World War II with Tom Hanks

Because I'm nearly 50 and an old man now, I'm obligated to watch more of the History Channel.  And with that in mind, I just started watching the documentary series World War II with Tom Hanks.  It consists of something like 20 episodes, so I think it desperately wants to be the US equivalent of The World at War.  But it isn't.  I'm only a few episodes in, and it feels more like a history text book put onto screen.  Yes, some of the footage is terrific - but the narrative is very basic and, honestly, kind of boring.  And, so far at least, it contains nothing I really didn't already know.  And I have quickly grown tired of the various talking heads throughout the documentary - including a very somber and weird looking Tom Hanks - who don't seem to impart anything particularly interesting or new.  I expect it to get very US-centric in the second half of the series once the US officially enters the fray.  Especially because in these first couple of episodes, we are rushing through all the European action.  I'll keep on watching, but so far all this series is making me want to do is revisit The World at War again.     

Funny Little Plans

Note to self - if you're thinking about driving out to East/Central Washington, and you want to leave really early to (a) avoid the hottest temperatures and (b) avoid some serious backups due to freeway closures then don't fall asleep on the sofa and end up going to bed about 3 am the night before.  Nope it wasn't to be today.  I think maybe if I want to go out that way, I should stay the night there - otherwise it involves an awful lot of driving.    

Lies

"President Trump remains in excellent health ... He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State".

Come on now.  Everyone should know by now that you cannot trust anything that comes out of the White House nowadays, but this takes the biscuit.

First Light

Look what I got today:

Yes, the new official James Bond video game.  And the reviews have been pretty good, so I'm looking forward to playing it.  But I don't know when that will be.  I fear this type of game will quickly consume my time and challenge my poor video game skills.  So I will need to show some self-control, some self-moderation, and some patience - none of which I'm traditionally good at (case in point, how quickly I consume all the snacks I bring back with me from the UK!).

Palace 1-0 Rayo

European champions!  Holy sh*t!  Three major trophies in one year, after 119 years without one.  Amazing.  Well, I guess technically European "Conference League" champions - whatever.  I blew off some meetings to watch this game - and it was totally worth it.  Not exactly a great game, but we were definitely the better team.  When we turned it up a couple of notches at the start of the second half, that showed how good we could be.  We only got one goal, but should have got more.  And then we were able to comfortably see out the rest of the game and raise the trophy.  A fitting way to end the reign of what has arguably been our best manager - certainly our most successful.  I don't know what that means for the future - I fear once again not capitalizing on our success and instead struggling to hold onto our best players.  But at least we're in the Europa League next year - which we were unfairly disqualified from this year.  I think this result more than makes up for our embarrassing FA Cup defense.

Sinners

I finished watching Sinners this evening.  A film that had 16 Oscar nominations (it won 4) and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97% - so I had high expectations.  And I came away... underwhelmed.  A good, watchable film - but nowhere near the masterpiece that the critical acclaim would suggest.  Did I miss something?  It's essentially a horror film, though mixing a variety of themes, with a fairly simplistic plot.  I hate to use this word, but is this a woke film?  Yes, it is predominantly a black cast with a story told from a black perspective.  Nothing wrong with that.  But it feels like that has been celebrated over the merits or not of the actual film.  I don't know, maybe I'm just not the right demographic for this film.  3 stars.   

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!  As I was channel surfing this evening, I could have watched Flags of Our Fathers (followed by Letters from Iwo Jima) or Saving Private Ryan.  But nope, there was only one correct choice - Band of Brothers.  I had forgotten how good it is.  That really deserves a proper rewatch.  Another one to add to the list.  When I watch an intense show like Band of Brothers, I really feel thankful and blessed that I have never had to fight a war in my lifetime.  And I can't help but wonder what kind of soldier I might have been.  Not a good one I suspect.  I would have been more of the pencil pusher type a long way away from the action. 

End of Season

Well, a 15th place finish is extremely disappointing for Palace.  But considering the mid-season turmoil, I guess we should just be happy that we were never part of the relegation battle (even if we finished just above it).  But our season will be entirely dictated by how we do in the Conference League final on Wednesday.  A win, another trophy and qualification for Europe next season would be massive.  And perhaps we can attract a better manager.  A loss, and this season will have been a big disappointment - a failure to capitalize on last season's progress, and the loss of our manager and our best players.  And we will be serious relegation candidates next season.

Otherwise, I've found the Premier League to be a bit disappointing this season.  Disappointed that Arsenal won, and disappointed that Spurs didn't go down.  And generally I've been a lot less invested in the ups and downs of the league.  I haven't watched many games live, preferring to stick to highlights.   And this is despite going to Selhurst Park for the first time ever and catching a game in person for the first time in absolutely ages.  Perhaps I've just grown a bit tired of the sport in general.  I'm not at all excited by the upcoming World Cup, which I feel is going to drag on with slow and boring games.  I don't have any opinions on the England squad selection, because I don't really care.  And England will probably have a spectacularly underwhelming showing, which is my early World Cup prediction.  

Developments

News on the job front.  Maybe good news?  It appears that I'm not going to be laid off any time soon.  Later this year, I am going to transition to a new role - essentially working on a task force that assists on different projects as and when required.  This is what I wanted, so I should be happy.  Especially as this should give me a degree of job security I didn't have before.  But for some reason I am very apprehensive.  In light of how I am not coping particularly well when my current workload is intense, I am worried that this new role might be even more demanding and stressful.  I'm going to have a new manager (actually my current manager's manager) who I don't know well, and who doesn't know me well.  And, if I'm going to be honest, I think I wanted to be laid off (and take what should be some decent severance pay).  I'm about to turn 50 - I want to take a sabbatical, I want to enjoy my life for a bit on my own terms, and I especially could do with an extended length of time without the weight of work on my shoulders.  I have a couple of friends on both sides of the Atlantic who are between jobs, and I'm extremely jealous.  But so be it.  I'll give the new role a shot, and see how it goes.  If I don't enjoy it, then perhaps I'll just leave on my own terms rather than get laid off.  Or at least ask for a leave of absence.  But change is good, and I needed something like this to keep me going because I am not happy with my current work situation.    

British Food Section

Just in case you're interested, I took a quick photo of the British food section at the supermarket I regularly frequent.  Sorry it's not a very good photo - I took it in a rush, because I was very self-conscious of how stupid I looked taking this photo.  And as you can tell, I guess it's more of a European food section than a British food section - there is a load of stuff there that I don't recognize.

But if you look closely, you'll see digestives, wine gums, custard powder, aero chocolate bars, mustard, salad cream, hp sauce, baked beans and ribena among the offerings.  A disappointingly paltry selection - most of which I won't bother with.  And if you look even closer, you'll be shocked by how expensive all these things are. 

Disgrace

It was bad enough that Trump granted clemency to all the rioters who stormed the Capitol.  Now he's created a slush fund - funded by tax-payer money - that could hand payouts to these criminals.  It's absolutely disgusting, and an utter disgrace.  I guess I'm no longer surprised by the level of corruption and abuse of power of this administration, but the sheer scale of it is still shocking.  And it's exposed just how messed up the American political system is, when it has apparently been so easily undermined by the actions of this administration.  No wonder global perception of the US is currently at record lows.  And no wonder that I'm also questioning whether I want to continue living here.        

Frequency

It's, apparently, getting tougher and tougher for me to maintain daily entries in this blog.  I forgot to post anything yesterday.  This seems to be occurring more regularly.  Perhaps this says something about my life right now - interpret that however you want.  Perhaps this says something about my motivation to do this blog.  It is making me question whether I want to maintain a daily blog.  It might be easier if it's every other day, or weekly, or even if I just bring this blog to an end.  But, for the time being, I shall endeavor to keep doing it daily.  But be warned that the quality of my entries might not be very good.  Like this one.  

Gratitude

In the space of a few days, I've been awarded 3 of what our company calls gratitude awards from different people.  Finally some recognition, no matter how minor, of the amount of hard work I've been doing recently.  Clearly someone has said something, and surprisingly I don't think it was me, although I was definitely feeling underappreciated.  The total monetary value of these awards only comes to about $400.  So not exactly the big bonus I really deserve.  The way this thing works now is that you get awarded points, and then you go to this online store where you can spend these points.  Since the selection of gifts in this store is so poor, I just spend it on gift vouchers for myself.  In this case, I got $400 of Lego gift cards because I know I'm about to make a big purchase (the next Lord of the Rings set).           

Gas Pump

I was at the gas station today, and noticed this sticker on the gas pump pointing towards the display and the exorbitant amount of money it costs to fill up your car nowadays.

I approve.  Simple but effective.  Since Trump wants to get his image on as much as he can, we should see this sticker on every single gas pump in the country. 

Nearly Forgot

Just going to bed, and nearly forgot I hadn't done a blog entry today.  I got distracted this evening by something I've been doing way too much recently, and something I really need to cut out.  And that is mindless scrolling through YouTube shorts.  A classic symptom of digital addiction, with the inevitable result of brain rot.  Nope, not good.  If it goes a step further and I start properly doomscrolling all the time - then I will really start to worry.

Backyard Highlights

Here are some highlights from my trail cam over the last few months.  A good selection of the usual suspects, plus I might have finally uncovered photographic evidence of aliens (I'll let you guess which photo that is - if you squint it looks like a face).

USPS

I generally haven't had any problems with the United States Postal Service.  Despite the fact that they have seemingly, and without any kind of notice, stopped delivering mail to me on Wednesdays.  But a particular item that I had ordered has apparently proved problematic.  It was supposed to be delivered a week ago.  Here is some of the USPS tracking on this item:

May 8, 6:10 am: arrived at Seattle WA Distribution Center

May 12: in transit to next facility

May 13, 4.28 am: arrived at Everett WA Post Office

May 14, 6.10 am: out for delivery

May 14, 11.37 pm: arrived at Seattle WA Distribution Center

May 15, 1.11 am: departed Seattle WA Distribution Center

May 15, 1.40 am: arrived at Seattle WA Distribution Center

What the heck is going on?  It's apparently in the same facility this morning as it was a week ago.  For a third time.  And yesterday it was out for delivery, but I never got it.  What are the chances I will never see this item?  I fear quite high.   

Chips

I think one of the food items I miss the most from the UK, maybe even THE food item I miss the most from the UK, is crisps.  It's really surprising that America doesn't do good chips (crisps).  They lack variety and flavor (flavour).  And as with every other American food, they are full of preservatives, chemicals and other inferior ingredients.  It's why whenever I return from a trip to the UK, I always bring back loads of crisps with me.  And frankly I wish I could bring back more.  It's a bit of a thankless task, but I have tried to find some "chip" varieties I might like here.  And in that spirit, I came across these today:

You won't be surprised to know, but pineapple (and chili?) flavored crisps do not taste particularly good.  Just weird.  Nope, these do not scratch the itch.   

Digestives

Good news on the biscuit front.  On my last visit to a Walmart, I was very surprised to find they stocked some McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestives.  It's rare to find any sort of British foods at Walmart.  There are a couple of local supermarkets that have an extremely small British food section (I should take a photo and share it - just in case you're curious what kind of essential British foods they sell), which normally includes some digestives.  But I've never seen them before at Walmart.  I don't think they were particularly cheap - especially compared to UK prices - but then again, nothing is cheap nowadays.        

Delivery Fail

An extremely frustrating day.  A delivery was scheduled today for something that I had to sign for.  The delivery was originally scheduled for the morning.  It didn't show up.  Then it was rescheduled for the afternoon.  It didn't show up.  And then it was rescheduled for the evening.  As of now, it hasn't shown up.  All of this on the hottest day of the year so far.  I should be outside enjoying the weather.  But nope, I decided to stay in so that I could sign for the delivery.  A mistake I won't make again.

Lore

I was having a look at the website of the official James Bond store today, and was a little bit surprised to find quite a lot of items for sale related to the upcoming First Light video game.  Can we really consider a video game part of James Bond lore/canon?  I'm not sure I agree with that.  To me, James Bond lore comes solely from the films.  And even then, not all the films.  Never Say Never Again is not part of the official James Bond lore.  Nor is the Woody Allen-starring Casino Royale.  I consider the books to be a totally separate entity.  To me, the video game lies in a similar grey area to these films.  So yes, when I see that Corgi are releasing a new James Bond model car, I approve.  But when I realize that the car comes from the video game and I have to check whether it is actually real (it is), then I lose interest.    

Indecision

In certain situations, I often suffer from crippling indecisiveness.  I am currently experiencing it when it comes to upgrading my living room.  I want to get a new sofa set, a new TV, a new soundbar.  But in what order?  What size TV?  How much do I want to spend on a soundbar?  What kind of sofa?  When do I get all these things?  I find myself constantly and aimlessly searching the internet - scrolling through reviews, looking up recommendations, and making absolutely no decisions on what I actually want.  I find myself weighing up whether to get the same size TV as I currently have, or the next size up.  Whether to get a new soundbar now, or wait until I've got the new TV.  Whether I should prioritize getting a new sofa set before even thinking about getting a new TV.  And then I get sidetracked by everything else that accompanies these upgrades.  I'll need to book a junk removal company to take away my current sofa set.  What do I do with my current TV, for example can I donate it?  If I get a bigger TV, will I need help setting it up?  I really shouldn't be overthinking this.

Happy Mother's Day

My laptop battery is about to run out, so let me take this opportunity to with my mum a Happy Mother's Day!  At least it will be by the time you read this tomorrow.  And you don't need me to tell you how stupid it is that Mother's Day here is on a different day to the UK.  Apparently UK "Mothering Sunday" is a religious holiday, whereas the American date comes from some woman from the very early 20th century who wanted to honor her mother.  Whatever the origins, Mum - I hope you have a good day and I'll video chat with you later!

Traffic

Met up with a friend for lunch today.  And the freeway traffic getting there was absolutely horrendous.  If there are any positives to working from home, then not having to deal with traffic is definitely up there.  I think it has gotten considerably worse over the last year or so.  It's not helped by the vast amount of roadworks going on around the Seattle area.  It seems like every weekend there are several major closures.  Indeed, when I look it up then there are 7 major traffic disruptions planned this weekend.  Yikes. 

In-N-Out

The good news - In-N-Out have opened a second location in Washington state.  The bad news - it is located in the far south of the state, just like it's first location.  So unless I fancy making a 300+ mile detour, or making a pit stop on the way to Oregon, I won't be going there anytime soon.  Which is a shame, because if you've ever been to In-N-Out before then you know how good its burgers are.  There is a reason it is consistently rated as one of the best fast food restaurants in the country.

NASL

Especially with the World Cup in the US coming up, I'm surprised that there hasn't been a reputable sports documentary - I'm specifically thinking of 30 for 30 - about the rise and fall of the North American Soccer League.  I think it would be fascinating - from stuff like trying to popularize and Americanize "soccer", to bringing in all these big names (Pele, Beckenbauer, etc.), to its eventual financial collapse.  It feels like the perfect story for a sports documentary.  And I think it gives a great insight to the American sports fan's psyche - like how they don't do draws, and how fickle they are.  Americans suffer from delusions of grandeur (which is not just confined to sports), to the extent that they think they're actually going to win the World Cup this year.  Which they 100% won't, and which I will 100% enjoy when they don't. 

Celebrity Traitors

Even though I'm not going to be back in the UK when Celebrity Traitors Season 2 airs, thanks to AI and my internet history I'm sure that I'm going to be unable to avoid news about it.  I know that it is going to be available to stream over here, but I don't know how soon those episodes will be available after they've aired in the UK.  I'm sure there's going to be a lag, just like there was for Season 1, so I'll know who has won before I'm able to watch here - which kind of defeats the point of watching.  Perhaps I need to use a VPN and watch it on BBC iPlayer.  I have seen the Celebrity Traitors lineup - and just like Season 1 it is stacked with lots of big names.  Of the 21 contestants, there are about 6 who I don't know.  Which is about on par with Season 1, and a pretty good ratio (especially compared to the US version, which is full of some real z-list "celebrities" - think obscure influencers and reality stars - none of whom I recognize).  In the season 2 lineup there does seem to be an awful lot of comedians, along with a lack of sports people.  Although that is not necessarily a bad thing - perhaps they are trying to replicate the chemistry in Last One Laughing - the problem is that all these comedians appear on the same shows and so they must know each other quite well, so I suspect they'll know when one or more of them is a traitor.   

Insects

I always seem to get more than my fair share of insect bites - likely due to the high sugar-content of my blood.  But this year seems to be one of the worst I've ever experienced.  I don't know if this is specific to me and/or where I live, some consequence of the weather we've had this year so far, or something else.  Either way, I have a rapidly increasing number of insect bites - to the extent that I've bought a load of insect repellent spray and I'm using it every night.  Because I've got so many bites on my legs, I've got it in my head that I've got bed bugs or fleas or something equally worrying.  But I think I'm just paranoid.  Every single sensation on my skin feels like it is probably an insect, and it's driving me crazy.  What I think I've got to do is stop scratching the insect bites and making them ten times worse.  So I've also bought a load of anti-itch lotion.  None of this is fun to deal with.

Chase the Sun

No, not an entry about the current hot spell we are experiencing.  So hot in fact that shorts were worn today for the first time this year.  No, this is an entry about the song Chase the Sun.  What song is that I hear you asking?  Well every darts fan will recognize it instantly.  And I'm currently watching the Colorado Avalanche playing in the hockey playoffs, and their goal song is the same darts song - which is very weird.  And as I write this they have already scored 5 goals through 2 periods, so I've been hearing this song a lot!  It's interesting how different the actual song sounds with a singer - when I'm used to just darts fans singing "Oi oi oi" after the hook.

Washing Machine Fail

Oops, I forgot to post a blog yesterday.  I was distracted yesterday evening because I was having problems with my washing machine.  It's not draining the water out properly.  So when I finish a wash, water comes out when I open the door (it's a front loader) and I can see it pooled up inside the liner outside the drum.  It is probably a simple case of clearing a filter or drain, but I'll let my landlord fix it when he comes round later today.  The advantage of renting and having a landlord who lives next door and just came back from his vacation yesterday.  At least I hope it's a simple fix....   

Loyalty

How many times have I flown with BA over the last decade plus?  Countless times.  But clearly not enough so that they want me to keep me as a loyal customer.  I found out today that my British Airways Club membership has dropped to Blue.  Which is the level you get when you first join.  So instead of gaining benefits like lounge access - which I think I've earned - instead I've lost benefits that include free seat selection 7 days before my flight (I can now only select my seat for free when I check in 24 hours before by flight - when I doubt I will have any choice), I can't check in at the business-class desk (which sadly means queuing up with the rest of the muggles), I don't get priority boarding (not really a big deal, so long as there is enough space in the overhead lockers for my hand luggage when I do eventually board), and I don't get priority baggage tagging (which means waiting even longer for my suitcases at the carousel).  But ultimately what this really means is that I'm going to look at other airlines a lot more closely when I book my next flight - so well done BA, you've screwed up by screwing me over and you've potentially lost a regular flyer.