Deserved rest
I didn’t publish anything last week as I was away on my annual Australia trip.
Each year, we organise the meet-up, as we all work remotely (but most are in Australia), and this year (as I mentioned before), we celebrated the 10th year of Casefile. It was great.
But I want to say something else.
I am a bit restless.
Even on my ‘days off’, the studio is never far away, and doing nothing just feels wrong.
It’s one of the downsides of working from home, as the line between the ‘workplace’ and ‘restplace’ is blurred.
There is always something to do - writing, recording, mixing. Even playing on a piano or my guitar is still ‘doing stuff’.
It’s the same when I go on holiday. Maybe not in terms of ‘work’, but I can’t just sit by the pool. I need to walk, to sightsee, to experience the new place.
It’s difficult to just ‘rest’ as it feels like I am ‘wasting’ my trip.
But going to Australia is different.
I noticed it on my previous trips, but it’s the only place where I am fully relaxed.
It may be the distance from home - the UK, Europe and the rest of it. Everything feels so far away, like it doesn’t exist.
Maybe it’s the distance from family and friends. The timezone difference means no instant messaging, no calls. I’ll check if someone messaged overnight, and that’s it.
Maybe it’s the relaxed Aussie culture, the sun, the sea.
Or the distance from my studio, instruments, and the screen.
Or maybe it’s the mix of all of the above that somehow allows me to disconnect, read for hours and just totally, completely relax.
My goal for this year is to try to replicate a little bit of that Australian feeling here at home.
(as it’s a faraway and quite expensive way to relax otherwise)
WORK
Casefile/Podcasting
Over the last few weeks, we released three Casefile Archives episodes. A series of re-records and bonus episodes, we will publish weekly before returning with brand new ones in March.
On top of that, we started recording the new scripts, and I just want to say - this year will be awesome.
YouTube
I published a couple of videos when I was away. More pop culture-based, but with a lens through sound.
I also have an idea for a brand new channel and wrote the 1st draft for a video. I’ll try to record it this week to see if there is anything worth in there.
BOOKS
Wiedźmin by Andrzej Sapkowski
I am now on the 4th book of the saga.
24-hour flights to Australia, as well as relaxing time over there, gave me plenty of time to read.
MOVIES/TV
The Rip
We watched the new Affleck/Damon police thriller last week, and it was very well made. Pretty much everything you expect from this type of movie was delivered.
Although the “based on a true story’ tagline is a bit of a stretch.
Good Fortune
I watched it on a plane, and it was funnier and better than I expected. I just wanted to pass the time, but the story was easy to watch, and Keanu was great in it. It’s now quite rare to get this type of comedy anymore.
Superman
Another plane watch (yes, I know, I committed a sin) and it was.. okay. I felt guilty when I put it on, but by the end of it, the guilt was gone. A decent superhero movie, but in my view, nothing memorable.
Jaws
We watched this classic in Australia. The recent shark attacks didn’t ease the anxiety, but the movie still holds up (after 50 years!). I haven’t seen it since I was a child, and it was fun to revisit one of the stories I grew up on.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you (hopefully!) next week!
Mike
https://mikemigas.com/
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