Dropping down a Gear

Not 1, not 2, but 3 job applications were sent off today! Managed to squeeze in a bit of cover letter writing during my break and I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. Tonight also marks the first time I was properly able to drop down a gear and relax a little bit. This week has mostly been a lot of early starts and travelling, but tonight I put my feet up on my new ottoman, watched some BoJack Horseman and played a few games - just wish I had a beer to complete the feeling.

Jumper Grip

Slept like a baby last night and felt totally refreshed and ready to stride onto set. It was another BBC promo shoot and probably one of the busiest sets I'd ever been on. There were 6 runners on this one, alongside some talent I actually recognised!

My primary job this time around was holding onto the DOP's back as he walked backwards through a public audience. I think I did pretty well! I got the choreography downpat after a few tries and knew exactly how to hide myself out of shot whenever we did a swift 180 turn.

In between takes I was grabbing release forms like usual, but everyone I spoke to was lovely and really up for being on TV - helps when you can name drop the BBC.

We wrapped at 4 and initially I was planning a leisurely walk back to the coach station after we finished, then it turned out someone packed my jacket into the kit van which had just driven off. Luckily the office was only a few minutes away by car, so after snatching back my coat I jumped in two tubes and ran like mad for the Megabus and caught it with 4 minutes to spare.

Overall, today went a lot better than I expected considering how tired I felt yesterday, everyone seemed really happy with how it turned out too. Chuffed I made the effort to come down.

Stiff Neck Slumbers

Worked the longest shift I think I've do e at the coffee shop now, clocking in just over 10 hours I can happily report that I am shattered. But no rest for the wicked, after finishing work I rushed home to eat some leftovers, pack a bag and head to the bus station to London. I slept the whole way on the Megabus which was lovely and now I'm headed to a real bed at Rebecca's parents house. Gotta rest up for a big shoot day with the BBC tomorrow so wish me luck.

Cramming in the Sleep

Peaked a little too early on my day off, just after Breakfast I thought I'd boot up a little more God of War for an hour just to see if I could get any closer to the end. In that hour, I surprisingly did finish it. The finale came a little out of nowhere but it was really gripping stuff! Definite game of the year contender for me right now.

Wrote up a pair of covering letter for two quite promising jobs I saw being advertised on Facebook. Both of them were junior roles too to help my chances a little so we'll see how we go.

I packed my bags this evening in prep for what's going to be a very long 72 hours. I'm working a long shift tomorrow, then I'm heading off to London tomorrow evening for a shoot day, heading back that night to work another long shift at the coffee shop. What's that saying about burning a candle at both ends? I just hope I get enough sleep.

The Ottoman Empire

For the longest time now I've been wanting an ottoman, and now after a sleepy Sunday trip to Dunelm Mill I can now say I am a proud owner of one. Here's Rebecca posing with it as it adorns our living room:

And here's the treasure trove of gaming goodies I'll be keeping inside:

In case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty  chuffed with it. We've already had some excellent use for it as a sofa foot rest as we spent the rest of the afternoon taking it easy and eating cottage pie.

To round off the evening Rebecca and I watched A Monster Calls which has a beautiful story which unfurls very gradually. It dealt with that very difficult subject of what to do when you know you have to say farewell to someone you love and that message is very tenderly told through Liam Neeson as a giant tree monster. Really good stuff which is just as meaningful to children as it is for adults.

Voice of Reason

I can now say that I have been trained at an official coffee academy. Spent the day getting paid to attend a training meeting where I was taught how to prep coffee and steam milk correctly. To a layman (myself included), making coffee really isn't that big a deal, but our trainer treated it as a matter of life and death. Good thing I nailed it all thanks to my years of service at Eddie Catz, I was basically teaching other people how to steam milk properly for half the time!

I went out to experience a real treat in the evening. One of Rebecca's friends was giving away a pair of VIP tickets to see Dara 'O Brain performing his new show 'Voice of Reason' at the Hippodrome for free. Who are we to say no to an offer like that? So after scoffing a complimentary drink in the executive lounge, we made our into the venue. I haven't belly laughed like that in a long time, the man is a natural born entertainer! Lucky we were out of range for the audience participation sections, but Dara has a real way with chatting to people during his set and pulling new material seemingly out of thin air. Really amazing show and I am so grateful to Rebecca's friend's parents for paying for our tickets - I certainly couldn't thank them enough afterwards.

Fougasse for All

Although it was my day off I popped into work to see if I could negotiate some time off next week for a filming job I was offered. It almost looked like a no-go but after a pleading phonecall with another college I just about blagged it so I walked home with a spring in my step.

Got home got plenty of extra bits and pieces done. I returned library books, wrote up two more covering letters for potential jobs and I even baked some bread! Hadn't made a fougasse before but my new mate Richard Bertinet talked me through it. Think they turned out OK, they certainly tasted good with a pad of butter though!