for her music at the time.  And, if I'm going to be totally honest, I don't really care much for it now.  But I just watched a documentary on her over the weekend, so she's currently in my consciousness.  And she seems to have aged well - the irony of objectifying her as I have just done is not lost on me, hardly in keeping with her songs of female empowerment.  My biggest takeaway from the documentary, apart from the realization of just how big she was in the 90's, was that her tour drummer is the same one currently in the Foo Fighters.  

Passage of Time

The last few months have absolutely flown by - I can't believe it's less than 3 weeks until I come back to the UK.  But even before then, I can't believe it's Thanksgiving this week.  It's always nice to have a shortened work week, but I haven't made any plans to do anything - and it didn't even cross my mind to make any plans.  Travel around Thanksgiving is always a nightmare, and I think it's going to be especially bad this year, but it's something you have to endure if you really want to make the most of this time off.  Because if you stay local, like I will, then you have to put up with the really crappy weather.  Nonetheless I think I've been so consumed with work recently that I haven't thought about much else, so this shortened week is very welcome.  And the much longer break back to the UK, along with 3 weeks without work, is even more welcome and much needed.  I fear work may try to encroach on my time off, but I'll do my best to keep it at bay.

A Shocking Revelation

I've lived in the US now for about, what, 15 years?  And it's taken me this long to realize something about Americans.  They don't routinely butter their sandwiches.  How on earth have I missed this?  I am shocked and bewildered - not just with Americans' poor sandwich practices, but my total obliviousness to it.  Shameful.  And no, mayonnaise or mustard as your "base" on sandwiches does not count.    

Upversioning

My distrust of Apple and Microsoft software updates has become more palpable recently.  I refuse to update my iPhone to iOS 15 unless I absolutely have to.  The last time I made a major update to my phone, it caused all kinds of issues - notably on my battery life.  Similarly, I refuse to update my laptop to Windows 11 - even though I can.  The last time I made a major update to my laptop, it caused all kinds of performance issues.  This is why I like my Chromebook - the updates are discrete, and there is a lot less faffing around than you have to do with Windows or Apple devices.  Chromebooks used to be seen as knockoff laptops that were just useful for web-browsing - but now that you can do everything on the web, such as using Microsoft Office products, I think we're at the point when getting an expensive and heavy Windows laptop is redundant when we only need a cheap, quick and light Chromebook.  At least for my needs, and the average person's needs.  

Lego Black Friday Bust

The early Lego VIP weekend (i.e. their Black Friday sales) officially started today at 9 pm.  And there are 2 sets I want to get:

But naturally, both of them are temporarily out of stock.  Which sadly means I can't take advantage of the deals this weekend.  No worries, I'll wait until they're in stock again and there's a decent offer to be had (i.e. a nice freebie set that I can pass on to my niece/nephew) 

Wildlife Update

An update on the yard wildlife.  No hummingbird feeders mysteriously emptied overnight recently.  No coyote sightings.  No raccoons caught on film.  No rabbits seen.  Hummingbirds still around.  My trail camera has captured only the very active neighborhood squirrel, and a very blurry photo of a deer that must have been running past in a hurry.  Unfortunately the trail camera also caught some video of me clearing up some of the tree debris, and I got very depressed looking at myself and my horribly unflattering body shape.  I really should do something about that.    

An Office Visit

I went into the office yesterday for no specific reason other than to catch up with some colleagues and to take advantage of a free lunch.  Well, was it worth it?  It was definitely good to see some people who I haven't seen for nearly 2 years.  It wasn't quite so good to find out that some people had left our company and I had absolutely no idea.  Met some new colleagues and realized that there are even more Chinese in my group than before.  It's a real contradiction - I'm a white male in America yet within my department I'm in the extreme minority.  What else?  The commute was a real mixed bag.  Took me less than half an hour to get into the office, but the 1-1 with my manager ran late which meant that I left later than I hoped.  It should still have been before rush hour, but it didn't seem like it and there was an accident on the freeway so it took well over an hour to get home.  Was not happy about that, and if anything is going to stop me going into the office other than having to wear a mask all day - which we still have to do - it is an awful commute.  Took a walk round the neighborhood near the office - it was interesting to see how some things have changed (lots of overpriced new buildings) and how some things haven't changed (more construction, a lack of decent lunch options).  I think I might start coming into the office once or twice a week - but only for fleeting visits, and only to grab a free lunch or to go for lunch with friends from work.  

Song of the Week #84

It's late, I'm tired, so here is a little something for your enjoyment that could only come from the 80's.

More Wind

Looks like I dodged another weather bullet today.  As I check on my provider's outage map, I see that there are over 26,000 people in my county who are without power.  But most are further north or by the coast.  My lights flickered a few times today, but the power never went out.  Indeed, it seems I've been quite lucky.  Apart from a few gusts it didn't get too windy.  And I didn't even get as much rain as I was expecting over the weekend - don't get me wrong it was still a lot, but nowhere near as intense as forecast.  I think it was a very different story for those who live a little further north or further sound - seemingly the Olympics rainshadow worked quite well for where I live this time.       

Too Much Even For Me

Just an FYI that I shall not be purchasing this 50th anniversary Diamonds Are Forever diamond-studded gold coin:

So feel free to purchase it for me as a Christmas present.  You only have to drop a cool 7 grand on it.  

Wellness Credit

We get a $500 wellness credit through work for the calendar year.  There are various purchases you can make that you can claim towards this credit.  So far this year, I had only expensed my annual state park and national park passes.  Since we are getting close to the end of the year, and not wanted to let this credit go to waste, I decided to make some additional purchases this week.  So now, I am the proud owner of a rowing machine and an adjustable kettlebell!  Naturally both still remain in their boxes, and probably will do so until the new year.  But I've wanted to get a rowing machine for a while now - let's just hope I get more use out of it than my exercise bike!  As for the kettlebell - that was something of a random and strange choice, so we'll see how much I use it.  In retrospect, I could've and should've expensed the water flosser that I bought a few weeks ago - but I didn't know that was something that was expensable until too late.  I think we will continue getting this credit each year, so I think I need to spend it a bit more wisely next year - I did notice that you can claim it towards the cost of a new mattress, which might be a good option.  

Wet

The forecast for this weekend.  Today: rain.  Tomorrow: rain.  Sunday: rain.  Monday: rain.  And not just any rain, but we currently have an atmospheric river of moisture (i.e. a Pineapple Express) pointing at us:

What does this mean?  Heavy rain.  In fact, we are currently under a lot of severe weather alerts.  When I open my weather app, I see 4 river flood warnings, a flood watch, a flood advisory and a "special weather statement" which talks about an increased threat of landslides.  Nice.       

Bond Actors

A request came in for my rankings of the Bond actors.  This is exactly the kind of thing I like to do, so here we go (but sticking to the "official" Bond actors, so excluding someone like David Niven who was Bond in the 60's Casino Royale):

1. Sean Connery – without Connery, we wouldn’t have the Bond franchise

2. Daniel Craig – I remember the controversy surrounding the choice of Craig, but has proven to be a perfect Bond for the start of the new millennium

3. Roger Moore – corny and way too old at the end, but had the perfect raised eyebrow and was the Bond I grew up watching the most and thus developing my love for the franchise

4. Timothy Dalton – actually considered ranking him higher, I liked his more serious take

5. George Lazenby – kind of wooden, but his sole entry is one of the best in the franchise

6. Pierce Brosnan – I can’t really put a finger on it, maybe the increasingly poor Bond films during his tenure, but I have grown to dislike Brosnan’s take

I’ve decided that I’m going to watch all 25 films in the franchise next year (one every 2 weeks), so that I can then provide my definitive rankings of the films as well.  That might also necessitate a re-ranking of the actors.

Booster

Got my COVID booster shot today.  In perhaps a reflection of America's indifference to COVID now, there was nobody waiting at this drive-thru when I got there at 9.30am.  So I was in and out in less than 5 minutes.  I think perhaps they could change their policy of appointments only to allow for walk-ins (or, more accurately, drive-ins), though I suspect that still wouldn't make much difference.  The biggest surprise was that the drive-thru was set up in a church car park.  Considering the church's "neutral" stance on vaccinations at best, aggressively anti-vaxx at worst, I wonder how much push back there was on setting it up there.  I was almost expecting to see some anti-vaxxers protesting there, but sadly not so I didn't get the opportunity to give them the finger.  Only mild side effects from the shot so far - a sore arm, to be expected as that it was I have experienced from a COVID shot before, but also nausea, which I haven't experienced before.  There's been a few times this evening when I've started over-producing saliva in that way you do just before you throw up.  Not a pleasant feeling.          

Song of the Week #83

This week, we are going weird with a band that I don't even like.  I hate the way they do their songs, especially the vocals.  But the instrumentation, especially the kick-ass bass, is great.

No Time To Die

I finally got round to watching the latest Bond film No Time To Die today - taking a cheeky afternoon off work, and the first time I've been to the cinema since the onset of the pandemic.  I kept my mask on throughout the film, and this cinema was located in King County - which meant that I had to show my vaccination card to be allowed in, which makes things feel a bit safer.  As for the film itself, I'm still kind of digesting it.  I really wanted to like it, a last hurrah for Daniel Craig as Bond.  But if I'm going to be honest, I didn't think it was all that.  There was actually a few times during the film when I "rested my eyes" - not exactly a sign that I was really invested in the goings on.  So it would be fair to say that I found the film kind of boring - it could have been more exciting or it could have been more darker, but it ended up being neither.  It made me pine for the old womanizing Bond - a sole love interest, complete with (MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT) a kid, is not what I want to see.  And (EVEN BIGGER SPOILER ALERT) neither do I want to see Bond unequivocally die - at least let him die with some ambiguity.  I feel like this film just tried to tick all the checkboxes for a Bond film (car chase, gadget use, one-liner, etc), but lacking that something special.  An unmemorable villain, an unmemorable chief henchman (or henchwoman), and an unmemorable love interest does not help.  I found the little easter eggs to previous Bond films to be kind of distracting.  But it does make me want to watch all the Bond films again, particularly Craig's Bond films because I don't think I've watched any of them more than once (though I feel that Casino Royale is by far the best of his).  I think this film is probably closest to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which also saw Bond in love, and which happens to be a better film even if it has an inferior Bond actor.  I'm not going to give the film a rating just yet, it needs rewatching.  But reading what I've just written here, it definitely seems like a low to mid-table entry in the Bond franchise ratings.

Sunday TV

Sunday is by far the best night for TV - and as I look at my DVR, I see that I have over 10 recordings scheduled today.  And that doesn't even include any sports - I also record any football or rugby games that happen to be on.  The programs that I'm recording range from the sublime (Succession), to British imports (Grantchester), to current affairs (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), to old reliables (Family Guy).  And tonight, we have a couple of season premieres.  A new season of Yellowstone, which is generally a pretty solid show.  But the big one - Dexter is back.  This is a show that I have seen every episode of - I binge-watched it well before the pandemic - and although the quality of the show tailed off in the last few seasons, it is a show I have a fondness for and I'm very much looking forward to this reboot.  But with this many scheduled recordings, its no wonder that I remain unable to empty my DVR.     

Goodbye Dreams

The oldest player ever to play in the Premier League was 43 years old.  It's time to let go of my dreams of ever becoming a top tier professional footballer.  I had so much promise - I remember one game of football in PE when I hit a pinpoint perfect 60 yard pass, and the PE teacher asked if I meant to do it.  Of course I did, and shame on you for not recognizing and nurturing my outrageous natural abilities (although this might have been the only time I ever displayed it, and I had the somewhat disadvantage of being the shortest boy in my year, what can be politely described as a less than average level of fitness, and the fact that I still had to wear glasses when playing).  This is the only school memory I have of playing football, and I didn't even play once for our school team.  All that potential went unfulfilled, and will have to remain unfulfilled.  I also have memories of playing kick-around in the park opposite where I grew up, using rugby posts as a goal and playing 1 on 1 with a friend who lived round the corner.  Sadly, the strongest memory I have of that time is of a You've Been Framed moment when I was walking backwards to retrieve a ball and fell ass over end into a ditch full of stinging nettles.  Now I'm thinking about it, I've also retrieved some even older football memories from the darker recesses of my mind - though with little context, which are hazy and probably misremembered.  Memory of a tournament that my team progressed quite far in (maybe with my cub scout troop?) that included a game that was played in a field full of cowpats, and landing face first into one of said cowpats.  And going to a training session featuring some star Spurs players of the time - notably Ossie Ardiles.  Curse my failing brain for not remembering that potentially memorable event, and not retaining any photos or keepsakes (not even an autograph) from it.     

How to Annoy Americans

... mention that the Royal Marines whupped the US Marines in a recent training exercise.  Americans do NOT like any denigration of their military.  At all.  

Flossing

I'm asked "Do you floss?" every time I go to the dentists.  And every time I respond "No I don't, but I know I should".  But then the hygienist actually flosses my teeth - and it's painful and I hate it, and so I don't floss between dentist visits.  A classic vicious circle.  So I've decided on a compromise.  I've just ordered a water flosser.  I'm sure it's probably a lot less effective than using actual floss, but it also seems a lot less hassle and a lot less painful.  And that suits me just fine, and it's better than nothing.     

Song of the Week #82

With last night's disappointing, but unsurprising, political results in mind - Trump and Trump supporters are not going anywhere - I need something to cleanse the palate for this week's tune.  We're not going totally heavy, but this one came to mind because I did an online quiz recently where you try to recognize famous songs - and this was the first one I didn't get.

Cowiche Canyon

Here are some photos from my day trip to Yakima on Saturday.  I did a hike at a place called Cowiche Canyon.  It was one of the recommended fall hikes, and though I probably missed peak autumnal colors by about a week it was still very nice.  Yakima is not close - a good 2.5 to 3 hour drive away, across the Cascades and in Central Washington.  It’s an entirely different climate and environment here - known for it’s orchards and vineyards - and this hike very much reminded me of hikes I used to do in Southern California.  As the name suggests, it is in a canyon - basically following a stream as it meanders through this attractive but not particularly deep canyon.  And you crisscross the stream constantly - passing over many many small bridges.  It’s flat, about 3 miles from the trailhead at one end to one on the other - so a decent 6+ mile there-and-back in total.  Quite popular, particularly with dog walkers and as it got later in the day, and apparently there are loads of rattlesnakes in the canyon - but I never saw any, perhaps it was too cold.  Was the long journey (and early start - I left home at 7am) worth it?  I’m going to say yes - and I will come back in spring when the wildflower bloom is supposed to be spectacular here.  And perhaps I’ll make a weekend of it in this neck of the woods next time.  I don’t think the photos do it justice - a low sun makes for either too dark or too bright views or my silhouette dominating the shot.  Oh well.

Car Problems

As I hopped into my car this afternoon, I was greeted by this sight:

Cue panic.  Although it looks like someone had broken into my car, this seems unlikely since it was parked at home, and the fact that nothing was missing from inside.  Much more likely is that it was my landlord - who I saw puttering about in his lawnmower earlier in the day, and probably kicked up a rock or pebble into my car window.  It's not the first time this has happened.  Though the first time it has smashed an entire car window.  But to his credit he did help me clear up the mess and patch up the window - probably with a bit of a guilty conscience.  And he did offer to help pay for the repair, even though there is no definitive evidence that he caused it.  But I am worried about how long it might take to repair - the earliest appointment I could get through the car insurance company was in about 3 weeks time.  So I've left some messages for some other local auto glass specialists, and I'll phone around tomorrow for some more estimates and hopefully be able to get a repair sooner that isn't too expensive (I may not even go through insurance, if it costs less than $500 then I'd have to pay for it anyway).  But I've a dentist appointment tomorrow, and I don't want to reschedule - so I'm going to risk driving the car, and leaving it unattended in a car park, with this flimsy plastic window cover.  Hopefully it will stay on...  I was also planning to see No Time to Die tomorrow, but I think that will have to wait.