thingsThisWeek
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📷 The workshop! Classes were great, and I actually had a lot of fun walking around the city with a group of people who had never thought about photography beyond the “Let me take a photo” part. The cold, foggy, weather was a first for me up there, so that made it even more interesting for me. I walked to the classroom every day, leaving the hotel with plenty of time for a few photos before class, edited them in a cafe close by, and showed them to the gang before we started. In the end everyone had a good time, and came away with something new. Mission accomplished.
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📝 One thing I should have done before classes began was getting a list of references to share with the attendees. Since this was all about mobile photography, and they’re all on Instagram, I’m now working on that list. It’s already shareable, but not complete.
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🌰 The whole festival is an awesome idea. Setting things up in a small town can be a challenge, and the gang at Indieror are pros at that. Overcoming difficulties is something they have become quite good at. I haven’t met a single person who comes into contact with them that doesn’t fall in love with the things they do, and them. The fact that they’ve done it in the middle of December, in a place that feels so isolated as their city does, is incredible. Proud to have been invited, proud of them.
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🥶 It was cold! It was very VERY cold. We couldn’t find a way to keep tinyMovieStar entertained for longer than 4 days, so ended up moving back south two days earlier than expected. We gave a lift to an old colleague from the paper, now a famous writer/scriptwriter, and that made the drive even better. There was a lot of catching up to do. The trip is a long one, so we decided to have a layover at my in-laws, resting for a day, and then drive the final hour to our hometown.
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🎄 Christmas is VERY close, and we can certainly feel that at my in-laws. The house is in full Christmas Mode already, I’m sure the electric bill is going through the roof this month! My father-in-law is probably the biggest Christmas fan in the country, truth be told. He used to build giant Nativity Scenes for display on malls and such. As a hobby! Decorations are all over the place already, the only music allowed is Christmas themed, and he will look menacingly at you if you dare suggest a movie or tv show that’s not in the spirit of the season (mostly joking, of course). It’s also the first Christmas that tinyMovieStar is old enough to get, so she’s having a great time playing around the house with all the extra toys scattered about. She loves Santa already (white beard helping the old man), but Rudolph is the clear winner of her heart.
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🍿 We did manage to watch a couple of non-Christmas movies in the end, even with our physical well-being on the line. Sing, and A Man of Action. We spent the whole afternoon at it. It was amazing. Another one on the following day: El Pepe: A Supreme Life, just before picking up the car and, finally, heading home.
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🗓️ Adam is having an advent calendar with weblog.lol. It’s awesome, and I just want to sit in front of the computer to explore it better. Not sure when that will happen, but I’m really looking forward to it. There is still a lot to do, but it’s great already.
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🤪 In tinyMovieStar news, there’s not a lot to say. She’s still her sweet self (that seems to be growing daily), but she will not sleep before 11PM, if we’re lucky. She is a night toddler. And she’s definitely growing up. She’s no longer a baby, and it’s incredible. She now makes very grownup faces, and she jokes a lot. Arranging words into funny expressions is something I love watching her play with.
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🇸🇪 IKEA run. A quick one, at least at the shop, but then there’s the second “half”, with hours spent trying to figure out how to assemble the damn things.
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💬 WhatsApp groups, and email threads, another Christmas tradition. Sorry if this is turning into a Christmas themed report, but it’s mostly unavoidable. The day is getting closer, and everyone wants to coordinate things. Family, families, want to know when, and what, and how things will happen, and there’s a ton of activities at school that need planning as well. It’s messy, to put it mildly.
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🎁 Christmas shopping. One of the things I simply won’t do. I know it’s not cool, but movieStar loves picking stuff for people as much as I hate doing it, so it’s perfect. I’ll drop her off at the chosen place, and pick her up when she calls. I’m lucky, and I thank her, as this saves me from the embarrassment of getting to Christmas Day without a single present. That’s what happened before we met.
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📺 Still time to watch the first three episodes of Harry & Meghan on Netflix, and The Masked Scammer. I know, I know, not the best, but there’s no way to escape the royal shenanigans in this household, and I love scammer stories as well. Beats watching the WorldCup, in my opinion.
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🥘 Brother-in-law, and his wife, joined us for Sunday lunch at my in-laws. We didn’t get to see them so often before, but they have been trying to make it every week for a while now, and it’s great. tinyMovieStar LOVES her aunt, and it’s a routine we all seem to enjoy. We spend the entire week at home, the three of us, and having her grandparents and all (or most) of the uncles around during the weekend is something we believe works wonders. She is growing up with a big, loving, family. Can’t get much better.
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🥰 Monday came and it was time for tinyMovieStar to go back to school. She was presented with the options: car, or pram. She picked “Papi”. Off we went, piggybacking it, talking to our neighbors on the way, meeting our dog friend, singing, window shopping, the usual. We got there late, but who cares?
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🍺 We, the gang (or most of it), managed to get our schedules in sync, and got together for an afternoon beer. It was very enjoyable. One is going back to Ukraine in under a month, the other just recovered from his first bout with Covid, things never seem as carefree as before.
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😔 Also time for a sad lunch this week, with a friend who’s going through some hard times in his life. Not getting into a lot of detail here, but parenting can be a challenge, and some people find it hard to cope with the change in their lives. When there’s a baby involved things can spiral out of control pretty quickly, and get to a point of no return. Hopefully he’ll get over this huge bump in his life. I’m not even sure what I can do to help, other than being there for him.
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💻 maique.lol is still going, very well I might add. Vincent did a great job with the install and maintenance and, even though this is not something I really needed, it’s been awesome to have. Keeping it around, loving my Mastodon instance. Worth saying that, if you’re looking to have your own instance, you should really get in touch with him.
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⚽️ We finally made it to the end of FIFA Uncovered, while the World Cup of Shame is going on. I have never been a football fan, thankfully, but this whole mess would surely get me off the football train if I ever was. It’s disgusting.
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💈 New trip to the barber, as this particular haircut needs a lot of maintenance. And I wanted to be ready for the workshop. There was a TV interview, after all!
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📷 The Workshop! My first attempt at teaching non-photographers. I had written about this already, and the time to do it arrived. The trip up north was long, and tiresome. Five hours driving with rain and fog. More about this one on next week’s update, I’m sure.
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✏️ I really, REALLY, needed yet another place to share things, as the ones where I’m doing it aren’t nearly enough, so I went ahead and signed up for PencilBooth. Not even sure how/what I’ll use it for, but the idea of pondering a bit longer on a post, mostly photos, and only being able to do it once a week, feels enticing. Anyway, if you want to get these updates as well, sign up at pencilbooth.com/maique. Or don’t.
- 💨 This one flew by.
- 🥘 Covid seem to be under control at the in-laws, so we joined them on Sunday, and had a really nice meal at a nearby restaurant. Not the usual two-day affair, though, we spent one day only with them. On Saturday we just went to my parents for lunch, and then found alternative activities for the afternoon. Play date for the little one.
- 🍿 El Camino Christmas. Started watching the new season of Drive to Survive. Aloha. And, yes, finally, Tokyo Vice!
- 🇺🇦 It keeps getting worse. Every. Day. At least my friend is out of there, after close to a month in the country. Stopped in Paris for a week on the way over, and should be in town by Wednesday or Thursday. Beer is ready for him.
- 📷 Three assignments for the paper this week. A quick one in town, a longer one in the Algarve the next day, and a final one in Sintra, a place I hate going to, on Friday. Busy week. Not at all usual for a freelancer, but they were a little short on staff photographers this week. I missed this kind of work a little more than I thought I did. It’s great seeing old friends again, and learning something new every day. Glad to be back.
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🍜 And what a Sunday it was!
We felt marginally better from the stomach bug that’s keeping us on our toes lately and, since the usual trip to the in-laws had to be cancelled due to their Covid infection, we arranged to have lunch with movieStar’s brother and girlfriend.
We met her, and one of our cousins (Gu) at the beach, since they were there with their dogs (tinyMovieStar’s great friends). The drive over was pleasant, and we always feel a little better when there’s sea at the end of the road.
Also, as usual, plans were quickly upgraded. We picked up my brother-in-law and Gu’s girlfriend, and had lunch at a great pan-Asian restaurant in Cascais. Thai Green Curry for me, a couple of Sapporo as well. Yummy!
That part of town has art painted on the street, so the little one was obviously thrilled to be able to sit on blue. And yellow! We also sat on super tall red stools. Great time with colors
After that we walked to the best ice cream shop in the country, and the little one had way too much strawberry ice-cream. Another cousin skated by, and stopped to meet her. This is one we hadn’t seen in a while, he spends most of his time abroad. He will be the little one’s surf coach in a year or two, and she looked amazed by how tall and blond he is. And she tried the skate!
There was a fair in town as well, and a rally to support Ukraine at the same time! Busy, busy Cascais. Foot volley players on the beach, music and a party vibe all over. We didn’t stay long.
We drove to Gu’s place, with more ice-cream in the bag. tinyMovieStar dipped her hand on the cold pool water, and played with the dogs in the grass. By the end of it, surprise, we weren’t feeling that great again, our tummies were complaining: spice food, ice-cream, beer, and churros?? What were we thinking!?
It was worth it!
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🍿 Finished Ted Lasso. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, The Great Robbery of Brazil’s Central Bank.
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🧟♂️ On Wednesday, dropped tinyMovieStar off at kindergarten, came back home, went back to bed, and slept four hours. Woke up feeling like a zombie.
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🍺 Our usual spot for an afternoon beer is nearly dead. We have a lot of fond memories of the place, and a few relationships that started there. Heck, I didn’t even drink beer before I found about this place!
It was an incredible place. Cosy, filled with great beer and happy conversation. Over the years the owners have proven over and over they were great people too. And then they decided to open a second shop, and somehow ours felt abandoned. Sometimes it wouldn’t even open and, when they did, the shelves seem emptier by the visit.
We kept coming, but the visits felt odd. Like we were the only ones pushing it, wanting it to succeed. The owners were nowhere to be seen by now, their visits far and apart. Soon we’d stop showing up as well.
I get their reasons, to a point. They can, obviously, do whatever they want with their business. It just feels sad that a place with such a cool energy will stop being there.
A couple of weeks ago a friend came to town from the north of the country, we met him there for a beer. The shelves were even slimmer than usual. It was probably the last time we arranged to meet there.
This week we drove to one of the breweries in town, one that makes a beer we used to drink there all the time, and I bought a case. I will drink them at home, with friends, and alone. It will have to do.
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💻 A have an assignment on the laptop, waiting to be edited. It’s been two weeks since the shoot.
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🎉 We had scheduled a dinner party for some friends. Then covid happened to one of them, the gathering was postponed, then back on. We had a lot of fun, with some beer.
There’s no way to set things up in advance these days. Something always happens in the meantime.
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🇺🇦 Friend still in Ukraine, but this should be the last week, he’s probably making his way back home next week. I’ll be able to relax when he’s back here. Just today news appeared about another photojournalist who passed away. RIP.
- 🚗 Saturday. The usual lunch and trip out of town to visit the in-laws. We had additional plans, but couldn’t make it. On the following weekend we decided to relax, and spent the entire Sunday there, instead of driving back after lunch. Complete with nap. Perfect.
- 🍿 The French Dispatch. Finally! And I LOVED IT! Wes Anderson on acid, and I’m very fine with that. The Adam Project, Bad Vegan, WeCrashed, The Wizard of Lies. That’s it.
- 🏝Seems like the trip is back on. Or not. No, it is! No, not yet… Hmmm… We were planning for a late March departure, but seems like it was postponed. Again. I keep saying no to assignments, because we’re on the verge of going, and then we’re stuck here, and the assignments have been handed to someone else already. Not cool. Still managed to spend a day inside a hotel, shooting an event, a boring one, on a very busy Friday, one that ended with a quick drive to pick up my car from the mechanic, dinner with friends and kids. It was a LONG day.
- ⏳Sand storm, a few days when our lives had an Instagram/Narcos filter all day long. Sand dust from the Sahara taking over our skies. Not the healthiest choice, breathing problems are also to be taken into consideration. Thankfully it went away quickly.
- 🥰 Father’s Day. My second one, but this time tinyMovieStar is a little bigger, and she prepared a drawing for me, and it was beautiful. She had a great time too, probably thinking it was my birthday again, and she sang Happy Birthday, that always brings a smile to her face. She does smile (and laugh) a lot, now that I think about it.
- 🇺🇦 The situation has not improved, at all, and my friend is now in Odessa, after a little while in Moldova, and a quick trip to Mykolaiv. I’m keeping an eye on the areas where he’s going, trying to read whatever news might escape him. Our fingers are permanently crossed now, wishing everything turns out ok for him and tinyMovieStar’s godmother, who has family in the country. She’s worried sick as well.
- 🎵Our good friends from Chaves, the ones who created the N2 music festival, are in town. We love them, and it’s always a pleasure to welcome them. Had dinner with them, and I was supposed to join them on the award ceremony they’re in town for, but…
- 🦠 Stomach bug! Yes, another one. movieStar got it, and now I do. Happy days.
- 🇺🇦 The situation in Ukraine took over most of the weeks. Twitter is where I spend most of the free time, for as long as my brain is able to cope. We dropped a few bags with warm clothes and baby stuff at the Ukrainian Church in town when all this started, and a lot of people were doing the same. A LOT. There’s not much else we can do for now, except worry and hope that, somehow, a quick solution is found. Improbable, I know, as each day brings horrible and depressing news.
- 🍿 No time for anything besides news about Ukraine. No shows, no movies. This will have to change soon.
- 🍺 We managed to go out and have a beer. Sounds simple, but it’s actually a lot harder than it should. Getting three couples (complete with babies) together involves a lot of planning, and a sprinkle of luck. We made it happen, but one of the parents couldn’t make it. As close to 100% success rate as we could get. We were still happy. The beer was delicious and cold, and we talked… Mostly, of course, about the babies, but the war talk was also on the agenda. It’s unavoidable at this point.
- 😔 Micro.camp is happening, and I couldn’t find a way to take part. I’m feeling both sad and embarrassed. I was supposed to have a presentation, then couldn’t get things ready on time, it was a mess. A huge one. These past couple of weeks have been hell, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to keep my promise and get the presentation ready.
- 📷 Work weeks! Damn, I did not miss having so much work. Went all over the place, both for the newspaper and the wine shop. That means a lot of time away from home, and a lot of time at home editing photos.
- 📱 Tech wise, not a lot going on (see previous list items). I did swap my physical SIM for an eSIM, and got a new number as well. Since I’ve been on the road often these days, I wanted to make sure I always have a working connection in case something happens to tinyMovieStar, so I got a new number from another provider. Also road-related, I gave TomTom another chance. Waze is basically unavoidable here, so many people use it, and that gives it an edge on current road conditions, presence of police on the roads, radars and whatnot, as well as the super Google search for locations. But I’m finding TomTom to be a great contender in looks (Waze looks really basic) and the routing is incredible. Traffic information is awesome as well. No police warning, but I drive so slow I guess I don’t really need them. Also has a nice web view for route planning and saving. Handy. Subscribed for a year.
- ⛽️A couple of weeks ago there was talk on M.b about gas stations, and attendants that help you filling up, and I was surprised to see one in the city one of these days. They are a regular thing outside the city, but here we can’t find them anymore. I was again surprised when I needed to fill up again, and found my tank cover was gone! The gentleman had forgotten to put the cap back on, and I drove off without it! Went back to the station, but it was gone forever. A new one is on the way. Gas prices are crazy now, way crazier than before (and they were already mental), so we’re driving only when we really need. Diesel went up by 14 cents per litre last Monday, and will go up again next Monday. This time: an extra 25 cents.
- 👶🏻 A dear friend, one of the three I call close friends, had a baby a couple of months ago, and it’s been hard for them ever since. Thyroid issues from day one, now also blood issues. Getting a blood transfusion this young can’t be easy, for the baby and for them. We look at tinyMovieStar and feel blessed, our hearts tighten whenever we hear the hardship they’re going through.
- 🙏🏼 A dear friend, one of the three I call close friends, has left for Ukraine. He’s a photojournalist, the one who took over my place as photo editor at the paper, and he will try to get to Odessa and report from there. We started worrying already, as the city seems like hours/days away from being invaded. It’s his first time in a war zone as well, that also adds a layer of worry. I don’t miss that part of the job, at all, and wish him all the best in such a stressful situation. Hope he makes it back safe.
- 🙋🏻♂️ The last of the three I call best friends had no big issues, and he’s the one who ALWAYS has something happening to him! He’s the unluckiest person I know, but these weeks have been good to him.
- 🍰 I managed to turn 51. We had lunch. It was great.
- 🍷 Comida Independente had a party, we attended. I was supposed to document the event, but things didn’t turn out as easy as expected. I’m not really great at shooting these things, and the end result is always so depressing that I find myself shooting less every time. Of course that means I have fewer, and worse, photos. I guess I should just start saying no to these.
- 🍿 The Tinder Swindler to start the week, followed by The Drug King. Special Correspondents, second time for me, because movieStar hadn’t seen that one yet. 6 Underground, Screwball, The Highwaymen, True Memoirs of an International Assassin, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. Series? Inventing Anna. We binged the series, meaning a couple of episodes a night. Last week’s show (Murderville) was left behind. Somehow it didn’t feel funny enough for movieStar, and I’ll have to agree. There are SO many shows to watch, some are bound to be left unwatched.
- ❤️ Yes, Valentine’s Day happened this week, and I totally forgot it was coming. We ended up having lunch at our Mexican joint down the street, and that was it. Turned out pretty great, with lunchtime margarita happy hour thrown in for good measure. Next year I promise I’ll remember and plan accordingly.
- 🎥 Movie Day for tinyMovieStar. Kindergarten took the kids to the movies, and she had a great time. It was her first time at the cinema, and they watched mostly Russian short (very short) movies. Everyone was behaving very well, silent and entertained. She slept on the bus that took them back to kindergarten, even though it was a 15 min drive.
- 🔋Felt tired all week long. No energy. Nothing. Still have some photos left to edit, and took care of another batch, but that was hard. Did nothing worth a sentence. Nothing at all.
- 🏝 Seems like March might not be the month we go back to the island after all. Confirmation didn’t come through, some things that were planned there have been postponed, so probably our trip will go the same way. A couple of friends have been down there in the past month, we keep hearing about it, looking at the photos. It’s even harder now, when we thought we were so close to going back. April, maybe?
- 📱Got myself a birthday present, a month before the actual date. Finally upgraded the phone. The X will now go to movieStar, and it’s the phone I enjoyed the most up to now. It was the one that shot most of the photos of the previous years, the best time of my life. It’s been with us on the island, around Asia, a bit of Europe, and, topping that off, it was the phone that captured tinyMovieStar’s first months on this planet. Thank you, mrBatsu.
- 🦥 Zoo time! Haven’t been in ages, didn’t really want to go back, but there you have it. tinyMovieStar rules the world, with movieStar as second-in-command, and we ended up spending a couple of hours at the local zoo with cousins, and their kids. What can I tell you? I’m not a fan of zoos. Can’t recall, but I don’t think I liked them when I was younger. tinyMovieStar loved it tough. She talked about it the whole week. movieStar got her a plush sloth on the way out, and it’s now one of her favorites, along with the panda she’s had for a while.
- 🍿 Another week, another batch of tv series and movies. Started the weekly marathon with The Hater. Then A Family, Get Him to the Greek, The Fable, The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill, Untold: Crime & Penalties. We also watched one episode of Murderville. Funny. I heard about this one on Smartless, and was curious about it. Not great, but good enough for a few laughs.
- 🦷 Teething. Ongoing. These are probably the last ones, but they are proving to be a challenge. Poor thing keeps sticking her finger in her mouth. Still, I find it amazing how strong she is, I’d be rolling around on the floor.
- 📰 Surprise, I got back and did an assignment for the newspaper I left years ago. Felt good to be back to these assignments. It was a small, simple, affair, but felt great getting in the car and driving an hour out of the city to shoot a place I’ve never been before. When is the next one coming?
- 🎉 This was also the week when we, finally free from the Covid shackles, could visit both our families. Grandmas and grandpas were happy to see tinyMovieStar again, she was thrilled to see them as well. She played with the dog, she had strawberry ice-cream, scrambled eggs by the dozen, the whole thing… We slept over at my in-laws, and came back on Sunday, after a lively lunch with my brothers-in-law. A day later one of them calls and announces they too got the virus. Not from us, but from someone else at the wake we all attended last week.
- 🏝Seems like we’re going back to Príncipe. Probably March, but still waiting for the confirmation. A lot of things are worrying me at this point. I’m sure we’ll be fine, but the move from Gang of Two to Gang of Three has me thinking about the preparation a lot more than I used to.
- 🎂 Mother-in-law had a birthday, and we couldn’t attend. We’re still a little scared we might be infecting people even after the mandatory week at home. Still testing positive when the week started, and the cough had yet to disappear. That changed later on, as the week unfolded.
- 🍿 Made it to the end of The Girl From Oslo, and moved on to… Did watch a couple of movies as well, still on my quest to go through the worst movies on Netflix: Home Team, Munich The Edge of War, The Polka King, The Trader, The Week Of, Bad Boys for Life, Yes Day, Sand Castle, Operation Finale, The Dirt. Busy week! One series that I keep turning to when I have nothing else lined up, or have no time to look for something, is Superstore. Fun enough, perfect for a break while editing photos or other chores. I believe I’ve watched it all already, but don’t mind seeing the odd episode from time to time.
- 🗳 Sunday was Election Day. This is the one I was working for until my test came back positive, and I’m sad to say that the nazis got a lot more votes than I expected. At the same time, the socialist party managed to get a huge chunk of the votes, an outright majority (way more than expected), and consequently they’ll be able to keep doing what they’ve been doing for six years now.
- 🦠 We finally tested negative on the Covid test. We had complied with the mandatory isolation, but we were still a little scared to go out and meet people, because our tests kept coming back positive. Now we’re free to go anywhere again. We can visit our parents again! This variant is still going strong, and everyone we know that has kids is getting infected.
- 🖼 Something I hadn’t done in a long while: go to a museum and see an art show. A colleague from Porto is showing some photos at the prestigious Gulbenkian museum in Lisbon, and Nuno thought it would be a good idea to visit. It was. He rode his bike and offered a lift (always a thrill), and the show was pretty cool. Small, but nice.
- 💻 Finally got around to it and edited a ton of photos from an assignment that was left behind when the virus came into our lives. Still another one to deal with, but shouldn’t take long.
- 👶🏻 tinyMovieStar is growing fast. Too fast. I’m aware this is something every parent feels, we were warned about it multiple times, and everyone was spot on. Things happen at a speed I wasn’t prepared for, and she’s not even two yet! Every single day we’re amazed by the new thing she’s doing. She talks a LOT, and I love it. She narrates her whole day, describing what she’s doing at all times. And it gets better and better, every day, with the new words she’s picking up. Sweet as can be.
- 🦠 This week was all about Covid. Locked at home, on mandatory isolation after the positive test. Days One and Two. Days Three and Four. Day Five. Days Six, Seven, and Eight. We made it. It wasn’t easy, but also not too hard. We’re lucky.
- 🍿 Midnight Asia, not brilliant, but we’re suckers for Asia, so we’ll take it. Also Ozark, amazing, as usual. Laura Linney is incredible. She goes from sweetie pie to devil in one second! Mr Bateman is brilliant. The kids are great, but Julia Garner is… awesome! Two days was all it took to binge the whole season. We also started The Girl From Oslo. It has some moments, but not totally on board with it. Movie count (and quality) very low: Rising High, Get the Goat, The Brothers Grimsby, and Not a Game. Not a good weeks for movies (but I guess I’m to blame by picking the worst ones available), and a great week for tv. Ozark made up for the whole week.
- 🐦 I celebrated my 15th anniversary on Twitter. Still enjoy it, so maybe I should just say celebrated. I still get a lot out of this site.
- ✏️ Micro Camp was announced! This year I’ll be one of the presenters, and it’s causing me a bit of anxiety. I’m sure it will be fine in the end, and there’s a note on Ulysses with thousands of characters in it, so there’s that.
thingsThisWeek #31
thingsThisWeek #30
🙏🏼 Special thanks to jamesvandyne, thingsThisWeek is now a thing, again.
thingsThisWeek #29
thingsThisWeek #28
thingsThisWeek #26/#27
Another couple of weeks went by, and I couldn’t even finish these on time. We’re having two-in-one again… Sorry about that.
thingsThisWeek #24/#25
Unable to publish last week, here goes a 2-in-1 edition.