I am not a fan of social media. I think it's a time suck that takes away from spending time with actual people. There are some good things about it too, but that is for another time. I am on Facebook because of my friends. I am on Twitter because it's expected of writers but that is where I drew the line for a long time.  

Then one day I was searching Google Images for something and the object of my desire could only be seen on Pinterest and only if I signed up. So I did. The next four hours disappeared down the rabbit hole that is this site. But now that I have my boards up and filled I have to say it is my new favorite place to go. And here's why. 

I love fan art. I love that people use their mad skills to express their love for something in the most creative ways. If I could draw I would do the same thing, but I can't. I'm a writer so I could do fan fiction but I have enough trouble keeping my own worlds spinning, much less those of others. Besides, the immediate gratification of a visual art is so satisfying. 

So what's a fan girl to do? 

I can't draw, but I can pretend. That is a game I have always excelled at. So I am taking it to the next level in a new blog.

As you may have read, Red Vs. Blue is currently my favorite show and Michael J. Caboose is my favorite character. This blog will be a pictorial account of his adventures which will most often coincide with my own, because we are best friends after all.

See! It's up in the menu if you want to take look. Scroll back to the top, you'll see. Stop by! This is going to be so much fun!

My first obsession was (and still is) Transformers G1. I love Optimus and his Autobots. I'm also a sucker for classic good versus evil showdowns that were so prevalent in cartoons of the 80s: Justice League vs. Legion of Doom, Thudercats vs Mumra, G.I. Joe vs. Cobra, X-Men vs. Brotherhood of Mutants, He-man/She-Ra vs. the Horde, et al. 

But what good are Prime and his noble Auotobts without Megatron and the Decepticons? You can't have one without the other. I'm not an advocate of wars or violence but there is always a fight to be won. It could be in your own head, a co-worker you don't get along with, whatever the obstacle(s), life is a series of battles. And the thing about those battles is the people that see you through, that fight along side you in those things, you never forget. Sometimes they are the people you fight and you realize you've picked the wrong battle and now you're best friends. 

Which brings us to my newest obsession. Red vs. Blue. A certain streaming service that shall remain nameless, had been recommending it to me for a while now and I finally decided to give it a try. That was two months ago and a day hasn't gone by that I haven't spent sometime watching the show. In two short months I have probably watched every episode five or six times. 

I had this vague notion that it was based off of the Halo universe. I'm not a gamer but I have played Halo 3 at a friends house so I had a little background on things. But then when I ran out of RVB episodes I needed more. So to the Halo universe I turned. Suffice it to say You Tube has been scoured for in game videos and I am almost done with the 3rd book of the series. And several of the comics from my local library have been read and returned. (Master Chief is the Optimus Prime of the Halo universe. But this is a great topic for another time.)

Now when I get hooked on something like this I like to stop and ask my self, why? What is it about this thing that has gotten a hold of me? It didn't take long to realize it was the Transformer affect all over again. What that means for me, is characters, it always come down to character for me. But it's the chemistry of all of them together. The interplay between the factions and even within the factions. The relationships. I don't know if the writers of the original TF had that in mind and I don't know if the writers of RVB do either, but it's there. 

The best part about RVB is that it started out so organically and the creators have really upped their game as their fan base has grown and they've taken all of intertwining relationships as seriously as the fans do. Season 13 is currently underway and it's still great character building with the humor and heart that it started with. RVB has really nailed that camaraderie that comes with fighting along side and often against other people but coming out of the fray all the more wiser for it. 

That is the other thing about the sim soldiers in red and blue. Everyone is exactly who they are and are totally accepting of who they are within themselves. The integrity of the characters never waivers and I personally really appreciate that. To be honest, do not judge the series on the the first four seasons. You may like the humor, but I recognize it is not for everyone. My favorite season so far is 10, but the stories and animation start getting really sophisticated in season 6.

I recommend you watch season one as a foundation, then jump to five and watch everything after it in order. If you are in love with the knuckleheads by the end of season ten, go back to two, three, and four so you can see how far they've come. My deepest appreciation to Rooster Teeth for giving me my newest obsession and the other fans who have just as much fun with and love for it.

It was awesome! A really nice night with friends and new acquaintances. We had art from five fantastic artists: David Landry, Alyssa Abshier, Robert Chambers, David Yapp, and John Epsey. The cake was provided by Delia's Desserts. Check it for yourself.

A big thank you to all my volunteers, Heather, David, Robert, Ben, Kathy, Linda, Natasha, Delia, Cari, Shannon, and Joe. Thank you to everyone who came out to the event, it was great seeing you all and I hope I got to say to each one of you. It was a great night. If you missed it, don't worry there's always book two.

Have you ever thought:

That was the response I got when I asked PBG if she still had plans on being a mortician.

Somehow I get the feeling this line could be used in other situations. I wait for the day....

Recently, KKL confessed to me that:

                "I may not be crazy when I get old, but I'm will pretend to be."

I had an amazing group of friends who were willing the play dress up with me for the day and we had a blast. Armed with free stickers and modified water guns we hit the floor and well, just started to wander around.

We got to meet some of the Ghostbusters. I was informed by one of the NorCal division members that there is at least one chapter in every state. The guys had their photo taken with a variety of Storm Troopers. There was a 1940's Captain America and Golden Age Aurthur from The Tick. And every Batman villain, lead by the Joker of course, they were pretty good at Guitar Hero. A $10,000 Dalek that was a labor of love and wallet. And Dr. Ian Malcolm who was happy to explain chaos theory to us.

It was a really great day and I am blown away by the love given to me by the amazing people you see here, willing to play along for a little while. Cari, Heather, Jimmy, Joe, and Shannon, you guys are AWESOME.

That's what DT declared to me the other day. Recently when she thinks about getting something, i.e. a book, she decides against getting it but then someone gives it to her as gift. "Next time I need to look at cars."

I just think that everyone could benefit from looking beyond the day to day and ruminate on the possibilities.

I’m wondering that if employers provided a workplace confessional that everyone would be a lot happier.

In many TV reality shows (which I deplore) they have a “Confession Cam.” A soundproofed room where a contestant can go and just let it all out whether it be crying, ranting, homesickness, whatever. The confession cam exists for the sake of the audience and to create drama for the “narrative” of the show. But I’m sure it has a psychological benefit for the cast that would make anyone feel better.

I strongly suspect that a lot of workplace tension and stress could be relieved by providing employees a place to rant and rail as needed. Even for people who feel like they can say something to their supervisor or boss still have to show some restraint in how they say things and what they say. Being able to do it in private would help the person be totally honest instead of covering up what they really want to say in PC platitudes.

Not having to go to co-workers to vent would keep the peace. Instead of forming alliances and grudges against fellow employees; relationships in the workplace could remain civil and friendlier. This, I think, is very important because I have seen it happen (in more than one job) that things can quickly become an “Us vs. Them” situation. Sorry adults, you form cliques just as fast as any middle school student.

I know the question you really want to ask me is: Am I advocating for such a thing because I could really use one at the moment? And the answer to that is YES.  I really think that if I were able to air my thoughts and frustrations unbridled my overall outlook would improve as would my patience. I’m willing to bet you would too.