Thursday Week 13

Sorry for the lack of updates, its been a slow week in and out of the office.

Went into the office on Monday only to discover I didn't need to be there so did a bit of work at home the next few days. Went into the office today as I had some paperwork I needed to get renewed which involved phoning various people "on call" in the UK to get the required signatures.

Then left the office at lunchtime but went back into in the evening to meet up with a few colleagues for drinks and to go see the Seattle Symphony. There's a holiday tradition here that the Seattle Symphony do Beethoven's 9th in the run up to New Year, with the special concert being tomorrow night where they time the finale to occur at the stroke of midnight.

It was an enjoyable evening, though the string section was a little undersized. I was particularly amused by the really enthusiastic timpanist who was putting a lot of energy into his performance. Pity his part was very "classical" and repetitious. It did get me thinking though, without meaning to sound racist, that he was the first coloured person I'd ever seen in a professional orchestra. Indeed, including the choir he was the only coloured person on the stage.

To me, Beethoven's 9th will always be a piece that has obvious historical significance, but proves that Romanticism was only starting, and bigger, more powerful works were yet to come.

Happy Hogmanay everyone!

Sunday Week 13

Boxing doesn't exist over here, but I thought it would be a quiet day anyway. I decided to do skiing at Crystal Mountain, which is in the Mt. Rainier National Park. A lot of people had a very similar idea as there had been 4 inches of snow overnight and it snowed all day. I left the house slightly after 0600 which got me to the resort in time to go through the rental system and still make first lift.

Initially the top of the mountain was shut for avalanche risk, but then they decided to open it about 30mins later. This was a mistake; it was a blizzard at the top, you could see 5m ahead of yourself. This made the narrow traverses interesting, particularly with snowboarders appearing from nowhere. Funnily enough, they shut the top again quite quickly.

So I spent most of the day on the tamer runs reminding myself how to carve. Then I found a lowland black run that took you on a very narrow through the woods with over a foot of powder. It was awesome. Even better was as it snowed, the pistes went from "crispy" to pure powder. This seems to be what the locals prefer; they go miles off-course to find the best powder.

Weirdly, I met one of the FAA test pilots on a chair-lift, a 5 year old kid who was ranting about how he had celebrated Jesus Christ's birthday the day before, and a group of boarders who had had so much to drink over lunch they weren't in the best of form. Though one proclaimed they were better drunk, but couldn't stay upright stoned. This made me wonder whether this was a local thing, or whether it happened in the Alps but I was blocked by the language barrier.

Put a few photos up in Seattle album.

Saturday Week 12

Christmas Day!

Low key day. Had another lie in and spent the rest of the morning watching the rest of the Star Wars marathon. Then went round to a colleagues house for Christmas Lunch, followed by a run to work off the silly amount of carbs the Americans serve over the holidays.

Friday Week 12

Christmas Eve

Day off today and had intended to go skiing, but I slept through my alarm. Looking into going up late and doing a half day at one of the more local resorts, but the half day cost was only $4 less than a full day and the top of the mountain shut early. So it wouldn't really have been value for money. I'll go on Boxing Day instead.

In reality I'm quite glad I slept in, since I was really stiff after going a 10 mile run last night, so skiing have been really painful. So I spent the day watching a Star Wars marathon instead.

Since its actually the 25th in the UK now, Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) everyone

Thursday Week 12

So day at work this week as people are slowly winding down or already on holiday.

There was a hive of activity at Everett as one of the aircraft started its engines yesterday and completed a test flight today, returning it to Boeing Field. It will fly again on Boxing Day, but none of the other aircraft are planning to fly until after New Years.

Monday Week 12

Normal day at work today, although a somewhat depleted workforce as people have gone home for Christmas. Though in reality, they're sat at Seattle airport waiting for their flight to leave.

I'd like to finish by quoting the weather forecaster on the radio:
"Tonight we're looking at a low of 39 degrees with patchy showers. Tomorrow's high is 42 degrees with patchy showers. Then tomorrow evening a low of 40 degrees with patchy showers."

Sunday Week 12

Got a phone call this morning to say that there had been further landslides on the track so my train would be replaced by a bus.

Had a lazy morning after checking out of the hotel, sat in a coffee bar whilst having lunch. I have to admit that Vancouver now beats Washington as my favourite foreign city. Its the ultimate city for outdoorsy people; I was impressed by the number of people wandering round with skis and snowboards off to hit the slopes.

Later in the day I realised why the train is more preferable than the bus, even though the journey times are very similar. On the train, you pass through customs and immigration at the station, on a bus you pass through as you get to the border. We had to queue for 30mins to get to the border, since only 1 bus is allowed in the customs area at any one time. We then had to off load the entire bus and luggage and queue at the only desk open. After serving 1 person he declared that his shift was over, so disappeared. 15 mins later a couple of other guys came out to take over. After getting our passports checked, we and our luggage had to pass through an airport style security check before being allowed to bored the coach again. I caused a few problems, as they had never seen a European passport, so didn't know what to do with me. Further more, because I was travelling on a visa, he stated to panic and thought there was a myriad of paperwork I should fill in. His supervisor set him straight, but it took a while.

Finally after 4 hours on a coach, we arrived back into Seattle and it started to rain; I never felt so at home.

Saturday Week 11

Earlier starts this morning as I was meant to be having a gliding team meeting over Skype at 0800 (1600 GMT). "The weather" was so bad that they cancelled it as the UK based guys didn't want to travel, thus depriving me of my lie-in. So I had a leisurely couple of hours getting ready before heading down for breakfast and walking into the city. The weather called for scattered showers, so I went to Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. The highlight of said aquarium were the 3 beluga whales and a narwhal, something I have never seen before. The trainers got the belugas to show off their special hunting skill by spitting water at various members of the audience.

I then went for a walk around the sea wall of Stanley Park, measuring 10km in distance with handy little markers every 0.5km. On this not I'd like to point out how refreshing it was to be in a country where I could actually understand the measurement systems in use. Now is neither the time nor the place, but lets just say the fluid ounce is still meaningless to me.

I had a nice wander around China town and the touristy shops near the centre, where I finally found the 1 thing I had been looking for; a piece of Vancouver 2010 merchandise. Whilst I appreciate that the games finished 10 months ago, I found it odd that it was so difficult to find any trace of them. Maybe up at Whistler there is more of a heritage. I went for an afternoon wander down to what was the Olympic Village. The area was really nice, but apparently now it's very expensive housing and retail, with absolutely no character of the games. It then started to rain, so I escaped into a local bar where I found that Vancouver were hosting Toronto in the afternoon NHL fixture. No wonder the cheapest ticket when I looked was $250. This game lasted a while, and before I realised it, it was time for bed.

Friday Week 11

Well, early start got me to the train station to discover that the train would be operating. The downside, I discovered I had booked a ticket to Vancouver, WA, not Vancouver, BC. Luckily this mistake only cost me $22. Sitting in the waiting room made me realise how primitive train travel in this part of the world is. The station gets 6 trains a day and the décor made it feel like something out of the 1930's.

Boarded the train and settled down for the 4 hour journey up north. Left Seattle just as the sun rose and witnessed one of the most picturesque train rides I've every been on; luckily it was a clear day. I concluded that I had to make the most of the clear weather given the time of year.

So upon arrival in Vancouver I headed straight down to the waterfront and booked onto a floatplane tour of the city and the local ski resorts. The weather couldn't have been better for it, with gorgeous views around Cypress Mountain, where the snowboarding and freestyle events were held at the Olympics earlier in the year. I had been planning to do a floatplane tour of Seattle, but I decided the scenery around Vancouver is more impressive. I stand by my decision. Just next to the floatplane terminal was the Olympic touch, with Cypress Mountain as a backdrop.

Bored of lugging my bags around with me I checked in at the hotel and wandered back into the city centre. Hear I found a music shop where you could "jam" on every instrument they had; which was basically all orchestral instruments. It was nice to place the oboe again, and scarily the bassoon is very similar, but very heavy. I was slightly disturbed by the number of sex shop in the area, most of which offered 25 cent peep shows. This might explain why the hotel offered such good rates and had a key operated lift.

From there I went to Vancouver outlook, which was a similar concept to the space needle but not quite as tall. I got there just before dusk, so was able to get a clear view of the sunset over the pacific and the "turning on" of the city's lights.

I grabbed a bite to eat and wandered back to the hotel; it was a long day.

Thursday Week 11

Long day at work today getting as many mods done as we could before the majority of the office leave for Christmas.

I've got the day off tomorrow as I'm getting the train up to Vancouver for a long weekend. Only problem being all the trains were cancelled today because of mud slides just north of Seattle. So I'll either be taking a 3 hour train journey or a 5 hour bus journey tomorrow; we'll see

Wednesday Week 11

Normal day at work today, but this was followed by the "Rolls-Royce Christmas Party".

This annual event has now become infamous at Boeing and allows us to get a little bit of one-up-man-ship with GE by making our party better than theirs.

We were allowed to invite as many Boeing employees as we wanted, mainly those who we interact with on a daily basis. All in all, over 550 people accepted. We were also happy to here reports that this year's GE party was a very dull affair.

When we arrived, we were forced to don flashing badges and directed to the open bar. We then walked into the massive function room, complete with 4 course "finger food", a stage and dance floor and an 8 foot Rolls-Royce ice sculpture.

The "finger food" was different. The appetisers consisted of salmon, shrimp, prawns, oysters and the useful party favourites. The main was then a slab of meat and a salad bar. I say slab, they basically cooked half a cow and sawed a piece off for you. Problem being its hard to cut meat standing up whilst holding your plate and drink. Then came what I can only assume is an American party favourite; the mashed potato bar. You were provided with a cocktail glass of mashed potato and a myriad of different toppings and sauces. Can't say I tried it, but I wonder how many people mistook it for an ice-cream parlour after a few drinks. The desserts and coffee station was out of this world. I was particularly impressed with the American take on a mince pies; something I didn't realise was British until this evening. The issue with it was it was twice the size of a normal mince pie and 4 times as filling. It was like having an entire meal again.

The evening's music was provided by a band called Mr Pink, an all male group who sang the songs of the great Divas (and Lady Gaga). The lead singer was scarily good at singing like a woman, so it's not surprising that the same band sang the same songs the year before but under the title "The Afrodisiacs"; the difference being they did it in drag. The song choice also provide me with more insight into what European music has made it across the pond, its quite surprising and disturbing at times.

I wasn't surprised when I found out that the event costs around $250k to put on, but it is seen as the networking event of the year; all the Trent 1000 and RR seniors had flown over from the UK for meetings that just happened to coincide with the party. There was a definite wedding dancing vibe watching the head of engineering and the head of the Trent 1000 project dancing with the Boeing chief test pilot. They were all remarkably approachable though; the chief test pilot is also a glider pilot.

The 1 downside of the party was in true Seattle tradition it all stopped very abruptly and very early; we left the event before 10. Didn't make it any easier getting up the next day though!

Photos up in the Seattle Gallery

Tuesday Week 11

Hmm, not really sure what happened to Tuesday. My inbox at work suggests I was at work . . .

Monday Week 11

It would seem that the FAA are happy with Boeing's approach to their repairs after the fire so we should be flying again by the end of the year. This has now caused panic as most of the office will be on extended holidays.

I had an interesting email in my inbox today from the head of graduate development today. Apparently as a reward for our performance over the last year a small group of us were offered the opportunity to do a placement in Bangalore. This would start in January, but since I have my next placement lined up already I had to decline. Plus, from the stories I've heard of RR in India its not the sort of placement I'd enjoy. They're very protective of employees, everyone gets are personal driver and permission has to be granted to do anything; it sounds too rigid.

Sunday Week 11

Well, another day of rain. I had planned to go cross-country skiing this weekend, but the trails don't open until after Christmas.

Speaking of which, I'm still not in a Christmasy mood, even though its now less than 2 weeks away. I think the problem is all the warning signs that we get in the UK (United Kingdom for Grandpa's benefit) that you become accustom to don't happen here; the radio isn't flooded with cheesy hits from the 70's, TV (Television for Grandpa's benefit) doesn't constantly tell you about the special listings coming up and there is no BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation for Grandpa's benefit) Christmas ident. No Sports Personality of the Year, no X-Factor winner for Christmas number one hype, nothing. I'm not saying I enjoy any of these, I'm merely saying they're the tell-tale signs that you learn to tolerate, and without them it still feels like November. How can American live without the "excitement" of the run up to the announcement of the new Christmas number 1?

I took the liberty today of going to a Fred Meyers, which sells food, clothes, electronics, toys, home goods and DIY equipment (Do It Yourself for Grandpa's benefit). Its basically ASDA (American Stamp Dealers Association for Grandpa's benefit; just kidding!) on steroids, or the bigger, louder, "better" American version. But it felt tackier, if that's possible; it had that cheap feel, and even smell, about it. Also, the food was supersized; the smallest carton of milk you could buy was a gallon. Though given the range of things on sale its useful to know its there, particularly if I break anything in the apartment; lets just say I found the matching range.

To try and aid my Christmas mood I went to see the Nutcracker this evening; well that was a waste of $60. I hold this particular work of Tchaik in very high regard, and didn't like what I heard. Not only was the orchestra completely undersized for a 19th century work, but they were always on the edge of being out of control. I can't really say much for the dancers, I'm not that knowledgeable about it, but the choreographer killed the traditional Prussian setting by Americanising it. The dances were in the wrong order, the Russian dance was performed by American Indians and 5 of the characters were missed out entirely. Whilst they might say they "adapted" the story, they changed it so much that the ending didn't actually make sense.

Though I did like the use of 20 young children in the production. Not only did they look absolutely terrified throughout as though they would whipped if they put a foot wrong, but they were constantly been thrown around by the older dancers. A great introduction to a professional ballet company.

The 1 plus side of this evening was I saw that Seattle Opera are doing the Barber of Seville in January, and I managed to get a ticket for $25. For that price, I won't feel out of pocket if its poor.

Saturday Week 10

Well today I decided it wasn't going to rain, so left the house without a coat. I was wrong. It's been hammering it down all day. It basically hasn't stopped raining since Monday.

My second mistake was going into town to grab a few items before realising it was only 2 weeks before Christmas, hence the business. Though it wasn't on the same scale as the UK, but there were plenty of screaming children.

Friday Week 10

Sorry for the lack of updates this week, but not a lot to report really.

Another week doing mod work and paperwork. EIS has officially slipped back to June/July, which isn't a surprise considering they haven't been flying for over a month. There was a big FAA meeting this week as well so we should know soon when they're being allowed to fly again.

Monday Week 10

Week 10, really?

Later start than usual today as I dropped mum off at work before going into the office. 10 hour day writing lots and lots of mod paperwork. The annoyance about working out here is if you need something signed by anyone in the UK, you have to complete it by the end of the day, otherwise it'll be another 24-36 hours before it gets signed.

Sunday Week 10

Slightly more relaxing day today. Had breakfast at the hotel before going to the History of BC Museum, which had a good mix of natural history, local ecology and first nations exhibits, as well as hall dedicated to Victoria from colonial times to present day.

We then met up with Murial and Glenda again for brunch at one of the hotels before returning to the harbour to get the catamaran back to Seattle. I can't say I'm a brunch person, I wasn't in the mood for any of the "breakfast items on offer thus the "lunch" selection was somewhat limited.

All in all Victoria is absolutely lovely, but I'd like to go back to Vancouver island for longer and drive around the rest of the island. Its much bigger than I had pictured and as I discovered there's lots of interesting things to do, particularly at the far north of the island.

N.B: Victoria photo album now uploaded

Saturday Week 9

Got to have a lie in this morning after a long couple of days. Quick breakfast at the hotel then mum and I went for a wonder in downtown Victoria. Mum went through the main shopping area whilst I went for a walk through the parklands to a headland on the coast; it was really picturesque. We then met up with Murial and caught the bus out to a local botanical garden. It was impressive that a garden could still offer a interesting experience at this time of year. To attract guests, they have laid out the "12 days of Christmas", a set of charactertures that model each of the 12 days of Christmas. Then at night the entire gardens are light up with thousands of lights. It was impressive. Enjoyed a nice cup of tea before returning back to the hotel to meet Glenda, who needed to rest during the day, and went out for supper in the middle of the inner harbour. From here we saw the "boat ballet" that some of the small harbour ferries performed and a lighted truck parade; both following a similar theme to the previous night. It was satisfying to see how popular these events were with the locals; there's a real community spirit on the island.

Friday Week 9

Early start this morning as mum and I had to be at the dock for 0700. Boarded our catamaran for the 2:45 hour crossing to Victoria, BC. On arrival we went through Canadian customs, who got annoyed a mum at the thought that we were travelling to see relatives we'd never met.

Through onto Canadian soil we were met by Murial and Glenda, our Canadian relatives. They are mum's second cousins, my second cousins once removed, who had contacted mum whilst trying to plot their family's genealogy.

After checking in at our hotel we were taken out to lunch at a restaurant that over looked one of the marinas. We were also introduced to a tame set of harbour seals who wait by the decking to be fed.

We were then taken on a car tour around the Victoria area, whilst being told about the history of the area and its people; Murial being a seeming fount of all knowledge. After a quick stop back at Murial's house to feed Glenda's dogs and a stop at a Chinese restaurant for supper then we went to the "beach" to watch a decorated boat parade. A fleet of 10-20 yachts were all decorated with lights, with prizes awarded for the most colourful/brightest etc. It was impressive, but bloody cold!

But, the most important thing of all today: I found a can of Irn Bru! It might have cost £2.50, but after 2 months without it it was very well received.

Thursday Week 9

Long day at the office today, mainly caused by many a Boeing paperwork mess up and me having to run round like a headless chicken to persuade them I didn't need to borescope half the engine. Ironically, if we had the borescope resource today, it would have been much quicker to do the inspection.

We also had great fun watching the mechs trying to rotate an engine stand bracket through 180 degrees. Unfortunately, because of the gearing, doing it by hand takes over a day. Even using a drill on the gearing takes over an hour. Silly really, though it isn't as impressive as the 777 turning tool I saw a few weeks ago.

Day off tomorrow as Mum and I are off to Victoria to meet some relatives; mum's second cousins. Though she's just worked out that one is 76 and one is 78. Could prove interesting.

Wednesday Week 9

Slow week in the office. ZA002, the one that caught fire, is now back in Seattle but there's no sign of them getting the fleet airborne any time soon.

We've got an engine change coming up which is keeping people busy, particularly the performance people who were trying to break it today since it won't fly again.

We had a "global storyboard" yesterday, which is a cascade of senior management's plan for 2011. Interestingly, they've changed strategy from having an engine on every aircraft to being in every market.

Sunday Week 9

Had to get up at 0500 this morning since the half-marathon started at 0730. Got the bus downtown and stood around at the start line. Even here we had to listen to the national anthem before we started.

The course wasn't great, mainly keeping to either highways or residential streets; at one point it went through a very windy woodland path. The marathon and half marathon courses are the same for the first 5 miles, then the marathon course heads off for 13 miles before they meet up again. It isn't a very flat course either; there's a 200m climb on roads stereotypical of San Francisco. This was horrible, but must be worse for the full marathon runners as it happens at the 20mile mark. The last 2 miles are all downhill except 1 final climb for the last 300 yard. All in all it was hard work but enjoyable, and I did my goal time of 1:40; I did 1:38.

Came back to the apartment for a shower and lunch then took mum to the zoo. Its a nice zoo, though the climate can't be very nice for the animals at this time of year. Some of the animals were also slightly stressed; walking around the same track in their cage over and over again.

Saturday Week 8

Got woken up early by someone who was still on UK time. Went down to the ferry terminal to make sure we had a reservation to go across to Victoria next weekend. Then headed to pick up my stuff for the half-marathon. It was whilst queuing that mum noted that she hadn't seen many overweight people. I did point out that the present company somewhat skewed the demographic. I then took mum to my favourite coffee shop, though got offended when she asked what was so special about it. We then went to Pike Place Market, as it was one of the only places in the centre of town that I didn't mind seeing again. Its also so big and complex that every time you go you find a new bit.

Did a bit of shopping before heading back to the apartment for an early night

Friday Week 8

Lazy day off today. Picked up mum from the airport (even though she was an hour late) and took her to the supermarket. Had a quick walk around the canal before having dinner and watching mum fall asleep on the sofa.

Thanksgiving

Quite a lazy morning cleaning the house and doing the ironing.

Then went to pick up a few colleagues and head over to my bosses house for Thanksgiving. In total there were 18 adults and 6 children, though only 4 were actually American. It was interesting hearing different people's perception of what "traditional" Thanksgiving is; the conclusion we came to is its an excuse to see the family.

The Thanksgiving meal is just a carb overload; Turkey, Stuffing, Mashing Potato, Roast Potato, Baked Sweet Potato, Roast Yam and Gravy. No vegetables!

Since we had quite a few Europeans in the team we exchanged Christmas and New Year's traditions; The Spanish don't get presents until the 6th January, the Italians do presents on Christmas Eve and the 6th January. In Luxembourg they do presents on 6th December, and the holiday period is characterised by 2 people; Saint Nicholas and the Grim Reaper. If you are good, Saint Nicholas gives you presents. If you are bad, you get a visit from the Grim Reaper. The Luxembourgers know how to scare their children straight!

Tomorrow is "Black Friday" which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year; its the start of the Thanksgiving sales. Whilst I think its a good concept having sales within a month of Christmas, some people take it far too seriously; people started queuing on Monday despite the weather. Makes me wonder what they needed to buy so urgently. Apparently the woman get very aggressive as well and you risk getting crushed and scratched. Lovely!

Wednesday Week 8

Managed to get back into the office today, but was a very slow day. It felt a lot like Christmas Eve, no one wanted to start any work that wouldn't be completed by the end of the day and most Boeing people left early so that they could "be with their family for the holidays". It was exactly like Christmas, except that its late November.

Did some stocking up at the supermarket and tried a holiday speciality: Eggnog Latte. Conclusion: I don't like eggnog, its too sweet.

Bring on the 4 day weekend!

Tuesday Week 8

Snow day!

I got an email from the team leader to say it wasn't worth trying to get into the office. I had already concluded this, given that any route I take to work will start with a 50ft luge ride downhill onto a mainroad. Given that it was -15C last night, and not meant to get above freezing until Thursday, I think it might be a few days.

P.S. Movember photo uploaded

Monday Week 8

Worked the day shift today as there isn't much to do in the office and I needed to get some paperwork out to Derby.

Was very cold and trying to snow all morning, like yesterday, but wasn't really settling. By 1400 it was starting to settle and we were warned to leave the office as Seattle gets "manic" when it snows. Since Seattle is on the coast, it doesn't get snow that often, so they don't have the resources to grit or treat the roads properly.

It was carnage. Ever major trunk road had multiple accidents on them and it seemed the entire population of Seattle were in their cars. My journey took twice as long as usual, but I was helped by managing to get onto a bypass that had actually been shut.

Watching the evening news I discover that the authorities were using a brine solution to treat the roads, but had got the concentrations wrong and it didn't contain enough salt, so they were basically spreading water on frozen roads.

I chose the wrong day not to have any food in the house; had to walk through a blizzard to get to the supermarket. Snow fell all evening. My evening entertainment was provided by the hill that I live on. Its very step, I needed the 4x4 to get up it when there was only a little snow around. Now, with 2 inches of snow, it was proving impassable. They had already blocked all the roads around me off, but that didn't stop people trying. Everyone failed. 1 guy got very close, but then zigzagged all the way down taking out 3 cars as he went. I'm glad I've got off street parking!

Saturday Week 7

Today was the start of a cold spell in Seattle, where it isn't meant to get above freezing for a week. Its even meant to be -10 at some point. Not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, when the weatherpeople made a big deal about the temperatures being in the low 30's I assumed it was cold. On the plus side, the ski resorts all opened today, so I went out and bought some ski clothes.

Attended at RAeS Seattle branch annual dinner in the evening, at the Museum of Flight. Rolls are one of the sponsors for the evening and had 2 tables. It was also an awards dinner for the Aviation High School, who were the honorary guests. As the name suggests, this is a high school that specialises in aviation. The interesting thing was at all of my team concluded that we didn't like the idea of specialising in something academic at the age of 14.

The meal also made me realise that Americans don't know how to use a knive and fork. They start by cutting everything into slightly smaller, though still not bite-sized, chucks. They then dismiss their knife and proceed to just use their fork.

Some of us then went on into town for a few drinks. The idea of 6 people walking around in black-tie proved too much for most people, and we were frequently asked where we had just come from. After 1 person saying they had assumed we had come from the symphony orchestra, we decided to use this line for the rest of the evening, quickly allocating ourselves instruments. I also discovered my new favourite "holiday" beverage; winter spiced Sangria.

New Update

Just got email this morning to say I've been selected to represent Great Britain at the Junior World Gliding Championships next summer.

Looks like I'll be in Germany for most of August then.

http://www.glidingteam.co.uk/index.php?q=news/british-teams-2011

Movember

In case you didn't know, I'm supporting "Movember" by growing a moustache for the entire month of Movember to help raise awareness of cancer's that affect men. Please sponsor my attempts by clicking this link //us.movember.com/mospace/1277534/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account.

I'm doing this as part of a team in the office, so its in USD I'm afraid. I return, I shall be posting pictures and taking style requests!

Note: I'm also running the Seattle Half Marathon on Sunday 27th November. If anyone wishes to sponsor me for this instead/too then please use the above link as well

Thursday Week 7

Something slightly different today.

Had to do a borescope on an engine up at Everett, so spent the morning taking videos of the inside of an engine.

I then got to spend the afternoon walking round the Boeing final assembly line and driving round the flying ramp. The final assembly line is the largest building in the world in terms of floor area. You loose the sense on size when you're in it, until you realise you've been walking for 20mins and you're halfway down the building! There are 4 restaurants, 8 coffee shops and stall for up to 20 aircraft.

The flightline at the moment can only be described as a 787 graveyard. Overall today, I saw 22 787's in different states of build. At least 12 are sat out on the flightline half finished. More disturbing was that there were 2 "calibrated" anvils hanging off each wing where the engine should be. It looked very odd.

Then this evening I went to a Washington University "football" match. Washington's sports teams aren't very good, so everyone follows the uni teams, or Huskys, instead. There must have been 20000 people there, it was an amazing atmosphere; marching bands, cheerleaders, mascots and a commentator on PA. Though in fairness, this is all needed since the game itself is really dull. It never gets going, its too sporadic. I can say I understand the rules now; except penalties. One interesting moment occurred when the ref declared the Husky's intercepted the ball, but caught it out of play. The video replay showed the player catching it 1-2 feet in play, so the crowd boo'd; a lot. The ref then overturns the decision, but declared the play at the wrong 43 yard line. Cue more crowd booing; ref more play to the correct area. This got me thinking the American way seems to be "if you don't get you're own way, make a big enough fuss that people begin to see your point of view". Obama needs to have this apophony.

Tuesday Week 7

Well, we've got 1 of the aircraft back. They aren't planning to fly again till after Thanksgiving now. Ho hmm.

Vegas pictures are up

Monday Week 7

Hmm, still no flying 787's, though it was close today; Boeing have to get FAA permission for each flight at the moment, buyear t we couldn't get VFR conditions at Seattle today.

So it was another slow day in the office. We've been asked to consider taking a day off this week to ensure we've used all our holiday by the end of the year.

Weekend in Vegas

Left wet and cold Seattle early on Friday morning and headed down to the sunny south. To save money I flew via Pheonix (Arizona) which, judging by the locals, isn't somewhere I will return to in a hurry.
Arrived into Vegas late afternoon and got a transfer to my hotel. The bus driver commented that the weather was going to be sunny but mild for the weekend, so only 25-28 degrees C. Unfortunately the nights were going to be cold, and might go below 20 degrees C. Somehow I felt the coat on my lap wasn't going to be used for a while. Las Vegas airport is basically on the main strip, yet it still took 45mins to get to the hotel; that's how much traffic there is in a Friday afternoon. So walking would be the best way to get around.

So, I was staying at Caesar's, the "exclusive" hotel that only has 3000 rooms (compared to 4000-6000 of most hotels on the strip). The rates were fairly reasonable, but it took me 5mins to realise why: the money you've paid provides you a bed and 4 walls. If you want anything else, you'll pay. Big time. The main bars and clubs on the strip have a strict clothing policy (more than stating you must be wearing some), so a quick shower and change was required then I hit the strip.

All the hotels are connected by walkways and flyovers, so its easy to hop between them. First stop was the Ballagio, one of 2 5* hotels on the strip. Each hotel has gimmicks and free attractions to get you through the door and spending money. At the Ballagio, its the fountains. This made up for the lack of bonfire night in the US; they combined music and lighting to make a true spectacle. I then gradually made my way down past Paris, Ireland, Monte Carlo (see, gimmicks) to the "cheap and cheerful" part of the strip. Like any major tourist destination, there were tacky souvenir shops and cheap supermarkets and food courts. I quickly realised this was the 1 part of Vegas I could afford to eat. It was still a mark up on Seattle; Starbucks was double the price. At this point I should note that the price of Starbucks is the best metre stick (or yard stick on this side of the pond) for the cost of living.

Next stop was New York, where the gimmick was a 200ft high roller coaster. It was an interesting ride, mainly cause you did a heartline roll over a crowded bar. I then discovered my favourite bar in the US; Coyote Ugly. If you've seen the film you get the idea.

Drinking was expensive, beer was $8-10 for a 250ml bottle. Hence most people when for the other option, slush cocktails. You had the choice of 36 fl oz, half a yard or a yard. Hmm, a yard of margarita; never again!

Saturday started with a quick shuttle bus back to the airport, followed by a 3 hour helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. Saw the Hoover Dam on the way out, then passed into the Canyon and down to a landing strip for a champagne lunch. Managed to persuade the pilot to show me his smoking skills on the way back by "buzzing" the observation deck at the edge of the canyon. We then got a ride down the strip and back to the airport. I always knew that the strip was a mirage in the middle of the desert, but I didn't realise how big the rest of the city is, and how trashy the strip is in daylight.

Back on the strip and I decided to head to Venice and see what the Vegas branch of Madame Tussauds had offer. Whilst there were a few rooms which were very "Americanised", the figures are scarily realistic. It also allowed me to kill time whilst not spending money. During the day on the strip, there is basically only 1 thing you're expected to do; shop. I've never seen so many designer shops, plus posh antique stores and cigar makers.

The "freebie" show as Caesar's is a really odd exhibition about the fall of Atlantis. Tropicana, on the other hand, did an all singing, all dancing pirate burlesque show. Guess which one had the larger attendance.

My first victory of the evening was to find a casino that had a suitably low minimum bet ($5). The key to this: don't go to the hotels. So I played roulette for a couple of hours, and ended up $300 better. Second victory, I knew when to quit. I have to say the casinos scared me. Ordinary people were betting $100, losing and thinking nothing of it. Elderly people who were "members" of the gabling scene could simply put a card in a slot machine and play for days. When I came to check out on Sunday morning the casino floor was still packed, with people chosen to drink a bud with their breakfast.

Another trip via Phoenix and I was back in cold damp Seattle. 1 thing about US domestic flying, you're allowed 1 carry on bag no bigger than a small suitcase and 1 "personal item" ie a rucksack. So what happens: airlines overbook flights, first half of the passengers get on, fill the overhead bins and the rest have to check bags in, thus plane leaves late. This happened on all 4 flights I was on, plus all the flights I saw boarding. You'd think the airlines would twig something wasn't working.

To summarise, Vegas is like Disney for kids but with one disturbing difference. When you're a kid a Disney, you can gaze in awe at the sights and take in all the magic, blissfully unaware at the small fortune its costing your parents to be there. In Vegas, you're reminded repeatedly how much its costing you to be there.

Thursday Week 6

Another dull day with no sign of the aircraft being allowed to fly anytime soon. We aren't even allowed to do engine runs.

Right, I'm off to Vegas!

Wednesday Week 6

Yay, paperwork

Fleet still grounded, so Boeing are pushing random maintenance on the 1 aircraft that's actually in Seattle. So we're ordering in parts and writing the procedures so that we can provide them with more work to occupy themselves.

Tuesday Week 6

Something caught fire on one of the aircraft

The fleet was grounded

All this meant slow day in the office as only 1 aircraft was on site

Monday Week 6

Not a lot to say today except for a shocking discovery:
Sarah Palin has been given her own 13 part reality TV show!

Sunday Week 6

Had an arty day today.

I went to the Seattle Art Museum, where they have a special Picasso exhibit. I was given an allocated time to view the Picasso, but could view the rest of the exhibits in my own time. The permanent collection features works by local artists and heritage from the tribes of the Pacific Northwest; including clothing and cultural narratives.

I've never really appreciated Picasso, in the sense that I wouldn't have queued to see his works if I hadn't been told in advance who the artist was. I'm sure this is true of many of the people who were with me. Whilst I appreciate the cultural and historical significance of his works, I would still hypothesise that the same work by a different artist at the time would not have been met with the same accolades.

My next stop was the Seattle Public Library, which is a tourist spot for its architecture rather than its book collection. The glass building is 10 stories high and contains a maze of helical staircase and elevators as well as numerous public display areas and meeting points. Whilst I was there, there was a kids rock concert going on in the foyer. Interestingly, signs were to up appologising for the "disturbed peace" in the quiet reading areas on floors 3,5 and 6, but that floor 10 would be unaffected. On the 10th floor there is a small platform which protrudes out over the central space, allowing you to see all the way down to the foyer on the ground floor.

Right, to bring you up to speed (was a busy week):

Went to see the Gorillaz earlier in the week. They were pretty awesome, but equally I must have lots touch with their music as I only recognised their encores. I went to a random underground music venue to see KT Tunstall which was really odd; there were 20 people at most in the room and it was like an open mic night. It was weird to think that she's actually successful in the UK.

That engine explosion caused some interesting events over here, and we've been told just to be careful and that everything is on a need to know basis at the moment. Unfortunately cause of the nature of our work, we need to know everything that's happening and the Boeing guys know this.

Anyway . . .

Had to arrange a DJ rental today as there's the RAeS Annual Dinner in a few weeks and RR are going in force; got a complete set for $49. Re-visited my favourite coffee shop in Seattle, which I struggled to find at first. I then went to the "Huskies" shop to get tickets to the next football match. College football is massive in the US, and all matches are televised . Since the Seattle sport teams are useless, they all follow college sports instead. The football season is coming to an end, so I struggled to find a fixture I could actually make. I also visited a record store which claimed to stock "good music from bands you've never heard of". I guess Lily Allen and Amy MacDonald have made it across the Atlantic. Though apparently my music taste can be summarised as "aggressive easy listening".

I then went to Ballard, which is a district in the north of Seattle. Its how I pictured colonial Massachusetts to look. They also have a Salmon ladder, which wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. It was like watching fish in an aquarium.

Friday Week 5

Sorry for the lack of updates this week.

Apparently something went bang near Singapore so its all a bit manic and hush hush at the moment.

Election Night

Yay, the elections are finally here. No more pointless TV adverts and billboards.

The downside: every channel on TV has coverage of it. It would be watchable if there was a "swing-o-meter"

Inaccuracies at the Museum of Flight

• The "original" Boeing factory building I was apparently standing in was 2 miles away from the original factory.
• Yuri Gagarin was the first man in the space, regardless of how many "misdemeanours" the Soviets had.
• Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon, not the first "man made object" on the moon.
• The Blue Angels are not "quite simply the greatest aerobatic display team in the world"
• The 707 was not the first jet powered airliner; it was actually the third.
• The 707 is not provide the first transatlantic jet service.
• Air Force One is not "the most important aircraft in the world".
• Concorde was not only supersonic passenger airliner, nor was it the first. Though the latter is debatable depending whether you use first flight or first revenue service as the success measure.
• Concorde's first revenue service went no where near American; if I remember correctly it was banned from America due to noise regulations.
• Whilst the AV-8A was developed partly by McDonnell Douglas, it does not make the Harrier American.
• The second world war did not begin when America joined it; the Battle of Britain was summarised in 1 bullet as "Britian's Brief Resistance"
• The pacific theatre was not the most important in the war (The entire WW2 exhibit was dedicated to it)

They were also very good and putting US aircraft next to their Soviet adversaries and pointing out how much better then the American design was. What they failed to point out was how that the Soviets had already launched their next aircraft.

The one thing that I was impressed by was that the WW1 exhibit highlighted the fact that the Americans didn't have air power in the war but other countries did.

Sunday Week 5

Today was meant to be another wet day, so I decided to go to the Museum of Flight near the office. Actually, its going to start raining tonight; it was a really nice day in the end.

It reminded me a lot about my experiences at the Smithsonian, where facts are slightly stretched or ignored to make way for American Grandeur. I don't wish to have a rant about the inaccuracies now, so I'll put that in another post. Though I did find it amusing that on the flagpoles outside the museum they had a Scottish Flag, and a Union Flag that was upside down.

Driving back to the apartment I realised the true scale of Halloween in America. What seemed like every child in the Pacific Northwest filled the streets, in costume, going from shop to shop collecting "candy". It was very similar to how I picture VE Day. Though I still struggle to see what a fairy has to do with Halloween. I can see how it could be scary if a hairy, obese American dressed as one, but not a 6 year old girl. This got me quite concerned about the number of kids that might be banging on my door, so when I got home I grabbed a book (BGA Instructors Manual) and sat in Starbucks until it shut. Ironically the girls working there had chosen to do the shift for exactly the same reasons. They were saying that Seattle is "tame" compared to San Francisco or Texas. I dread to think what that's like.

Note to the general population of America: You take Halloween FAR to seriously.

Though I've had a sudden realisation, what am I going to do on Friday?

[New Pics Up]

Saturday Week 4

Another wet Saturday. It only ever seems to rain at the weekend!
Went "downtown" to pick up a few things, which was an experience in itself. First, I walked past 3 political rallies; I can't wait until the elections are over. The most annoying thing is when approached, the line "I'm not American, I can't vote" doesn't work.

My next stop was my first visit to a drugstore. They sell everything from shampoo to beer, electricals to cereal. If Boots followed the American model, they could quite easily take out all the Tesco Metros and Sainsburys Locals that plague our highstreets. I must have spent an hour in there absorbing all the strange and surreal brands.

To fuel my competitive side, I've entered the Seattle Half-Marathon at the end of November; mainly to see if I can beat my boss. Training has been going well, and I did my first run over the 13.1 mile distance today in 1:39. This was a bit of a surprise since I said on the application form I' be aiming for 1:40.

I then went into town to experience the American Halloween parties. Lets just say its infinity bigger than in the UK .

Friday Week 4

Lots to do tonight as there were quite a few jobs we wanted to get signed off by the weekend.

So I spent the evening running around getting paperwork signed and approved, writing parts requests and reports. It was a long night.

Time for a quiet weekend I think!

Thursday Week 4

Same again today, but borescoping the other engine.

Was interesting, and a admin nightmare.

We have to get permission from Boeing to prepare the engine and remove the plugs, then get Boeing to approve our work. Boeing then do the borescope, but we have to approve their process and findings. We then get permission from Boeing to close up, getting Boeing to sign off that everything is back the way it was. You can wait 30mins for the right buy to complete one step of the process.

Wednesday Week 4

Bit more to do tonight.

The ferry flight to Yuma still hasn't happened; they're now hoping it'll be tomorrow. I spent the evening supervising a borescope of the low pressure turbine stages on one of the engines. Though I did fulfil a life long ambition of lying in a fan case and acting like a tool tonight!

Tuesday Week 4

Not a lot to say.

I'm not going to Arizona now, apparently there's going to be more work to do in Seattle. My boss says he expects he'll spend most of his time in the pool.

Though a bit odd cause there wasn't much work to do in Seattle this evening. All the aircraft are in lay-up at the moment doing a horizontal tailplane mod since the Italian company which made them didn't put enough stiffeners in.

I spent most of the evening applying for jobs after the grad scheme.

US Game Shows

I'm getting the impression that there is a line in the constitution that anyone who appears on an American game show can't go away empty handed.

Every show I've watched follows the same format:

1. Person walks on.

2. Audience realise person is an idiot.

3. Person answers 1-3 questions correctly

4. Questions get harder, person gets one wrong

5. Person gets annoyed, but continues with the game show anyway

I swear that I person won $10,000 without getting a single question right.

It's very disturbing, but not as disturbing as the people they find to be on the shows.

Monday Week 4

Long day in the office. Big to do list of things needing to be done on the aircraft. Luckily they're all in the hanger for routine maintenance so we didn't have to stand out in the "storm". Though I'm starting to feel the American definition of a storm is somewhat over exaggerated; it's raining, but the wind isn't that strong.

I was also fascinated to discover that no that I'm in the US, my recommended daily sugar allowance is 3x higher, and my recommended daily salt allowance is 4x higher.

Sunday Week 4

Slow day today. Didn't really want to leave the house cause Seattle's in the middle of a massive storm; got absolutely soaked last night! So did the food shopping; it's not getting any cheaper. Then I did the weekly chores.

I'm on second shift again tomorrow, so might have 1 late shift then an early morning flight to Yuma!

Saturday Week 3

Lazy Saturday. I started the day with a breakfast consisting of a great Americans delicacy; the Twinkie. Never again!

I went "downtown" for a bit of shopping, where I got to sample 2 amazing sites; Nike City and the American food court.

Nike City is like Hamleys for athletes. You aren't allowed to buy any item without being fully satisfied with your purchase. Therefore they lay on all manor to shorting "arenas" for you to try out their products in; which is weird, since 99% of what the sell is clothing and footwear. Despite with, you could spend hours in there, even though a lot of it is geared towards American sports.

I went into one of the shopping malls to get some food when I discovered a calendar and boardgame shop, which sold no fewer than 40 different variations of monopoly, including 10 featuring individual breeds of dog. There was also a calendar entitled "England", even though 3 of the months featured locations north of the border.

The food court was epic. There were over 20 different food stalls, all of which had a different type of food. Weirdly, none of them were healthy, even though Seattle is renowned for being heath conscious.

I went home and went for a run. I'm off out to a colleagues leaving do tonight; the team is gradually downsizing as the flight testing draws to an end. Most are moving on to be RR reps with the airlines that are to receive 787's next year.

Friday Week 3

2 in 1 deal this morning; got to borescope the joint in the oil pipe that I spent 3 months re-designing earlier in the year.

We had an office sweepstake as one of the aircraft went on a 11 hour fuel gauge test, which basically consisted of a flying a lap of the US. We had the flight tracker up on the big screen to see whether it would have to make any flight plan changes. Transpires the dogleg they put in to avoid a storm flew them straight through it by the time they got there; someone obviously forgot that the weather is dynamic.

On second shift again next week, though my boss suggested it might be worth me joining him on a 5 day trip to Yuma on Tuesday. So I might have to go to Arizona with 12 hours notice

Thursday Week 3

Well, the presence of Air Force One meant that the airfield was shut down all day, so it was a slow day. Apparently Washington is a key marginal in the US Senate elections; despite what is said on TV, Patty Murray has a 8 point lead. Obama spent the day at the 3 universities trying to rustle up the students; apparently is the youth turn out is high then the Democrats are safe. Interestingly both candidates are emphasising how they are pro-Boeing jobs and will "give Airbus hell".

Wednesday Week 3

Typical day at the office, but got to do the grease monkey bit by repairing an immersion heater. Also continued my role as office FedEx courier; this involves printing off shipping labels, attaching them to envelopes, then driving down the road to the drop box.

Good news of today was I got my visa documents back, which means I'm allowed back in the country if I leave.

Also exciting times as Air Force One is due to be landing at Boeing Field in 30 mins and departing at lunchtime tomorrow. I might get to see the president!

Tuesday Week 3

Not a lot I can say about work today, though there were some interesting revelations.

The senate elections are killing TV; Americans clearly can't form their own opinion about anything, instead requiring "hard hitting" adverts slandering the opposition. Which would be effective were it not for the fact that the oppositions "hard hitting" advert then immediately follows it.

Monday Week 3

Normal day at work, back on the day shift. But was a bit odd when 15 A-10's landed at 1000.

Was slightly disturbed when I went food shopping this evening to discover that there was no fresh meat of sale. Also, all the cooked meat was completely processed. Which was bizarre, because the food and veg looks like it was pulled that morning, with no packaging or aesthetic "EU" touches.

Sunday Week 3

Early start this morning and drove down to Mt Rainier National Park. Weather started like a typical winter's high pressure situation; fog and low lying cloud. In true optimistic fashion, I set off hoping that it would burn off, and low and behold it turned into a glorious, if slightly chilly, day.

Mt. Rainier, 90km south of Seattle, stands at over 13000ft, so can be seen from anywhere in Washington, assuming the weather is nice. The "Paradise Lodge" visitors centre at the heart of the park is at 5000ft, and despite being only 20 miles into the park it takes an hour to get to. The roads there can only be compared to those in the Alps, though with the addition of rubbernecking American drivers.

After lunch and a wander I set off to Mt. St. Helen's, which is about another 50km south. Its actually the 30th anniversary of the eruption, and there are numerous visitors' centres surrounding the volcano. A 52 mile track leads up to the viewpoint and main visitors' centre, which is on the peak directly opposite the volcano. The interesting thing is the visitors' centre is in the area which was destroyed by the eruption. I wonder if they have volcano insurance?

Returned back down the valley and started the 3 hour drive back to Seattle. American Interstates are odd!

New pics up . . .

Saturday Week 2

Or is it Saturday week 3?

Anyway had a lie in to make up for the lost sleep during the week then got the bus over to the University district and had a wander. Really nice old campus, but with a real American College feel like you see in teen films. Was also really odd to see all the streets in the real draped in purple "University of Washington" banners, with pictures of the captains of the sport teams. Seattle doesn't have any good sport teams, apart from Woman's Basketball, so everyone follows the college sports instead; their actually televised nationally as well. Its quite surreal.

I then took the bus through Capital Hill to the International District, which wasn't really what I expected; its not as prominant as in other major cities, so I wandered back past the market to Olympic Sculpture Park. Seeing as it was actually sunny today, it maid me realise there are actually mountains on the other side of the sound, and Mt. Rainer could actually be seen from the city. I then walked back along Lake Union and watched the float planes taking off; strange concept, but probably much cheaper to keep a float plane than a normal plane at a nearby airfield.

Went for a run earlier then about to shower and go see "Legend of Guardians" in IMAX 3D before hitting the town.

Plan for tomorrow is to get up early and head down to Mt. Rainer National Park, and potentially Mt. St. Helens; seeing as I studied it for GCSE Geography I really ought to pay homage at least.

Friday Week 2

. . . and order is restored.

Everything is back under control and all sorted, pending some glue setting.

So it was actually quite a slow day at work, got to finish off some paperwork for yesterday's activities and do some FedEx-ing.

Thursday Week 2

Hmm, long day. Evidently yesterday was just the calm before the storm.

Today, this sh*t hit the fan (quite literally) and we were frantically running around trying to organise and authorise repairs and overhaul of 2 engines so that we could get the aircraft flying asap.

Ended up leaving work at 0200 after having handed over to Derby. The paperwork sequence is a nightmare.

The night was made longer by a routine inspection going wrong and having to steal parts from the spare engine. Again, the paperwork was what slowed us down

I did, however, learn that Boeing operate slightly differently to us. We have a team that covers all 4 engines. They have 4 teams, 1 for each aircraft. When the aircraft goes off sight, they all go with it. There are some interesting "team photos" pasted on the walls of the cabin.

I sat in on a couple of post flight de-briefs. The scariest thing about them was that the 2 people in the room that were the pilots were not the people I thought should be the pilots; they looked like typical American Tourists.

Equally, the 737 paint shop hanger has had to be expanded to fit the 737's with winglets. There's a slot running half way up the walls that the winglets run down.

Right, time for work!

Wednesday Week 2

No News

Tuesday Week 2

Slow day at work. Didn't have a lot to do since the 2 aircraft based at Boeing Field at the moment were both airbourne until late this evening. Got a couple of reports out the way though.

I also discovered the wonders of "Simple English Wikipedia"; sorry if I'm slow on the uptake for this, but it can provide hours of fun. For those who didn't know, its Wikipedia written in easy to understand English, designed for children and those learning English. I learnt many things:

"A tanker aircraft carries lots of fuel so it can give some to other planes"

"War can hurt people"

"Sometimes, people are scared to fly. They think that the plane could crash"

Well you know what they say, simple wiki for simple minds.

My boss it trying to persuade me to do the Seattle Half-Marathon at the end of November. I said I'd get back to him.

Monday Week 2

Just back from work, quick update before going to bed.

Woke up and had a lazy morning (apart from the 5 mile run) then had lunch. Then went to work. That felt really odd. Though as I discovered throughout the day, working a later day in Seattle works quite nicely cause I can catch up with people in the UK the head to work as they're heading to bed.

The role of the second shift is to do all the tasks that the 1st shift couldn't be bothered to do and that need to be done before the next day's flying. Plus, of course, reacting to what is going wrong. My evening was spent removing counterbalances from 2 engines after an unbalanced rotor vibration test and taking measurements of seals inside a thrust reverser. Was quite a slow evening as 2 aircraft are off site and 1 didn't fly today so we didn't need to do any post flight inspections. Means more to do tomorrow.

Right, bed time!

Another Wet Weekend Day

Well, as per the forecast it rained again today.

I sat in the cafe in the hope it would stop, but gave up waiting and wandered over to Freemont, which is just the otherside of the canal. I went to their Sunday Market, which seemed to be stall after stall of random trash people had found in their houses - even down to random hairclips. However, the foodstands were quite interesting, all giving out free samples.

I then wandered round the area taking in the local architecture, including the troll under the bridge, the Freemont Rocket and the statue of Lenin.

I got back to the apartment and had a late lunch, then the heavens opened again. So I caught up on domestic chores and watched "all new episodes" of Mythbusters, Deadliest Catch, Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad (need I continue?).

As requested by the sister, I've uploaded a photo of "my ride". Though I lied in my previous post, its actually a 3.7lt engine!

Wet Touristy Day

Today it rained. But apparently that's not unusual. Seattle has on average 296 overcast days a year!

Took the bus into town and had a wander around downtown Seattle, where I found the "Cheesecake Factory". That's definitely worth a visit at a later date. I then went down to the waterfront and got a 1 hour ferry tour of the bay. Got really nice views of the city and dockyards (and the rain stopped). Tour guide was really got and had interesting facts about Seattle including the hotel you can fish from your bedroom window from. Got talking to a friendly woman from Nebraska, who used my favourite American line, "Yeah, my family's from Scotland". By which she meant you can trace her family tree back to Scotland. The conversation consisted of numerous American stereotypes of the UK, but funny none the less.

I then went to the Seattle Aquarium. I'll say that this point that I bought a multi-centre tourist ticket last weekend which you must use in 9 days, hence doing the cruise in bad weather. The aquarium was nothing special, but the sea/river otters were good fun.

Next to the aquarium is the Pike Place Market, which is a must see in Seattle. It still acts as the biggest fish market in the area, but it also has all manner of other shops and stalls, including the original Starbucks. I found a Russian cafe which served really nice Borsch, though not quite as meaty as they have in Moscow. Probably cause it didn't use a Veal stock. But definately worth another visit, particularly once it gets cold. Today it was still around 16-17 degrees, but 90% humidity as well.

Patty Murray out of Washington

I'm guessing there's a Senate vote soon. Every ad break on TV is filled with propaganda messages against Patty Murray. It's getting slightly irritating. But not quite as irritating as the shear number of ad breaks there are for every TV show.

Also, the BBC website outside of the UK has adverts all over it. Its disgusting!

Long Couple of Days

Its the weekend!
Had a lot going on in the office. 2 of the aircraft should now be off on remote sorties, but a lot needed doing before they could go. I got called out onto the apron by my boss at 0730 as we were short staffed today and ended up being out for 5 hours; most of which was spent arguing about the bureaucracy of paperwork. Its quite comical walking into each aircraft's maintenance hut and hearing "Rolls-Royce are in the building", promptly followed by frantic minimising of computer screen. Stupid export law.

Sat in the cockpit for an engine run today in the cabin mock-up aircraft, which is used for noise and vibration tests. Today's run was with off balance fan, running up to 70% thrust. It reminded me of this incident:

http://airlineworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/16/etihad-airbus-slams-into-wall-while-engine-testing/

I was assured that the aircraft was properly choked, but it didn't half rattle.

There's still much talk about who gets to spend Christmas in Ecuador supporting the hot and high flight tests. Apparently the US a having major visa issues; European's don't need one. Boeing are also very worried about security, so the air force are supporting the tests. The weird thing is any time anyone mentions the country in question, I get this stuck in my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P86fPsC_cCQ
I had to get a report out by the end of the day so that the UK would see it on Monday morning. This was particularly urgent as I've been asked to work on the second shift next week, so will be working 1400-2200 PST (2200-0600 GMT) thus having no interaction with the UK. At least on first shift there's a 1-2 hour window where you can talk to them.

My amazing discovery of the day was finally managing to translate what the Boeing mechanics were saying. In short, they pronounce "Turbine" as "Turban". This caused much confusion, but did paint interesting pictures in my head; mainly of gas turbans.

Daily Update

Interesting day at work today. Did some fire-fighting (not literally) in the morning then got to sit in the cockpit whilst we did a post engine change test run in the afternoon.

One of the up coming test flights is the 15knt tailwind tak-off test. In order to do this, Boeing are on "wind watch" and will fly anywhere in a 100mile radius that can provide the right meteorological conditions.

Been in 3 of the RR powered fleet now. You can tell they're on a tight schedule; the trim on the interior is appalling and all of them desperately need a wash.

Driving in America is an experience; everyone drives around with their lights on and no one uses their indicators. I also had several experiences on the way to work today that led me to believe that the "mirror, signal, manoeuvre" technique only consists of the latter part over here. On the plus side, the 3.5ltr Jeep I've got is awesome (note the yankie lingo), if a little bit of a gas guzzler.

Nothing much to say today, normal office sort of day. One of the 787's is off to Edwards Airforce Base tomorrow to do Take-off performance testing, so 4 of the team are off to support that. Then in the afternoon I got asked to go to Everett on Friday to borescope a Trent 1000 that's currently sat on the production line. Everett is the Boeing final assembly line, and the biggest building in the world (by floor area). So while I'm there my boss told me I had to get a full factory tour.

Also, didn't realise quite how big Halloween is over here - some TV channels are doing a 13 day special!

Observations

Went into the Seattle Centre again this evening to do the Space needle at night; they were doing a buy one get one free on visits. Today the lift operator told me the Space needle was the 6th tallest building in Seattle. Its getting overtaken by the day!
I did, however, discover that unlike in the UK, Starbucks' don't seem to shut. Though I was slightly disappointed to see that Boeing have a contract with Tully's, not Starbucks.

Also, ever TV programme in the US has to be sponsored by a least 2 companies. Family Guy is sponsored by the US Air Force and Taco Bell!

Both yesterday and today when I bought lunch I got strange looks for buying a salad. I couldn't finish them, but apparently my meal was only a side dish.

Finally, I knew about it before, but American TV shows have an Ad break every 5 mins. I keep changing the channel thinking the show has finished.

The cost of eating

The supermarket today was an experience in itself. Americans like very different food. And, as is typical with Seattle, there's a Starbucks in the middle of the store.

My weeks shopping ended up costing $112. Scary!

But, I found these:

Anyone else remember then? Ah to be 8 again!

1st Day at Work

Not a lot to say, spent the day helping to analyse the data from last week's flight tests. There was a debate in the office as one of the 787's is off to Ecuador for a week in December for hot and high testing and they need RR people to support the tests. Though the best bit was hearing that Boeing were budgeting how much oxygen they would need to take for the staff for a week, since at 13000' "its impossible to breath".

The canteen is a building the middle of the apron, so you have to walk past everything to get lunch. You can then have lunch whilst watching the movements. There was put speculation when the GE powered 787 came back from a 3 hour test flight after 1 hour. This was make worse when a RR powered 787 came back from a 6 hour test flight after 2 hours. Interesting . . .

Touristy Day

Decided to do the shamelessly touristy stuff today. Got the bus "downtown" and wandered over to the Space Needle. The Space Needle is a bit odd, particularly as its only the 4th tallest building in Seattle now. Good views of the city though, but unfortunately was too cloudy to see Mt. Rainer. The ticket I've got gives me another trip up at night tomorrow though.

I then took the Monorail down to Pike Street and had a wander round one of the main shopping streets. Found a coffee shop which specialises in Mocha's. They do a "Viennese" mocha which tastes like a hot chocolate, but still has a double shot of espresso in it.

Then took the monorail back to the Space centre; worth pointing out the monorail ride is only a mile at most. I then went to the EMP - Experience Music Project. On the ground floor its a museum about the history of the Seattle music scene, with halls dedicated to local musicians; some guy called Jimi Hendrix and a band called Nirvana(?). On the top floor is "the studio", which can only be described as Guitar Hero but on the actual instruments, with LEDs indicating where your fingers should be, or which drum on the kit to hit. Even more impressive is that you can plug your mp3 player in and play along to any of your songs.

From there I went to the Pacific Science Museum which, along with most of the Space centre was build for the world fair in 1962. Put it this way, you can tell its quite old. There were some interesting bits, worryingly in the "test your body" area my hand grip strength was off the chart. At the IMAX cinema I saw a film about the 787 and how its evolved as the "ultimate" aircraft. There were some appalling inaccuracies; my favourite was the scene where we were led to believe they were announcing the launch of the 787 programme, even though there was a poster hanging underneath the CEO celebrating the Trent 1000's certification, and a picture of the 787.

Then had a wander back through Queen Anne to the apartment. Learning point of the day: Seattle is not flat!

PS First Photos are up, link on the left

First Night Out in Seattle

Went out for a team dinner last night as 2 of the team are flying home this week.

Had a really nice meal in a restaurant where they cover the table in paper and give you crayons so you can doodle whilst you wait, novel.

Really good meal, but eating out it expensive, $60 a head in the end.

Then went for a few beers at what I'm told is a popular bar with the locals. Reminded me a bit of the bar out of Coyote Ugly, but without the woman. Local brew is interesting, but they have proper European in abundance as well.

First Day in the "Office"

Unexpectedly, when I got to Boeing Field my boss asked if I was up for helping out for a bit. So he took me out onto the apron and I sat under a 787 for an hour whilst they inspected it. I also got to have a look around inside and in the cockpit; there are some novel features in the cabin, but you have to be sat by the window to use them.

I then got shown where the office was, "the trailor" as its affectionately called, and my company jeep. Never have a been so thankful that the towcars at AD are American, their cars are just wrong!

Made my way to the apartment and had a quick shower before exporing the local area. Took me 15 mins to find the nearest Starbucks. I think I'm going to like it here.

Right, enough for now, off for a meal and drinks with the team

Flight Out Part 2

Got into Amsterdam 30mins late so had a quick connection, was only in the terminal for 30mins before boarding the Seattle flight. At the "additional" security check I caused a bit of panic when asked "Are all the electrical items in your hand luggage yours?". "No, I have a company laptop with me". I'm amazed they haven't heard this before, but took a lot of thought before they allowed me through.
Flight was pleasant enough, though slept for most of it. Food portions were HUGE, not sure if I'll cope in the states based on that.

Coming in over the Rockies and Cascades was stunning. Would be interesting gliding, but there's no landing areas. Interestingly as we passed over the Cascades into the Seattle bowl it went completely overcast. Apparently Seattle has its own micro-climate

Landed in Seattle on time, got to immigration to find that I hadn't been given a form I needed on the flight, so that took 10 mins to do. Collected my bags to discover 1 was missing; apparently it missed the flight so they sent it to Detroit. I'll be with me tomorrow I'm assured.

Phoned my boss to find that he couldn't pick me up cause he was having to supervise a boroscopic inspection of an engine.

So I got a taxi to the "office" . . .

Flight Out Part 1

Sat in the lounge at Edinburgh about to fly to Amsterdam. Its 0500 here, so its 2100 in Seattle. Almost time for bed . . .

As a side note, I do like how everyone's been telling me how nice Seattle is, but how unlucky I am to be going over the winter as its very wet. Now, since when is it dry in Britain . . .

Time To Go . . .

Kitchen sink was already in the car!

Really Shouldn't Have Gone to Specsavers

Slightly off topic, but had to go to the opticians last week since I broke my glasses. So I book an appointment online at Specsavers, since their website claims you'll get your new glasses within a week.
So I turn up and report to the receptionist. She takes a few details from me and tells me to take a seat and wait for the optician. Someone then walks up to me and says they need to take me through a pre-sight test questionnaire. Questionnaire completed, I'm then taken over to someone else for my pre-sight test examination(!?). 20 minutes later, I see the optician. This last all of 5 minutes to tell me that yes, I need glasses. Useful. Since I currently wear frameless glasses, he recommended I stick with frameless glasses, with antiglare, scratch resistant coatings. No wonder, these are £50 more than designer glasses.
I'm then taken to the front of the shop to meet a stylist who helps me pick out my frames (I say frames, it is buy one get one free). She sole responsibility at the store is to hand you a frame, wait for you to put them one and say, "yeah, that looks good". She then invites me to take a seat and wait for the fitting specialist to see me. This person is trained to write order forms to the "factory" with my prescription and eye spacing. She then takes me to the payment desk, where someone else extracts silly amounts of money from me.

I then ask if I can by some contact lenses as well. "Oh, that's a different department upstairs". So I head upstairs and get told that the lenses they stock are different from the ones I wear, so I'll need a lens consultation. I'm reminded to be wearing my lenses when I come to my consultation.

So I return yesterday for my appointment, only to be told I didn't have one. I show them my card, and they check the system; deciding they can fit me in. I then get asked if I've worn lenses before. I decide to answer this by poking myself in the eye. So I see the consultant, who asks me if I've ever worn lenses before. I think there was some joke I was missing. So, by spending £20 on a consultation, I'm allowed to buy lenses. I then given some plastic bags, as "when I fly to Seattle I'll need to put my lenses in a clear plastic bag to get them past security." I declare I'll just put them in the hold, then spend 10 minutes explaining this concept to the receptionist.

I walk downstairs and find I'm able to pick up my glasses, thus completing my last ever trip to Specsavers!

Flights and Credit Cards

Tuesday was a big day - Visa turns up at 0700 by "special delivery" aka a guy in a Vauxhall Astra.

Got permission to proceed with booking flights on the condition that they charge it to my corporate credit card when I get it.

Find - flights booked from Edinburgh via Amsterdam, £3900! Glad I'm not paying. Then low and behold my credit card was sat on the doormat when I got home. Slight problem being that its credit limit is on £3000. HR had a fit.

On the plus side, my baggage allowance for the flight is 3 pieces of hold luggage and 2 pieces of cabin baggage. And then Rolls turn round and announce they'll fund an additional piece of hold luggage on top of than. Bottom line, I'm allowed 112kg of luggage

Might have to go out and buy a kitchen sink . . .

Fun & Games at the Embassy

Had the fun of the US Embassy on Thursday.
Firstly, my interview was meant to be at 1030, and you aren't allowed to be there more than 30 mins beforehand. So I joined the queue at 1000.
The first queue was outside the embassy for a stall where they checked you had your interview printouts with you. If you didn't, they've hooked up with all the local pharmacies, where you can go "out back" and do everything you need to online and print them off.
Next queue was for a guy who made sure you had your passport (and that it was yours). He then gave you a bag for all your metal items. Bear in mind you aren't allowed bags, electrical goods, USB drives or mobiles. You then go through an airport style secuirty check, before finally being allowed in the building. Its now 1100.
Entering the building, you're given a ticket and told to wait your turn. I was 387, they were serving 250. You then get to sit in anNHS style waiting room with 200 other people.
30 mins later I get called forward. The end is in sight. You proceed to a bank branch style window where you hand over documents and get fingerprints done. Finally I can cut my fingers again! He then gives me another piece of paper I have to fill in and I get told to sit back down and wait for my number to be called again. Evidently this was only the pre-interview!
Whilst waiting I get talking to a girl whose waiting for a "seaman visa" (this prompted a very long inappropriate conversation) since she was being employed on a Disney cruiseliner. In her case, giving a "address of residence" in the US was quite difficult. We compared the waiting experience to sitting outside a headmasters office; everyone was sitting quietly looking slightly unsettled, and you weren't really sure whether you wanted your number to be called. Evidently our conversation was the most interesting thing happening, everyone around us turned around and listerned in.
2 hours later I get called for my interview (before seaman girl). I went into a sound proof booth and walked towards a woman behind more bullet proof glass. My interview consisted of:
How long have you been working at Rolls-Royce?
Where are you going in the US?
How long will you be there for?
Thank you, your visa application's been approved!
I then get given another form to fill in and I queue for the couriers to arrange for my passport to be returned. I leave the embassy at 1530.
I don't think I'll be applying for a US Visa in a long time. At least I finised reading the Lonely Planet guide to Seattle.

Jumping through hoops

Off to the US Embassy tomorrow to "queue" for my Visa Interview, along with 15 bits of paper, a passport photo that's a completely different size to the rest of the world. I'm also banned from taking bags or electrical goods.

The online form I had to fill in along with the rest of my visa paperwork took 45 minutes to fill in even though the web form times out after 20 - uselful!
They also have "drop down box" and "add" system to list the countries you've visited in the last 5 years. Said form obviously isn't designed for Europeans, that question took 15 minutes alone.

Are all countries this bad?
Given some of the US population, shouldn't they adopt a Top-Trump form of 1 in 1 out system?

Hold On

This is a blog so people track my movements when I go "across" the pond.

Due to fly out on the 2nd October, but haven't booked flights or got the visa yet . . .