Alasdair Craig

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

Rental flat renovation…

Monday: Midday meeting at the rental flat with Johnson’s Top Carpet rep Neil to finalise flooring work. Admin and Netflix watching.

Tuesday: Inspected the initial flooring work done. Original parquet looks good. Chilled evening watching TV.

Wednesday: Mom’s tax dispute with SARS has thankfully been resolved – no tax owing. Gym session with Johnny and his brothers-in-law. Clothes shopping at Canal walk.

Thursday: Inspected the flooring work done to date. Quiz night with Paul and Barbs at Palmyra Knead. WhatsApp catch-up with Susan.

Friday: Going-away drinks at Peddler’s on the Bend with Lourens, Greig, Simon, Bernie and Paul. Lourens and family are emigrating.

Saturday: Visits to City Boards (Montague Gardens) and DIY Shop (Brooklyn). Started painting the balustrade handrail replacement for the flat. Lunch with mom at Greens in Plattekloof. Visited the flat, removed the old handrail, took it to the dump. Watched El Camino movie. Great being reacquainted with the Breaking Bad genre. Caught up with Susan via WhatsApp.

Sunday: Watched the Japan F1 grand Prix. First topcoat on the handrail. Swept and cleaned the rental flat balcony in preparation for painter to see it. Takeaway lunch with mom. Second topcoat. Beer at Fat Harry’s. Intermittently keeping track of Susan’s travelling via WhatsApp. Third topcoat. Chores.

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

Podcasts listened to this week: TED Radio Hour; Beyond the Grid; BBC Books & Authors.

The week of Sep 30, 2019 – Oct 6, 2019

A very busy week…

Monday: Gym session with Johnny. Chores and catching up with things.

Tuesday: Collected keys for my rental flat. A month of minor renovating begins. Trustees meeting with new group of trustees. They seem keen and eager. Very nice later supper with Susan at her place.

Wednesday: Tough gym session with Johnny. Evening spent with Susan at my place booking accommodation for our Livingstone trip. Susan leaves for a Kruger Park holiday.

Thursday: Tried the pomodoro technique while testing. Works well at keeping distractions to designated times for breaks. Met Neil from Top Carpets to get quote on flooring. Poker with the boys. I did OK but not great.

Friday: After work drinks. YouTube watching. Early night.

Saturday: Dropped off wood for edge banding, ordered external wood cut to size for replacement balcony handrail, got spare keys cut and checked they worked. Made plans to meet with Neil again and with a painter. Lunch with mom at The Brasserie. Afternoon snooze, then a walk-jog-walk twice around Rondebosch Common. Dinner with David at The Eatery. WhatsApp catch-up with Susan.

Sunday: Gym, grocery shopping, chores. Canal Walk with mom to let her see Downton Abbey. Wasn’t bad. Lazy afternoon. Ironing. Netflix watching.

My work week was divided into: Testing 90%; Bug fixing 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: BBC Books & Authors; Inside Line F1; Making It; 

The week of Sep 23, 2019 – Sep 29, 2019

New furniture…

Monday: A day of leave. Auction company Hofmeyr & Mills collected much of my lounge furniture and took it away. Then Panga Panga delivered my new sofas. Then Lanark delivered my new kiaat dining table. A great new look and feel to my lounge. Grocery shopping. A very busy day.

Tuesday: Public holiday: Heritage Day. Early gym session. Scotchgarding the new furniture. Coffee with mom, Steph and Jay. Braai with Susan at Tinky’s home. Tinky’s gather brought a leg of impala to braai. Then an afternoon siesta of sorts. And then a home cooked Thai curry to meet Susan’s friends Di and Richard.

Wednesday: Accompanied mom to her midday cardio appointment at Vincent Palotti. Cooked tuna supper for Susan and I. We finished season 2 of Roman Empire.

Thursday: Body corporate AGM and trustees meeting. Visited Susan before she has a weekend away.

Friday: Early morning before work gym session. Hit the 7000 rep score on StackOverflow.

Saturday: Used my table saw for the first time in 18 months. Very satisfying. Cut the parts for an oven top cabinet. Lunch with mom and Denise at Da Vinci’s. Pretty good burger in a bowl. Watched TV.

Sunday: Gym session. Chores and body corporate work. Watched Formula 1. Soup and movie at Susan’s. Finished watching Unbelievable, a very good series.

My work week was divided into: Building install 40%; Testing 20%; Holiday 20%; Leave 20%.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR What It Takes; F1 Beyond The Grid; CppCast; 

The week of Sep 16, 2019 – Sep 22, 2019

Long weekend…

Monday: Tough gym session with Johnny and his brother-in-law Ben. An evening of chores and ticking items of a to-do list.

Tuesday: Punjab takeaways with Susan at her place. Looks like I have an adventure on the horizon. We discussed options for our trip to Harare, Kariba, Lusaka and Livingstone.

Wednesday: Woke up with a stiff and sore neck. Took a muscle relaxant and cancelled gym session. Body corporate trustees meeting.

Thursday: Neck is still sore. Visited Jenny de Klerk Physio for a massage, felt somewhat better afterwards. Quiz night with Paul, Barbs, Gareth and Susan.

Friday: Dinner with Susan and Terry. We booked flights for our adventure.

Saturday: Start of a long weekend. Lazy morning. Then off to a very nice braai at Jill and Brenton’s, we first watched the SA vs NZ rugby match. Briefly introduced Susan to Majik Forest. We’ve agreed to go back again soon. Started watching a Netflix series on ancient Roman Empire.

Sunday: Family day. Mon and Susan got introduced. Lunch at Damhuis with Steph, Jay, Mom, Susan, Goltz, Michaela, and Cheryl. Susan was a big hit. Back home and watched more of Roman Empire.

My work week was divided into: Testing 67%; Bug fixing 17%; Meetings/meeting preparation 10%; Code review 7%.

Podcasts listened to this week: NY Times Book Review; BBC Books & Authors; Beyond the Grid;

The week of Sep 9, 2019 – Sep 15, 2019

Living for the weekends…

Monday: Gym session. Good weekends lately mean the past few Monday mornings I’ve found quite hard to wake up. Two trips to Canal Walk to collect my new dining table chairs. Look good.

Tuesday: Think I’m coming down with a cold. Had to cancel home cooked meal at Susan’s, great pity. Grocery shopping. Preventative self medication and early night.

Wednesday: Called in sick, try to stave off the cold from developing. Felt better enough to go to a Body Corporate AGM – normal stuff.

Thursday: Feeling better. Supper with Susan at her place. Nice evening.

Friday: Grocery shopping, quiet night at home. Finished reading A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Wonderful writing that encourages being read slowly.

Saturday: A very busy day. Haircut, visits to Woolworths, Mambo’s plastic, Rare Woods. Glass recycling dropoff, installed car wheel lock nuts. Coffee with mom. Then the remainder of the day spent with Susan. Went to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the Labia. Quick Pick ‘n Pay visit at the Garden centre to buy some fish. Back to my place for a fish, broccoli and mushroom dinner. Watched a couple of Netflix movies.

Sunday: Lazy morning. Admin stuff with mom, lunch at Banana Jam, visit to Starke Ayres and Woolworths for mom. Then met Susan for drinks and pizza with Terry and Jono at Oblivion. Jono gave Susan an interesting work/travel proposition.

My work week was divided into: Testing 60%; sick 20%; Bug fixing 10%; Documentation 10%.

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

The week of Sep 2, 2019 – Sep 8, 2019

Enjoying time spent with Susan…

Monday: Slept well. Lazy evening, still tired from a whirlwind weekend.

Tuesday: Doctor’s appointment. Body corporate AGM which didn’t achieve a quorum so it was a waste of time. Grocery shopping and reading instead.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Susan came round in the evening and I cooked a simple supper for us.

Thursday: Poker with the boys. I did terribly and was first out.

Friday: Grocery shopping. Evening gym session. Visited Susan.

Saturday: Brisk short walk in Harfield Village. Unseasonal hot weather, foretaste of summer. Brunch with mom at Canal Walk Mugg n Bean. Water refill and Tafelberg Furnishers visit. Very pleasant afternoon with Susan. Then a nice braai with Susan’s friends in Bergvliet. Nice people.

Sunday: Road trip to Darling with Susan, Helga and Ana. My yearly Voorkamerfest experience. This time only one Sunday route instead of two Saturday routes. The acts we saw were belly dancers, french music and story telling to hip-hop dance. Drive back and nice evening spent with Susan.

My work week was divided into: Testing 60%; Bug fixing 30%; Code review 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR What It Takes; Inside Line F1; Beyond the Grid;

The week of Aug 26, 2019 – Sep 1, 2019

A fun weekend…

Monday: Body corporate work x2. Chores. YouTube watching.

Tuesday: Body corporate trustees meeting with a potential new agent as a guest.

Wednesday: Celebrated the night before Susan’s birthday with dinner at Col’cachios and movie at Cavendish. We saw Angel has Fallen. Not bad.

Thursday: Library visit, grocery shopping at Canal Walk. Bought a new pair of Levi’s.

Friday: Dinner with Susan, Tinky and Antony at Tinky’s house. Nice people, nice evening. 

Saturday: Lazy morning. Car tyre rotation and wheel alignment done. Lunch with mom at Ou Meul. Afternoon walk with Susan on Sea Point promenade. We followed it up with sherry at Wild Fig restaurant, then a light dinner and a Netflix movie at my place. 

Sunday: Random YouTube watching. Lunch with mom at Jake’s in the Village. Watched Formula 1 with Susan then another movie at her place. Fun weekend. 

My work week was divided into: New development 30%; Building install 30%; Bug fixing 10%; Testing 10%; Documentation 10%; Refactoring 10%.

Podcasts listened to this week: NPR What It Takes; Inside Line F1

The week of Aug 19, 2019 – Aug 25, 2019

Vegetarian dinner party…

Monday: Gym. Beer at Jake’s. Planning a weekend dinner party.

Tuesday: Grocery shopping. More dinner party planning.

Wednesday: Quiz night at Cafe Roux with Julia being the annual VWS charity night. We joined a table with some nice people. But I won’t do it again because it’s too late a night.

Thursday: Nice evening spent with Susan. Punjab takeaways and a good chat.

Friday: Massive grocery shop for dinner party.

Saturday: Yet more grocery shopping, donated blood #96. Day spent cooking. Vegetarian dinner party with Susan, Heidi and Barbs. Menu: Soup, nut roast, butternut pie, and roast veggies, crème brulee. Fun night.

Sunday: Slept late, lazy breakfast. Washing up. Lunch with mom at Col’cachios, Canal Walk. Chores. Lovely afternoon/evening spent watching movies with Susan at her place.

My work week was divided into: Testing 60%; Meetings/meeting preparation 30%; Bug fixing 10%.

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

The week of Aug 12, 2019 – Aug 18, 2019

Feeling positive…

Monday: Gym session. Reading. Easy evening. Feeling positive.

Tuesday: Reading – trying to finish my current book, it’s taking me a long time.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Pizza and wine at Oblivion with Susan. Fun evening.

Thursday: Unsuccessful clothes shopping at Canal Walk. Infuriating that the summer range is brought in during August. Finished reading In Putin’s Footsteps.

In Putin’s Footsteps: Searching for the Soul of an Empire Across Russia’s Eleven Time Zones by Nina Khrushcheva
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting insights into modern day Russia.

Friday: A visit to the library and to the Book Lounge were both successfull. I’ve got some good books to read. Grocery shopping at the Waterfront.

Saturday: Haircut with Lynn, lunch with mom at Bossa in Burgundy Estate – nice place but a bit far for going to again. Reading.

Sunday: Very nice morning with Susan, a walk on Noordhoek beach and coffee at Foodbarn Deli. Lunch with mom at Black Angus. Finished reading Dirt Music by Tim Winton. Chores.

Dirt Music by Tim Winton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wonderfully descriptive and easy to read. Parts of the story I didn’t quite get, but a pretty good story all the same. My first Winton read, and I’ll definitely try another.

My work week was divided into: New development 80%; Other 20%.

Podcasts listened to this week: TED Radio Hour; NPR What It Takes; NY Times Book Review;

The week of Aug 5, 2019 – Aug 11, 2019

Buying furniture…

Monday: Decent gym workout. Admin, chores, TV watching.

Tuesday: Browsing for a new dining table and chairs, first at Tafelberg Furnishers, then at Coricraft.

Wednesday: Gym session with Johnny. Body corporate trustees meeting.

Thursday: Drinks with Greig, Simon, Paul, Lourens and Bernie at False Bay Rugby Club. Good seeing them all again. A lot of talk around emigrating with Lourens and Greig on the cusp of that.

Friday: Public holiday. Tinkered around in garage. Sold some roof racks that have been lying around for years at Cash Converters. Gym. Beer at Fat Harry’s. I should know better but I started watching more TV, another season of Homeland.

Saturday: A morning of ordering new furniture. Two sofas from Panga Panga. A dining table from Lanark. And dining chairs from Coricraft. Lunch with mom at Mugg ‘n Bean, Canal Walk. Finished binge watching the Homeland season I started yesterday.

Sunday: Lunch with mom at Panama Jack’s. A drive up Signal Hill. Chores. Picked up Paul and took him to the airport. The obligatory waffle at the Spur.

My work week was divided into: New development 50%; Holiday 20%; Refactoring 17%; Documentation 7%; Building install 7%.

Podcasts listened to this week: CppCast; Beyond the Grid.