Sunrise, long day and New York Rangers

Covering an early shift today so I was out for my walk at stupid o'clock. Spectacular sunrise though:

Seeing that really fired me up for the day which was just as well as it was a LOOOONG day. 95% was spent on a call with a client help support them through a live upgrade. I didn't really have much to do but I was there just in case. 

With the regular season about to get underway we caught up with the last pre-season game for the New York Rangers against arch rivals the New York Islanders. First period ended tied 1 - 1. Second period ended with the Rangers leading 2 - 1. Third period was tied 4 - 4. Rangers won 5 - 4 in overtime so it was a much needed win heading into the regular season but letting in 3 in a period is not something I want to see much of again and letting the opposition escape with a point will also be a curse if it happens too much.

Frustration and the New York Rangers (not related)

Today has been brought to you by apathy, disinterest and frustration. The first two points were not me but others! I might have mentioned it a few times before but I am not a big fan of statistics or bean counting. I am even less a fan of statistics and bean counting when it they are not done properly. Even less so when bits of them are made up. So that's the level of BS I have been dealing with today. 

I was looking forward to catching up with a New York Rangers game tonight only to find that my NHL app was telling me I needed to subscribe. I then had to have a call with NHL.TV support as I had received an emailing saying my subscription lasted until 10/10/21 and I would auto-renew on 11/10/21. It turns out there was a mistake in the email and it should have said I expired on 01/10/21! I was just told I could just subscribe again now and all would be good. I queried if I would then be billed again on 11/10/21 as per the email but was assured this would not happen. Trusting this to be true I subscribed so that I could watch the game I wanted to. Check in with again on 11/10/21 to see if there is a post on being double billed! LOL

The game in question was New York Rangers v Boston Bruins. The season stars on October 12th so there are a series of pre-season games and this was a good ONE. First period ended with the Rangers trailing 2 - 3. Second period ended the same with Rangers down 2 - 3 still. The third period improved a bit and ended with the game tied 3 - 3 thanks to a well taken penalty shot. Into overtime we went and the game ended with the Rangers winning 4 - 3, phew! Good to see a win especially against a quality team like the Bruins (even more so as the Devils beat the Rangers 7 - 1 the other night). There is a lot of potential in the 21/22 Rangers team (we are still getting used to all the changes) so hopefully we'll see good things from them. 

Early walk in the snow, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier trailer and hockey catch up

We were out an about at 06:30 this morning for a nice snowy walk. It was lovely.

Ma u hours later, this is the view from my home office :)

Marvel have just dropped a new The Falcon And The Winter Soldier trailer ready for it's release on March 19th. I have to say, this is really looking really good!

The evening was spent doing a mass hockey catch up on the games from last night

Good day, a baby boy (not mine) and a Rangers win

Today has been OK. Not too stressful, not too busy. It was a great way to end the week. It was all very positive, good things were done and now I am prepped for this weekend which is our final mass migration. After that there will be two clients to move, they are standalone so will be quick and easy when we get round to planning them.

In great team news we had the announcement of a bouncing baby boy who was delivered today!

The evening was made of hockey once again. New York Rangers v Washington Capitals was a surprise game with the Rangers skating away with a 4 - 2 victory! VERY happy with that result.

Carolina Hurricanes v Chicago Blackhawks was a closer affair with the game ending with the Hurricane losing 4 - 6. BOO!

Good night everyone!

I hate Thursdays

I hate Thursdays. It's the one day of the week that is always full of scheduled meetings and then I normally have more ad-hoc ones on top of that so getting any meaningful breaks can be difficult..

On the positive side lots of things were achieved today and I have managed to wrestle my InBox back under control so it's not all bad LOL

Our evening was made of NHL catch ups. Is this getting boring yet as we do it quite a lot?
Boston Bruins beat Philadelphia Flyers in overtime so that was a big YAY! Tamba Bay Lightning beat Detroit Dead Things 5 - 1 so it was YAY all round!

One step away from Falling Down, sad news and NHL catch up

I have no idea why but the start of my day was just made of angry. Every email I read just seemed to wind me up and make me go grrr! Sometime there might have been some vague reason why I reacted like that but in some cases there was nothing. I was a couple of steps away from Falling Down! 

It wasn't a great place to be in but it did finally go away. The rest of the day was spent working through issues, analysing what was going on and coming up with potential scenarios as to why things were happening or how to resolve them. Productive overall though.

Having lost Uncle Richard about six weeks ago I was sad to hear the news today that Auntie Robbie's mum Betty had also passed away. Whilst this wasn't unexpected as such it's just too much for Auntie Robbie to have to deal with so soon after losing Uncle Richard. My hear goes out to all of the Portsmouth clan. 

The evening was spent with delicious food, coffee and a massive NHL catch up of games from last night. Vancouver Canucks v Montreal Canadiens - Vancouver lost 2 - 5. Minnesota Wild v Colorado Avalanche - Minnesota lost 1 - 2. Carolina Hurricanes v Chicage Blackhawks - Carolina won 4 - 3 after a penalty shootout. At least one of our three teams came away with a victory!  

Coffee day, Rangers win and more hockey

Today was made of coffee. It had to be as I got called out at 04:30and then worked until 06:30. I managed two hours sleep before having to get up for the regular day. It was a bit of a rough one trying to keep all the plates spinning. Some might have dropped today but that's fine, I'll be back in the game again tomorrow. I did at least make sure that I had a proper lunch break (Sam treated me to a delivered Burger King - thank you) and I also managed to finished just after 16:00 which was a result.

After work there was more coffee and Toni and I caught up with the New York Rangers v Pittsburgh Penguins game from last night. It's about time we had a win. We might get a point for overtime but a loss is still a loss so we were hoping for a turn in fortunes. First period ended with the Rangers trailing 0 - 1. At the end of the second the game was tied 1 - 1. Final score and not before time was a Rangers win of 3 - 1.

Next up was Boston Bruins v Washington Capitals. This game was one where Washington were looking pretty strong but Boston bounced back from a 0 - 3 deficit and won the game 5 - 3.

Rounding out the evening was Vancouver Canucks v Montreal Canadiens. Could we get three out of three of our teams winning tonight? Short answer? No! The Canucks let the side down and lost 2 - 6. 

Better day, good luck Sergejs and New York Rangers win

Today was a much better day. Woke up feeling good and work was quite relaxed over all. That's not to say there wasn't some irritating bits but I didn't feel overwhelmed in any way Things got done, things progressed and my involvement in a task kept a client and colleague sane while other people 'helping' proved to be more of a liability LOL.

In less good news we said goodbye to Sergejs today. He's been with us for a couple of years but has now moved on to run a business with his wife. So now that's two holes I need to plug.

We caught up with the New York Rangers v Buffalo Sabres game from last night. First period started well and ended 1 - 1. Second period saw the Rangers take a 2 - 1 lead. Third period ended with a 2 - 2 tie so we were overtime bound. 19 years old Alexis Lafreniere scored his first ever NHL goal and the Rangers won the game 3 - 2. It's been a while since we had a good win!

Walkies, relaxing day, Rangers loss and Bruins win

Today started with a nice walk with Toni. It was great to get out for a bit of fresh air. The plan is to do this more often. Plans are great but...... LOL

My working day was much more relaxed and laid back today. It was a really pleasant change to not be feeling under pressure or harassed and stressed all the time. Saying that, I did spend far more time on the phone than I would have liked which did restrict my productivity a little. Still, there's always tomorrow to catch up right? 

NHL catch up with the New York Rangers v Buffalo Sabres game from last night. First period started well and ended tied 1 - 1. Second period the wheels started to come off a bit and the Rangers were down 2 - 3. Things didn't improve and at the end of the third period the Rangers lost 2 - 3, FFS!

Next up was Boston Bruins v Pittsburgh Penguins. We were hoping the Bruins would fare a little better than the Rangers did! This one was tied 2 - 2 at then end of the third so it was into overtime. With ten seconds of overtime left the Bruins came up trumps and won the game 3 - 2! Phew!

Beautiful sky, crap morning, American Gods, The Blacklist and NHL

This morning there was a beautiful sky when I got up. Had to capture it.

It put me in a good mood which I needed as I had already been called out at 03:30 for a work issue. My good spirits didn't last too long though as everything just seemed to go to crap after that, for the morning anyway. Things did settle down a bit in the afternoon which was a relief.Even managed to finished work at 17:00 which doesn't happen very often.

Cheeky Tuesday meant 20% off an order at Just Eat so we indulged in an Indian for dinner and the latest episode of American Gods. Next up was the latest episode of The Blacklist. This might be the final season but they aren't letting up on the storytelling. 

The rest of the night played out with some NHL catch up.

Good day, shredders Independence Day and a Rangers loss

Early start today but thankfully it was the least stressful post-migration Monday so far. looks like we might have finally got good at this thing LOL, just as it's over! That's not to say that there weren't challenges but it never felt like I was out of control at any point.

Musical accompaniment today was an assortment of guitar shredders and new-classical metal such as Joe Stump, Marty Friedman, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen and Paul Gilbert etc.

Guilty pleasures came into effect for our dinner movie as we enjoyed the sci-fi cheese of Independence Day. Totally ridiculous film but so much fun!

We finished the night off with the New York Rangers v Pittsburgh Penguins game from last night. It was a good start for the Rangers and they were leading 1 - 0 at the end of the first period. Second period ended with the Rangers still ahead but now 2 - 1. Third period went a bit wrong and the Rangers lost the game 2 - 3. Arse!

Snow, Blown Away and NHL catch up

Today we finally had some snow. There wasn't a lot but it was nice while it lasted. I'd have preferred a proper blizzard and a decent layer but I'm happy there was some.

It was so cold that we even turned on the fire in the living room, first time we have done that all winter.

Season 2 of Blown Away has dropped on Netflix so we binged our way through that. Who would have thought that glass blowing would be compulsive viewing? If you haven't seen it before it's well worth a watch. Such a wonderful art form and great to see it getting such a push, thank you Netflix.

In the afternoon we caught up with the NHL results from last night. We watched the hole of the Boston Bruins v Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens v Vancouver Canucks games. Bruins won their game 6 - 1 which made us happy. Sadly the fortunes of the Canucks were not so good and they ended up losing their game 2 - 5. 

Baking, work, Drag Race, Rangers loss, WandaVision and American Gods

The usual Saturday routine was in full effect today. Got up and got my baking groove on which I really enjoy doing. 

I then had to embark on another load of migration work which has been a regular part of my weekends for a long time, The good news is I have next weekend off and then one final weekend and that is it all competed for now. Phew!

A much needed breakfast and the latest episode of RuPaul's Drag Race UK was the perfect way to chill. This was a brilliant episode, I really love their Rusical musical shows.Staying in the Drag zone we moved on to episode four of RuPaul's Drag Race. 

Hockey time came around as we watch the New York Rangers v Pittsburgh Penguins game from last night. First period ended with the Rangers down 0 - 1. Second period was better with the Rangers taking a 3 - 2 lead into the third period. With the game tied 3 - 3 at the end of the third it was into overtime. 3 - 3 after overtime and then Rangers lost the shoot out and the game 3 - 4.

Dinner viewing tonight was WandaVision. Litlle by little this show opens up with little hints of what might be coming but there are no answers to the question.

We then started on Season 3 of American Gods. 

Really enjoying this and can't wait to see how the story unfolds this season.

Walk, clusterfuck and NHL

Today started off quite well. Toni and I got up early and went and had a nice little walk. This had me feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day ahead. It was jut sas well really as it turned out to be a bit of a clusterfuck. 

If it could go wrong, it did go wrong. Staff, software, hardware and clients were in the mix. A stressful and depressing turn of events with a resignation thrown in for good measure. It was a very long day too, just to add insult to injury.

Next week will be seeing a VERY different me and I shall be have some serious words with people!

When I did get a chance to kick back and relax it was NHL time. Boston Bruins took on the Philadelphia Flyers. Tied 4 - 4 at the end of the third meant it was overtime time again. With no winner declared it was on to a penalty shoot out. Thankfully the Bruins pulled it off and won 5 - 4.

Next up was Vancouver Canucks v Montreal Canadiens.  This one was a total blowout in the end. 2 - 2 at the end of the first. Game ended with the Canadiens winning 7 - 3, ouch!

Batwoman, busy day and NHL night

This morning was surprising. I got up, had breakfast and a cuppa and watched the first episode of Batwoman Season 2. Season 1 was awful and I hated Ruby Rose and despite loving Batwoman I couldn't get to grips with the show at all and her Kate Kane/Batwoman portrayal. Now that Rose has gone and Javicia Leslie is taking on the mantle of Ryan Wilder/Batwoman I wanted to give it a chance. First episode was not bad at all and was far more entertaining than the show had been before. Hopefully they can keep this going. It was broken so hopefully they can fix it!  

It's been a busy old day. Loads of meetings, loads of troubleshooting, loads of things getting sorted. Oh there was also loads of stress too but I am used to that!

It was a hockey evening tonight. We started off with the Vancouver Canucks v Montreal Canadiens. This was a high scoring back and forth game. At the end of the third the game was tied 5 - 5 and so it was into overtime. Overtime gave us no winner so it was on to penalty shots. Vancouver won the game 6 - 5 after 4 rounds of penalty shots. 

Next up was Minnesota Wild v Anaheim Ducks. Sam was less than impressed that we were routing for the Wild over the Ducks. Another back and forth game but not as high scoring, Minnesota won the game 3 - 2 so we were happy.

Talking of DC TV shows, the latest trailer has just been dropped for the upcoming Superman & Lois series. Not sure if I am looking forward to this one or not. Guess I'll give it a go and see what comes out.

Taxing day, Nando's, The Wedding Singer and New York Rangers

It has been a very taxing day today. Sometimes I despair of people and wonder how they have got where they have. Some changes are going to be coming methinks! LOL Despite being stressed by people there was lots of good progress made on resolving issues that are pending or outstanding for our migrations. A long day but productive overall.

Dinner came courtesy of a Nando's devilry via Deliveroo and we educated Sam on why The Wedding Singer is a great film!

We then settled in to watch the New York Rangers v New Jersey Devils game. This was not a patch on the game at the weekend. Rangers were down 0 - 1 at the end of the first. Second period ended with the Rangers down 2 - 4. Despite clawing one back and a hard fought their period the Devils win the game 4 - 3. Dammit!

Good day, Shark Island, A Million Ways To Die In The West and hockey

Today was a good day. Stuff got done and things got fixed. I like days like these.

Music for the day was Shark Island because I love a bit of Shark Island.

The extended cut of A Million Ways To Die In The West was a our dinner movie.

We finished the day off with some hockey catch up from last night. We watched the whole of the Boston Bruins v New York Islanders game hoping for a Bruins win. It turned out to be a rather uneventful game until the last five minutes, Islanders went 1 - 0 up with 4:09 left. Empty net madness yielded nothing and so the New York Islanders won 1 - 0.

After the game we then watch the 9 condensed highlights from the rest of the games last night. 

Novelty start, Avenger's gaming, Rangers and Despicable Me 3

Didn't get up until 09:30 today which was a real novelty as normally I am awake long before that and end up just getting up. Decided to jump on the PS4 for some Marvel's Avengers single player fun. It's a game that I can take slow and steady which is perfect for me. Very happy as I now have Iron Man to toy with!

We nervously started watching the New York Rangers v New York Islanders game from last night. It was nervous due to how badly the first game went. A very encouraging first period ended with the Rangers leading 2 - 0. Second period continued to build well and ended with Rangers now leading 4 - 0. The Rangers won the game 5 - 0. It was like watching a completely different team so hopefully thy are now passed opening night nerves and are settling down as a team. 

We then moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes v Detroit Red Wings game. This was much closer game until the final 2 minutes. It was tied 2 - 2 and then Detroit had a surge and they won the game 4 - 2.

Dinner today was a roast chicken that I had marinated in a Nando's peri peri sauce. I was amazing even if I do say so myself LOL 

Despicable Me 3 was the movie of choice tonight for some Gru and Minions goodness.

We finished the day off with some more NHL catch up and then some Miami Ink.

Baking, Drag Race, WandaVision, NHL and The Mummy Returns

It's Saturday so it was up and about to get my baking groove on. These little beauties came out really well.

A massive breakfast/lunch and the latest episode of the main RuPaul's Drag Race.

Disney+ dropped the first two episodes of the new Marvel TV series, WandaVision. This show blends the style of classic sitcoms with the MCU in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision -two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives-begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

It got off to a good start and I look forward to seeing how the story unfolds and how they start to build hooks into other upcoming Marvel TV shows and movies.

As we didn't fancy watching any whole games of hockey we worked our way through the ten minute condensed highlights of all the games that have been played since the season started on Wednesday. It's actually a great way of keeping on top of teams without just reading a final score.We will still watch complete games for those teams that we are fully invested in. We've adopted a team from each division (outside of the New York Rangers) as follows:

MassMutual East - Boston Bruins (except when they play the Rangers)

Discover Central - Carolina Hurricanes

Honda West - Minnesota Wild 

Scotia North - Vancouver Canucks

Our dinner movie tonight was The Mummy Returns. 

Such a silly film but fun to watch nonetheless. We will be watching The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor and The Scorpion King at some point in the next few days. A bit of googling revealed that The Scorpions King had four sequels. How the hell did that get FOUR sequels? 

Early morning call out, Drag Race UK and New York Rangers

It was not a good night, I was called at 03:45 to deal with a work emergency which took almost two hours to sort out. I didn't bother going back to bed after that. Went downstairs and made some coffee and Toni and I had a very early breakfast. The real working day wasn't too bad though and I did at least make a concerted effort to finish early for a change.

We watched the first episode of RuPaul's Drag Race UK Season 2.

It was a good start to the season although we were sad to see Joe Black for home so early.

It was then time to check out the New York Rangers opening game of the season against arch rivals New York Islanders. Things did not start well with the Rangers trailing 0 - 3 at the end of the first period. First video review of the season on a Rangers goal was waved off even though it was pretty clear that it should have been given. It didn't improve after that with the Rangers on the wrong end of a 0 - 4 scoreline at the end of the second period. The Islanders were then on the wrong end of a goal challenge and had one waved off, The game ended with a horrible 0 - 4 loss. Not a great start to the season.

We finished the night off with Carolina Hurricanes against Detroit Dead Things, sorry Red Wings. It's much easier watching a hockey game when you don't have a massive interest in one of them winning as you can just enjoy the flow and skill on display.We wanted the Hurricanes to win but we didn't have a partisan attitude (unlike in the Rangers game LOL). Hurricanes won the game 3 - 0 which was a good solid result.