The Weekend
I actually have no idea what I did on Friday evening except for playing some Titan Quest.
On Saturday, we were up from a mind-numbing 6am to head up to Paul’s sister’s farm in Nottingham Road. While Paul sorted out a wireless network, I lay outside and transcribed all the Jiu-jitsu techniques I learnt last year into my notebook.
I also came up with a cool idea for a character-driven fantasy novel but will have to flesh out some of the concepts before/if I ever get to work on it. That’s the big problem with writing – inspired motivation and time to work rarely coincide.
Anyway, I got far into Volume 4 of The Sandman, Season of Mists. In this instalment, Lucifer retires, kicks all the demons and suffering mortals out of Hell and locks up the realm. Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams is given the key to Hell, which attracts the attention of old religion gods, like Odin and Anubis, who desire empty Hell as a new home.
I really loved this page, which demonstrates the same school of thought about Hell as in one of my favourite ever movie romances, What Dreams May Come. Essentially, ‘Hell is what you make of it.’ Your state of mind at the point of death determines your first stop in the afterlife.
Of course, what’s a trip to the farm without some kind of injury? This time I was bitten on the left bicep by one of Megan’s ill-disciplined border collies – the wannabe alpha male who only knows how to play rough. The worse thing about a dog nip is that the slight cut is accompanied by much worse, painful bruising.
Back at Paul’s in the evening we had a braai and eventually played Ticket to Ride with Robin and Warren. After 5 games, Paul remains undefeated, and I’m still struggling to find a strategy that puts me out front in terms of points.
On Sunday, Paul was back up to the farm, solo this time. I headed home and then joined my family for brunch up at a kiddies-friendly tea garden (where bunnies and ducks roam free) in Botha's Hill. Chiefly it was a chance to see my little cousin, who is now 5 months old, and drinking in the whole world with his big blue eyes.
I was really in the mood to play video games on Sunday, but ended up completing a number of admin tasks instead (photo backups to DVD, completing the design of a home DVD box cover, and working on my May GEAR column). I also revisited my university years and enjoyed a much-needed, 2-hour afternoon nap. I've discovered I can't actually sleep late on weekend mornings anymore, but I love my siestas.
I also finally got around to finally skimming through The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline. Essentially the book is about optimising your strength (not bulking muscle) through the use of high intensity exercises using only your own bodyweight, and minimal reps. It's really interesting. I'm thinking of bringing it to the office so I can read it over lunch.
Here's the Amazon.com page.
In the evening, with my PC turned off in a major thunderstorm, I gave into my fondness for Jane Austen's verbal sparring, and watched the excellent remake of Pride & Prejudice, starring Keira Knightly.
On Saturday, we were up from a mind-numbing 6am to head up to Paul’s sister’s farm in Nottingham Road. While Paul sorted out a wireless network, I lay outside and transcribed all the Jiu-jitsu techniques I learnt last year into my notebook.
I also came up with a cool idea for a character-driven fantasy novel but will have to flesh out some of the concepts before/if I ever get to work on it. That’s the big problem with writing – inspired motivation and time to work rarely coincide.
Anyway, I got far into Volume 4 of The Sandman, Season of Mists. In this instalment, Lucifer retires, kicks all the demons and suffering mortals out of Hell and locks up the realm. Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams is given the key to Hell, which attracts the attention of old religion gods, like Odin and Anubis, who desire empty Hell as a new home.
I really loved this page, which demonstrates the same school of thought about Hell as in one of my favourite ever movie romances, What Dreams May Come. Essentially, ‘Hell is what you make of it.’ Your state of mind at the point of death determines your first stop in the afterlife.
Of course, what’s a trip to the farm without some kind of injury? This time I was bitten on the left bicep by one of Megan’s ill-disciplined border collies – the wannabe alpha male who only knows how to play rough. The worse thing about a dog nip is that the slight cut is accompanied by much worse, painful bruising.
Back at Paul’s in the evening we had a braai and eventually played Ticket to Ride with Robin and Warren. After 5 games, Paul remains undefeated, and I’m still struggling to find a strategy that puts me out front in terms of points.
On Sunday, Paul was back up to the farm, solo this time. I headed home and then joined my family for brunch up at a kiddies-friendly tea garden (where bunnies and ducks roam free) in Botha's Hill. Chiefly it was a chance to see my little cousin, who is now 5 months old, and drinking in the whole world with his big blue eyes.
I was really in the mood to play video games on Sunday, but ended up completing a number of admin tasks instead (photo backups to DVD, completing the design of a home DVD box cover, and working on my May GEAR column). I also revisited my university years and enjoyed a much-needed, 2-hour afternoon nap. I've discovered I can't actually sleep late on weekend mornings anymore, but I love my siestas.
I also finally got around to finally skimming through The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline. Essentially the book is about optimising your strength (not bulking muscle) through the use of high intensity exercises using only your own bodyweight, and minimal reps. It's really interesting. I'm thinking of bringing it to the office so I can read it over lunch.
Here's the Amazon.com page.
In the evening, with my PC turned off in a major thunderstorm, I gave into my fondness for Jane Austen's verbal sparring, and watched the excellent remake of Pride & Prejudice, starring Keira Knightly.
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