Rambling Thoughts From the Past Month

I apologize for not updating my blog recently.  The past six weeks or so have been really rough.  My grandfather passed away, I had some issues with my depression returning, and on top of all that I had finals and all the usual end-of-semester stuff.

Depression-wise, I’m starting to feel better.  I’ve been seeing a therapist again and got an appointment scheduled with my psychiatrist.  Don’t worry- I’m not suicidal or anything like that.  If you want to know what it’s like to have depression, I suggest you read the following blog posts by the brilliant Allie Brosh (of  “Hyperbole and a Half” fame).  She explains it better than I possibly could.  Thankfully, mine has never been as severe as hers was.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html

I meant to comment on Doctor Who episodes as they aired, but obviously that didn’t happen.  So instead I’ll share my overall impression of the latest half-season.  I was extremely disappointed with it.  I really didn’t like Moffat’s stand-alone episode trend.  I like my overarching themes!  And as for Clara- she seemed incredibly bland as a character.  It seemed like all she did was hit on the Doctor (which I hated, since I’m a devoted River Song/Doctor shipper).  Amy Pond was a paragon of complexity compared to Clara.  Hopefully now that they’ve solved the “Impossible Girl” thing they can actually develop her personality more.  Also, there was a severe lack of River Song.  On the plus side, I LOVED seeing the inside of the TARDIS.  Madame Vastra and Jenny were awesome.  And I really liked the finale, even though I think it means we’ve seen the last of River.  It was nice to finally get some closure (which I didn’t get from her death in the Library, even when I went back and rewatched it after getting to know her more).  The Doctor who wasn’t “The Doctor” was an interesting idea.  It’s got me really excited for the 50th anniversary special (well, I was already really excited, seeing as David Tennant’s in it!).

Now to go back to the real world, I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing this summer.  I just got my national pharmacy tech certification, so I’m job-hunting while applying to be licensed in Missouri and/or Iowa.  Right now my plan is to move to St. Louis for the summer and stay with one of my friends who lives there.  I know a lot of people in the area, and I really think it’ll help my depression to be able to hang out with them.  Also, I’ve been miserable at home the past couple of summers, and I really don’t want to go through that again.  I figure if I can work on my mental health over the summer, I’ll be in good shape to return to Truman in the fall.

So anyway, that’s the update from Andrea-world.  I’ll leave you with a music recommendation- “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” by Bob Dylan.  I’ve been listening to it a lot recently, and it always cheers me up.

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Future Attractions

Here’s a look at some of the topics I plan on writing about in the near future:

• Catholicism

I’m currently in the middle of a VERY strong fascination with Catholicism.  I’ve always been somewhat interested in it, but it’s gotten to the point where I’ve actually reversed my view on the morality of contraception, which if you would have told me I’d do that a month ago I would have said you were insane.  I’m reading this great book called Catholic & Christian by Alan Schreck.  I hope to post a review once I’m done.

• Doctor Who

Thankfully, the BBC has decided to end the misery of Whovians everywhere by broadcasting new episodes starting this Saturday (which is tomorrow, I guess!).  So you can anticipate (a) review(s).  (Spoiler warnings will be prominently displayed to help prevent sharing unwanted knowledge).

• More musings on my future

Not only am I now considering being a SAHM one day, I’m also considering homeschooling. One of my aunts does this, and it sounds like it’d be really interesting.

• More music recommendations

That’s something that I haven’t done a lot of on this blog, although I meant to when I started it.  Hopefully, more music reviews will be coming soon.

And of course, more baby names for possible future children will be shared!  Today’s “name crush” is Declan, an Irish boys’ name that means “man of prayer.”

The Companions of “Doctor Who” (and Why Donna Noble Was the Best!)

Finally, a “Doctor Who” post!

First off, there WILL be spoilers!  Obviously for the fourth season, and actually all the way up though this year’s Christmas special.  So don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Let’s start with the first companion of the modern era- Rose Tyler.  When I started watching the series, I liked her perfectly fine.  I even went along with the whole 10th Doctor/Rose love story (because let’s face it, what girl wouldn’t have a bit of a crush on David Tennant’s Doctor?).  Yes, she treated Mickey like crap.  But having nothing to compare her to, I thought she was great.  However, when I rewatched some of the first and second season episodes, I thought she seemed really annoying and immature.  And I still can’t decide if her ending up with the half-human Doctor clone was romantic or creepy.  Or both.

Now on to Martha Jones.  Martha was probably the companion I’m most like, so I have a bit of a soft spot for her.  Plus, she was placed in an awkward situation as the “rebound companion.”  But watching her pine away for the Doctor episode after episode got really old.  Having been on both sides of the unrequited love thing, I felt sorry for both of them, but it went on for the entire season!  It got really depressing.  Still, Martha had probably the best ending for a a companion, when she finally confessed her feelings to the Doctor and left the TARDIS to move on with her life.  She seemed a lot gutsier in the fourth season when she showed up in a few episodes, and I feel like she had the most character development out of all the companions (well, except for Donna…).  I must say I never really saw her with MICKEY of all people, though.  Although it does seem fitting in a way, since they were both involved in a love triangle with the Doctor and Rose.

As for Amy (and Rory) Pond- I’ve never been one of those virulent Amy-haters, but I’m not a big fan of hers either.  I thought she was fairly bland as a character (which I guess is slightly odd, since she’s supposed to be so feisty and Scottish).  Maybe that’s because I rushed through the last couple seasons just before the Christmas special came out, or maybe it’s because I was obsessed with the awesomeness of River Song, but I just never really felt much one way or the other about Amy.  And I hated the way the show kept harping on the “Girl Who Waited” thing.  I liked Rory though.  He was obviously devoted to Amy, and funny in a quiet, deadpan sort of way.  I loved the episodes that focused on the Ponds’ relationship.  Especially the flashback in “Let’s Kill Hitler” when he and Amy had an argument about whether he was gay or not.  That was hilarious, and made me love Rory even more.

Finally, on to Donna Noble!  She definitely had the most character development of all the companions.  She turned from a rude, selfish, irritating, bossy control freak into a brave and caring individual.  I love how the show highlighted her underlying insecurity, and focused on her family dynamics (especially since her mother reminded me of my own…).  And it was nice to have a companion who was emphatically NOT interested in the Doctor (I love the end of the Adipose Industries episode with the confusion over “I just want a mate” vs. “You just want TO MATE.  Well, you ain’t mating with me, sunshine.”).  Although they weren’t romantically involved, you can see they had a great friendship and really cared about each other.  And David Tennant and Catherine Tate have great chemistry together! (Just look at the Doctor and Donna’s entirely nonverbal conversation in the above-mentioned episode, and you’ll see what I mean.  Also, check out their performance of “Much Ado About Nothing.”  It’s hilarious!  But I digress…).  All these factors made Donna’s end perhaps the most heart-breaking of all of them (and I thought nothing could top the Doctor’s first goodbye to Rose).  To see her beg the Doctor not to wipe her memories, even though it meant she would die, because she didn’t want to lose all she had seen and done.  And then to see her afterwards, when the Doctor said goodbye to her, and she barely even looked up from her phone conversation, since she had no idea who he was.  And to see her returned to her former personality- it was like she had died after all, but worse somehow, since she was still living, but totally unlike who she had been before.

Anyway, Donna was the best companion in my opinion, since she made me laugh hysterically throughout the fourth season (and the season 3 Christmas special), and then cry at the end.  She had a hilarious, non-angsty relationship with the Doctor, and really acted as his moral compass, more so than the other companions.  And her growth as a character was awesome- she was clearly still Donna, but a nicer and braver version.  And that made her ending all the more poignant.

I’m interested to see what they’re going to do with Clara.  I liked her much more than Amy (and Rose), but I don’t know if anyone could beat Donna as the best companion.  She was really funny and daring, but she hit on the Doctor too much for my taste.  (He belongs with River Song!  River Song!)  I hate the fact that the next episode doesn’t air until April, but since my birthday’s in April, I’m pretending the BBC just wants to give me a really awesome birthday present.

I hope you enjoyed this rambling post through the depths of my “Doctor Who” obsessed mind!  If you have anything you would like to add, please feel free to comment (either below, or on Facebook).