Sunday, October 29, 2017

Giving Star Trek Enterprise a Second Chance...

(off topic and {{Spoilers}})


A little while ago, (right after Star Trek Day) I wrote about my quest to re-watch all of the old Star Trek Series and even view some of the re-boot movies that I had been boycotting/protesting because I felt.....

I remember my ex-husband loved U2. He was a fan way back before they became famous. I remember him being a "little bit" put out when they did become famous because, you know.... he found them first and now EVERYBODY likes them. How dare everybody like them!

I felt kind of like that about the new movies.

I had always been perfectly happy being the geek that liked Star Trek before it was popular to say so and now EVERYONE was going to watch it. We did not need anything new!

The one and only Star Trek series I had never seen was Star Trek Enterprise.  I had already gotten over my "How dare they make a new series" when TNG came out and ended up watching every series that came out afterward (DS9 and Voyager).
But I stopped at Star Trek Enterprise..

I think my opposition to ENT was that it was a prequel. I had learned to live with all of the 'Continuing Voyage' series but a prequel? BEFORE Kirk, Spock and McCoy? Oh No, No, NO!
There was NOTHING before The Original Series! Nothing!

But all these years later, I decided I should give it a try.

First Attempt:

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.

Next Attempt:

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 re-watching the Next Generation made Enterprise more watchable for me. We will see….

The first attempt was made with a bad attitude and it took me days just to get through the first episode. It took so long that I hardly remember it now (I will have to go back and watch it again one of these days). But once I got watching, I found that I really was enjoying it.

A prequel that looks like a prequel. Technology fitting of the time period. The transporter was a new and a not so trusted technology. Warp 4.5 was the new maximum warp speed when Enterprise began her voyage. They did not even have a tractor beam.

No matter how much I love a series and how many times I view an episode, I am not going to remember or even pay attention to the name of the episode nor will I remember the names of the aliens that are encountered. It takes me such a long time to even remember the names of the characters.

But, Andorians - always.

I love the way many of the species we will meet or have already met, depending on the way you are looking at it, make appearances in ENT.

Yes, due to advances in special effects and make-up techniques, these aliens look a bit more realistic than their counterparts in TOS, but not completely redone and remain true to their TOS origins.

I adored the Andorians. I reacted with an "Awwwww" as if I was watching a Hallmark Christmas movie each time Shran showed up, out of the blue (no pun intended) to come to the aid of Archer and the Enterprise. I loved the friendship that developed between Shran and Captain Archer, although I do not believe either would describe their relationship in quite that way. It was there.

If Jeffrey Combs does not, at some point make an appearance in the new Star Trek Discovery (as anything or anyone) I will be very disappointed. He has become something of a tradition now.

Some of the episodes, I'll admit were a little bit far fetched and over the top, but still completely watchable for me. Although it took me some time to warm up to Malcolm, there really was not a main character that I did not like.

I loved the way each character evolved during the run of the series. Something, I will say again that I did not see in TNG, with the exception of Data.

I was completely heartbroken when T'Pol got married.

HEART

BROKEN

And even more heart broken when in the following episode when we discovered that she did actually go through with it. I was half expecting, or maybe just hoping that it would be revealed that at the last minute, she did not, but it did not turn out that way.


The marriage did end eventually but it took much longer than I would have liked.

Much like the rest of the Star Trek franchise, ENT touched upon many "outer space" versions of social issues relevant to the social issues that we face today - prejudice, genocide and deportation of all aliens from the planet to name a few.


I think the show really came into it's own during the 3rd season and even more so in the 4th and final season. I looked forward to watching every episode.

The finale.....

I understand that many fans were not happy with the finale due to the addition of the TNG element taking away from the fact or hijacking what was supposed to be the ENT finale. It was seen by many to be a slight or a slap in the face to the show by not getting their own finale.

I do understand that way of looking at it but it really did not bother me all that much. I think it was well done and the TNG characters did not take too much away from the ENT crew.

I was upset to find that Tucker and T'Pol were not together and hadn't been in more than 6 years. I get it - the show was trapped by the Amanda/Sarek (Spock's parents) relationship and marriage story line that we all had already seen and heard about in TOS, but I was still saddened that they were not at least still together - they didn't have to be married, but they could still have been together.

I see how this holodeck program from the past was supposed to help Commander Riker make an important decision by showing him what it means to have the trust of and to trust your captain completely and be willing to give everything in an act of sheer faith and trust in the mission at hand.

But did they really have to kill off Tucker?

I was completely wrecked when Tucker came to the galley to talk to "Chef" (Commander Riker) at the end and I suppose that was what the writers intended and that point was well made.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the series and sad that it was over. Sure, I will always be able to watch it all over again, but there will never be anything like the first time. Dare I say, it may have moved over to the list as one of my favorites....

The theme song..... still not sold, but I am certainly glad that I gave the series that second chance.....

*****
As for The Next Generation, I had finally made it to the 7th season when I wrote the first post and I am still in the 7th season - but much closer to the end. I am beginning to wonder if I actually ever saw the entire series as much of it after the 3rd of 4th season did not seem familiar to me but I do seem to remember quite a lot about this last season.

I am thinking that possibly I lost track of it right in the middle of it's original run and picked it up again when DS9 hit the air. In any event, I am determined to finish re-watching TNG - I am almost there. I am finding this last season much more interesting than the middle seasons. I may write about it again when I do finally finish watching.

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I have also started watching the latest series, Star Trek Discovery..... I am not "all in" yet, but I will write about it sometime in the future when I have more episodes or a full season under my belt.

In the meantime, please take a minute to read Autism-Mom's latest post about Star Trek Discovery (no worries, no spoilers):

PARALLEL WORLDS – AUTISM EXAMPLES IN STAR TREK: DISCOVERY? YOU BET!



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This blog is used for shorter posts, off topic posts and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time
















Friday, October 20, 2017

I Write Because....



Why I write?
I never really intended to write a blog. My blogging began one day when I was writing an extremely long response to a blog post that I had just finished reading. After I hit “post” I decided that writing a response to this post on someone else’s blog was not going to make me feel better about the topic being discussed. I opened an account, copied and pasted that very long comment, on to a page and started my blog.
I was so worried that I would never have enough to say to sustain a blog, but I went for it anyway. It turns out that I do have a lot to say. I don’t know how many people care to hear what I have to say, but I say it anyway.
It is difficult to explain "his" autism to anyone without resorting to 1000 examples and 1000 stories. So I tell 1000 stories to make clear that there are other sides to autism than the characters seen in TV or movies. 
I read many blogs as well. Many of the blogs that I do come across are written by parents of younger children. Most are wonderful and very informative. There are many that I absolutely love, but I always feel that the parents of adult children do not have an equal voice in this community. We are cast aside, or worse, berated. I am not in any way saying my blog is the voice of parents with adult children, but I am ONE voice and ONE opinion in a sea of blogs and opinions that do not seem to make room for the parents that have been at it  for many years now.
I was very tired of being preached at and constantly being told how to feel by those who have not reached this point in their child’s life. I understand where they are coming from and in turn I believe they can or should try to understand where I am coming from. Whatever else you might have to say about me, I  have done a good job of raising DC.  Of course there was help along the way but as a single mother going on 23 years now, most of it fell to me alone.  I truly resent the fact that we, as parents are being made to feel as if after all these years,  we’ve got it all wrong. I know that there are instances where we did have it wrong. When DC was young, there was not any where near the information and services that are available today. (See: Autism In the Old Days
I hope that a little insight into what comes after “school age” may go a long way in getting people to stop and think before making blanket decisions, accusations and statements that may not affect their child the same way it will affect mine. There has got to be some give and take. Everything does not work for every one.
Having said that, I have learned quite a bit from other parents by virtue of my blog. I don’t always agree with every opinion and my readers, I’m sure, do not always agree with me, but I truly believe writing this blog and getting some of the feedback has helped me see some issues a bit differently or at least why some parents see things the way they do. I can only hope I can and will be afforded the same courtesy; and so far I have.
Life tends to be very different when your child “ages out” of the school system and at other times, it is exactly the same. When you are waist deep in school, therapies, programs and IEPs, what happens after 21 is not high on your priority list. Of course it is a priority and of course it is in the back of your mind but, the here and now takes precedence. There are so many new and different issues to consider, and it all comes to hit you in the face much faster than you expect. Your views and opinions can change dramatically from what you hoped for when they were young and what you hope for now. Your life changes drastically, while not changing at all.
In an earlier blog I wrote:
He will, someday have to live in the real world without me.
So I will keep writing with the hope that a few people might read and think a little bit about the future. I would never say that spreading awareness is not a good idea, it IS definitely necessary, but…..
all of the awareness in the world is not going to keep DC safe and happy when I am no longer here to protect him…..
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This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday post. This week’s sentence is “Why I write…” brought to you by  Kenya Johnson of Sporadically Yours.
Finish the Sentence Friday is a link-up where writers and bloggers come together to share their themselves with a particular sentence. If you’d like to stay ahead of future sentences and participate, join the Facebook group

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This blog is used for shorter posts and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

Please Arrive 15 Minutes Early....



(My friend over at Seriously Not Boring posted something the other day that reminded me to finish this post - a post that I started after a status she posted back in March 2016 )

One of my pet peeves, is scheduling an appointment with the doctor and then being told during your confirmation/reminder call to arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time for paperwork purposes. 
Why can't they just schedule the appointment 15 minutes earlier instead of throwing that at you during the confirmation call?  If you want me there at 9:45, then schedule my appointment for 9:45. I really do not need to play mind games about what time I really have to be there.

Why doesn't it work that way?

DC had an eye doctor appointment this morning at 10 am (it was THIS morning when I started writing this
. But let's pretend that I did not totally forget that I was writing this - 'Kay???) This is a relatively new eye doctor for us and only our second visit; the last being over a year ago, so I really am not used to or remember their procedures. 

This office was recommended to me when I "decided" I had had enough of his last eye doctor (more about that in Part 2). When we arrived for that first appointment, we were told that their computers were down and that they could not even get a schedule of their appointments for that day. They had no idea who was coming in, at what time and for what reason.....

We just had to sign in and hope for the best.

Great!

His appointment went smoothly and they gave him a new prescription - perfect.

One year later, when I received the confirmation call (recorded) on Saturday, confirming his 10 am appointment, they also said to..... 


wait for it...




"Please arrive 15 minutes early to complete your paperwork". Grrr. Now, 15 minutes may not seem like all that much time, but in my life, it's a big deal and of course changes my whole schedule.

Arriving at 9:45 as requested, I found myself filling out the same paperwork that I had filled out at our first appointment and being told that they had no record of his first visit other than the fact that he was there. Nothing apparently had been "scanned in". - Those pesky computer issues.


Listen, I am old and tired and seriously have no patience for anyone other than DC anymore, so this was not making me happy at all. 

As I was filling out said paperwork listening to DC stim loudly ("waiting, waiting") I noticed that the time "10:15" was written on the top of one of the pages. 


When I went to return the paperwork, I asked what the 10:15 was for. The reply? "That is the time of your appointment".


So..... they scheduled me for 10 am (adding the extra 15 minutes like I wished everyone would do ahead of time), but never mentioned this to me (or to the people making the confirmation calls) and called to confirm my 10 am but still asked that I arrive 15 minutes early for paperwork purposes!!!!

Seriously? 


Through my teeth, as I have grown very skilled at speaking through a clenched jaw, I "explained" this to her. She replied - "Well, that's all right that you are early" (There is nothing I dislike more than when someone screws up - and screws up with my time - and then tells me it's alright!)



Now practicing the art of "yelling" through a clenched jaw...... "That's not all right!!!! We are NOT early, we arrived here when we were told to arrive! There's a lot I could have done in the half hour I will now be sitting here".... 


(One of the reasons we left the last eye doctor was because they made DC wait so long that he was just out of sorts by the time they were ready for him and would not always cooperate - That story will come later)

The receptionist kind of just looked at me and said, "Oh no, you'll go in as soon as I enter your paperwork" - which took until just about 10:15. 

Shocking! 

Given the story that will follow in Part 2, I suppose the added half hour and having no record of anything; the new prescription - nothing - except the fact that he was there still might qualify as a step up???

But, the Jury is still out on this place. ...


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This blog is used for shorter posts and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time








Monday, October 9, 2017

VHS to DVD to Blu-ray to Digital to.......



DC came over to me, iPad in hand while I was on the computer and proceeded to sing the theme to Bye Bye Birdie in it's entirety.

His allergies had kicked in full force the day before so it was not an easy feat for him.

When he was finished singing, he shoved the iPad in front of my face. The screen was showing the "Buy It Now" option for the digital version of Bye Bye Birdie.

sigh.... 

heavy sigh...

Look, the guy loves movies. He loves Disney. He loves musicals. I get that and I support his love of media, but let's take a step back and think about this:

He is 26 years old.

We began our journey in the VHS era. He had hundreds of movies on VHS.

Next came DVD's - everything that he had on VHS eventually was replaced by DVD's (and I mean everything because he does not outgrow the movies that he started out with)

THEN, came the 20th, 25th, 30th, 50th Anniversary Special Editions of everything he already owned.

(There are very few things that DC likes - very few - movies, music and books are on the top of that small list. These are what he gets for birthdays, Christmas and any events that require a gift. So let's not say that he is being spoiled, there just aren't all that many things that he enjoys.)

Next came Blu-ray. DVD's will play on a Blu-ray player, but not vise-versa so we had to upgrade to a blu-ray player. When they first came out with blu-ray I envisioned having to replace everything again, so phew; replacing the player was not a big deal.

But WAIT! 

Now he has an iPad and it seems that we are replacing everything one. more. time so he can have the digital versions. 

(It is a plus that he finally understands that "Buy it Now" costs money - not that he has a complete understanding about the concept of money but he understands that he has to ask me first <that wasn't always the case>)

Last week when I let him purchase whatever it was he wanted at the time (I can't remember), I told him that was enough for awhile. I suppose he thought that struggling to sing the song with a stuffy nose, while coughing and sneezing in an attempt to provide an entertainment angle would help to make his case to me for the purchase of this movie.

He was right..... 


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This blog is used for shorter posts and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time