Augusts' monthly notes are mostly personal and shorter than usual as I didn't get up to much - and that's a good thing - we all need to know how to chill once in a while. 👍
Break
We had flights booked to Madeira, before COVID - we could only push the date forward, cancelling was not an option without a loss.
So we pushed it as far as we could, allowing enough time on our return for two weeks quarantine as my wife needed to be back for work in September.
Despite the COVID test on arrival at Madeira airport (it was not pleasant), travelling during this time was ok, the airport was not as busy as usual - but surprisingly still quite busy.
Wearing a face mask for about 4/5 hours was not nice, especially if, like me, you have a beard!
But after all those months in lockdown, isolation and all six of us cooped up in the house all the time, it was great being in Madeira for a week catching up with my parents and family.
New family members
No, we're not having another child - three is plenty! 😁 But one of our hens has become a mummy to two cute little chicks.
She had been broody for a while - her first attempt wasn't successful. I decided to separate her from the other chickens and Sir Lancelot (our cockerel) and this allowed her to sit on her eggs in peace.
Health
Since the beginning of lockdown, I've had some sort of food-related allergy that manifested itself as a very itchy rash.
The first month I dismissed it as nothing to worry about it but it continued and got worse - I kept taking antihistamine tablets and started cutting out foods. At some point, I thought it was dairy that was causing the rash, but nope, it continued.
Five months later and I still get a rash every day, sometimes its really bad, other times its just a visible rash but not itchy.
I have it down to it potentially being coffee or caffeine!! 😮
I've been drinking decaf coffee for a week now but I am still getting the rash, it's not happened as often or as bad, but still happening enough for me to have to take an antihistamine.
Office Update
My new office chair has arrived - YAY. As mentioned in last months notes, I went with the Autonomous Ergo Chair 2. I went for this chair because it's highly recommended and a lot cheaper than the Herman Miller Aeron. 🙌
I'm still getting used to the new chair - still not sitting comfortably. Although the chair has many ways to adjust it - I'm being mindful of making too many adjustments at once. There's getting used to a new chair but also relearning how to sit properly after many years of not doing so, my body has become used to terrible sitting positions.
Is there a professional I can hire that will teach me how to sit at my desk? Serious question!
Work
I'm still looking for my next contract, as either a frontend developer or an interaction designer, ideally remote only.
I'm keeping busy working on my friends' martial arts club website and improving my website.