The Ice Man Cometh

Back on a Production truck, sorting out problems and making dreams come true. For the most part I was sourcing ice for the crew, money is apparently super tight so the gold prize is getting ice for free from local venues. A bowling alley obliged us for a Google review, but after that it was tough pickings. When I got home I batch made iced tea for myself and Rebecca - I sampled the tester and ended up drinking all of it. Now we got three liters of the stuff! 

At the tail of of the day we caught wind that our local board game place was hosting an impromptu evening, mostly to flaunt their new air conditioning. Like lizards who just wanted off their hot rocks, we made the pilgrimage up the road to enjoy feeling a normal temperature for a couple of hours. 

Ice for Days

Just been batch making ice cubes for most of the day, hording them like a squirrel. Every 4 hours, cubes come out the tray, into a box, tray refilled, rinse and repeat. Got enough for doomsday now, also known as tomorrow.

Only twice in my life now have I seen a Red Weather warning for heat, and of course it's those two days where I'm going to be driving around in a car without air conditioning. I'll be careful mind, plenty of water etc, but it's just a sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in. Just before bed tonight I played some online games with Louis while I sat in the hottest room of the house. I kid you not, the heat started to get to my computer, causing all sorts of problems. Guess I'll just back off for a couple of days.

I'm back on a job for just over a week now, parachuting as a covering member of the Production team. It ain't glamorous, but it pays the bills. 

Toy Story 5

With a couple of days work coming up I treated today as a mini finishing things up day. My current game and book were completed before midday and as a small bonus I taught myself how to make a decent iced tea to combat the heat. I nailed it right out the gate I'm pleased to say - and I don't even like tea! Better still ai think I cracked open the writing project I'm doing, I had one of those epiphany moments on how to restructure it to make my conclusion hit harder.

And EVEN better yet, we took Louis and Rachel up to see Toy Story 5. If you thought the fourth one was unwarranted, then you may want to skip this one. The franchise formula is a bit long in the tooth now and the sense of danger and creativity wanes with every entry. I know it's folly to believe that a long-standing sequel to something that should have probably ended years ago might still have the magic, but Toy Story 5 is inessential. 

How Many Toy Stories?!

Sunday's a meant for lazing around and catching movies on the hoof. We're heading to the cinema to watch Toy Story 5 tomorrow, so Rebecca wanted to refresh her memory with the fourth one. It sure is the black sheep of the bunch (maybe 5 will be even moreso, TBC). While it still has all the heart you'd expect, the pacing and sense of humour is way out there, disconnecting it all from the previous movies. I mean, it's still a good time, but it ain't exactly hall of famer. Guess we'll see how 5 holds up tomorrow.

Calm Before the Warm

The calm before the warm today. It's also one of the only weekends we have coming up without any plans so we enjoyed being coach potatos. I was playing games and reading my book for the most part, quietly chipping away at my hobbies. Since it wasn't so hot we roasted a chicken today so we wouldn't have to put the oven on to cook so much over next week. That and we stocked up on ice creams. Bring it on heatwave.

Backrooms

Bided my time today doing all the usual bits and bobs. The main event was a trip out to the cinema with Rebecca a couple of my old work gang to watch Backrooms. We've done quite well in getting through some modern horror films together now, I guess we all just commiserate together in our fear. This was our first attempt at a big horror film on the silver screen though and it was a huge success. It helped the film was just the right amount of scary. Lots of disconcerting imagery, liminal spaces and handheld cameras. Considering most of the film consists of great actors looking concerned as they silently navigate a labyrinth, the tension was maintained throughout and it went by in a heartbeat. We've been really treated to a lot of horror films that don't fit into the 'quiet, quiet, bang' category in the last couple of years and I'm a firm believer that horror should delight more than it scares.

Ragu

Set my focus timer (the one that plants a little tree on my phone and tells me to not look at a screen for a couple of hours) and got to writing. I'm tugging at a couple of threads that have been left dangling and fraying for a while now. Things I've wanted to work on for a while but convinced myself I didn't have the time. Well, as luck would have it, time is all I have. That and a set of notepads and some fountain pens. 

When I wasn't focused I was hanging out with Rebecca. It was our 'anniversary' last weekend so we marked the occasion today with a trip to a very nice restaurant. Wine, fried artichokes, aioli, ragu and a pistachio panna cotta. What dreams are made of. Bristol in the summertime is a wonderful time and place, Dan and Jamie felt it too because they were nearby getting drinks out so we joined them to enjoy the cooling summer evening.