Musings on fandom as an adult

I changed my theme last night and filled out some of my icons again. I really like this theme. I didn't realize until after I installed it that it was suppose to be a holiday theme, but I still adore it.

I wound up doing a Tumblr post a few minutes ago about the fact that, yes, you can be an adult and still enjoy fandom. Every so often, I hear people talk about giving up fandom, Tumblr, things like that when they're an adult and grow up ... and I wonder why? Fandom is part of what keeps us young. Just because I squee over pairings and write fic doesn't mean I'm not a responsible adult and can't derive joy from the world in everything ranging from a baby's first laugh to flailing like mad because my OTP got married (maybe. kinda sorta. STILL COUNTS in their book.)

I think, for those of us who watch Doctor Who, the best lesson you can take from the series is that no matter how old you are, look at the world with a sense of wonder ... and be an extreme fan of anything. Face it, the Doctor in his fanboy moments is just awesome.

Fandom is not a new thing. There were LOLcats in the late 1800s. Rabid fans buying memorabilia such as breadboxes and statues, as well as committing suicide out of romantic desperation, after the publication of "The Sorrows of Young Werther" in 1774 and more.

My grandfather was a huge fanboy and tech geek. He owned all of John Wayne's movies on VHS except for five, and this was a point of pride for him. He adored Mickey Mouse, and when he was a kid in the 1930s, he joined the one of the original Mickey Mouse Clubs and learned to play baritone as part of its band. That fandom stuck with him for the rest of his life, and I have his old Mickey phone from the 1970s now.

So, I don't think I'm odd at all for still being a professional and being in fandom. I just think it makes life better. I hope no one else is ashamed of it either.

Nano ponderings

So, I'm pondering about participating in Nano this year. I haven't made a go at it for several years, but I figure I can at least try this year. I should be able to balance it among everything else, and it'll be good distraction trying to get ready for Mike to come.

I have a couple of fic options:

• Expanding a one-shot involving Nine/Rose and Eleven/River into a full story. I have a few ideas for it, but I'd need to hammer out a concrete plot/outline.
  
• Reworking "Time and Death," turning it from a Ten/Donna/Rose crossover with the "In Death" series to the current Team TARDIS (Eleven, River, Amy and Rory) set post-series 6. I'm thinking the crossover will work better with the current team, and I wouldn't have to change the mystery since it's still plausible. I only got the prologue done the first time around, so it would be pretty much a start from scratch deal.
  
• Fleshing out one of the missing Doctor/River adventures into a full fic, possibly the adventure she, Jack and the Doctor went on that I alluded to in "A Merry Chase"

Or maybe I'll do something else entirely. Thoughts?