I have been noticing lately how my relatively recent addiction to "Doctor Who" has bumped me up to a new level of nerdy. And I'm surprisingly pleased about it!
I've been a nerd all of my life, but since high school, I've always felt a little like a fraud around those nerdy friends closest to me. Why? Because I wasn't a part of the Star Wars vs. Star Trek rivalry. And everyone around me was. I've never been into Star Trek and *brace yourselves* I'm only lukewarm about Star Wars. I was a poser in the world of Sci-fi nerd-dom.
I will admit, I managed to acquire a bit of cred by getting into Firefly, but I never felt it was quite enough.
But not anymore!!
Although it's more of a phenomenon on the other side of the Atlantic, "Doctor Who" has allowed me to be a fully-fledged sci-fi nerd in my own right! Yay me!
As someone who tends to shun the culturally mainstream (and no, I'm NOT a hipster), being a part of the DW fanbase gives me a sense of belonging that I never felt before.
I hate to admit it, but it really feels great. I've found my nerd niche and I plan on settling down for awhile. :)
Now that I got that off my back, I have a nerdy story that will probably give my sisters a chuckle at my expense:
While watching "Big Bang Theory" last night, I predicted one of Sheldon's lines. Not because he's a predictable character, but because I had the exact same reaction to Raj's statement about the replica Ring of Power.
Raj: "It even has the Elvish inscription!"
Leah's brain: "Pffft it isn't Elvish. It's the language of Mordor written in Elvish script... Geez." Followed by a recitation in my head of the "One Ring to rule them all" along with the BBT cast.
Yep. Even I was surprised by my level of nerddom on that one. Ha ha ha!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
On Symbolic Dreams
Last night, I think I had a symbolic dream. It went thusly:
I was walking along a street when an elderly Asian man in a bright red silk jacket with gold trim asked me if I would carry his baby granddaughter for him, as she couldn't yet walk and he was too tired to keep carring her. I happily agreed, so he gave me the baby and walked in front of me. Slowly, though, he get further and further ahead of me. I wasn't surprised, as I was laden with an infant, who was quite heavy, and she was sleepy, so getting awkward to carry. At one point, I stopped to show her something pretty in a store window, but when I looked up, her grandfather was gone. I hurried ahead, but he had disappeared into the downtown crowd. After searching for him, I decided to walk to Chinatown, which was nearby, and hope that it was where he was heading. But he was nowhere to be found. Out of desperation, I went into what I thought was a community centre, but instead of city employees behind the counter, there were Buddhist monks. Some wore the grey robes of Korean monks, and some wore the burgundy and gold of Tibetan monks. Assured that they would be able to help, I waited until one of the monks was free, approached the counter, sat the baby on it, and started to explain what had happened.
Sadly, my alarm went off before the monk could help me.
But it got me to thinking. Maybe the baby symbolizes my life and responsibilities that are are getting a little too heavy and awkward for me to carry alone comfortably, even if I don't resent them and am glad to carry them. Maybe I should get back into studying Buddhism to see if it can help me with my burden.
I don't pretend to be an expert, but it IS my mind. And I HAVE been thinking of picking up a few of my Buddhist habits once again. Maybe this is a sign that my subconscious agrees. :)
I was walking along a street when an elderly Asian man in a bright red silk jacket with gold trim asked me if I would carry his baby granddaughter for him, as she couldn't yet walk and he was too tired to keep carring her. I happily agreed, so he gave me the baby and walked in front of me. Slowly, though, he get further and further ahead of me. I wasn't surprised, as I was laden with an infant, who was quite heavy, and she was sleepy, so getting awkward to carry. At one point, I stopped to show her something pretty in a store window, but when I looked up, her grandfather was gone. I hurried ahead, but he had disappeared into the downtown crowd. After searching for him, I decided to walk to Chinatown, which was nearby, and hope that it was where he was heading. But he was nowhere to be found. Out of desperation, I went into what I thought was a community centre, but instead of city employees behind the counter, there were Buddhist monks. Some wore the grey robes of Korean monks, and some wore the burgundy and gold of Tibetan monks. Assured that they would be able to help, I waited until one of the monks was free, approached the counter, sat the baby on it, and started to explain what had happened.
Sadly, my alarm went off before the monk could help me.
But it got me to thinking. Maybe the baby symbolizes my life and responsibilities that are are getting a little too heavy and awkward for me to carry alone comfortably, even if I don't resent them and am glad to carry them. Maybe I should get back into studying Buddhism to see if it can help me with my burden.
I don't pretend to be an expert, but it IS my mind. And I HAVE been thinking of picking up a few of my Buddhist habits once again. Maybe this is a sign that my subconscious agrees. :)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
On Moments of Hopelessness
It's been one of those evenings.
One of those horrible times when, just for a while, nothing goes right. And it just spirals into chaos.
It starts small: a supper ruined, a little feeling of loneliness...
And now, there's just one phrase that keeps popping into my head: "Is this it?"
I mean, of course, this isn't it. I know that there's a great big world out there, full of wonderful and exciting things. It just seems like, for the moment, it's ever so far away from me.
I suddenly feel like the little world that I've been living in, where I'm comfortable in my own skin, and happy with myself, and pleased with my own accomplishments and skill set, is just not enough. I feel an emptiness that I've always been able to fill with odd hobbies and intellectual pursuits.
I come home, eat supper, pet the cat, then spend the evening indulging in one of my many little hobbies or trying to keep my apartment clean. But I'm not making friends on a scale that I should be at my age. I'm not very good at it. I like people, I love my friends, but I don't like going out. I never do.
And if I don't sort myself out soon, I'm going to be THAT woman. You know the one. The one who never goes out and just gets frumpier and frumpier as the years go by, then finally ends up in some kind of institution, alone.
And I feel powerless to stop it.
And where did all this come from? From a spoiled supper and bad hormonal timing.
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
One of those horrible times when, just for a while, nothing goes right. And it just spirals into chaos.
It starts small: a supper ruined, a little feeling of loneliness...
And now, there's just one phrase that keeps popping into my head: "Is this it?"
I mean, of course, this isn't it. I know that there's a great big world out there, full of wonderful and exciting things. It just seems like, for the moment, it's ever so far away from me.
I suddenly feel like the little world that I've been living in, where I'm comfortable in my own skin, and happy with myself, and pleased with my own accomplishments and skill set, is just not enough. I feel an emptiness that I've always been able to fill with odd hobbies and intellectual pursuits.
I come home, eat supper, pet the cat, then spend the evening indulging in one of my many little hobbies or trying to keep my apartment clean. But I'm not making friends on a scale that I should be at my age. I'm not very good at it. I like people, I love my friends, but I don't like going out. I never do.
And if I don't sort myself out soon, I'm going to be THAT woman. You know the one. The one who never goes out and just gets frumpier and frumpier as the years go by, then finally ends up in some kind of institution, alone.
And I feel powerless to stop it.
And where did all this come from? From a spoiled supper and bad hormonal timing.
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
On Kids These Days
When I say "Kids these days", naturally, I don't mean ALL kids. I mean a frightening number of kids, or things that kids do these days that other generations would probably not DREAM of doing.
This is what I saw today that really bugged me:
I was watching "Judge Judy" on TV (what can I say? JJ is my hero!) and one of the cases was a well-dressed young man - backed up by his mum - that was suing his disabled father who promised to buy him a car when he started college, and didn't.
That just blew my mind.
Why, in God's name, would you SUE your father, who lives on $1000 per month (minus $300 per month for child insurance) FOR A CAR? Seriously, kid, you're 22 and in college. Do you not see how ridiculous that is? "He promised he'd get me a car, and so I want my car!" It made me so incredibly angry. Righteously angry. And made me want to shake not only the kid, but his mum for letting him do it!
Douche.
Luckily, Judge Judy is a smart woman and ended the case with "get a part-time job and get your own car"
Seriously, why are we teaching our kids that material goods are a right, instead of a privilege? Are they blinded by shiny objects so much that they cannot see common sense anymore? What is happening?
Sadly, there are FAR too many factors to be able to blame this on someone/thing: poor parenting, consumer media, capitalist values, lack of general accountability in society, loose cultural morals. The list goes on and on. But the sad fact remains: kids are growing up with an unhealthy sense of entitlement.
Regardless of how it started, we need to start thinking about how to end it before it becomes an epidemic. Or rather, a worse epidemic than it already is. We need some serious damage control.
Rant over. For now...
This is what I saw today that really bugged me:
I was watching "Judge Judy" on TV (what can I say? JJ is my hero!) and one of the cases was a well-dressed young man - backed up by his mum - that was suing his disabled father who promised to buy him a car when he started college, and didn't.
That just blew my mind.
Why, in God's name, would you SUE your father, who lives on $1000 per month (minus $300 per month for child insurance) FOR A CAR? Seriously, kid, you're 22 and in college. Do you not see how ridiculous that is? "He promised he'd get me a car, and so I want my car!" It made me so incredibly angry. Righteously angry. And made me want to shake not only the kid, but his mum for letting him do it!
Douche.
Luckily, Judge Judy is a smart woman and ended the case with "get a part-time job and get your own car"
Seriously, why are we teaching our kids that material goods are a right, instead of a privilege? Are they blinded by shiny objects so much that they cannot see common sense anymore? What is happening?
Sadly, there are FAR too many factors to be able to blame this on someone/thing: poor parenting, consumer media, capitalist values, lack of general accountability in society, loose cultural morals. The list goes on and on. But the sad fact remains: kids are growing up with an unhealthy sense of entitlement.
Regardless of how it started, we need to start thinking about how to end it before it becomes an epidemic. Or rather, a worse epidemic than it already is. We need some serious damage control.
Rant over. For now...
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