Secret Squirrel Fan Club

Another old colleague joined our humble team, we're basically now at full fighting force and armed with 100% more in-jokes so I'm feeling pretty good about everything. I had to explain who Secret Squirrel was to an American co-workers today after she was bemused by the fact we all kept saying it in reference to the set of 'inner sanctum' documents. Funny how that's become some British film-making jargon. I also drank one cup of coffee too many around midday and got the zoomies, bit like our cat at the moment. Now the weather has cooled off the cat has been a lot more active, it's nice to see her jumping around a bit more and getting excited about sleeping on our bed again.

Listless Lists

Enjoyed a Sunday reset of sorts. Rebecca and I finished season two of The Pitt which rocked our worlds, then I rolled credits on Kingdom Hearts 2 (a game that appears on the tip of some lofty lists but I didn't think was all that). I found myself feeling a bit listless afterwards though - it was early afternoon at this point but too deep into the weekend to commit to doing much else. So I just pottered, but it was nice knowing I didn't have a false sense of urgency to use every second of my spare time to rush in finishing the game I was playing. I felt at peace and ready to see what the next week brings.

Karaoke Knights

Frantically got the house back in order ahead of Rebecca's return. In between I was manically trying to get through the game I've been playing for the past couple of weeks to make room for the onslaught of other stuff to enjoy next month (AKA, the spooky season).

All this running around was put on hold by a big group night out on the town. Mark, Lucy, Danz Rebecca and I met up for Korean BBQ followed by some karaoke. I belted my little heart out to Born to Run alongside a few others, mostly though I was blown away by the amount of passion and talent my friend have for singing. That and the royalty free visuals and B-roll that occasionally accompanied a few of our tracks. We all had a great night together throug, solid little Saturday out. 

Mooncake Nightcap

Friday came and went, all in service of having a belated birthday hangout with Louis in the evening. There was Street Fighter, cheese & wine, couple of beers and even some Mooncake. Rebecca and Rachel were both away so today was very much for the boys, which will be in stark contrast to the upcoming Bake Off evenings. Chatting about games and our childhood never gets old with Louis, even better when we're playing games at the same time.

Happy Birthday Louis 2026

It was Louis' Birthday today, I dropped him a Steam code for a few more Street Fighter characters online while keeping my evening free in case he wanted to do something. He went to a sauna in the afternoon and literally sweated himself dry so he said what he'd like best is to just take it easy at home. I stayed back with the cat after work, Rebecca is up in London again meeting friends, leaving me to have a bachelor evening at home: oven pizza and video games. What a dreamy Thursday.

Nose Deep in Scripts

Quietly kept myself to myself at work so I could finally bury my nose into the scripts. It always helps to do this so I can answer any wacky questions that typically blindside use about animals, SFX and the like. That and I enjoy being an oracle of knowledge on a very niche front - that makes me useful in a bunch of different ways. It certainly beats lumping office furniture around anyway. In classic Production fashion, we only really got busy in the last hour of the day which meant we all left a bit later than we would like. I'm trying to draw better boundaries on this one about home time, so far it's working out.

Barista Life Beckons

Found cause to print off my ever handy 'How to Brew with a French Press' cheat sheet. It's a little document I've been fine tuning on jobs and often blue tack it to cupboard doors for the team. No matter where I go, the life of a barista beckons me back, especially when the show runner wants a good coffee.

After I packed the laptop down I met up with Mark, Lucy, Dan and Jamie for some drinks in town, because Jamie is a Doctor now! He's earned his PhD and that was worthy cause of celebration. Just kinda sweet to get everyone around a pub table on relatively short notice too. 

Sound Booth Be Gone

Our team got a little bigger, taking away a few of my covering responsibilities like the lunch run. Now I'm full time behindy desk, reading emails and quietly getting on with my work. The hardest part of my day was actually after work at Louis and Rachel's. Their Mk1 sound booth needed removing, which instantly triggered flashbacks to us putting it up in their bedroom - to this day it might just be the heaviest thing I have ever lifted so I went into this job tentatively. Turned out this was an easier gig, still some heavy lifting but mostly dealing with stubborn screws. Our work really freed up a lot of space back in their room, a job well done for sure, Rachel has already promised us baked goods as payment, and with Bake Off returning next week my body is so ready.

Cocktail Coma

Thank goodness I set the cat feeder last night, otherwise I'm certain the cat would have nudged me out of my cocktail coma. Calling it that makes it sound a lot worse than it was, in reality I was just lethargic and sleepy for most of the morning. My lunch consisted pf last night's leftovers which I scoffed while waiting for Rebecca to come back home from London. I treated her to the first cottage pie of the season when she came home - the first of many I'm sure. The last couple of hours were all about pushing down those end of the weekend feelings. Back to it tomorrow, let's see what next week brings.

Tex Mex

My circadian rhythm woke me up at the crack of dawn. Usually I'd try to roll over for a few more winks but a golden opportunity to play Starfox presented itself. The remake came out earlier this year and I got it for my birthday. I can remember getting the original game from Software Exchange in the very early 2000's. I knew nothing about the game minus the fact it had a big robot in the cartridge and it was with the budget afforded by my pocket money. Louis and I took it home and immediately fell in love. This many years later I found myself playing the shiny new imagining of the game, the same beats made me smile and the music still made my heart swell. Call it nostalgia goggles I guess, but this one lives in one of the softest spots in my heart.

That took me to 8am. Where I then said goodbye to Rebecca who was off to a baby shower. I had the day to head up the road to a local bake sale, then to the shops to gather ingredients for the Tex Mex dinner party I was attending. It was a everyone bring a dish situation so I locked in and made Cowboy Caviar, which has virtually all the best beans and peppers mixed into on delicious side salad. On arrival it was clear that everyone made a big effort too, the desert in particular was a knockout. We just drank margaritas, chatted and played a few parlor games til today turned to tomorrow. The highlight was the pinata we busted up. His carcass was left with me which felt so natural in my hands - probably because of the pinata short film we did twelve years ago. Time flies, but the good times keep coming and our films stay the same age. 

Working Friday

Rounded off my full working week with a perfectly regular little Friday. Again, I'm feeling more at home within the office, more people know my name now and everything is slowly settling into place. I even bumped into a old colleague at Screwfix during a 90 seconds window in the middle of the afternoon, coincidences like that always make me smile. Now that I'm fully at work I'm gearing back into the mindset of making the weekend count, I've already got a stacked plan for the next few days so let's see if I can make the most of it.

Happy 33, Me!

Rebecca is always such a trooper when she elects to wake up at the same time as me. 6:20 is early for a random Thursday but she still managed to spoil me with a pastry breakfast and a few presents.

Going into work was the most surreal part of the day. I intentionally told myself that I wouldn't tell anyone it was my birthday today, mostly because I didn't want the fuss. New job, new colleagues and all so I didn't expect anything either. Ten minutes into my day someone walked in and declared 'Happy Thursday'. Which someone misheard and worriedly replied 'Happy Birthday?! Who's Birthday is it?!' I stayed quiet here, but the office chat quickly turned into a conversation about when everyone's special day was, so everyone went round in turn, like an ice breaker, revealing their birth date. Still I kept quiet, really hoping no one would ask me. Then they did. Point blank. 'So, when's your Birthday Theo?' In that moment I knew I couldn't lie so ai sheepishly said it was today. They asked if I was joking at first but the silence was held too long for it to be a bit. The office immediately imploded into a frenzy. One colleague who I'd worked with a couple of years now, felt so awkward that she seemingly went out and orchestrated a typical office birthday out of thin air. Massive credit to her though - she got a card signed by everyone in the office, a cake and a couple of gifts. I'm actually quite happy it went the way it did, we all got a great story out of it.

Back home I had the place to myself for just under an hour. I got a new game as a gift so I booted that up and sat back in the sofa. At that exact moment, I clocked the birthday bunting Rebecca put up for me, which made me aware that I was literally living inside the short film I made with the sock puppet. Only difference was I knew friends and family were only a couple of minutes away. Louis, Rachel and Dan turned up for an evening of laughs and burgers. We watched an ideal comedy film for our crowd: Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie which tickled us all pink. I'm so grateful to have spent my double three day with people who were there to make sure my Birthday was a special one.

So Long, 32

Had five days on the job now and I've just about got the measure and rhythm of things now. Office crew know my name now and come to me for help on things, I like being useful so I'm warming up to things moreso. I'm slowly building up my banter, it always takes me a while to show my stripes, but having one familiar face in my team helps expedite this. 

My last day being a 32 year old was today. I always had the idea that 32 was the perfect age when I was growing up. Young enough to be cool, but old enough to be mature. I hope I spent it as well as my young self dreamed, but like the rest  of us, I only got one shot at it. 

Studio History, As Told By Office Furniture

Pivoted away from emails, instead I was out and about to IKEA to buy and assemble some office furniture. I've been working in these studios so much now that I began to spot my handiwork everywhere I look. Desks built on old jobs. Shelves oiled and drilled into the walls. Old fridges I brought off Facebook marketplace. Every humdrum piece of that place holds a story of some kind, a history barely worth remembering, but it's there because someone made it so. 

History is in my mind a lot at the moment, not just because it's my birthday soon, but Nintendo just showed off a trailer for a remake of Ocarina of Time. Shiny graphics and modernised gameplay but still the same adventure underneath. It's crazy to believe that game is almost 30 years old now, but just a few notes from a song takes me right back. 

Sliding into Monday

Slowly remembering my roles and responsibilities. I set up a meeting room, sent some emails and just generally tried to make things go smoothly. Got back on the world of hire cars too and tech support for my colleagues. It's nice to be useful I suppose. 

Yesterday Rebecca updated our framed collage of our time in Canada. We have postcards, ticket stubs and even Polaroid photos of some moments. I caught myself looking at it quite intently today, I felt it's power as if to say 'This is one of the reasons we work.' Wonder what adventures Rebecca and I will go in next. 

Quizzing Sunday

Now that Rebecca and I are fully back at work we wanted to spend today doing nice and calm things. We took a walk out toward the harbour, popped into a book shop and brought a big cookie to indulge in. I cooked a roast dinner too, the first of the Autumn. Best part is knowing the leftovers will be in the next few dinners this week. 

So while the daytime was calm, the evening was combative... I went cross city to meet up with some friends for a pub quiz. The quiz's theme was the 60's which was sounding a bit rough on the outset, thankfully there were a ton of questions that were film centric. I'm glad that's my mastermind subject because I actually had to dispute the quiz master who made an official correction to the marking for a specific round about Oscar winners. My team found it hilarious I went up and the team next to us were flabbergasted at how our score sheet went from 0 to full marks. Glad I did though because we won!! I've never won a pub quiz in my life so I'll be riding this high for a while.

Apple Tree Hydra

We took the final steps of taming our garden for the year by cutting back our apple tree. I remember last year being an absolute mission and this time around was only fractionally better. The whole tree was covered in nasty white stuff (I've now learnt is Wooly Aphids) but in order to do anything I had to get my clothes, skin and hair covered in gunk. While Rebecca was whimsically pruning the roses, I was in Vietnam with a hacksaw cutting heads off our garden Hydra. Thankfully we got it all done in just over an hour and took it all up to the tip shortly after. Just another weekend job done and the garden has been packed down til next year now. 

Here to Listen

Im in an odd sweet spot in my job where I'm relatively important, but still not high ranking enough to sit in on a lot of meetings. Imagine my surprise when I was sat in a room with literally all the important people as they hashed out the next steps of prep. I think we all had different expectations on how that meet would play out, turns out I had nothing to input so I kept quiet and listened. Back at my desk it didn't quite feel like a Friday, and not just because I only worked two days this week. I guess the office hasn't been moulded by us enough just yet to support some big fun vibes from time to time. We'll get there though.

Back 2 Studio

Day one back at the studios and in a weird way it felt like I never left. All the old hands who run the site are still there and we're chuffed to see me back, same goes for all the familiar faces in my crew. I had a really lovely day getting back into the groove, slowly warming myself back up and starting to onboard all of my old responsibilities. Nice and easy two days week too, as far as first weeks go, I couldn't ask for more. 

Scaries in the Sea

Felt like the last day of my Summer holidays. We said goodbye to Bournemouth and its ocean with one last swim. It was overcast and grey but we still made the most of it. We gave the house a tidy and signed off, til next year.

I got my work bag ready for tomorrow, I start on my next gig which runs from now til Christmas. Going to feel a bit surreal heading back into the world of semi regular employment. It was a bit odd to get the Sunday Scaries in the sea earlier too. But there's always an opportunity for one last hurrah, we got in another session of Big Walk, this time bringing in Lucy and her brother, making our squad a six. The added chaos was a lot of fun, lots more of us got lost in total darkness which made their eventual return to the group feel like a real homecoming.

Seaside Snaps

Our last full day in Bournemouth which we spent out on the shores of Mudeford, taking in the smell of the sea and the taste of the local ice cream. Rebecca brought out her small digi camera to take some beachy photos, she got some really cute ones if the two of us, plus some moody pictures of the water. We're planning on having one last swim in the sea tomorrow before returning to reality.