The End of 2013. Oh What a Relief It Is!

  So I've been really horrible with this blog this year. Mainly because this year has not been the best, and I didn't want it to seem like I'm doing nothing but complaining. But now the year is wrapping up, and honestly it's ending on a pretty high note, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights that have come within the last couple months.

- As many know earlier this year I had sister trouble. I'm happy to announce that all has been resolved, and I could not be happier. I love my sisters so much and all I want is to feel a part of the family again and us love each other equally. I think we are on the road to that happening once again. An extra bonus is the time I have got with my nephew who I adore more than anything, and didn't know I had that sort of love to give. It's been amazing.

Rachel's kneeling, she's not really that short ;)

That smile!

- My regular readers know that I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and this year brought forth the 50th anniversary. So most of November was filled with special after special and then the big 50th anniversary episode which I got to see in the theater in 3D and I'm so glad I did. I wish I had taken the time to report on my experience, but I've been so lazy. So I will share a few pics from the party we held the night of and then the movie viewing a couple days later.

Partying it up Doctor Who style

Best movie experience ever.

- I started a new job in October. Those close to me know what a tough time it's been this year, and finding this job has been a blessing from the gods. I have finally found a place where I can be happy, where there's no drama, backstabbing or turning a blind eye to office politics. In fact there is virtually no office politics! I had no idea that this kind of thing could exist. That people could be adults and treat each other like adults, and just focus on the job, and not "who's better than whom", and "what kind of hell can I create for my co-workers today?" None of that exists with my new job, and I'm so glad I can't even tell you. I love it, and my co-workers. They are some of the most awesome people I'm proud to get to know. I'm so lucky. I don't have any pics of work itself, but I thought I'd share the awesome gifts I received for Christmas.

I'm pretty sure the best salsa I've had

I love how my co-workers know me already

The scarf is beautiful!

That's right folks a Vitamix

- I have some of the best friends a person could ask for. Not once have I doubted any of them would be there for me when I need them. And I love them so much. Jordan you have been my rock this year, and I'm going to make next year amazeballs for the both of us. So many plans, and so much fun to be had, we are going to rock it. You are a fantastic person, and we will be old ladies on your porch drinking our wine yelling at the kids. It's going to happen.  Penny, you are the most amazing friend, and I'm so proud to say we are going 20 years strong. You continue to surprise me every day with your love, and I only hope I can show you the same love back. Your kids are my kids, and I can't imagine any of you not being in my life. Angie, our friendship has grown stronger and stronger this year, and I can't wait to see what the future brings for us. We have each other's backs always and forever. I love our no expectations friendship and that we can enjoy each other's company so easily. I see next year being fabulous and us getting to do so many Beatle-y things together. I love each of you so much! And to show you just how great my friends really are, here are the gifts I got:

Thank you Penny!!!

The TARDIS Disappears! Thanks Jordan!!

I really do hope next year brings nothing but happiness and joy to me, my loved ones, and all of you. Thank you for everything! Each and every one of you make a difference in my life, no matter how minute it may be. I'm so grateful!

Happy New Year!!

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor

So the Doctor Who Christmas Special happened, and it left me confused, sad, excited and meh all at the same time. That's a lot of feelings from one episode. And I don't think it's a good thing entirely. Here's why:

In typical Steven Moffat fashion, we got an episode where the storyline was way overworked and left most everyone going "huh?" I had to watch the episode twice to understand it, and I truly still don't know if I do. Instead of giving Matt Smith a simple beautiful send off story, Moffat had to try and go big and showy, and I think it kind of backfired on him. When I first watched the episode, I kept running through my head, "I'm going to have to re-watch this." But at the same time, when it came to the actual regeneration time, I was a complete mess. It didn't hit me until the day of that I was going to have to say goodbye to Matt. I had been so excited about the 50th anniversary that it really didn't register with me. And now I had got to the part where he's about to regenerate and we again get a big show without a lot of sense, and then a tender moment with Amy Pond which sent me into hysterics, and then blink and you miss it, he's regenerated. And that bothered me a lot. I feel like Matt Smith deserved so much more than the send off he got. He deserved a better storyline, a better regeneration, and a better goodbye overall. At the same time, even though I didn't care for the story, I did feel the emotions behind it all. The fact that he sent Clara away twice wasn't lost on me. He'd done it before with Rose, and it's a self preservation thing more than a saving my companion thing. He doesn't want to see them die in his name nor feel the pain of that kind of permanent loss. There were also a few funny lines, and a few quotes that will stick with me. I'm still unsure why they needed to point out that Matt was wearing a wig by saying the Doctor shaved his head. The wig didn't actually look all that bad, but we did get a nice little line out of it about his delicate eyebrows, which had me laughing. And then the Doctor's final speech just before the fastest regeneration there has been happens, where he speaks of people changing throughout life, but at the same time staying the same person. It's so true and speaks volumes. I think Matt did amazing with what he was given in this episode. He acted his little heart out, and I commend him for that.

So in the end there were good things and bad things about the episode. I think with the Christmas episodes Moffat has been more miss than hit. I'm sad to see Matt Smith go, I never thought he would grow on me as much as he did, and I'm grateful he did. I'm excited to see what Peter Capaldi's Doctor has in store for us. And also thrilled that Clara is the second companion in the Doctor Who reboot to actually watch a true regeneration happen and experience like Rose did, the differences it brings out in him.

Geronimo!

On a side note, I guest posted on my dear friend Jordan's blog about all of the past Doctor Who Christmas episodes. Go check it out! And her blog, because it kicks some butt.

The Adventures of Lily the Cat (As Told By Lily)

So this morning as my human was dressing for the day I decided to go take a poo so that the bathroom would smell all pretty when she went in there (this is a fairly regular thing). But my plans were foiled by this giant spider hanging around my box. The thing was huge! So I decided I would watch where it goes and guard it from my human. She didn't like that so much because I guess I looked like a freak just sitting there staring at the box, so my human decided to look at what I was guarding from her. Now normally I would protect my human from an insect, but this thing was so huge I bolted from the scene as soon as my human revealed its hiding place. She said some cuss words I believe, but I don't know. Most of what my human says is warbled sounds, but I know she didn't appreciate my coward ways. So to make up for it, I decided I would play cute and scared and let her give me loves. Then I decided I had enough, hissed and walked away. I feel this was justified. And as for the spider? I think my human killed it, but I'm going to be cautious around my box for a bit in case it had friends. Man I should have just pooped. I'll figure something out, my human is gone and she won't know for hours.

TV Review: Dexter Kills No More....Or Does He?

So Dexter's series finale aired last night, and I have some thoughts. Instead of going into a lengthy recap of the episode I thought I'd give you some of the things I dug about the episode and some of the things I didn't:

What I dug:

1. Hardly any voice over. For the first time in the show's history, the episode barely had any voice over. I don't know if you noticed that.

2. The writing of this episode was I think the best in a long time. And by long time I mean since season 4, which kicked serious ass over any season of the show. The music was excellent and emotional and as mentioned above the minimal voice over made the episode feel more dramatic, which it was.

3. The heartbreak Quinn faced when they learned Deb was basically brain dead. He loved her so much, and I appreciated that we got to see Quinn rightfully upset that he lost his love. I've had a love/hate with Quinn, but I always felt that he and Deb belonged together.

What I didn't dig:

1. Deb's death. I really wanted a happily ever after, and I knew it wasn't going to be Dexter who got one, so I hoped it was Deb. I wanted her and Quinn to go off in the sunset and make babies that would swear worse than them. So when Deb died, it brought tears to my eyes, not because it was completely sad, but because my happy ending was gone.

2. Dexter taking Deb's body onto his boat and magically not getting noticed. Hurricane or not, that's surely to get noticed you would think.

3. Deb's burial at sea. I get why Dexter did it. Deb was his final kill and he had to treat it like all of his other kills. It was his way of not only saying goodbye to his sister, but to his life as he knew it. But I did have to wonder because I couldn't tell, did Dexter weigh down her body? Because I'm pretty sure she would be floating pretty soon right?

4. No Harry. I have mixed feelings about this. I've learned that some people thought the whole ghost Harry thing was cheesy. And it was in a way I guess, but it was Dexter's way of coping and staying sane if that makes sense. And I feel like we didn't get a proper farewell to Harry. It was the last episode after all, shouldn't we get to say goodbye to everyone? Dead, alive or figments of imagination?

5. Hannah inheriting Harrison. I know that sounds bad, but that's basically what happened, and I don't think I'm ok with it. Hannah is a serial killer too, so how is Harrison going to be any better off with her? She's on the run people. I think Dexter should have left Harrison with Jamie, she obviously loved the kid and he'd be a hell of a lot safer with her, or hell maybe even his grandparents so he could be with his siblings.

6. Dexter dying at sea and then not really. So we are supposed to believe for a brief 30 seconds that Dexter died at sea, but then we see that he's now a lumberjack. I think this was kind of a cop out. I was hoping he would go down in a blaze of glory per se. That Batista, Quinn and the gang would find out who he really is and he would go down fighting. We got a brief glimpse at how that maybe would have happened when Dexter killed Saxon, but it was a glimpse and I wish there had been more. And if we couldn't have that, then I would have been just fine with Dexter actually dying at sea. I'm having a hard time accepting that he's a lumberjack now.

So there you have it, my thoughts on the finale. Feel free to add your own likes and dislikes in the comment section. And I do have to say that even though the finale left me with mixed feelings, much like a lot of the seasons did throughout the show's life, I still love the show, and I'm going to miss my favorite serial killer. And next week I'm going to have to say goodbye to my favorite meth cooking side-kick. Walt can die, but not Jesse! We will have more on that after it airs.

Cheers!

SLC Comic Con Chaotic Fun 2013

So I went to Salt Lake City's first ever Comic Con this past weekend. Three days of chaotic fun and all I got to show for it was a cold. Just kidding. Well not about the cold, but I did obtain some amazing memories as well. Comic Con started on a Thursday and my bestie Jordan's husband was amazing enough to get us free 3-day passes.  We weren't sure we were going to get to go at all, so this was an awesome surprise. So Thursday comes and I'm ready! My other bestie Penny and I head to the fun (Jordan had to work the first two days. Sad face).

Jordan and I on Saturday (I'm a Nerd Herd Employee
from Buy More and she's Dana Scully)

Penny and I on Thursday (She's Padme)

It was painfully obvious that it was the first comic con because nothing was really set up right. The first panel we got in line for ended up being moved to Saturday, but they forgot to change it on the schedule, and the vendor floor didn't open until 4pm and it was only 11am. So we were left to wander for a bit until it was time to line up for our second panel. We were able to see Nicholas Brendon (eep!), you know Xander from Buffy. And wow does he look good! He sang us a bit from the Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling" and he even did the Snoopy dance to finish off his panel which was amazing. He wasn't shy about giving out hugs, his hotel room number or the fact that he'd gladly be the rebound guy to get back at your ex. I'm still trying to figure out why I never went to the hotel...

We then stuck around to attend a panel with Simon Fisher-Becker who briefly appeared in Harry Potter as the Fat Friar Hufflepuff ghost, and also Dorium Maldovar on the 5th and 6th seasons of Doctor Who. He gave us some insight on both Doctor Who and Harry Potter, in which we learned that they filmed the Deathday Party from Chamber of Secrets as well as enough footage for five films and so through the editing stage his part was drastically cut to an "if you blink you'll miss him" appearance. We also learned how great Matt Smith is to work with and his knowledge of Doctor Who is pretty impressive. His Doctor is Patrick Troughton. I liked that.

Depending on where I sat the pictures didn't turn out awesome

Once we finished with the panel we got the lucky pleasure of standing in another line for the vendor floor and there we saw a few other celebrities signing autographs such as Kevin Sorbo, Henry Winkler, Noah Hathaway (Atreyu from Neverending Story), and Clare Kramer (Glory from Buffy). Because the floor wasn't too terribly busy yet, we were actually able to meet Clare Kramer, who is gorgeous and super nice, and Noah Hathaway who is also really nice. Penny was able to get a picture with him for free, so that made me like him more. Soon after the floor started getting packed and our feet were dying so we called it a day.

Hercules! Hercules!

Penny with an all grown up Atreyu

Thursday was the best day for me because I fulfilled a 20 year dream of mine. I got to see Dean Cain in person! His panel was the best thing ever, and he is still beautiful to look at and a really nice guy. He was able to give us some insight into who his favorite villain was (Lex Luthor, with Tempus a close second), his opinion that Teri Hatcher is the best Lois Lane oh and a very good kisser, that there was supposed to be a fifth season of the show, but got cancelled last minute. And as for where the baby came from, he wasn't sure, but went along with the idea that it was possibly Krypton royalty mentioned by a fan. He also said that his favorite moment in the show was when Clark proposed to Lois and she revealed she knew his secret. This happens to be my favorite moment too which made me love him more. The panel went by way too fast and the girl who I had made friends with and geeked out with during the panel, decided to stick around and go to the Photoshop Made Easy panel with me right after.

We sat in there barely hearing their explanations when I hear a girl behind me say she can't hear anything. I turn around to agree with her and notice it's Erika Alexander (Cousin Pam from The Cosby Show) sitting there. I played it cool and acted like I didn't notice. I figured she was trying to take a break for a minute. And then all at the same time we decided the panel sucked and left. My new friend and I decided we would go walk the vendor floor again and go visit the celebs and see who else was there that day. Dean Cain had made his way back there after his panel, and we stood and creeped on him a bit, like you do, and then went and said hi to Henry Winkler and shook his hand. He's so cute and short! Then we decided that we both had had enough of the day and said goodbye.

Knowing that Saturday would be insane, Jordan and I got there as early as we could and as soon as we arrived we ran into Penny and the kids. The line to the vendor floor was huge and they were still letting people into the Henry Winkler panel so Jordan and I thought we'd go to that and wait out the line. I just need to say that Henry Winkler is one of the genuinely nicest people in show business. Not only does he write children's books, he continually encouraged the audience to follow their dreams and be the best person they could be. On top of that he's really funny and even gave a 23-year-old-never-been-kissed girl her first kiss. I was really impressed and decided I want him to be my grandpa.

Me, Penny and the kids (Dylan really was happy to be there)

After the panel, we ventured onto the vendor floor now that there was no line to enter. Once inside, you immediately felt like a can of sardines, but we muddled through and I took Jordan down to celebrity row where we got to see William Shatner, Adam West, Burt Ward, Kevin Sorbo, Dean Cain, Claire Coffee, Clare Kramer, Manu Bennett, Nicholas Brendan, Ray Park, John de Lancie, Henry Winkler, Glenn Morshower, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew and Lou Ferrigno from afar and got told repeatedly that we couldn't take pictures (good thing I took what I could the two days before). We then walked the vendor floor and geeked out on the Doctor Who merchandise and decided we were done. So we took one last look at Dean Cain for my creeper eyes, checked to see if Stan Lee had made it to do signatures, and saw he hadn't and then left.

Best 10th Doctor cosplay there

Love me some Jack Harkness

My awesome creeper picture

Overall it was a great experience and we got to see some awesome cosplay:

I will of course go again next year. And who knows maybe I will get to fulfill another life-long dream. Here's to next year!

I Need New Music. Help!

So I've been listening to my iPod a lot more lately with having started a new job (last job I may have watched Netflix while I worked. I swear it made me more productive), and I'm really starting to get bored of all my music. So I'm reaching out to my readers to help me. I'm asking you to provide me with bands/artists/music that you like and think I would as well. I will preface this by listing the music genres I can't stand and which I truly love. So please don't suggest something in the genre I don't like and then say, "I know you don't like this type of music, but this person/band will change your mind", because you will be wrong. With that being said, start suggesting away! Pretty please!

Genres I hate:

Country (oh god do I hate country)
Rap
R&B
EDM
Boy Band Pop


Genres I like/love:

Classic Rock
Rock & Roll in general
Indie Pop
Indie Rock
Classical
New Wave
Punk
Pop (60's-80's mainly)


Some band that I like that might give you a better idea are:

The Beatles
Band of Horses
Maroon 5
Matchbox Twenty
CCR
BTO
ELO
Foreigner
Bon Jovi
Styx
Crooked Fingers
The National
The Editors
Frightened Rabbit
Glas Vegas
Hot Hot Heat
Travis
Elton John
Genesis
Peter Gabriel
Matt & Kim
Naked & Famous

Oh and if it sounds like country then no thank you. Example: Mumford & Sons

I'm really not as picky as I sound either. I promise.

Thanks!!

Summer TV Watching Angel Style

Now moving on to my thoughts about the series Angel.  Again there will be spoilers, so if you haven't seen the series and plan to, please stop reading now and go watch.

Angel:


This series began after the third season of Buffy, and follows her one true love Angel, the 200+ old vampire with a soul, as he leaves Sunnydale and moves to LA to continue his mission of redemption for his past sins by saving humans from demons. His choice for this move is to save Buffy from the pain that seemed to follow their on and off again relationship.

Going into the Buffy universe I knew that Angel eventually left Sunnydale, but didn't know how and I was always interested in watching the show, but I felt that I would need to watch Buffy first in order to really appreciate Angel. And I was right, sort of. I wish I had started watching Angel right after the third season of Buffy and alternated between the shows through the rest of each series. Instead I watched all of Buffy and then all of Angel and that made me wonder what the heck was going on sometimes when watching Buffy and then have to remember what the heck happened when watching Angel. I do have to give props to Whedon and his crew for the continuity between the two shows. Even though toward the end when Buffy moved TV stations and they wouldn't allow for guest appearances on either show anymore (aside from Willow), they still stayed true to both stories. So with this being said I will go into what I liked and disliked about the show.

As I said in my last post, Cordelia was a take it or leave it character for me, but on Angel she grew into someone I really enjoyed. Not only did she help Angel with his redemption mission, but she also became a much better person. Although the fourth season story line totally went weird and I'm still not entirely sure what the thought process on that one was, she became a like-able character.

Along with Cordy in the first season there was also Doyle, well for the first half of season one. I really liked Doyle, and I don't know the history and reasoning as to why they killed his character off so early in the series. I personally would have liked to see him continue with the series.

With Doyle leaving, this left a gap in the group. So enters Wesley Windham Price. Wesley was first seen on Buffy as the new Watcher for both Buffy and Faith after Giles was fired. He was a whiny British pansy boy to put it lightly when we first met his character, but when he joined Angel's team, we found that he's been working on toughening up his image. He left the Watcher's Counsel and became a self-proclaimed Rogue Demon Hunter. I have to admit, I love Wesley so much. He was a great comic relief at the beginning of the series and then turned into a serious bad-ass by the end of the series. He was dealt a bad hand for trying to be the good guy, and I swear he was always the one to be seriously injured. But in the end he proved his own and paid the ultimate price to try and save the world. And I may have shed a few tears. RIP Wesley.

Gunn was an alright character. At times I liked him and at times I didn't. He was kind of all over the place on whether he wanted to be loyal to Angel or not. To give Gunn the benefit of the doubt, Angel didn't make it easy at times to be liked, but man Gunn kind of bugged. He also had no qualms about going after a girl he knew Wesley had feelings for. I always felt that Fred and Wesley fit better than Gunn and Fred. And it breaks my heart that Wesley never really got the chance he should have with Fred.

And speaking of Fred, she's just adorable. I think she was a good addition to the group, having been stranded in a hell dimension for five years and nearly losing her mind while there, and then being rescued and brought back by Angel and the crew. She became the brains of the operation when it came to the science factor of fighting demons. She even had to pick up the slack and play historian when Wesley was banished and disowned for kidnapping Angel's son. Everyone loved Fred, and rightfully so. I didn't care for them killing off her character and bringing in the Allyria. Yeah she looked like Fred, but it wasn't Fred. Tears were shed as Wesley held dying Fred in his arms. RIP Fred.

And then came Angel's son. This was a weird addition to the group, starting out as a little baby born to two vampires (Angel and Darla) and then being kidnapped by Wesley because of a prophecy saying the "Father will kill the Son", and subsequently being kidnapped again by Holts who has a vendetta against Angel for killing his family 200 years prior, and then ending up in a hell dimension raised by Holts, returns as an Angel-hating-demon-fighting-teenager. Phew confused yet? Oh it gets better.

But first I need to mention Lorne, the empathic green-skinned singing demon from another hell dimension of his own called Pailea (I have no idea if I spelled that correctly). There's nothing to not love about Lorne honestly. He was too nice for his own good sometimes and found himself in tough predicaments a lot of the time. But he's a favorite of mine. He was totally useful when it came to needing to know the future, and it was always funny to watch someone break out in song so he could read them. Genius. Sadly toward the end of the show, the fun loving Lorne we knew was gone and what was left was a hollow remnant of what used to be. The workings of evil had taken a toll on him, and you see that in the last scene he's in.

The series' story line kind of went from good to bad to alright, and I think that's why it only lasted five seasons. Regardless I loved watching the show, and would watch it again. I could do without some of the weird twists that occurred, and when I say weird I mean it. For one Angel and Darla having a child. This child growing up and then sleeping with Cordelia who has just returned from being a higher power, and impregnating her with the ultimate demon spawn which ends up putting her in a coma and then eventually dying. More tears were shed for that death too. RIP Cordelia.

By the fifth season, it got slightly better, because it had Spike. Yeah he didn't die! Well kind of. The banter between Angel and Spike made the fifth season a lot better than it would have been. I especially enjoyed the episode where they go to Italy to retrieve a demon head and knowing that Buffy is there, they hunt her down without any luck. The competition of who Buffy loves more was pretty entertaining. I was kind of sad that Buffy never found out Spike was still alive or that we got to see Angel and Buffy together once more. I've read on Wiki and IMDB that the stories continue for both Buffy and Angel in the form of graphic novels. I'm not a huge comic book fan, but I may just have to become one. I'm dying to know how the stories continue!

Overall I did like the show and am glad I watched it. There were all the happy, sad, dark, sweet and evil moments that you would expect from the Buffyverse. Plus it doesn't hurt to have a good looking lead. Just sayin'.

Summer TV Watching Buffy Style

This summer's TV has been kind of lackluster, or I'm just not as into it as in years past. Either way, I've been living on Netflix most of the summer. And knowing how big of a TV buff I am, you know that I've watched at least a couple series already. So what have I been watching? I decided to go back in time to the year 1996 and relive the styles and trends of my high school years. The only difference was that I wasn't fighting/killing vampires and demons like Buffy. Nor was I making out with any hot vampires either. That part makes me a little sad. Anyway after I finished Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I immediately went and watched Angel. I had never seen either series, aside from a handful of Buffy episodes here and there over the years. So I thought this was the perfect chance to watch some cult classics. And now I think I'll share with you my thoughts on the shows. If you've never seen them yourself, some of this may be spoiler material, and if you have I would love to hear your thoughts on the shows too.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

The relationship between Buffy and Angel was what every girl dreams of, aside from the being dead part. Stefanie Meyer has nothing on Joss Whedon when it comes to the story of a human girl falling in love with a vampire. Frankly I'm pretty sure Meyer ripped it off. A dream my ass...she probably watched Buffy one night and got the idea to rewrite the story. At least this is how I see it playing out. Angel and Buffy were the first Bella and Edward. And so much better too! I am still sad that they didn't end up together though. But while they were together, I shipped it so much.

But then comes along Spike after Angel ditches out and moves to LA. Spike is a complete dick to Buffy at first, you know because he has no soul and likes to kill slayers, but then he gets this chip put in his head which holds him back (and later a soul of his own), and then randomly decides he's in love with Buffy. And then I have a whole new pairing to ship. Forget Willow and Tara or Xander and Anya, those were meh compared to how hot and forbidden the Spike and Buffy relationship was to watch. This show went from being a show about an innocent high school girl who is called upon to kill vampires to this adult show of steamy sex scenes with fighting and killing thrown in.

I liked the majority of the characters; Xander had to grow on me. He annoyed me at first because he felt he owned Buffy and would get upset if she was with another guy. Eventually when he got himself a girlfriend, the one and only Cordelia, only then did he start to let up on the Buffy obsession. He was still the protective best friend, but he didn't treat her as property anymore. I loved Willow from the beginning and then when she came out and started seeing Tara, I loved her even more. That was a risky move on Whedon's part at that time, and I'm so glad he took it. I feel it helped open doors to having more openly gay characters on TV. There's still a lot of progress to make, but I think this show really helped that.

I wasn't much of a fan of Anya, she honestly drove me bat shit crazy most of the time. There were some moments that I thought she was good for a comedic relief, but that was Xander's territory, so it couldn't happen often. I absolutely adored Giles, but who doesn't love Anthony Stewart Head? Having watched him on Merlin before this, it was hard to break from wanting to call him Uther, but it didn't take long for me to start calling him Giles and loving him. I hated that he left the show in the last couple seasons. The father/ daughter relationship between him and Buffy was something I really adored watching.

Cordelia was one I could take or leave while she was on Buffy. She was the typical cheerleader personality, but when she started dating Xander, I saw the softer side of her. It wasn't much, but I started to like her more. Faith was one I really didn't care for, and I thought was given too much air time personally. I know that in the end she becomes good and helps save the world, but I really didn't like her. Now Spike I loved. Who doesn't love a bad boy? It didn't hurt that he was sexy either. At first I wasn't sure about the whole Buffy/Spike thing, but as it grew deeper, I wanted nothing more. And at the end of the series when Angel shows up to help, it broke my heart to see Spike hurt by Buffy's actions toward Angel. Angel and Buffy are each other's true love and I ship that forever, but I also ship Spike and Buffy which made me so torn. And still does.

Buffy's mom was an integral part of the show in the beginning, but obviously as you grow older, you don't need your parents as much and so her mom was less and less apart of her daily life, but when little sister came into the picture (who I could have done without) and Joyce started getting ill, Buffy moved back home to be with her family. The most gut wrenching and I would have to say hardest episode I've seen since the death of Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under is when Joyce dies. So unexpected (although I already knew) and so very very hard to watch. The episode was so well done, and without any music whatsoever through the entire episode, made it eerie to watch through tear-filled eyes. My friend Jordan hasn't been able to bring herself to finish the series after watching that episode, it affected her so much. And honestly I can't blame her. I had to take a breather after watching the episode and gather myself. Why does a TV show have to do that to you?

The show overall was cheesy, funny, heart breaking, scary, and just a wild ride that I loved. Not to mention it has a kick-ass theme song. I really don't know how I missed out on this show when it was airing on TV. And I'm ashamed it took me this long to watch it, but man am I glad I did. It probably has to be in my top 10 favorite shows. And it's a show I could watch over and over again which says a lot.

How did you feel about the show? I know that even to this day, the show is hailed as one of the best cult shows on TV. Do you agree?

And because this turned out so long, I will split this into a two-parter and post separately about Angel. So stay tuned!

Life Choices

Do you ever feel like you know you're meant for something more in life? That what you're doing now is not what you should be doing? Choosing the right career is such a tricky thing, and one that I know a lot of people struggle with; me included. There are so many things I want to do in life, and I can feel it dwindling away the older I get. I know I shouldn't let that get to me, that my age shouldn't hold me back from what I want in life, and although that's good advice, it doesn't always hold true. I've been at a crossroads in my life for a few years now. I stayed with a company for a lot longer than I should have because I was complacent. I've started with a new company in the same field as the previous and am finding that it's not making me feel any better. I want to change things up. Challenge myself. And where I am now is not doing that. So this begs the question of "how do I fix this?"

My first thought is to look for something else. So I have. But this also worries me that if I do get something else, will it make me happy? I know a lot of people would respond saying, "only you can make yourself happy". But if I'm not even entirely sure what I want in life, how can I make myself happy? I can be in a happy state of mind, but aren't I just fooling myself? So while I'm looking for something new, something that will challenge me and most of all something that will hopefully make me happy even if only temporarily, I've decided to make a sort of bucket list of the things I want to do, careers I would love to have and what I think could make me a lot happier. A lot of this list may not be realistic, and a lot may be, but will take a good amount of time to accomplish. Overall it's something I can refer to often and remind myself that there are ways to be happy, I just need to work for them. And please don't get me wrong, the job I have now is so much better than my last, and the people are worlds apart too, and I'm grateful I have the job, but I know I'm meant for something more. I've worked long and hard for more than half my life now and I owe it to myself to be and do what I want with my life. Right?

My Happy List (in no particular order):

1. Travel to England
2. Maybe live in England
3. Move out of state at least once and for at least a year
4. Learn how to write computer programs
5. Learn Photoshop better
6. Open a tea shop with the one and only Jordan
7. Learn how to design websites
8. Learn Interior Design
9. Write a book (maybe finish one I've started)
10. Possibly get said book published
11. Travel all of Europe
12. Meet people who inspire me
13. Travel the U.S.
14. Live in New York
15. Live in Oregon or Washington
16. Become a better piano player
17. Learn a new instrument
18. Socialize more, not be such a hermit
19. Own a home
20. Paint and draw more
21. Take up photography and film making
22. Learn how to better edit films

If you noticed, my aspirations aren't typical of the women in my state of wanting to get married and have kids. Those aren't a high priority for me. If love finds me, then so be it and I'll welcome it with open arms, but it's not something I strive for right now. I need to find my inner happiness first. And as for kids, well if you know me then you know that is most definitely not a concern of mine.

This list may grow, but hopefully it will shrink because I've crossed things off for having accomplished them. I just want to be happy and love what I do. I don't think that's too much to ask.

My Little Blog

All you bloggers out there, are you one who will check and see how many views your posts get, and do so on a regular basis? What is this fascination I seem to have developed regarding this very thing? I almost feel like it's a sort of vain accomplishment to myself that I'm getting a certain number of views. I don't feel like I'm alone in this either, and it truly does make me wonder why it seems so important.

This being said I have to do a bit of a vain boast and announce that I have over 5,100 views overall for my blog.* What started out almost two years ago as a way to get my thoughts out of my head and written down, has turned into a way to get my thoughts out of my head and written down. But it's been viewed over 5,100 times, and that means something to me. Either I might be slightly interesting, or I'm popping up in google searches a lot.

I'm thinking it may be the latter. I say this because I have one post in particular that has almost 1,000 views on it's own. I never thought that it would be viewed that much mainly because I wrote it as an amusement to myself and a few others. But this excites me that others are finding it amusing too. Though I do feel like people are afraid to comment their thoughts on my blog, and I don't want you to feel that way. I've tried to make it as simple as Blogger will allow me. So please give it a try! I'll take your criticism, praise and suggestions and make something of them.

But really I just want to say thank you for reading my little blog here, and I hope if anything, it can give you a break from your reality, even if it is just for a minute or two.


*I realize to some bloggers this is nothing, but to me it's huge!

My Wild Roller Coaster Ride

The past couple months have been an interesting and rough ride. I got my place back to myself (wahoo!) and I now get to enjoy the single-by-myself-life again. I know that sounds sad, but it's when I'm the happiest. It's all part of being an introvert. Don't misunderstand me, I still have a social life, but I do like to go home and have the place to myself, and there's nothing wrong with that. On top of getting my place back, I also quit my job. I couldn't work at a place that would rather keep an ex-convict embezzler who has control issues and makes people's lives that she can't control a living hell on the payroll, than a person who has been loyal to the company, never lied about their past (because there isn't one), and did a damn good job. So I said screw that and found me a new job. Once the word got out that I had quit, I didn't exactly get the best reception from my fellow employees, and it made it that much easier to leave. Especially when I was taken out to lunch and told how much I am appreciated and how they wish me luck at the new job, and then three hours later kick me out of the office and don't let me finish out my two weeks. I'm ok with it. It's just kind of a shitty thing to do. On the bright side I did get to have six days off which was awesome since I hadn't taken any real time off the entire year.

The next week I start my new job and it's not as advertised at all, I have a complete melt down after the first day. The melt down included having my youngest sister tell me she wants to have nothing to do with me anymore, so there goes seeing my nephew ever again. This comes on top of having my other sister do the same thing to me a month earlier (I'm pretty sure they're in cahoots). And neither can really give me a straight answer as to why they chose to do this. All I can say is it hurt like a bitch.

Anyway, so I make it through a horrible week of dealing with a job I'm not liking and the residual feelings of knowing my sisters hate me, and then I get an offer to interview at another place. Hell yes! So I do the interview and spend the weekend in my head hoping it will all work out. I go to work on Monday with the hope that I will hear back from this other job and they will have offered it to me. I get home and lo and behold there is an email offering me the job! So I quit the other one, accept the new one and start the new job on Wednesday. So far it's a pretty good fit, I'm only three days in, but I haven't wanted to puke from stress, so I figure that's a good thing.

Honestly I have never felt so low and so high over the past couple months. The highs have been amazing and the lows have been pretty low. If it weren't for the amazing friends I have (and you know who you are), I don't know that I'd still be here with my sanity intact. I love you guys, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting up with me and my craziness. It means the world to me.

My New Adventure

There comes a time in everyone's life where they say "I need to make a change". It may happen multiple times in one's life, but the end result is always knowing that you're doing it for yourself. That the decisions you make for that change are to make you a happier person. I have come to that point in my life once again where "I need to make a change", and this change involves starting a new job.

This has been a long time coming when I think about it. I haven't really been happy at my job for 2-3 years. And that had a large part to do with some of the people working there. One in particular actually. Well that person was terminated about a year ago, and I hoped by this change that my happiness would return. Boy was I wrong. Turns out this person wasn't the only problem, there was another. And then another. See you would begin to think that maybe I'm the problem. But in reality, the company I will soon be leaving has a tendency to carry dead weight and ill fitting people for a lot longer than they should. They tend to hold onto the poison while the good wither away. This is the case in my situation. I'm not the first to leave because of conflict with co-workers, and I won't be the last. Needless to say I made my decision to leave, and the closer it gets, the more happy I get. I know this decision will be the best thing for me right now.

I also know that I have a lot to look forward to in the future. A potential joint venture with my bestie Jordan, my being on my own again and rediscovering myself. Again. And the chance to be really happy. I love when people tell you that you make your own happiness. It's true. To an extent. You can only ignore the negativity for so long before you have to do something about it. And now is the time for me to do something. So I'm leaving the job I've been at for nearly 8 years, to move onto a similar job where I will make more money and also hopefully make new lasting relationships. I will miss most of the people I work with currently. There really are some good people there, but I will also be so glad to rid myself of the poison that is also there.

And so my new adventure will begin in a little over a week, and I'm beyond excited for this new chapter in my life. Allons-y!

Season and Series Finale Depression 2013 (Possible Spoilers)

Are you ever so excited for a season finale or series finale that you get really disappointed when it doesn't go how you were hoping? Yeah me too. I'm having a lot of heartburn over a few of these said season finales and series finales. So I'm going to attack them one by one in hopes that by getting it out here, it will make me feel slightly better.

1. How I Met Your Mother:

This show is one of my all-time favorites. I have watched it from the very beginning, and so to finally find out who the mother is - or more like what she looks like - is beyond exciting. The part I take heartache over is the fact that in the season finale, they didn't reveal if Barney and Robin actually get married. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, but the season finale last year showed that Barney was getting married. The season premiere this season revealed that Barney is marrying Robin. And the entire season has been watching how they get to this moment. So why would you not show the wedding actually happen?? This has bothered me for a week now. And it's going to bother me until the new season starts.


2. Bones

So I may have just started watching this show and may have gone through all eight seasons in a little less than a month. I don't have a problem. Really. I ended up really enjoying this show (obviously) and even though there were some annoyances, they were minor compared to the 8th season finale. I'm not sure why they have dragged out this baddie for two seasons now, but they need to just kill the dude and move on. He's already taken Brennan/Bones away for 3 months, which made Booth lose that time with his new daughter, and now this jerk is calling the shots on whether Booth and Brennan can get married? It's kind of frustrating to me that they would even go there. So help me if the writers break these two up I will have to kill someone. It took way too long for them to get together to have them break up after only a couple seasons. So my thoughts are, they find the jerk, kill him, Booth explains and they have a wedding all in the season premiere. Too much to ask?


3. Merlin

Ok so I'm honestly not sure if the final episode has aired in the US, and I'm not going to say how I have seen it if it hasn't, but I may have watched the entire fifth season in one day. I seriously don't have a problem.

With this one I had some expectations on how it should end. It is the series finale after all. And I don't know why I'm so upset considering they didn't exactly follow the tale how we know it (Sword in the Stone anyone?), but the ending was seriously depressing! First off here's what my hopes for the ending were:

Merlin finally reveals to Arthur that he has magic. Arthur is at first upset about it, but then comes around when he sees this is the only way to defeat Morgana. The kingdom is saved, and they are finally in peace. Arthur and Guinevere are able to start a family and Merlin is able to use his magic for good. Arthur and Merlin become not only best friends, but equals in a manner of sorts. Merlin is no longer Arthur's servant.

Yeah this is not at all how it went. Merlin did reveal he has magic to Arthur, but only after Arthur is dying from a stab wound from war declared on him by Morgana. Arthur is mad, but does come around in the end. Merlin does kill Morgana, but Arthur ends up dying too. Merlin then has to bury/burn Arthur's body at sea and then Guinevere is now ruling Camelot. Final scene is an elderly Merlin walking up a paved road as a semi-truck drives by. He's all alone, everyone is gone, and he's still alive. I found this to be so depressing and sad. After Merlin spends all this time continually saving his friends, he's left with the burden of aging slower and having to watch everyone he loves die before him. How is this a good ending?? I understand that he is to stand by the once and future King Arthur, but I'm still at a loss on what this means. Once means "one-time" and future means that there will be another King Arthur, but how can they go hand-in-hand? Someone please explain this to me.

Do you have a season or series finale that isn't sitting well with you? Feel free to share your thoughts.

TV Review: Doctor Who: The Name of The Doctor Thoughts (Spoilers!)

So the season finale of Doctor Who happened this weekend and with it came a lot of emotions. Some good, some sad, and some I'm just not sure. I do have to say though, that this episode was by far the best episode of the entire season. I feel bad for Jenna Louise Coleman (Clara) for coming into a show where the episodes written around her character were only sub par. But this finale made up for everything, and all of the assumptions and theories of whom Clara is to The Doctor were quashed. No one saw it coming and that's what made this so much better.

I have to give props to the editors of this episode for helping mesh the Classic Who with New Who. It made me a giddy little girl to see Clara having been with every version of the Doctor at some point in his life. I mean Clara at one point was a Time Lady! That is a big deal. And she was at the library where 10 had saved River into the database!

Speaking of River, having to say goodbye to her officially was a bittersweet moment. We've always known since we met her that we were going to have to say goodbye. I mean she dies the first time we meet her, but knowing that was most likely the last time we will see her, made me a little sad. I know her timeline is all wibbly-wobbly and The Doctor never met her in order, and this could mean maybe somewhere down the road he runs into her again, but this felt final. The final chapter in the Pond storyline. Goodbye River Song, RIP.

Now the part of the episode that made me go WTF and wonder if I should be mad, is at the end when The Doctor's biggest secret is revealed, and it's not his name. It's the fact that there is another regeneration of him that he has decided to forget because this regeneration had been involved in the Time War and killed his own people. And therefore The Doctor doesn't think this regeneration of himself worthy of being called The Doctor. Where this bothers me is that Moffatt is playing god again. He has done everything in his power to erase the Davies era. He has decided not only to create a new regeneration, but mess with what the fandom has become accustomed to. We all know that The Doctor only has 12 regenerations in his lifespan. And with this new revelation, we now see that Matt Smith's Doctor may possibly be the 12th, not the 11th regeneration. I. don't. like. this. at. all.

Now the other reason Moffatt has decided to go this way is because Christopher Eccleston decided not to participate in the 50th anniversary special, so Moffatt went another way. We are aware that Eccleston is not the biggest fan of his role he played in the Whoniverse, but this doesn't mean Moffatt gets to mess with the history anymore than he already has. This really does bother me. It's no secret I'm not a Moffatt fan and it worries me what he's doing to the Whoniverse.  With this being said, I am also intrigued to see where he plans to go with this. The 50th anniversary special is something I'm looking forward to more than anything and November can't come soon enough.

I also thought I would share a few of the most important moments from the finale in gif format (credit goes to those who made them):

And speaking of all the 50th Anniversary excitement, a really cool thing happened. Apparently there was a shipping mistake in the issuance of the 7th season of Doctor Who on dvd. They were shipped prematurely to the US, and about 200 people received it a week before they should have. This led to a possible leak of this episode and the potential ruining of a huge secret. But because this fandom rocks, the secret was never leaked, not a single moment was blown. This is amazing people. And because the fandom is so awesome, we were rewarded with a special behind the scenes video (see below). This anniversary special is going to be so damn awesome.

How adorable are they?? I ship them whole-heartedly. That's not creepy right?  I'm also including a couple pics that have been released of the filming of the special. These pictures make me smile every time. I love this show so much.