Blazing Briefs

Spent the entire day beavering away on my job application briefs and I am shattered now. I think they actually came together really nicely in the end, one idea I was especially proud of actually and hopefully it will come across well and impress the good folks at Rubber Republic - only time will tell though.

Stuffed to the Brim

For the first time in a long old while, I found myself at the annual family BBQ. Usually this time of year, I am busy running an errand or randomly find myself on holiday, but seeing as I am basically just mooching right now, I could actually attend this year. It was worth it almost exclusively for the food, which I am not ashamed to say that I binged on. Filled myself up on so much pulled pork and profiteroles that I actually didn't need to eat anything for dinner.

Buried in Briefs

Committed myself to a full on day of advert brief brainstorming and I actually got some pretty decent stuff sussed now. Got 4 ideas total, and I'm going to make a semi-professional pitch/one-pager for each of them so they look really swanky. I know I keep saying this, but I feel like I have a legitimate chance at getting this job, and if I present these pages nicely then I know I'm in for a shot at this.

Kid Care Take 2

Put our child-caring skills to the test once more as Louis and I had our hands full with 4 children who came to visit for lunch. Luckily, they bought round their own wacky card games and we were more than happy to join in, even if some of the rules occasionally felt made-up. Once those games were finished with, we turned to our trusted game Smash Bros and got all of them playing - they loved it too!

Learnt how to make an eggs florentine for about the 5th time, and I just about nailed it. Will defo be cooking that again sometime to impress folks. My list of 'can-do' recipes is constantly growing.

Spotlight

Begun working on the briefs provided by my most hopeful potential place of work. They really are a little more challenging than I initially expected, I'm trying to impress them a little too much I feel and I should perhaps stick to making something straightforward rather than trying to completely re-design the wheel. So far I have some good stuff on paper though and I'm ready to follow it up further.

Louis and I sat down to watch Spotlight which was astonishingly good. For such tricky subject matter, the film handled it all with remarkable pace and sophistication, without it ever feeling trite or forced. It was great to see an American film 'hold back' in nearly every department, everything was kept subtle and precise with some great performances, especially from Mark Ruffalo. A must watch for anyone with even the slightest bit of interest in the nature of the story.

Canadian Invasion

Prepped a salad dressing for the first time in my life in preparation for a Canadian invasion. Maybe, a slight exaggeration there, rather we had some Canadian relatives over for dinner tonight. Louis and I were delegated two very important roles: prep a salad, and entertain the young ones. This culminated with two young girls picking up all of Dad's guitars and other instruments and making a hell of a racket with them and them putting on some really old Rhett and Link videos from 2010. Reminded me of the good old days of YouTube, when creators actually put effort into their videos.

Extra good news! The company I sent the video to got back to me with the second stage of the interview: they want me to pitch an advert campaign for a series of hypothetical products. Gonna pull all the stops here, as creating a pitch is a skill that I really enjoy putting to good use; I already have a good feeling!

Not yo Nachos

Louis fancied nachos for lunch. That was all it took for me to head outside the warm, confines of the house and head into Lidl to grab some crisps and avocados for our lunch. Since last year, I think we have both had some good practice at making some some excellent nachos dishes and we really did a good job today. I blocked out a short film schedule for the next few days in my mind as I am hoping to see a few more movies over the next few days. I've been slacking recently and I want to get back into the habit of watching a film each day once more.

Robot Wars

A few days ago I posted up a video for a job interview, today I actually got a response from them saying that they liked the video and that I would be going through into the next round! They'll be giving me a brief sometime next week and they want a creative idea to be applied to it - really going to try hard to land this one when it comes through because it sounds like exactly what I want to be doing.

Psyched myself up to watch the reboot of Robt Wars this evening, even Louis surprisingly joined in on the fun. I can happily say that they have done a pretty good job bringing it back, the graphics had this delightfully crappy 90's look to them that just took me right back. The actual battles were alright too, built up some good connections with the teams and their bot, although I will say that it was a little bit drawn out for an hour long programme.

Double Surprise

Made an early trip down to Bournemouth to surprise Mum on her birthday. She had no idea that Louis and I were making the trip and I think we did her well by turning up. I took it one step further and popped my head into Rebecca's house to give her a surprise visit too. Smiles all round really!

What to do on a sunny birthday in Bournemouth? Go to the beach, theb cap it off with a dinner out! Those were the things Mum wanted to do today and we all bounded down to the ocean for a jolly old time - think Mum had a chill but memorable one.

Video Submitted

Finished up my video audition/submission for my most promising job application. Took me a long old time to edit it together and add a bunch of pictures in, but even if I don't get picked, I learnt a bunch of really useful, if basic skills for Premier Pro. For anyone who is super inclined to watching it, I'll pop it down below.

On top of that, Louis, Dad and I went to Newbury Town Centre to enjoy another free art exhibition that paraded through our highstreet. It was basically a naff bit of dance theater followed by an amazing middle age rave where powdered paint was thrown into the audience. Everyone wore old tatty clothes and really mucked into the festivities - never seen Newbury so active.  

Homemade Vlog

In order to get considered for one of the most hopeful looking of all the jobs I found, I need to make a video explaining how to make an easy to share video online. Actually filming this video was a very bizarre experience for me though as I hate talking to camera to create a pseudo-vlog, the whole thing feels egocentric and corny, doesn't help that I am crap at looking personable on film. Got it all in the can though, so I'm just trimming it down and making it funnier before shooting it off tomorrow, what fun my day has been. 

Gallons of Water

More and more job applications and still yet to hear back from any of them. Not that I am expecting results just yet, just staying motivated and pushing forward. Louis woke up early to make some very tasty peanut butter cookies which went down a real treat, they certainly stuck to the roof of your mouth though. Guess that's a good excuse to drink more water though, I must have gone through about four liters of the stuff over the course of the day, sweat most of it out sitting up in my bedroom and trying to get to sleep though.

Can't Beat the Heat

The heat today has been absolutely ridiculous, struggling to find new ways to keep cool. While I took myself far away from the over that is my bedroom, now that I'm in here writing this, the prospect of sleeping easily tonight is a pipe dream. It's a curious thing to be sweating while just sitting down but that has been what I, and a lot of the UK, have been doing today.

Through the heat I applied to a few more jobs. One of which wanted me to submit three original and hypothetical television shows so I had a very healthy brainstorm there. Got me thinking about other things I want to be doing in my free time.

More and More Applications

Took myself into the depths of the dining room to set up my laptop and commit to some hardcore job applications. In doing so, I have already doubled my application base alongside asking for a handful of work experience roles that may segway into job opportunities. I've got a good feeling about a some of the ones I sent out today so I have high hopes about the responses I'll get.

Louis and I were also tasked with preparing dinner tonight, it was meant to be mackerel salad, but we overruled that, and instead made a KFC style salad with the leftover bits of chicken breast from yesterdays roast. Fried breadcrumbs with chicken and lettuce is often a winning combo and it went down oddly well considering the fact that we defied the weekly menu.

2 Week tour of England

Nearly two weeks of spending time with Rebecca has flown by during our little tour of the country. London, to Bristol, to Newbury and Cornwall and it just went so fast. We finished off the second half of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter before she had to go and we both faced up to our fears of jump-scares caused by a creepy zombie miner dude. We bonded over that in truth, bit wacky, but getting through stressful situations like that was a lot of fun.

Sorted out my LinkedIn page as well, I now have a stunningly beautiful online CV that interviewers can glance over. It makes me look very professional and will improve my employ-ability tenfold. I'm going through Mark's 'Bristol Jobs hit list' tomorrow so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Bye Bye Cornwall

Farewell Cornwall! We made the long trip back home again and now And now I'm just slotting back into the normal routine. The mighty quest to create a legitimate LinkedIn page shall commence tomorrow, a long-iverdue job I can finally tick off once its looking spiffy.

Eden Project

Set sail for the Eden Project! While a little over priced, it was a fun and educational day out full of exotic plants and some cool wildlife. We went through a really muggy biome harbouring plants from rainforests when it struck midday - the time for my results.

For want of not being sticky and humid when I found out my final grade, we rushed out for freash air and 3G. Thumbing through the grades I found out I got a respectable 2.1 which I couldn't be happier with. Also got my final grades for my grad film and my dissertation, I even got a first in the latter!

First Degree

Initially we were meant to go to the Eden Project today, but it was such good weather that we flat out decided to stay and soak up one last day of amazing sunlight. Off to the beach again, and we stayed there for a whole 5 hours. Haven't been on a beach that long for many years, but it was so sunny that it was impossible to not be a totally cat in that weather. Rebecca on the other hand burnt to a crisp under the heat, her knees currently look redder than a lobster thanks to what looks like first degree burns on a lot of her skin. She still loved the beach though.

Speaking of first degrees, Rebecca's final uni result came in, and they were expectedly amazing. She landed a first overall, which is beyond brilliant and she was thrilled to bits. We got fish and chips this evening to celebrate and they went down a right treat for the clever clogs.

My final results are coming put tomorrow too so fingers crossed for a good score!

Cream Tea and Games

Back to the beach for a second round of Kubb, which my team lost rather spectacularly. No matter though, because we had a very nice cream tea to look forward too once we got back home! Louis whipped up some homemade scones for us and we collectively piled on the clotted cream and jam. This holiday has been ruled by food and games so we rounded it all off with a nice game of Civilisation which went on for about 2 hours and we got nowhere fast.

Kubb

Our family band took a stroll down to the Cornish beach to try out Louis' new game: Kubb. Its basically an odd viking game where you throw batons at bits of wood to simulate a siege of sortsb felt a bit like a more strategic version of boule. Despite getting a few odd looks form passers by, we had a lot of fun! The rain quickly saw to the longevity of the game so we had to call an impromptu round of sudden death. My team was generally losing until Rebecca knocked down the king in the penalties. Now she has the nickname Jamie Lanister.

It dried up shortly after and Mum took us out to pick berries at a nearby farm. We had more than our fair share of free fruit before bringing some home for a solid Eton mess.

Wiping the cream from our mouths, we then dived into a game of Dixit. A family friendly, and ultimately more challenging version of Cards Against Humanity with a focus on story telling. So we all had our fair share of new and exciting games today, looking forward to trying out Keystone - Louis' ace in the hole.

Fudge Shop

Took a trip into the very scenic town of St Ives with Rebecca. Bless her, she was  feeling a bit poorly before we left but once she got a bit of lunch in her and smelt the fresh air she seemed to perk up. That is until we walked into a fudge shop and her face started to turn pale. She lost concouisness soon after and I had to swoop in and take her weight - serious boyfriend points right there. I took her on my back out the shop with maneuver that even Louis thought was impressive and planted her in a cafe until she felt better.

So, while our trip was cut a little short, it bought us closer together. And we got some fudge out of the ordeal and went home to a Louis cooked pie, which was cracking.

Pokémon GO

Coastal walks were the name if the game today, and they were spiced up with the inclusion of Pokémon GO. So while walking along the beautiful beaches of Cornwall was lovely, it looked even better through the screen of my phone as I was catching wild Pokémon!

There was also some genuine wildlife along the way, seals and jellyfish dotted our path. Been a long time since I'd done a hike type walk and I actually really enjoyed it.

Mizzle

Long ol' way to get to Cornwall from Newbury. Spent the better half of 5 hours driving down with Mum, Rebecca, Louis and his girlfriend to get to our holiday home far, far away from phone signal. We spent a good portion of the evening playing games on the Wii and catching Pokémon on the new Pokemon GO app which is currently all the rage. Tomorrow we will no doubt be doing something similar to sightseeing so I'll try to take some pictures if its not too mizzly. (Clever combination of mist and drizzle there)

Best Burgers

Took a stroll into Central London, mostly to visit South bank and the Tate  Modern. It was only moments after we walked into the art gallery that we realises just how artistically out of our depth Rebecca and I were. We stuck around for the now tower thing they built so we got a good 'on high' perspective of South Bank and then we bailed very quickly to Borough Market which was amazing. It was basically Dad's idea of heaven as every other stand was a cheese or chutney spot where they sold really authentic looking cuisine - heck, there was even an olive stand which was vastly comprehensive.

We finished up our  day at Byron Burger where I had a double bacon chesseburger, I even got to choose how well done I wanted it, so I went all in and got it done medium. It ranks up there in the best burgers I've ever had, defo a lot to learn about making burgers based on that one meal.

Bristol to London and Back

Manic 2 days of travel for Rebecca and I. First I got a coach to London to meet up with Rebs, and then we immediately hopped onto a coach to trek to Bristol. Spent a few hours milling around the town centre and went to The Bag of Nails - or as its more commonly known as: The cat pub!

Rebecca is cat crazy, and this pub has 4 cats dotted around for stroking sake. While I am not as cat mad, it was a fun gimmick. So, a quick pint down and theb along to Mark and Lucy's where we cooked dinner and stayed the night to Rebecca was fresh and ready for her job interview.

Today was spent running around Bristol, to then head back to London for a second job interview. Now they are all done and out of the way, we are chilling at Rebecca's house - no doubt we'll be running around again soon though.

Dan is (Once Again) the Man

Shot off a cheeky job application before tearing up some games of Smash Bros with Louis. He was bigging up how he'd been playing it non-stop for a week so he should be able to beat me. Fortunately, the king stay the king and I beat him down. After that victory subsided, Dan came over to hang, I always have time for Dan because he's just a great guy to chill with, we went through all sorts of games together and he even gave me some tips in Dark Souls.

I'm currently packing up all my stuff to head to London and Bristol tomorrow. Going light is my forte now so I'll be absolutely fine. That said, I have completely underestimated how many clean shirts I had before going away. So I'm now sat in front of the washing machine waiting for some freash clothes. The things I do for Rebecca.

BBQ and Chill

Dad and I made the trip to Kent to spend a bit of time with my Uncle and Grandparents. It was near enough to my Uncle's Birthday so we had a small BBQ event so a lot of cooked meat was consumed. Alongside the all-important tiramisu which was amazing. The food was so good in fact, that I didn't notice my neck getting a little bit sun burnt, I think I escaped the full of it, and hopefully this will be the last time this Summer that happens.

Chill Time with Jamie

Caught up with Jaime tonight, a cat I haven't hung with for a few months now. We chatted about the games, music and films we had been enjoying recently, We even whacked on a few episodes of the really old school Simpsons. The level of quality in them really is next level and I always reveal in opportunities to watch the classic ones again. There just wasn't anything like it for its time, and I was surprised to see just how much of a human aspect there was to the show that has since been lost to the times. We finished off the evening with a game of Trials, a minimalist motorbike game that Jamie has always been better than me at, and he kept his crown tonight. Perhaps next time I'll beat him after I come back from holiday...

One More Application Sent

Shot my CV off to another job, this time it was for a slightly more unconventional application. A web and film production company were looking for zany and quirky people to help them develop ideas for content so I put my name forward after citing my orange and pinta film - hopefully they will do enough to turn a few heads and then land me the job. Spent most of the day writing up an original covering letter explaining why I am the second coming of Christ while maintaining a gently funny tone - its a bit out there, but it did sound very promising as a place to work in the future.

Immediately after sending that email off I was whisked away to a Gardner Leader Summer due full of free beer and pulled pork sliders - what's not to love. I even bumped into a 6th former called Kieran who was also a production runner on Hungerford 2. His mum sent me his AS level film which was legit good and I gave him some feedback on it a few months ago now. He asked me a few questions about going to uni to study film at Bournemouth and I basically said they would be daft to pass him up, but you gotta make a good first impression during the interview. He wants to do film production at AUB, I also had an interview there for that same course and I almost fainted during the interview because they grilled me so hard, best of luck to him really.