I Want to Believe…

In Fox’s Mulder’s Office

 

This photo was another gem I found in my old bins and boxes.

No, I never met Fox Mulder or went to his office. This picture was taken at the X-Files Expo that was held in Massachusetts back in 1998. It was taken in front of a blue screen, and Voila! I was in Mulder’s office, complete with the pencils in the ceiling. The picture used to sit on a shelf in my office, back when I had an office and when people knew what it represented.

I tried to take it out of the brown plastic frame for this blog and ended up cracking and breaking the frame. If I can’t figure out how to open a plastic frame, I don’t think I’ll be replacing Mulder or Scully anytime soon!

I’ll leave you with the teaser that showed on Fox recently for the X-Files reboot:

 

Thank you, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Thank Goodness for Buffy The Vampire Slayer

We all have certain things that never fail to cheer us up, or at least help us to tolerate the less-than-perfect times. It is with a giggle I admit how often I have turned to Buffy in the last year.

One year ago I moved to my tiny apartment. Even with very little space, I decided to lug along my big, heavy TV with the built-in VCR and DVD players to put in my bedroom. As senseless as it may have seemed at the time, I have been grateful for it many times in the last year. Like when it took three appointments with three different technicians to get my cable and Internet running properly. As I was trying to settle in and find comfort in my new space I was able to turn to my “old technology” TV and pull out my Buffy the Vampire Slayer series DVDs. Ah…the clothes, the silliness, the witty writing…and the familiar characters…it was good to see them again. I didn’t feel so lonely and so lost.

A year later I was again having trouble with my cable and Internet; I’m up to Season Three now…and I’m grateful…again. I even told the customer service person on the phone about Buffy. When I couldn’t get a technician to come out for two days she said, “Well, I guess you’ll be watching Buffy again tonight!” And we laughed. I’ll bet she was grateful too… Buffy helped her not to have to deal with a frustrated customer.

And within that year I had a month and a half when my cable-connected living room TV was broken (it was the holidays…too much going on…then the TV repair man had to come out three times before he got the correct board to fix it). Buffy and my old TV kept me from feeling upset with things out of my control. After all, we have Buffy to protect us from the vampires and demons out to get us! 🙂

And when I had a horrible migraine, a terrible day at work, and sat in the waiting room for an appointment that had been changed to another day? Buffy and a bloody mary (get it?) was the redeeming ending to my day that allowed me to go to sleep with the confidence that the next day would be better.

You definitely wouldn’t call it binge watching as after one year I am only in Season Three, but I’m savoring it…every moment.

Tell me, readers, do you have a movie or TV show  you turn to in the “tough” times?

No News is Good News?

Seems like we have been inundated with “bad” news lately: the bombing in Boston, the explosion in Texas, the floods in the Midwest…and those are just the national stories, let alone the “more local” stories of murder and other tragedies. I can’t take it. I read headlines, but not stories. I try not to look at too many pictures or watch the news on TV. Yet I think it is important to know what is going on in the world, so I don’t want to avoid it altogether. Also, if I get too caught up in my own problems and lose sight of the bigger picture, I become self-obsessed and isolated.

How do you handle it dear readers? Do you control your news-watching with time limits? Do you only use certain news sources? Are there certain types of news stories you try to avoid altogether?

Personally, I try to avoid animal cruelty and child cruelty stories whenever possible. And unfortunately I am a terrorist’s dream…scared to death for a while after tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombing.

I wrote this poem some years ago when I didn’t change the channel fast enough and an animal cruelty story came on:

No News is Good News

 Waiting for you,

I turn on the TV.

I cry alone

because someone set

somebody’s pet

on fire.

When you’re here

You try to keep me

from seeing

such things.

When you come home

You shake your head

at my wet eyes;

I just can’t be left alone.

I’ve soaked the cat’s fur

with my tears

hoping to prevent tragedy.

Although I appreciate the inspiration and a good cry…it just seems best for me to avoid the bad news whenever possible.