Irony, Illuminations and Characters

All things considered, a fairly pleasant week. Alligator-wresting coming up in August.

July 21st - Sleeping in Light

Opening the store was no chore today; I stopped at Subway for both breakfast and lunch on the way to work, so that was nicely different from the norm. Too bad their 'Breakfast Stuffers' are so greasy... but then, most fast-food breakfasts are just that: grease. Ah well.

After a pleasant day at work, I hauled out my portable hammock to shady spot in the front of the building by a nice hedge, to read and relax. I even chatted a bit with my neighbour Laurel, who spotted me in the tree-shade from her window across the way. Great neighbours here!

That evening, I watched the final episode of the B5 series, "Sleeping in Light" which I have not seen for nigh unto a decade now. It was amazing; the sheer emotion of the actors performances got to me now as much as they did then. It was a long, moving and fond farewell to the series that swept you along, closing doors gently for the last time before the lights went out and we left the place for good. Having watched the entire series from end for the last few months, I was quite moved by the episode. Saying 'goodbye' to those characters, who had been constant companions each day for the last little while, was not easy now or back all those years ago. Which is what I have always loved about the series: that the writing was of such a level that the characters were ones I could truly care about, and not just think of in terms of plot constructs or mere character traits. As a writer, it's just amazing to watch, even for television. And JMS is still going strong on other new projects.

Oh, and did I mention he wrote SpiderMan for 6.5 years? *grin*

July 22nd - See Above...

I re-watched "Sleeping in Light" today with the DVD audio commentary by creator/writer/producer JMS, which was moving in itself. It was his show, his baby if you will, and this was his commentary on letting it go; as he said, he'd not seen it either since it was last aired in 1998( another eventful year for myself, I might add... ).

It was amusing to see JMS briefly play the part of the tech who turns out the lights on B5 at the end of the episode - something he'd apparently wanted to do since the first day of shooting. Poetic, in a way, and touching. Now I'll have to wait a few years to re-watch the series, though in the meantime I have Crusade, as well as the B5 Movies to watch... but in a little while, as I need a B5 Break. Maybe some Alias...?

July 23rd - Weather and Writing

Wow, rolled out of bed with bleary eyes and a loggy head. Could be the weather: we've clouds here for the first time in weeks. Not that it's made much difference to the temperatures; still cool in the mornings and evenings, with a decent patio-level warmth for lunchtime. Just hard to get used to cool summer nights in July; sitting out at the Kilt and watching the beer glass sweat at midnight seems so far away right now... oh wait, it is!

My writing has been progressing nicely, with ideas popping up all the time to be madly scribbled down or typed into the PDA. It's a sign of a relaxed mind, free from idea-killing stresses, when the creative thoughts flit fast and furious at times during the day. I am trying to get in at least an hour of writing a day, be it blog, tech articles, stories or just plain idea-gathering for later.

July 24th - Late Exercise

I was late today for work first time in a long time. Good thing I was opening the store, and only live 15 minutes away at a decent clip on the bike; I managed to get the store open on time with most of my opening chores done properly too... nice when the job experience pays off. Plus, I felt rested for once..

All this exercise seems to be doing me a world of good, as I've lost a fair deal of weight since arriving in B.C. Not that I was all that large to begin with, but since 2005( when I was at my heaviest, close to 200 lbs )the weight has slowly changed to muscle or vanished. Though I am not in 'fighting shape', I am mostly trim and so have a good 'base' to work from, once I get my 'galling' operation late this fall( I think ). After I am fully healed from that, the planned exercise regimen will begin, to get myself physically in line with where I am mentally. Combine that with some intensive improvement in my cooking skills, and I should be 'sitting pretty' by this time next year. Another long-term Goal Accomplished, hopefully in 2009.

July 25th - Dureena and Nichneven

I slept a little better last night, knowing I did NOT have to be up early in the AM. After a leisurely breakfast( not a brekky, sadly )it was to the keyboard for a few hours, typing away at a few story ideas that have floated around in my head the last few days.

Before work, I downloaded an episode of the Babylon Podcast, and listened to it on and off during my shift. The main feature of the hour-long show was actor Carrie Dobro, who played the sexy Dureena Nafeel on the too-brief B5 spinoff series Crusade. While watching an episode of that series today, I was struck by some aspects of her character being similar to my own creation, Nichneven: both are thieves, both have unusual eyes / exotic appearances, and both kick some ass. Aside from that, the characters are not so similar that I feel I've infringed on a JMS creation, but rather that it's obvious some of Dureena stuck with me some 7 years after I last saw the show on-air. Which speaks well of her design and how she was portrayed by Dobro, who apparently loved the character... which was made with HER in mind by JMS. Symmetry!

I also find it amusing that I seem to stumble across these things YEARS after the fact... like discovering that there WAS such a thing as the Babylon Podcast. *sigh* Irony...

July 26th - Luminara Festival

I did the usual morning laundry, getting downstairs early to get the ball rolling before anyone else. A good thing too; I got a call mid-morning from our downtown store that someone had called in last minute and they needed help... for overtime, no less. So I agreed, as it was only a 4-hour shift and I'd be helping them out, besides. Just like back in Niagara; I'm used to it. Turns out it wasn't a bad shift after all, with only a few crazy customers and only one truly obnoxious person... not a total jerk in sight, which surprised me. Maybe I caught them napping today.

Tonight was the Luminara Festival in Beacon Hill Park, so I stopped briefly at home to grab my camera and cycled over to see if anything was still glowing after 9pm, once twilight hit. It was interesting, and quite crowded: thousands of people showed up, many of them dressed in fanciful costumes with various light sources built-in, the most common being glow-ropes. Thousands of lanterns were all over the park, tended by many volunteers to ensure they all stayed lit.

Again, I love the fact that Victoria has SO MUCH going on all the time. I live in a quiet neighbourhood, yet I am only minutes away from downtown and all the events that usually take place there. Heck, I am minutes away from the Provincial Legislature, for that matter - but politics has never been my thing. Did I mention irony already in this blog yet...?

July 27th - Nostalgic Irony

Sunday was another day of relaxation - go figure. *grin* Again, five of us were online for CoD4, which I didn't embarrass myself too badly in this week. Perhaps because I only gamed for a few hours, at which time things came to a sudden stop when three people left suddenly, leaving Lucas and I holding the controllers, so to speak.

Damn but I miss PnP gaming with my friends, despite the downhill slide it took in its last years. The gathering of friends at various homes on a Sunday afternoon, to vest our time in adventure and take on tasks that took us away from the ordinary of the world we normally inhabited - that was special. All geek-ness aside, it was magical at times, funny at other and always different, despite the inevitable slow days and dull spots. Looking back now, I see that I was often an observer, moreso than a lead-by-example from-the-front in the ways I played my characters. I think this was often due to the way I saw each gaming sessions, especially in university: they were escapes from the stress of the day, which often in those days was intense and unrelenting for me. Yet again it was the shared adventure( albeit imaginary )in the company of good friends that engendered the fond feelings I recall to this day. Some of those stories and memories will always be with me, untarnished by time. I hope to write down a few of them, alongside the copious notes I often took, to preserve the joy and fun I felt before they fade o'ermuch.

Then there's irony at work again: this GREAT animated video of a character similar to Nichneven. Someone out there is tweaking my nose, but I'll take it as I enjoyed seeing a creation similar to my own given 'life' through the magic of animation. Though the accent is a bit suspect... *grin*

I have finally found a free image-hosting site( ImageShack.us )whose services are actually simple AND user-friendly, so expect to see a LOT more images in future blogs. I will ALSO be updating most of my previous entries, as time permits, in the next month, to add pictures to them as well - no sense in just writing about things when I have pictures to go with those words too!