November 2023

The month started with Harriet finally getting a shoulder operation that she’d been waiting for since pre-Covid. It was quite a lengthy operation, including an overnight stay in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow. Fortunately the operation went smoothly, and H is now well recovered. It did mean that I had to do a lot of lifting for the first half of the month, and Harriet’s return to work after maternity was delayed by a few weeks, plus I got to spend an afternoon with friends in Glasgow.

November seemed to be mainly about JavaScript meetups. Coming quickly on the heels of the EdinburghJS CodeJam in October, alongside Daniel and Rounak, I relaunched GlasgowJS. It was a fun evening of socialising, and I was really pleased with the turnout. We’ll be back with another event in January, which I will post on the Meetup Group.

I then organised the regular EdinburghJS meetup, this month on maps and testing. Rachael and Kat both had really interesting talks, and thanks to a mix-up between peppers and pepperoni and a quick re-order there was an abundance of pizza.

Jack started nursery this month, after a few settle in days at the end of October. He seems to be enjoying his time there, which is a big relief. He is of course picking up bug and viruses, so we had several days of him being sick, then us getting sick. Apparently this lasts a while! We celebrated his first birthday despite the illnesses (he was too bunged up to enjoy his first taste of cake!). I wrote him a letter to reflect on his wonderful first year.

We picked up some shoes for him to start walking outside, and crunched on autumn leaves in the park.

We also spent an afternoon at Portobello beach with Jack exploring the sand.

Despite illness, JavaScript meetups and family commitments I did find the time to be a little social, celebrating Pete’s birthday at the mini golf. Happy birthday Pete!

Reading

This month I finished Joel Mokyr’s detailed account of the “Englightened Economy”, that goes through the Industrial Revolution in Britain. It was interesting, and pairs up well with the Open University “Ambition and Anxiety” course on British history that I’m currently doing.

I also sneaked in a quick read of Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyich.

December I’m sure will be a big rush before Christmas. We have the EdinburghJS and .NET Edinburgh combined Christmas drinks, family visiting and lots of domestic organisation to do, so see you in the new year 👋