Summer

Feel it, it is here. Finally, there is some proper heat, and I still haven’t actually been to the  beach yet this season!

Most of last week went through in a blur. I can’t think of too much that was too exciting that happened work-wise. I picked up a donated telephone system including a telephone management system (ours somehow went missing when the Umbono renovations began in July). That will enable us to track how much each person uses the telephone, which can obviously be important.

A week of contrasts though: a conference call that felt like teeth being pulled followed by a lovely dinner at Olympia Café (and what turns out to have been my last glass of wine for a long while!). An intimate acoustic set and music video launch by Wolftown at Studio 7 (another living room performance) with maybe 40 or 50 people, then the next night deadmau5 in the Cape Town convention center with maybe 10,000. Even on Sunday: Camps Bay to Gugulethu to Clifton to Vredehoek (if you don’t know Cape Town, suffice to say rich & trendy to township to rich & trendy, to rich & trendy of a more chill variety).

So, deadmau5 is one of the top electronic music artists in the world. I’d never heard him before and I must say I was not impressed. Not unimpressed, mind you – it was good. The production was good, and he’s a talented artist no doubt about it. But I was expecting more. That, of course, is the problem with expectations (and why putting anyone or anything on a pedestal, or thinking ‘If only I had X I would be happy’ is a bad idea). Interesting though, I am convinced the guy must be a super nerd (he even writes some of his own software): not only did the main show start 3 minutes early and end 7 minutes late with no encore, but even the opening acts transitioned exactly on time. I’m guessing mau5 didn’t make it over to Trinity for the after party but rather got himself to bed. I wouldn’t know.

I did go back to training in the week. Wednesday did some crazy gymnastics pressing workout followed by air squats, box jumps, and burpees. I think by the fifth round or so out of seven my legs were cramping. Friday’s workout was a team one so had a good amount of rest built in. I think it was most notable in my mind because I did something like 20+ wall climbs (these are where you start facing away from the wall lying on the floor and walk up the wall backwards until you are in a handstand facing the wall, then walk back down). I was also in a really REALLY bad mood that day; having woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Happens. Everything just made me more and more mad that day, including the fact that I was in a bad mood and I was feeling weak.

So I painted my toe nails pink that night. Problem solved.

Woke up at 5:15am Saturday morning to drive out to Strand to do a beach workout with the CrossFit gym over that side. It was super fun and just what I needed: For time: 50 burpees, 100 kettlebell swings, 150m walking lunges, 2000m run & 250m bear crawls (could be done in any order with any rep scheme). Most interesting part of this was how difficult the kettlebell swings were for me. My shoulders just would not co-operate. Well, that’s what happens when you tax your shoulders like crazy beforehand.

Still feeling quite out of shape though, and was planning to do something about it when I woke up Sunday with a nasty sore throat, that progressed to a fever by sometime in the evening. After escaping the disaster that was Mzoli’s (it might have been more fun if I had been drinking) I went to Clifton to chill for a bit with my friend Keith then on to dinner at Carlyle’s with Keith & his ridiculously good looking friend (I think I was too feverish to properly appreciate).

Oh well. It’s always darkest before the dawn they say. I spent most of today in bed sleeping off the fever, and for some reason dragged myself off to Cape CrossFit for the finals of the latest challenge. Which, of course, I couldn’t do because I was sick. Solidarity, or self-flagellation? Well sooner or later I’ll be back.

The thing about being sick is that everything just seems like so much effort. But I must be on the upswing because I’m already excited for work tomorrow. It’s not such a Sisyphean mission, after all. Writing a book: now there’s a big ask, right? Even if it’s something you’re passionate about. It’s going to take more than fish oil alone to fix this, so to sleep I will go (for the fourth time today, whee!).

• “I know what you’re getting for Christmas – a block of ice THIS BIG!” – Jacques
• “Well you don’t look out of shape!” – Paddy
• “I hate to break it to you but I don’t think you injure yourself running. I think you injure yourself doing CrossFit.” – Keith
• “I’m sorry if he’s feeling bruised but he’s going to have to come to terms with reality at some point. What he’s looking for doesn’t exist. The truth hurts.” – Ellie