Wrapping It All Up - "Last Christmas," Playlist, Looking Forward

I know, I know, I didn't get a proper review out for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. However, I did a quick-and-dirty reaction post on my Tumblr and I did pontificate about it on this week's Five(ish) Fangirls, so maybe I'll let those stand on their own.

Bottom Line: I loved "Last Christmas." This is the Twelfth Doctor's answer to the Eleventh Doctor's "A Christmas Carol" - right now, I'm not sure which one I prefer (if, indeed, I need to prefer one over the other). I feel like "Last Christmas" tied everything together from Series 8 and provided much-needed closure from that story arc, but it was done in a way that was appropriate for a Doctor Who Christmas Special. I need to rewatch it still, but it was a pleasant end to my Christmas festivities. As has become my own tradition.

I already did my version of looking back at 2014 as well and I'm not going to rehash any of that (you can go read that post if you're curious). However, I am going to indulge in another tradition of mine that I've had going back to... probably 2009. It's something I've tried to improve each year and that is to create a playlist of music that has meant something to me during the calendar year. I used to hammer this out in the waning weeks of the year, but then I realized I was missing some important elements from earlier months, so I started compiling songs as early as 12:20 am on January 1. These aren't necessarily songs that came out this year - they may even be songs that I've had in my music collection for a long time. These are songs that I feel best illustrate the events of the year - whether small or large, good or bad, silly or poignant.

This year was no exception. I have a personal journal entry explaining why these songs were chosen and in the order they were chosen, but this year I think I'm just going to list them off and link to the music. Because everyone has their own interpretation of music and their own experiences and I'd like to keep mine my own. But they're good songs, so here's something to enjoy as 2014 fades into the background and 2015 comes thundering in!

Without further ado, may I present -

2014 Playlist - Sometimes You Reach What's Real by Making Believe

1. "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel (from the Frozen soundtrack)
2. "Stand" by Rascal Flatts
3. "Compass" by Lady Antebellum
4. "Secrets" by OneRepublic
5. "Change" by Taylor Swift
6. "New Sensation" by Train
7. "Try" by Pink
8. "This is Home" by Switchfoot (from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian soundtrack)
9. "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling, featuring Lzzy Hale
10. "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay
11. "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson
12. "Moon Pride" by Momoiro Clover Z (from the Sailor Moon Crystal soundtrack)
13. "I Am the Doctor (Remix)" by somebody on Tumblr (no idea who originally started this)
14. "Happy" by Pharrell Williams (from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack)
15. "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone (from many places, but I got it from the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack)
16. "Let It Go (Vivaldi's Winter)" by The Piano Guys
17. "Coming Home" by Skylar Grey
18. "Timeless" by The Airborne Toxic Event
19. "Ever Ever After" by Carrie Underwood (from the Enchanted soundtrack)
20. "The Last Goodbye" by Billy Boyd (from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies soundtrack)

And - get this - I've already got a couple songs in consideration for 2015's playlist (hopefully the year lives up to expectation. If not... well, at least the music will be good).

A few years ago, a blog that I followed did what were known as "Doom Antidotes." The idea being that there were so many bad things happening in the world and while it was the blog's job to chronicle some of it in the news, the guy who ran the blog made it a point to also actively seek out good things to spotlight. He asked readers to send in their contributions (since they were already sending in the bad stuff too) and tried to keep everyone's spirits up. It's so easy to get stuck worrying about the things you have no control over and freaking out about what you're going to do if and when The Inevitable Worst actually happens. While it's good to be prepared for bad things - you miss out on the good things when the bad is all that consumes you

I feel like I've spent so much time bogged down in the bad things that I've missed so much of the good (unless it came up and metaphorically smacked me in the head - which I did appreciate at the time). I suppose, if I must make New Years Resolutions (which - in all honesty - I started in on a few of mine back in October), then my big one is to find the good in life and focus on that. To complain less and stop adding to the doom and gloom, because that's easy to come by. Maybe I have to cut out certain media that I have heretofore enjoyed (I've already done some of that - it's amazing how much my attitudes and outlook changed when I stopped listening to/reading certain fandom personalities). Maybe I have to start looking for more upbeat and positive things to include in my life (hopefully that aren't too annoying - there was a reason I started down this path of cynicism, after all). It's not going to happen all at once, but it's going to happen over time.

And that's what I've got, isn't it?

Happiest of New Years to you and yours - make 2015 extra special! After all, this is the year we get hoverboards!

I've always been partial to the Pitbull, myself

The Devil Waiting at the Gate - 2014 Year in Review

As is traditional for this time of year - there are a lot of "Year in Review" types of posts - both for major media outlets and not-so-major-media-outlets and, of course, the ever-present Family Christmas Card letter, where moms everywhere inform everyone what little Johnny and Sally accomplished this year and that Bob got a raise and a promotion and our family life is wonderful - Merry Christmas to you and yours! And it's not limited to people with kids and families and dogs. Even we single people find interesting things to talk about and look back on with fondness.

For myself, I already did a retrospective with my Five(ish) Fangirl compadres. Take a listen -



If you prefer the Cliffs Notes version, here it is in list form -

What was good about 2014 for me:
- New baby nephew (that kid - and his big sister - bring me life)
- FanX, Salt Lake Comic Con, ToshoCON
- Marvel kicking all kinds of hind-end, both at the movies and on TV
- The officially licensed return of Sailor Moon to North America and the premiere of Sailor Moon Crystal
- Fandoms new and old - Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time, Sleepy Hollow, 24: Live Another Day, Agents of SHIELD, and many more
- The Five(ish) Fangirls Podcast (coming soon to an iTunes feed near you!)

What was bad about 2014 for me:
- Just about everything else

Never have I ever looked forward to much to the end of a year than I have this one. I mean - what is a new year, really? You buy a new calendar (hopefully one with pretty artwork) and stick it on the wall so your plans match up with what the rest of the world's doing (at least, tangentially). Things like anxiety and depression don't really care much about fitting into a set schedule. But so much bad happened to me in starting in January 2014. I can't help but imagine some little brain imp watching me from around the corner of last year, cackling madly to itself while waiting to pounce and give me all kinds of hell for nearly twelve-months straight.

Something like that.

Just to give you an idea without going into a lot of specifics (we'd be here until next summer if I did that), I've been going over some of my journal entries from this year (because that's what I do when I'm feeling like hell - I write. I've written a lot this year). One entry in particular stood out to me as (A) Being a particularly good piece of writing just on its own (with a little polishing, I could publish it and maybe make some money) and (B) Something that would probably give Edgar Allan Poe nightmares, but my literary fiction professor from college would likely put me in touch with a publisher (yet I can't get my friggin' fantasy novel to amount to anything. My life, ladies and gentlemen). I even remember the mindset I was in when I was writing it and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Think of the most scary thing you've ever encountered - times that by 100. You have a good idea of what I feel when I look back and think about the places I've been mentally and emotionally this year. No. I don't want to reflect on that any more than I absolutely have to.

However - it does make me that much more grateful for the good things I've had that balance out the bad (even in the smallest way). Friends, family, complete strangers, people I have no hope of ever meeting but they still make me smile in some way - it's all helped. There are too many to thank here, but you probably know who you are (even if you aren't - just take the credit anyway). To everyone else, I'd just encourage you all to be a help to other people. Be cheerful and look for the good things. Don't add to the anger and hatred and turmoil and flat-out meanness out there. Maybe that's what I can learn from this experience - and it brings to mind a quote from a man whose wisdom and counsel helped shaped my teenage years and who I still miss dearly to this day: "Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight." Heaven knows the storms seek us out enough that we don't need to do their job for them. (Also - "Life is to be enjoyed, not merely endured.")

So - yeah, even though it makes zero sense to be angry at a measurement of time, 2014 can go stick its finger in an electric socket. On New Year's Eve, I will be happily showing this year the door and looking forward to something better in 2015 (this year was featured in Back to the Future Part II, it can't be a complete waste, right?)

In the meantime, I'm going home for Christmas. I'll enjoy some family time, watching Christmas movies and opening presents and seeing this year's Doctor Who Christmas special and (likely) playing some Doctor Who Legacy.

As we part from 2014, I have only this to say -

Dear 2015 - you have a lot of room to make improvements. I suggest you use it.

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Just a little something to get the New Year's weekend going (h/t Evil Blogger Lady) -



I knew Zooey Deschanel could sing, but Joseph Gordon-Leavitt? Wow. (I guess I just don't pay much attention to that area of pop culture)

Year in Review and Christmas Wishes

I'm off to the ranch this week for Family Christmas Fun Time, but I would be sincerely remiss if I didn't put something fun on the blog and just reflect on the Year That Was 2011 and honor my time there, if only to acknowledge it was heads-and-shoulders better than 2010.  Plus, I'm not much of a sender of Christmas cards (why spend so much money sending something nice that's just going to get thrown away - seriously, what do people do with all those nice cards they get in the mail?)  In the spirit of the occasion, I present -

The Top Ten Great Things That Happened to Me In 2011

Well, the ten things I feel are noteworthy at least - 

10. Taking the West Desert Drama Team to Region and Qualifying for State

    I spent the first part of the 2011 calendar year working for West Desert High School and one of the most fun things I did with those kids was coaching them for Drama Competition.  Even though I have no real qualifications to be a Drama coach other than I was the only person in West Desert that had the time and was willing to do it (sometimes, that's all you really can ask for).  Three of my students performed a scene from the dramatized "Pride and Prejudice" - and for three young kids from the sticks going up against kids from small private schools (who, under no circumstances whatsoever, never, ever, ever recruit.  Nope, never), they actually made a damn good showing.  Enough that they qualified for the State competition.  Actually, my entire time at West Desert was so much fun and I actually find myself missing it from time to time.

9. Studying Abroad in Serbia

In conjunction with my Master's Degree (which I will expound upon in a moment), I had the opportunity to travel to Serbia and do some library programming with kids and teens.  It was seriously an eye-opening experience for me, who has never traveled out of the United States and never really had any plans to.  Even with some of the logistical issues we had, I just cannot forget the enthusiasm and love the librarians in Serbia had for the people they served and how much they wanted to help them.  It inspired me to be a better librarian and to really put my heart into the work I want to do now that I have my degree.

8. The Great "Wheel of Time" Re-Read (To Be Epic-ly Concluded in 2012)

I've mentioned on Twitter and Facebook that I've been reading "The Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan.  I have to give a bit of background on this - my senior year of high school, I moved to a new town and a new school where I didn't know anyone.  I kept mostly to myself for a while, but I slowly got to know people and make friends.  Part of that "making friends" thing was exchanging books and things that we were all interested in and at some point, a few of my classmates unearthed "The Wheel of Time" from our tiny school library and they were all reading them like crazy.  Since this was the era of the "Lord of the Rings" movies and I was all nuttied-out for Harry Potter, I was ready and eager for any new fantasy series to catch my attention.  Well, those classmates handed me "The Eye of the World" (book 1 in WoT) and I ate that up like nobody's business.  I proceeded through the series (as much as the school library had) and basically decided that it was Amazing (by extension, my new friends were Amazing for handing it to me).  Sadly, I graduated about the time I was finishing up "The Fires of Heaven" (book 5) and I had to turn my attention to going to college and all the fun that comes with that.  I did manage to finish up to "A Crown of Swords" (book 7) during the summer, but then I had to quit because school life was not conducive to reading a Doorstopper Fantasy series (sad day).  Even after finishing college, I had moved on to other pursuits and never got around to picking it up again.

Fast forward to working for Salt Lake County Library in 2011 - one day, someone checked in the audiobook of "The Eye of the World" and my little fangirl brain got to thinking "Hey, I have a long commute and an iPod - this could work!" I snapped up that audiobook and discovered (to my utter delight) that the library had the rest of the series on CD as well (seeing as how local author Brandon Sanderson is finishing the series since Robert Jordan passed away in 2007, of course Salt Lake County would have tons of copies available).  I started up in October and haven't looked back.  And yes, it is just as fun and Amazing as I remember it.  The only reason it isn't higher up on the list is because I'm still in the middle of where I left off before - next year when "A Memory of Light" (book 14 - Holy Shiz!) comes out and I get to finish, this might be #4 or so.  We'll see.

Honestly, though - this is more than revisiting a book series that I loved Back in the Day.  Starting "The Wheel of Time" again also reminds me of all those wonderful kids I knew in high school who befriended the New Girl at a time of life that everyone is gearing up to take off into the lone and dreary world.  And that is something I'll always appreciate (yes, I am a sentimental fool from time to time. Why is no one surprised by this?)

7. The Advent of "Traveling the Vortex" and Friday Night Who

Continuing in the fandom vein for a moment (I'll get to the Personal Story stuff soon) - 2011 marked the year of the Myrka jokes, feedback and Number 1 Fans.  Yes, folks - this year, I was introduced to Glenn and Shaun and their marvelous adventures introducing their friend Keith to "Doctor Who."  I originally reviewed their podcast back in February when it was first starting up and I enjoyed it so much (not to mention the fact it's a great way for me to be introduced to much of Classic Who without having to go through all from "An Unearthly Child" to the end. People, that 26 seasons of stuff - not to mention how many missing episodes had to be reconstructed? Oy...).  Not to mention Friday Night Who has become the highlight of my week.  It's the closest I can get right now to watching Doctor Who with a bunch of like-minded fans from all over (instead of those fair-weather "Oh, this is something you like - sure I'll watch it with you, I have nothing better to do" types - not that I don't appreciate you all!) and just have a grand old time.

For being one of the highlights of my week and my year, Traveling the Vortex gets a well-deserved spot on my Year in Review list.

6. Watching "Doctor Who" Series 6 as it Broadcasts



Yeah, I guess there's something to be said for "mainlining" a series (meaning you wait until you have all the episodes and watching them all in one go) - but there was nothing that I appreciated more than my first year of delving into "Doctor Who" on a week-by-week basis and getting to digest each episode over the course of a week (and sometimes longer than that).  It intensified the conversation, make me think harder about this stuff and increased my enjoyment of the show.  Not to mention, I got to savor the experience a lot more than when I was barreling through the David Tennant era in the course of a month.  The whole of Series 6 was a fantastic experience and, with a few minor exceptions, I loved every minute of it.

Of course, since I'm getting the boxed set for Christmas, I will also look forward to watching the entire season in the course of a week or so :)

5. Getting a Job at the Library

I don't know where other people would put this one, but since I actually got a job in a library and that's the field I want to work in - I'm pretty stoked about this.  Especially since it's in the library system I REALLY wanted to work for.  I'm still "just a substitute" - but everyone's got to pay their dues somehow.  Salt Lake County Library is a great place to work and the people are friendly and they do an amazing job with everything.  I'm still hoping to get on as a permanent hire (preferable as a children or young adult librarian - but I'll take what I can get) - but I do love my job and I am darn lucky to have it :)

4. SEAL Team Six Taking Out Osama bin Laden

No matter your politics or opinions or whatever - that was an awesome day.  God bless our troops.

3. Finishing my Master of Library Science degree

Awww, yeaaaah! Look how cool that is?

What - did you want an overly-sentimental treatise on how happy I about finishing my MLS and being done with school?  Okay - I might post a video of people singing and dancing happily.  Like this one -



Yeah, I'm just a little bit happy about this :)

2. Mark Coming Home



I took a LOT of video the day my brother came home from serving his mission in Argentina for two years.  None of it has been posted until today (I had grand schemes of editing together a video of that happy occasion, then I lost the SD cards - then I found them again, so that may still be a possibility).  Personally, I hadn't seen Mark in three years since he left while I was serving my own mission in Florida, so I was just as thrilled as anyone to have him back home.

(And if my brother has a problem with this video being posted - just remember that I'm the one sounding like a brainless moron about to burst into tears).

1. I'm an Aunt!

For the top of the list - what honestly could compete with this - the birth of my niece, Jaylee Elizabeth, beats everything else out.  Enough said.

That's only a smattering of pics of the lovable little peanut - and there will be more in the future, trust me.  Being an aunt is awesome!

There you have it - 2011 rocked in so many ways.  I have so much to be grateful for and happy about.  And I truly, truly hope 2012 capitalizes on the good things that happened here and continues to just be awesome and - now I'm rambling...

Everyone, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Happy Who Year!

Because this is too brilliant not to pass around:



Virtual New Year's cupcakes go to the first person who gets it.

(Swiped from here, who in turn swiped it from somewhere else - I told you it was too good not to share!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Here's wishing everyone a happy and glorious 2011!!

Happy 2010, y'all!

It's 2010. I didn't realize the ending of a decade was that big of a deal (since I was 4 when the 80s ended and the end of the 90s was more about the end of the millennium).

Let's see... taking stock of the last ten years - quite a bit has happened to me: my family moved from the place we'd lived since the pioneers, I graduated high school, graduated college (twice), went on a mission, bought a car, bought a ranch, gained a brother-in-law, gained a renewed love for sports (and a renewed hatred of old rivals), started writing a book, the Utes busted the BCS (twice), ... and I'm still living in my parents' house.

All in all - a productive decade (Hey, I can't get everything accomplished at once - next decade I'll be able to add "got a Masters degree").

Oh, for Christmas, I bought myself a Jane Austen journal. One of the quotes in it pretty well sums my life up: "I wish as well as everybody else to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else it must be in my own way." (from Sense and Sensibility).

Making that quote my motto (one of many) is about as close as I will get to making New Years Resolutions (resolutions are stupid because everyone breaks them. I'd rather make changes because I want to, not just because I buy a new calendar). Actually, I want it on one of those wooden placard thingies that are a big deal in people's living rooms. You know, the ones that say things like "All because two people fell in love" and the like. Maybe I'll put it on an LJ icon.

Everybody, have a Happy New Year.

PS - At precisely 12:00:02 am this morning, my ten-year-old cousin poked me in the eye rally hard (it still kinda hurts). When the first thing you remember of the new year is being nearly blind for a full minute, what does that mean for the rest of your year? (guess it's better than some people who wake up in the new year and can't remember what the crap they did to celebrate)