happy holidays

well, mostly... i can't believe 2017 is over already. no idea what that even means.

tuesday 12th:

getting a little work done at breakfast time before taking gd to the acupuncturist, entertaining mr smear for an hour then picking up gd and dropping the two of them off at home to mr smear's terrible sadness that i was leaving

arriving half an hour early, enjoying a cup of coffee and scribbling notes; a very positive meeting with my accountants - a great weight off my shoulders - and returning home to put mr smear down for a nap. that took quite a while and hurt my back so i needed one myself afterwards, a short one doing the trick and getting some work done before taking mr smear to the doctor to inspect his foot. a big grocery shopping that took everything i had, coming home stressed and tired and irritable

a little work while gd cooked and mr smear terrorized, then off to the temple for a really nice first night hanukkah celebration: well-geared towards the kids, and mr smear inserted himself into a magic show in a way that had everyone in stitches

candle lighting there, then at home, gaming mr smear to eat gd's fake-mince concoction (delicious!) and passing out while putting him to bed

wednesday 13th:

waking up at 3am for an hour and a half of work, 7.30am struggling with resilient couch bugs and mr smear being tough to distract

the horror of learning from the nanny that my toddler had stood on an unwatched baby at the park (apparently not maliciously?!)

a long time being unable to work until mr smear was taken out, a visit from the couch expert to confirm that we have a factory defect, beginning a heavy refactoring before heading out to a test follow up at century city that turned out to be a fun hour, then coming home to a toddler who hadn't napped and taking him out to the aquarium for a fun and sociable rainy afternoon

my mom joining us when we got home for candle lighting and bedtime, giving me a little space to work

working solidly through the evening

thursday 14th:

crashing at midnight, sleeping badly (hurting my neck) waking up around 6am to investigate the noise and eventually giving up

working hard while mr smear occupied himself in the background, taking gd to the chiropractor again and mr smear for a walk and a mosy into a second hand book store, laughing hysterically and uncontrollably as gd navigated her superstition while i walked through a tunnel, not bothering to explain scientific vs anecdotal evidence to a "nature store" owner who apparently knows everything

picking up diapers and ordering a "window sock" from baby city, coming home stressed and being relieved by my mom - she took over so that i could go to her place and work, giving me just enough space to finish a particularly tricky refactor

damaging a coworker's git repo right before rushing out on an adrenaline-fueled mission to organize gd's visa documents, getting them copied then notarized, while transporting mr smear home in the middle of it all from my mom's

hunting down a surprising and tricky bug on staging, struggling with a particularly naughty mr smear all through emergency shower time (nothing quite like checking a diaper and grabbing poo that had slid upwards), dinner time, and a bedtime that irritated the crap out of me almost as much as being eaten alive by the damned mites that two sprays hadn't handled

at least i managed to get him to remain in bed without having to stay until he fell asleep

self-care, work, and a long session of git coaching that got very positive feedback

friday 15th:

working until 1am, getting up wired, tired and ready for bed

being woken before 7am to fight about couch bugs, a little littlebigplanet and then some very serious cleaning - and attitude from our nanny / cleaning lady, things get weird when *i* have to teach someone how to vacuum effectively

twenty minutes of work that was actually productive, then quickly picking up gd and mr smear and meeting friends at plant; round two of mr smear spilling beetroot juice on nice clothes (mine this time), then generally behaving awfully making it the first time i've been embarrassed to take him out in public

a long and shameful experience coming to an end with him peacefully getting in the car with a book, then a rush through crazy traffic jams to drop him off with the nanny and have my mom drive us to gd's visa appointment, arriving three minutes late even though we'd tried to get there early, because i'd misread the appointment times :(

a long wait in need of a strong drink, finally being handled by a really nice agent and getting through all the documents except the last - i'd forgotten my bank statements and it was 4pm on our last day to apply! i ran all the way to the bank, which was fortunately only about three blocks away, where there was one teller and a queue... but a manager on her way home saw how flustered i was and not only helped me, but didn't bother to charge me for the stamping! i ran off overwhelmed by gratitude and urgency, making it back in time to get gd's application complete and walk out feeling greatly unburdened.

lovely coffee while waiting for my mom to pick us up, home to feed a ravenous mr smear, then leaving him with my mom again to go to the temple for a very nice service. i was so tired that standing was an effort, keeping my eyes open was an effort and holding a prayer book open was an effort...

kiddush, vegan mac-and-cheese, showering mr smear and getting him ready for bed, reading two books to him and then going straight to bed myself

saturday 16th:

a surprisingly wintery morning, sleeping badly and getting up just before mr smear, playing some littlebigplanet and watching israeli children's songs

fighting with the t-shirt printer after receiving a crooked reprint

taking mr smear to lunch with sailor and a friend of his and receiving a good response to an eight year old idea of mine, rushing home midway to help gd with an ms word issue, sailor coming over for coffee and mr smear becoming more tired and more irritable until we took him for a quick stroll to knock him out (he didn't make it as far as the beachfront)

short nap, waking up inspired, gd using my computer so literally doing nothing for a while until mr smear woke up, trying to take him to the beach but a mean wind putting a stop to that, trying to buy old disney movies but being appalled by the itunes prices; going for a much more reasonable package of peanuts holiday specials instead (he doesn't seem too interested yet)

that and toy story and putting mr smear to bed late, chocolate and beer and jordan peterson and then investigating work stuff

sunday 17th:

until 1am

up early with the lion king, a sour morning before heading out to canal walk for a playdate; an utterly exhausting experience, a frustrating arcade experience, bad coffee service, driving home to a nap, mom taking over so i could go to the synagogue

aladdin and delicious food, straightforward shower time but bedtime becoming more and more tedious and eventually letting gd take over after discovering that somebody had messed with the blinds so i couldn't just raise them to stop mr smear playing with them

an appropriate night to write my cover: the kid that would not sleep

monday 18th:

working until 1.30am, dreaming constantly until 7.30 - changing a little wookie's diaper, mr smear's finally over his fear and wearing the mask - trying to set up my personal computer for gd and struggling while things jumped onto my legs from the problem carpet

the car mysteriously not starting and the salesman no longer working at the dealership, a productive couple of hours of work, trying to jump-start with broken cables, borrowing my uncle's, tweaking my desk for gd then racing off to the dealership; a pleasant cup of coffee, scheduling a battery replacement, racing home in heavy winds for a short nap

a really nice evening with friends on the beach, mr smear having a great time with his buddy but unfortunately getting a little burned on his forearms and ankles (applying sunscreen properly to a toddler can be hard), coming home to dinner and the lego movie, shower and bedtime which was infinitely smoother than previously but so much so that i passed out myself

tuesday 19th:

pests in the bed, trying multiple times to get up for work but being unable to function, predominantly dream sleep until mr smear came to wake us up

working and singing with mr smear monkeying on my back on the pilates ball, my mom taking gd to the chiropractor while i brushed mr smear's teeth, a quick jump-start, picking up gd and driving to the dealership (arriving an hour early)

a very long hour and a half, reaching the limits of our patience just as we received the car back; arriving in our parking lot and deciding to go grocery shopping, a long hour or two working while trying to get mr smear to nap - eventually taking him out for a stroll in spite of the elevators being out of order again

work during nap time, waking mr smear up to rush to baby city to pick up the "window sock" we ordered, almost driving into another car trying to enter a road with my view blocked by a truck (mr smear repeating "f*** me" while i silently prayed a) that he'd get bored fast and b) in gratitude that we were okay)

petrol, slide, five minutes in the aquarium, a phenomenal street musician (turned out to be unintelligible christian lyrics), telling an indifferent slob to keep an eye on his little bully, returning home to dinner, toy story, a quick shower that ended with a badly handled tub dump, a relatively reasonable bedtime

git guiding and azure angular tweaking for a decidedly successful work night (though still no word from SxS), some game time

wednesday 20th:

into the morning, more azure fiddling and some quantum geometry before a 2.30am bedtime

up before 7am, toy story ("woody!") again, prepping mr smear to go outside, meeting my mom in town to sort out car stuff and then receiving a call from gd informing me that i had the stroller again; dropping it off, going to my mom's to work, taking gd to the chiropractor, working some more, going with gd to the gym

a good, short run, a decent return to the punching bag, a little kicking before swimming then rushing to the deli instead because according to gd the most important thing to do in case of an asthma attack is to pick up artisan bread on the way home where you left the pump

flat-earthers: i'm really excited about having a new tool to filter out the single-dimensional people... but it is worrying that humans with internet have really taken boredom and ignorance to a whole new level.

completely exhausted but putting in a bit of work before crashing for fifteen minutes before returning home; occupying mr smear for a while, including playing littlebigplanet with him on the second controller, then taking him to the park for a generally good time - i don't know how kids can stomache spinning like that - and waking a homeless dude into a panic with a sudden scream that left me a little embarrassed

the lion king and gd's fixed falafels, rushing to get to tgtbt and her boyfriend's graduation party, mr smear not going to sleep until dinner was over; i was feeling a bit broken before i even arrived, i needed the gin and tonic but not the running around or awkward socializing or carrying him asleep until the very long goodbyes made my arms sore, weak and numb... i put him to bed and then passed out myself soon afterwards

thursday 21st:

early up and still recovering from the day before, starting the day much slower than planned and eventually arriving at kirstenbosch closer to noon than is desirable. mr smear demanding "uppies" from the moment we stepped out of the car - my arms were too sore - a lunch stop by the stage, a fruit stop near the boomslang, a pleasant bit of walking and then a difficult but not unpleasant carrying back to the car; home for a nap, paying my uncle a visit, shopping, trying to get work done during dinnertime with my mom, getting mr smear ready for bed and then diving into a project mystery

friday 22nd:

watching banking on bitcoin after finally investing a little, being bewildered by amateur day-traders

3.30am bedtime after solving an interesting mystery, the return of the invisible pests

sleeping really well with gd handling the dawn shift, a fast and relatively smooth coffee-chug-n-go, excitedly putting in my replacement jawbone lenses, driving at almost constant speed limit to arrive precisely on time for anger management and still feeling the afterglow of the morning's success

a productive session, arriving home just as everyone left, reading a bit of the long earth so that i wouldn't be lying down after eating, resting for a few minutes before learning that i'd inadvertently paid someone other than the nanny over the weekend

the revelation that brushing teeth is as much about protecting as it is about cleaning, and that ideally one should brush before breakfast (to avoid brushing after acidic contact), before lunch (same, to extend the hours of protection) and before bed (preferably more than half an hour after eating anything acidic)

a couple of hours of work and documentation, cancelling kirstenbosch plans because mr smear napped into rush hour, a struggle with angular design dynamics, swigging coffee before handing mr smear over to my mom and going to the temple; sitting down and melting into the chair, struggling not to snore, coming home for a lovely, lively dinner (second time getting emotional reading about the ethiopian aliyah), a very long and late bedtime for mr smear and a very early bedtime for us

saturday 23rd:

everyone sleeping in, waking up still sore from wednesday's gym session, the forgotten-about production of the frog prince at artscape: great production, mixed feelings about the child actors, gd getting into trouble with the "queen" ("everyone deserves a second chance..." "no!"), losing mr smear for a scary minute, inconsiderate smokers and the wrath of gd, home for not-napping until the nanny took mr smear out, the ending of guardians of the galaxy 2 taking me by surprise, the disturbingly dark brilliance of super, a long afternoon walk with protoplasm joining in halfway and coming over for dinner and bill burr's why do i do this, passing out at the beginning of star wars vii

sunday 24th:

up early, toy story again, shopping, my niece's "gender reveal" (she's expecting a boy), running after mr smear to make sure he didn't eat anything because EVERYTHING was dairy
eventually walking mr smear to nap, making an effort for my comic campaign
mr smear playing really nicely with my brother-in-law's grandson
a wonderful time swimming with mr smear
inappropriate christmas jokes in the cold
starting to watch bright before bed

monday 25th:

getting up early to calm down an unhappy mr smear (was it a nightmare, or was he just cold?) and hurting my back, getting in a bit more sleep, starting the day with an unnecessary intensity that threatened to stop everything, which only relaxed a few minutes before we arrived on the farm.

a much better experience than the previous year (in general), but the lateness of the lunch and the lack of real vegan food almost made us leave early; aside from that, we had a great time and mr smear and i had a lot of fun in the water in spite of the wind. then taking a long time turned into an issue, which became explosive upon our arrival home, not helped by picking up chinese we'd specifically asked to be non-spicy for a baby and which was painfully hot. and then our bad planning for tomorrow's (today's) lunch just put the cherry on the top.

clearing the bad taste with a cider, the exquisite new netflix movie bright and some tekken.