Football (American)

The American Football season started this weekend.  I didn't watch a minute of any game, and have absolutely no intention of doing so any time soon.  It is a sport I've become increasingly disillusioned with, and perhaps the worse sport to watch live with the constant interruptions and adverts.  I know that Seattle lost - and I'm not expecting them to have a good year.  I'd rather free up my Sundays for getting off my ass and getting outside.

Stains

Just this week, I've noticed some black marks on the front of my shorts.  And not just one pair, but two.  Not enough to ruin them, but enough to notice.  And I'm not entirely sure what is causing these stains.  My working theory is that they come from when I have the laptop on my lap and the colo(u)r from the base of the laptop is rubbing onto my shorts.  It's not a perfect theory, but I have nothing better at the moment.  Though that doesn't explain why only now.  I wondered if it might be dirt from my car, but that wouldn't explain the location.  And I really don't know what else it could be.  So, for the time being, I've put my laptop on a tray.  Let's see if that resolves the situation.  All I know is that these black marks are not coming out in the laundry very easily - might be time to get some new shorts.

Vaccinations

I'd like to get my COVID-19 shot before I come back to the UK next month, but I've got absolutely no idea whether it's possible.  And even if it is possible, I don't know whether my health insurance will cover the cost.  When you put a crazy anti-vaxxer in charge of American health policy, no wonder the situation is so confounding and shambolic.  I think Washington State is actually breaking with the FDA rules and recommending the COVID-19 vaccination to most residents.  I know Washington is one of the states to join the "West Coast Health Alliance" - which will provide science-based immunization guidance, and probably directly challenge the CDC's recommendations.  Expect contradictory advice.  Either way, I've scheduled a flu shot in a few week's time (previously I always got my flu shot at work, but obviously that is no longer possible) - and I'm hoping I can get the COVID-19 shot at the same time, but we shall see.      

Orange

One of those late summer days where wildfire smoke has blown into our region and the atmosphere was a vibrant shade of orange all day.  And it was another unpleasantly hot and humid day - on what has been a much warmer than normal end to summer.  That probably means we're going to have a shocking winter.

Tariffs

You don't need me to tell you how stupid tariffs are - all the increased costs are simply passed onto the consumer.  But there is a new US policy that went into effect last week that, as far as I'm aware, has not been discussed in the media too extensively but which directly impacts me and many others.  And that is that the US de minimis has been eliminated.  What does that mean?  Basically, before last week any items worth less than $800 were allowed to enter into the US duty and tax free.  Now all shipments into the US - regardless of value - are subject to duties and customs clearance.  As someone who occasionally obtains trading cards from UK, Canadian and Asian buyers - this is a major change that impacts me.  If you purchase any item that ships from outside the US, then you need to pay import fees.  And the cherry on top, you don't even know how much you will owe.  Which is ridiculous.  All kinds of factors can influence what you're charged - item type, value, country of origin.  Plus processing fees added on by the shipping carrier or US customs - which is just plain outrageous.  This is just a horrific change in policy, and open to all kinds of scams - think fake customs or delivery fee requests.  I encountered the new fees directly the other day for the first time when I bought a trading card from a Canadian buyer.  When I went to checkout, I wasn't expecting to see a message telling me "Due to US policies, import fees for this order will need to be paid to customs or the shipping carrier on delivery".  I'm not dealing with that - so I got around it by instead arranging delivery to the UK.  So apologies to my mum in advance if she starts to receive more packages addressed to me.  Blame the Trump administration. 

Renewal

I got sent a vehicle registration renewal notice by e-mail today.  Fine, if you have a car then you're expected to have a valid registration.  But the major issue I have with this notice is the timing.  My current registration doesn't expire until the end of November.  So they've sent me a renewal notice 3 months in advance.  Which seems excessive to say the least.  Almost makes me question whether the e-mail is spam.  But it looks legit - my car details are correct, and the amount due is not excessive (though probably still too much for the value of my car, but you can blame the regional transit authority tax for that - all vehicle owners have to pay for the light rail service that most of us don't use).  But I don't think I'm going to click on any of the links just to err on the safe side.  And I'm certainly not going to renew my registration until November.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day!  A welcome day off work.  And the unofficial end of summer.  Though September is one of my favo(u)rite months of the year - still decent weather but less crowds.  Now if only I can make the most of it with some weekend excursions.  Then before you know it, it will be October and I'll be back in the UK.