Just another manic Monday...

Monday 24th February 2014. 23:14.

Third, or is it forth, week started with the 'new' team. Not so really new anymore I guess.

I am working harder, and up and down a lot more. But I am loving it. Anything is so much easier when the people I help are a lot easier to help. Something about the eagerness, and willingness to learn.

It's just nice knowing that I can really make a difference to their day, just be being there, and by imparting knowledge and showing them how many things ARE possible, when initially they might think they aren't.

I had Chloe to stay overnight at the weekend, and she brought one of her friends, Ella for a sleepover. Having worked till 2pm on Saturday, and them arriving at 5pm, and leaving around the same time Sunday, I didn't really get that much of a weekend. Although I'm trying hard to make that not sound like I'm complaining.

I consider it a nice thing, that Chloe wants to invite friends to stay over here. The mess and chaos however isn't really from Chloe's friends though. It's normally from Chloe. Perhaps her Mother has either stronger levels of tolerance or thinly veiled insanity to be able to cope with that. Being a teenager, I guess it's pretty much Chloe's job to bring chaos, disorder and destruction to wherever she goes. At least I don't really have to deal with the moody sulking stamping of feet and slamming of doors that punctuated my teenage years.

Tomorrow is the last filming day of 'Prime Directive'. I can't quite believe it. Seems to have dragged on for so long, and just well, become part of my life that I think once it's gone I will actually miss it. Just the pain of making sure that I leave work on time in order to get a train home, eat, change, feed the cats, and to catch another train up to Steve's. I find that quite stressful in itself.

The bemoaning whilst it's in progress, and then missing once it's all over is vaguely similar to how it used to feel producing a play.

My friend Kat is leaving the place we both work at. She's got another job somewhere else. This is rather sad, as I don't really want to see her leave, but I do also understand and believe that maybe she will feel better if working in a different place. She'll get a chance to do something different. Not everyone is cut out to do the same thing, or work in the same place. It would be a terribly boring world if that were the case. She's also going on holiday in a couple of weeks time, which means she effectively leaves in two weeks.

In a week's time, I'm having a second go at meeting up with Helen for lunch, and to do some filming with my friends. Hopefully this will go ahead. Bearing in mind that last week's attempt at this failed because Helen ended up needing to stay at home doing some work, and the only people that could turn up were Andy and Paul. We abandoned the filming, and just ordered pizza.

Just for the sake of saying it, I haven't done any writing lately. Too much working, too much gazing at the telly. Words may lead to actions, but they are not actions in themselves.

Devil wears prada...

I do love that film. You might think a pointlessly slushy 'chick flick' about the personal choices made by a girl who desperate to break into journalism, takes on a job working for 'Mrs Impossible'. All comes good in the end, despite losing her way, and selling her soul, she reclaims it at the very moment that Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep)  points out that Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is turning into a younger version of her ruthless and self centred self.

Many life lessons in that film, and it's hard to ignore the beauty of Anne Hathaway, let alone all the gorgeous (and not so gorgeous) clothes. Lessons about pursuing dreams, whatever the cost, but making sure that they are your dreams and not someone elses. It's one thing to alienate your friends and disappoint your family as the cost you pay for reaching a goal that's very important to you, but it's something else entirely to do that on the quest to satisfy someone else's ambitions.

Isn't it too easy to spend all your energy, and time, living up to someone else's dreams or expectations, only to discover later on that whilst doing that, the person you have the longest and most important relationship with, yourself, is slowly, but surely, dying inside.

Chloe and I went to see 'Gulliver's Travels' at the cinema today. The modern envisioning of the original tale, re-imagined with the involvement of Jack Black, Billy Connolly, Catherine Tate and Amanda Peet, to name but a few.

A witty script, well delivered characters and the seamless CGI techniques we have all come so used to make this a very enjoyable family film. That's where the audience is.

We both had a great time though, and enjoyed a rather Roller-coaster like ride on the 700 from Gunwharf.

Pizza for tea, meant a great evening of fun (and expense). I am knackered though, as I did't get to bed anywhere near early enough last night, and have got the bus straight from work in Havnat to go and pick Chloe up in Southsea.