according to steam i've just played five hours of cook, serve, delicious!. i'm not sure if i'm embarrassed about that or not, but i do know that i've learned something about being in the kitchen. according to my progress i'm not a complete failure, but i'm absolutely certain that that sort of thing is not for me.
sunday 18th:
a chilled wake up, mr smear enjoying his first reading of leah goldberg's "flat to rent"
a gorgeous day for a visit to hermanus for some whale watching, lots of sun, good food and drinks, most of the driving pleasant with breathtaking views but mr smear getting uncomfortable towards the end and me having to manoeuvre my arm in a painful way to shade him as we drove into the sunset
the disappointment of mr smear throwing up two hours' worth of food before bed
monday 19th:
not intending to stay up until 4.30am, mr smear passing out between us after his breakfast feed and giving us all an extra hour
slaughterhouse-five is such a pleasure to read, i've been playing around with goodreads and i was reminded how much i disliked infinite jest; in stark contrast, vonnegut's brilliance isn't overshadowed by tedium or inconsistency
quick shower, occupying mr smear (not letting him play with the screwdriver, but giving him an opportunity to admire it in action) until gd had finished rescuing our kitchen and then receiving another gorgeous almost-complete page from the illustrator
a productive home visit and mr smear asserting himself, gd's first potato salad WIN
lactation issues, another aggressive physio treatment leaving me quite sensitive, a delayed meeting that proceeded to go on for hours
gd holding the fort well with us wrapping up just in time to put mr smear to bed
tuesday 20th:
going to makro to check out their projector, being thoroughly impressed but not buying it immediately because i wanted to get a makro credit card so that my purchase could potentially win me a car - receiving a credit rejection message shortly after arriving back home and returning in the afternoon with family in tow in order to pick it up
gd cooking in the morning and proceeding to stuff me with food even after i'd taken care of mr smear's leftovers
telkom rage: after 50 minutes on hold for sales, being told that it's not possible to upgrade my account to uncapped. the only reason i didn't take uncapped in the first place is because the sales guy is an idiot and misrepresented the terms; the cap we've been dealing with has forced us to have two "internetless" month ends in a row and be extremely frugal with our usage this month.
the canon lv-x300 is not only an affordable projector, but it's by far the most solid one we've seen; it's bright enough to watch when the sun hits, the controls aren't finicky (and we don't have to find the remote's "sweet spot"), and even though it's not a wide-screen format the size is more than sufficient. we finally have a home entertainment system!
wednesday 21st:
a decent night's sleep after going to bed exhausted, storming out of pick n pay because they don't stock their shelves and driving to checkers to buy bread
slaughterhouse-five is pure genius and it's fun to read
looking after mr smear during gd's physio appointment, it was all fun and games until he almost lost a finger and that would totally have been my fault
our babysitter giving us space for bathing and errands (having a talk with the telkom guy), heading off to baby city and almost buying the wrong swimming gear
walking mr smear on the promenade, having a good time until he clawed at another kid's cheek - extremely embarrassing
mom's visit, dinner and the first episode of better call saul (pretty good), slow work progress and getting crowdfunding advice from an expert
thursday 22nd:
another mistake forgetting antihistamines. waking up to work and being sent out again for emergency shopping and losing my shit
a painful pinched nerve on the other side, gd dealing with a neck spasm and getting to spend my day alternating between looking after mr smear and trying to sort out a corrupt checkout
finishing slaughterhouse-five on a great note: it's rare to find myself this excited about a book that's received so much acclaim
killing my machine with a bad video driver upgrade
friday 23rd:
dreams: playing through a game / simulator so vivid that the last thing i recall was watching a character getting his genitals sliced for disrespecting someone and then switching to his perspective and feeling the combination of bleeding and peeing myself before finding myself on my knees facing a shotgun; there was a blank screen moment before the gun went off before a game over screen before continuing from another character's POV before i woke up
crash bandicoot while mr smear slept and my computer failed to resurrect; eventually realising that i was doing it wrong and beginning a serious backup as soon as it was rescued
an easy morning, then going to the shops and missing the alert for my physio appointment; rescheduling for the afternoon and then missing *that* alert :$
laughing like an idiot all the way home from SARS: i finally went to register for a tax number, and was told to come back next week because they've run out of numbers for the day. do little elves generate them overnight using special number pressing machines?
gd cooking an experimental dinner, eating with my mom, mr smear having a hard time getting to sleep, an otherwise lovely evening and an early night
saturday 24th:
waking up to exciting news: vegan donuts at kleinsky's! after breakfast (mr smear enjoying more kiwi than i did, that's love right there) we all went on the donut mission and were incredibly disappointed to find that they hadn't been delivered. we went to spar instead, running into krybabie's mother, then returned home. mr smear napped so we didn't take him swimming, i played ink, then in the afternoon we went to the aquarium which was a really, really good idea. afterwards we had late lunch at the waterfront's simply asia and bought mr smear new shoes and picked up coffee and came home, managing to get out of the parking lot in spite of the broken machines and exit signs all pointing in the wrong direction
mr smear passed out on the way home and gd was exhausted so i spent the evening preparing virtual food and managing a virtual kitchen instead of sleeping or tidying up our real one...
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
returning to functional
saturday 10th:
arriving a bit late for swimming, but mr smear making up for it and making us SO damned proud
meeting my mom for lunch at plant and running into two fellow vegan dads with their kids
a fun first play date with a new friend
coming home tired and a bit cold
getting to bed early
sunday 11th:
an early visit to the waterfront to pick up birthday presents, then off to a dinosaur party at the museum where mr smear napped through most of the fun
mentioning my book project to the right person!
coming home to a mostly restful sunday afternoon (i was really stuck into the neverending story, DAMN michael ende gets it right), mr smear playing rough when he's not being needy and gd and i both passing out early
monday 12th:
therapy
waking mr smear for the chiropractor
post office, no trolley borrowing allowed (although my attempt was kinda dodgy)
shopping, mom's visit, unpacking: like a little kid on christmas morning, what a magnificent experience stocking our bookshelf with beautiful books that i bought specifically with the intention of sharing with my children
tuesday 13th:
dream: diving over the crowd into a small portal and proving myself by finding my way home through all sorts of adventures, remembering snow and piracy and boots in the water and climbing up wooden poles driven into an inverted slope
dream: clint eastwood and his buddies come to the diner we're in and they're threatening to kill us along with their target. i pretend to fall asleep and they're pretending to be gentlemen so they leave me be. i peep, through the window and spot a sniper setting up across the way (he's eating something and he either hurts himself with the spoon or he tastes something painfully hot), i manage to find an opportunity to sneak out and am just trying to subtly explain the situation to a curious waiter when mr eastwood arrives out of nowhere asking him for directions to the toilets and realising i was caught i was about to attack him with a chair before being woken up
mr smear falling asleep between us after his breakfast feed, giving us an extra forty minutes
gd's brother's heart attack, renewing the car rental, bad directions to makro and then taking an off ramp into what looked like oncoming traffic because there were no road markings
fixing my IIS installation and getting a little work done, affixing things (baby proofing and beautiful paintings i bought many years ago for someone's wedding and forgot to give to them), half an hour on the phone with revenu québec
mr smear clawing at noses and cheeks and lips, i'm not sure if our little punishments are making a difference or not but the behaviour is distressing and it's not clear how much he can understand at this point
big dinner, the neverending story
wednesday 14th:
a solid night of authentication groundwork, very little sleep and getting up to a beautiful spring morning
a telkom visit for a promise that i could only hope i wouldn't regret accepting; meanwhile, in retrospect the salesman's an idiot and i should've taken the unlimited lte offering from the beginning but he significantly misrepresented the limitations
town physio round two: keeping mr smear from certain death (a choice of open windows on floor level leading to a sharp drop or to sharp spikes) by focusing on a jump rope, medicine balls, weights and a mirror
lunch, nap, bath (the dark side of the neverending story where bastian really gets stupid), work, my turn seeing the downstairs physio
whatever was released in my lower back unbalancing me and making each step hurt
a promenade mission
mom arriving bearing very grownup pots and pans
a mixed first time with the mr d app
putting mr smear to bed
delicious dinner from shin thai
gd's id: getting beyond the labels
thursday 15th:
another tough night because i forgot to take an antihistamine
the audiobook audition was fun!
pharmacy / waterfront run
vegan marshmallows! amazing quality, minus a few of them that had tiny rubbery bits...
a busy afternoon looking after mr smear and not getting a chance to nap, trying to help my sister's friend who's struggling with cancer, has little support from her family and is seeing at least one oncologist who doesn't keep up with the medical literature; wtf?!
taking my pulverised* back to bed as early as mr smear would let me only to be stopped by rls, an hour unable to sleep but extremely tired
* gd knows what she's doing and i was in dire need
friday 16th:
making progress while updating ios and praying it's safe
working until late, struggling to sleep, short, intense dreams between mr smear waking up
returning mom's loaned pots, stopping in at the bank, breakfast and a little more sleep
cash stress, another telkom fail (my issue is not "resolved" if they closed it without doing anything) and giving up after half an hour on hold
getting stuff done, in particular sorting out clothing cupboards for the first time since we moved in
a short but productive gym visit (what do you mean, my activity doesn't count?!), a fast shopping (late on a friday evening) (taking photos for three young black men by the bakery - why the bakery??), rushing mr smear to bed and returning one of mom's heaters
giving up on matthew reilly - seven ancient wonders: a book with little to cerebrally engage that insults the intelligence that came highly recommended, the best timing for my mom to hand me my kindle fully charged and to (finally!) get into slaughterhouse-five, which is so far every bit as brilliant as the rest of the literary world seems to think.
saturday 17th:
not nearly enough sleep, a busy mr smear, daddy's third swimming lesson, comic progress, mr smear and his father thoroughly enjoying a good kiwi on a lovely spring afternoon
napping, last-minute launching off the couch to go to a play date, arriving first in a biting wind on an otherwise beautiful day, duck feeding and happy kids then coming back to our place for coffee where the three children played together nicely then suddenly it was bedtime for everyone
sunday 18th:
not an easy night so far.
arriving a bit late for swimming, but mr smear making up for it and making us SO damned proud
meeting my mom for lunch at plant and running into two fellow vegan dads with their kids
a fun first play date with a new friend
coming home tired and a bit cold
getting to bed early
sunday 11th:
an early visit to the waterfront to pick up birthday presents, then off to a dinosaur party at the museum where mr smear napped through most of the fun
mentioning my book project to the right person!
coming home to a mostly restful sunday afternoon (i was really stuck into the neverending story, DAMN michael ende gets it right), mr smear playing rough when he's not being needy and gd and i both passing out early
monday 12th:
therapy
waking mr smear for the chiropractor
post office, no trolley borrowing allowed (although my attempt was kinda dodgy)
shopping, mom's visit, unpacking: like a little kid on christmas morning, what a magnificent experience stocking our bookshelf with beautiful books that i bought specifically with the intention of sharing with my children
tuesday 13th:
dream: diving over the crowd into a small portal and proving myself by finding my way home through all sorts of adventures, remembering snow and piracy and boots in the water and climbing up wooden poles driven into an inverted slope
dream: clint eastwood and his buddies come to the diner we're in and they're threatening to kill us along with their target. i pretend to fall asleep and they're pretending to be gentlemen so they leave me be. i peep, through the window and spot a sniper setting up across the way (he's eating something and he either hurts himself with the spoon or he tastes something painfully hot), i manage to find an opportunity to sneak out and am just trying to subtly explain the situation to a curious waiter when mr eastwood arrives out of nowhere asking him for directions to the toilets and realising i was caught i was about to attack him with a chair before being woken up
mr smear falling asleep between us after his breakfast feed, giving us an extra forty minutes
gd's brother's heart attack, renewing the car rental, bad directions to makro and then taking an off ramp into what looked like oncoming traffic because there were no road markings
fixing my IIS installation and getting a little work done, affixing things (baby proofing and beautiful paintings i bought many years ago for someone's wedding and forgot to give to them), half an hour on the phone with revenu québec
mr smear clawing at noses and cheeks and lips, i'm not sure if our little punishments are making a difference or not but the behaviour is distressing and it's not clear how much he can understand at this point
big dinner, the neverending story
wednesday 14th:
a solid night of authentication groundwork, very little sleep and getting up to a beautiful spring morning
a telkom visit for a promise that i could only hope i wouldn't regret accepting; meanwhile, in retrospect the salesman's an idiot and i should've taken the unlimited lte offering from the beginning but he significantly misrepresented the limitations
town physio round two: keeping mr smear from certain death (a choice of open windows on floor level leading to a sharp drop or to sharp spikes) by focusing on a jump rope, medicine balls, weights and a mirror
lunch, nap, bath (the dark side of the neverending story where bastian really gets stupid), work, my turn seeing the downstairs physio
whatever was released in my lower back unbalancing me and making each step hurt
a promenade mission
mom arriving bearing very grownup pots and pans
a mixed first time with the mr d app
putting mr smear to bed
delicious dinner from shin thai
gd's id: getting beyond the labels
thursday 15th:
another tough night because i forgot to take an antihistamine
the audiobook audition was fun!
pharmacy / waterfront run
vegan marshmallows! amazing quality, minus a few of them that had tiny rubbery bits...
a busy afternoon looking after mr smear and not getting a chance to nap, trying to help my sister's friend who's struggling with cancer, has little support from her family and is seeing at least one oncologist who doesn't keep up with the medical literature; wtf?!
taking my pulverised* back to bed as early as mr smear would let me only to be stopped by rls, an hour unable to sleep but extremely tired
* gd knows what she's doing and i was in dire need
friday 16th:
making progress while updating ios and praying it's safe
working until late, struggling to sleep, short, intense dreams between mr smear waking up
returning mom's loaned pots, stopping in at the bank, breakfast and a little more sleep
cash stress, another telkom fail (my issue is not "resolved" if they closed it without doing anything) and giving up after half an hour on hold
getting stuff done, in particular sorting out clothing cupboards for the first time since we moved in
a short but productive gym visit (what do you mean, my activity doesn't count?!), a fast shopping (late on a friday evening) (taking photos for three young black men by the bakery - why the bakery??), rushing mr smear to bed and returning one of mom's heaters
giving up on matthew reilly - seven ancient wonders: a book with little to cerebrally engage that insults the intelligence that came highly recommended, the best timing for my mom to hand me my kindle fully charged and to (finally!) get into slaughterhouse-five, which is so far every bit as brilliant as the rest of the literary world seems to think.
saturday 17th:
not nearly enough sleep, a busy mr smear, daddy's third swimming lesson, comic progress, mr smear and his father thoroughly enjoying a good kiwi on a lovely spring afternoon
napping, last-minute launching off the couch to go to a play date, arriving first in a biting wind on an otherwise beautiful day, duck feeding and happy kids then coming back to our place for coffee where the three children played together nicely then suddenly it was bedtime for everyone
sunday 18th:
not an easy night so far.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
more important than me
the lesson of the week: we are more important than me.
wednesday 31st:
stranger things because gd insisted on watching and it's impossible to nap with that in the background
little bit of work, little bit of play, furniture shopping
out of internet, a quick mom visit, bedtime and more stranger things
thursday 1st:
a cancelled meeting replaced by an important battle
the gym, where i was actively ignored by my old neighbour, gd's pilates physio
sunset stroll and bumping into my niece
great gnocchi and passing out early to penny dreadful (that i can nap to)
friday 2nd:
early up (midnight and morning) refining a plan for my library experiment, arriving on time for the meeting and waiting an hour and a half before making the proposal. positive reception, plus an offer for a spoken word space
the failure elevator at the wellness warehouse on kloof, gd's haircut and the first of three unrelated individuals telling us that mr smear looks like the kid from two and a half men, crystal shopping and home and pharmacy / knead (mr smear making himself puke) / home / sore belly / lovely friday night dinner at my aunt's
saturday 3rd:
writing the outline for the comic crowdfunding pitch
starting the day with an eye-opening argument about LGBT communities, vegan marshmallow seller's a bit of an idiot if i'm not the first to complain about the payment details
my first time with mr smear in the pool happening to coincide with all the other dads taking over, mr smear and me both passing out when we got home, driving out to stellenbosch for a drink for airplane's birthday and having a really nice time with really nice people in a beautiful place
emergency shower on return, mr smear is really enjoying showering now, and early to bed with phenomenally hot "mild" indian lentils
sunday 4th:
a pretty good night for three exhausted people
buying a second squatty potty
hunting e-readers
giovanni's and parking on the beach to eat lunch with our fingers and enjoy an absolutely gorgeous day
mr smear refusing his afternoon nap, me desperately needing mine
mom and sister evening visit, hunting the missing lego block
early to bed
monday 5th:
a long, tired night sleeping until mr smear woke us up early
the unnecessary rush, a waterfront mission including picking up the first box from pg (some of my prized books and dvds and great clothing)
a good therapy session
leftovers for lunch
projector selection
bad bargaining for a welsh dresser but coming home with my first gobii
kicking the confused asian man out of the parents' parking, taking a passed out mr smear for coffee
showering mr smear then navigating the poor kid's laryngitis until bedtime
taking the opportunity to clear old emails, read more mad magazine
tuesday 6th:
not an easy night, getting up early with mr smear, bullshit tensions setting the tone for the day
cleaning house, the disrespectfully late delivery of the welsh dresser, the pharmacy run when all roads are under construction
NEEDING fry's burgers with violife cheese
not napping due to an enormous weight on my chest
an improved evening, mr smear's mini toasted cheese
dinner and the colour of magic and a little more inbox clearing and going to bed early
wednesday 7th:
gamemaker humble bundle!
another day with our little debleated goat
a failed attempt at discussing the previous day's revelation
bad google maps directions to the new physio and pulling a soaked mr smear out of the car (drool?)
home and hungry, the babysitter giving us space to get stuff done and take a salt bath
mr smear's first promenade walk - he surprised us with just how far he wanted to go on his own two feet
nando's wedges on the way home, pick 'n pay's shelves surprisingly well-stocked, refusing to fight the chinese tourists for a place in line, dinner with mom and both gd and i ending up with bellyaches
thursday 8th:
allergies and exhaustion
coffee and the neverending story
forgotten physio appointment
feeding and showering mr smear
the unpleasant lesson: "we are more important than me", my perspective is irrelevant
building management and remote control malarkey
sudden and intense nap attack turning into generally not feeling well
driving out to durbanville, making a wrong turn by following the street signs
a good demo of the optoma X316, but payment problems making us look for alternatives
shopping, dinner and mr smear and the couscous, bedtime and then pre-meeting nap
the postponement, getting other work done
friday 9th:
going to bed when my head started spinning, rls getting me back up, fortunately not for too long but still waking up not feeling rested at all
gd's latest treatment doing more harm than good
a very pleasant experience purchasing my second gobii
second breakfast, feist, and the mechanic arriving just in time to interrupt my vegan cheeseburger wraps
the nap, the long prep to go shopping, unpacking and then taking gd and mr smear to the gym where i read wired with a cup of coffee which i spilled on my trousers, godmother's friend not recognising me and i think he was flirting
getting ready for a really nice dinner at my cousins, shocked to see my brother's eldest there but pleasantly surprised to find him seemingly more genuine and mature than i remember
there's nothing as trying as moving a sleeping child from a stroller to a car seat
saturday 10th:
rls medication leading to a good night's sleep, waking up early with mr smear and getting deeper into the neverending story
wednesday 31st:
stranger things because gd insisted on watching and it's impossible to nap with that in the background
little bit of work, little bit of play, furniture shopping
out of internet, a quick mom visit, bedtime and more stranger things
thursday 1st:
a cancelled meeting replaced by an important battle
the gym, where i was actively ignored by my old neighbour, gd's pilates physio
sunset stroll and bumping into my niece
great gnocchi and passing out early to penny dreadful (that i can nap to)
friday 2nd:
early up (midnight and morning) refining a plan for my library experiment, arriving on time for the meeting and waiting an hour and a half before making the proposal. positive reception, plus an offer for a spoken word space
the failure elevator at the wellness warehouse on kloof, gd's haircut and the first of three unrelated individuals telling us that mr smear looks like the kid from two and a half men, crystal shopping and home and pharmacy / knead (mr smear making himself puke) / home / sore belly / lovely friday night dinner at my aunt's
saturday 3rd:
writing the outline for the comic crowdfunding pitch
starting the day with an eye-opening argument about LGBT communities, vegan marshmallow seller's a bit of an idiot if i'm not the first to complain about the payment details
my first time with mr smear in the pool happening to coincide with all the other dads taking over, mr smear and me both passing out when we got home, driving out to stellenbosch for a drink for airplane's birthday and having a really nice time with really nice people in a beautiful place
emergency shower on return, mr smear is really enjoying showering now, and early to bed with phenomenally hot "mild" indian lentils
sunday 4th:
a pretty good night for three exhausted people
buying a second squatty potty
hunting e-readers
giovanni's and parking on the beach to eat lunch with our fingers and enjoy an absolutely gorgeous day
mr smear refusing his afternoon nap, me desperately needing mine
mom and sister evening visit, hunting the missing lego block
early to bed
monday 5th:
a long, tired night sleeping until mr smear woke us up early
the unnecessary rush, a waterfront mission including picking up the first box from pg (some of my prized books and dvds and great clothing)
a good therapy session
leftovers for lunch
projector selection
bad bargaining for a welsh dresser but coming home with my first gobii
kicking the confused asian man out of the parents' parking, taking a passed out mr smear for coffee
showering mr smear then navigating the poor kid's laryngitis until bedtime
taking the opportunity to clear old emails, read more mad magazine
tuesday 6th:
not an easy night, getting up early with mr smear, bullshit tensions setting the tone for the day
cleaning house, the disrespectfully late delivery of the welsh dresser, the pharmacy run when all roads are under construction
NEEDING fry's burgers with violife cheese
not napping due to an enormous weight on my chest
an improved evening, mr smear's mini toasted cheese
dinner and the colour of magic and a little more inbox clearing and going to bed early
wednesday 7th:
gamemaker humble bundle!
another day with our little debleated goat
a failed attempt at discussing the previous day's revelation
bad google maps directions to the new physio and pulling a soaked mr smear out of the car (drool?)
home and hungry, the babysitter giving us space to get stuff done and take a salt bath
mr smear's first promenade walk - he surprised us with just how far he wanted to go on his own two feet
nando's wedges on the way home, pick 'n pay's shelves surprisingly well-stocked, refusing to fight the chinese tourists for a place in line, dinner with mom and both gd and i ending up with bellyaches
thursday 8th:
allergies and exhaustion
coffee and the neverending story
forgotten physio appointment
feeding and showering mr smear
the unpleasant lesson: "we are more important than me", my perspective is irrelevant
building management and remote control malarkey
sudden and intense nap attack turning into generally not feeling well
driving out to durbanville, making a wrong turn by following the street signs
a good demo of the optoma X316, but payment problems making us look for alternatives
shopping, dinner and mr smear and the couscous, bedtime and then pre-meeting nap
the postponement, getting other work done
friday 9th:
going to bed when my head started spinning, rls getting me back up, fortunately not for too long but still waking up not feeling rested at all
gd's latest treatment doing more harm than good
a very pleasant experience purchasing my second gobii
second breakfast, feist, and the mechanic arriving just in time to interrupt my vegan cheeseburger wraps
the nap, the long prep to go shopping, unpacking and then taking gd and mr smear to the gym where i read wired with a cup of coffee which i spilled on my trousers, godmother's friend not recognising me and i think he was flirting
getting ready for a really nice dinner at my cousins, shocked to see my brother's eldest there but pleasantly surprised to find him seemingly more genuine and mature than i remember
there's nothing as trying as moving a sleeping child from a stroller to a car seat
saturday 10th:
rls medication leading to a good night's sleep, waking up early with mr smear and getting deeper into the neverending story
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