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.