This week I was switching between block 1 and block 2.

Sunday. A lot of action, three cameras, cars, stunt driving, sun and the heat. The day went pretty quick, but by the end of it I was feeling so drained because of all the heat. We wrapped over an hour earlier, but the journey back to Bangkok just wasted it all. The highlight of the day was the dinner we had with my block 2 people. We have a new person joining the team instead of one leaving and this was sort of like initiation meal. The end feels so close now! The dinner was at this cosy French restaurant around the corner from where we are staying. Cannot believe I only just discovered it, it was so pretty and Christmassy and food was as good as it looked. 

Monday. Block 1. New crew, new ways. Felt like a first day of work, just energy levels are low and adapting to new ways is so much harder. The day went quick, but maybe just not quick enough. Evening was spent with block 2 team at the local bar. Only 2 more weeks left. Crazy. I finally got to work and meet the lead who earlier in the shoot had a little accident. It was her second day back. Go her!

Tuesday. Block 1. Location – some fancy-ish hotel. Day started with filming in one of the suits, video village was set up in the other. Pretty nice. Was taking some rest breaks on the bed, wishing that I could just have my monitor there and could literally work from bed. I was stressing out a bit the day before, so decided to take a different approach this time and not worry to about things I have no control over and go with the flow really. So at the end of the day my time was rather enjoyable. I got to hang out with “Block 2 Bitches” after work which was great, had some food and a lot of tea. 

Wednesday. Block 1. Same location as the day before. Started with the scene we didn’t complete. My continuity skills/photos came in handy. Felt useful and all that. Also ran out of clean work clothes to wear, so instead of my usual German soldier uniform, I got some casual, pyjamas resembling outfit going on. Made me feel even more relaxed. It’s weird how much my mood can really be in my head. Sometimes I feel like I have a switch there, I make a choice and I switch. We rushed a lot by the end of the day, but managed to complete everything on time. The evening was spent with my block 2 people, food and wine this time. I’ve been out a lot this week. Quite unusual for me, but I guess the end is near and I feel like I can finally relax and be a bit more social.

Thursday. Day off. Did my two back to back Pilates classes. The instructor was great. Enjoyed it a lot. Went home and completely had intentions of going out again to one of the malls to get a go pro for my future travels, but after the shower I just couldn’t be bothered to put clothes back on and ended up meditating and napping until early evening. Finally got to FaceTime my extremely patient bf and it got me even more excited about our upcoming 2 months in Indonesia after this job. Fell asleep all full of love and anticipation.

Friday. Block 2. Early start for the drive up to Kanchanabry. First shot of the day was a wide establisher of the car with our heroes driving. Since it was such a wide shot we used body doubles and I got to be one of them. Pretty entertaining. Got to wear half of the costume (since only the upper half of me was visible) for my “big acting break”. Also got a new 1st AD hanging out with us on set today, getting the feel of the crew. It’s nice to have someone fresh to talk to. When I was driving up and down the road with those body doubles, had a little chat with the driver who used to be a professional go kart driver back in France, when he was a child, he dreamt of going to F1, but didn’t have the finances to do it. So unfair. Any activity, sport, education which privileges the rich will never progress or evolve since no new talents have a chance at it. I come from a relatively poor household and I was made aware pretty early on in my childhood that there are certain things I cannot or won’t be able to do, because of it. That stayed with me for a very long time and it took years in emigration to over come it (if I dear to say that I have). But no one should feel that they cannot do something, because there is no financial means. We need more scholarships and opportunities for less well of people out there.

Saturday. Block 1. We travelled north after work on Friday and the north of Thailand was cold! For the first time since arriving in this country I had to wear a fleece! The hotel where we got put up for the night was also cold, no hot water and extremely thin walls! I swear I think I’ve head a pigeon being killed at night just outside my little cottage. So the day stated on a bit of a low note. First half of the day we were filming on this house boat which was so tiny we had to shift around to keep it balanced. Safe to say we all got a bit sea sick because of it. Second half of the day was much better. I think it’s probably one of the most exciting thing I have ever done at work so far. The team was split up onto different boats, I was with the A camera crew with the craine attached to the boat and my pilates skills came in handy once the craine started swinging around and we all needed to duck out of its way. It was fun, but also so very beautiful. We were shooting with one of the prettiest sunsets as a backdrop surrounded by mountains in the middle of this huge lake. It was very special. In the evening we went for the local barbecue. Overall a very nice day. I did manage to loose a lotus flower of my reusable Starbucks cup which I was upset about since I never loose anything and get attached to certain things. But somehow at the end of this eventful day I just felt that maybe me “leaving” something behind in this beautiful place only means that I will be back. It made me feel at ease. Good day. Good week, bring on the last stretch! 

Stuff I found interesting:

  • So Taylor Swift had a new song released? I don’t really follow her news, but I happened to hear one of the songs and the lyrics got me. “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man”
  • Note to self. Keep my quick opinions to myself and not judge. You cannot take back your words, even if you want to.
  • Is it possible to fall in love again with the person you are already involve with?

Cheers with the glass full of elephant during the magical sunset!