Dust-Caked CV

Dusted off my old laptop and waited 15 minutes for it to boot up properly. All beacuse I left my CV template on it's hard drive and I was in the mood to update my credentials. Been a whole year since I last touched my CV, previous jobs just let me on with a wink and a smile, but going forward it's good to have a new one at the ready... At least these were all the motivational things I was telling myself moments before realizing I hate writing CV's. I just never know what to put in a lot of the boxes and spend ages labouring over the perfect word combination to upsell myself. Years ago I'd always find myself 'overmachining' my language until grammar was abandoned in favour of corporate-pleaseing drivel. Today still took a while but I was genuinely pleased with the result, I even shot it off to a prospective hirer - just have to wait and see now.

IKEA-World

About 90 minutes into our trip to IKEA I realized it was the closest experience to a theme park that I've felt in a while. Big queues with strangers, questionable meats in the fast food and the promise of something new and exciting around every corner. We expected to walk out with a baker's dozen of cheap kilner jars, but disaster - they were out of stock. We settled on a new lamp for my desk and several picture frames so we can at long last display all our favorite prints.

We went round with Louis and Rachel and while we were hauling our trolley back to the car he said he'd be on an 'IKEA high' for the next week. That's the real magic of the place (especially for new home owners) you can't wait to upgrade your pad. Now moreso than ever, our house felt like a home.

Hidey-holes

To continue my DIY streak I teamed up with Rebecca to do a few jobs around the house. The masonry drill was our co-star, together we put up a new set of curtains in our living room and a little shelf above my computer desk. Managed to completely bodge a few of the drill holes for the first time so I gingerly poly filled them up and hid them behind the final fixtures. Nice to get those jobs done though, they've been on our list for far too long.

WaterSHED

Went out on another social call into town to hang out with a bunch of the Floor Runners I worked with in Sanditon. We all got coffee at the Watershed cafe which made me smile. There we were, all colleagues from the industry, sitting in Bristol's beacon of film media like it wasn't even a big deal. 

Before that though I finished up project shed. I cut the waterproof mats to shape and nailed it all into place with a little help from Rebecca of course. Turned out to be a rather handsome little shed, fit for holding our limited number of tools - I'm dead chuffed with it.

A Shed Load of Fun

Armed with some power tools on loan from Mark, I strode out into our garden to construct our shed. It's been sat in plastic wrap for the past few months, so first I had to brush off the spider-infested casing before liberating the wood from within. I started off tenderly making screw divots, and gingerly picking up boards, half an hour in I didn't give a damn about the neighbours and let the drill rip. Stubborn screws and crude instructions tried to impeed me, but a few hours later, a handsome lil' shed stood before me. Minus the roof, the sun was starting to set so I'll do that bit tomorrow. But I can rest easy knowing the lion's share is done on my very own spider hotel.

Tennis Rematch

Mark invited me out for another tennis showdown, I was happy to put on my gym gear and head on over to his neck of the woods to give him a schoolin'. In reality, Mark is still much better than me, but the first half of our match left us both feeling impressed with out new-found skills. We peaked far too soon though, we got lumpy and lazy in the second half but still had a gas.

Every now and then I ripe Rebecca into playing a new game while I revel in watching her. Not sure how I wrangled it, but she's almost halfway through a Resident Evil game. She keeps doing baby screams whenever anything pops up in front of her, but she keeps pushing through the fear. Very entertaining to watch as it turns out, I should sell tickets.

Burns Night 2022

In honour of Burns Night I whipped some cream with honey and whiskey, added some toasted oats and raspberries to make Cranachan. It doesn't get anymore Scottish than that. We spent the evening with Louis and Rachel for the classic haggis with neeps and tatties. Rachel always says it's her favourite night of the year and with good wine and company it's easy to see why.

5 Spice

Last week's chicken continues to nourish us. We made a stock from all the leftovers and Rebecca float the idea that I make a Pho out of it. It's been a little while, but I was up for the task, armed with ginger and spices I got to brewing the broth. In pervious incantations I followed a recipe that called for an ungodly amount of Chinese 5 spice to make up the body of the soup, my phos have always ended up tasting like firecrackers as a result. This time around, I neglected to put in the new recipes advisory 1/4 teaspoon of spice for something thing more in the 2 tablespoon ballpark. Though far from ruined, tonight's dinner was a little overwhelmed by 5 spice. At the same time though it was the best one I've ever made, just need to tweak one thing and I'll have a Pho recipe I can return to over and over.

3 Strange Beds

For the seemingly 3rd Sunday this year, I woke up in a bed that wasn't my long-term sleeping venue. Every weekend of 2022 we have been out socializing with friends away - there been a lot of catching up to be done since the pandemic of course. After a final game of Ticket to Ride, we bid our hosts farewell and begun the long drive back to Bristol which Rebecca and I split 50-50. Always nice to at long last get back home, there's never anything in the fridge for a Sunday dinner, but we make it work. As sure as anything, I'm in my own bed again by the end of the day, ready to start another week.

Dream Saturday

Mingled with the yummy mummies and the grey-fox Dad's of Streatham Their parks were overrun with extra curricular kids doing volleyball, BMX biking and football, we just walked up the path with coffee and dreams of cake. We actually ended up playing a swathe of board games over the course of the day, first we were on the tea but we slowly migrated to the hard stuff. Our friend followed and Ottolengi recipe for some paneerr stuffed aubergine and did a truly excellent job. Our host kept muttering 'what a wonderful evening' to himself as his cheeks got ever rosier. He's the best kind of drunk, the one that gets more sincere with every drink. I was just happy to be a part of their dream weekend.

L-Shaped Sofa Bed

Had a cute little lunch date with one of the floor runners I worked with on Sanditon. We ended up grabbing a coffee while discussing his script for a short film competition he's entering. After the brainstorm we just chatted films for an hour or so, almost lost track of time too - I had to get back to cook dinner for me and Rebecca. 

A swift salmon supper later and we were, once again, packing up the car for a weekend visit. This time we were checking out the lovely new flat some of our old uni friends had bought - I'm writing this while sat on their very trendy L-shaped sofa bed which is just a few inches away from a very plush breakfast bar. Looking forward to chilling out here over the next few days.

We all got Hills to Climb

 Before the Sun was shining I was clambering up the road, dead set on being the first one into our local bakery. My target: Pain au Chocolat, warm ones too. One for me and one for Rebecca - a midweek treat for her after doing her own, more metaphorical, uphill battle with work this week. Hot pastries secured, I walked home and climbed back into bed - Rebecca didn't even noticed I'd got up!

Between vegetable dialogue I fired up the outliers oven for a spot of baking. We're seeing friends this weekend and a coffee cake would seal the deal. My recipe is patented now, you could seal it in amber, crack it open 1,000 years from now and people would still mutter to themselves 'this is a good recipe'. Real espresso is the key ingredient, the rest is Mary Berry to be fair. I also learnt that I ain't one for making dazzling looking bakes... It'll be good eating, but you might just have to eat this cake with a blindfold.

Pendulum Swings

 Took me a little longer to get into the writing swing this morning, but I ended up having my most productive day this week. Our new curtains for our living room at long last arrived, no more will I have to squint through the sunny glare on the TV screen! More and more DIY projects are lining up, I'm thinking of tackling most of them next week, no doubt posting the results here in a misguided attempted to validate my masculinity... But who doesn't love a good shed build!

Why A Raven is Like a Writing Desk

Louis and I sat down for a little chat about his game and how I could best help him out with his character dialogue. I got some good direction and know where to focus my efforts now. In between my lunch breaks consisting of toast and an episode of Seinfeld, I'm attached to my writing desk by the hip.

Here's a little life hack - have your roast dinner at the start of midweek. I cooked up a whole extra large chicken, which yeilded stacks of meat for quesadillas tomorrow. Never been so excited for tomorrow's meal while I was eating a current meal.

Back To Furlough

Break time is over. As much as I enjoy a good loaf about, what I realized is that I love writing and flexing my creative muscles more. I sat back down at my furlough/lockdown desk and picked up exactly where I left off with Louis' vegetable dialogue and some other endeavors. I could look back on the day and think 'yes, I an inch closer towards my end goal' which is a really special feeling.

Even better was playing games with Mark and Dan tonight, a union I always cherish. Moreso tonight because of Mark's left-field game choices. Golf With Your Friends is minigolf where everyone putts at the same time, rounds are quick and the courses are fiendish. I basically begun wheezing as I was laughing so much. Then we knuckled down and pushed ourselves to beat a tricky level on Left 4 Dead with extra difficulty modifiers. There were some false starts, but we ploughed through the challenge latterly for a massive virtual high-five moment.

Amidst the Clouds

 A bougie brunch at what was decidedly the trendiest cafe in Lynmouth was just what we needed before setting out on one more hilly walk. The weather was much more overcast today, when we reached the summit of our climb we were literally in the clouds. An almighty view of the town and the surrounding countryside was still fully visible and a decided treat for our efforts.

Shortly after we packed our stuff and bid a silent farewell to the trip. While being away was lovely, it was great coming back home to our creature comforts.

Gore-tex Goats

 Laced up my walking boots and firmly fitted my bobblehat - it's hiking time! Our friend recently discovered a new route to explore around Lynmouth and Lynton (in truth, any footpath you follow in the area will yeild terrific results) but this one took us high up over the town. Even the Valley of Rocks looked like a spec on the horizon, something I could reach out, pick up and put in my pocket. We passed a small handful of fellow walkers, but for the most part we were totally alone. I kept thinking what we'd look like to people on the ground level, probably like Gore-tex wearing mountain goats.

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Sea-walks Incoming

Gave the house a spruce up, a lil' vaccum here, a little de-clutter there. Afterall, who wants to come back to a messy home after going on a nice weekend break to Lynmouth? We headed down with a friend who's parents own a holiday getaway down there, been nearly three years since I came to visit and the scenery called me back. We got in quite late but tomorrow is all about long walks while bundled up with scalves and mittens - I can't wait.

Hyperstone Heist

Shared a bit of my childhood with Rebecca while we waited for the Apprentice to start. I booted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game I used to play with Louis about 20 years ago. Was surprised me was how vividly I was able to remember all the levels, bad guys and sound effects (it was one of me and Louis' favourites growing up, but still amazing how I retained all this useless info). The game hadn't aged as gracefully as I'd hoped as it was a touch basic, but Rebecca humoured me and we played through the whole game in just under an hour so it was a short jaunt down memory lane.

Licorice Pizza

Made a right fool of myself trying to scan my digital bus ticket - a small price to pay to go play some tennis with Mark across town. I've never played a game of tennis in my life, I briefed Mark with this fact to give him a sense of the match-up. After a practice knockaround we launched into a few games, though Mark won most games but laterly I begun to hold my own. Just gotta work on my backhand. And my serving. And my forehand...

A few hours later in the cinema my legs started aching from the workout, but my mind was elsewhere. Namely the 70's world of Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest film about holding a candle for your childhood crush. It's a very stylish film, as such a lot of the auxillary character almost get boiled down into characature, in particular the adults like the outrageous Bradly Cooper cameo, but that's how I remember thinking about grown ups when I was younger. It's a romance film that never sweeps you off your feet, people are capable of repeatedly letting others down in this world and that gave the story a sense of truth which contrasted well against the film's style. I laughed a fair bit too, and for a PTA movie that's saying a lot.

A Healthy Run

Still without side effects from my booster vaccine, I decided I felt healthy enough to go out for another run - a much more moderately paced one at that. Mark invited me to play tennis with him tomorrow so I was careful not to wear myself out, but while jogging I tried to do some mental back-tracking to remember when I last played tennis, because I don't think I ever have. First time for everything though, just hope I'm not too naff to play against, then I'd feel like a right muppet.

Boosted

A jaunt though the rain with a broken brolly was a small price to pay for my booster Covid vaccine. I was in and out of that Methodist church, the jab went in my arm so quickly I actually forgot to turn my head as the needle went in, which was a surprise that derailed my entire train of thought at the time. No side effects whatsoever at the moment either, I'd banked on getting chills, aches etc but nothing came to be. Lucky me I suppose.

Serene Sunday

Wasn't hungover this morning which was a net positive. Usually after a night with Rebecca's family friends we've all got heavy heads the next day. Instead we had a very civilized breakfast and walk around Twickenham. Rebecca gave me an oral history while I watched the geese and pigeons flock around the canal. Very serene Sunday morning. 

I booked my booster vaccine for tomorrow morning bright and early. Because I had Covid about a month ago I had to wait a bit before I was eligible, then I just got lazy and forgot to book it afterwards. Most people I know got knocked out after their boosted specifically so I'm mentally prepping for the worst. Here's hoping it doesn't wipe me out.

The Gravyshank Redemption

Yesterday I stressed out far too much over this batch of tiramisu I made to impress some friends from Rebecca's family. Today I lugging a near-kilo of coffee the stuff down to London in a large baking dish (which I bought specially for the occasion). After dinner was served to everyone, I proudly presented a slab of pudding to the table - I'd even rehearsed an introduction to the pudding should anyone express an interest. Turns out, almost all of them didn't like coffee so the tiramisu was skipped in favour of a bowl of literal raspberries and ice cream... All the more for us I suppose.

Funnily enough, I got stitched up to make gravy for the group again. Turned out really decent this time too. Guess I'm forever a Gravy Man instead of Theomisu.

The Gravy Man

A few year back I somehow got hyped up as 'The Gravy Man' within Rebecca's family circle. Though my technique for getting the most out of Bisto is good and foolproof, I'd hardly say I was anywhere close to being a gravy god. I was asked to rustle up some gravy for some of their friends for an adult dinner party, you know, the kind where you bring your A-game to the table. Long story short, I mucked up my fool proof recipe and ended up giving everyone gravy so thin you could still use it to brew tea with. The mantle of Gravy Man was short lived and to this day I still cringe at the memory. Tomorrow is the redemption though.

Not with gravy mind, but with tiramisu. Something I actually can contend with and whip up a decent batch of - the last lot I made was a knockout success, all I had to do was replicate it... Easy right? Groan. Somehow I forgot half of my special technique, the part where you soak the sponge fingers in yummy slurry. Only the slurry was far from yummy, I had to get Rebecca down for a second opinion and her wince said it all. Between the two of us we managed to remember where I went wrong and was just about able to remedy it. I made a HUGE batch of pudding and there's my gastro redemption on line here so I just wanted it to be perfect. Hours later, the kitchen was a mess and I was emotionally drained, I just hope it turns out ok tomorrow.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

At long last, my PC has its SSD drive installed. Louis assisted with the install via video chats and we got it all done pretty quick, rest of the day was spent re-installing everything since I flushed the whole system at the same time. Basically feels like I've got a new computer now which is lovely.

A trip to the superb Watershed cinema is always a pleasure, especially if we're en route to see the next Coen Brother (singular) film, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Louis and I left the film with near identical thoughts on it - while it was possibly the best version of itself, an expertly realized Shakespeare play performed by some fine actors for the silver screen, it left us feeling simply 'whelmed'. It might be fair to say that the core themes if Macbeth, namely guilt and power thirst have been better explored in other stories - the classic narrative doesn't have a timeless quality. That said, the enduring and the iconic lines and moments were done terrific justice, thanks to how the film commits to its stagey art direction. It looks like a play in the best possible way and many of the special effects look like they could have been accomplished by creative stage technicians in any real life venue. 'Is this a dagger I see before me' and the rhyming witches couplets are the film's (and arguably the play's) best moments. If you're a massive fan of Shakespeare and his works this is an easy recommend, but to the average Coen fan it's a harder sell.

Escaping Christmas Jail

Rooted through my wardrobe in search for my running gear. I don't consider it a New Year's resolution but I told myself I'd get back into running after a slightly grim thought popped into my head last month: I can't remember what me sweat tastes like. Felt like every week in PE at school I'd have buckets if the stuff pouring out my hairline, inevitably trickling into my mouth. I wouldn't call myself inactive these days, but I'm certainly not making the very most of my youth or body. I'm training up to do longer runs again, hoping to do at least two runs a week now. Today's went a little too well, my pace was very quick but I got an easy 3K. Felt downright ropey an hour after the run was over, can't wait to feel invigorated after a run again, it's just a matter of time.

To ensure we wouldn't get hauled off to Christmas Jail tomorrow morning, Rebecca and I stripped out tree if it's decorations and normalized our living room. The tradeoff for more space is the lack of warming, winter vibes. We took a moment to look and thank this year's tree for being such a good one, no doubt next year's will be even better. I took extra care to bundle away the tree lights very carefully, all so future me can be impressed by how considerate I can be - my early Christmas present to myself.

The Green Knight

The rest of this week I am, somewhat selfishly, devoting mostly to 'me time'. The Christmas break is over for sure, but after a long spell if working and being around a lot of people recently I really wanted to just do the things I want to do. Catching up on games, films etc - that way I can get it all out of my system before I commit to doing some fun working from home style jobs like I did on furlough.

By that token, I wanted to get through some films on my watchlist and The Green Night was the lucky one today. Really digged it. A lot of film adaptations of very old texts try to jazz up a lot of the plot to make it more digestable, but I loved it's Beowulf-like flavor - that classical style of story that's been almost lost to time. Really embraced the look of the outdoors too, trees are photographed very handsomely, nor does anything look too polished. Though I could see why some people would find it long, I was swept up in it and went along with Dev Patel along every step of his quest.

The Lost Daughter

Slid back into the morning routine faster than I had antipated. Grind coffee, make porridge, catch up on online reading. Rebecca was keen to try and make the last of her days off and suggested a film and sofa day. So after our chores and a short walk we put on The Lost Daughter, Netflix's and Maggie Gyllenhaal's current big released which failed to light my fire. I feel like a lot of the books texture was likely lost in the transition to the silver screen as scenes often drifted in and out without illuminating any plot or character. You know something isn't quite right when you're enjoying the flashback material more than the core story too. While Olivia Coleman predictably great in it, she was just a boomer on holiday having a pity party. Tough for me to recommend, unless you're a fan of the novel.

Resuming Responsibilities

The Christmas gifts (and nearly 2 weeks worth of laundry) were packed up into the car. Our time in Newbury had to come to a close sometime. Rachel kept saying to Louis that she didn't want to leave, though I didn't want to share that confession out loud, it was running in loop in my head. Now we're back in Bristol, eating nothing but leftover cheese and chocolate truffles, the time to cook proper food and resume adult responsibilities is looming. But for one more day we can still play make believe.

New Years Day 2022

 Curiously, I only had a small mug of prosecco last night, but I woke up feeling rather hungover. Guess that's more the late night, but it took me hours to shake off that feeling. As per New Year's Day tradition, everything was a bit of a write off. I spent the day with my family - the last full day with them before we return to Bristol, and reality, tomorrow. To pass the time, I whipped up a short list of the best games I played in 2021, my annual end of year round up basically that I always enjoy doing. You can check it out here, it's a little shorter than usual and perhaps not as well written as previous years entries (I'm a touch out of practice these days, but this year I'm hoping to re-hone my style). 

Happy New Year 2022!

 New Years Eve always feels like a build up day to the main event: the countdown party. This year we grabbed onto the tailcoats of Louis' mates and spent it at one of their homes. I raised a mug full of prosecco as Big Ben struck midnight and danced to Sweet Caroline in a huddle of a distant circle of friends.

2021 was the busiest year of my professional career. The Last Bus, Malory Towers and Sanditon - each massive projects that netted me a wealth of new industry friends. While I enjoyed every second of it, the very nature of my job meant that it was all-consuming, leaving little room for spending real time with my loved ones. Going into 2022 I want to try and strike a better balence between work and life. January will be all about reconnecting with the people I love and doing the things that make me, me. That'll hopefully be a decent springboard into the rest of the year, which I'm already looking forward to. Roll on 2022!