So Very Thirsty

Watched the sunrise on my drive into work. Right now, my portable office is set up right on Bristol's harbourside, every now and then I see unit vehicles for film and TV parked there and it's crazy to think that now I'm inside one of them! The rain dampened my mood only a little and only served to make my work load a bit busier. Had to deal with one or two stressy folks too, but my calm demeanor seemed to put them at ease.

I was very much looking forward to walking home tonight after work, but then I got a call from Rebecca to tell me the water was no longer working in our house -  a burst pipe knocked out most of the post code. Luckily, I had a water-dispenser canister in my car which Mark, very generously, allowed us to have in a worst case scenario. So, I drove back with the heavy, heavy water and because I had so much, I thought I'd even offer it to the neighbours. Neither accepted my generous offer, and the water came back on a hour later. Hopefully there'll be no drama's tomorrow evening so I can finally fulfill me 'walking to set' wish.

Another Alumni

Crept out of bed for another early morning. I arrived at our unit base while the breakfast truck was still teeming with goodies, so in spite of having cereal before arrive, I dipped in for a second breakfast. It'd be rude not to!

Got chatting with a new team member today, I was under the impression they'd recently graduated from uni so I asked them where they studied. As chance would have it, they were also Bournemouth TV Production alumni! We bonded massively over old lecturers and our grad projects, such a small world.

Bake off has started up again so Louis and Rachel swung by with some cookies so we could indulge while watching. First time christing our TV licence too, looking forward to enjoying the next few Tuesdays with those guys too.

Key Conundrum

Had a mini panic attack after I got up this morning since I couldn't find my keys anywhere. I was chucking stuff out my bag, running down the street to see if I left then inside my car, golly I was a state. In the ruckus, Rebecca work up and pointed them out immediately, they were right where I left them. Felt like a melon, but I was relived nonetheless, got to work just in time for a pain au choc and a meat free full English breakfast.

Filming went slow today, so slow that we didn't actually finish on schedule so we're hanging back for a day at our current location. Shame, the next place is so close to my house I can actually walk to set - something that's never happened before!

Sunday Stout

More Mario this morning, this time I graduated to Super Mario Galaxy. Playing this remastered Mario collection has been a warm nostalgia trip for me, I can so vividly remember my headspace while playing every single one of these games, I can trace back my school year and the houses I played them in too. Its like digging up a time capsule and looking at a museum of myself, all I can do is wistfully smile at who I used to be.

Rebecca and I took a stroll down to our favourite Sunday market and to my old cafe for a coffee and a chat. Funnily enough, the moment we got home another old colleague messagemessaged me inviting us to the pub this, so we whiled away the lazy hours of this Sunday afternoon with a pint of stout in hand. Never met up with this colleague outside of a work function before and we already agreed to do it again sometime.

Back to 2002

Got to relive my long-gone Saturday mornings as a 9 year old by replaying Super Mario Sunshine. I mercilessly recounted my childhood experience of working through the game to a very nonplussed, yet patient Rebecca. We poked our head up into our attic for the second ever time and loaded it up with our Christmas tree and some other forgettables - I didn't want to climb in because of the potential spider risk, but it's good to know our loft can hold a few extra bits for us.

Felt right to watch a movie this evening and My Cousin Vinny beckoned from its DVD case. I'd not seen the film fully since I was way younger and it's remained a total delight to watch. Rebecca's Dad is a big fan too and he's been trying to get her to watch it for donkey's years, she appreciated Marisa Tomei's sass (how couldn't you) and it won our hearts before the credits rolled. 

Petty Cash and Pretty Cake

Aside from booking a very last minute courier from London this morning, my day was remarkably uneventful. That meant I could at long last crack on with all my expenses claims and this lengthy photoshop project I'm working on. I just kept myself to myself mostly and got a lot done, a good way to end on a Friday! Plus the catering truck had plenty of cake available today, and since I've made it my mission to be chummy with the caterers, they even cracked out a whole new Victoria Sponge for me and some of the other Production team - it pays to be friendly in this industry!

Taxi... Please!

Late start for the filming today so that meant I could chill out with Rebecca and catch up on the first episode of Bake Off before work, it was so nice I almost forgot I had a full day of work ahead of me... and what a day that was! For the most part, things went pretty smoothly until the final hour of the day when I was asked to book taxis for a handful of people. Though many of the cars arrived no problem, many of my cabs just decided to cancel our booking halfway into our already lengthy wait times. We even had to call upon our crummy back-up taxi service just to compensate. Thankfully everyone got home safe and sound, just resulted in a stressful hour at the days end - a stark contrast to this morning's vibes.

Chilly Camper

 Just another day on the production truck! I tended to a lot of logs today, maintaining records of taxis, trains and hotels. So while it wasn't a thrilling day by any means, I got a fair amount done! Now the days are getting colder and since we're technically camping, I'm gonna have to start wearing my jumpers once again. I opened up my knitware drawer and was greeted with several old friends. Just got to choose which one to wear first...

Fill 'er Up

Day two on our mobile production trailer and things have already settled into a nice rhythm. I actually found a bit of time today to catch up on some work which was nice. I'll be chasing post most of tomorrow morning by the sounds of things so I'm just enjoying this little calm before the storm.

Once I got back, Rebecca and I went on a tiny 'date night' our to Asda's petrol station. I'd never worked a pump before so Rebecca elected to come out with me to fill up my car. We made a cute little thing of it and she was actually remarkable helpful. I got to show her how much more confident (but not cocky) I am as a driver - I even did a parallel park with her and she was impressed!

Static Canal Boat

Filming started today, so that means I no longer need to eat marmite sandwiches for lunch since everything is catered! Joking aside though, it was a good level of busy for me today, though I was relegated to my car for the first half of the day, the afternoon I could catch up on my 'to do' list in the comfort of the mobile production office. I've never been in an office trailer before, the novelty wore off the moment the wifi conked out, and when I realized it was a static canal boat where work happens, but it was an experience nevertheless.

Revisiting Old Beans

Though I spent this Sunday by myself, I still did plenty of socializing. Part of the day was spent playing games online with friends, and after I grew painfully aware that it was a glorious day I decided to go out and enjoy the sunshine. I headed down to my old cafe to see my old team mates, all of which were delighted to see me - I was actually left a little speechless as they had some many questions for me but I felt bad just talking about myself. Lovely to see them all again though, this was the first time I'd been back to the cafe after leaving and I'll try and make more of an effort to visit in the future.

Handling Heartbreak in Sayonara Wild Hearts

Since I found myself sandwiched between a very busy work week and the start of filming next week, I elected to stay at home in Bristol while Rebecca traveled up to London to see her folks and friends. It was a tough call, but I really think staying here was the best thing to do so I could roll in on Monday feeling refreshed and ready to hit the ground running. Today then, was all about unfinished business, specifically my latest video for my YouTube channel. I started this morning thinking I was basically finished, but I ended up 'just doing finishing touches' until late this afternoon. At least though, I'm delighted to present 'Handling Heartbreak in Sayonara Wild Hearts'

This one took me a while, not only because of my new job, but because I wanted to do the game some justice. Since it's a rhythm based game a lot of edits had to be done to the time of the music and I just wanted it all to flow neatly. Only once I took a step back from it I realised it all came together into something I'm proud to call my handiwork.

This may well be my last one for a while now, but I'll keep brainstorming while I'm on set for new topics to discuss.

Cupcakes And Car TrIps

 For reasons I won't bore you with, I spent nealy 5 hours driving today. Last working day before a shoot is always busy, but thus was ridiculous! Got to eat my lunch at 5:15 this evening, but thankfully, some cupcakes from the big bosses arrived to nourish the team and thank us for all our hard work.

Louis' Birthday - 2020

Two working days left until the shoot starts and already the work load has really picked up. So many people kept coming up to me asking for quick favours today so it took me away from the other jobs I needed to crack on with. Hopefully it'll be a bit quieter tomorrow so I can cross off some of my lingering 'to do' jobs.

Thankfully, this evening was everything I needed. We headed over to Rachel and Louis' house to wish him a Happy Birthday. After dishing out his presents we settled into watching Badlands, a film I kinda dismissed when I first saw it but now it has grown on me. We all had positive thoughts on it afterwards too which was nice, glad we could all share that with him on his special day.

Luton

Another busy one today, a lot of urgent business to complete arrived and disapeared just as quick. This close to shoot I guess that's to be expected, just gotta keep going until we start rolling!

The final portion of the day pitted me against something that, a month ago, would have scarred me witless. I had to go pick up a van from a rental place and drive it across Bristol. Specifically, I got to drive one of these:

 

Gear box in the dash, no rear view mirror and three seats in the cabin - let's go. Thankfully, the depot was located basically in a rural lay-by so there was a stretch I could get a feel for the car. Only stalled it 4 times trying to get into second gear. Once that bit of road was over, it was time to merge onto a 40mph dual carriageway... That was the sweatiest part, but afterwards it was pretty smooth sailing. Now I know what it feels like to drive a tractor too, since I was taking my time, I accumulated a fair old conga line of miffed drivers who all had to march to my beat. When you're in a Luton Van you're king of the jungle, but I still got a mite nervous everytime I revved the engine.

CoVideo

Had the luxery of working from home for the first half of the day. I had some video editing work to get on with for our office's Covid Health and Safety video which was my baby for the day. Though it's literally the driest subject known to man, I think we did the best with what we had, I even got to put in a fancy tracking graphic!

Back in the office I was running around trying to catch up on emails and old jobs. I've been away from my desk so much this week they've started to pile up a bit, tomorrow is a backlog busting day for sure.

Only Two Minutes

They say every day is a school day and yesterday made a big thing out of driving to the supermarket. Well today I had another driving related milestone, on the negative side of the spectrum. Today I got my first parking ticket... BUT it was wrongly slapped onto my windscreen! I won't bore you with the details but they fined me exactly two minutes after I paid for my stay. The wards. I contested it with was remarkably stubborn on the matter, despite me flagging evidence to him, so I gained another nugget of life experience by contesting a parking fine with the authorities. I'm so busy at work right now I couldn't help thinking there was plenty more important things to do with my time than writing angry letters to the council. Live and learn though, hopefully I get the fine waivered.

Driving to the Supermarket (!)

Crickey, I felt like an adult today. I drove to a supermarket and did my weekly shop, loaded it into the car, and rove home. If you told me one year ago I would be writing that sentence, 26 year old me would've been shocked... even moreso if you tod me I bay parked like a pro.

Beyond that, this Sunday was just a Sunday. Played (and lost) a game of Rummikub with Rebecca and tinkered away a bit more on my video. I'm on the home stretch for this one now, just another hour or so to work on it and it'll be ready to face the world. 

Next week marks our final week of pre-production at work so I'm anticipating it to be an all hands on deck affair. I'm also getting an official Codiv test, alongside all the rest of the crew. Hoping I don't get too squeamish about where the swab has to go, but it can't be that bad right?

Jigaraki

Mum and Dad popped down to Bristol to spend the day with me, Rebecca, Louis and Rachel for our shared Birthday weekend. I received the lion's share of my presents this morning, including a gorgeous new jumper, some books and some board games that I'm very much looking forward to finding an excuse to play with people. We tried a new Middle Eastern place on Wapping Wharf for lunch which was a huge hit, then again you never can go too wrong with lamb and flatbread.

I took everyone up for a walk to The Northen Slopes too, it started off as a massive success since I remembered where I discovered a panoramic view of Bristol. Shortly after I forgot my way around and I accidentally booted us out back onto the main road. For somewhere so vast, it was crazy how I couldn't find it properly again. However the group was starting to flag a bit, and the promise of a home baked Rachel pudding was too good to put on hold for any longer so we retired to Louis' place for drinks and treats. The sun was dipping down just as I was getting a haircut (feels like only the second one this year), then we all said our final farewells. I always relish it when my folks are down in Bristol. Their company is always easy going and familiar, plus it's a delight to share the best parts of Bristol with with them - hope they had a good day too.

Muffled Laughter

Got that Friday feeling on my way out the office. Plenty of jobs all got tied up in a neat lil' ribbon today and it felt right to walk away from my desk and enjoy my weekend. I left at a good time too, early enough to even cook Rebecca a midweek meal which she sincerely appreciated. Just finished off the evening with an impromptu online gaming session with Louis and his mates which was a ton of fun, stayed up late to finish a few rounds and had to consciously muffle my own laughter for the neighbours, and the sleeping Rebecca's sake.

Happy 27th Birthday to Me!

To my delight, Rebecca agreed to wake up early with me so we could spend some time together before I went to work. She was a little shocked to discover just how early I get up these days, but she obliged none the less. This was one of many ways she made today very special. We opened my cards together and she gave me her presents, I got a great owl mug and a swanky mini wallet - perfect for short outings when I don't want to carry a chunky wallet.

Work was work, I didn't want to make a big thing out of it being my Birthday since everyone is super busy. Imagine my surprise then when the whole office starting singing 'Happy Birthday' over halfway through the day. It was super humbling - I've only been with most of those guys for a few weeks but they made it feel very personal which was lovely.

On my way home I got to call my parents, which is one of life's simple pleasures. Back at home Rebecca ordered some takeaway burgers for us and quietly lit a candle and walked out with a flaming sourdoughnut... She knows me too well.

27 years on this Earth, it's a weird thought. Lot of people at work said how 27 is the age where you emerge out of the uncertainty of your 20's and everything starts falling into place. That was a comforting sentiment, time will tell exactly how true that'll be, but day by day, I feel more and more comfortable wearing my own skin.

 Just wanted to close this blog entry with the card that Grandma Margaret got me. For reasons I still can't explain, it just really resonated with me. It's a very gentle, but wholesome picture of a dog on a canal boat, but both Rebecca and I instantly thought was lovely.   

Thanks to everyone who made this Birthday special!

"One Van Please"

Couldn't believe that I was the first one into the office today! I had to flick the lights on and everything before I got to sit at my desk and make a 'first thing in the morning phone call' to a van hire company... That took an extra 30 minutes to finally start answering their phones. Speed bump aside, once I finally got through to them they were exceptionally chill and gave me all the answers I wanted to hear which was incredibly reassuring. Otherwise I got to drive up to Marks and Spencers to clear out 25 of their pre-packed sandwiches (yes, I got funny looks) as lunch for tomorrow's production meeting. We had an awkward time trying to ensure all the seat arrangements were 2 meters apart for Covid reasons, but we settled on something that works. 

In other news, tomorrow I turn 27. I've actually been too busy recently to properly process that but instead of the usual Birthday excitement I feel, I'm feeling more of the 'sand running out the hourglass' vibe. I'm sure those feelings will melt away first thing tomorrow though.

I'm a Van Man(?)

Seeing as everyone was out of the office today, my boss let us all come in an hour later today. For the first time in ages I got to wake up alongside Rebecca and enjoy her company while I made porridge and listened to the radio. Most mornings Rebecca is barely lucid before I walk out the door so today was a most welcome change of pace, I even got to walk part-way into work with her.

The day at work was a little stressful for me. I'm still in charge of hiring a handful of vans for different departments, since I'm pretty new to vehicle renting I'm still learning the ins and outs. A long chunk of time was spent waiting to hear back from our out of office accountant about filling out a vital form for me, eventually she did it but it was closer to the deadline than I would've liked. I'll head in a touch earlier tomorrow to iron out all the kinks though, once that's done I can occupy my thoughts with other, less daunting tasks.

Chasing COVID

Most of the office was out on recces today so it was mostly just me and my production team at our desks. Every now and then cast members trickled in since today was the day of their official COVID test - exciting for them, it'll be me next week apparently. I sent out a lot of chasing emails to nudge a plenty of people so I could cross off my to do list, ended the day with a lot of 'pending' jobs while I wait for replies, but fingers crossed I'll have a cleaner slate tomorrow.

Holy Guacamole

 Set out on a Sunday stroll across the Bristol Downs with Rebecca and her parents. Before we knew it we'd already walked well over 10,000 steps, all that did was whet our appetites for some nearby cafe food and coffee. This evening they all came round to ours again and I whipped up the meal I've been fretting about all week. In the end, I settled in making fajitas, but not some namby-pampy mid-week meal version, oh no, tonight I  went all out. Did my signature polenta coated chicken plus spices, we slashed out on salsa and sour cream and finally I made the best batch of guacamole I think I've ever made. Even Rebecca's Dad who isn't a fan if avacado was stunned that I was able to make something so delicious. (This isn't an exaggeration. He took a cautionary dolop of guacamole, had a mouthful, paused slightly and a quiet 'wow' was the only thing he could compute saying.) It was a big hit overall and I'm chuffed fajitas was ultimately the right call.

Time to Oil Up

Weekends during the tailing parts of the Summer have mostly been spent tending to the garden. I sheared the lawn and put a protective coat of wood oil on our garden furniture, even had the added bonus of stepping in some cat poo and got to wash that off my shoes. Carved out a bit of time to beaver away on my video editing too which was nice. Then in the evening I was back to the Italian restaurant we visited two weeks ago, but this time we shared it with Rebecca's parents. In my mind, they would either love it or hate it there, thankfully they adored it and we all left full of good food and smiling faces. Living in Bristol means we're never more than a stone's throw away from 10/10 food, learning and sharing our favourite places is one of the many joys of living in this city.

Friday's always Friday

 Friday is fast becoming the office lunch take out day, which I wouldn't mind so much if it didn't fall to me to do the ordering and driving to collect it each week. My pessimism melt away after several satisfied faces turned round and complemented my choice of take out and gave big thanks to my efforts. This afternoon my team and I were scrambling to get everything ready for a lot of big movements going on at the beginning of next week. A lot of travel plans changed quickly too so we had to play catch up, I left the office just before 8pm tonight, quietly photocopying a final batch of documents for Mark. Came home to Rebecca's hugs though, plus her visiting g parents and a big helping of Chinese Takeaway. It was a busy Friday, but it was still a Friday at heart.

Building a Tiny Plane

Felt much better at work today, actually broke through a lot of my tougher ongoing jobs so striking them off my 'to do' list felt great. I even got to go on a little jaunt in the car to go queue outside the Apple Store to pick up a new laptop charger for a colleague and holy moly, they are taking Covid seriously. They were scanning people as they came in with temperature guns and keeping those waiting to enter under a tent outside. I know they have our best interest in mind, but it read more like Apple evangelism to me - more than ever I was glad not to own any Apple products. 

Got back home and unwound by doing some more video editing. Everything is neatly falling into place with this next piece, it's actually quite gratifying putting it all together - guess it's a similar kind of satisfaction you'd get from building miniature airplane models. Rebecca had book club so I have my computer, it's a tale as old as time.

Don't Agitate the Grounds

 "Would you like a coffee Theo?"

 

I should have said no to this early morning offer. I don't know what my colleague managed to do, but they somehow made an overly strong brew that left me feeling skittish and agitated - its effects lingered throughout the day. I was given a few seemingly standard jobs first thing today, but for one reason or another, I actually couldn't do them until some new software installed or until people got back to my emails. In the meantime, more weirder jobs started trickling in. A sudden takeaway order needed arranging, a courier for an obscure parcel needed sorting and a hair and make-up lady decided to say hello to the crew about 10 minutes before home time. While I did everything I had to today, I didn't quite bring my A-game which left me feeling a little bummed. Tomorrow I'll just take it all in my stride and start climbing up the mountain of my in-tray with a settled mind.

...And I'm gonna say no if someone offers me coffee again.

No Stressy

 Didn't get to drive my car today! First day on the job that's happened so I became an office house cat, filling out spreadsheets and making phone calls. A hearty chunk of the day was spent inputting our crew's email addresses into various systems, not tough work, but time consuming. Today's office vibe overall was busy but not stressy, just a lot of people cracking on and it felt nice to be a part of that. 

Rebecca's folks are down this weekend and I've been asked to roll up my sleeves and cook another super duper meal. I've kinda played all my greatest hits so now I'm scraping the barrel trying to think of a signature dish they'd like. They previously scoffed at the idea of putting anchovies in a Ceasar Salad, so if I feel like some delicious revenge I could whip up a batch of that, with oodles of the salty critters lacing the lettuce leaves. Or I could go something warm and comforting - I'll need to rack my brain a bit longer.