first weekend

The first weekend was good. We had some neighbours round to break their Eid fast because the in-laws were in town and wanted to feed some new people. It was nice to finally have a house guest over to have a meal. I guess we have forgotten the skill during Covid and we were legally banned from doing so at the time we moved. I can see a BBQ in the future.

We also got the kids to the local parks and had a lovely stroll about in the sunshine.

another fecking health scare

After the in-laws left I felt the need to have a wee dram for the first time in a while. Long term followers of these posts will know I am at risk of starting to have liver disease so I essentially stopped drinking at that news which was over a year ago. I was away with the fairies after what was only a couple of pub measures.

Unfortunately I then started to have worrying pain in my back. I wasn’t able to work out if it was maybe muscular (from all the exercise or gardening I had been doing) or if it was perhaps the first sign that I really need to be super kind to my liver.

I was concerned enough that I called to book a GP appointment to be told I needed to wait about a week to get an appointment. I was pretty certain whatever I had going on would a) have resolved itself by then or b) I would have been rushed to hospital if things progressed. I was having some other symptoms and eventually ruled the liver out and focused on the kidneys. With my MD from Google it seemed obvious that it was likely kidney stones.

I always stay pretty well hydrated so it seemed nuts that I could have been dehydrated by such a small amount of alcohol to achieve that (and I was drinking water in another glass too).

second weekend

Friday on the second weekend I met up with “my longest serving friend”. We met in primary school and, while we live in the same city, have been exceptionally shit at meeting up. Partly because of family lives, and maybe also because of how nuts I have gotten over going places. Since I am working on that all the time when he asked if I wanted to meet up. I jumped at it.

Unfortunately when the day had spun round I was in the middle of what I was calling the kidney-stone saga. I didn’t really want to get on the train and head into town due to how much water I had been consuming that day to try and dislodge the fucker. So I was delighted when he wanted to drive out this way instead. I had a really good catch up and was very happy to see him.

Buoyed by my first night out in… Well. I think this year. I ignored the kidney pain with some ibuprofen and took the kids to Braehead to buy some summer clothes, and to harvest a list of aspirational toys to motivate them with. If we can see continued regular positive feedback from the school then kid A is onto a winner with a choice of something off the list.

third weekend

Friday after the kids were back from school we ate, played board games until there was a near riot and then watched “Sing”. For the first time that actually went pretty well. I could see us maybe braving a cinema again soon. The problem has been the youngest kid being unable to watch a film and therefore we just wasted probably £30 as both them and one adult will be pacing the foyer.

We went out to a park on Saturday morning and had an impromptu picnic. Great to see the eldest wowing local kids a repertoire of ancient jokes that every kid seems to be delighted to rediscover lol. I must have been tired as I pretty much slept through all of Saturday other than that. Bringing it back for some quality time watching the Eurovision Song contest followed by an hour or so of YouTube Karaoke. It was nice to spend some quality alone time with my partner.

On Sunday very little was achieved by me. Played some board games, tidied a room, and did some exercise. I am still keeping on at that as best I can. On the Sunday it was skipping rope in the garden and light jogging to the end and back of the garden. The skipping is proper exhausting but I need to get into it to maintain the spring in my (formerly) busted ankle.

fourth weekend

Weekend started with a play date for Kid A after school on Friday. Then we got on a train early Saturday morning (me fighting that anxiety!). Had breakfast in a little cafe near central station. Then we had a meander through the Buchannan galleries shopping centre ending on a pretzel before heading home.

On Sunday the missus hung out with her friend up from near London while I played with the kids. All in a pretty good one.

final weekend

A lot of pressure on this one. We had booked a babysitter for the first time in ages with the intent on going out and doing something on Saturday afternoon. We are so out of practice at being without kids that I honestly do not know what to do with myself. I may no longer be such sparkling mealtime entertainment after 8 years being locked indoors.

We saw Dr Strange 2, I had some minor anxiety for about the first 20 minutes of that before it settled down like it normally does. Then I sort of enjoyed the film. The cameos were pretty great and it cracked along at a nice pace.

There really wasn’t that much choice for restaurants nearby and so we ended up in Nandos. It was not the greatest meal time experience with the food being a poor effort for a chain that is normally reasonable. The layout of the restaurant was also a bit weird in that it seemed we were setup such that you were looking at someone from another table at all times. That is not normal for restaurants! It felt awkward basically staring down a stranger while you bite into dry chicken sheepishly!

So yes.. I am trying not to be too harsh on that weekend. Given the cost of a babysitter, cinema, and a meal being somewhat astronomical it feels like you have to simply have the best time of your life in 5 hours. That is too much pressure and it is definitely a muscle that has atrophied. But… Here is the good thing. We did something (even if it was a tad disappointing) together. The commitment to do it and the desire to do that more is there.

short bits

Media:

• Cobra Kai – I finally succumbed to the lure of nostalgia for Karate Kid. I am glad that I did because it hits an interesting tone and was fun to watch. It was nice to see Lawrence get fleshed out and I particularly liked the bit where they explained the original film from his perspective and it left you thinking that Larusso was the bully. Great. I have to mention how perfect the soundtrack is too. Am now stuck waiting on Season 5 having caught up.

Hacking:

• I honestly did some of my finest work in May. I smashed three web applications in a row and was feeling rather great about that. Harvesting enough material to deliver multiple flash talks for colleagues too because there was at least something worthwhile in the way each project had gone. There has been a lot of new starters to work with as we expand the business and they have all been great to work with already making me feel more positive. Paired-hacking adventures are always more fun!
• Then I was scheduled on a humbling Mobile application assessment where I had to graft and didn’t really get anywhere. Such is life. You always have things to learn. I was glad of my blog post on getting started with iOS testing from 2020 which honestly helped me getting back into the saddle to do battle again. As always I tried my best, learned a bunch of new things, but it felt like quite a come down from the month of ownage up until that point!

Music:

Still pushing myself to make new music most Sunday evenings. It is all keeping me entertained as I learn how to do all the things. As always I say things are a work in progress but realistically I never go back to a track and generally stop at the 2 hour mark with whatever I have cobbled together. Here is “Not my circus”: