Consequences

Well, my savings took a minor hit today.  I ordered a new iPhone.  Not the newest model, instead I plumped for the iPhone 15.  Why not the newer iPhone 16?  Mainly because the iPhone 16 has Apple Intelligence built into it - and I really don't care for AI.  I'm perhaps making a bigger deal of this than necessary, I'm sure you can probably disable all the AI features.  But in addition the iPhone 15 is cheaper, the performance is similar, the features are almost identical, and I don't need the latest advancements found in the iPhone 16.  And you can also blame Trump for the timing of this purchase.  With Trump threatening tariffs on China starting tomorrow, I'm also wary of the potential increase in the cost of electronics.            

Dance

I remember seeing a load of ads for this when I was back in the UK over Christmas, and now I've started seeing them here.

It's probably not the same performance - I imagine they have lots of tours going on simultaneously around the world.  Either way, I still have absolutely zero desire to go and watch it.  I don't find Chinese dance in the least bit interesting or entertaining.  Fun fact - the company that runs these performances is a weird far right religious group that is banned in China because the Chinese government thinks it is an "anti-society cult".  Now that is a lot more interesting than any stupid performance.         

A Snowy Forecast

We have gone through a lengthy stretch of dry and cold weather.  But that is about to change.  We're going to see some precipitation this weekend - including what may be our first snow of the winter.  As is usual for this part of the world, there is a lot of uncertainty over the forecast.  I currently see mixed rain and snow for Friday, snow flurries and snow showers on Saturday (40% chance of snow), occasional snow showers on Sunday (50% chance of snow, snow accumulations less than an inch) and cloudy with a few snow showers on Monday (30% chance of snow).  But it's not so much the snow I'm worried about, it's the very cold ground - just a small amount of snow or freezing rain, could result in icy roads and hazardous driving conditions.  I think I'm going to do some food shopping tomorrow (getting the things I didn't get in Costco), just to stock up in case things go pear-shaped this weekend and beyond.  

Costco Initial Thoughts

Finally made a trip to Costco today.  Only the second time I've ever been in a Costco warehouse in my life, and the first as a member.  And what did I think?  Well, there is no sugar-coating this - I thought it sucked.  Even at 10.15 am on a Tuesday morning (it opened at 10 am), it was packed and parking was a nightmare.  And I don't know whether this is location specific, but there seemed to be an inordinate number of Chinese folks shopping there (there are 3 different Costcos equidistant to where I live, so I suspect I will go to a different one next time.  Whenever that will be.).  And the actual selection of goods it sells was really disappointing.  I went there with the specific aim of getting a couple of items - nothing crazy, stuff like toothpaste and soft drinks.  And they couldn't even deliver on that.  Now I've got to take an unplanned trip to Walmart to actually get what I want.  I think Costco is the type of place where you might go to buy a few specific items.  And if they do stock the items you want, I think they are good value.  But I don't see myself going there very often at all.  And I don't imagine I'm going to renew my membership after a year.  Very underwhelming and very disappointing.  But I will try a different location next time just to see if its any better.          

Graded

I've been on a bit of a tear recently when it comes to padding out my James Bond trading card autograph collection.  Predominantly autographs from little known actors playing minor roles in the various Bond films.  So not spending too much money.  However there are exceptions, such as one of my more recent auction wins:

And I, surprisingly, got this graded autograph card for a great price.  Not cheap, but I reckon I could sell it for double if I wanted to.  Which I don't. 

Greenland

If the people of Greenland want to become part of the US, then I have no problem with Trump's bizarre obsession with taking over Greenland.  But if not, which I suspect is the case, then we must defend the people and the country of Greenland from the US by whatever means necessary - including by force.  And when I see "we", I guess I mean Denmark, which by extension means EU.  So if it kicks of between the US and the EU, then where does the UK stand?  I know where I stand - and it ain't with Trump.  This has nothing to do with "national security", and all to do with Trump's cronies eyeing all of Greenland's natural resources.  Pathetic.  

Pyro

One of the unfortunate consequences of the clear and dry weather we've been having recently is that I am once again getting annoyed by my pyromaniac neighbo(u)r.  And I have no doubt that he is a pyromaniac, because it is not rational for someone to have a fire burning as often as he does.  I don't like seeing all the smoke when I look out of my kitchen window.  I don't like what it does to the environment and to the air quality.  I don't like the fact that, for the most part, it doesn't seem as though the fire is attended (which legally it should be).  I've got this neighbo(u)r's phone number, and I'm almost tempted to ask him directly if he is a pyromaniac.  But I don't think that would go well.       

Passport

Good news - I got my new passport today.  I wasn't expecting it to be delivered so early, and it was lucky I was home as I had to sign for it.  Was surprised that it had changed colo(u)r.  I think my old one was red, but the new one is black.  I'm guessing that's an EU thing.  Was also surprised that I had to manually sign my passport - which seems rather quaint.  I don't think I even needed to do that with my old passport, which I think had my signature pre-printed in it.  Can't say I'm overly impressed with the potential durability of this new passport.  It already feels quite flimsy.  The problem is that the information page in the passport is so thick - probably due to various security measures - and the binding so poor that it feels like the passport could easily fall apart.  Which is just great.  Classic Made in Britain quality (if it was even made in Britain...).        

A Lego No

What's this now - a Lego set I definitely won't be getting?  Yep.  I've never read a book or watched a film in this series.  And never will.  And despite it having some local interest - the house is fictionally located in Forks, Washington State on the Olympic peninsula (in reality, a house in Portland was used in the films) - that isn't even close to justifying this purchase.  Nope, I think I'll save my money for future Lego sets later this year - that could include the rumo(u)red massive Death Star, Krusty Burger and Bag End.

Coin Set

I own a couple of commemorative coin sets.  But rest assured, this is not one I shall be getting:

I resent the fact that I actually received this offer through the mail.  I'm not going to buy anything that celebrates this wannabe dictator.  The various executive orders on his first day were as reprehensible as they were predictable.  His assault on immigration is making me wonder whether he might even go after green card holders, such as myself, at some point.  I'm tempted to become a citizen just to see Trump have to reluctantly welcome new citizens to the country.  What I particularly loathe is his continued indifference to climate change and the environment (such as pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.  Again.  Plus his inexplicably enthusiastic support towards drilling and fossil fuels).  I suspect this all stems from not liking the view of wind turbines from his golf course.  And as for pardoning all the Jan 6th rioters - I suspect I shall be using this phrase a lot, but that is an absolute disgrace.  And as for renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America - well that is just plain stupid and unnecessary.  And petty.  Again, not a surprise from this guy.       

Fed Up

A miserable day of work today.  The first day back at work after a long weekend is always the worst.  Especially one full of meetings.  Now that I'm working from home all the time, I really need to get into the habit of going out regularly for some exercise.  Had plans to go for a lunchtime walk, but that never materialized when all these meetings got scheduled around lunchtime.  I've got so much stuff on my plate right now that I hardly have time to think about anything apart from work.  I don't think it's doing my health - mental or physical - any good.  Nor helping me get any decent sleep.  Even after a long weekend, and not long before that the holiday shutdown, I already feel like I need another break from work.  That's a little bit disconcerting.  Might be time to take a "mental health day".  Or at least be able to handle an increased workload and a little bit of stress a bit better.   

A New Golden Age

More like a new Stone Age.  It is a particularly unwelcome irony that Trump (not my President)'s second inauguration is on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr Day.  What Martin Luther King Jr stood for is the very antithesis of what Trump stands for.  I'm probably going to be blogging a lot about Trump over the next 4 years.  But I'm going to concentrate on actions and not words.  Because Trump is a blowhard.  A lot of what he says is incendiary and offensive - but actions speak louder than words, and the things he and his administration actually do are significantly more impactful than whatever nonsense he spouts.  Rest assured, I did not watch his inauguration.  I don't care about the crowd size, something I'm sure he will rail on about.  And the people who attend or perform at his inauguration should be ashamed of themselves - including a number of predictable sycophants: Bezos, Zuckerberg, Musk, Joe Rogan and various crappy country music "stars".  As I write this, he hasn't announced any executive orders yet - but I suspect they are coming.  And they will undoubtedly antagonize and infuriate so many of us.  America is now heading in the wrong direction, and everyone apart from the 1% is going to suffer.           

Belongings

I've been systematically going through each room in my house.  Ostensibly for decluttering my belongings, but in reality more for organizing my belongings - I end up not throwing anything away.  Am I a hoarder?  To some degree, I probably am.  For example, I came across some old iPhones and iPods today that I've unncessarily held onto for all these years.  When I get a new iPhone, I wonder if I can trade them in?  That might be something worth looking into.  But I'm paranoid that I've got something important stored somewhere on one of them that I don't want to lose - even though I'll probably never turn on one of these old devices ever again.  But when I go through my belongings, it dawns on me how much stuff I have accumulated over the years.  Particularly since moving into my current place.  And when I say stuff, what I really mean is crap.  Most of it I don't need, and most of it I shouldn't keep if (when) I ever move house (even though I probably will).  And I haven't even made a start on upstairs yet...        

Groggy

What do you get when you (a) crank up the heating because it's so cold outside, (b) still not sleeping well, (c) leave your laptop charging up in the other room, and (d) decide to try to watch some of the Australian Open tennis?  Answer - you quickly fall asleep on the sofa having not written anything in your blog, groggily retreat upstairs to bed sometime after 2 am, and then make this half-hearted attempt to write something coherent before trying to get at least a few hours of decent sleep.

Shopping

Made a big decision this week.  I became a Costco member.  I don't need to explain what Costco is right?  A big-box warehouse club retail store.  I think they have warehouses in the UK.  This has the potential to radically change my shopping patterns.  For all the years I've been in the US, I've been reluctant to shop there because it sells stuff in bulk that just isn't suited to my single-person household.  But I'm fed up with grocery prices at the regular supermarkets - where everything only seems to get more expensive each week.  And they were doing a deal whereby new members get a gift card.  So I've made the plunge.  Costco are actually headquartered around here - which I think explains why there are so many warehouses in my vicinity.  I don't know how often I'll shop there - once a month?  More frequently?  I know they can get crazy busy, so I won't even try going there on a weekend.  But there should be enough things I can get that will save me some money in the long term.       

TV Theme Tunes #93

I haven't done one of these for a very long time.

Perfection

I am prone to OCD tendencies.  Particularly when I'm depressed or stressed out.  One tendency is that I'm very much a completist.  So, for example, I can easily spend way too many hours on a video game just to complete every single mission, collect every single item and complete every single achievement.  Which takes away so much enjoyment of the game.  But my current obsession is not a video game.  I am currently bidding on lots of James Bond autographs on eBay in order to try to fill in a lot of gaps in my collection.  Because I want the perfect collection.  Which is pretty much impossible unless you have unlimited funds.  At least I've got the good sense not to overbid - of the about 50 auctions I bid on over the last few days, I only won 5.  And no unnecessarily expensive or excessive purchases.  Though judging by the amount of other buyers out there, I think my ever expanding autograph collection is proving to be an excellent investment.  

Under Pressure

Not having a fun time with work at the moment.  Got an awful lot on my plate.  I have 2 theories.  Either I'm being worked to death before getting laid off.  Or I'm being swamped with work in the hope that I quit.  Well I'm not going to quit - I'd rather get laid off with the severance package that accompanies that.  But I'm not going to be taken advantage of either.  It's going to be interesting to see how my job develops over the year.  They've introduced this new outsourcing oversight position - and I don't know whether we are going to be automatically transferred to it, or whether we have to apply for it.  If it comes to the latter, I won't apply.  It basically consists of all the parts of the job that I hate the most, and takes away the few parts that I actually enjoy.  I'd much rather get laid off.  And frankly the prospect of taking a prolonged break from work is quite appealing right now.     

Smells

My house occasionally emits a weird smell, and it's been no exception recently.  I've been smelling this strange odo(u)r from the downstairs bathroom/utility room.  The best word that I can come up with to accurately describe it is "nutty".  A smell I have not encountered before.  Is it from mold?  Is it from the septic tank?  Is it from outside?  No clue - but it is not pleasant, and I've employed air fresheners, odor remover and septic tank cleaner to try to remove it.  It didn't smell so bad today, so perhaps all my measures are making a difference.  Or more likely it is something that I have absolutely no control over.    

Selective Memory

I watched a British TV series this weekend called The Marlow Murder Club.  This wasn't about the show - which was a lightweight and forgettable murder mystery geared towards an older and female demographic.  No, I watched it because it was set in Marlow - and I used to live in Marlow a long time ago (about 20 years ago now, shockingly).  At least I thought I did, but watching this show with all it's establishing shots of Marlow itself - absolutely nothing seemed familiar to me.  And I started to question whether I even did live there.  But no, I checked my address book and I did briefly have a Marlow address - it was when I was working in Slough, when I was back in the UK after returning from San Diego but before I went back to the US for good.  And despite being located in Slough, it was a pretty good job (indeed, I interviewed and was offered a job at the same company's office in North Carolina about 12 years ago - and one of my biggest professional regrets is not taking that job). But clearly Marlow was very forgettable - even having presumably lived there for about a year.  Not really a surprise, it is not the kind of place I would really chose to live in - in many ways, not dissimilar to Hertford and Godalming.  I should have lived in Windsor, because I remember that was where a lot of my colleagues lived.  But I'm shocked at not being able to remember anything about Marlow.  Was it really that bad?  I don't think so, but it just happens to be one of those things that my brain has decided not to remember.  There are places that I spent a lot less time at that I remember a lot more clearly.  It strikes me how weird the mind works.            

Mood Song

I heard this tune on the radio last weekend - and it a real ear worm, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since.  I don't think I had heard it before, but when I looked it up later it was by a band that I was familiar with (but one that I don't think is that well known in the UK).  But it is one of those tunes that you have to be in the right mood to enjoy - and for whatever reason I was when I first heard it, which is probably why it has stuck with me.   

Weather

Surprisingly, we've been experiencing very benign weather conditions here over the last week.  Surprising because large swathes of the US have been affected by a winter storm.  And then we've also seen the devastating and destructive impact of wildfires in Los Angeles.  All we've had here is some rather wet conditions, and the forecast for the next week even looks good (dry, if a bit chillier).  Perfect walking weather, so I've got no excuses not to get out.  I need to make the most of it, because inevitably we will be hit by some nasty winter weather at some point.           

Gameshows

I think one of my least favo(u)rite game shows is Deal or No Deal.  Mainly because no matter how you jazz it up, it is fundamentally a game based almost entirely on luck and not skill.  And US telly has unfortunately taken it a step further by airing something called Deal or No Deal Island.  Which still involves randomly picking a box, but with the weird addition of some Survivor type challenges.  I saw a teaser for the new season of this show, and was intrigued and thought I'd check out the first episode.  And it sucked.  Like really sucked.  The format is totally nonsensical, the gameplay is stupid and the contestants are totally unlikable.  I need to stop watching network TV, it a total waste of my time.

De-Stressing

I got a couple of jigsaw puzzles as Christmas presents.  I promised myself that I would only do these as a means of de-stressing when work was getting to me.  So it is a bit alarming that I've already completed one of the puzzles.

Passport

A request to the people who read this blog - particularly close family members - please try not to have any emergencies in the next 4 weeks that might require my urgent travel back to the UK.  Because I am currently without a passport.  I am renewing my passport, and have just mailed my current one to HM Passport Office.  So I can't travel anywhere.  I don't think I can even take domestic flights within the US - because my Washington State driver's license doesn't have "REAL ID" (a minimum security standard for state-issued driver's licenses).  Unfortunately I can't get the enhanced driver's license because it is only available to US citizens.  However, just thinking about it, perhaps I can use my green card as ID for domestic travel.  Anyway, less than happy about having to mail my current passport - is it really necessary?  It is just another inconvenience and expense on top of the already ridiculously high renewal fee.  But at least I had the good sense to get my digital passport photos done while I was back in the UK - because that could have been a real problem to do here.                  

Schedule

I didn't have to work this weekend, as feared.  However, I did have to get up early today to do my part on a task that needed to be completed by lunchtime.  And when I say early, I mean early.  Like before 6 am.  Fortunately I am still suffering from horrible jet lag, so it wasn't a problem at all getting up this early.  Because I would have done so anyway.  I didn't even need to set an alarm.  So in the end I got a lot of credit for my "flexible working schedule", when I really had to do nothing.  Sweet.  

Note to self

Note to self - when putting away your frosted artificial Christmas tree, don't wear a black top when you're doing so.  Because then it highlights all the frosted material that inevitably gets everywhere.  And the stuff doesn't seem to come out very easily, and you wish you owned a good clothes brush.  Yes, the frosting may make the tree more attractive - I guess it's kind of supposed to look like artificial snow - but boy is it messy.  Especially when you are trying to squeeze your tree into an impossibly small box for storage.    

Twelfth Night

Every year, the same question comes up - when should I take my Christmas decorations down?  The general consensus, at least according to a quick search on the internet, is that 12 days after Christmas marks the end of the Christmas season.  Which would be 6th January.  According to some people, keeping decorations up after this is bad luck.  So I think I will take my decorations down tomorrow.  But, I have some led lights both inside and outside that are run off batteries.  I quite like the way they look, particularly inside, so I might just keep these up until the batteries run out.  Which means I have something to blame when inevitably something bad happens to me later in the year...  

Binge Watching

Apple TV+ is free this weekend, so I've got a difficult decision to make on which show or shows to binge watch this weekend.  Top of the list are probably Severance and Masters of the Air.  But the show I might actually go for is Slow Horses.  But, in actuality, I doubt I'll get round to watching anything.  Thanks to jet lag, I have an unerring ability right now to fall asleep in front of the telly no matter what I'm watching.  Besides, I'm thinking of adding a streaming bundle to my account which includes Netflix, Apple TV+ and Peacock - so no need to watch as much as I can this weekend.  But the last thing I want to do is pay more for TV/internet, which is already a major drain on my finances, so sacrifices will need to be made elsewhere to keep my bill down.  I should really cut the cord, but I've been saying that for years.  Maybe I will this year, more so if my monthly cable bill keeps getting higher.    

Return to Work

First day back at work.  Or, pedantically, should I be saying first day back to work?  Since "at" suggests I'm going somewhere different for my work, like an office, when the fact is that all I'm doing is turning on my work laptop for the first time after the Christmas break.  At home.  Either way, I'm kind of regretting I didn't take more time off work.  Didn't feel like doing anything today - still suffering from jet lag, and this was made worst by suffering from a bad headache.  But it wouldn't be a good look if I took a sick day on the first working day of the year.  Especially since I'm working on an urgent project these next few days while other people are still out.  But at least it doesn't appear that I need to work this weekend, which was something I was warned about as a possibility. 

New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year!  Though to say I am apprehensive about 2025 is an understatement.  With a family bereavement and an office closure, last year did not exactly end well.  But this year could be worse, potentially my annus horribilis - adjusting to a fully remote job with everything negative that entails, followed by a potential (probable?) layoff.  So I think dealing with my mental health is going to be a priority (along with the usual exercise/diet resolutions).  I think my father's death has probably affected me more than I care to admit.  And along with the stress associated with my job insecurity, I am really worried about falling into depression.  I've already started to show some symptoms of this - notably a lack of motivation.  And I probably didn't enjoy my trip back to the UK over Christmas as much as I should have, letting things bother me more than I should.  I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my mum if I wasn't very good company at times - and even if I don't show it, I am grateful for her hospitality.  And I haven't even mentioned one of the big items that profoundly scares me about 2025 - a certain incoming president.  It's going to be tough to stay positive during what will probably be very turbulent and unpleasant times.