StratLAN Day 1

Somehow I spent most of my morning packing to get ready to head out to StratLAN. I hadn't packed down my PC for a long old while so I took it as an opportunity to hoover out my vents to get rid of some of the crap and dust that's accumulated over the years and boy, was there a lot of it!

Just about got everything sorted before Mark picked me up to head out, first stop was to pick up the camper van we're hiring out (I'm tucked up inside the roof of this thing right now for bed and I already want to live here for the rest of my life.) We stopped for a McDonalds en route but afterwards we stepped into what 16 year old me would have considered to be heaven. While a room full of avid gamers and players still makes me smile, I can already tell that when I walk in next morning the smell is only going to mature.

Buzzing for Camper Vans

Phonecalls from Mark came though while I was cooking dinner today, he was asking about what my movements were for tomorrow in preparation for StratLAN tomorrow. Bless him, he sounded like he was as excited as I was. Tomorrow we're heading off to pick up our camper van, it'll be our home for the next few nights and I already know Mark is eager to drive it.

Speaking of driving, I actually had a really good lesson today! Everything just felt right for a change which made for a nice change of pace, at a stretch I'd say it almost started to feel natural - that can only be a good sign.

Ready to not make Coffee

Got about halfway through my shift today and I just wanted to go home. Nothing in particular went badly (on the contrary, it was quite a good day) but when I saw the washing up starting to pile high and the steady stream of customers coming in I felt a claustrophobic tightness surround me - I can usually power through these moments but today started to get the better of me. Coming home felt incredibly relaxing, and to make things even better, Rebecca cooked an amazing risotto that really hit the spot. I'm not working again for a week or so since I booked holiday this weekend, I'm already starting to count down the hours.

Sorting Sticky Jobs

Powered through a bunch of little odd jobs that I only just got the chance to complete. I had a pending job application I wanted to work on so I got that done and dusted, which in turn put me in good stead to ask for some extra time off at work for Christmas and to help out on another Wildseed shoot. I sorted out my packing list for my LAN party too, did some finances and cooked a chicken pie for dinner. In the middle of it all I got a delivery from my favourite supplier of sticky black stuff: Gafftertape.com. Mark replaced a bit of my filming equipment and I thought I'd get some extra bits at the same time, so I picked up a rather fetching set of mini fluorescent tapes which make me look super pro. I'm all about the streamlined versatility factor on film shoots and now I've reached a new high... Or a new low if you ask my 'embarrassed for me' girlfriend.

Sunday Slouch

Rolled up some stuffing balls for the roast dinner we had with Rebecca's parents and they were all enamored with them. All I did was follow the instructions but they were pleased that I did that tiny extra bit, but it wasn't like I was too busy today anyway. Spent this Sunday drinking beer and sitting in Rebecca's parents sitting room, lazily watching BBC News and eating mince pies. Its the epitome of a Sunday slouch day and I was revealing in every second of it.

Once we got back to Bristol we watched the final episode of Louis Theroux's Altered States, most interesting part for me was seeing the credits roll and noticing I knew the director. Worked with him in September on an advert and he was a real good egg, nice to think that I'm at the stage where I'm eagerly watching credit sequences to see who I recognise.

Turkey Traveller

After a very slow day at work, I hopped on the Megabus to London (feels like I spent most of 2018 riding these things) to spend some time with Rebecca and her family. Stuffed my gob with a Christmas turkey ciabatta from work and that has actually seen me through most of the travelling this evening, it was like eating a roast dinner in a sandwich - it was glorious.

Closure - Dust Off

You know December is knocking once you've bought an advent calendar. Had to go for a maltesers one this time around as the only Cadbury calendars I saw rather oddly all had football stadiums on them? Wasn't very seasonal at all.

Louis was feeling the festive spirit though when I saw him this evening, we went through all the current Christmas adverts from all the big brands and ranked them. None of them felt especially remarkable this year, John Lewis' is well done but that's kinda their thing. Maybe something will crop up soon that'll blow me away.

I also got round to publishing my first 'Dust Off Review'. These are little writing challenges that I'm giving myself to keep myself occupied and to give my website a bit more content. My first one is on a game called Closure that I bought back in 2012 and I never properly played it until the other day. Link is right here if you want to check it out.