Five Minute Friday: Visit

Note: This post is my weekly contribution to the Five Minute Friday community that is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Click here for more information about Five Minute Friday and how you can get involved! To link up with all the other entries for today's prompt word, click here.

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Yeah, it's a Doctor Who travel reference. The Doctor loves to visit new places :)

I'll come clean. I am a very enthusiastic tourist. There are few things I love more than visiting a new place. There is something about seeing new things and new places that just thrills me. I love to explore all the streets, shops, cafes, and ins and outs of a place. I love to visit with the locals. I love to visit art museums and theatres and street markets. I love visiting historic sites and monuments and local places of interest. I love visiting new places in our hometown too. Just this morning, GB and I had to go run an errand and it took us near a new grocery store that opened about a week ago called Sprouts. I've never been to one of those before, so we decided to visit and check it out.

Of Fandoms and Fangirling

I admit it. I am a hopeless fangirl. Don't know what that is? Let me show you. It looks something like this:

Just imagine that she's flailing those hands a little and you'll have it about right.

Just in case the picture doesn't help, here's a definition from Urban Dictionary:

fangirl, n.
1. (derogatory) a female fan, obsessed with something (or someone) to a frightening or sickening degree. Often considered ditzy, annoying and shallow.
2. (playful, good-natured) less extreme, a female fan who can laugh at their own passion for their particular interest (or even obsession).

I definitely fall into the second category. Actually, very few people fall into the first category for the simple fact that the level of devotion required to fall into that category is very time-consuming. Usually it's the province of high school and college age girls who have both the time necessary to obsess over something to that degree and the immaturity level. Category 1 is something that most fans grow out of once they reach adulthood and its various responsibilities and demands. It is generally accepted that to be firmly rooted in category 1 as an adult is rather unhealthy. Some folks are and they usually wind up making a career of it (like professional gossip columnists, entertainment writers, etc.), but that's not me. I'm sure some folks might think I'm closer to category 1, the reality is that life just doesn't allow me to be too obsessed.

So what makes a fangirl? Well, in short, a fandom. Confused? Here's another definition courtesy of the folks at Urban Dictionary:

fandom, n. 

The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people.

Fandom may also refer to the object of a fangirl's obsession. In my case, this is science fiction, fantasy, certain book series, and television shows. Fandoms often refer to their individual fangirls (and boys) by a collective nickname that is specific to that fandom. For example, fans who love the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (either the books or the movies) often refer to themselves as Potterheads. One of the more famous examples of this are the Trekkies (fans who love anything in the Star Trek universe).

As for me, I'm a Whovian (Doctor Who), Potterhead (Harry Potter), Trekkie (Star Trek), Browncoat (Firefly and Serenity), Sherlockian (BBC's Sherlock), and general all-around Anglophile (lover of all things British). I also have a love for Star Wars and the Tolkien sagas of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

See what I mean? I think it must be the thespian in me... *sheepish look*

Some of these fandoms, I have grown up loving and were passed on to me by my dad. The others, I have found via friends and, more recently, the internet. My love of all things British began thanks to a tea party hosted by a co-worker of my mom's when I was a little girl. My Brit-love extends to a number of British comedies or "Britcoms" that I used to watch on Saturday nights on our local PBS affiliate. As an adult, I've discovered the joys of the Masterpiece series, Call the Midwife, and of course, my favourite British period drama, Downton Abbey.

Period costumes, lush sets, scandal, intrigue, romance, social class tension, witty banter, and all set in the gorgeous English countryside during the early 20th century -- how could I *not* be a fan?

You might think with such an extensive list of fandoms that I wouldn't have time for anything but TV watching or book reading, but it's not too hard. For the most part, I indulge in these fun escapes when I have an hour or so in the evening or if I know I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands, like a road trip or sitting waiting somewhere. I often keep a favourite book in the car or sometimes watch something on my phone via Netflix. Gray enjoys Doctor Who and occasionally Star Trek, so he and I sometimes watch those on a weekend night as a sort of date night in. Stuff that isn't available on Netflix or in book form is usually stuff that is on regular TV and gets recorded on our DVR to be watched at a later point. It may sound like a lot of work, but it's not really and for me, these fandoms are a source of fun diversion for me and help relieve a bit of stress at the end of the day. One of the fun things about being a fangirl is that it is an easy way to make friends and even bond with my family because the love of a particular fandom is a shared interest.

See what I mean about shared interest? Some fans even go to conventions and do what is called cosplay (costume play) where they dress up like their favourite characters. This is a bunch of Whovians at San Diego's ComicCon. Fun, no?

The other thing I love about my various fandoms is thinking about the stories and what they're trying to say that isn't readily apparent. I like asking questions about the characters' motives, the underlying themes, the direction the particular story arc may (or may not) be taking, and the myths that underpin everything. There are interesting ideas to be found and often, universal truths about human nature and the ways we relate to each other, to the world around us, and even our relationship (or lack thereof) with God. Sometimes, these ideas even lead to new insights about myself, my faith, or the world around me.

I also use my love of these various series of books and TV shows. How? Well, for one, I am sometimes inspired by them to create something of my own -- a poem, a story, or, more recently, a blog post. In a more practical way, many of the metaphors, quotes, and ideas found in these series have helped me to express in a concrete way what I'm feeling when talking with Gray or Pendragon about my struggles with depression. Sometimes too, in expressing these things about my struggles, I discover new insights that are useful in helping me understand my illness or take a tiny step forward in my journey toward recovery.

The Dowager Countess of Grantham always has the best one-liners and some of the most sage advice in the series. Plus, she is played by the amazing Dame Maggie Smith who is one of my favourite actresses.

So now that you know a little more about fangirls and fandoms, tell me what you love. Do you swoon over period dramas or get giddy about the latest sci-fi or fantasy novel? What is your fandom?

Five Minute Friday: Send

Note: This post is my weekly contribution to the Five Minute Friday community that is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Click here for more information about Five Minute Friday and how you can get involved! To link up with all the other entries for today's prompt word, click here.

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For all my modern geekiness, I sometimes think that I ought to have been born in a much different era. I started noticing this when I was a young teenager of about 13 or 14. I found myself attracted to a lot of vintage sorts of things. Now understand that when I say vintage, I mean like Victorian era kind of vintage.

We are not amused.

Part of this likely came from the influence of the big sister of one of my best girlfriends. Her big sister had these magazines and they were filled with pictures of lace tablecloths, pretty dishes, elegant clothes, cups of tea and dainty tea cakes, and all manner of lovely things. I remember being at my friend's house and flipping through her sister's magazines and wishing that I could send myself back to that era to live for a while.

Nothing like a cup of tea and a pretty magazine to flip through at your leisure. The magazine featured in this photograph is the one that my friend's big sister subscribed to and it's one I've taken myself in years past.

This feeling of being out of step with my own era continued to grow when I fell in love with Harry Connick Jr's music in high school. I was on a church youth choir trip and asked a boy I admired who he was listening to on his Walkman tape player. He told me who it was and let me borrow his cassette tape. I popped it in my tape player, put my earphones on, and listened as this rich velvety baritone voice and full big band orchestra came through the speakers. It was love after two bars. I was absolutely sent. At the next stop on our tour, I bought a copy of that album with my spending money at the local mall in that area and soaked myself in the jazz, blues, and big band tunes of this gorgeous crooner. Even today, some 20+ years later, Harry Connick, Jr continues to be one of my favourite artists and I still get a thrill out of listening to him sing.

On the left, the picture and album that won my heart. On the right, Mr. Connick today. Still crazy talented and crazy gorgeous too! Did I mention that he's my celebrity boyfriend? Yeah, Gray laughs at me for that one :)

As I got a bit older, I discovered calligraphy, fountain pens, and dip pens. I especially grew fond of dip pens and at some point in college, I bought a very pretty blown glass one that I still enjoy using. There's something about writing a letter by hand (in any pen) and sending it to someone else. Its one of the reasons I signed up for the #fmfpartysnailmail and am looking forward to writing notes of encouragement to others using my dip pen and sending them out. I might even use my pretty stationary!

This is very similar to what my pretty glass dip pen looks like. There's a learning curve to using it, but it's so much fun and sends me back to a bygone era every time I use it!

I'm a nerd and a tech geek and love my computer and gadgets and all, but there is something special about another, simpler era gone by when people sent invitations to tea or long letters to read by candlelight that just appeals to me. I suppose I was meant to be born when I was, but I wouldn't mind being sent back in time -- if only for a little while!

Join the Five Minute Friday party at Kate Motaung's blog!

O City, My City!

This is a continuation of my previous entry London Calling! about my love for and my experiences in the UK and more specifically, my beloved London.

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When I got on the plane in Atlanta to fly to London for the spring semestre in 1997, I had no idea what wonderful adventures and experiences awaited me. I had, of course, heard the stories of previous study abroad students, but nothing could have begun to prepare me for what awaited me when I got off the plane at Gatwick Airport that brisk January morning.

We arrived in London and took a coach from the airport to the study center where we would be living for the term to get settled into our new digs. I was excited to see all the famous sights I'd seen pictures of, but as Gatwick is about 30 miles outside central London, I was forced to wait a little bit as we trundled along in the coach. I nibbled on the Cadbury's chocolate that our program director had given us as we arrived and watched green fields, houses, petrol stations, shops with unfamiliar names, and the flow of traffic on the left side of the road instead of the right.

Yummy, yummy! An assortment similar to what we nibbled on that first morning.

Saturday Dreaming

I don't know exactly what to write today. It has been a mostly quiet day. We ran a couple of errands this morning and Gray mowed the grass this afternoon while the big girls played quietly inside and the littlest one took her afternoon nap. Despite being completely knackered after mowing the lawn, Gray got in the kitchen and whipped up some of his wonderful chicken quesadillas for dinner. I know he was tired and didn't probably feel like it, but he's didn't complain. He's did what he does so very well -- take care of all of us, including me. I have been fighting a headache most of today and a less than stellar mood.