Comcast

I hate Comcast.  I shall try to refrain from using profanity, but they really are the worst.  They are one of America's biggest cable/internet providers - which translates to one of America's biggest monopolies - which translates to one of America's worst companies for customer satisfaction.  Unfortunately, they are the only provider for both where I am now and where I am moving to - so I had arranged to transfer my service for later in the week when I actually move.  Naturally, I woke up this morning to find that my TV and internet service was not working because they had prematurely discontinued the service.  OK, this should only take a quick phone call to fix.  4 hours later, speaking to multiple people as I kept on being passed off from one department to another, stuck on call waiting for ages, with them unable to work out why my internet service could not be restored, I finally got my full service back.  Extremely pissed off, absolute waste of morning, appalled at how long it took to fix, very wary of whether my service will actually work when I move.  I doubt it.  I had loads of problems with my Comcast service in my old place in Seattle as well - they really do suck.

Boxing

I've definitely drifted away from boxing over the last few years - I'm never going to shell out on one of the big fights that is on PPV, and the televised fights are either poor quality or feature a pair of nobodies.  There may be a bunch of British world champions in the various weight categories currently, but I couldn't care less - and the big names that I would pay attention to have now retired.  But they did televise the Joshua-Klitschko fight from London live here during the afternoon.  And it was surprisingly good - back and forth, a large and loud audience, and a great ending.  I watched the Fury-Klitschko fight, and that was utterly dreadful - so it was really good to actually have a half-decent heavyweight fight.  However, I do think MMA (specifically UFC) has caught up and maybe even eclipsed boxing as the go to one-on-one combat sport, so I think boxing needed a fight like this.  

Spoiled By Spoilers

Oh no.  I did a bad thing today.  A very bad thing, that I regretted instantly.  And something I can’t take back.  I read spoilers for all the episodes of the next (and penultimate) season of Game of Thrones.   Aaaaaaarrrghhhh.  I can’t help myself.  Such weak willpower.  What is wrong with me?  It’s not like I went looking for spoilers, but just happened to encounter them whilst searching for other things.   Stupid.  Stupid.  Stupid.  Fail.

Contracting

Amongst the many other things I’ve been thinking about recently, I’ve been asking myself would I ever consider contracting in my current field?  Most definitely.  The positives – a lot of these positions are home-based so in theory I could live anywhere I wanted in the US, I would have less responsibility and more hands-on work (something that I definitely prefer), I wouldn’t have to deal with the godawful office dynamics and politics of a full-time employee (some of the posturing, maneuvering and promotions at my current place are unbelievable).  The negatives – more work (though that is something I think I can deal with), less job security (but I like to think that I would do a good enough job in a contracting position to be offered the opportunity to switch to full-time if I so desired), no healthcare (so how Trump decides to deal with this has become something I’m very curious about), more isolation (if I was ever to get a home-based position, then I think I would have to get a dog or something to keep me company).  Even without a lot of the job perks, I could probably get an hourly rate that pays more over a year than my current job (I’ve seen what my current reports make, and it is unbelievable relative to their competency).  Something to consider (though probably as a last resort since I’d still rather have a permanent office-based job).

Ch-Ch-Changes

You have to check this out – they’ve finished constructing the apartment building next to where I work, and so these apartments are now available for lease:

http://www.easthowesteps.com/

In particular, note the prices – they are horrendous, but seemingly now the standard for Seattle.  For a 2 bedroom apartment, the CHEAPEST is still over $3000 per month, and that’s with a paltry 818 square feet of space.  That is horrible.  You’re still paying over $1500 per month for the smallest of small studios.  You must be crazy – or a very well paid employee at Amazon headquarters just down the road – to move here.  And we, as neighbors, are going to suffer from the increase in traffic – thank god we have a parking garage at work, because I don’t think the apartment building has a garage which means street parking is only going to get worse.  The most disappointing thing is that we desperately need some more cheap lunchtime eats nearby, and there are retail spaces to lease on the ground floor of this apartment building – but I suspect at the prices they are asking for that nothing affordable will be moving in.  There used to be a great cheap teriyaki place up the road, but that got priced out and has gone; and a bar up the road used to do a good lunchtime pizza deal, but they upped the price and decreased the quality of the pizza so don’t go there anymore.  I don’t mind walking down towards Amazon where there are lots of food trucks (and long lines) to choose from when the weather is nice and I’ve got time, otherwise restricted to just a few mediocre sandwich places nearby or the Thai restaurant on the corner for lunch.  This is when I most miss working in downtown Seattle - when I first moved here I was working just a block away from Pike Place Market and the many, many lunch options there and in downtown.  That was great… and a big shame we moved to where we are now.    

Office Etiquette

I suspect I’ve written about this before, but I’m getting absolutely fed up with the lack of respect that some people show towards working in a cubicle workplace.  From the stink of food, to conducting too loud teleconferences from your desk, to chatting right next to other people’s cubes – it seems to have got significantly worse recently.  And it’s not just my Chinese colleagues (although they are definitely guilty of it).  Someone nearby who is recently back from maternity leave has proven to be one of the worse – and she is American.  She is loud, even though she wears a headset I can overhear both sides of her shallow conversations and teleconferences, and her food absolutely reeks.  Recently, she has been suffering from a cough – and it was so persistent and aggravating that I had to keep walking away from my desk to stop it driving me crazy.  We’ve all suffered from a bad cough at one point or another, but please have the courtesy to not let everyone else working around you suffer as well.  And all this despite my wearing earbuds and listening to podcasts at my desk to try to drown the noise out.  How do I say something to my cubicle neighbor without sounding like a total douche bag?  I’m incapable of being direct like an American, and instead – just like with noisy apartment neighbors – I end up stewing in my misery.  That is no way to live or work.

(Hyper)tension

I appear to be suffering from quite a lot of anxiety at the moment, and I’m not really sure why – it’s certainly impacting my ability to get a good night’s sleep (especially now that sunrise in Seattle is as early as 6 am, and the bedroom blinds are totally ineffective at keeping out the light), and it’s affecting my focus at work, at home (I keep on having to pause and rewind programs because I am just not able to fully concentrate on what’s going on) and at ping pong (where even a new $150 paddle has made little difference in turning my form around).  I suspect it is probably to do with my upcoming move next week – I’ve got most of my stuff boxed up now, and it’s kind of sad seeing all the junk I have, most of which I would probably just dump if I was moving to California.  I’m also somewhat worried about what I’m going to need in my new place – I don’t think it comes with a microwave, but also things like blinds/shades/curtains (which might be a major test of my very limited DIY skills) and whether to get a home security system or (more likely) just get a cheap security camera.  I’ve already ordered some fake security signs!  I’m also not sure if I want to splash out on some new furniture – like a new sofa or a new bed/mattress – because again, if my hope is to move back to California next year then there doesn’t seem any point in getting new furniture now.  I guess I’ll make my decision once I move in.  Inexplicably, I’m also worried that for some reason my move might fall through – like I’ve been fleeced or something unexpected comes up to derail my plans.  I have absolutely no justification for feeling this way – perhaps just because this is the first place in the US I’m going to be renting directly from an individual owner rather than some large realty-owning corporation.  As they say, moving home is one of life’s most stressful events…