Seven Days of Joy: Day 7
Dec. 25th, 2008 12:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sinkwriterMERRY HAPPY HOLIDAYCHRISTMAKWANZUKAH SOLSTICE!
(I think that should cover it all. *GRIN*)
This is it! The last of the daily joy posts! For now, anyway. I may try to pop in and post positivity just for fun every once in a while. You know, it's good for my mental health. And yours, I hope. ;)
I need to type this up before the onslaught of family members arrives. They're on their way! Once they are here, there is no way I'll be able to get on the computer. It will be chaos. (Usually fun chaos, but chaos, nevertheless.)
Therefore, let's get to it, shall we?
Our week in review: Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6.
DAY 7
* A purple iPod nano. An overwhelmingly generous collective gift from my grandmother and my aunts Marilyn and Suzanne. There's no snowball's chance in hell I'll be able to fit all the music I own onto that thing (I think it stores about 8GB?), but I'm not about to tell them that. *laughing uproariously* That's what happens when you're a musician. You own too many CDs, can't possibly put them all in storage. Maybe I will have to pick and choose my utmost favorite songs. Maybe it will teach me moderation. Heh. Right. Still, it's soooo pretty and really cool. I cannot wait to play with this thing. Yay for techno gadgets! *does happy dance of joy*
* Toby Ziegler. (In honor of the man, see user pic for this post.) He's the main featured character in my favorite episode from The West Wing, a crown jewel entitled "In Excelsis Deo." Because of Richard Schiff's meticulously complex portrayal of Toby, I began to look at his character in a new light. He wasn't the stereotypical cantankerous crab he could have been in lesser hands. Under Schiff's care, Toby was fierce, frustrated, brilliant, professional, intelligent, honorable, funny (yes, really), saucy (only with CJ), and sadly, quietly self-loathing. And cantankerous. Heh. He expected the best of himself and of his President, and he gave everything to his work. ("It couldn't have gone far, right? Somewhere in this building ... is our talent.")
And in that Christmas-themed episode, the way he fought for the proper military burial of the homeless stranger who happened to be wearing the coat he donated to Goodwill, the way he cringed to even admit that he might have some influence and 'power' in order to help the dead man's brother, the way he stutteringly apologized to the President for using his name in order to make it all happen, he broke my heart. I also fell a little bit in love with him. I think even President Bartlet sees his brilliance:
"I couldn't live without you, Toby. I mean it. I'd be in the tall grass; I'd be in the weeds. I know I disappoint you sometimes. I mean, I can sense your disappointment. And I only get mad because I know you're right a lot of the times, but you are not the kid in the class with his hand up and whatever it was you said to C.J. You are a wise and brilliant man, Toby..."
~ The West Wing, "The Crackpots and These Women"
Toby stirred up and reinvigorated my interest in creative writing. He was the inspiration for my very first piece of fan fiction ever. In fact, before I started browsing for info about The West Wing, I didn't even know what fan fic was.
And that show was my first foray into everything online. Just because I wanted to know more about the show and its characters, I discovered this bizarre, amazing world of people, communities chatting and conversing and discussing and analyzing, and it was marvelous. They made me feel so welcome. And that security gave me the confidence to branch out and search for sites and communities for other favorite programs of mine. It's what eventually brought me to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bardsmaid's astoundingly spot-on X-Files fiction, and more importantly, a marvelous, rewarding friendship with her. (Seriously, our emails are often epic-length. We've scaled back, but no matter the length of the mail, I savor every word.) It's what brought me to bond with the people on TJ Thyne's site, where I've made some lovely and entertaining friendships. It's what brought me to 'meet' lostakasha, whom I have come to treasure madly. (We're still getting to know each other, but our friendship extends well beyond general fandom discussions, and I am so grateful for that. And jazzed to keep our rich conversations jamming.)
I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is, I'm so glad to know you or chat with you or have these wonderful, in-depth conversations with you. In different ways, you all inspire me. And yes, you bring me great joy.
Which brings me to this...
* Family, in all its definitions. Your biological family, who drive you nuts but are still endearing and wacky and surprising and wonderful. *LOVES* Your online community friends, who let you rant and rave and cheer and go on about the minute details of all things. They may never meet you, they may not even know what you look like, but they 'see' you and 'get' you and appreciate you all the same. *LOVES* Your best friends, who know you better than anybody and remind you why you're lovable and offer care and support and encouragement and wild hilarious fun. *LOVES*
I hope each and every one of you has a beautiful holiday, and I wish for you the most astoundingly fantastic new year.
Merry Christmas!
(I think that should cover it all. *GRIN*)
This is it! The last of the daily joy posts! For now, anyway. I may try to pop in and post positivity just for fun every once in a while. You know, it's good for my mental health. And yours, I hope. ;)
I need to type this up before the onslaught of family members arrives. They're on their way! Once they are here, there is no way I'll be able to get on the computer. It will be chaos. (Usually fun chaos, but chaos, nevertheless.)
Therefore, let's get to it, shall we?
Our week in review: Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6.
DAY 7
* A purple iPod nano. An overwhelmingly generous collective gift from my grandmother and my aunts Marilyn and Suzanne. There's no snowball's chance in hell I'll be able to fit all the music I own onto that thing (I think it stores about 8GB?), but I'm not about to tell them that. *laughing uproariously* That's what happens when you're a musician. You own too many CDs, can't possibly put them all in storage. Maybe I will have to pick and choose my utmost favorite songs. Maybe it will teach me moderation. Heh. Right. Still, it's soooo pretty and really cool. I cannot wait to play with this thing. Yay for techno gadgets! *does happy dance of joy*
* Toby Ziegler. (In honor of the man, see user pic for this post.) He's the main featured character in my favorite episode from The West Wing, a crown jewel entitled "In Excelsis Deo." Because of Richard Schiff's meticulously complex portrayal of Toby, I began to look at his character in a new light. He wasn't the stereotypical cantankerous crab he could have been in lesser hands. Under Schiff's care, Toby was fierce, frustrated, brilliant, professional, intelligent, honorable, funny (yes, really), saucy (only with CJ), and sadly, quietly self-loathing. And cantankerous. Heh. He expected the best of himself and of his President, and he gave everything to his work. ("It couldn't have gone far, right? Somewhere in this building ... is our talent.")
And in that Christmas-themed episode, the way he fought for the proper military burial of the homeless stranger who happened to be wearing the coat he donated to Goodwill, the way he cringed to even admit that he might have some influence and 'power' in order to help the dead man's brother, the way he stutteringly apologized to the President for using his name in order to make it all happen, he broke my heart. I also fell a little bit in love with him. I think even President Bartlet sees his brilliance:
"I couldn't live without you, Toby. I mean it. I'd be in the tall grass; I'd be in the weeds. I know I disappoint you sometimes. I mean, I can sense your disappointment. And I only get mad because I know you're right a lot of the times, but you are not the kid in the class with his hand up and whatever it was you said to C.J. You are a wise and brilliant man, Toby..."
~ The West Wing, "The Crackpots and These Women"
Toby stirred up and reinvigorated my interest in creative writing. He was the inspiration for my very first piece of fan fiction ever. In fact, before I started browsing for info about The West Wing, I didn't even know what fan fic was.
And that show was my first foray into everything online. Just because I wanted to know more about the show and its characters, I discovered this bizarre, amazing world of people, communities chatting and conversing and discussing and analyzing, and it was marvelous. They made me feel so welcome. And that security gave me the confidence to branch out and search for sites and communities for other favorite programs of mine. It's what eventually brought me to
bardsmaid's astoundingly spot-on X-Files fiction, and more importantly, a marvelous, rewarding friendship with her. (Seriously, our emails are often epic-length. We've scaled back, but no matter the length of the mail, I savor every word.) It's what brought me to bond with the people on TJ Thyne's site, where I've made some lovely and entertaining friendships. It's what brought me to 'meet' lostakasha, whom I have come to treasure madly. (We're still getting to know each other, but our friendship extends well beyond general fandom discussions, and I am so grateful for that. And jazzed to keep our rich conversations jamming.)I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is, I'm so glad to know you or chat with you or have these wonderful, in-depth conversations with you. In different ways, you all inspire me. And yes, you bring me great joy.
Which brings me to this...
* Family, in all its definitions. Your biological family, who drive you nuts but are still endearing and wacky and surprising and wonderful. *LOVES* Your online community friends, who let you rant and rave and cheer and go on about the minute details of all things. They may never meet you, they may not even know what you look like, but they 'see' you and 'get' you and appreciate you all the same. *LOVES* Your best friends, who know you better than anybody and remind you why you're lovable and offer care and support and encouragement and wild hilarious fun. *LOVES*
I hope each and every one of you has a beautiful holiday, and I wish for you the most astoundingly fantastic new year.
Merry Christmas!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-12-25 10:42 pm (UTC)You've been a gift to me from day one, and I can't wait to see what's around the corner. Hope your day has been wonderful, that your throat's not too sore, and that knowing you are loved to bits and bobs puts a smile on your lovely face. *hugshugshugs*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 06:42 pm (UTC)*HUGS ALL AROUND*
:D
P.S. That Angela user pic is stunning. She really does have a great smile.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-26 01:45 am (UTC)I actually quoted him in my sister's christmas card!
I hope you had a lovely Christmas :)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 06:44 pm (UTC)I love that you love that show, Jordan. I still have more to say about that, but I'll email you. Yay! *laughing*
Aside from a terrible cold, Christmas was indeed lovely. I hope your holiday season was nothing but love and joy.
Sending hugs to you.
P.S. You know I'm still giggling about your Toby jazz hands user pic. It cracks me up.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-14 06:13 am (UTC)Toby and I are quite alike! We're both angry little people but deep down we'd do just about anything for the people we care about.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-14 10:31 pm (UTC)TOBY: Let me tell you something. The last two Christmases in this White House I've been accused of not being in the proper spirit. I was called names. Not this year! For the next three weeks I will be filling this lobby with music in the mornings and evenings so that we may all experience this season of...
(with great annoyance, turns to face the brass quintet)
Would you people stop playing for one damn minute!
(they stop playing their instruments)
... this season of peace and joy.
***********
Heeeeee. I love it.
And I love that you 'get' Toby. It's that complexity that makes me adore him so. He's not a stereotypical cranky guy. He's much more than that. He has so many fascinating layers, and I love that. It's why he's the subject of every piece of West Wing fan fiction I've ever written (with the exception of one Josh/Donna-themed drabble). So cool.
:D
no subject
Date: 2009-01-14 10:36 pm (UTC)Do you have links to your fanfic? I'd love to read it. Although if you don't feel comfortable sharing that's okay too :)
no subject
Date: 2008-12-26 04:49 am (UTC)I've just finished cleaning up the Christmas pics and will be putting them up on a page... okay, several pages. I'll send you the link when they're up. My internet cable was yanked yesterday when Aaron was digging the trench for the cottage electricity, so I've been surfing around on the laptop... until suddenly I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, a Skype pop-up on my desktop monitor a few minutes ago. I don't know how my internet connected itself again, but I'm not complaining. I thought I was going to have to wait until Monday to upload the pics, but I guess not. :-)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 06:49 pm (UTC)I think it's safe to say the love and admiration is mutual. *GRIN* Nevertheless, I really appreciated reading your compliments. In fact, they moved me to tears.
And you know the gift of feedback is my great pleasure to provide. (Couldn't stop me if you tried. Well, maybe if you sent Krycek after me. Heee.) In fact, I'm still mulling over the questions you sent yesterday re: the K backstory possibilities. This one's a real challenge, isn't it? *shakes fist at CC*
Anyway, I was thinking about you today so I thought I'd send a quick hi. Hi! Hope your Thursday is shaping up nicely. Is that fence up yet? ;D
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 07:32 pm (UTC)The fence posts go up on Monday, and the actual construction I believe is scheduled for Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to it.
As for today, I've been dawdling away my morning and wasting time, but I just came out here and am going to either 1) dig right into commenting on the rest of your mail re this K-dilemma or 2) start watching The End. I hope to get to both. :-) Stay tuned.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-26 06:47 am (UTC)Hope you had an awesome Christmas, sweetie :) *huggles*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 06:52 pm (UTC)P.S. Is that new Harry Potter movie ever going to hit the theatres?? Ever since the books finished coming out, I've been dying to see the latest film. How about you? (Or is it getting tougher, because there's so much they can't cover from the books?)
P.S. again. (points to your user pic) So, did you get Fox Mulder for Christmas? hee hee.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-08 06:57 pm (UTC)Is that new Harry Potter movie ever going to hit the theatres??
I know right? Dang... I can't wait to see how it'll be in July. July!? Right. It's still so long :( But I do hope this movie is a good one.
So, did you get Fox Mulder for Christmas?
Oh hon, I WISH! Lol, but not even my long letter to Santa could cover such a HOT gift. It was not appropriate for a good girl like me, he said. I wonder what he meant by that. I SO could have done with a Mulder these holidays XD