(DA) The Service Industry

One of my many jobs, and my newest, is working as a server for a local restaurant.

I love this job. It's a very upbeat atmosphere with a very strong team mentality. My personality fits in really well with the preexisting team, and the job's demands makes going to work a pleasure, not a chore. I think that's quite special. But tonight I ran in to the challenge of wasted food.

I've struggled with the idea of wasted food in restaurants before, but when I'm full I just can't eat another bite. Tonight I was starving, so I noticed how much food came back into the kitchen. Far too much. The food wasn't coming back because it wasn't good, quite the opposite, people liked the items on the menu so much they ordered multiple appetisers, then an entree and then desert.

I'm not really sure why I had such an adverse reaction to seeing all the leftovers today. Perhaps it was simply that I was hungry and thought "If that had been my meal there would be nothing left on that plate."

But after seeing all the deserts go out, and empty plates come in (because of course people eat the entire desert...) it was a challenge not to order myself one too.

There are 3 things I was looking for when I applied for this job:
1- a great working environment
2- easy to commute to
3- an amazing selection of deserts

And I haven't been disappointed yet!


-Brandolyn

(DA) Quite grown up

Tonight  feel very grown up. I don't often feel my age; I tend to feel much younger or much older, but today I feel exactly where I should be. 

After a late shift at work I'm home, I've made dinner and now I'm sipping white wine, with the dog at my feet working on my next piece of writing while Jason watches cooking shows beside me. 

It's incredibly comforting and reassuring to feel your own age. It's nice, and since I don't feel this way often, I think I'll cherish it. 

-Brandolyn

(DA) Summer Movies

Check out the films I'm looking forward to in the near future.

>>>CLICK HERE<<<

-Brandolyn

(DA) The Adam and Eve Project

There's a short story I've been working on called "The Adam and Eve Project". Every time I work on it I get fired up. I'm passionate about the story, though I'm not 100% sure why. I like the characters well enough, but it's the plot that intrigues me most.

I've been looking forward to posting it for a while, but I can't bring myself to finish it, and I wonder why.

It's a tough story to write; it's violent, sad, and full of moral issues but that's what I like about it. I've nearly finished the tale, but I can't decide how to finish it. I have several endings and no idea which one is best. I have a predictable ending- the would make it easier to read, a harsh ending- that would really drive home the morals and an ending that is a bit of both- but the combination makes it a bit corny, and with a story like this I don't want to take away from the seriousness of the issues.

I think my next challenge is to write a couple more endings. Maybe then I'll finally write one that satisfies me and completes the story.

Look forward to reading "The Adam and Eve Project" in the near future.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Sleep soundtracks

Have you ever found a piece of music, of genre of music that is so comforting it lulls you to sleep?

I have. Actually, I've found a few. They have changed over the years but they are often instrumental, soft and intriguing. I find I have very creative dreams when I fall asleep to music.

I few songs I've favoured over the years that come to mind are:

New Moon- Alexandre Desplat 

Pirates and Mermaids- The Blue Sky Project

Forbidden Friendship- John Powell 

Any Harry Potter score- John Williams

and most recently The Downton Abbey Suite 

These songs have inspired me, relaxed me, excited me and make me feel full of wonder.

I wish I had the talent to make someone feel all those emotions with one piece of art, but hopefully I can feel that sense of accomplishment if I keep working on me writing.

What do you use to relax? A book? Music? Silence?

-Brandolyn

(DA) Going to need a little down time

My life hasn't been overwhelmingly busy, but the past weekend was full.

Between multiple jobs, social events and prep for my modelling gig and a day full of modelling followed by more work at another job, I'm beat.

I was up at 5, working from 6am- 8pm. I've barely eaten, (I know it's bad, but there hasn't been much down time), I didn't sleep well and now I could sleep for hours; except that I have another full day of obligation juggling tomorrow.

On a happier note: My hair changed 4 times today.

I woke up with long pink hair.

Then it was cut onstage.

Then it was trimmed up and 'bling-ed up" with some gold leaf.

And it was restyled on stage again.

And now it's white again. But before it went white again, I went and refilled the car with gas like this...

Classy!

I had a wonderful day full of new friends and acquaintances. New job prospects and lots of new experiences. I love my jobs, I love my busy schedule and I couldn't be happier with the things I am juggling.

THIS is what I've been waiting for!

But once my schedule settles a little I will be looking forward to getting some writing done.

-Brandolyn

The morning models

The afternoon models I got to work with

(DA) Spoilers

Yesterday I had the ending of my favourite show's season finale spoiled for me. 

 I really watch very few shows, the Big Bang Theory, New Girl, Doctor Who , Rookie Blue and Castle. 

If you tell me something about The Big Bang Theory or New Girl and spoil something that happens in an episode I might be disappointed, but I'd laugh along with it. I watch these shows for the fun of it. 

If you spoil something in Doctor Who I'd disappointed but run home to see it happen and unfold in front of my eyes. 

But Rookie Blue and Castle are a different story. I am very invested in these two shows and a spoiler can be devastating. For example, yesterday I accidentally found out the ending of my favourite show. I don;t have cable so had to wait to watch it. I was a couple episodes behind when I had the end of the season ruined for me. It was no one;s fault and an accident but it broke me. I actually broke down into uncontrollable sobs, unable to fully understand the information that had been given to me. 

Spoilers are horrible, heartbreaking and mean more to some people than others. 

Apparently when it comes to Castle or Rookie Blue, spoilers really affect me. I knew I was invested in the show, but I was surprised at my reaction. 

-Brandolyn

(DA) New Experiences

Today I had the unique experience of locking myself in a room which 2 friends surrounded by clues and puzzles that could lead to our escape.

This is something you can actually pay to do.

No it's not creepy. No it;s not sketchy. It's challenging, mind bending, interactive, creative and builds on relationships and teamwork.

It was myself, my Jason and our friend Ryan. We're a great blend of out of the box thinkers, and we thought this 'game' sounded like a good challenge.

We got to the building, you are given a flashlight and told you are being locked in a room and you have 45 minutes to figure out the clues around the room that will eventually lead to you finding the key out.

Some of the challenges were much simpler than others (at least for us) and others that should have been simple ended up being difficult to see in another way.

It was hilarious fun!

Unfortunately we got stuck on the last clue 14 minutes before the buzzer went and spent nearly a quarter of an hour staring at the final clue. But we laughed all the way through it and relied on each other's outside the box thinking to solve the clues and get ourselves out in time.

If you ever get the chance check out ESC-it.There are multiple rooms and challenges of various difficulties to test your skills. Bring friends or family; groups up to 5 people, though that would have been squishy in our little room.

It's cheap, it's fun, it doesn't take long.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Oh technology!

I apologize for not having a post up yesterday. I was going out of town so I had one set up to "Auto Publish" yesterday, and it never did... weird.

I think it's fantastic that we have so many neat tricks and tools at our disposal with computer and phone technology, but when it doesn't work quite like I expect then I'm always disappointed. I guess I should just shake my head and think "well, it was a nice idea."

Anyway, here it is, yesterday's published article on ALT SCRN about the season premiere of Rookie Blue. 

>>>CLICK HERE<<<

-Brandolyn

(DA) Gender and cars

I accept that I know very little about cars. I'm learning little bits at a time, but if my car broke down I'd have to rely on someone else to fix it. I feel like that's the way with 'most' people. I'm not saying 'most girls', I mean people. 

When I talk to my friends most of them don't know how to change a tire on a car. Or change their oil. A select few haven't even put wiper fluid in their car. And then on the complete opposite side of the spectrum I have a couple friends who could build a whole car themselves. 

If I ask my friends if their parents could fix up a car most of them answer yes. Whether this is true, or this is the eternal 'my dad can do everything' mindset I don't know. But I do know that many of my parents friends are far more handy and hands on in their lives than my friends are. So I believe that even if my parent's friends can't completely fix a car, they get the general idea and can at least fix a burnt out tail light. 

So, when I'm out of my element and take my car to the garage, a strange thing happens. 

I immediately get helped. My car gets accepted at the mechanics (despite being told that this mechanic never takes new clients), and I get shown the inner workings of how my car runs. I can get away with "Oh. I had no idea our filters were dirty! It's my husband's car, I'll let him know when I get home!" (I've done it at Mr. Lube just to see if I could, which doesn't the gender stereotype of girls and cars) But I can also get away with, "I have no idea what that is, how does it work and why isn't it working properly?" without having someone laugh at me or roll their eyes. 

I hear going to a mechanics is difficult for most people. Unless you speak the language it's a challenge. Women either get pushed aside, ignored, babied or catered to. Men either get swift and brisk service, or sarcastic service. This is obviously an over exaggeration. Lots of people have excellent experiences with mechanics, but there are still lots of people who have negative experiences, which is why I hear of people going so long between visits. Yes, the money is an issue, but everyone knows you pay more if you prolong the issue, and yet people still avoid going to the mechanic until their problem is unavoidable and dangerous. 

I've been lucky in my experience. I think it's because I openly admit I don't know much, but I am also curious and want to learn about my car. 

Being at the mechanic today I realized I found another job I could have really enjoyed if I had gone to school and studied to be a mechanic. I've often thought I would be better suited to a job in the trades; I wouldn't have liked all the grease under my nails, but working on a car is like working on a big puzzle. It's challenging and exciting. I loved the atmosphere, and could have seen myself fixing up cars, if I hadn't decided to pursue writing. 

-Brandolyn

What have your experiences with your car been like? Do you know a lot? Or wish you knew more?

(DA) Another review?

Tonight I sat down to watch the Supernatural Season Finale with my sister, and then watch the Rookie Blue Season Premiere.

As soon as the Rookie Blue Premiere ended I started to write a review, but I am so full of emotions (from both episodes, a lack of nutritional food and a lack of sleep) that I'm not sure how well thought out my article is.

This is one of the "save it, and look at it later" moments that are frustrating to writers (or maybe just myself) but are definitely worthwhile.

This is the same reason teachers tell you not to write a report the night before, you won;t have time to look at it again with fresh eyes before submitting it.

I would love to post this review tonight. However, I would prefer to publish a coherent article that illustrates my point, instead of a misspelled rant, that I published because I was too impatient not to wait and read it over again after a nap.

So on that note, look forward to an article on the Rookie Blue season premiere soon, but for now I am off to recharge my creativity.

-Brandolyn

(DA) If I had a million dollars...

Or more disposable income than I have at the moment, then I'd have my "Wishlist" that I'd have to choose what to spend my money on.

If I could afford it, then I would like to:

-be able to afford more acting classes
-go back to dressage and horseback riding
-take a stage combat class
-pay for head shots
-enrol in a visual arts class (preferably life drawing)
-take a writing class
-commission an artist to make renderings of some of my characters
-I could afford to play paintball
-pay entrance fees for more races (Toughmudder)
-More training (scenting, or flyball) for the dog
-Take some more first aid training to qualify to teach first aid

And this doesn't include real life's choices like 'save for a down payment on a house', 'travel' or 'get second car'.

At the moment. the challenge is figuring out how many items on the list I can do without spending money. The list isn't long yet, but I'm still looking into resources to make this list longer.

-my sister took my head shots (caching!)
-writing class on line
-community centre art classes
-train the dog by myself (get a book from the library)

-Branndolyn

(DA) Floating

I used to be a swimmer.
I used to race on my high school Swim Team.

I was never the best, but I loved it.

I don't swim anymore. I should, but I don't. I miss it. I haven't really swam a true, hard earned race; muscles cramping, lungs heaving, eyes burning from the chlorine, in years but I can still remember the exhilaration of the feeling of cutting through the water, propelling myself forward toward the finish line. I can feel every muscle in my body shaking, I can smell the polyester, nylon and chlorine, and I remember not being able to hear a thing. I never heard the sound of the crowds cheering, or my coaches yelling. Not even my own heart beat. Once that starting gunshot fired, there was nothing.

I remember the silence. At the end of a hard race, arms pumping to get me to that final wall, both hands stretch out and slam the timer pad as I reach that last arm length and my body would stop. I didn't look at the timer, or the other swimmers. Instead, I would close my eyes, drop into the water and float for a moment. I would wait, weightless, soundless, breathless, as the world moved around me and I stayed 'stopped'.

I felt like that today, like I was floating through my day. The world moved around me, and I stayed still waiting for my body to tell me it's time to rejoin the rest of the world, but it never did. I felt, and saw people go by, meals go by, time go by without me as I floated, waiting for the signal to rejoin the group.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Inspiration

Inspiration comes to me in many ways. It can be from some of my most vivid dreams, a walk on the beach, a solitary drive or a chat with an old friend.

Luckily that's been my whole day!

I woke up from 2 murder mystery dreams, drove to my grandparent's house, walked the cat on the beach and had the best chat with my grandfather of my life.

In the grand scheme of things this chat was meaningless, just about running, but it's the longest and most enthusiastic conversation my grandfather and I have ever had. I will cherish it always.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Serenity

Serenity, a place of comfort and peace. Everyone has a different idea of serenity. Serenity doesn't have to be calm, just peaceful.

I know a woman who is at her most peaceful surrounded by children at a daycare. I asked her "How can you find that peaceful?" She replied, "It's not quiet by any definition of the word, but there's no one to judge me. That's peaceful."

I know a gentleman whose serenity is in his library. He said he doesn't even need to be reading to find serenity in that library.

It's important to know what your serenity is so that when you are stressed or struggling with anything you can go to that place and recharge.

Is your serenity sitting outside and listening to birds?

Is your idea of serenity riding your bike or walking your dog? Maybe even going for a drive in your car, music blasting.

Maybe it's just cleaning dishes listening to your favourite music.

Whatever your serenity is, find it, and use it to give you peace and comfort, and therefore giving you strength and ability to handle stressful situations. This can help you avoid conflicts at work, fights at home and inner dialogue battles with yourself.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Anticipation!

I have the weekend off of work and finally some time to spend with my man!

Tonight we spent 3 exciting (albeit freezing) hours watching an unscripted, un-choreographed event of full contact jousting. It was the most exhilarating event! The horses were so calm, and the riders were very conscientious of their horses and worked with them to put on a stunning performance.

 If you ever have a chance to see a "Knights of Valour" show, I suggest you do. The horses are all rescued draft horses. They do a wonderful job of explaining the back story of the horses and their bonds with their riders. There was even a bit of falconry that taught the viewers about birds and the art of falconry. It was educational and thrilling. I was jumping up and down on the bench, screaming for the riders!

It was a wonderful night!

Tomorrow we have an exciting day visiting friends that we've been looking forward to, and then a family thing we're going to on Sunday. Maybe we'll even have more time off on Monday!

So many things to do, so many things to see, and so much excitement ahead!

-Brandolyn

Visit the Knights of Valour >>>here<<<

And see a brief clip from last week >>>here<<< (my clips haven't loaded yet)

(DA) Accomplishments!

I've been writing lately about how I feel like I can do *giant megaphone voice* "EVERYTHING AT ONCE"

I'm feeling powerful and creative and able to multi-task. I'm active, useful, learning, creating... the list goes on, but the part I am frustrated with (again or still) is that I've barely touched my novel. All the other things I wanted to do, and still want to do and it's frustrating that writing my book is so far down that list.

Hopefully that means that when I do sit down and write it, it'll just flow.

I hope I'm not procrastinating because of a fear of rejection. Or worse, a fear of accomplishment.

I spend my nights falling asleep to the adventures in my book, so I know every detail- it just needs to get put on paper.

Soon.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Getting Healthy

Is being healthy feeling no pain?

Or is being healthy when your body works at 100%?

I say 100% and that's the core ideal of the Maximized Living regime which I have been following for the past month. I understand it's a lifestyle, not a diet, but the whole experience has been great!

My goal with Maximized Living and Preventative Chiropractics is to be the best and healthiest person I can be for myself, my current family, my future children and their children. I want to be healthy, functional, able bodied, able minded and happy for the rest of my life and Maximized Living promises to help me achieve that goal.

Losing weight was never a goal of mine, but I was shocked to learn that I have lost 5 lbs since I've started taking the baby intro steps to Maximized Living. What's so surprising about it is that I'm actually working out LESS. I used to walk my dog for an hour, then spend about another hour in the gym every day doing cardio or weights. Now (I still walk my dog) but I'm only doing 12 minute (*MaxT3) workouts, twice a week. TWICE A WEEK.
I throw in some bike riding and squash every once in a while, but the big change that I've made is what I'm eating.

Surprise, surprise, more fruit and veggies, and almost NO processed foods. No cans, no boxed pizza, no crap. (I was amazed how light our recycling bin got!)

Of course I'm still training myself into it, I have cheat days where I'll snack on smarties, or have a bowl of chips, but for the most part I don't even want it.

Pop is the worst culprit, everyone knows it's bad and I haven't been able to cut it out completely yet, but I'm getting better! I feel great, I sleep well and I am once again a task master! I feel more focused so I can handle performing multiple tasks simultaneously.

If you want an intro to Maximized Living, just let me know! You'll get a free dinner out of it.

-Brandolyn

*MaxT3 workouts are designed for Maximized Living and use a mixture of interval training, plyometrics and circuit training. Each exercise you perform for 60 seconds, then move on to the next, and the next for a total of 12 minutes plus a minute rest in between sets. It's wonderful fun, surprisingly challenging and easy to do at home, or with a group.

(DA) Perspective

5:00AM is no time to be woken up by the noises of young dogs barking, but sadly that wasn't the worst part of the early morning wake up call. The worst part was that their owner didn't do anything about it. It was so loud I couldn't sleep and she didn't get up to tell them "No."

This scenario isn't exactly shocking because it has occurred often enough for us to decide we will not be renewing our lease. What is shocking about this, is that after deciding not to renew the lease we are much calmer in frustrating situations like last night's early wake up call.

The realization that "we are only in this situation as long as we want to be" feels like a weight off our shoulders. We aren't stuck in a situation, instead we are 'in control' so to speak of our living arrangements.

That 'control' doesn't help us much right now, but it makes the frustration less, and more manageable.

It's amazing how a little mental perspective can change the way I look at a situation.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't appreciate the wake up call. But knowing I won't have to deal with it forever is easy on the mind.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Divergent Review

I saw the movie a while ago and just got around to writing a review for it. *slaps own wrist* "Bad writer!"

Check it out here.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Neighbors Movie Review

Check out my latest movie review on ALTSCRN!

CLICK HERE for the post about 'Neighbors' or CLICK HERE for the full site and all our reviews.

-Brandolyn

(DA) The Fast and the Furiest

Please see my blog post on Wash's blog about our 5K run today! Pictures will be posted later.

>>> CLICK HERE <<< to visit 'A Drop of Brandy and a Biscuit' (my blog dedicated to the dog)

-Brandolyn

(DA) Functioning Adults

This post came from a coffee shop conversation I had with my best friend a while ago.

We're at the age where we're starting to be recognized as adults. In our heads we've been "adults" since we were 16, but now society actually sees us as adults and expects certain things from us, and we're starting to notice.

She was joking when she said it, but her comment was something like "I'm not a functioning adult yet. I look like it but I'm not." I asked for clarification and we had a good laugh at her answer. She said, "I still live with my parents, I don't drive, I don't have a job, I know every line to Disney songs and I have no idea how to file my own taxes."

I laughed long and hard at the last one "taxes", until I realized I don't know how to file my own taxes either. This friend is the last person I would ever classify as "not" a functional adult. She's one of the brightest, most creative and clever women I know with a great head on her shoulders. Yes she lives at home, and she doesn't drive but that's a personal choice, AND she's been hired with a great company since we had this conversation.

No, neither of us has looked up how to file our own taxes yet, but we'll get there.

Baby steps. But I found the idea of a "Functioning Adult" interesting. What makes you a functioning adult? Does having a job make you qualify? How about living on your own?

I think it's much more than that. Perhaps it's knowing the difference between right and wrong. Having goals and respect for yourself. Having the awareness to seek out who you are and strive for more.

What do you think?

-Brandolyn

(DA) New experiences

Today I got a last minute call to work as a follow spot operator for a show featuring 'Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy'. The catch was that I was already working when I got the call. I got permission to leave another job early, so that I could go in and help out for the show but I didn't have my uniform, or any of my equipment on.

Before tonight I could say I've always worn an all black outfit with steel toed shoes to work calls. Tonight I was the complete opposite of your typical technician in a flowing mint green high waisted skirt, a lavender belly top, and black flats.

No radio, no gloves, no tools or flashlight... I was so out of place that just walking backstage I felt like the talent looked at me like a 'lost fan'. I had to assure them that I belonged there. But after a moment they recognized my skirt and said "I thought I saw a girl in the booth!" I laughed, but still felt foolishly out of place. Especially beside all the other technicians.

Tonight I also got the pleasure of teaching someone new all about the job. They had never worked a spot light and had never worked in theatre, so some of the terms and jargon (even radio etiquette) was lost on him. It was a learning experience for us both. He was learning something new, and I was learning to keep my cool and teach the basics to someone who was way out of their element.

The show was AMAZING! If you've never heard of 'Big Bad Voo Doo Daddy' I suggest you look them up. They are a great Jazz band and have been together 21 years. They have 10 albums and wonderful stage presence.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Doing the right thing

I was tired today when I got into work. 5pm is not the best time to start a shift when you're already tired, but at 9:30 when the show ended I just wanted everyone out of the building so I could lock up. 

The staff were gone, and I was waiting around for some patrons to collect their families and trickle out the doors. 

By 10pm I had enough. I wanted to leave, and had less patience to wait around for other people's families. 

The building was locked up by 10:30. But when I got outside I saw a young girl sitting outside the doors waiting for a ride. She said her ride was just around the corner and told me I could go, but there was no way I was going to leave her alone in a darkened parking lot, outside a locked building; even if I just wanted to go home to bed. I let her know that I never let my staff wait alone and I would do the same for her. 

As she had said, her ride was just around the corner. I don't think I had to wait an entire 2 minutes before car headlights pulled up. She thanked me for waiting and her parents were thrilled that I hadn't left her alone and had been thoughtful enough to wait with her. 

It felt good, and in the grand scheme of my day was nothing and took no time but it meant a young woman had a safe wait for her ride, and that is enough for me. 

Besides I'll just sleep in an extra 2 minutes in the morning. 

-Brandolyn

(DA) Productive Procrastination

It's shocking that I can spend an hour in Petsmart ultimately to ask 1 question about a bone (and be productively training my dog during it) and yet I can also spend 5+ hours a day procrastinating.

A productive hour for 1 question, and 5 hours for nothing. What's the difference?

I would rather spend 5 hours a day writing than avoiding work, but I often find myself sitting down to a task only to remember 4 other ones I should complete first. Now, some people wouldn't consider putting off writing to do dishes or laundry or vacuum or get groceries 'procrastinating'. These are tasks that have to get done. But by doing them I'm still avoiding the task I want to do. I consider it "productive procrastination".


Eventually I'll get my plans under control enough to be able to do it all.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Feel the burn

I realized today I've jumped over the line from "casual active person" to "Active Person."

I realized this today while walking to a chiropractic appointment, after taking my dog (and a friend) on an early morning walk. I was conscious that I had put my friend through an 'abnormal' amount of physical activity in the last 24 hours and was hoping I hadn't scared that person away from hanging out with me ever again.

In the last 24 hours we had completed the 10 Kilometre MS Walk, then after some snacks we went to play close to 3 hours of squash, then the next day he goes for an hour long walk with me and my dog before we walk to the bus stop, which is another 40 minutes away!

It doesn't sound like too much, but I didn't even hesitate. And today. after all that I even biked to work!

I guess I'm going to be sore soon. but it is soooo worth it.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Thank you

A deep and sincere thank you to all my friends and family who donated to the MS Walk, and showed me their love and support over the last few weeks leading up to it.

I had 30+ people walk with Brandy's Bandits this year, and probably had a hundred other friends and family who couldn't be there but showed their support in texts, emails and donations. So far, in 2014 my team has raised $3,300 for MS research and we still have donations coming in.

The love and support I feel from my family and friends means more to me than I can say, their love and support helps me stay healthy, and drives me to get better when I'm not.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Roads

In my stories, like in life, there are always several roads for my characters to choose from. They are varied, straight, winding and riddled with obstacles.

But again, like in life, the characters who prepare for obstacles, often find successes in their journeys. Their resolve, resourcefulness and determination is admirable to readers.

Roads are not only travelled by cars, buses and trolleys. They aren't all straight and planning goes a long way.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Rapid Heart Rate

Today I was the passenger in a car with my sister when we had a "premonition" moment.

I don't really mean that we saw the future, but we saw the following events unfold in slow motion and knew exactly what was going to happen. From the first sign of the white ball bouncing down the lawn toward the road, to the two girls dressed in various shades of pink racing after it, to the panic stricken father racing against time to get to his daughters before they reached the road.

We saw what was coming and had stopped several yards away. There was no immediate danger to the kids, but they girls and the dad had no idea and the panic on the father's face was heart breaking and heartwarming at the same time. When he got to his kids just before the grass ended, the reunion, relief and reassurance of safety was almost tangible. He embraced his girls and right there had a chat with them; I'm sure about road safety.

Love and desperation in its truest form. Beautiful, terrifying and rare.

-Brandolyn

(DA) Doctor Who has books!

I just finished The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner one of many Doctor Who stories. These books are associated with BBC's Doctor who, but are basically other people's stories about the characters and what happens to them outside of the show.

Doctor Who: The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner  is the first Doctor Who book I've read. It's not the first in the series, and I have more of them on my bookshelf but I hadn't read one yet. I didn't know what to expect, but guessed that since the story revolves around time travelers, that it wouldn't be detrimental to read one out of order. Now that I know what to expect, I am really looking forward to them.

For those of you who don't know, Doctor Who is a TV Show in the Science Fiction/ Science Fantasy genre. The show and characters are all over nerd culture and it's easy to love with the sweet, funny and heroic characters in the show.

You don't need to know the show to enjoy the book, but it helps.

The book really impressed me. The writing wasn't out of this world fantastic, but I did have concerns about this book potentially ruining some of the continuity of the show. I was impressed to see that it didn't.

I can't say much about the book without giving anything away except that when I read the first couple chapters I thought to myself "This is a bit predictable", and couldn't have been more wrong. Every time I thought I could see something coming there was a plot twist that got me more and more excited about the story.

If you enjoy dedicated friendships, heroes, time travel, ancient Rome and mysteries then you will enjoy this book. If you love Doctor Who & The Doctor and Rose, then you will love this book.

This book is suitable for all ages. There is a bit of implied violence, but nothing gruesome. The time travel in the story can be a little confusing, but there are no adult themes and although it appeals to adults as well, it is also very suitable for young readers.

-Brandolyn

Have you read any other Doctor Who books? What were your thoughts? The next one on my shelf is Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards.