Happy Mother's Day 2018

I was ready to go on high alert and go into battle at work today. It was a Sunday, weather wasn't great and it was Mother's Day, all signs pointed to a hectic day but somehow it wasn't. Was relatively chill overall which made for a nice change of pace, best of all we had a live music performance in the mid afternoon which really made the day feel special. For just over an hour the whole pace of the cafe slowed down to listen to the music, it turned into a really lovely environment to work in - that little slice of the afternoon was the epitome of a perfect Sunday moment. The customers enjoyed it too and were very happy to donate a little bit of spare change for the Samaritans, in fact we raised over 30 quid today alone which is great going.

Called up Mum a few times today, once I eventually got through to her I wished her a Happy Mother's Day. We talked about her latest articles she's writing about a local artist and discussed how she should approach it. Hope she had a good little Mother's Day.

Point Break

How did I get this far in life before watching Point Break? Was it because I don't have an interest in surf culture or perhaps its because I have a misplaced dislike for Patrick Swayze ever since Dirty Dancing? Any reservations about the film melted away within the first 5 minutes, and after that I was along for the ride.

What I dug most was it's 90's lack of self-awareness, it's a big action film full of dumb moments but I honestly couldn't stop smiling whenever something outrageous happened. Like a good wave, you just gotta go with it and it totally won me over with its characters and too many good scenes that came in thick and fast. We're talking thrilling on-foot chase sequences, bromance fueled surfing montages and the most breath-taking sky-diving sequence I think I've ever seen. This film was a pure fist-pumping, escapist thrill ride, just what the doctor ordered. If you're looking for something you can switch off and enjoy but still feel like you're engaging in something then call me up, I eager to enthuse with someone about this movie. 

Yes keanu Reeves' acting is sometimes as stiff as his surf board, everything else is a marvel.

Wild Garlic goes with Everything

Couldn't believe how well my driving lesson went today, for the first time ever I nailed every single maneuver on the first try. I think even my instructor was silently impressed. Swapped my wheels for a pair of running shoes and set off to complete a 6K, furthest I've ran in years so I'm really pleased with myself, if I keep up the training I'll do my upcoming 10K no sweat.

Hands down the highlight of my day was my dinner though. Seeing as Rebecca was heading away tonight it opened up the perfect opportunity to make a nice tomatoy meal. I naturally gravitated to a spag bol, but I had an ace up my sleeve! Yesterday on my outdoorsy photoshoot we were next to carpets of growing wild garlic, so I picked and washed a few sprigs and fell in love with their flavour while cooking tonight. Put some finely chopped wild garlic in the sauce, used some uncooked leaves as a garnish and even mashed some into a pad of Lurpak, then smeared that on some toast for some make-shift (but no less delicious) garlic bread. Kinda glad Rebecca went away tonight, I'm sure my breath reeks of vampire repellent, but it was totally worth it. 

Finally in the evening I awaited the release of the collab video I worked on with another YouTube personality a while back. The video was finished at long last and 'premiered' a few hours ago. I put premiered in inverted commas because YouTube now has this fancy thing where you can upload your video ahead of time, schedule a release window for your video and sit in a live chat room as you all wait for the little countdown timer to finish. It was really lovely to sit in on a chat and talk with whoever dropped in, granted the number of folks was really small but I love the concept nonetheless. The video itself came out really well too, my collaborator did a really good job with the edit - really pleased I signed up for the project.

Bric

Hopped in a car first thing this morning to drive out to a quiet part of the Mendips where I got to pose with a selection of re-usable hiking lunch-bags. I got to dress like an extra in a Wes Anderson film and sit on a gate while tucking into a quinoa salad and yes, it looked just as idyllic as it sounds. It was actually a really lovely shooting day, weather and the people were great and to top it all off I was offered a product as payment! Still picking out which one I'd like, you can check them out here if you want to get a sense of them - they are totally delightful.

I also get a heads up from another YouTube fellow that my long-awaited collab video will be going up very soon. Strange to think its been 16 months in the making and it'll be ready to watch in under 24 hours, really eager to see it now.

Pending Photoshoot

Refreshingly easy working day, I'm sure management is chuffed with how well the cafe has been doing recently, but I'm always partial to a nice quiet day. I left work to apply for yet another job and to try and recharge my batteries. I felt myself nodding off while opening the shop this morning so I think I'm a little over-tired right now.

By all accounts, I'm doing something a little out of character tomorrow: I'm going to be modelling for a mutual friend's photoshoot. Details are a little scarce at the moment, it's outdoorsy and I think its about food? Regardless, its a fun day out and it'll make for a good lil' anecdote later - might post up some pictures here tomorrow. With any luck it'll be nice and sunny tomorrow too, I very literally dusted off my sunglasses ready for their first wear of 2019.

Fruit Bat

Awoke at the crack of dawn so I could open up the cafe, juggle around the cake arrangement and make sure the delivery was all in order. The early start is obviously a bit rubbish but honestly I quite like doing opens, I can go in and pretend that I own the cafe which is a quaint little fantasy of mine. Once I finished my hours I headed home to apply for a quick job then I headed out for a run in the glorious sunny weather. Couldn't believe how great I felt in the final kilometer, I was riding that perfect line where I felt accomplished without feeling exhausted. Got back and ate a fistful of grapes, a mouthful of pomegranate seeds then immediately popped into Asda for some apples and bananas - I had a sudden fruit craving which I quickly satisfied.

Was meant to play a big game of classic Team Fortress 2 after Louis drummed up support for it with 8 other friends, but the plans fell through and we were left to play games together, feeling bitter about what could have been. With any luck, there'll be another chance.

Mumbo-Jambalaya

It's rather grim waking up with a swollen tonsil (at least thats what I self-diagnosed it as after shining a light down my throat). Got the morning off so I had plenty of time to feel sorry for myself and self-medicate with a cocktail of Strepsils, paracetamol and cartoons. My spirits were lifted enough to head into work with an attitude healthier than my being but after making a handful of coffees I started to feel miserable again. Tell you what sorted me right out though: a hearty jambalaya soup. The spiciness cut right through whatever was bogging me down and rejuvenated my soul - enough to get through the day anyhow.

A few more jobs popped up on my radar this morning too, I'll be applying for them during the week with my fingers crossed. 

Lincon Hits Bristol

Spent the weekend with Lincoln, an old university housemate from my 3rd year and it just felt so natural being in his company again. In between a meal out and some casual Bristol sight-seeing we all just ended up talking long into the night, about work, life and our uni lives. Lincoln very generously offered to pay for our dinner out so I tried to make up for that by cooking up a wicked breakfast this morning. He had to leave fairly early today, hopping on a coach at 11:30 but there was a little twinkle in his eye as he said goodbye that suggested he'd want to come back again some other time. It was truly great hanging out with him again, I've wanted to make a bigger effort to reconnect with old friend this year, while it feels like a bit of an effort while making arrangements, nothing can replace that warm feeling when you wave them off knowing that the meet-up meant so much to the both of us.

Style Shakeup

Got a very minor case of the sniffles but that didn't set me back from finishing off the first draft of my next video. Want this one to be a bit more pacey so its a tad shorter than most, I want to hit-and-run my topics and move on rather than dwelling on them ad infinitum, think it's a better strategy in the long run too.

I spoke to Rebecca on the phone around lunchtime and she told me to take it easy after I'd eaten, so I played some games and recuperated from a long stint of work. Gotta be fit and healthy for when Lincoln comes down to Bristol tomorrow - can't believe he's finally coming down to stay with us.

Never Board of Board Games

Had yet another driving lesson and this one was bit of a miss. It started off deceptively well but a wealth of small mistakes added up to one too many black marks against me and my instructor was getting visibly frustrated. In turn that only served to put me under more pressure and more little mistakes started to mount, funnily enough that just started the frustration cycle going again. I was very pleased when my 2 hours were up.

On the lighter side of things I went for another run, training is going well overall and I'm looking forward to extending my route to see even more of Bristol. After washing off the sweat I hopped in the car with Rebecca to head to Mark's for a nice dinner followed by a night of board games with several folks I've worked with on film shoots over the years. Samples some new games, some of which are going right onto my wishlist, won a few games too so I did myself proud. Got home rather late but I've set myself aside a slightly chill day tomorrow to relax a little bit, I'll be doing some more writing for sure and a bit of gaming on the side.

We Used to Wait

I bought a new game Rebecca and I could play together off Amazon sometime last week, its was the first time not using Amazon Prime in a while and it reminded me what it was like waiting for parcels back in my childhood. For the past few days I would open my postbox, ever hopeful of a little brown package waiting for me, every day though I'd accept the feeling of disappointment I'd inevitably feel once the postbox was empty. Today though, I had a good feeling. It was a day earlier than its due date but I could feel it so I ran a bit of the way home just so I could confirm my suspicion. To my dismay, it was empty, feeling crummy I let it slide and got on with grocery shopping. Rebecca called a little later and told me she had something in her hands waiting for me - it had arrived after-all!

What an emotional roller-coaster that little package sent me on and although I hated it in the moment, the feeling of disappointment when it wasn't in my postbox was refreshing. We live in an age of instant gratification, for just a few days I got to experience what it was like to be patient again and now I'm far more grateful for what I got. Rebecca and I are enjoying the game that much more because of the hype that surrounded its arrival.

Lemongrab

We're trialing out different ways to raise money for charity at work, right now we are sporting a floating lemon in a jar of water - whoever can balance a 20p on it gets a free coffee. It's a fun lil' gimmick thing in front of the til that's doing some heavy lifting for us, that little lemon is gonna make us a mint. I also made a few mock-up posters to drum up some support for me running the 10K, showed Rebecca my most recent draft and she chuckled so I'll take that as a good sign. Just hope people respond to it as well as the lemon.

Clothes, Clothes Everywhere

Not only did I break a glass at work, but I also managed to spill a whole lot of milk all over the floor. My groans were pretty audible in both cases. I kept my spirits high while Rebecca went through and purged a lot of her wardrobe. She recently collected ALL her clothes so she could systematically decide if she wanted to keep certain items, even with my help she had some trouble saying goodbye to some items I'd never even seen before. Proud of her for getting rid of a fair amount though, having recently done a mass purge of stuff recently I know it takes a lot of effort to part ways with some stuff you used to hold dear.

Pastry Paradise

Worst case scenario day - when it's busy at work but the time still somehow manages to crawl along. At least there were some odd bits to the day. Right as my will to live was being tested the most, a customer left through our usual door and there was an almighty crack as they inexplicably managed to put their foot through solid concrete, leaving a large crater by our entrance. It's going to be a hell of a repair job that, just couldn't believe it happened. My boss also decided to bake a shed-load of breakfast pastries after lunchtime, so obviously they sat there all day with no-one to take them home. Until the end of the day that is when they all went in my bag ready to be enjoyed tomorrow. I'm so ready to gorge myself on croissants and pain au raisins.  

Temperature Raising Tiles

Sported my Samaritans T-shirt once again at work though I might retire it tomorrow in favour of the standard black shirts. It's getting a wee bit dirty now and frankly I do feel like a bit of a lemon wearing it round the shop.

Visited a friend for some board games after finishing work, she's got a bit of a niggling cough at the moment which she didn't reckon was contagious. Good thing we played a lot of 'tile swapping' games like Rummikub to spread round the infection and I can already say that my throat is feeling a little hoarse, but that might've been a result of serving coffee to the weekend crowd.

Rebecca and I wanted to do something a little bit special for dinner tonight, at first we wanted take-out but the wait times were horrendous so we braved the weather and hit up Woky Ko, an Asian restaurant on Wapping Wharf and now that we've eaten there we wondered why we hadn't gone sooner. It was so, so good and just what I wanted after a long day - even got an fortune cookie!

Dressing up the Rear Window

Blew up some balloons, put on a T-shirt and dressed up the cafe real nice for the Samaritan's charity drive we're doing at work. Since putting up all the bits and bobs I've noticed folks are becoming much more generous to our little money box so I guess its working.

Rebecca expressed an interest in watching some Hitchcock films with me (I've secretly been waiting all my life for this moment) so we started off on the right foot with Rear Window. Seen that film so many times but this time feels like the first time I could really enjoy and appreciate it for all it was worth. Expertly paced low-key thriller and a family friendly approach to murder, it ticks so many of my boxes and luckily it ticked a few of Rebecca's. Think we got a few more films to watch together now...

Smattering of Samaritans

Day at home to polish off a bit more writing and mentally prepare myself for the 6 back-to-back days of work lined up. I'm just really hoping the next few days will be alright, I'm setting up the Samaritans paraphernalia round the cafe tomorrow since I'm the elected ambassador, hoping to get a bit of buzz going round for it and getting a few people to donate whatever they can.  

Had a real fun gaming session with Mark and Daniel to round off the evening, just after we finished our last game Mark pointed me towards some of the professional photos that were took at the LAN party I was at this time last month. Flicking through the pics was a nice trip down memory lane, especially this one which captured all of us (plus a 4th player) looking candid and doing what we love:

Super Duper Sandwich

Used up the last of my homemade bread for a sandwich which I built up so highly in my mind that the mere thought of it managed to get me through the day. Homemade roll stuffed with roast chicken leftovers, topped with bacon alongside some of Dad's cranberry chutney - it was to die for. My day at work was painfully normal, I was just thankful we didn't get hit with a big school rush so we could scuttle home in time to watch the Brexit votes on BBC Parliament. Felt astonishingly high-brow watching it, though I'm ashamed to admit I understood very little of the actual consequences of each individual vote - I am showing an interest though so that's more than most young people.   

Storm Gareth

Had the bright idea of going out for a run in the middle of 'Storm Gareth', luckily I avoided the rain but the wind, good lord that wind made the whole thing an ordeal. Jogging against winds powerful enough to take a sailboat back to the future really wasn't what I signed up for as I left my cosy flat. I came back and it was only after a solid minute or two of wheezing I started to feel the taste of blood in my mouth begin to subside. Easily the toughest run I've ever done, but if I can do that then there's not a lot I can't do.

Spent the remainder of the day writing and teaching myself how to write. Specifically I hopped on the BBC Writer's Room website and had a little read-up on all their script writing lessons, I adore storytelling concepts and I was taking notes again like a student. In turn I came up with a pretty funny little idea for a YouTube web series that could have legs, if I'm laughing while developing it then it's usually a good sign. 

The Babycino Crowd

Was dead on my feet by 5:30 this afternoon, the babycino crowd took us to the cleaners and I was left to wash up a literal mountain of crockery. It was so sweet to come home, throw off my shoes and collapse into a heap - no rest for the wicked though as after dinner Rebecca and I continued to make arrangements for our interrailing trip. As of tonight we have fully sorted out our accommodation for the various cities we're staying in, we spotted this incredibly swanky looking place in Ljubljana, I'm too excited to stay in someone else's house.

With that checked off our jobs list we settled into the final episode of the Ted Bundy Tapes documentary series on Netflix. At times the series divulged into some chauvinistic 'True Crime' sensibilities, but it always manages to pull away from that just at the right moment to provide a genuinely insightful and thrilling documentary series, well worth a watch reguardless of how well you know the Bundy story.

Anchovy Eggs

Thought I'd treat myself to a nice breakfast first thing this morning seeing as I basically had cannellini beans and a banana for dinner last night. I followed this Gordan Ramsey recipe for anchovy soldiers to dip into a boiled egg and it was banging.

I cracked on with a few other jobs around the house, tidied out my desk of all the receipts I kept from film shoots that have long past, feeling much cleaner for it too. Baked some bread too, a half dozen white rolls that are perfect for lunch in the week, already looking forward to my break tomorrow just so I can eat one. Prepped a nice roast dinner for Rebecca and Mark too since he popped round for dinner so we could play a new game I picked up that I've been wanting to play with him for a while. He also brought round his Dungeons and Dragons character sheet, not only to show off his Warlock but to entice me into the D&D world, and he really sold it to me. My homework this week is to go away and make my own character - already got a few ideas brewing so we'll see what I can materialise.

Leave No Trace

Got off work early so I thought I'd go hand out with Louis, who was also home alone this weekend. Seeing as both Durrant boys weren't shackled down by the wiles of women, we drank beer and played video games until the small hours. We also finally got around to watching Leave No Trace which has been on both of our watchlists for some time now, and I gotta say, it was pretty engaging. Moments of survivalism felt genuine and the harshness of the world meant anything could happen to either of the two main characters. It could have been a bleak film, but smatterings of humanity kept it grounded, even charming at points. Worth a watch if you love going camping, and I'd recommend it even more if you hate camping.

International Women's Day

Had a bit of time before work today so I treated Rebecca and myself to a nice scrambled egg and bacon breakfast, good way to start a Friday anyhow. Rebecca left to visit her folks today which mean I was left alone to celebrate International Women's Day, so I decided to engage with some media that puts women in a good light. Watched some of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel which is getting better with every passing episode and then played a bit of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy which focuses on the story of two of the recurring female characters from the prolific series, proving that they don't need no man.

This time last year I was out in London walking amidst thousands of women marching for equality as part of a Comedy Central shoot. Funny to think about where you were a year ago. 

Roma

 Had the evening to myself so I thought I'd finally get around to watching Roma. After the first hour passed I was wondering exactly where the film was going but as soon as the credits rolled I didn't want it to end. Roma is as beautiful to watch as it is to think about, it captures the lives of a family of total strangers while making them feel like people we've known all our lives. It brought back memories of my own childhood, going away with friends over the Summer and the inevitable head-aches we put my Mum and Dad through as a result of our excitement. An almost overwhelming sense of humanity is conveyed within Roma, even though its set in 70's Mexico, the events feel oddly universal, bordering on nostalgic. Even though the content of the film isn't compelling in isolation, the feeling it manages to convey is fulfilling and whimsical. A dream of a film that will stay with me for years to come.

High on Chatting

Unwound in the most glorious fashion possible toady. I played some games, met up with Rebecca for a nice lunch and I even watched a film (Carnival of Souls) and listened to a new album (Stranger in the Alps) both of which were excellent - culturally and spiritually, I felt fulfilled by before lunchtime.

After dinner Rebecca and I went to meet up with Pete at a local pub where we discussed recent film viewings and games. I brought my notebook along just in case I got a chance to discuss the topic of my next video with him and man, once we got started on that conversation we were locked into it. I want to make my next video around why video games don't make me cry compared to other mediums, I already had a handful of theories, some were reinforced and others were poo-pooed over some whiskeys. I've still got a bit of a buzz after having such a great chat and I'm eager to get writing already.

Not a Nightmare - Comparing the Resident Evil 2's

Set my video uploading this morning and got around to posting it sometime this afternoon, so without further ado, I present my analysis video on Resident Evil 2 and its remake. Little bit violent in places but I kept out any really nasty bits in case anyone is a wee bit sensitive to that. As I mentioned yesterday, I am real pleased with the final product since its a great showcase for my editing skills more than anything else. Give it a watch if your interested. 

Once work was over and everything with my video was done and dusted I told myself that I could finally relax and do something fun if mindless, and then I realised that I didn't actually know what to do with myself. The tiredness hit me hard too, feels like I haven't slept in two weeks and after eating pancakes tonight I was feeling especially lethargic. I got the day off tomorrow though so I want to spend it pampering myself a little bit so I'm looking forward to that. 

Short and Long Work

Took advantage of my hilariously short working day to crack on with my latest video... and I'm happy to say that it's all done! Woop woop! I'm uploading it sometime tomorrow morning while it exports overnight, but once again as a sneaky peak I'll pop the thumbnail below. Spent a large chunk of my afternoon/evening tightening it all up and after doing some re-writes for the script I can say I'm fairly chuffed with the final product. My editing is perhaps the sharpest here for lots of minor reasons, every day is a school day when it comes to video editing and I'm glad I still have the capacity to surprise myself.

Mentally Queueing

Rebecca popped into work to brighten my day, we agreed to pop out for lunch somewhere whenever I got a chance to go on my break. Bless her, she was sat there for nearly an hour waiting for the queue to go down so I could actually clock off for 30 minutes. We ended up trudging through the wind and rain to the Tobacco Factory Sunday market, which was partially closed due to the naff weather. Felt a bit bad dragging her to North Street to meet up but I'm immensely glad she did - gave me something to look forward to in spite of another busy weekend day.

Painful Pancakes

It was one of those days at work. One of those days where you just look out at the queue of people begging for trendy coffee and you just wish they all drank black americanos instead. Now that the weather has perked up, frappes and smoothies are the name of the game much to my chagrin. They take much longer to prep and push out than a standard order so its a mini defeat every-time I hear one being ordered. In the midst of our busiest period, someone had the tenacity to try jumping the queue and ask me to prep some pancakes for them. Sure love, I'll just stop everything I'm doing, disrupt the flow of work so you can have some oh-so-yummy frozen pancakes...

I mean, that's exactly what I did, but I was still unhappy about it.

Worst part was, they didn't even eat the pancakes! Some people man.

Edit Crunch

Cracked on with a lot of work for my next video with my day off. Finished the script, did the voice recording, got footage, music and clips sorted plus an assembly edit. 12 hours later I'm about 75% of the way done which I'm very pleased with, turned out to be a lot harder than I expected but I knuckled down and now its all coming together. Goal is to get it done and posted by Monday or Tuesday. Even after my eyes started to feel heavy after squinting at a screen all day I rested them by brainstorming my next video with pen and paper, my brain just didn't switch off today and I relished that sensation... but I am ready for sleep now, just not so ready for a very long shift tomorrow when all I want is a lie-in.