Weeknote 14th January 2024
Hello all,
As I'm sure you've probably noticed this email is via Buttondown. I mentioned that I'd set this list up as a life raft should the Substack Nazi thing get out of control. Well I don't really feel comfortable using their platform currently so thought I'd see if the life raft floats. So far so good.
Last week's weeknote drove a couple of unsubscribes which I understand, that wasn't really what Notes From Afar was for, so my plan is to use this for weeknotes and setup a new version of Notes From Afar very soon.
Enough housekeeping, onto the weeknote...
I was in the office on Tuesday and Wednesday with my first social event with my peers and teammates on Tuesday evening. Going in I didn't really know what to expect, most of them have worked together for 10 - 12 years. which is a lot of catching up, but it turned into rather a good night. When I went out I did not expect to be getting in at 2:30am the next morning.
Wednesday confirmed that after 30-plus years of not getting hangovers, I do indeed now get hangovers.
I had to head back after lunch as I had an MRI scan later in the day. My last MRI scan had been at the local NHS hospital which turned into an unnerving experience; the scan was of my head so it had to be held still in a, for want of a better term, cage. My nose touched the cage and then my shoulders touched the inside of the MRI unit which freaked me out.
I've never been claustrophobic so this was a surprise and not a good one. The operators removed some padding from the cage so my nose no longer touched it and I managed to get through the scan.
It occurred to me that our outer extremities, like our nose and shoulders, must work in a similar manner to a cat's whiskers - if my nose and shoulders are touching something then my monkey brain is telling me that this space is too small.
The MRI on Wednesday was very different being held at a private hospital and being a scan of my wrist so only my arm needed to go inside the MRI unit. Although I would have been happy to be inside this one as it must have been twice the size of the one at the NHS hospital.
Thursday morning I met my friend Christian for breakfast and caught up on his exciting news and imminent life changes. I must admit to being a tiny bit envious of his impending digital nomad status.
We had a relatively quiet weekend with nothing particular planned which has proved the wisdom of my shift to the Apple Watch. After a relaxed morning yesterday, it was clear that the chance of closing my rings was unlikely unless I got up and got out, so I went for a walk and did the same again today.
The Snoopy watch faces released in WatchOS 10 are great fun but not what I want as my everyday watch face as I like a very minimal watch face, but I'm enjoying what I've christened Snoopy Sundays and using them for a change on the weekend.
Until the next time,
David