Alasdair Craig

The week of Mar 16, 2020 – Mar 22, 2020

Caronavirus depression…

Monday: Everyone at work is nervous about caronavirus. Instead of gym, Johnny, Chris and myself were in Tokai forest as a way to avoid potentially infected surfaces in the gym. Unsuccessful attempt at accessing work services via VPN as a first step in seeing myself up for self isolation.

Tuesday: Susan did a big shop for both of us so I’m well-stocked if I need to self isolate. We had supper together. Caught up by phone with mom and Steph. All talk is about the virus outbreak.

Wednesday: Another Tokai park exercise session with Johnny. More setting up my proposed work from home setup.

Thursday: Work from home has finally been approved as of next week. I’m pleased. Cancelled supper with Susan as I’m feeling drained by this virus outbreak. She understood. Mom is starting to understand the severity too.

Friday: End-of-sprint day. I’m getting very anxious about the virus outbreak. Good evening with Susan.

Saturday: Morning spent in bed. Caronavirus talk is getting to much, online and off.

Sunday: Pea and ham soup with mom and Susan at my place. My mom I think has realised the severity of the virus outbreak as to how it could affect her. We played monopoly. We chilled. I worried.

My work week was divided into: Testing 40%; Documentation 20%; Refactoring 20%; Meetings/meeting preparation 20%.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors

The week of Mar 9, 2020 – Mar 15, 2020

Calm before the caronavirus storm…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny and Ben. An after-work beer at Cafe Verdi. Watched Better call Saul s05e01.

Tuesday: Brief onsite trustee meeting. Supper with Susan at mine. I cooked chicken breast on spinach.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. A little grocery shopping. Dropped a couple things off at mom’s. Some body corporate work. Cleared the car ready for a service booking. Cooked some pork sausages. Watched TV.

I think I might enjoy hackerrank. Similar to the discontinued codeeval.

Thursday: Car in for clutch repairs. Thankfully not as expensive as I expected. Body corporate trustee meeting. Late evening.

Friday: Before work gym session. Helped Barbs move furniture around prior to tiling. Susan has caught a cough and I’m not seeing her tonight.

Saturday: Aircon. Catch up with Susan. Glass recycling. Water refill. Chores for mom. Book stall at craft market. Lunch at Banana Jam. Some hackerrank programming. Supper with Susan at mine. Watched the Bodyguard pilot.

Sunday: Lazy morning. Lunch at Mojo Market for a great poke bowl and frozen yoghurt. Lazy afternoon, a few chores. Watched Ramaphosa’s caronavirus announcement which got me depressed. Roast chicken.

My work week was divided into: Testing 60%; New development 40%.

Podcasts listened to this week: Beyond the Grid.

The week of Mar 2, 2020 – Mar 8, 2020

A busy week…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny and Ben. After work beer at Cafe Verdi. Admin.

Tuesday: Pecha Kucha event in town with Susan. Good evening.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny and Ben. Nice kingklip super at mine with Susan. We finished season 5 of Peaky Blinders.

Thursday: Poker with the boys. I did quite well for a change, came 2nd.

Friday: Reached the 9000 reputation score on Stack Overflow. Lunch time catch up with Julia. Nice snoek braai with Susan in glorious weather.

Saturday: A busy day for Susan and I. My mom’s birthday celebrations spent on a Chapman’s Peak drive, then lunch at Monkey Valley resort, then movie watching at her place. The busy day continued with a show at Theatre on the Bay with Helga. 

Sunday: A lazy morning in bed. Nice snoek leftovers lunch. Susan and I made egg muffins. I went to gym, did grocery shopping and chores. Then Susan and I covered her dining table chairs with fabric she bought in Livingston, Zambia. We had an awesome steak dinner then watched the start of Drive to Survive season 2.

My work week was divided into: New development 70%; Refactoring 20%; Testing 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors; CppCast.

The week of Feb 24, 2020 – Mar 1, 2020

Susan…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny and Chris. Cooked some really nice swordfish for Susan and I, first seating on a skillet then baking for 8 minutes.

Tuesday: After work walk around Tokai park. Quick phone catch-up with Susan. Admin. Measured up the electrics and plumbing of my kitchen for possible future Reno.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Legs session. Grocery shopping both for myself and for mom. Drop off at mom’s. Cooked a nice seafood stir-fry supper for Susan and I.

Thursday: Made donations to investigative journalism at  amaBhungane and Daily Maverick Scorpio. A little DIY. Early to bed.

Friday: Best laid plans for the cable car sunset special went awry due to winds. Instead Paul, Susan and I went out for dinner at The Avenue, Harfield Village.

Saturday: Early morning drive to signal hill to watch the sunrise which was beautifully enhanced because of veld fires in DuToits kloof. Made repairs to the second of Susan’s dining table chairs. Grocery shopping in Claremont at the same time as a big rugby match on at newlands wasn’t a good idea. Birthday party in Hout Bay for Jesse.

Sunday: A little painting DIY with a Susan. Then lunch with mom and Susan at the company Gardens restaurant. A nice drive in Fresnaye and Camps Bay. More plumbing DIY at Susan’s while she had a late afternoon snooze.

My work week was divided into: New development 40%; Meetings/meeting preparation 30%; Building install 20%; Bug fixing 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors; Making It

The week of Feb 17, 2020 – Feb 23, 2020

Pleasant week…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny. Haircut at the new barber in Steenberg Village. Watched Homeland.

Tuesday: Finished watching season 7 of Homeland. My verdict is it’s the best season yet.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny, Ben and Chris. Quick catch-up with Susan. She has a difficult job offer decision to make. Took mom to acquaint herself with the parking at a church she needs to visit. Sad news that Sybil has passed away.

Thursday: Met Susan’s mom Clare over dinner at CTFM waterfront. Pleasant evening.

Friday: Susan’s decision was made for her by the offer being not worthwhile. Watched the Clifton Fire Jam event with Susan, Tinky, Anthony and Tinky’s boys.

Saturday: Lunch with mom at Bossa in Milnerton. Braai at Priscilla and Lotte. Nice evening.

Sunday: Took mom to doctor for emergency after hours appointment. Fortunately turned out to be nothing more than vertigo. Lazy midday and early afternoon with Susan. Chores at home. Returned to Susan’s for a little DIY and then Peaky blinders watching.

My work week was divided into: Other 40%; New development 30%; Bug fixing 10%; Testing 10%; Meetings/meeting preparation 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: Inside Line F1; Making It

The week of Feb 10, 2020 – Feb 16, 2020

A weekend away…

Monday: Slept well. Dropped Susan off at home. Gym session with Johnny and Ben. After work did a car swap with mom’s. Watched a Homeland episode.

Tuesday: Dropped mom’s car off for a service. Collected it later and did the car swap again in reverse. More Homeland episodes.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny and Ben. Grocery shopping. Hosted a trustees meeting. Another Homeland episode.

Thursday: Collected new vehicle license. I used Warren from FastLane to get it for me. More Homeland.

Friday: Collected Susan after work. She surprised me with a Valentine’s Day card. We made dinner at her place, a nice curry stir-fried chicken dish made by typing ingredients into Google.

Saturday: Start of a fun weekend away. We checked in at Blue Sky 2 self-catering accommodation in Kalk Bay. Lunch at The Brass Bell. We wondered in and around the interesting shops on Main Rd. Spent the late afternoon playing rummy. Takeaway pizza from the place nextdoor. Then the evening spent playing Monopoly. A fun day.

Sunday: Lazy morning. Checked out. Coffee at Olympic Bakery which we both think highly overrated. Late breakfast at the much nicer Bootleggers less than 100m away. We walked along the harbour wall before heading off. We visited the Casa Labia building where I’ve never been. Interesting place. Drinks at Tigers Milk, Muizenberg. Home to Susan’s for an afternoon snooze and Peaky Blinders watching.

My work week was divided into: New development 100%.

Podcasts listened to this week: CppCast; BBC Books & Authors; 

The week of Feb 3, 2020 – Feb 9, 2020

A full weekend spent with Susan…

Monday: Gym with Johnny and Ben. Sushi takeaway. Admin, books. Finished reading Flinders: The Man who Mapped Australia. Started season 7 of Homeland.

Flinders: The Man who Mapped Australia by Rob Mundle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting history of the very first circumnavigation of Australia.

Tuesday: Body corporate trustee meeting. Grocery shopping. Fell asleep watching YouTube.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny and Ben. Bought some nice tuna for Susan and I to have at her place while I had loadshedding. Watched Peaky Blinders.

Thursday: Body corporate minutes writing. Poker with the boys. Laid out the furniture in a different way and this worked out well.

Friday: Nice evening at Forries to watch the Match in Africa, with Susan’s group of girl friends.

Saturday: Quick visit to the recycling drop-off, then the Rondebosch craft market for Susan’s bone broth. Lazy afternoon. Caught up by phone with Rob. Braai at Susan’s with Helga. Good to catch up with her too.

Sunday: Lunch and a little shopping with mom at Canal Walk. We finished session 4 of Peaky Blinders. Chores at home while Susan had load shedding.

My weekends are being spent with Susan at one of our homes. I’m enjoying it, it’s easy and uncomplicated.

My work week was divided into: New development 80%; Research / planning 20%.

Podcasts listened to this week: CppCast; Making It; NY Times Book Review

The week of Jan 27, 2020 – Feb 2, 2020

Spending time with Susan…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny and Chris. Chores. Played around with Prestashop trying to learn a thing or two about e-commerce.

Tuesday: Grocery shopping for both myself and mom. Drop off at mom’s. A little reading and YouTube watching.

Wednesday: Gym: super circuit. Fish dinner with Susan. A good evening. Planning a trip to Joburg to see some of her family.

Thursday: Trustee meeting in Lakeside.

Friday: Before work gym session. Midday stroll down the road. Susan came round in the evening. We booked flights to Joburg for April. Cooked a very nice ribs supper.

Saturday: Cavendish pharmacy stop. Visited the Rare Woods FebFest – always fun. Nice salad lunches at the Company Gardens restaurant. Watched Parasite at the Labia. A bit weird. A short walk on Sea Point promenade. We cooked a very nice seafood stir-fry supper. Watched Peaky Blinders. We caught a mouse in Susan’s house.

Sunday: Two more mice in Susan’s house. I cemented in a hole in Susan’s fireplace which we thought might be their hiding place. We collected mom and went for a drive around Chapman’s Peak. Stopped for lunch at Noordhoek Cafe and Deli at the nursery. A little grocery shopping for mom before dropping her off at home for tea. Chores and body corporate work. Bought mouse traps. Finished watching season 3 of Peaky Blinders.

My work week was divided into: New development 40%; Meetings/meeting preparation 20%; Other 10%; Refactoring 10%; Building install 10%; Research / planning 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors; NPR How I Built This;