It’s no secret that I’ve been sorely neglecting this blog. That goes against my belief that if one does something, one should do it properly. Consequently I’ve come to a very difficult decision.
Watch this space…
Category: Assorted Hammers
On the road again
Has this been a busy two months. Since you last heard from me we’ve welcomed tooth number two into the world, I’ve bought a house, the wife finished her last day as a teacher, we’ve moved to a different part of the country, and I’m about to spend about 20 hours on uncomfortable airport chairs and even more uncomfortable airplane chairs.
You’re right, that’s way too much for one blog post, to let me focus on the present for now.
One of the drawbacks of working for a distributed company like Automattic is that you don’t get to see your co-workers very often. We’re constantly communicating with each other online, and most teams have a video chat once a week just so we don’t completely forget how to communicate verbally, but it’s not the same as the dynamic you get when sitting in the same room with someone, chatting with them.
So at least once a year (aside from the big all-company meetup in September) each team gets an opportunity to get together somewhere in the world and have some face-time while working on a project to either improve our own skills or do something that benefits our company and our users.
Last week this time I was locking the door of my empty apartment, my home for seven years, to start a new chapter on South Africa’s east coast. Now I’m sitting at Durban International Airport waiting to board my first flight of three that will take me to Lisbon, Portugal, to spend a week the people I work with most closely every day.
I must confess, it gets harder to leave each time. Due to complications with our house buy (watch this space) we couldn’t move in on the date we’d planned to, so we’re currently staying with the wife’s brother and his family. It’s a tad chaotic, and we suspect the Minion is spawning some more teeth, which doesn’t help the situation much. So I feel bad leaving the wife with all that while I jet off to an exotic location for a week.
And I always have this nagging fear in the darkest corners of my mind that something will happen that will prevent me from coming home to them. I know. It’s silly.
But hey, they just announced boarding for my flight so I gotta run. See y’all soon!
Houston, we have a tooth!
And I learned something important. Teeth release gas when they emerge. Methane, specifically. Copious amounts of the stuff. I mean, that little girl can clear a room at this stage. A ball room. I never thought I’d long for the days when the poo would stream out over my fingers in the middle of a diaper change…
But yes, over the weekend the first little incisor peeked its enamel-covered edge through those gums that have been aching and itching for weeks. We’ve only had a couple of glimpses – if we actually try to look Elizabeth clamps shut her mouth tighter than when I tried to adminiter those horrible antibiotics when she was sick. But it’s finally out, and every now and again I catch her exploring this new inhabitant of her mouth with her tongue. That’s when she’s not sticking anything else her hands can hold in her mouth.
I went to see my financial advisor today to set up a special savings account for the tooth fairy levies I’ll be obligated to start paying in about six years’ time. Six years don’t feel like that much, but what with inflation who knows what the going rate for a tooth will be in 2023? And kids have a lot of them, like over 20 or something!
Is he asking for more?
Wanted to include this in this morning’s post…
While I was taking photos yesterday some other people were also on the bridge overlooking the weir, drinking in the sight of so much water. There was also a guy very visibly praying.
The man standing next to me looked over and asked, “Is he asking for more?”
I burst out laughing before saying no, I think he’s saying thank you. But you never know. Some people always want more, don’t they?
When it rains…
Before you read on, take a look at this post I made almost a year ago. I’ll wait.
…
Back? Okay.
Taking the minion to daycare today was fun. It’s been raining for two days straight – aftermath of tropical cyclone Dineo last week a couple thousand miles north-east of us. Heading out, I almost ran into a fallen tree blocking half the road. Of the three access roads connecting the northern part of town, where daycare is, to the central part of town, where we live, two are closed due to flooding. Five of the schools in town are in the northern part. Traffic was a mess. I ended up taking the highway that runs past town to get back home, rather than deal with a road riddled with four way stops and a single lane bridge currently carrying the full brunt of morning rush hour traffic.
The storm drains are full – they’re not taking away the water any more. Rumour has it that in another town people have been water-skiing in the streets by hooking a ski rope to the back of a pickup truck. Sounds like a Jackass film in the making. The Vals River is visibly rising. I’m considering preemptively evacuating my car before the road becomes blocked. I estimate by lunchtime it will be too late. It looks like I’ll get to experience one last flood before we move.
Our new house is located between a lagoon and the ocean (oh, yeah, we found a house, our offer was accepted, just waiting on financing now), but luckily it’s at the top of a hill. Sure, the hill is actually a massive sand dune, but the wise man built his house on the sand, right?
Right?
Update: The river is in the road. My lunchtime estimate appears to have been a bit generous. I moved my car right after writing this post, though, so it’s safe.
