#391 - Broke Back Dune

Up early like every Thursday since February. Insert the part about me not being a morning person and cursing a world that runs predominately on the nine-to-five schedules.

I was a bit late getting out of the house and arrived at the station a few minutes after eight. There was an 8:07 express train, so I had arrived in good time for that. The platform was busy with commuters, but no one was standing at the spot where I usually wait. I picked this spot because nine times out of ten, the train doors lined up with it. Eventually, the surrounding space started getting more cramped as the usual suspects started arriving. I was in the perfect position to get on the train first, but today the train driver overshot the mark by about six to ten feet.

Even with that, I was able to get a good seat on the train. One that would let me disembark quickly when the train arrived in Toronto.

I chose to listen to my Dune Messiah audiobook the whole way there as I was feeling a bit burned out and needed a break from everything. I should have knuckled down and finished some writing, but my mind wasn’t interested in it. Even though work had been less stressful this week, I was still feeling like I needed a break from life. I’m sure I’ll regret the time lost later, but for today it felt like a bit of a holiday.

After disembarking the train, I headed down the Esplanade as it’s become my habit to do. Continuing with my desire to make myself feel better, I made a beeline for the Berkeley Café and ordered a sausage, egg and cheese on a croissant. While I waited, I ordered my chai latte from Starbucks. Neither of these establishments is very speedy, yet even after waiting for my sandwich and then walking a block to Starbucks, my latte still wasn’t ready. This location does a fair bit of business.

I made the best of the waiting time by listening to more of my audiobook and reminding myself that I was in no hurray to get to the studio.

It was cool morning and I was glad to have worm my fall coat. I really love having some extra pockets as well. The walk to the studio was nice and when I got to my desk only one other painter was there. We said hello and I proceeded to eat my sandwich and chai. Another painter arrived and we got into a discussion which inevitably ended up on the topic of Chicken. A new restaurant had opened in Liberty Village where our corporate overlords resided. We all expect to be moved to that location in the near future, so we keep an eye on that location and most of us have worked at a studio in that area at one point or another.

Then we talked about the mystery of why everyone likes Chika-fila so much. I found it to be the blandest chicken on the planet. And why people love Swiss Chalet with its dried-out meat? We could all agree that Popeye’s had the best chicken sandwich and Mary Brown’s might have the best drums and thighs.

It’s nice when the conversation at work isn’t about work. We get enough work talk while we are there as it is.

I got busy getting ready for a Post Board meeting and making plenty of notes. I have been making an effort to find paintings from completed shows to reduce the amount of new work that might be needed.

There were a few paintings that needed my approval as well and I was tasked with handling the rendering of the Art Director approved paintings. Since we were down to one render computer, it was going to take all day to get it done.

Since my supervisor was sitting beside me, I flagged some things for the leica meeting and had her weigh in on them. She has a better sense of all the work that has been done before and often knows things I do not. Something that shall be missed when she moves onto her next assignment at the end of November.

When lunch time came around, my Production Manager invited us out to grab some sushi with her and bring it back to the studio. I hadn’t brought anything for lunch and sushi sounded like a great idea to me. The walk was much needed as well. The day had warmed a little and the sun was shining. My burned-out husk was more than appreciative of any outdoor activities.

Returning to the studio we ate and enjoyed every bite. I had never been to this restaurant as it is down a flight of stairs and not entirely obvious and easy to miss. It has a lovely interior courtyard that is also a hidden treat. I can see myself eating there instead of at the studio next time.

With lunch finished, we headed back to our desks and got ready for our next meeting, which was with the art director. We went through some of the paintings and she made a note on one of them. It would be an easy fix, and I was happy that only one thing had caught her eye as being off.

The second meeting also went well, and I felt for the first time that I didn’t need to pressure anyone to give me what I needed. This time around everything was offered up beforehand and that made me feel better. It shows the departments that feed us are more forward looking than maybe they were before. Sometimes I felt like I was training the other department how to do their jobs, so it was great to see them do it without having to be asked and that will allow me to focus on other things that need my attention in the future.

I was pulled into my Producer’s office to ask how I was feeling about the show and taking over the department. It was only a week or so ago that I told them I might not want the job. I guess it was only fair of them to check in and see how things were going. I do feel that a lot of things were put in place or fixed since I spoke up. In fact, it’s probably why all the supervisors in my department have mentioned that they are feeling less stressed this week. And that includes me as well. There was a palpable difference in how work felt this week and I could see myself surviving the next year or two on this show if it came to that.

A couple of former employees returned today as well. It was great to see them back in the studio and working again.

I was then called into a meeting with the head of our 2D Animation Department to have a check-in with him as well. Once again, he wanted to know how I was feeling and if I had more concerns to bring up. I tried to portray a happy exterior. I didn’t want them thinking I was unstable. I had just had some concerns before was all. He was happy that I was someone who was willing to speak their mind and tell them what I was thinking. For someone in his position, getting the truth is a valuable commodity. When the call ended, I think we both felt like things were in a good place.

I did some more work and packed up my gear a little after five PM. I’d got a fair bit or work done and I felt it was time to go home. I listened to the Dune Messiah all the way to the station with the idea of doing some writing once I got seated on the train.

There was a lady who was a bit lost, and I stopped to help her find her way. She just needed to cross the street and enter the main station to get to where she needed to be. A minute after that encounter my track was announced, and I headed upstairs to get a good spot.

I got an aisle seat upstairs and it was more noisy than usual. The quiet zone was not going to be respected tonight. I kept my earbuds in and listened to the audiobook. I never even took out my laptop, which of course meant I got nothing done on the ride home.

Once home, I was getting a bit puckish and I made Robyn and myself a grilled cheese sandwich with some muffaletta. I added some tamed jalapenos on mine as well. The Muffaletta added a nice flavour to the grilled cheese and I think that is how I want to eat them from now on.

After Robyn returned from her second job, we watched The Daily Show followed by Seth Myers. And then it was time to watch another episode of The Diplomat. Things were definitely getting spicier on the show as all the intrigues were intertwining and unravelling. And again, the show runner, creator and writer used to work with Aaron Sorkin. As a result, she has an ear for great dialogue and can spin a captivation story. Her name is Deborah Cahn, and I will be keeping an eye on her career and will watch any of her future projects.

My order of fancy glasses didn’t arrive today as expected. Instead, they are scheduled to arrive sometime late next week and that means I won’t be able to bring them to the cottage for my evening Pisco Sour. My LCBO order of Pisco Sour premix still hasn’t arrived either and I ordered that on the 10^th!

Robyn informed me that she had nominated me for a BAMI award. It’s an internal awatd that our parent company gives out to its employees in recognition of excellence or hard work. Of course, she had to disclose that she was my wife, but I was flattered and touched that she thought of nominating me. It was a complete and lovely surprise after a long Thursday of commuting and working.

Kiddo #2 was busy getting his costume ready for a Halloween bash. He wanted to borrow a pair of beige pants from me and when I asked him why, he said it was because he wanted to dress as a cowboy from a movie. I asked from which movie, and he replied that he and his best friend were going as the gay cowboys from Broke Back Mountain.

That got a bit of a chuckle from me. I told him that he had to remember that when they were in town, they were just regular cowboys. It was only when they were in the mountains that they were gay. It’s nice that my trans gender stepson can have a laugh about all of this stuff now. He used to be too militant about all of this stuff and would be set off if you misspoke at all. He’s more comfortable being himself now I think and realizes we don’t really care if he’s trans or not. Even that sentence he would have taken the wrong way before. We are just happy that he is happier now.

Anyway, I tried to find the guitar sound from Broke Back Mountain and couldn’t find it for him. It was like an audio signal in the movie: we are in the mountains, (three guitar notes), we are in the city. I think Saturday Night Live did a great parody of the movie back in the day.

I ended the night by listening to more of the audiobook. I love closing my eyes and listening to a story before bed. After about an hour I am ready to fall asleep, completely relaxed and no blue light to keep me awake. I will try to make that the way I end my night’s from now on. Taking the tart cherry pill as well as the magnesium glycinate before listening gives me an hour for the pills to kick in. It works out just great!

Until tomorrow.