Interrailing Remeberance

Worked a Sunday which was fundamentally a bit meh but the biggest takeaway of the day was the crew drinks after. There I was, at a decidedly English 'German Beer Hall's in central London, they poured me my first Stein of the night and it reminded me greatly of the time I went interrailing in Munich and went to a real beer hall. Amidst the drinking, around the new friends and colleagues I did a deep dive on my messages to Rebecca to find a photo of me nursing a beer during our interrailing trip. That picture wasn't in WhatsApp, rather on Facebook Messenger (our original platform of communication) and I went on a real plunder of our old messages and photo exchanges. What I found was real love, real playfullness and real sincerity. Five years ago we went interrailing and another five we started dating. Our message log is the lore of our relationship and it's so very endearing to dive back into that.

No Sync Sunday

 Yesterday I waxed lyrical about how great it was to have a mid-week day off, but today I felt the repercussions. Because I'm working on a Sunday, I'm now out of sync with everyone else's weekend plans. Rebecca and Co were talking about having a cosy Sunday breakfast together while I'm doing the mental maths in how early to set my alarm to get the right amount of sleep. All things considered, I had a great little day going out to trendy coffee shops and tap rooms with the London gang with a friend who's come visiting from Berlin, but I had to leave the party a little early so I could check into my hotel and contemplate the four walls. Roll on the working Sunday I guess, and with it the start of my 6 day week.

Friday is the new Saturday

A mid-week day off hits different to a weekend day. Something about knowing the rest of the world is out working while I'm at home playing games in my pyjamas gave me a great wave of comfort. Of course I did some life admin bits too, mostly in the form of rearranging our dining room furniture with Rebecca, but for the most part I wanted to switch my brain right off. Once Rebecca was done with work we sat in the car up to London, pole position for a friend's birthday shindig tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be getting plenty of rest ready for our 6 day week.

Doughnuts & Cookies

 The fake Friday hype train was real and further compounded by the announcement that we were halfway through the shoot. Of course, this meant we were due some treats which arrived in the form or the ever-popular Krispy Kreme doughnuts... Of which I had two. Then some incredibly boutique cookies were produced a bit later on and they honestly looked too good to pass up. I only slightly regretted my decisions but it would have been a shame not to ring in the halfway mark. Off the back of that I went for a swift two pints with the Director's Assistant to talk shop, to debrief after a long week and to steel ourselves for the upcoming six day week. Tomorrow is a day off though and I intend to use everything minute to enjoy the stillness of later September.

Crew Bonds

 I'm counting down the hours now til our weekend off, it helps immensely that we get a 'fake Friday' tomorrow as we finish up our working week tomorrow. With the filming location being so cramped I once again found myself outside, but it turned into a great chance to spend some actual time with the crew and get some bonding in. 

Speaking of bonds, Mark is back from his big work excursion so we got a chance to rekindle our Baulders Gate 3 campaign. We're still setting of traps accidentally, getting into scraps with NPC's and making bad dice rolls... But we're doing it all in style. I've been missing those evenings a lot so it was swell to get another night in.

Bake Off Banter Returns

Settled back into Bristol filming for the duration of this week which is a lovely pallette cleanser after yesterday's jaunt across the country. I carved out a little workspace for myself in an outdoor tent because our location was a bit pokey. I suppose that'll be me for the rest of the week - I heard it's raining tomorrow so I guess I'll get cosy under shelter. 

I power walked back to dive into the start of this year's Bake Off. Louis and Rachel are still up in Ludlow so it was just Rebecca and me watching but I'm already looking forward to the bake off banter as the nights draw in.

Packing the Weather

Whenever we bring out the drone team it feels like the weather takes a nasty turn. Before arriving at location today I heard they had never experienced flooding so bad at the venue, and boy they weren't kidding. We were all legitimately anxious that the rain would stop us from achieving our day, but it held off just long enough to only need 30 minutes of overtime to get it all done. Then it was just the long road home in the now-torrential rain, that journey was arguably more taxing than the day of work. But I'm back in Bristol now with Rebecca and the cat, where I can admire our new floorboards. Work hard, then appreciate what you got.