All of Us Strangers, 2023 - ★★★
There was a moment about three quarters of the way through the film when I became aware of the soundtrack of sobs in the cinema screen. I wondered briefly why my heart was so impenetrable today. Then Harry’s story reached its denouement and I felt my heartstrings being tugged.
This portrait of loneliness and grief made a lot more sense when the credits rolled and I saw it was based on a novel by a Japanese author.
Official Competition, 2021 - ★★★
I knew I was going to enjoy this as soon as Lola started flicking through her annotated script.
Weeknotes 05-06/24
Week 5
After a busy weekend, I mostly took Monday off to catch up with myself I did some digital spring cleaning, got some household chores done and made a plan for the lino project I want to take to my upcoming induction at the print studio.
I watched Bottoms for Monday movie night. I really wanted to like it more than I did.
We had a dog sitting duty Tuesday to Friday which meant I worked from home for an extra day.
On Saturday, I went to Wakefield to play hockey. It was a close match, in which we spent the majority camped in our defensive half. However, we held strong, defended a slender lead and finally came away with three points.
I rounded the week off by giving blood (on a Sunday!) It was my 37th donation and keeps me on track to reach 40 within the year of my 40th birthday. It was a good donation day as there were mint Clubs on offer in the refreshment area.
Week 6
This was a week of ups and downs.
The ups
- I had my belated 6-month review at my part-time job and without fanfare passed probation
- I moved my newsletter to Buttondown and sent out an update to tell subscribers about my intended changes to the format and frequency
- I made progress on the repositioning work I’ve been doing for my coaching practice
The downs
- I caught a bug towards the end of the week and ended up having a sick day on Friday
- I recovered enough to play hockey but made a mistake that gifted the opposition a goal and, as it turned out, the victory
- I spend Sunday full of rage for no apparent reason
Maestro, 2023 - ★★
Lacking in chemistry, I got zero connection with the characters. Although very well acted, as you’d expect, it left me totally cold. Had I been watching on my own I reckon I’d have switched off before the hour.
Finished reading: Parable of the sower by Octavia E. Butler 📚
Outstanding. I can’t explain the comfort (not sure that’s the right word… hope, maybe?) this book gave me despite the world it is set in. I’m not ready to let it go yet.
Is it possible to go into a bookshop or library and only come out with the specific thing you went in for? Asking for a friend 📚
Weeknote 04/24
Monday saw the first monthly planning session of the year. We had a great turnout of 20 participants which is largely due to teaming up with Freelancer Magazine this year for some cross-promotion. Later the same day I had my first 1-1 coaching supervision. Previously I’ve done group supervision but it was great to be able to focus on my own practice for the hour. I came away with lots to think about!
Work ticked along nicely this week both from an employed and a freelance perspective. In the office we had the return of our monthly book chat where this month we talked about the brilliance of Claire Keegan - I started and finished reading Foster on Tuesday. For the Janury distance challenge I’m on course to pass 150km before the 31st, and my team is in with a shout of winning the team challenge.
Izzy and I went out for a fancy meal on Thursday at a local restaurant. I’ve been wanting to go for a while but their signature 10-course tasting menu felt a little outside our budget. For January they were offering a 5-course menu as a mid-week special so I snapped up a table. It was delicious and I’ll be saving up to go back.
After last Saturday’s hockey match was cancelled due to snow, training this week was cancelled due to high winds. All of this meant that I headed into a double-header weekend feeling like I couldn’t remember the last time I picked up a hockey stick! It was a tough weekend on and off the pitch with two 3-0 losses (despite relatively strong performances) and some rather childish behaviour from notable members of the team.
This week’s films for me were a rewatch of Caramel, an old favourite, and Wingwomen which was surprisingly entertaining. Izzy and I also finished Mare of Easttown.
Finished reading: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata 📚
Now (January 2024)
The latest look at where my energy and attention is focused now…
Freelance work
With my full focus in the run up to the end of last year on my freelancer away days, I am a little slow off the mark with plans for this year.
Here are some things I know right now:
- I’m refreshing my coaching offer
- I’ve got a new supervisor and am excited for the work we’ll do together
- I’m continuing to run free monthly planning sessions
- I’ve got two freelance manifesto workshops scheduled
Beyond that, we’ll see.
Part-time employment
I’ve now been in my part-time content design role for eight months. It’s taken a while to get the service off the ground, as you might expect, but right now my time is booked up at least a month in advance.
I’m enjoying the variety in the work from scoping projects through discovery workshops and developing content strategies to reviewing planned and existing content to make improvements based on user needs and journeys.
The best bit though, is my colleagues. I feel really settled and am definitely benefitting from the daily chat and support that you just can’t get when working solo, no matter how good your networks are.
Making connections
Every Wednesday morning when I’m free I’ve been attending Freelancer Mag’s virtual co-working. I’m enjoying both the routine of this and also the familiarity that’s growing within the group of regular attendees.
On Monday mornings (and sometimes Wednesdays too) you’ll find me journaling alongside other members of the Sonder community.
Activities
Throughout January I’ve been taking part in a distance challenge through work. This has got me out walking at every spare opportunity. With a week to go I’ve reached 118km. Can I get to 150 for the month? While I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up the same commitment in future months, I will still make time for at least one longer walk every month.
I’ve become a member at a local print studio and have my induction scheduled for early February. I’ve dabbled with linocut for the past few years and attended a couple of courses. This year I want to develop my skills and I think to do that access to a proper studio with a variety of presses will help improve the quality of the finished work.
We’re over half way through the hockey season now and it’s an understatement to say it’s a tough one. The league we’ve been promoted into is obviously a step up than previous seasons, but I don’t think we anticipated just how hard it would be. All our energy is going in to winning just enough points to stay up.
Relaxing
For the new year I’ve instituted Monday movie night. While my wife is out at college I plan to work my way through my watchlist.
Other than that, my main methods for relaxing are:
- reading
- watching sport
- doing puzzles
- listening to podcasts
- taking afternoon baths
This is a ‘now’ page, inspired by Derek Sivers. Intrigued by this? Read about the origins of the /now page movement then make your own.
Finished reading: Foster by Claire Keegan 📚
Another remarkable story. We join somewhere in the middle and leave before its end, yet Keegan’s writing always feels like just enough.
Caramel, 2007 - ★★★★
There is great depth in the apparent simplicity of this film. Any film Nadine Labaki touches is immediately on my watchlist.
Weeknote 03/24
I think I drank more tea than usual. It’s cold. We had a little snow. And mostly I’m feeling like hibernating until spring would be a good idea.
The highlight of this week was a visit from Aggie who stayed with us from Monday to Wednesday. She supervised my work from the comfort of her bed…
At the job job this week I was mostly focused on running client workshops. The first was for a site that’s about to launch giving their editors an introduction to writing for the web. Then I ran a workshop to gather information to allow me to create a site map for a new site being created from the merger of four orgnizations. The workshop itself was good overall; the clients had a lot to say and we went down a few rabbit holes, but I think we all got what we needed. And I have a better idea of what we should be doing in the follow up workshop next week.
On Wednesday I was back at virtual coworking for the first time this year. I enjoy the routine of dialling in for a few hours each week. I always meet someone new and have a good chat during the break. This week during the session I did some vital workshop admin.
Something that’s been on my to do list for months is to decide what I’m doing with my newsletter. It’s been on hiatus since I took a social media break in the summer. This week I’ve finally decided on an approach. It won’t be coming back as a regular thing. Instead I’ll focus on rediscovering the joy of writing and posting to my neglected blog. I’ll maintain my mailing list and send occasional updates about what’s going on in my world.
My movie of the week was The Lost Daughter which I really enjoyed. I’d been avoiding it for no apparent reason and I’m so glad I finally got over myself.
I was due to be travelling to Whitby on Saturday morning to play hockey. They called on Friday night to say there was still snow on the pitch. Unsurprisingly nothing had changed before we were due to set off on Saturday morning so the game was cancelled. I took myself out for a walk instead. There was still some hockey for me that day though as I got to watch GB beat Ireland and qualify for this summer’s Olympics.
I spent the rest of Saturday on the sofa reading a trashy queer romance which is about all my brain had capacity for. And yes, that means I’m no longer reading The Three Musketeers. I was finding it hard to get into so put it on hold for a while.
Izzy and I decided we weren’t really enjoying season 2 of The Tourist (after 3 episodes) so we are now finally watching Mare of Easttown, which is as good as everyone says it is.
Marsden Bay and Cleadon Hills
Another Saturday with no hockey. This time a result of snow still covering the pitch in Whitby rendering it unplayable. As I was up and dressed anyway, I decided to throw my walking boots in the car and head out to a nearer stretch of coastline for a walk and some fresh air. I chose a circular route I’ve done before from Whitburn, over the Cleadon Hills and back along the coast via Marsden Rocks and Souter lighthouse.
It’s on odd beginning through a housing estate, across a farmyard and then out into open fields. I was glad I’d done it before otherwise I would have thought I’d gone wrong somewhere.
The walk across farmland was very sticky and in places slippy - I almost went over a couple of times. The views across the fields were peaceful and I could forget that if I turned a little to the left the urban edges of Sunderland were visible in the distance.
As I came out onto the Cleadon Hills, there was a freezing wind and I was grateful that I’d finally picked up a Buff in the sales this week. Until the approach to Cleadon Windmill I’d barely seen anyone, but then I was reminded it was a Saturday morning, and the open common was filled with dog walkers.
The route was pretty busy from then onwards, across the golf course and back onto the coastal path where I met a large group of parents screaming at their kids (probably an under 10s football team) to keep away from the road. I chose to pause and let them get far enough ahead that I could return to my quiet thoughts.
There are some great stacks and arches that have been eroded from the cliff edge along this stretch of coastline. I paused frequently to watch the waves crash around them. I didn’t spot any smugglers though. The sea was probably a bit too rough.
I want to read more by Stephen King. I really enjoyed The Long Walk and am wondering if the best place to start would be other novels he published under the Richard Bachman pen name. Would welcome other suggestions too please 📚
Paused reading: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas 📚
I was really struggling to get into this. Rather than push on I’ve decided it’s just not the right time and am pressing pause. Will try again later in the year.
Doing a distance challenge with work has got me out and about so much more this month. Hit 100km yesterday. I need to think about how to keep this motivation up after the challenge ends.
Cosy
The Lost Daughter, 2021 - ★★★★
A mesmerising portrayal of the claustrophobia and loneliness of motherhood. There’s also something intriguing about how memories and the emotions they stir up are depicted.
As the film went on I found myself wondering how different it might feel to watch it as a mother.
Eager to see what Maggie Gyllenhaal does next.