Coming On Strong, Going Pink

Recently I talked about being an introvert. Which I am. But being an introvert doesn’t mean you hide in your room all day, reading books and watching Netflix (though it does have its appeal at times). It just means after a certain period of time I have to return to a place where I can recharge internally, which often means hiding in my room reading books and watching Netflix.

I remember in college I took one of those personality tests. The most popular iteration at that time being the Red, White, Blue, Yellow color test. I scored a majority white, but second place yellow. White and Blue are the more sensitive types. Reds are the power executive types, getting it done. Yellows are the fancy free and fun-loving types. This test tries to claim you’re always the color you were as a child, but I’m a firm believer that a person can change, especially since we’re constantly exposed to stimuli that can change us.

I used to live with a girl who was a strong Red personality. She couldn’t see the sense in worrying about the tender feeling stuffs. Just get it done. Upon first glance, one would think that’s not the best personality to have, but I’ve come to find that each personality has its strengths. And again, we are all unique human beings with differing personalities that are allowed to and do change.

Point being, I feel the red in her rubbed off on me as the white in me rubbed off on her. Now I think of myself as a pink. White most of the time, red when I need to be.

In social situations, having been the quiet, shy reserved type, I saw the value of red getting things done. So even though I may be exhausted when I get home, I let red take control which transforms me from introvert to perceived extrovert stage.

Point being, I tend to come on strong. Which I often forget can freak some people out. I’m more like:

And less like:

A Very Whovian November

For those of you hiding under the metaphorical rock that bars you from watching or knowing anything about one of the BBC’s most successful shows, Doctor Who, first of all I pity your empty life and second of all GET OUT FROM UNDER THAT ROCK!

This weekend the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who special happened and was it everything we Whovians hoped it would be? I certainly think so. I mean David Tennant and Billie Piper back again? ‘Nuff said.

IN THE BEGINNING

There was a lot leading up to this certain event. For me it began in August. A friend of mine said a local theater was doing a reader’s theater encore presentation of what they called Doctor U, basically a fan homage spoof of Doctor Who. It had two talented actors who played 10 and 11 very well. We liked it so much but good gracious was the theater empty. I think maybe 20 or 30 people showed up and we thought, Poppycock! Surely the massive Whovian fanbase here in Utah would want to partake in such a delightful show and only hadn’t come because they hadn’t known.

We set about to correct this grand error immediately and immediately emailed the owners of said theater to tell them why they should do it once more, but especially to do it in November in celebration of the 50th anniversary coming up. There were scores of fans who’d love to come, especially if it was a costume party. And so we convinced them. Salt Lake Comic Con caught wind of it and helped promote it and both nights the theater ended up being 90% full if not sold out. (Only a few seats left a day or two before when I checked.)

Did someone say costume party?! This is my best Rose selfie.

The costume contest, by the way, was won both nights by little boys. One came as an Ood. He had gummy worms attached to some kind of mask that went over his mouth and a globe ornament. It was a sweet costume! (The day I forgot my phone too….) The other boy was the Empty Child. I didn’t bother to compete against that. I mean, puh-lease. Obvious winners there.

It was a reader’s theater version, but that doesn’t mean a bunch of people sitting in chairs. They did have to read from the script, but both Doctors came dressed in costume, as well as a couple great Dalek costumes and a really good Weeping Angel costume. They asked for audience volunteers for the part of Rose Tyler (whom they called Billie). Since I had come as Rose Tyler, my friend goaded me into volunteering and so I did.

Narrator barely visible on far left. Then #10, Me, the Master, Karen (Amy), #11, Ben Franklin, H.G. Wells. I had a “mind control eye-patch” on to make me do the Master’s bidding.

Since this is was the reader’s theater version, they had a narrator reading stage direction. During this picture here, #10 admits he loves Billie. And not long after this moment, I received stage direction that went something like this: Billie grabs the Doctor by the lapels and gives him a big kiss.

Say what? Huh? Oh! Well…. okay…. Yep, I did. Turns out this has been a pretty good year for me. Superman swept me off of my feet back in September. And I more or less kissed my favorite Doctor. Now if someone can just help get me together with Lee Min Ho by Christmas, this will be the perfect year.

Why yes I am incredibly handsome!

Ahem. Anyway, that was the weekend before the 50th. The weekend of the 50th the friend who goaded me into kissing the Doctor also threw one of the coolest Who parties ever. She went all out (maybe a little overboard, but so what). Because she was working so hard, I thought I should bring a special treat and made Weeping Angel sugar cookies. I think I did pretty well for the very first go. And they were deliciously sugary.

The door to her apartment. Not a bad recreation eh?

Are those wedding anniversary napkins, I asked? They work, she replied.

The tardis console she’d recreated, decked out with all kinds of delicious food, among them fish fingers and custard.

Close up of the console. She used glowsticks among other things.

My Weeping Angel cookies. But while you eat them, DON’T BLINK!

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE 50TH SHOW?

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I won’t. But let me just say Steven Moffat pulled out all the stops for the 50th. There are all kinds of geeky Who references buried throughout the show. Plus we’ve got some major timey-wimeyness happening that will make you gasp. We get great performances from all three Doctors (Smith, Tennant, and Hurt), especially that all three of them make fun of each other in hilarious ways.

It also provided me with some closure when it came to Tennant. I was still holding a grudge that he left the show, I’ll admit it. But now thanks to the 50th I think I’m okay to let him go and I eagerly await what Peter Capaldi will bring us.

But the thing that topped the whole show for me was a final interaction in the last few minutes of the program. I’m not really sure what it meant. I might have to exchange emails with some of you who know what I mean. Let’s just say I give it four out of four stars. 😉

Will I be going to see the show tonight in the theaters? Absolutely not! No, it’s not what you think. I love Doctor Who. And normally I would have bought tickets the moment they were available. But they ruined it with 3D. 😦 Yes, friends, this is how much I loathe 3D. But those of you who go will have to let me know what you thought.

Did you watch the 50th or will you be attending the event tonight? Are you still avoiding Doctor Who? Has it been a good year for you? Have you ever been to a premiere or celebratory party of a show you loved that was awesome?

 

The Power of One

I’m sure you’ve heard this story a million times before. It only takes one to make a difference. Sometimes we don’t believe things we hear so often because we have situations arise where we feel quite powerless.

We think that just because we can’t affect certain major things in our lives that perhaps we can’t affect any major change for the better.

At my workplace, we’re doing some office rearranging which has left a bunch of us displaced while we’re waiting for other offices to be built. I ended up in one of the conference rooms that originally had lots of large chairs in it.

Well, unless I wanted to be climbing over office chairs to accommodate the huge plotter printer that came with me, in addition to boxes and tables, those chairs needed to go out.

But here’s the thing. There’s literally nowhere for those chairs to go. We don’t have the space for them right now to be stored anywhere. I shoved them out in the hallway, hoping they were just saying one thing while not really meaning that thing.

But there the chairs stayed, all clumped together in chaos because no one knew what to do with them. Even the night cleaning crew, who tends to straighten up areas, left them as is. I believe in zen-energy when it comes to work spaces. Not that things can’t be chaotic in some ways, but just that a certain kind of chaos leaves an angst-like feeling behind.

So after a few days of this, I decided to line them up along the wall. Sure, it wasn’t ideal, but it cleared them out of the way. Suddenly there was a different atmosphere in that area. I noticed the cleaning crew even straightened them up if they’d been misplaced during the day.

Sometimes things are left disorganized or in chaos, not because people want them to be, but because they can’t think of a better solution for that problem.

It seems like a small thing, but it’s by small and simple things that we can make our world a more positive and functional place. I don’t think the situation would have changed otherwise.

But maybe that’s not big enough for you. Sure, I can organize the space in my life, but is that really the power of one?

Let me give you one other example. A group of friends and I went and saw a Doctor Who parody called Doctor U (our local university goes by the nickname the U, although there wasn’t any other specific reference to the university, but I think you get the point). It was a wonder we’d heard about it and the audience wasn’t terribly full, but what a performance! The two actors who portrayed Ten and Eleven almost made you forget it wasn’t Tennant and Smith you were watching. We were ready to hand them some more money and watch again.

But we couldn’t. That was it. One night only, never to be seen again. Days later we were still talking about it and wishing they’d perform it at the upcoming Comic Con or perhaps in celebration of the upcoming 50th Anniversary.

Well, we decided we’d ask. Why not? If they said it wasn’t possible, we’d be no worse off than if we hadn’t asked. But if we asked and they said yes… I sent the lady in charge an email, telling her we thought it would be successful because we knew so many fans and groups of people who hadn’t heard of it and would want to see it. I thanked her for sharing the performance, that we enjoyed it, and if it wasn’t possible, no hard feelings, just wanted to let her know.

Long story short, they’re putting the show on again one more time this November, the week before the 50th Anniversary. And not only are they putting it back on, as per our suggestions, it’s gonna be a party. Costumes, food, pics with the Doctors, the TARDIS, some Daleks, maybe a very well put together weeping angel costume–geekery galore. What better way to celebrate?

All it took was someone asking.

And now I’ve got an opportunity to work with them in the future in other show promotions (which to me is a lot of fun. They’re even doing a mash up spoof of Downton Abbey meets the Walking Dead).

Power of one, my friends. Power of one. Or as some also put it: just ask. All you have to do is ask.

Now does that change the whole world? On it’s own, no. But it did teach me that if there’s something I want it can happen. Like Doc Brown says: If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

Sometimes we’ll fail, sometimes we’ll succeed, but the point is if we don’t try, we always fail.

Make connections in your own life, try new things, ask, see if you can’t make a difference somewhere. It will enrich your life, and it will probably enrich the lives of those around you.

And you may even get your own version of a happy, geeky Doctor Who party out of it. 😉

Do you believe in the power of one? Have you been able to affect positive change in your community or home? Or have you accomplished something you weren’t sure was possible just because you asked? Anything you would add?

WIP Wednesday & Row80 Aug 21st

Okay, I had a busy night last night, which also made it hard to fall asleep and I feel like I’m all behind today. Add to that meetings which bore the jujubes out of me and anyway, blogging has been hard to squeeze in until just this moment.

But last night, there a group of us were, minding our own business, when something incredible happened. We came across an object we never thought we’d see. And well, I think this photo explains the rest.

The Goals

1. Read at least 10 more Anton Chekhov short stories to add to my progress starting from 50 of 201. Another! 60 of 201. Read his stories here free!

2. Finish reading both The Fire in Fiction and On Writing. No new progress.

3. Submit Trick or Tree to another writing contest. Finish Dog Shy and write at least one other short story, all to be submitted to contests. No new progress.

4. Write a flash fiction story. 2 flash fiction stories written so far.

5. Do at least one thing every week that increases my fluency in Spanish and Japanese. Check and check!  Thanks to Teaching Tunes Tuesdays I’m keeping up with this one.

6. Finish feedback edits on SHADE and get it queried. Still in the midst of editing. I really had to do some major reworking on this one scene, and I’m not sure if I like it yet. It took me a few days of pondering. That just happens sometimes with writing. But I can’t see any other path so I’m sticking with it for now.

Bonus Goals. Code Name Clemmings has a little more of Chapter 3 but I had to stop right in the middle of a climax. It’s killing me. But that’s good in a way, though, because it drives me to get back to it.

WIPpet Wednesday

Okay, it has to be a short excerpt for the business of today. So let’s see… 8-21-13… 8 lines down from Chapter 3, 2+1+1+3= 7 lines.

I can work either end of that spectrum when I need to, but for this assignment ordinary is extremely important—especially with my extraordinary ability to infuriate Mercedes.

But that’s just it. Ever since the dessert fiasco, my high alert has gone to almost zero. No attacks to avoid, not even on Alice. The only thing that sets my nerves on end is peace, because in my world peace is always an illusion. No matter what world you create or environment you set up, you can always find individuals who are eager to take power. We may strive for peace, but at the end of the day it only takes one to stir the pot of envy.

Even while writing about my protagonist Jade feeling anxious I felt her anxiety. Hopefully some of that gets communicated in this little excerpt.

How is your Row80 coming along? Run into the Doctor lately? Did you ever have those moments where you know something is coming, you just don’t know when? What does anxiety look like to you?

And coming soon, the 13th Doctor! 😉

21st Century Citizen

I’m still playing catch up with life and work, so today I opted for a Daily Post prompt:

Do you belong in this day and age? Do you feel comfortable being a citizen of the 21st-century? If you do, explain why — and if you don’t, when in human history would you rather be?

I think about this fairly frequently. After reading Kati and Heidi’s fabulous Roaring ’20s post, I am a great deal tempted to have lived back then. It was an era of limitless possibilities. You had cars really coming into play, radio, movies—and then of course the dreaded Black Thursday which led into the Great Depression. I wouldn’t have wanted to live through that (not that our recent economy trends have been any bit of encouraging…)

So here’s my answer: I’m glad I was born exactly when I was born, but I still want my own TARDIS or DeLorean to visit other eras.

Cuz let’s face it. If I’d have been a 20-something in the ’20s, at best Tom Baker would have been my favorite Doctor. And any guarantee that I’d live to see Back to the Future?

And speaking of Back to the Future, how could I have possibly gone on living knowing I would have completely missed a wonderful ’80s childhood? Oh sure, you can watch all the ’80s stuff on Netflix or somewhere. You can read about it. But what about living it? Where would I be today without my Rainbow Brite doll, complete with her horse Starlight? We’re talking about Ghostbusters, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Goonies, moon boots, bright neon colors, The Cars—I could go on forever.

And let’s not forget teens in the ’90s. Grunge rock, flannel T-shirts, Empire Records (see Kate’s post on why that’s its own level of awesomeness), and the beginning of boy bands. Plus cellphones and the internet really start to come on the scene. Much like Kip, I love me some technology.

So, yeah, I’m feeling pretty darn comfortable right where I am. We’re in an age where we can be pretty much whatever we want to be, as long as we’re willing to put in the time and effort. Plus I like that there aren’t just 3 career options for me as a woman anymore (nurse, teacher, librarian).

So kudos to you 21st century!

Now where did I put that TARDIS?

What do you think? Are you loving the time you’re in? If not, when do you wish you were born?