JOURNALS

This Tuesday has been quite a productive day, although it set off quite early with a bit of filming for my #weeknotes video. I was chatting about joined-up handwriting, which I've been working on, and the smaller tasks on my plate for today. After the filming session, my brain shifted gears to my ongoing handwriting code project.

I've been working on getting the code to handle single and double letters – breaking words into parts if needed. It's not as straightforward as I had hoped, lots of trial and error to get things looking natural. By mid-morning, I was still deep into getting the code to convert words into paths, breaking them down into component parts and then putting it all back together again.

One of the trickier bits came around lunch when I started a fresh attempt to figure out how to dot the 'i's and cross the 't's. It sounds simple, but it involves more detail than I'd like.

Despite the grinding technical details, I think I've nailed the edge cases for the handwriting code today. It turns out, things like the word "rule" looked odd because I'd messed up original letter pairs. Tomorrow, I’ll fix those; it’ll take time but worth the faff for a clean slate.

In terms of self-care, I stuck to my 50/10 break schedule, aiming to avoid screen strain. Headaches have been a nuisance lately, possibly needing a new prescription for my glasses or the accidental sugary 7up the other day may have thrown me off. Water was my go-to drink today, still avoiding caffeine.

Carving out time for video shooting wasn’t too bad – I managed to get it done first thing, so now I have some footage for this week. Just need a bit of B-roll, which I'll fill in by Friday. I believe one part of the video talks about something being on-screen; I’ll need footage of that.

I took an afternoon break to check on the old studio’s sale. Haven’t heard from the solicitor in a while and things went quiet last week despite some movement on Monday. Hoping to catch the estate agent for updates soon. Frustrating, as nudging things forward in that area feels sluggish.

Reflecting on the joined-up handwriting project brings me satisfaction. The system is looking clean, but moving the finished code to backend operations isn’t happening just yet. Shifting from frontend to backend is a daunting two-day task, not feasible with the newsletter due Thursday and trips to Coventry for the youngest's exams next week. Jury duty begins the week after, potentially spinning things out for two weeks.

On top of that, the old studio exchange is brewing; I still need to move a few things. There’s a fair chance backend operations get pushed a whole month if that drags on. So close but yet with so many logistical hurdles to clear.

I've been reading more, diving into design books by Radim Malinic and other authors. Mentally stimulating, though tricky balancing reading with work. Having the books on Kindle makes them portable but doesn't replace the allure of physical books for note-taking and that tactile experience. The balance is elusive but satisfying when struck right.

Finally, I managed to relax a bit. Evenings are for winding down. Enabling this sort of routine feels like a step in the right direction. To keep up the momentum, small steps in both work and self-care go a long way. But the ultimate goal: nurturing creativity while every item on the day’s to-do list ticks off its box.