Here comes the sun…
Hello! Here I am, alive. Kicking. Coding. Writing. Living. The good stuff.
I’ve not had much free time to write a blog post as of late - there’s also not been a huge amount to write about,
so I thought I’d just do a small ‘check in’ blog post so all my millions of fans are updated.
Coding Stuff
I’ve been swamped since January at the day job working on a range of interesting projects. One of them is a ‘prototype’ web app, replacing an aging system and the second is a ‘full scale’ version replacement, with many more features and many more opportunities for things to break, yay!.
The full featured project has allowed me to step up my team management skills however - it’s also reignited my love for Vue again (it happens every three or four months!). I’ve really been enjoying leading the small but capable team on this project.
We interviewed and hired a capable and experienced Vue contractor to meet the deadline - it’s nice to have another passionate Vue dev to bounce idea’s off, and be able to say “Build X, I’ll build Y” and not worry about it. It’s also been a fantastic opportunity for our Junior team member to skill into Vue - something they seem to have also caught the bug for.
I find myself really enjoying the management side of things though - Prioritizing work, finding people’s best skills for specific tasks, communicating between departments and laying out estimates based on fact, not ‘finger in the air’ guess work. Our weekly team check-ins are a source of pride for me and I’ve really genuinely enjoyed seeing this go from concept to -nearly- completed project. There’s something great about managing a project whilst also working on it. ‘Leading from the front’ or something.
Anyway - it’s not the first and won’t be the last project I manage, but I certainly hope to step into a tech leadership role soon. So, something to think about.
Outside of work I’ve been doing my usual of jumping between everything that excites me. I’ve continued to dive into Linux and whilst it can be intimidating, slow and sometimes frustrating to learn - it is sinking in.
I’ve started the design process for a few SPA’s I plan to work on this year. Mainly I want to make a feature rich Physical Media DB for users. Nothing too fancy - just the ability to search for books, records, VHS, Bluray etc and log them.
I’ve got some other idea’s kicking about too - but they are all in complete limbo, I simply don’t have enough time to work on them all - and that’s ok. I really enjoy the idea of the physical media SPA - because it’s something I just want for myself as a record collector.
So that’s the work stuff!
Lots to look forward to both in and out of the day job - and I’m fairly content with things at the moment.
Personal Stuff
The weight loss continues, and this past week I managed to hit 114kg. There’s been a bit of a slowdown on the weight loss - and I can only attribute it to stress from work having a knock on effect on me. It’s not a good excuse though and something I need to rectify quickly.
I started some basic weight lifting and calisthenics and my daily ‘cycle’ (which started off at 20 minutes back in January)
now routinely goes on to 60 - 90 minutes, depending how motivated I am on the day. I’m starting to feel better now though, and feel better about my body. So this whole journey has 100% been worth it and I doubt I’ll go back to my old routine easily.
I’m unsure if I mentioned, but in my 20’s I was a smoker - this filthy habit persisted up until last year when I’ve been in a constantly improving state of quitting. The longest I managed to quit was three months. Completely cold turkey.
I’ve not fully kicked the habit just yet however. I do still smoke when I go out for a drink, But the fact I have no cravings during the week and the fact I’m not smoking is good enough progress - so I still consider it a win.
I am fairly sure that at some point this year I’ll kick the habit again completely - most likely when it gets cold and wet outside, my common sense will kick in and shout “Why are you doing this?”
I did plan a Trip to Norway - then canceled it. To be completely honest, I’m not even sure why I canceled it.
I feel I’ve just got too much on my plate at the moment. The weight loss, the work, the social life and all the other things I want to do. A holiday abroad just doesn’t really interest me much at the moment. Someone did inform me that there are cruises from Newcastle to Norway - so it’s something I’m considering for next year.
For this year, I might just have a nice staycation - do some baking, some hiking and maybe try and find Newcastle’s best Tequila Sunrise…
Otherwise I’ve been writing in a journal everyday - and it’s been a great help. Both in terms of balancing my work and personal life - but also just as a ritual?. Wake up, write in journal, drink coffee. It’s therapeutic and I cannot see myself ever not writing one again. This stupid little book has become a confidant - and whoever reads it shall be shockingly bored at my lack of any interesting drama in my life, though they might be happy I’ve been pushing myself to do new things and improve myself.
Other Bits Stuff
Since the last blog post I bought a beautiful Jose Ramirez 3E guitar -
I’m really enjoying learning classical, it’s extremely difficult to do so as a self taught steel string player though.
Just too many years of bad habits I guess. I’ll most likely never get ‘good’ at it until I retire!
Been having issues with my eyes since last year - and recently got a new pair of specs to try and sort the issue.
It’s only been a day so the verdict isn’t in just yet - but here’s hoping they help.
I continue to write short stories and poems and what not, but I’ve no interest in sharing any of it just yet.
Mainly because it’s all rubbish, but also because I just enjoy writing it - you know?.
It just ‘comes out’ of you, these thoughts you have from brain to paper/screen and before you know it you have created this whole little world. I find it incredibly charming and makes me creatively fulfilled I normally try to write for an hour or two on Sunday and whilst I doubt I’ll ever be any good at it - it keeps me distracted from the heat death of the universe, so that’s nice. I guess.
Anyways, speaking of rambling,
Thanks for reading,
til next time,
– Allan
Currently Playing: CSGO, Homeworld Remastered, Wurm Online
Listening To: Bob Dylan: Self Portrait
Watching: The Royal Tenenbaums, on repeat.