Dear Yuletide Writer,

This is my first year participating in the exchange, so I'm very excited--and nervous. I sincerely hope that my requests aren't too
headache-inducing.

A few things about me and my history in fandom... I first started reading fic around 1999, for JAG, of all things. That quickly set me on a path of UC 'shipping, as I was sucked in by Mac/Clayton Webb stories (and then it happened on the show, and TPTB ruined it, but I digress). After doing a lot of reading and lurking, it was Gilmore Girls that drew me into the more 'interactive' parts of fandom. I started participating in discussions of and writing fic for the show in 2001, I think, and I've never looked back. GG and Veronica Mars have been my biggest fandoms from a fic standpoint, but I've dabbled in quite a few others.

When it comes to writing, I stay almost exclusively on the het side of the fence (mostly because I don't think I'd have the first clue how to write anything else), but my reading tastes are more varied. Slash is fine. Incest isn't my cup of tea; neither is BDSM. I prefer my angst with a happy ending, and don't read many 'dark' fics. I mostly read stories in which couples find their way together, rather than being in established relationships. Any rating is fine.

Some thoughts on the specific fandoms I requested...

( Cupid )

( Friday Night Lights )

( Life )

( Some Kind of Wonderful )

And now I've probably rambled on far too long. Feel free to ignore as much of this as you see fit. If you're looking for more insight, my LJ is mostly unlocked, but my posting is sporadic at best. All my fic from the past several years is tagged as 'fanfic,' regardless of the fandom.

Thank you in advance for whatever you come up with--I can hardly wait to read it!

Gracie

"I prefer to let George Lucas disappoint me in the order he intended."

BWAH. Oh, Sheldon, you're awesome. I love The Big Bang Theory.

DirecTV provides me with something like 7 different HBO channels...those various stations have been playing 27 Dresses multiple times over the weekend. I already own the DVD, but I keep watching parts of it. I've also watched bits of the HBO Hairspray airings a couple times this weekend.

It is entirely James Marsden's fault. *sigh*

Little Women is on one of the HBOs right now. And it turns out I am still mad about Jo and Laurie. *sigh*

A totally spoiler-filled, somewhat incoherent, squeeful commentary on tonight's GA. Also, if TWoP (which, seriously, is a giant pit of asshattery these days) is anything to go by, monimala and I are the only people in the whole world who liked it.

( I'm all in )

It is with a heavy heart and deepest regret that I must remove some shows from the DVR rotation. I just watch too much TV, on top of having a life, and alas, something must fall by the wayside.

90210 got the boot weeks ago, thanks to epic suckitude. I must now also bid farewell to its Tuesday-night CW partner, Privileged. I like the show, really. I especially like Michael Cassidy. But the reality is that I'm already several episodes behind, and I just don't see myself carving out the time to catch up. So best of luck to Megan, Charlie, Will, Marco, Sage, Rose, Lily, and Laurel. Hope the show survives.

Hardest of all is coming to grips with the fact that I am almost two seasons behind on Supernatural. As much as I love the boys, they're just taking up too much room on the DVR. Maybe someday I'll Netflix, and marathon my way back in. But for now, I'm bidding them adieu. That will not necessarily preclude me from writing fic in which one or both (although not at the same time) of them have hot, dirty sex with Veronica Mars in the back of the Impala, 'cause that's just how I roll.

In happier fannish news, I signed up for Yuletide yesterday, and got my assignment today. I'm all a-squee. Although I only matched one of the requests, it's actually an idea that I had hoped to see written ages ago, so that's exciting. I only hope my giftee likes what I come up with! Said giftee seems like a possible kindred spirit that I will probably be friending when this is all over, so that's exciting too. Now I just have to brush up on the source material for the fandom I'm writing--what a hardship. :)

Title: From a Whisper Start
Author: angel_grace
Pairing: Charlie Crews/Rachel Seybolt
Rating: PG
Word Count: 902
Spoilers/Warnings: Minor spoilers for the episode "Jackpot"; general references to the series as a whole.
Disclaimer: Life isn't mine. Sadly, neither is Damian Lewis. All in good fun, no profit.
Author's Note: Title is from John Hiatt's "Have a Little Faith in Me." And if my math is correct, and Rachel was 9 when her family was killed, she's 21+ now, so really, it's totally not squickybadwrong. Except how maybe it is. I blame in on the fact that Damian Lewis would have chemistry with a lamp post. And on Logan Echolls going down on Hannah in season 2 of Veronica Mars.

( From a Whisper Start )

Tears.

Tears, and joy, and hope.

History is often noted in hindsight...this is happening before our eyes. I'm proud to be a part of it.

No matter what your political affiliations, if you are eligible and have not already done so, please vote. It is a privilege. Anyone willing to spend hours futzing around on the Internet can carve out the time to exercise their civic duty. We're writing our own history here, so please participate.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

It feels odd, but...I actually enjoyed Grey's Anatomy last night. Was it as good as it once was? No, probably not. But at least it made me remember why I cared about these characters in the first place.

( Water, water everywhere )

In other news, CSI broke my heart a little, Ugly Betty is still amusing, and Life On Mars didn't grab me at all--I turned it off about five minutes in.

So much TV, so little time. So far, the only new show that I've tried and abandoned this season is True Blood. My Own Worst Enemy and Life On Mars haven't premiered yet, so we'll see how those go. I'm still watching 90210, although it's getting harder and harder to justify why. I checked out The Ex List, and it's cute enough to warrant another viewing. Was bored last Sunday, and ended up watching Valentine, mostly for Autumn Reeser and Patrick Fabian (Taylor Townshend! and Professor Lasky!). Total brain candy, and I doubt that I'd bother to DVR it, but if I'm home, I'll probably watch. I also got totally sucked into Life, which is entirely the fault of monimala

So far this week, I've managed to watch The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Heroes, Life, NCIS, Bones, Private Practice, and CSI: NY. HIMYM, GG, TSCC, 90210, Privileged, and two episodes of FNL (not to mention my continued backlog of House, entourage, Lost, and SPN) still await me. *sigh*

Here's the thing. I love HIMYM. I love Barney. I love Barney/Robin. It's a fantastic show that has become a part of my cultural lexicon. But minute for minute, I laugh longer and harder at The Big Bang Theory. This was a show I fully expected to loathe, that I started watching only as a time-filler. But dude, I love this show. My level of geekitude is moderate (increased by an engineering degree and an undying love of Star Wars, but tempered by a lack of any sort of videogame or roleplaying savvy), but this show totally speaks my language. Plus the characters are endearing, in large part because of--not in spite of--their flaws. And really, how often do you come across a show that makes visual jokes out of non-Newtonian fluids?

I continue to very much enjoy Chuck as well. It's a bit of a candy-coated show for me--nothing particularly deep or thought-provoking, but good, solid entertainment. Plus, Captain Awesome is still, well, awesome. ( Bartowski. Chuck Bartowski. )

Heroes continues to show flashes of greatness in between tidal waves of mediocrity. The nearly continual time-jumping has gotten old. ( The Once and Future Peter )

I am in Life overload, after marathoning S1 online and then NBC doing the two-episodes-per-week schedule. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the changes made for S2. ( Really bad lipstick )

I still love me some NCIS, but I can't say that I found this week's episode overly engaging. ( Cupcake Caper )

Bones: Still not as good without Zack. Wasn't impressed with this week's NotZack. And yes, writers, we get it: Temperance isn't religious. Get a new idea already.

Private Practice still has lots of pretty people. That said...( Wow, incest really is the new black )

Okay, I can admit it: I was wrong. When Bones ended last season, I wasn't particularly upset about the developments. The execution was a little sloppy, but I honestly didn't much care that Zack was going to be gone. Although I liked his character early on, he grew to annoy. I didn't really see any positive growth. After watching several episodes this season, though, I will say it again: I was wrong.

( And I thought I was OCD )

I very much enjoyed the return of CSI: NY. It's still my favorite of the three, largely because no one in the cast makes me want to throw things at the screen, unlike the insufferable Horatio Caine and the why-couldn't-they-kill-her-off Sara Sidle. ( Cue kicky remix of The Who )

Tonight's lineup: Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, while Supernatural gets DVRed.

Oh Tuesdays. Why must you be so challenging? Managed to watch 90210, Eureka, NCIS, and The Mentalist, all of which I enjoyed to varying degrees.

So far, my biggest proclem with 90210 is the teen characters. More adults, please! ( Shut up, Annie )

The mid-season finale of Eureka held a few surprises. ( Colin Ferguson is pretty )

The best part of the night was that my beloved NCIS came back! I have ridiculous amounts of affection for this show, largely thanks to Mark Harmon and the rest of the cast. ( 126 days )

Finally, I watched the debut of The Mentalist. I've enjoyed Simon Baker since his days on The Guardian, so I was looking forward to checking this out. ( No pineapple here )

Wednesdays are a light TV night, so I just have Bones and CSI:NY on tap. I also need to watch last night's Fringe.

Monday night was the first test of fall DVR insanity, although Chuck still isn't back. I managed to watch Gossip Girl, Heroes (how did I not realize it was two hours?), How I Met Your Mother, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The Big Bang Theory is on tap for after work tonight, and as planned, I've abandoned One Tree Hill, even though I will miss Jamie.

Gossip Girl continues to be all sorts of trashy fun, and I really enjoyed most of the developments in last night's episode. ( All hail Queen S )

Another decent, if not spectacular, episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles this week. ( Sorry, Charley )

And then, of course, there was Heroes. Holy crap, a lot of stuff happened. It was confusing enough on its own, but add the huge time gap since the S2 finale aired, and I had trouble keeping up.

( Playing catch-up )

On tap for tonight: DVRing NCIS and The Mentalist (mmm, Simon Baker) on CBS, and House and Fringe on FOX. 90210 and Eureka get the live view, Greek will be recorded during its Wednesday late-night re-airing, and I'll catch Privileged on Sunday. At least this is the mid-season finale for Eureka, which will make things a little easier.

Oh, Barney. How did NPH not win an Emmy last night? How was this show not even nominated for an Emmy last night? Grr.

( Still legen...wait for it...dary )

Another day, another night of TV. Last night's viewing schedule included 90210, Privileged, and Fringe, all of which I enjoyed to varying degrees.

First up, the most famous zip code in the world. ( And the daddy is... )

Fortunately, the second episode of Privileged was just as much fun as the first, and I was much more engaged by it than 90210. ( Best laid plans )

And finally, Fringe. Wow. I really enjoyed this episode, after being very iffy about the pilot. Consider me hooked. ( No more eyeballs, please )

Well, this is the last week before my TV viewing schedule goes absolutely, completely batshit insane. I've already dropped one new show--True Blood--since I couldn't even compel myself to watch the entire first episode. The new 90210 is still on probation. Ryan Eggold is all kinds of hot, but the fact that I'm mostly watching for the grownups--some of whom aren't even series regulars--doesn't exactly bode well. Despite it not being part of my original fall grid, I've added Privileged to the lineup, and it's a stronger contender than 90210. Adding it does make Tuesdays at 8 iffy, though, at least until Greek and Eureka finish their current runs.

I had hoped to be caught up with House before the season premiere tonight, but that didn't quite happen. I'm through episode 5 of S4, so only 11 to go--a lot closer than the 35 I was behind a few weeks ago! So far, I'm not minding the arc of House finding a new team. I've read a lot of bitching and moaning about Chase and Cameron being marginalized, but so far I just don't care. Cameron mostly irritated me anyway, and although Jesse Spencer is gorgeous, I often felt that Chase was underdeveloped. His new dynamic with House is more compelling to me, even though there's less focus on his character.

After I finish marathoning House, I really need to tackle Supernatural, and then Lost.

Monday night TV this week was good, if not great. For starters, Chuck and Blair continue to be the best thing about Gossip Girl. ( XOXO )

As noted in last night's very brief entry, One Tree Hill made me cry. Like, a lot. ( James Lucas Scott FTW )

Last but not least, there was Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I just really enjoy this show, even when it's maybe not the most exciting episode. ( Silkwood Showers )

I am a big sobbing, bawling mess, and it's all One Tree Hill's fault. Dammit, I did not need to relive my own high school trauma.

Fuck.

There's nothing on tonight. Boo.

As for the anniversary elephant in the room, it's not something I've made a habit of posting about, and I don't intend to start now.

For the record? Privileged is better than 90210. Michael Cassidy (AKA Zack on The O.C.) is completely adorable. Now if only I could get Ben McKenzie back on my TV...

People I care about on 90210: Kelly, Brenda, Ryan, Harry, Aunt Becky, Dixon, Silver, and Navid. People I do not care about: Annie, Ethan, Ty, Naomi, Adrianna.

Things that suck: the DirecTV on-screen showing a listing for Eureka and instead airing Scare Tactics. Bastards.

Bones didn't really interest me tonight, aside from some of the B/B relationship stuff. Also, I love Sweets.