Fasting From Friday

Reduced my food intake today to compensate for the mountains of nosh I've been tucking into recently. This fasting period has proven to be quite successful, my tummy feels less dense now, as bizarre as it sounds, I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be hungry recently so I'm looking forward to that emotion returning. Did sneak in a slice of Rebecca's Birthday cake though...

I stepped out into our garden for the first time since the Autumn today. With an old, dirty trowl in one hand and a bin-liner in the other I went out to scoop up all the cat poo adorning the lawn. It's a job I certainly haven't missed doing and now with the cold weather moving towards us it's become even less pleasurable. Still, it'll make things a lot nicer for the chaps coming to assess the rendering on our house, wheels are turning in that department and while it'll be a lot of work, it'll be a good job done on our home.

Happy Birthday Rebecca 2021

Woke Rebecca up on her Birthday with a cuddle and my presents - a rather fetching beret plus a chic, but heavy duty kitchen apron that she's had her eye on for a while. The apron was almost immediately put to good use, since we're effectively under house arrest there was no way I could make a sneaky cake without her knowing so we turned it into a team activity!

Good food ruled the day. In a nod to last years jaunt to The Nordic Cafe, we rustled up some smoked salmon, poached eggs and avocado to serve on pumpernickel style bread. Louis and Rachel swung by with their own cake to drop off (which was delicious!) Then we got a take-away from our favorite local Chinese place. I honesty think I need to detox after the last few days.

Wasn't just eating though. We headed out on a walk, watched Fargo at Rebecca's request and in the evening a group of her friends hopped on a video call to play some online games together. To my surprise we went right into the small hours of the night with smiles on our faces. Beacsue I'm a Birthday traditionalist, I even managed to sneak away, put a few candles in the cake we made together and produced it while singing happy Birthday in front of her friends. Though it was a lockdown party, we did everything we could to make it memorable. 

Super Size Me

First up, I'm happy to say that the job I interviewed for last week followed up with a phone-call today offering me the position. I'll be working on a new production shortly after my current one ends between the beginning of May to early January.

It was such good news it felt worthy of celebration... For the past week or so on of my co-workers was bigging up an infamous challenge he took part in recently. The rules are very simple, it's more of a test of will and endurance than anything else: eat 10 McDonald's Cheeseburgers. I've never been known to back away from quirky dares so I threw my hat into the ring and tucked into a mountain of heavily processed meat. Thirty minutes later it felt like I'd eaten 4 Christmas dinners... but the pile of burgers in front of me had been consumed. There was no glory in it though, only self-loathing and the sensation of having a lead-lined stomach that lingered for the duration of the day. It goes without saying, no matter how much you want to celebrate getting a new job, don't eat 10 nappy cheeseburgers.

Bournemouth Foodie

Though nobody issued me this particular task, I decided to construct a 'Good Grub in Bournemouth' handbook seeing as we're going to be down the for filming in a few days time. I've already called upon Dad and Jamie for additional suggestions and got a few winners already, that Korean place I went to over the Summer has been sufficiently hyped up and just relooking at their menu has gotten my mouth watering.

Belayed Christmas

Real 'work hard, play hard' attitude at work today. In between bouts of heavy spreadsheet editing, there was 5 minutes of hijinx. I even cracked out a Dobble and had a game with our Unit Manager to wake his brain up a bit. I got a rather sweet email for a co-worker regarding her hire car, she likes it so much she really wanted to buy it after the shoot ended. Sadly, the company weren't interested in selling it so I had to break the news to her. 

A parcel was waiting for me back at home, a bundle of all the Christmas presents my folks intended to give me over the holidays. There was lashings of preserved lemons, nougat and fudge-like tablet, plus a little book I've been wanting to get my hands on for far too long. The box was full of warmth, I've spent so long in the company of almost exclusively Rebecca I almost forgot I have more family, opening it up and unwrapping all the goodies made me feel closer to home.

Je Suis Negative

Good news. - I don't have Covid. Results came back negative for me and Rebecca so this household is fit and healthy. I continued making phone calls and equipment deliveries from the comfort of my own computer desk. Truth be told though, I'm pretty eager to get back into the action near set again and to fill my nostrils with the scent of our truck's diesel fumes. While I've been at home I've finally nailed my pour over coffee brewing technique - if they guys are lucky this week I may even share some of my good beans with them and treat 'em to a cup of the good stuff.

Swabbing The Decks

Though I was mentally ready for another day on the production truck, fate had other plans. Rebecca developed a very minor cough late yesterday and while we didn't want to read into it too deeply, the responsible thing to do was to book a NHS Covid test and work from home. Did the old tonsil and nose swab in Rebecca's car and felt a bit woolly in the mouth for the remainder of the day. Again, it feels like the chances of either of us contracting anything nasty are very slim, Rebecca is the one with what could be symptoms but shes doesn't leave the house much these days anyway. Fingers crossed we'll have a result tomorrow and we can put that worry to bed.