Alasdair Craig

The week of Mar 11, 2019 – Mar 17, 2019

Load shedding, plumbing, DIY…

Monday: Gym session: super circuit. Watched a couple episodes of the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

Tuesday: Body corporate trustees meeting.

Wednesday: Enjoying new music of group Deerhunter. First takeout from Bombay Chilli, very tasty naan bread, and pretty good chicken korma. Watched more of Drive to Survive.

Thursday: Beer and takeout from Jack Black brewery. A lot of planning and apprehension for the weekends plumbing work. Finished the Drive to Survive series.

Friday: Early morning gym session. Sat in on an interview for a new programmer. Grocery shopping.

Saturday: Another busy DIY Saturday. The plumbers completed their work, and I did the necessary plastering work. Afternoon nap. Very nice impromptu braai at David and Collette’s.

Sunday: Didn’t sleep well. Watched the season opening F1 Grand Prix. Lunch with mom at Jake’s in the Village – always seem to have a good meal there. Afternoon chores and TV watching. Evening 8-10pm load shedding is a very inconvenient time slot.

My work week was divided into: 10% meetings, 90% new work.

Podcasts listened to this week: How I Built This; Beyond the Grid

The week of Mar 4, 2019 – Mar 10, 2019

Some DIY…

Monday: Met with the plumber and he satisfied me all is going OK just with an unfortunate delay in finishing. A little DIY and some reading.

Tuesday: After work gym. Admin and chores.

Wednesday: Grocery shopping, DIY, tidying.

Thursday: Poker with the boys – amazingly I ended up winning.

Friday: Morning rush hour traffic getting to Home Affairs dept. at Canal Walk Standard Bank. After work drinks, TV watching.

Saturday: A very busy DIY day. Made new cabinet bottoms to replace those that got cut out prior to plumbing. Made a patch for the broken through hole in the wall from plywood covered with write mesh and wedged in place. All prepared for the final stretch of plumbing work next weekend. Dinner with Paul at Cattle Baron, Tokai.

Sunday: Drop-off at glass recycling, grocery shopping. Varnished the cabinet bottoms. Lunch with mom in the winelands at Neethlingshof. Nice food, but small portions. Next time I’ll have the buffet. Drive back through Stellenbosch. Chores. NCIS watching.

I’m thankful that I got a full night’s sleep Monday.

My work week was divided into: 60% new work, 30% meetings/meeting preparation, 10% bug fixing.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR How I Built This

The week of Feb 25, 2019 – Mar 3, 2019

Plumbing frustrations…

Monday: On leave for the day to supervise plumbers. A frustrating day. The work is incomplete and they need to return on Saturday. Cooked a nice steak.

Tuesday: Getting irritated with the outstanding plumbing work. I think they’ve made mistakes.

Wednesday: Hardware shopping, grocery shopping. NCIS watching.

Thursday: Successful and satisfactory day at work programming something new. Newbie bowls at Mowbray on the rain. We came 19th out of 20, still fun.

Friday: Feeling tired and apprehensive about plumbing works.

Saturday: The plumbers, but not their boss, arrived an hour and a half late. We worked until 1pm. Work not finished, and a leak sprung in the pipe servicing one of the flats below. Cake and coffee with mom at Cafe Magnifico. Dinner at Cafe Verdi with Barbs, Helga and Heidi before seeing Richard III at Maynardville open air theatre. I fell asleep. Uber’ed there, lift home from Helga.

Sunday: Early gym session and grocery shopping. Mom’s birthday. Took her out for a harbour boat trip at the Waterfront, lunch then an Atlantic seaboard drive. Watched NCIS. Chores.

I’m thankful for: The leaking pipe problem should be solved easily, I could spend time with mom on her birthday.

My work week was divided into: 25% refactoring, 75% new work.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR’s TED Radio Hour

The week of Feb 18, 2019 – Feb 24, 2019

An expensive week…

Monday: Lunch time to Home Affairs dept. for the postponed appointment. An hour and quarter wait. Chores, NCIS watching.

Tuesday: Short after work gym session. Last Thai World takeout before it closes, and said goodbye to owner Dave. NCIS watching

Wednesday: A busy day. Met with a plumber mid morning for kitchen plumbing changes. Evening body corporate trustees meeting.

Thursday: Newbie bowls competition at Mowbray. Week 3 of 4. Good fun.

Thursday: Accepted the plumbers quote. Booked four new car tyres. All in all an expensive week.

Friday: Early morning gym session. Feeling tired.

Saturday: Parkrun, hurt my knee. The new car tyres feel nice. Lunch with mom at Banana Jam Cafe. CTPUG use group meeting on numpy at Alexander Bar, a bit too introductory for my liking. Binge NCIS watching. Finished reading Shyness and Dignity by Dag Solstad.

Shyness and Dignity by Dag Solstad
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The blurb appealed to me. But it was dull and boring, meandering and waffling. Reminder to self: don’t read books described as “innovative”.

Sunday: Grocery shopping. Lunch with Helga at her place. Tea with mom at the Company Gardens. Chores in preparation for plumbing works.

My work week was divided into: 70% refactoring, 20% testing, 10% code review.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors; NPR TED Radio Hour.

The week of Feb 11, 2019 – Feb 17, 2019

Unsatisfactory…

Monday: Canal Walk home affairs office at lunch time for biometrics appointment only to be turned away for not having my still valid passport with me. Frustrating. Load-shedding severely disruptive at work.

Tuesday: Wasted evening watching TV.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Grocery shopping. Finished NCIS season 7.

Thursday: Newbie bowls at Mowbray with Brian and Di. Good fun.

Friday: Body corporate site meeting. Short walk in Tokai, grocery shopping and a little side project coding.

Saturday: Had my car tyres inspected for vibration. Verdict: they need replacing. Donated blood #94. Helped mom sell a couple of items at cash crusaders. Cooked lamb chops.

Sunday: Walked around Kenilworth. Lunch with mom at Vintage India. Some side project coding. Chores, NCIS watching.

My work week was divided into: 40% bug fixing, 60% refactoring.

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

The week of Feb 4, 2019 – Feb 10, 2019

Fun week …

Monday: Gym session. Collected poker chips from Simon. Admin. A little Pluralsight watching. Watched NCIS.

Tuesday: Before work podcast walk around Tokai Park. Online application for new ID card and passport. Body corporate trustees meeting of two.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Grocery shopping. Quick beer at Jake’s. Chores.

Thursday: A very busy day. Half day at work, then haircut with Lynne. Bowls at Mowbray with Brian and Di. Then raced home to host poker. Late night tidying up afterwards. In bed close to midnight.

Friday: Meetings day at work. Scrum review and priorities. Grocery shopping.

Saturday: Parkrun at Rondebosch Common. Rest of the morning spent dismantling my geyser cabinet in preparation for plumbing changes. Afternoon braai at Simon’s, nice seeing the old group of guys together. Early to bed.

Sunday: Didn’t sleep well. Body corporate work. Lunch with mom at Forries. Chores. Gym. NCIS watching.

My work week was divided into: 80% refactoring, 20% meetings.

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

The week of Jan 28, 2019 – Feb 3, 2019

With friends at the weekend…

Monday: Gym session. Body corporate work. Finished watching Better Call Saul season 4.

Tuesday: After work beer at Jake’s.

Wednesday: A lot of body corporate work. Too much in fact. Watched NCIS.

Thursday: Didn’t sleep well. After work burger and beer at Fat Harry’s. Admin. Watched NCIS.

Friday: Again didn’t sleep well. Early morning gym session. NCIS watching. Early to bed.

Saturday: Steam Train to Elgin railway market. Very pleasant and unique experience, and a lovely market.

Sunday: Grocery shopping. Glad recycling drop-off. Breakfast at Noordhoek Food Barn deli with Gill, Brenton, Julia, Barbs and Paul. Body corporate work. Cake with mom at Deer Park Cafe. Watched NCIS.

My work week was divided into: 100% refactoring;

Podcasts listened to this week: Making It, NPR What It Takes

The week of Jan 21, 2019 – Jan 27, 2019

Booked a holiday…

Monday: Gym: super circuit. Thai World takeout. Watched NCIS.

Tuesday: Body corporate trustees meeting. Watched more NCIS. Donated to Friends of Arderne Gardens.

Wednesday: Booked a Kruger national park package deal holiday for later in the year. Gym session with Johnny. Grocery shopping.

Thursday: A beer and burger takeaway from Hudson’s. Watched NCIS.

Friday: A decent evening of side project coding.

Saturday: Personal best time for the Rondebosch park run. Better Call Saul watching on Netflix. Yearly poker afternoon/night at Richard’s place. Uber’ed there, got a lift back. I think I’ll switch to Heineken when I plan on having more than 2, I think I sleep better than after castle

Sunday: Lazy morning. Lunch with mom at Lily’s restaurant. Grocery shopping, chores. TV watching.

My work week was divided into: 100% refactoring

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

The week of Jan 14, 2019 – Jan 20, 2019

Back to the post-leave routine…

Monday: Gym session. Collected the tickets for The Cure concert in March. Groceries, chores and admin.

Tuesday: A colleague of mine seems to be on speaking terms again with me. Wasted the evening on the net.

Wednesday: Before work podcast walk around Tokai Park. Accompanied mom to another cardio appointment at Vincent Palloti. Body corporate trustees meeting.

Thursday: Watched The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Good movie.

Friday: Early morning gym session. Wasted the evening.

Saturday: Park run, Rondebosch Common. Lunch with mom at the new Panama Jack’s, with a spectacular view of the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner. Finished reading Elmet, by Fiona Mosley. A little side project coding. Watched NCIS.

Elmet by Fiona Mozley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dark, engrossing.

Sunday: A decent walk around Kenilworth, including Arderne Gardens. Grocery shopping. Lunch with mom at home. A beer at Tigers Milk, Claremont. NCIS binge watching.

My work week was divided into: 50% installation building; 50% refactoring; 20% meetings.

Podcasts listened to this week: Beyond the Grid; BBC Books & Authors

The week of Jan 7, 2019 – Jan 13, 2019

End of leave…

Monday: Still on leave. A lazy day. Finished season 3 of NCIS. A little body corporate work. Thai World takeout. Watched Miss Sloane, didn’t really understand it.

Tuesday: Gym. Singa Studio was fun. A quick beer at The Botanical Bar. Unsuccessful furniture shopping with mom in Tokai. Afternoon cake at Vovo Telo. Watched Senna, the movie.

Wednesday: Last day of leave, getting back to normality. Grocery shopping, ironing, gym session with Johnny. Kauai takeaway. A little pluralsight work. A beer at Tigers Milk, Kloof St, then watched The Square at the Labia – peculiar but good movie.

Thursday: Back to work. Slow start. Poker with the boys. I came fourth.

Friday: Caught up with some reading.

Saturday: Rondebosch Common park run. Lunch with mom at Maestro’s. YouTube watching and reading.

Sunday: Gym session. Mom came round and I cooked a pulled pork pie for lunch. Successful furniture shopping for mom at House & Home, Blue Route. A beer at Fat Harry’s, watched YouTube and Netflix.

My work week was divided into: 50% meetings, 50% new work

Podcasts listened to this week: Beyond the Grid;