Mood.
It’s been a bit of a week and if another project needs something urgently because they forgot about it I probably will, literally, go into the carpark and scream!
Met my dealer in a dimly lit carpark last night after trivia to get some of the good stuff. 🐝
For a while now I’ve been removing US companies who have bent the knee to the orange grifter from my life. I recently bought a Kobo Clara Colour to replace my Kindle but couldn’t get a case from the local store at the time.
Ironically, it looks like my last purchase from Amazon will be a Kobo case.
It took a cyclone but I had a little rest from most things digital and feel better for it
As the cyclone hovered off the coast a week ago, I was careful with my device usage and kept the battery in each one fully charged.
I unplugged my computer because I’m of an age where as a child I was regularly told to unplug things when potential power surges might happen. It’s now deeply ingrained despite everything now being plugged into surge protected power boards and fuse boxes at home having much better safety switches ready to trip and protect everything.
As a result of being cautious I spent very little time online. I checked the relevant warnings but didn’t doom scroll the news sites. I caught up on my rss feeds but didn’t scroll Mastodon or Bluesky endlessly. I didn’t open a browser to go down some rabbit hole of clicks. I did turn the Mac on and indulge in a longish game of Civilisation VI when things settled down.
I kept going all this week with the same approach, even though the cyclone had cleared and I returned to the office rather than WFH.
The news was still dominated by post cyclone clean up activity or reporting on the orange clown and his musky sidekick as the US slowly spirals down the drain. I don’t need a daily update on the level of madness.
It has been quite a good little break from online. I’m not going to call it a digital detox because it’s a ridiculously overused and overblown term.
I think it’s healthy to just step away from the constant barrage of news and information. I should do it more regularly and perhaps not wait for a tropical cyclone to be descending.
Warning sign is out. Bother me at your own peril.
Some yelling and swearing occurred in the lunch room at work today.
Originally due on 6 March, she waited until the worst of the weather had passed and at 2:48pm today (10 March) Eloise arrived to switch me from being a great uncle to an actual Great Uncle.
Cyclone has passed with widespread damage and power outages across the region but not to the extent it could have been had it gone directly over Brisbane.
I wonder how long it will be until I see the first post online by someone not impacted complaining govt overreacted and unnecessary closures.
Non-alcoholic beer is becoming a thing for me
I love a good cocktail and enjoy a good wine but lately I’ve been enjoying non-alcoholic beer more frequently. I like a cold beer and I particularly like popping a stubbie in the freezer for 15 minutes to put a nice little icy edge on it.
I don’t usually drink during the week but with the non-alcoholic beer I can come home and wind down with one, sitting on the balcony just letting the work thoughts slide out of the brain. I usually have the Asahi but my current stock is Peroni. It’s quite tasty.
I use one of the many many stubbie coolers I acquired from dad’s collection after he passed away and a little part of me feels like I’m still sharing a beer with him. It’s been 22 years but it still gives me some comfort to have a small tangible connection to him right in front of me.
The waiting while the cyclone wobbles its way towards us
With Tropical Cyclone Alfred slowly making its way towards the South East Queensland coast at a speed of 7km per hour the waiting game has started.
Earlier in the week it was expected to cross the coast on Thursday, which became early Friday morning, then afternoon and now early Saturday morning. Plans were put in place to close down Brisbane and the surrounding region as of Wednesday evening. All public transport stopped, most businesses closed, and the supermarkets and other essential locations were closing Thursday afternoon and everything was to be closed Friday. Everyone was advised to stay at home and wait. Which has now become wait through Friday as well.
There have been some adjustments to the closures but nothing substantial, more a case of things due to close staying open a bit longer. There haven’t been any announcements yet about whether supermarkets and the like will open for some time Friday. Once a large business has made the decision to be closed, cancelled deliveries and rearranged rosters it’s not any easy pivot to say you’re open again.
The basement carparks of my apartment building, and many around us, were flooded in the rain event in March 2022 so there is some anxiety across the neighbourhood as to what to do with cars. I didn’t want to move mine to the street but was concerned I’d have to in the middle of torrential rain. Fortunately, there’s a small shopping complex at the top of my street which has raised the boom gates and made the carparks available (and free) until at least Monday. They did the same in the 2022 floods so I was waiting to see what they would do. When word went round on the building WhatsApp group last night I decided to take my car up then and leave it there. It’s a full carpark now so I’m glad I did. It’s also one less thing to worry about.
We switched to work from home as of Wednesday through until next Monday. It’s been good to keep busy but I’m beginning to get restless. I think I’d mentally prepared myself to finish up on Thursday and be off work post-cyclone on Friday but now the uncertainty has crept in. What will work advise and when will they advise is bouncing around in my head. I’ve checked in with my teams and the moods varies from still hoping it goes away through to could it just come now.
I cleared my balcony the other day, I have plenty of water, plenty of non-perishable food to see through any power outage, I have some buckets ready to fill with water to help with the toilet if we lose mains pressure, I have a battery radio tuned to the local ABC station. I’ve made the important trip to Dan Murphy’s to acquire some additional gin supplies. One should never waste an opportunity to restock. I’m from north Queenslander, I’ve been through a cyclone and seen them come close. I know I’m as prepared as I can be.
All I can do is wait.