Let’s Talk About Kim Rhodes #SPNNJ

For the few people who may not have heard, we attended the Supernatural NJ Con this past weekend. Because I have learned a “few” things over the years; specifically that I would not hear about anything else for months ahead of time if DC knew that Kim Rhodes was scheduled to be there – I did not mention it to him. But DC being DC somehow figured it out (I still do not know how) and trust me, I have heard about “Zack and Cody’s Mom” daily since July.

You can read about it here: Zack and Cody’s Mom!

and here:

Believe me, these….just the tip of the iceberg!

We stayed in New Jersey within walking distance of the convention center. We spent Friday in New York City (DC’s favorite place) and Saturday was spent at the convention center (Sunday, back to NYC – It was HOT…just sayin’!)

Not wanting to make the day uncontrollably long for DC, we arrived at the convention center somewhere around 12/1230. Knowing that DC expects regularly scheduled meals and remembering NY ComicCon where we sat on the floor with pretzels because we could not get near anything else – I started the lunch explanations early; we would stop somewhere on the way to the convention center and have “second breakfast” and we should be able to get some snacks in the convention center here and there during the day. Oddly enough, I only had to go over that 4 or 5 times before he stopped stressing out about not having a regulation lunch.

Our scheduled autograph session with Kim Rhodes was not until 3pm so we looked around a bit.

We stopped at the RandomActs.org table and made a donation. DC, being his charming self had trouble deciding between a button or a temporary tattoo all the while eyeing the teddy bear that was sitting on the table. He asked me for the bear. I told him that it was just for decoration (as I believe that it was). After almost finally deciding on the tattoo, one of the women whispered “Does he want a bear?” I told her that he would love to have one and asked how much they wanted for it.

She said that he had made her day and she wanted him to have one. They even put a little pin on the bear for him. He carried that bear around with him all. day. long.

Not very long after that, Ruth Connell came out to her autograph table. I am not sure that DC knew who she was but the red hair had him intrigued. She had it all pulled up so there was no need for my “Do Not Touch Her Hair” speech/warnings.

Finally it was time to get in line for Kim Rhodes. I had purchased a ticket for the autograph session and the photo op months before because I was not taking any chances of him not getting to see her. Because I never had to purchase a ticket for an autograph session before, (there are just usually photos on the table, you pick one, pay cash and they sign) I did not realize that we had to have something for her to sign already. We were second in line so I yelled for “poor” Doug and told him he had to hurry up and go to the table out in the vendor area and buy a picture. She was not at the table yet and Doug having no idea who any of these people at the convention were went up an octave or so and screeched: “How can I buy a picture if I don’t know what she looks like?” I hadn’t thought of that and I just started laughing. Doug is a pretty mellow guy but when he does get exasperated with me (very seldom) and moves into this weird high-pitched voice, I just cannot help but laugh – a lot. The woman behind us (getting a kick out of the whole exchange) showed Doug the picture she had and off he went. Before he reached the vendor area, he turned around and started coming back…. I turned to the woman and said “Watch. He is going to give me that schedule in his hand and tell me to use that.”

She laughed.

He did.

She laughed harder.

But finally he did go back out to buy a proper pic. We just let one person at a time go ahead of us until he came back.

Finally, photo in hand – the big moment.

DC was beyond excited! There are times when he gets so overly excited about something that by the time he gets there he flames right out, but he didn’t. I asked him who this was and he answered “Zack and Cody’s mother!” with that little screech that he does when he gets that excited.

They talked about his bear. She signed his picture. She said “I am not supposed to do this but I will” and wrote “You are awesome!” On his picture. I am guessing that in order to keep the lines moving the coordinators do not want the guests to spend too much time writing anything other than their signature?

We told her that we’d see her in an hour for a photo. DC was even more excited when she said that she is allowed to give hugs at the photo ops. DC misunderstood and thought he was getting a hug right there. When I told him that she was not allowed to hug at the table he would get one at the photo op, she decided to give him a big hug at the table anyway. A practice hug, they called it.

You CANNOT IMAGINE and I can not put into words just how over the top thrilled he was! That made his day.

The photo op came up quickly and as soon as he saw her (from the line) the squealing began. He made it to the front and she greeted him as if she was so excited to see him. Now, I know that they are supposed to to that, but that little extra attention she gave him just made the whole day worth it. I do not know if she really remembered him or not (he still had the bear, so I am guessing she really may have). It did not matter, DC believed that she did and that is all that mattered.

You will never find a happier guy!

I did not purchase tickets for Sunday because they were too expensive (Sam, Dean and John, their “father” were appearing on Sunday only) but I decided to buy tickets to the concert on Saturday night, thinking that if they were flying in for Sunday appearances, maybe just maybe one or all of them would fly in on Saturday night and make an appearance at the concert.

Had I known when I bought the tickets that the doors would not even open until 10Pm, I would have never done it. I was worried that DC was not going to make it that long.

As it turned out, I am glad that I did not know and glad that I got the tickets.

In an effort to get DC in to the spirit of the thing, I told him that “sometimes” Zack and Cody’s mother, who DC now refers to as “Kim”, sang at these concerts. I knew that to be usually true, but I also knew that I was taking a big risk in telling him so.

We thought we were already losing him while waiting in line but we got him to hold on until we made it inside and sat down. By just a few songs in, he was showing signs of being “done” and no longer paying any attention. He did not notice that she had just come out to the stage.

“DC, look who it is!”

He jumped up out of his seat when he realized. He kept pointing at her as if I did not know she was there.

He danced and clapped for the rest of the concert.

At one point, she jumped off the stage and ran through the audience, DC was in the aisle and no, I was not ready with my camera. She ran right by him. (He was thrilled just to see her up close again). But then she stopped, turned around and started back toward him waving. He LOVED IT! She couldn’t come all of the way back to him, but he knew that she noticed him and the wave was for him and him only!

Just that little bit of extra attention made all the difference to DC.

Kim Rhodes has been added to my list of heroes (or as DC would say “Here- eee- Ohs”)

*****

As for the rest…. DC and I had a good time (Doug not so much)

I have only ever gotten to sit in on two panels/Q&A’s before – Once Upon a Time at NYComiccon where DC fell asleep on me (and when I say “on” me, I mean that literally) and the “Revamping of Fairy Tales for TV Trend” discussion at Shore Leave, where DC not only fell asleep on me but did it in the front row.

We actually got to see the Costume Contest (I apologize for the photo quality; I did not think to bring my real camera)

The Mark Sheppard Q&A:

and The Misha Collins Q&A:

DC did not fall asleep during any of them (I cannot say the same for Doug)

The rest of the concert was fun (even Doug liked it). I was correct. One of the Sunday only guests, Jensen Ackles made an appearance at the Saturday Night Special.

(A very short clip)

Another favorite part of the day happened while standing in line for DC to have his picture taken with Mark Sheppard and Misha Collins. The woman in front of me, carrying a binder; obviously much more organized about this than I was, turned to me and said, “I am 47 years old and I have saved up for 12 years to do this.” – She bought the whole weekend Gold package (Knowing how expensive our single day was, I can see how one would have to save for 12 years.), but if she was going to get to do this, she was going to do it right! We chatted a bit while in line and it seemed as if she was having a great time and it was all worth it! I am glad. Sometimes when you look forward to something for such a long time, you end up being disappointed by the reality of it.

This did not seem to be the case for her and it certainly was not the case for DC.

It made me smile.

****

Update: Just when you think she could not be any more wonderful:

***

For those who know how much I loathe “Inspiration Porn”, let me explain the difference one. more. time.

“I” posted the story because “I” always try to thank anyone that goes out of their way for my child, as I would assume most people would do for their children. I just happen to have a medium to do so. There are some people in this world that deserve to be thanked and Kim is one of them.

For further explanation regarding “Inspiration Porn” – please read a past post: Let’s Talk About Inspiration Porn

(and yes, I just now realized that I gave this post almost the same title – Seriously… All of my posts are not Titled “Let’s Talk About…” 🙂 )

I Got Distracted on Star Trek Day….

Posted by TakingItAStepAtATime

(off topic) {Spoilers!!!}

I have been re-watching the Star Trek series over the last year and a half/two years now. Because some of my perspectives have changed, I was ready to write about it on September 8th; Star Trek Day, but I got distracted and almost completely missed Star Trek Day altogether.

Those of you that know me know that I have been a Star Trek fan from the time that the very first episode aired of the Original Series. Way before it was “cool” (I’m old).

There was and still is nothing not to love about the Original – nothing.

And….. Captain Kirk was a coffee drinker…

“Yeoman, is that coffee available or have those circuits been damaged as well?”

I remember when The Next Generation was being advertised. I was outraged that anyone would try to create a new Star Trek even if the person creating it was Gene Roddenberry himself. How Dare He?!!! My boyfriend at the time, knowing how much I loved Star Trek taped it and brought it to my house for me to watch. I flatly refused. I would NEVER watch a “fake” Star Trek, Never!

Well…. never say never.

As it turned out, I loved it and almost every other that came after. ~ Me 2015

I had seen each incarnation of Star Trek until Star Trek Enterprise came out and every single movie, more than once

until the 2009 release of Star Trek the updated prequel. It was there that I stopped. Nothing against the movie or the actors. I’m sure it was and they were just wonderful. I just did not want to see new actors playing the parts of my favorite characters. ~ Me 2015

I had been finding it difficult getting into any new shows so instead of going back to my “happy shows” that I have no problem watching over and over and over again (The West Wing, Eureka, Parks and Recreation, Angel and the Gilmore Girls), I thought that since I really have not seen an episode of any of the series in the Star Trek franchise in many years; why not try one or all of them? A trip down memory lane would be fun.

You have to remember that when most of these series originally aired; specifically TOS, TNG and DS9, we were able to see them in first run and maybe if we were lucky we would catch a re-run from time to time. Movies were just beginning to be released on video but television series were not. When the Original Series ran, back in the old days of getting up to change between the three network channels and maybe a 4th UHF channel if you moved the antenna in just the right way – video was not even a thought. By the time The Next Generation hit the airwaves, we did have the capability of recording shows from the TV set to VHS, but it would be another few years before I figured out how to do that (more than a few years, if I am honest). So for many of these series, I saw them once when they aired and really never again other than a random re-run here and there.

DEEP SPACE 9

I have always had an affinity to Deep Space 9 but it aired at odd times, like Sunday at 5:00pm or some odd, not in prime-time slot that seemed to change often. I was able to catch enough episodes to know most of the characters and keep up with some of the story lines.

I started my quest to re-watch all of the series with DS9. I was not disappointed. Deep Space 9 has now been added to the list of television shows that I can and will watch over and over again. It was different but there was no mistaking that it was still Star Trek. Although Deep Space 9 is a permanent space station there was quite a lot of action and travel on the Defiant once the war with the Dominion broke out. I liked the way the characters evolved and changed from the beginning of the series (even the Ferengi’s), in a way that I did not really see in Next Gen. I particularly LOVED the relationship between Chief O’Brien and Dr. Bashir. Watching the characters move from just tolerating each other to best friends spending almost all of their time together was just adorable. Jake and Nog come in a close second in “adorable best friends” category. I have to say that I think Nog’s character was allowed the most notable growth throughout the series.

Then there is Captain Sisko……

Commander, Captain…. Emissary of the Prophets – trapped between the two different and often-times conflicting worlds of The Federation and the Bajoran people. By far, my favorite captain.

Deep Space 9 is a little bit darker than most of the other Star Trek series but I think that just makes it better and less predictable.

The series is available on Netflix. If you are a Star Trek fan (even if you are not) I would recommend it highly. Although DS9, in my opinion is the best pilot of any of the Star Trek series, there is something odd about it (on Netflix anyway, I don’t recall thinking that the first time I watched). I can not put my finger on it. I do not know if it is the way it was shot or what, but everyone seems to be over acting as if they were over compensating for sound effects that were to be added later but never were.

If you watch nothing else, please watch Trials and Tribble-ations in season 5, where the crew goes back in time to the Original Series The Trouble with Tribbles episode. So cleverly done and fun!

There is even a funny little call out/acknowledgement to the difference between the Klingons of the past and the Klingons of the present.

(Far Beyond the Stars, Paper Moon, In the Pale Moonlight and Past Tense are also required watching if you are looking for more than just a ‘Fun” episode)

Although Raktajino was the “coffee” of choice by most of the DS9 world, one could always count on Chief O’Brien to go old school with his order of “coffee. black, double sweet”.

I can forgive Commander (later Captain) Sisko for his Raktajino addiction as Raktajino is “techinally” coffee; Klingon coffee.

ENTERPRISE

After finishing DS9, I decided to give Enterprise a try. This is the series I had never seen. I watched one episode….. Nope. The theme song…. Nope.

VOYAGER

Voyager turned out to be another series that was better than I remembered. After getting over (or used to) the Katherine Hepburn impersonation which was not as noticeable watching it once a week as it was binge watching, I really enjoyed it. The first female captain and an avid/can’t start the day without, coffee drinker to boot.

“Listen to me very closely because I’m only going to say this once. Coffee. Black.”

Again, I enjoyed the evolution of the characters and the friendships that developed; my favorite being Seven of Nine and Naomi Wildman. The added suspense of the “will they or won’t they” was enjoyably different. They picked up strays along the way and made them part of their crew. Everyone was welcome; the Marquis, Aliens and even The Borg.

There was so much there that I did not remember from watching it the first time through all those years ago. It was very much worth the re-watch.

THE NEXT GENERATION

There is a case to be made about leaving well enough alone. There are some series, LOST and Mad Men to name a couple, that I absolutely loved, loved, loved obsessively but never had the desire to go back and watch again. I wanted to leave them where and how I remembered them. Not to in any way diminish my love for my “happy shows”; they are just different in my mind.

This is where I should have left The Next Generation. I should have left it in my memory as one of the most popular series of the franchise. But….. NOooooo, I had to go and watch it again. Turns out that the memory of it rated much higher than the reality of it.

Although there are characters that still measure up with those from my memory; Geordi, Data, Wesley and Guinan, I am really struggling with each and every episode.

I remember really liking this series, but I found it extremely boring and ridiculously predictable after the first couple of seasons. I do not feel any attachment to any of the other characters. I find myself fast forwarding through scenes of characters that I once thought were fantastic. Commander Riker, who was thought to be the Kirk-like ladies man, now just strikes me as creepy. Even Captain Picard does not measure up to my memory of him. Mr. Worf ? I liked the character much better once he transferred to DS9. It is funny how looking at something with older eyes can change your perspective this much.

And let me just say……. Earl Grey.. (sigh)

ENTERPRISE

I began trying to watch TNG in August of last year (maybe even before that) and 11 months later, I am finally into the 7th season (while alternating with DS9 for the second time). I am so positively bored by it that I went back to try Enterprise one more time. I am now on the 10th episode. It is holding my attention this time around (fast forwarding through the theme song, of course). Maybe the sheer boredom of the Next Generation made Enterprise more watchable for me. We will see….

THE RE-BOOT MOVIES

I had round two of oral surgery on the 8th which is what distracted me from remembering Star Trek Day ahead of time. Round one happened in July. So yes, I am not only old, but a walking disaster. Round one was just brutal so I was home…. a lot.. . I gave in to pressure and decided to give the reboots a chance.

I really did enjoy all of them. I was happy to see Leonard Nimoy. No matter how many re-boots and new series they make, Mr Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy will always and forever be my favorite character in the Star Trek Universe.

I went into the first one with a bad attitude and was pleasantly surprised. The movie reverts back to previous characters and stories from the Original Series and then they give it all a twist. Everything is different but still somewhat the same. Karl Urban was the perfect choice to play Dr. McCoy. One can see a young DeForest Kelley and imagine him behaving and looking exactly like this in his early Star Fleet days. He absolutely nailed the McCoy character, in my opinion.

The two biggest observations/questions that I have about the re-boots are:

Were Star Fleet officers and personnel not trained in the art of holding on to one’s phaser in the early days? Mere seconds into every fight scene the phaser is knocked out of their hand! Every Time!!!!
Why, Oh, Why would anyone cast Idris Elba in ANYTHING and not show his face until very close to the end?????

WHY????

As for Next Generation; I am determined to finish watching it. Maybe once I am finished, I will feel differently. I will continue to kick myself for not just leaving it in my memory as a show that I once loved.

Happy Belated Star Trek Day!

*****

Update, October 29, 2017 – Giving Star Trek Enterprise a Second Chance

*****

Photos: From The Star Trek Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas 2007

Star Trek Missions – NYC 2016

Star Fleet at the Interpid – NYC 2016

More on Star Trek

To Boldly Go…

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end

Star Trek Missions, NY and a little bit of Reading Rainbow

Gorn? No…..

#TravelingWithDC – Mom’s ‘birfday’

Star Fleet Experience at the Intrepid

And while you are still here, please check out two more posts from friends of mine:

Thank you Mr. Nimoy – from Autism Mom

RIP Mr. Nimoy – from SSirica

Ready to Take that Bow….

Posted by TakingItAStepAtATime

DC and Doug will be running with DC’s Unified Sports team in the Labor Day 5K on Labor Day morning. As always, he is geared up and ready to go because there may be food at the end..

And me? I will be stopping for coffee (bucket size) BEFORE we get to the race site…. #LessonsLearned

Happy Labor Day!

From Labor Day 2016:

On Your Marks, Get Set and Take a Bow

DC has participated in a variety of Special Olympics programs over the years, but never did I ever imagine he would like running. Yes, I was shocked too. We just gave it a try one year because he was tired of golf (10 years) and volleyball (4 years) because he, not really understanding the games, never advanced past the “skills” levels and that just gets boring. He swam for a good 10 years as well, but the program died off and went away. Skiing, you ask? One year and a half until I thought I’d have a heart attack and pulled him out.

“Done of Skiing” – DC-speak

Running was just something we were going to try. Because DC would rather stay home than do just about anything I always make him at least finish the season just to be sure he really doesn’t like something as opposed to him just not wanting to go out. With a few exceptions, most of the time he ends up enjoying what ever activity I have made him stick out to the end. But running? I never thought it would last. I was so wrong – he’s been running for a good six (or more) years now.

The Labor Day 5K is an event he does every year with the exception of 2015 when his seizures were brand new and me, being me was still too panicked to let him run a race. This 5k is not a Special Olympics event, it is a regular 5K attended by thousands of people as are most of the races his team participates in. The individual team members can pick and choose which races they would like to participate in. This is the race DC almost always runs.

DC is not the fastest runner but certainly far from the slowest. When he puts his mind to it he can run pretty fast, but he doesn’t really understand the competition of it all and really, that is fine with me. As at most races, there are tables set up along the route where people pass the runners water. The runners drink the water while running, but not DC. He stops and leisurely drinks his cup of water and then walks around looking for a garbage can. There are hundreds of cups on the ground because that is what you do when running a race, it is expected. Not DC! He knows that we do not throw garbage on the ground and being that there are no gray areas in DC’s mind, he is just not going to do that. Well, this year he did stop and take his time but he did throw his cup on the ground the first time Doug told him to. There was a gray area and he got past it – Progress.

There are plenty of spectators along the route cheering the runners on. DC upon hearing applause from a large group of spectators and DC being DC, stopped running, took a bow, waved and yelled “Thank-you everyone!” then continued on to the finish line…

Having to get up at 5:30 am on a holiday, I went on a hunt for coffee as soon as the race started because….coffee. I stood in the Dunkin Donuts line for quite some time. I did not realize how long until I got a text from Doug right when I finally made it to the counter telling me that they were in the home stretch. I got my coffee and headed to the finish line, but I was too late to see him come in.

He did announce “I did it!” when he saw me and also informed me that he won. I wonder if anyone told the race officials because they have him at 2426th out of 2658 runners? We’ll have to see about that.