Porky Prep

With Eurovision on our doorstep I headed out to grab the elements of our feast. I was armed with a handful of coupons and free money from sign up schemes so I felt a little rich heading into the supermarket. 'Only the finest tequila for my margaritas' thought I, reaching for the mid-shelf stuff. My cart was full of coriander, limes and avocados, which I kept nestled next to the pork shoulder from the butchers. Made lemonade and pickled red onions too this afternoon, so now all the prep work will go down tomorrow.

In the meantime I was hanging out with Rebecca and the cat at home. Watching films and quietly playing video games in the corner for the room while Rebecca takes work calls.  

Cowboys Ride Again

With a few of my fellow Cowboy Tabletop players heading back into the world of work I wanted to offer them a big blowout game for their send off. A rootin' rootin' bank heist felt right somehow and that's been something I'd been working on for a little while in the background over the past week.

I drew out a big blueprint for them to plot their caper and I gave them a roster of hired guns they could bring on the adventure, each with their own little stat sheet. My guys were very impressed with the effort I put in and the session ended up being a big success - I dare say it's been my best one yet. I doubt I'll match this level of prep anytime soon, but the guys made me think on my feet a lot this time so there was a lot of improvisational push and pull. Best part though was we also made it a build your own pizza kinda thing! I made some pizza sauce yesterday and the host made pizza dough from scratch. I really kicked myself for not taking a picture because they were legit. 

Just an all round awesome Thursday. 

Flat Runner

Popped out for another run this morning, clocked in just over 4.2K without running out of puff. Since we moved into our house I've been trying to do a running route that takes me up a steep hill quite early on. Only now I noticed how that killed my motivation whenever I picked the sport back up so now I go along a nice flat route (for the most part) and I already notice how much happier I am about the prospect of going out again.

Tomorrow I'm running another tabletop Western game with my gang, one of them is heading back into the world of work so I'm trying to make this a memorable one. A Bank heist ought to facilitate some fun and chaotic moments, as long as they make it out alive that is.

15 Years of English Rain

Hung out with a friend for most of this afternoon, just sitting on the coach playing games and eating handfuls of crisps and those chive and onion coated mini pretzels. Man life is good sometimes. 

The real centerpiece of the day was going to see Gabrielle Aplin in Bristol city center this evening. I was first introduced to her music when I was trying to impress a girl I had a crush on about 15 years ago. It was pretty nuts to see her perform only about 7 people away from me in a crowded but intimate venue. The show was actually really good, she brought great energy and the audience were clearly passionate. Hearing those songs again took me back to a past life, but they're tracks that Rebecca and I often play in the car so now they'll mean something a little more when we hear them again.

Mixtape

Wanted to get a real grip on my week so I started off strong and with a plan. First up was the weekly shop which stretched my calf muscles enough for a run when I got back. I'm aiming to do at least two runs this week now and I've already plotted my next route to extend my distance. With Rebecca out this evening, I had the perfect opportunity to do one of my all time favourite things: play an entire new indie game in one sitting. Mixtape is the current gaming flavour of the week, and an early nod for a lot of end of year lists. It's a coming of age, 'last day of highschool' piece that's ruled by its needle drops. Smashing Pumpkins, Roxy Music, Joy Division, Portishead and The Cure make up the more obvious line up but there's some deep cuts here too which delight. While light on actual 'game', its highlights brush close to delivering euphoria. It might well make it onto the most prestigious end of year lists going... Mine.

A Face from A Decade Back

It feels like every time we go to the Sunday market I bump into someone from my past. It certainly wasn't on my bingo card to run into a colleague from my days at Rubber Republic (where I first worked when I moved to Bristol). Despite the fact that almost a decade had passed they still recognized me and hailed me down for a catch-up. They were one of my favourite co-workers there so it was a swell reunion, he's since left the company to work for a model train place (a fact he was beaming about). Glad to have that moment today, puts into perspective the length of time I've been in the city now and how far I've come. 

Rebecca and I enjoyed a quiet day again otherwise, in contrast to what our social calendar is looking like in the future. Most of today we've actually had to turn multiple people down for plans because we're already doing other things. Nice to be popular for sure, but trying to slot everyone in becomes the side quest of doom. 

Good Vibes Only Saturday

Enjoyed a near perfect little Saturday that we kickstarted with some scrambled eggs and hand ground coffee (every morning should start this way). I got a haircut so I don't feel like a shaggy dog anymore and we showed my new trim off to the fine people of Dunelm Mill, where we bought some more kitchen bits, aka new roasting pans after I nuked the last one by over roasting some pork. Speaking of pork, Rebecca and I really wanted to try out a small plates grill place up the road for us. We sipped margaritas in the sun and tucked into a mini BBQ banquet. We got home a little half cut so just flopped out and played games and watched a film. Good vibes all round.