That Time I Met an Astronaut

 

Tonight, I met an astronaut!

Col. Chris Hadfield was one of the guests of this Fall's edition of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, in Ottawa to promote his newest book, Final Orbit, and speak about his career.

I've read and enjoyed Hadfield's two previous novels, have been looking for something to do, and have always been into space stuff, so this event was a no-brainer.

Hadfield spoke about his writing process, certain plot points in his novel, and the personal experiences from his time as a pilot and astronaut that he drew on for inspiration. He got right into the audience, was personable, and shared plenty of interesting, and even funny, anecdotes and facts about the Space Race, Cold War, and America and Russia's respective space programs.

Afterwards, he personalized copies of attendees' books. Very nice guy. Being space-obsessed, I geeked out harder than I've ever geeked out in my entire life! Externally, I was perfectly composed. Internally, my brain was going "Be cool!" the entire time I was lined up. 😜

Got a couple selfies with the mother afterwards since it was a really nice night, then went home.

Another Bucket List-type experience, for sure.

Cheers!

In Memory of my Nanny

 

Sadly after nearly 94 years of life, the last 10 with Alzheimer's, I said my final goodbye to my Nanny, Donna Perkins (maternal grandmother), early last week.

For the better part of 40 years, she spoiled me rotten. Christmas was always filled with the latest VHS or DVD release, Piroulines, MAD Magazines and, unquestionably, the best ginger cookies (thankfully, I got her to teach me the recipe the last time she was in Ottawa). 

When I went to college, she'd call me regularly. 

Later on, she played a big part in my travelling independently. First inviting me to fly down and stay with her for a few days over the summer (seven of them), then being the first person (before even my parents) who was okay with me going to TCAF and Toronto on my own.

A couple years after my first trip to Toronto, she was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Visits and conversations were fewer and farther between from then on, save for Christmas. 

My last visit with my Nanny was two years ago to share one last coffee and show her some photos from a comic convention in Halifax (photo above), during a Hymn Sing at the long-term care facility she was living at. Her memory was poor, and the vibe of a room full of senior citizens "dancing" to Spirit In The Sky was definitely something else...😆, but she looked great compared to two years prior in her home, almost like she used to. 

I do have a few minor regrets not visiting her after that, but that visit alone is a perfect final memory, encompassing everything I loved about her.

Will love and miss her always.

Summer of 2025

Old photo but, why not?

 This has been the longest I've gone without posting since 2014, so I feel like readers deserve a bit of an update.

I mostly worked, the first few months of a new contract. Spent a few weeks on my own in July while my family was in Nova Scotia. No complications, a rare weekend of nice weather spent at the movies, downtown, and on the back deck, and I even kept all our plants alive this time!

More work and more movies followed, then I moved rooms. 

Switching to a bigger room ended up being a month-long process. Cleaning, schlepping, re-organizing things, finding spots for my many little Pop vinyls, mini-figures, and knick-knacks. And books. So. many. books!! 

Much deliberating over what to keep, sell, donate, or trash. But, after many drop-offs at our local second-hand store and the purchase of a second bookshelf, I think I'm okay for the moment. Much re-reading to be done over the next few months, but I'll save that for later posts.

My Summer ( a few days into Fall, but I'm counting it) ended with me attending a talk with Kevin Gillis, creator of The Raccoons. 

Put on as part of the Ottawa International Animation Festival, it was a retrospective and celebration of the cartoon's 40th anniversary. Some great stories, good music, and a fun part of my childhood!

Working on Fall now, with a few tentative events being lined up.

Cheers!

A Bookish Blogtober

 

Blogtober is here once again and, this time, I even found a nice, appropriately spooky banner for it!

I haven't been in the greatest of blogging moods in recent months (writing for a job will do that, I think) so this year, I think I'll keep it mostly light and literary, with posts about Scriptwriting, books, movies, and maybe some fantasy stuff. 

That said, I am doing some disability-related things with work later that'll tie in nicely to JS Awareness Month, so I'll surely keep people posted.

First post is on it's way...

Cheers!