ups and downs and round and rounds

ugh, i've just handed in my phone for repair (battery replacement) and the one i borrowed is practically unusable. maybe that's a good thing.

wednesday 4th:

6.30 to bed after a rabbit hole of node stream error handling, 7.30 up with mr smear's foot in my face, back to bed a diaper change later and then up at 10... has gd found an rls release trigger point?

scrapper chat and remembering to read the story he sent me (years?) ago
putting mr smear to bed with my voice for the second day in a row

awesome luck figuring out an undocumented feature that i needed for work

a slightly better gym crèche experience, not having much energy for the treadmill, and not having the control to hit the bags without hurting my hands (broken gloves), BUT finally crossing over with the jump rope!

meeting my uncle while waiting for nü to not make the juice i ordered

SxS's big news!
gd laughing uncontrollably for ages because i was choking in the car
for the love of spock is a really touching documentary

getting into a good work groove

thursday 5th:

learning a lot about html5 audio, and discovering along the way that for ages i'd been hunting for a bug in my server code when the client (jquery ajax) was the issue all along

into bed around 4.20am, out around 9am, rushed and too-fluid maize meal, an overcrowded apartment viewing with an honest neighbour to warn us off, a quick stop at my mom's and a breakfast mission to nü: hard work, but kinda fun, meeting the shaliach's wife

quick home run then my mom coming over so i could take gd for a haircut, very lucky parking, falling asleep waiting, wellness warehouse mission, mr smear's nap and passing out on the couch and a blast of wind to the face and visiting protoplasm with and for a beer
the long kiss goodnight: getting mr smear showered and ready for bed and the spending at least half an hour trying to get him to sleep; i *think* he understands the hebrew word for "lie down" already

fleas? or something else?

watching a reconstruction of jobs vs gates, then getting some work done before losing my second wind

friday 6th:

actually getting through to 3am with at least some success (although the main target was proving elusive), then being woken repeatedly until 8am and managing to steal about an hour's nap afterwards

flea fighting, going to see a really nice apartment that has too many stairs for us, a not-unpleasant telkom visit, a very quick but nice visit from my sister, nap time and introducing gd to tropic thunder, mom coming over for friday night (hot fusion) dinner, mr smear's first kicks, mr smear putting himself to sleep for the first time, watching an episode of under the dome then passing out

saturday 7th:

a full night's sleep, waking up exhausted and with mr smear climbing all over me, going to see a really nice apartment, then through to my aunt's for a great brunch - it was very tiring running after mr smear and keeping him out of the pool, and gd's faux pas left a bad taste in her mouth

mr smear passing out on the way home, me alongside him only i didn't wake up as quickly after we got home; shopping and gd cooking and not taking mr smear out in the wind, my mom coming over for dinner and watching the rest of the first episode of the secret life of 4, 5 & 6 year olds; peaches and cream followed by chocolate and cream (all vegan) and two too many episodes of under the dome before passing out

sunday 8th:

another decent night's sleep, waking up to trollhunter (excellent), mr smear going down for a nap and taking advantage with a good chunk of ffix; looking at apartments before heading to meet with sailor at the concert in the park

chasing mr smear, no alcohol at a concert, family fun outdoors and the music wasn't bad

hot fusion, feng shui / acupuncture / nutrition / movement / ufc

scary blue screens of death, under the dome,

monday 9th:

diving into browserify, which could have saved me an enormous amount of time had i bothered to learn about it before, crashing around 4.15am

early up with mr smear crawling over me, a little bit more sleep then beginning a day of wear and tear, gd losing a banana, mr smear all over the place and gleefully discovering that screams aren't appreciated (sore ears for the rest of us), a much needed nap time (though most of it spent in ffix)
a super hot day with a super hard wind, printing photos and learning about flea control and drown-proofing babies (we'll skip, thanks), attempting to take mr smear for a walk and meeting a lovely belgian family who needed help starting their car but forgetting to get their details, finding gd's lost page, big wind interfering with post-shower drying
third night getting mr smear to sleep on his own, but it involved screaming and a few teary attempts before he acquiesced and required a lot of resolve

a big dinner, a couple of episodes of under the dome, and then falling asleep on the couch

tuesday 10th:

up early and working hard, tensions over fleas (or not fleas, but possibly a breakdown) reaching a dangerous high
gearing up for mr smear's first day at school, posting and shopping with mr smear

some people look at the glass half empty, some half full; some go thirsty tonguing the chipped edges instead of drinking the water

delivering a care package for my mom, taking mr smear to the playground where he sat on the swing staring seriously before showing off his new ladder climbing skills

bedtime prep, dinner, ffix, then finally making a huge leap forward at work

wednesday 11th:

an awful mosquito / whatever experience but working well and getting to bed around 3.30, being woken at 7.30 by a telkom agent calling to inform me that they will investigate their overcharging me as promised

breakfast reading and sharing a (vegan) toasted cheese with mr smear, taking him to his first day at nursery school. his screams as we said goodbye were heart wrenching, but of course two seconds after we closed the door he was fine and playing.

a long, important talk in the parking lot (from end of the world to new beginnings)

baby city cell signal / security guard issues, ackermans for a cute baby backpack and then picking up mr smear who was reluctant to leave; going to see two beautiful apartments, one reasonably priced, and an awkward conversation with a girl i went to school with but have nothing to say to

lunch, nap, meander, bedtime prep, under the dome (writing going south fast), ffix

thursday 12th:

lots of optimization with small (immediate) payoff until 4am, dragging myself out of bed at 7.30 to breakfast with mr smear before dropping him off (and introducing him to the sandpit), a twenty minute power nap that ended in virtual tears (i barely managed to get off the couch, and we were late to my mom's); running into the wife of a montreal couple who'd invited us to dinner repeatedly while we lived there, picking up a happy mr smear and walking back to a great bootlegger lunch with my great aunt, finally singing mr smear to sleep minutes before we left

[no recollection of following events]

passing out early and exhausted

friday 13th:

a mostly decent night's sleep, with one interruption when mr smear decided he was NOT interested in sleeping anymore, waking up from a disturbing dream in which protoplasm gave me a ride on his bike to my apartment where i hadn't been in a few days, during which time my flatmate had illegally sublet to a whole bunch of strange people

starting the day on the wrong foot when it could have been fantastic; dropping mr smear off and looking at an apartment in my mom's block, picking up mr smear and looking at a tiny dark apartment on the mountainside then hitting the waterfront for lunch (accidentally waking mr smear from his nap) and shopping

a half a nap and a fun visit to the doctor, getting mr smear to sleep again, running to the pharmacy, and keeping mr smear occupied while gd cooked

a great dinner at my cousins with my brother and his eldest

saturday 14th:

coming home really late, bailing on swimming lessons before dropping into bed

reading preacher while mr smear slept in until 11am, an awesome twenty minutes of just laying around and chilling before getting up

a long, slow day being too tired to do anything.

under the dome started brilliantly, but why is it that so many writers can't push a story forward without every character becoming utterly stupid and making unreasonably irrational choices?

taking mr smear to the park, a cold breeze coming up just as the park closed and with no sweater having to put my shirt on him on the way back

bedtime ritual, mr smear putting himself to bed again, watching my sex robot and an interesting cannabis documentary

the lost plane ticket (we totally forgot to change the dates of our return flights), second night fighting rls in a row (did i win or lose?)

sunday 15th:

sleep: back to regular programming

first coffee ruined, taking mr smear to kirstenbosch: warm and drizzly, mr smear's wet barefoot adventure

bree street festival, finding the pure building and being shocked by the raw and roxy experience: vegan businesses need to represent the community in a positive way, and the owner actually insulted my non-vegan mother.

long sunny walk to the car, "we're all a sort of family" car guard, showering and off to a fun tea with my brother and cousin and co

mr smear passing out on my chest on our way home, ffix - making awesome progress and the giving it up when mr smear threw up his dinner all over me and the walls and floors, then later threw up all the water he'd had to drink after the first go...

monday 16th:

a heavy wind, and 2.30am attempt to feed again and a repeat performance (replacing bedsheets and oh! we weren't using the protective sheet! fancy that...) and remembering to invoice *just* before the american day was out

5.40am cutting short a second feed to keep it down and everyone getting a bit of sleep (minus my own digestion difficulties)

first school sick day... the plan was breakfast and a visit to sort out the car rental, but mr smear crashed so we waited - too tired to do anything, too restless to sleep. i finally did go, and when i was on my way back gd called to inform me that mr smear had regressed. my mom arrived before i did, teamwork made the rest of the day manageable (including allowing me a call with SxS), and after transferring mr smear to his room i actually managed to get some work done

a short nap, then coffee and continuing

tuesday 17th:

cape town heavy, mountain fires and big winds (enough to thoroughly clear the streets)

deep into web workers and constantly interrupted by an indecisive mr smear - although he did, strangely enough, begin clearly instructing me to put him down so he could sleep. i felt like we'd entered the twilight zone.

3.30 to bed, early up with a sore neck (lately i just can't get comfortable unless i'm sleeping with it in a bad position)

first feed going awry when mr smear threw up into the unreachable / uncleanable gaps between the back and base of the couch

a little bit of a rest when the cleaning lady arrived, then a mission to the doctor (mr smear farting up a storm to illustrate his discomfort), picking up a couple of ps3 games at the pawn shop (fallout 3 / deus ex), then shopping before coming home exhausted to struggle with an irritable mr smear

a long afternoon; mr smear now at the point where he can physically insist to sit at the table with us. my mom joining us in the hunt for a lost item and dinner

giving in to my wife's demand for more comics
mr smear and the screaming showdown (he won, and then told me when to put him down to sleep)
testing the games
mosquitoes
work interrupted for another hurl

wednesday 18th:

another tough night, gearing up for a better morning but another last minute hurl and another day off school called in - so much for buying ourselves a rest

the nap: lying on my back drifting in and out of consciousness for a while, feeling quite put-upon by life and in desperate need of a break

dropping gd off at the gym, sorting leftovers for lunch, finally getting an opportunity to work and having to rush off to pick up gd who'd just learned the hard way that the african sun is dangerously strong
too restless to nap, too tired to function, zang caffeinated chocolate to the rescue and just getting into some work when mr smear woke up...

sneaking out with him when gd went to physio to pick up a package she's been waiting for, but the post office was closed. my mom joining me for coffee, and buying me new boxing gloves; returning home for a chat with SxS (it sucks being right about needing to let someone go when the confirmation comes months later)

gd going to bed early, watching (and being astounded by) zero motivation,

thursday 19th:

switching project contexts and getting back into old shit

a few hours of sleep, then waking up to an upset stomach and a stressed wife; taking mr smear to school, picking up post, no oat milk at dischem, coming home to a heaviness just as the therapist arrived. a helpful session, then straight back to the school to pick up mr smear. feeling exhausted and weak, naps interrupted and stormy stomach, humming mr smear to his nap while trying not to pass out myself

surviving tea with k-twang and co, dropping gd off at her first kung fu class and taking mr smear for a walk around the cbd; plant to use their facilities and share a smoothie, then running into my niece while waiting for gd to finish

a tough drive home, my mom helping out by taking some pure dude's car keys back to the gym and subbing for me until mr smear's bedtime; mr smear really not liking me at all

getting up at 10.30pm for a meeting, then going back to bed

friday 20th:

waking up feeling MUCH better, although not great. a pleasant pre-school prep, smoothly dropping off mr smear, filling the petrol tank and coming back home for a nap. picking up mr smear, then a phone from my mom's, then heading to the waterfront to hand in my phone to get the battery replaced and try to find shoes for mr smear. food fail with gd taking a wrap that she was allergic to and mr smear loving the turmeric juice but covering himself with a good portion of it. his nap finally kicking in as we got home, the awkwardness of informing our cleaning lady of our new schedule

...

i think one of my email accounts has been hacked, but i've not way of accessing it (thanks again, gmail, for not having humans involved in your forgotten password process). mr smear's still napping, let's see how much work i get done before he wakes up :P