Category Archives: memories

Summer coming to a close…

I’m slowly starting to accept that summer is coming to an end. Slowly. Football is back, and I have my first pumpkin spiced latte of the season.

But acceptance is coming very slowly. I’m not letting summer go without a fight.

My husband finally had more than a day and a half at home this week, and for us “Saturday and Sunday” comes somewhere between Monday and Thursday. As such, we get to go have fun when the crowds are far less. On Tuesday, we took the motorcycle out to Fall Creek Falls

Fall Creek Falls

This was an ambitious trip for us, as we’ve hardly ridden the motorcycle all year. We were not prepared for the almost 3 hour drive one way, and 3 hours back! But every ache and pain the next day was worth it for the experience. The day riding, letting the week, month, year, whatever, just float away with the scenery and our thoughts. The park is stunning, and I can’t wait to go back and explore it much more in depth. Our timing was excellent, as there were zero crowds and we went good chunks of time not seeing another soul. It was so refreshing!

Fall Creek Falls

We got home late in the evening, feeling tired but also much more peaceful than before.

The next night, we went to a concert. We rarely go to concerts because, well, its too much like work for my husband! LOL! But Pat Green was in town, and a dear friend invited us to go. And. YES! It’s Pat Green! We were still sore and tired from the previous day’s ride, but I can definitely say I am SO VERY HAPPY we went.

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See, I remember Pat Green on WACO 100 before he was PAT GREEN. I remember giggling to myself as friends out of state “discovered” Pat long after he was already on heavy rotation in my life’s playlist. I can honestly say he was the first “Texas Music” artist I followed. As such, at the concert, song after song after song brought back memories for me. And for a moment I was a young girl in Central Texas again. For a moment, I didn’t care about all the stuff that weighed on my mind regularly — bills, the changing face of Nashville, etc. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that moment, enjoying a concert with friends.

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I know Texas artists aren’t a fan of playing in Nashville. And I understand that. But, for us Texans living here… their concerts are a welcome event that means more than they could ever know.

It was a good kick off into football season for me. I’m back into the “bar scene” and Saturdays can mean work days for me — as it did today. As such I missed the game and the chance to mingle with fellow Aggies. But, such is life. And I still had my Aggie gear on, and I was checking the score when I could. I’m still not AS into the season as I would normally be, but I’m more into it than I was even just a week ago.

Hello, September. I didn’t let August go quietly, but as such I also delve into September full blast. Let’s do this… let’s make every day amazing, and embrace the adventures that lie ahead. Fall adventures really do tend to be the best adventures all year!

Fall Creek Falls

An old favorite returns

xfilescapSunday night, something happened that I was anticipating: I fell in love with an old favorite all over again. That old favorite: The X-Files.

I was a serious, legitimate, grade A super fan of the show back in the day. I still have my action figures. I had the video game. I have a box of probably every book written about the series. The only things I failed to finish collecting were the DVD sets. I think I only have up through Season 6. (Though I clearly remember scoring the Season 4 DVDs four days early because the Wal-Mart in Bryan, TX stocked them early and I happened to go by there after classes at TAMU.)

My computer was all X-Files, with the theme song playing on boot-up, and error sounds being clips from the show, etc. I had pictures on the wall. I had an I Want To Believe poster. I rocked my baseball cap.

The X-Files took me down the path of web design, photo manipulation, video editing, and all sorts of geektastic things that have served me well through the years. It was more than a show for me, when you get down to it. But ultimately?

12485985_10107590220229694_745167265892411921_oI. Was. A. Phile.

As the show returned on Sunday, two things came out loud and clear to me:

First, The X-Files wasn’t about the aliens for me. It was about the characters. Specifically, the characters of Mulder and Scully. They were the heart and soul of the show. Anyone who says it was the monsters or the mytharc missed the best part of the show, in my opinion. It was about these perfectly flawed characters that we all rooted for week in and week out.

When the series changed, and it introduced new leads, I was determined to keep an open mind. In hindsight, it was at that point that I quit truly caring about the show, but I was too stubborn to admit it. The series never should have continued without Mulder and Scully at the center of it, in my opinion.

I have never gone back and rewatched a single episode from seasons 8 and 9. Not even the ones that brought Mulder back near the end. My heart wasn’t in it as much any more… because the heart of the show didn’t seem to be in it anymore. As such, I was nervous going into this last weekend. Nervous I would be let down.

But Sunday, the heart was BACK. The Mulder and Scully dynamic brought that spark back for me that I missed so much. The spark that made me a fan way back in the day. As the episode ended I felt that old tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach… that feeling that only comes from a story you’ve become so invested in that they feel like old friends.

Instead of letting me down, with one episode it left me with that old excitement I had for the series I fell in love with. And that excitement continued through Monday’s second episode. I am already sad its only 4 episodes left. I’m definitely in the boat of the fans begging for more. I’m already not ready to let them go again…

Second, and more personally, this series became about the friendships I made within the fandom of the show. Friendships that are stronger today than they were 15 years ago. Friendships that have been through marriages, babies, heartache, loss, moves, and just about every thing that could be thrown our way.

Dug this out of the archives...
Dug this out of the archives…

It all started on a message board, and it migrated from listserve to Facebook group. It’s become real life. These women aren’t just a cryptic name on a message board any more. They’re women I text, have seen in person and who have stayed with me. We send each other Christmas cards, and are always there no matter how big or little the circumstance. I, quite frankly, can’t imagine my life without these “fellow Philes” who are fantastic women and amazing friends.

But, life gets busy and we find ourselves missing chances to chat, or we have to “check out” for awhile. But on Sunday? On Sunday without any prior planning, we found ourselves (MOST of us) in a Google Hangouts video chat watching the show together and dishing over it after. It was like we went back 15 years, only way more high tech.

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I’m going to enjoy the next few weeks, taking in the fun of this old favorite on my TV screen with new episodes, dishing about every single nuance with the girls. It’s a bit surreal, but I’m loving every second of it.