Week Notes 2021/24+25+26+27
Mon Jul 12, 2021
Introduction
Notes for the two weeks of 14th June through 11th of July 2021.
The production of these weeks notes has fallen fallow for the last month or so. A number of factors have contributed to this. Prime among them is a general feeling of exhaustion and disquiet brought on by feeling rather isolated in the North East of Scotland. Poor work and sleep habits on my part haven’t contributed anything positive to my general happiness either.
Probably the biggest blow to my mood was a weekend trip to Glen Nevis getting canceled at the last minute. I’m also starting to get cautious about some of the solo mountaineering trips I’ve been thinking about doing. The COVID numbers are not good at the moment in the UK. As I am with out a car at present my options are limited to locations I can reach with public transport.
The Notes
- Work continues at a solid pace. It happens. I experience it. On Friday 9th of July I had a one-to-one with my manager, which went well. There are a couple of areas to investigate and some hope of more stress & purpose in the near future.
- I’ve been writing a bit, but progress is still slow. I often find myself very tired at the end of the day, even when not running, but also not finding myself writing on my lunch break. Sigh. I need more hours in the day.
- The above paragraph was written several weeks ago (probably in week 25) and I’ve since made a few changes to my practice such as testing out Scrivener for a month and take some time at lunch to write from the sofa.
- I remember at the start of the year that I logged most of the meals I prepared. That’s fallen off as I’ve settled into a cycle of frequently making the same meals.
- I spent some time re-engaging with Lydia Davis’s collection of essays.
- I’m still waiting for a collection of Samuel Delany essays to be published. The delay is quite frustrating.
Read
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Shirley Jackson, 1962)
- This took some time to get into. Yes, it is a relatively short novel, but I found it intensely claustrophobic and unpleasant to spend time with the narrator’s thoughts. I regard that as a success of Shirley Jackson’s part. Merricat is a compelling villain. I finished this in the early hours of Friday morning on the 9th after binging the last half.
- The Book of the New Sun: The Shadow of the Torturer (Gene Wolfe, 1980)
- I started this and then put it to one side. What I read I enjoyed.
- How to Read Literature (Terry Eagleton, 2014)
- I picked this up on a whim Friday 9th of July and started reading it the same day. I’d like to think that I already know how to read literature, but since my formal education in such matters ended aged sixteen, it is always good to dip my hand in to the occasional guide to the subject.
Running
- On Tuesday 15th June, I did a basic 8km run along the sea front. Nice & easy.
- On Thursday 17th June, I went for a 7km trail run around the River Don with Jen.
- On Sunday 20th June, I went for about a 15km easy run which involved a stop at a coffee cart on Aberdeen beach.
- On Tuesday 22nd June, I went for a 12km run to Footdee and back.
- On Thursday 24th June, I tried to do a hill session, but heavy rain made it not productive. Also, on the hill I’d chosen to run five minute reps, I ran out of hill.
- On Sunday 27th of June Jen & I ran another leg of the Deeside Way from Aboyne to Banchory. It was both the longest stretch of the route at an approximate half-marathon and the hilliest. As routes go, I enjoyed it a lot. Some excellent hills and beautiful forests, although sadly experienced mostly through Land Rover tracks. As experiences, well, no. I really messed up my hydration and fueling, so I hit a wall about two thirds of the way through that I didn’t really recover from. It was also a mistake to drink a can of Coke then half an Americano at the cafe we finished at. I did not feel good after that.
- The week in between I was on-call, so didn’t get any runs of note in. Just two quick five kilometer efforts on lunch. I didn’t head out on July 4th.
- On Wednesday 7th July, I went out for a 5.4km run on lunch and just managed to avoid the rain. It wasn’t great. A lot of cobwebs. The hey fever medicine I acquired the day before hadn’t really started to reduce my symptoms.
- On Friday 9th July, I went out in the evening for a 10.5km run. Also, not one where I felt massively strong.
- On Sunday 10th July, Jen & I ran the last leg of the Deeside way from Banchory to Drumoak. A short run. The easiest leg of the route by virtue of it being short, flat, and following mostly the old railway track.
- My attention is going to be directed towards improving my 10km time for the next month or so.
Watched
- Star Trek: Deep Space 9 S7E12 “The Emperor’s New Cloak”
- Star Trek: Deep Space 9 S7E12 “Field of Fire”
- Star Trek: Deep Space 9 S7E13 “Chimera
- Star Trek: Deep Space 9 S7E14 “Badda-Bing Badda-Bang”
- Penguin Town
- Loki
- Hemingway
- Euro 2020
Played
- Disco Elysium
- I’m somewhat in love with this game.