Serendipity

I freakin' love the Olympics. A crazy ridiculous amount. No joke, if there was new Bones on right now I'd still be watching the Olympics (Bones can record ;) ). It only comes every 2 years and it only lasts 2 weeks, and I love every stinking second of it. Where's my Olympics love?

I was watching tonight and caught this hilarious commercial. And I don't know why it's so funny but it is.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Hart for ( Bones spoilers, The Proof In The Pudding )

Za-wha????

I just got a call...from Doggy Business, the place I DIDN'T get the job from. Aaaaand...apparently their first choice took another job the next day, so they're offering it to me. Yaaaaaaaaaaay! When does that happen? So now I can actually buy Christmas presents, and not have to worry all Christmas season about paying the bills. Whew! I am so relieved. I hate, hate, HATE the job search and its soul-sucking emptiness.

So now CHRISTMAS is on, and I'm helping a friend go tree-hunting today, yaaaaaay! Also also, the 2009 X-Files Advent Calendar is up and tomorrow's my day! I had no inspiration, so I just threw together a small something, but I'm so glad to be involved again. It's not Christmas without it.

And there was BONES last night! ( The Gamer in the Grease. )

And because I am very happy right now, how about some Christmas goodness? I love my stupid warm silly show.

I caved. I did it. I bought my Christmas present. I only allow myself to "splurge" 2 days of the year - my birthday and Christmas. My birthday this year I bought myself Bones season 3. For Christmas I was eagerly awaiting ordering season 2. So I found a great price tracking Firefox add-on (The Camelizer!) and checked it out on Amazon to discover it's only $19.99! Camelizer shows that being the lowest price yet, with prices likely to skyrocket after Thanksgiving. So I grabbed it while I could. I caved. I bought it. Heeeee! It was actually hard not to add on Season 1 as well. Only problem is now I'm set to get that by next week and nothing to squee over at Christmas. Why doesn't Amazon offer delayed shipping?

Anyways, I still have a couple requests to fill out (thank you for the enthusiastic response, guys! I needed the inspiration), PLUS I've now signed up for the XF Advent Calendar (it's back! It's back! Squeeeeeeeeee!!!!). Don't know what I was thinking. But you all need to sign up as well. C'mon, guys, it's a holiday tradition!

Aaaaaaand, of course there have been shows. ( Bones, and Doctor Who, and House. )

I'm spending Thanksgiving at a friends house (need to make mashed potatoes tonight, eee!), then work Friday and should hear back from the doggy daycare about the job. I think it's in the bag. But I never trust it until it happens. Also, woot for bayareajenn who got an interview! Heeee!! That's the best feeling in the world. Yay happy good times!

Hee. Watched the Firefly pilot today with the roomie. Now I wanna rewatch the whole series again. I forgot how good it was. The twangy music. The cameras-in-space. The classic lines ("curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"). Hee, Jayne. And Mal. And Kaylee! God, I missed them. I love my space cowboys.

Hmm. Well, Schmoo, the old sea lion at Moorpark finally passed away. Can't say I'm terribly upset. I'm even hoping I can get some reconciliation from it. ( Emoooooo )

On the TV front, Bones cannot possibly return fast enough, Glee is hopping as always but frustrating with its lack of progress, and Castle is about as I expected - not really that exciting except for the awesomeness that is Nathan Fillion. How genius is it of them to release a book seen on the show? If I was more into the show I'd be all over that. NF even did a real-life book signing. Talk about fantasy meeting reality.

It was a good day. I co-hosted a school assembly this morning where we flew and displayed our birds (and thank goodness I actually managed to mostly remember the script!), I FINALLY got to start handling the red-tailed hawk, Sundance, and my boss trained me in on weighing the new bald eagle. She has not shown much faith or trust in me all summer, so it felt nice to simply be taught and trusted with something new (this as-yet-unnamed bald came injured from the wild and cannot even be handled yet). So YAY! It's been so long since I've left work feeling at all proud of myself, it's a wonderful little high. Hee!

Also, I re-watched The Double Death of the Dearly Departed and it's even better than I remembered. Probably my favorite ep of the whole 4th season, no joke. There's not a minute I don't love. Great acting, witty writing, and Booth dancing. Doesn't get much better than that. ;)

It's really that time again. And yes, almost 12 years after becoming a phile I still dork out about this date. Hehe. So! I decided an appropriate celebration would be to finally make that list of my Top Fic Picks: X-Files Edition. I wanted to make it a top 10 list, of course, but I couldn't possibly narrow it down to 10. So instead, the fics that have made it into my "Wow" folder - the best of the best, the ones I can read over and over again, and save for a rainy day. In no particular order:

Top X-Files Fics

1. Parabiosis by Penumbra (penumbra23) - Hands down my favorite fic of all time. Perhaps the best piece of literature I've ever read. The narrative is stumbling, strange, and entirely captivating because of it. The prose is magical. Certain scenes, lines, sections, stand out clear in my mind years after reading them. Better yet, I get something new out of it each time I read it, so it never gets old. Obviously I could go on and on, but most of you have read it already and I'm just preaching to the converted. So, perhaps a given, but definitely a classic. Aaaaand, since I'm obviously such a sucker for her writing, Penumbra has two other fics on my list:

2. Black Hole Season by Penumbra - Penumbra Lite. All of the magical scenes and lines and style of Parabiosis without the novel length. The ideal of what a short story can be - moving, thought-provoking, simple and yet deep.

3. Contact High by Penumbra - I think I've raved about her style enough. So I'll skip it here, but this fic is a standard of how in the right hands, what sounds like a silly premise (Mulder and Scully telepathically share thoughts and feelings after the events of Field Trip) can be magical.

4. Bridge by Maria Nicole - Deals with the same premise as Contact High in a similarly astounding way. I can never, ever forget the magic of their dream world.

5. 12 Rites of Passage and 12 Degrees of Separation by Anne Haynes - Absolutely my default when I want a long, engaging story to snuggle away and read for a few days. Because Anne has mastered the art of bringing the reader to the edge and keeping them waiting. It's like Harry Potter that way - I just can't put it down.

6. Arizona Highways by Fialka (fialka) - For novel-length fics, this comes right behind Parabiosis as a favorite. Another fic I cannot put down, and end up doing nothing but reading for 3 days straight. The story is complex and engaging, enough to pull me in against my will. And it has perhaps the most memorable love confession I've ever seen or read. It had me breaking down alongside Mulder. For me it's not just a story - it's an experience.

7. Blinded by White Light by Dasha K. (dashakay) - Another classic, and for good reason. I still can't put my finger on exactly what it is that makes it so good. But somehow in the unique trappings of a sci-fi future, it is one of the best love stories I've ever read, while not shying away from the very real issues that result.

8. Spectacular by Rafferty - Let's take a break from the novels for a short one-shot, my guily pleasure feel-good escape for when I'm in a bad mood. It absolutely never fails to brighten my spirits.

9. An Alluring Indiscretion by Beduini and M. Taylor Harrison - Another long fic that captivates and enthralls and untimately sticks out in my mind for its astounding visualizations.

10. Salt by Anjou - A tender, feel-good fic, with dreams and stories along the way that slowly bring about the meaning.

11. Five Years and One Night by Shalimar - Another fabulous mythology story that covers all extremes - from fantastically hot smut to some of the deepest, darkest angst. Fabulous story, hot sex, and the. best. breakdown scene I have ever read. Scully's breakdown on the beach is some of the most visceral, real, emotional writing I have ever read.

12. What Happens to the Dreamers by Buckingham - Buckingham weaves a story between the events of season 7, specifially the whole IVF situation revealed in Per Manum. A fascinating glimpse of what we didn't see, and I'm a sucker for the at times flowery, poetic language.

13. The Cycles Series: Lucid Dreaming by Prufrock's Love - The first in the Cycles series, Lucid Dreaming really stood out as a fantastic bit of immersive storytelling. A calming, meditative journey, especially for that time of the month. ;)

14. 99 and 44/100ths Percent Done by Sarah Segretti - Just a fun old romp of a casefile. Doesn't take itself too seriously, but has fun, UST, and some delicious, delicious ice cream.

15. Adagio by Terma99 - A short Milagro post-ep that is heart-breaking and touching at the same time.

16. Syncopation by Lilla Vaughan AKA Nanda (nandamai) - Sweet, sappy flick-fick. And I'm a sucker for it.

SO! That's the list. There are so many others that are close to making it - The Magician Book series by Suzanne Bickerstaffe and Jennifer Lyon, Acadia by RivkaT, Blood Oranges by Syntax6, and many, many more - but I'm tired and that's a pretty good list. So yay X-Files! Just putting this list together re-awakened my inner phile, who's now screaming for me to re-read all these fics, or at least watch an episode. So I guess you know what I'll be doing the rest of the evening. Hehe. So happy 10/13, my fellow philes. *mwah* I love you all, and I hope this community never dies.