Jewel Staite

28 December 2005

Happy belated holidays!

Now that the madness is over, I have a chance to sit down and write, finally. What a year. I feel like everything has flown by, and here I am doing my year-end taxes again---- how did that happen?? And more importantly, how did I spend that much money on retail?! We’re taking our Christmas tree down today, mostly because it’s a fire hazard since we always jump the gun and buy one on the first of the month and by Christmas it’s totally brittle and dead... Kind of sad to see it go, but at the same time, I’m always excited to let go of one year and start another afresh. Especially when my year’s going to start with a trip to Mauiiiiiiii!!! I have to wait until Valentine’s Day, because my husband’s putting on a show (all you Vancouverites, visit www.classholes.com and come see the show on Granville Island) but the wait will be worth it! Soon I will be lounging in the waves and drinking pineapple wine!

A lot seems to have happened as of late. My sister-in-law Claire had a baby girl in September, named Mica, who is all big blue eyes and is already hamming it up for the camera... and a month later, my sister Tiffany ALSO had a baby girl named Sierra, who we call Siesta because all she does really is sleep. So this Christmas has been full of baby-cuddling and lots of picture-taking, which has, of course, been quite nice. I have been puked on, pissed on, drooled on, and had clumps of hair ripped out of my head, but other than Matty’s usual antics, Christmas was a success (that was a joke... he’s not allowed to touch my hair). Now we move on to New Years Eve, which we are going to use as an excuse to get out of the city and visit our friends in Kelowna, a beautiful little town in the interior of British Columbia for a little R&R and a little champagne-popping, before we actually have to hunker down and start doing that work-thing again.

I’m hoping everyone’s got their copy of the Serenity DVD, which came out just before Christmas, but also makes the perfect New Years, Valentine’s Day, and even St. Patty’s Day gift (there is green on that cover somewhere!). But if you’re reading this, I’m hoping you’re loyal enough to have bought the damn thing already. Speaking of loyal, I also wanted to say how much fun I had with the UK browncoats in November--- so much fun, in fact, that I’ve already signed up for not one but TWO events for next year in the UK. The Flanvention in December was also a blast, especially since almost all of us cast were there together, which doesn’t happen that often and is always really special and fun, and even more so when Nathan remembers to take a shower.

At said convention, I was given a copy of Done the Impossible, a documentary of the Firefly/Serenity journey that was produced by browncoats, featuring browncoats, and it really blew me away. I think the actors and the crew from the show have always viewed the experience as something else, something that was special to us because of the people we met, the trips we’ve all taken together, the highs and lows we’ve experienced as a team, and our faith in the project is so strong because we really do love each other and want this to be able to live on. Without the fans, we wouldn’t have been able to keep going, in more ways than one, and that’s why you’re all so important to us. But to hear what you all had to say, and to hear the way YOU viewed the experience, was really eye-opening for me. You fell in love with something that inspired you to do whatever it was you had to do to keep it in the air, and in doing that, you met new friends and had your own experiences because of the show. It’s hard to word all of this and actually make sense, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, in a lot of ways, I realized that in the big picture, in the big scope of things, we’ve all gotten so much out of this. I can’t describe it to people who don’t understand, and I can’t even describe it to people who DO understand, but I just wanted you to know that I get it. It’s not something that I’ll ever take for granted, because this kind of thing hardly ever happens twice.

I’m hoping 2006 will be full of surprises, the good kind, and lots of inspiration. And new shoes. But most of all, I hope I can take all the lessons I’ve learned and apply them in what I do. To strive for perfection is boring and pretty much unattainable, but to strive for your own happiness is what living, for me, is all about. My plan is to live well to live long! I want to be eighty and swimming in the waves, drinking pineapple wine!

Here’s to a wonderful year to come and many blessings for everybody.

Love Jewel