Oh hello!

Week 3.. Wau! Time flies! 

I just had my 3d shower today and sit cosily in bed. Tomorrow we have a very early start so I will keep the intro brief.

A lot has happed this week and I experienced things I never thought I would. Meaning the sand storms in Sahara. I managed to keep my half an hour reading streak for the whole week and feel a bit proud about that. Also without trying I managed to loose a bit of weight. I need to be careful as I might loose too much. Usually when I work I spend a lot of time sitting, but on this one I manage to make at least 7 km every day and stay up on my feet for at least 14 hours straight. It is physically demanding and probably contributed a lot to my weight loss. I am passed wanting abs stage and just want to be healthy so yeaaa.. more good fats in my diet from now on.

On a happy note my kidney stone seems to have left, now I wonder if it was a stone at all or just sand? Weird those metaphors about sand keep following me. Curious how this job will play out. For now I am a bit tired, but happy.

Sending you all big LOVE!

***

Monday. First Monday back and it was so much better. The weather was actually chilly in the morning and it only got to the highest of 32 Celsius during the peak hours of the heat. Weird to call that a cool weather, but essentially it was. The set dressers said that when they were setting up last week it was almost 50, so we were very lucky today. Still, we haven’t finished our schedule and I couldn’t shake the feeling of defeat a bit. We had a lot of cast today and they all seemed to be in good spirits which is great. Overall the day went well and I managed to go for a swim after we got back to the hotel. I am very happy about our travel arrangements, it seems that there is always a car waiting to take us somewhere and it is such a nice change after London. 

Tuesday. There is nothing quite as pleasant as a long extra thorough shower after a long day working in the sandstorm. Yes, we were blessed with another sandstorm in Sahara today. Once again had to stand down after lunch for 2 hours. Well majority of the crew were not shooting apart of us. I literally had to put a scar over my head and face just to be able to be in it. It felt like wearing a tent over my head. Crazy. Never experienced anything like it and it is all thanks to this industry. One for my memoirs for sure. In the end we had a successful day and all this craziness does bring everyone closer together. I am definitely grateful for that, but now I am so ready for bed. Will pop some eyedrops in to get the last bits of sand out of me, set my sleep cycle and drift off. Oh yes, I started listening to a new audiobook. Copied of one of the actors here, who has a hardcopy. It’s called The third policeman by Flann O’Brien. Will listen to that too before bed. Trying to do at least half an hour a day. Love to you all!

Wednesday. Another day taking a beating from the sandstorm. It just never ends. Somehow we have managed to accomplish a lot today all things considered. In all aspects it seemed like a good day, I am not even too exhausted, but the sand is just everywhere. Apparently there was a massive storm in our hotel as well. I came back to my room to find my cables and part of my bed just covered in a layer of sand.. yea.. that’s not what you want after spending the whole day in the sand. Anyway. Two more days and its a weekend. Cannot wait!

Thursday. No sand storm today. Not on set not in my room. Hurray. I am tired though. This job does take out a lot of you. Today we shot 5 scenes which essentially played out as one and at some point I had a take running for 14 minutes. That is long. Talking walking and different camera angles in one. It was a challenge for me as well as everyone actually so I can’t complain really. Our camera team is amazing though. The operator literally walking around for those 14 minutes wearing a steady cam which in itself weights around 30 kg in the heat and the sand. Hero, not a man honestly. At the end of the day we finished what we set out to do, so that was a success. I am just so glad we finally managed to have a full day without interruptions. Actors were also on point and their fake beards didn’t melt off in the heat, which is fantastic in its own right. Yeah.. good day, but now I’m so ready for bed and a bit of reading. Little tradition I am proud I can still keep up with. Last day of the shoot for the week is tomorrow, I know I keep mentioning how tired I am, but also I still need to pinch myself and be reminded that I am in Morocco and that is great, I used to dream about life like this. Sending you all big LOVE! Night!

Friday. Last day on set this week. Finally we were blessed with decent weather to shoot everything and managed to achieve our call sheet, no stand downs. I try to remind myself of how lucky I am to be here, it gets harder the more tired I get, but still. After work the production organised a little get together at our hotel. It became way bigger than they anticipated as all of the actors wanted to join in on the fun. Being one of the few females on set full of 20 something old actors who on a normal day want a lot of attention started to get to me. We all did have a fun night, but I am starting to feel like when I used to work behind the bar and all the drunk clients were hitting on me. Not the memories I want to be reliving now, it was fine then, but I am way past that. Yea it does make me sound old, but hey ho. 

Saturday. Had a very relaxing day by the pool followed by a full clean up of my room and I finally unpacked, kind of. Cleaning my environment really makes me feel more settled in it. I had a very early night and my body and mind is definitely thanking me.

Sunday. Another relaxing day. Diet on point, sun on point and a nice full body toning massage in the evening. I have been listening to my book today and it really puts me in some existential state. Could be also the fact that we are so close to the desert. Sand storms are so fascinating it really forces you to see the fragility of our existence. I have been thinking about death a lot and my own part playing in it. I have noticed myself saying a lot that I do not feel attached to life, I enjoy it and I would like to carry on with it, but the death might be also rather interesting. Anyway, I need to put my thoughts together on that subject and write it out. Also as I am sitting down and writing, there was a massive woosh of air and sand seeping through my window as if trying to burry me alive. Kinda like from my dream last week. Anyway. Night!

Highlights:

  • Sand storms.
  • The third policeman by Flann O’Brien
  • Showers.
  • Two days off this week.
  • Little routine habits.
  • Working from a back of a car boot, because of the wind and sand, not really a highlight as my back was aching after, but worth a mention.

Cheers with the glass full of a very much living elephant!