The (Fake) Pandorica Opens

If you understand the post title reference, you are as big a geek as I am (if not bigger) and I love you for it. If not, read on and you'll probably have forgotten all about it by the time you get to the end.

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So initially, this year's blog goal was to write one more post each month than the one before it. April, for various reasons (mainly that my brain pretty much shut down over my term break) has not seen much commitment to that goal. Anytime now, knowing as I do that in order to improve one's skills as a writer one must write regularly - say, EVERY DAY - I'll go for another round of "30 in 30" (posts in days) and reset my goal. In the meantime, I'll try to act like this actually is some sort of journal and jot some things down.

(Note: what IS this blog, anyway? Obviously it's not actually a journal, since I don't write here all that regularly, or record much in the way of daily minutiae or much of a range of experiences - much like Facebook status updates, I really don't like reporting on depressing or seriously upsetting phases/incidents/mood swings ((no, really, I don't. Go back and check. I have the occasional rant happening, but even when serious it's written with a hefty stab at humorous effect)). I try not to gripe, especially not about people, because I have a near-pathological fear of hurting someone's feelings.

So it's not truly about my life, other than the fact that the things I do manage to write about are things that happen to me, usually isolated events... I need to go and look back through my archives. At one point I had several "features" going on and a certain format to my blog posts that I kind of miss. Sorry. Just thinking out loud. Or "out loud", rather.)

If I am going to be more journal-oriented, I definitely need to write here more often. At various jobs I've had whenever people would ask me how my weekend was, it would always take me a minute or two to remember just what happened over the weekend - no matter how exciting or how boring the weekend had been, by Monday it was always OVER. Kind of like my stance on embarrassing moments - I know I've had them, and that I continue to have them, but a) I don't get embarrassed about much of anything anymore (a theatre life can do that to a person) and b) within a day or less I don't think about the incident anyway. I think that may make it a little tougher to have an interesting blog - people seem to LOVE reading about embarrassing things that have happened to other people. Hmmm, there's an idea...

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ANYWAY, for most of April I was "on holiday" back in the States, and I LOVED it. It was really amazing waiting in the Customs line at the Dallas airport and bemusedly feeling the difference between the US and the UK. I had a terrific time visiting with family members - it's so nice to realize that you really have missed them. I spent a couple of class periods teaching a dear friend's high school drama class (I love giving feedback on classwork, and I am pretty darn good at it. Score!). I got to work for a few days at my old job at Hale Theatre, which was very fun, and though I had planned to be very helpful to the tax preparers (my dad and my brother) and their assistants (Mom and sis-in-law) I really actually just stayed out of their way and occasionally provided treats.  I spent a lot of time shopping, and brought back a second suitcase full of supplies to prove it. The best times were spent hanging out with my good friend Sara and my new BFFMallorie - I think before a week was up we felt like we'd known each other forever. Then Stephanie came up from Vegas for the weekend... SO. MUCH. FUN. Anyone who doesn't know smart, funny, silly, awesome girls like these three has not LIVED.

All of this means that I didn't get to any of the work I needed to be doing to for school - one research session, yes, but nothing on the papers, presentations, or other projects I ought to have been doing. That's been the focus of this week, which makes a nice balance to The Wedding hoopla that has inundated the town.

You know what I'm talking about, right?

These flags (and T-shirts, and mugs, and tea tins, and...) are EVERYWHERE. (I even brought Sara a commemorative tea towel for her birthday, just because... well, you know. Best white elephant present ever.) No, I won't be getting up at 3 AM to go stake out a place on the procession route. You can watch the whole wedding on TV, for pete's sake - and since Friday (the Wedding) and the following Monday (post-wedding-reception-wannabe hangover recovery?) are both Bank Holidays, there won't be much else to do but follow along and write school papers.

So that's going on - I've been writing, watching movies (Prince of Egypt always surprises me with how good it sort of is, and the Will and Kate Love Story TV Movie was not as surprising as it should have been with how terrible it was), staying up late and loving it (I don't know why it's been so fun lately - maybe I just needed to stop beating myself up about it?), and then - today:

I went to the Doctor Who Experience.

(Theme song here - I am determined to download a ringtone ASAP.)

It was a blast. I've really only been a fan since Season 5 (which is only counting from the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, then three seasons with David Tennant - whom I haven't really seen but people swear is the BEST DOCTOR EVER - and on to the current, 11th, Doctor, Matt Smith, who I like just fine, thank you very much. First episode of Season 6 aired a few days ago) but I have thoroughly enjoyed it - and I was very pleased that a large chunk of the exhibit/"Experience" has to do with the current Doctor. There are some displays from episodes in Season 5, and then you basically walk into an "extra" episode of the show. You go into the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimenion in Space - it's the coolest time machine ever, and it looks like a British 1950's police box), a Dalek (evil robots) ship, the massive spaceship that houses all of Britain in the future (seriously), and the ancient chamber that holds the second Pandorica (because they made another one, just in case, and didn't even change the color. As the Doctor says, "BO-RING"). Except it's not boring, it's totally fun, and 3D, and Matt Smith is great, and the whole thing is beautifully designed.

And then there's an exhibition that has displays of objects and monsters from the entire history of the show, outfits of all ten Doctors and several of the Companions, behind-the-scenes stuff, and a gift shop. Yes, I have the program, a limited-edition poster of Cybermen marching on London, a lanyard, and my own Sonic Screwdriver. For reals (as they say) my inner (and outer) geek is so, so happy.

This may be as close to the 11th Doctor as I'll get. I'll take it.

Churchill's underground war room. With Dalek.

The 9th and 10th Doctor's TARDIS control room. (Erm, it kinda blows up.)

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A Dalek that's color-coordinated with my hair!

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And, on the way home, I saw a graffiti artist at work. He's probably getting paid for this, but still - interesting.