The Odyssey

We bucked our circadian rhythm, had a big, late breakfast and headed to the cinema at 11am. The Odyssey was almost booked up when we went to get tickets yesterday, but this early screening actually was a blessing in disguise as we got to see the movie on a massive screen and a thumping sound system... So much so that I think my ears are still ringing a bit after watching some of the more intense action sequences. The film was ace though, I actually enjoyed it substantially more than I expected which is always a treat.

Speaking of treats, we decided to keep a good thing going after the film and went out for pizza and then a taproom for a drink. I realised one of my favourite things about our city break holidays is trying out the best foodie spots, and it's nice to treat my home city in the same way sometimes - makes you appreciate it all over again. Lastly we did some prep work on building Rebecca's bookshelves. I'm now ready to drill holes and mount everything on the wall. It's been a long time coming, but I'm really excited for the results.

WiFi Woes Part 2

Wifi is down in the house again, it won't get replaced til Tuesday at the latest. I never realised how shoddy the data coverage was in our home til today either. Internet in the living room? Fuggetaboutit! I spent 45 minutes on the phone with a technician unplugging and replugging wires into boxes behind bits of spider web caked furniture to no avail. All that was left to do was wait for the new router to arrive. 

Thankfully we had a big evening activity tonight that soaked up our WiFi free existence: a friend's BBQ - specially her Book Club BBQ (but partners were allowed over too). So we just hung out and socialised, surprisingly I didn't get roped into the grilling this time so I just sat back and drank beer. 

Farewell Brolly

Did my final day as a Travel and Accommodation assistant out in Cardiff. I did the last of my TMO's and left with a tiny fanfare from the Production Team. I got a bigger response from the Transport Captain who gifted me a really good umbrella just as I was leaving the studio. Old friendships always bear fruit. I'm waiting to hear back on my next set of ventures now - I got a day's work next week, but otherwise I'm freewheeling til I hear back from another big gig I've been optioned for. Things are slowly rejuvenating in Bristol it seems.

I was low-key invited to a wrap party for a job I only worked on for 8 days. Free bar was tempting but the driving this week really took it out of me so Rebecca and I just went up to our local board game place instead. I stayed behind after hours and got a rum in the house - everywhere I go there's a free bar.

Flimsy Firestick

Penultimate day temping and I got to do a but if a fun one today. My colleague and I went to the hotel where one of our cast members is staying so we could say hello, check out their room and make sure they were comfortable. Things came to ahead though when we plugged in a brand new Amazon Fire stick into the hotel TV, we brought it with us so they had access to Netflix etc and to help them set it up. Trouble was we connected to the slowest internet option known to man and the thing had a monster update to do right out the box. So we all just hung out together while we waited for a tiny progress bar to fill. While the activity it took us away from our desks, it was actually quite a bizarre and fun hour out of my day. One more day now, I reckon most people will want to scarper off sharpish on a Friday, fingers crossed I get to join them.

Bye Bye Bear

Back out West for me, putting in my time out in Cardiff. It always tickles me how many friendly faces pop out of the woodwork on jobs. The 1st AD made a point of coming over to me to shake my hand and I've rekindled an old relationship with the Transport Captain. I'm staving off the tiredness more and more too, as if my body clock is re-adapting to long shooting days and the associated drives. 

Down time this week has mostly been dedicated to finishing off the final series of The Bear, which has been a real delight. I was firmly in the crowd of 'I'm glad they're ending this show' before watching it, but this last season was a great homage to everything that came before, reminding us why we all fell in love with the show.

Travel and Accommodation Intern

Been in travel and accommodation for two days now and my head already feels hot with information loading. Massive respect going out to my boss and all the others who get people from A to B. I'm just hoping I'm doing my part enough to support those guys. I'm still booking trains, writing movement orders and filling up logs. It's like I'm on an intensive training course though and I'm trying to make it count.

Cardiff Calls

Ah yes. The early get up. The hour long drive to work. The ten hours without a break. Then driving home for another hour. Welcome to the glamour of working in TV.

In all seriousness, it's actually been quite nice to be back inside a production office again. I slowly remembered all the steps and got into the swing of things. I'm only doing cover work so I don't need to be mega onboarded with all the job's various ins and outs, which is a little refreshing. The drive to and from Cardiff is a bit of a bore though, I blazed through the one podcast I was excited to listen to, now I need something else...