Introduce Yourself!

[Matthew Cox]

Well, this site is almost 3 months old and we've already surpassed our total membership on the site that was sparked by last year's CSTS! I'm looking forward to June to put some names with faces/emails/messages, and I want to know what you all would like from this site. I am a simple man, but I'll do what I can!

Since we've got several new members that weren't part of the old site, I'd like to do an introduction thread so we can get to know each other before CSTS 08...

Hi, my name's Matt, and I'm a Browncoat. :)

I fell into the 'verse completely bass-ackwards: Never saw the show during it's brief life, didn't see the movie in theaters, but one weekend morning I planted myself on the couch and watched the BDM on HBO and decided I had to see the series, the video files of which somehow found their way onto my hard drive. I forced myself to watch one episode a day and as I approached the end, I hated every minute of it, knowing that when it was done, it was done. I later got a hold of the DVDs for the movie and the show, and have been accumulating swag ever since. I saw Serenity on the big screen for the first time last year and can't wait to see it again this year.

My address says Sarasota, but I live in the very southern part of Manatee Co. I am, for now, a part-time teacher and part-time one man IT department for a middle school near my house. I've got a 4 month old daughter who is another great reason to support things like Equality Now, and a wonderful wife who puts up with my fandom only because her best friend is the exact same way, and when we go off on tangents about stuff she's not into, she just watches us geek at each other and laughs.

Next?

[Debbi]

Well, this is just the thread I was looking for!!

Hello, I'm Debbi, and like Matt... I am a Browncoat! WOOHOO!!

I was a little late in joining the crowd on this one. My best-friend's husband has bought the series when it came out, and absolutely loved it. He started telling everyone! I was one of those... He let me borrow it, and I watched them all at once... and like shampoo, I lathered, rinsed, and repeated. I couldn't stop. AND, I had no idea that there was a movie until I gave my "review" to him and he handed me another DVD. I fell in love over and over again. The big moment for me was when I bought the series for my self and I could start letting people borrow it and have them fall for FF the way I did. I now have the special Serenity too... I had that in my player for 3 weeks, and I think I watched it almost everyday. The collection keeps growing... Nathan autograph, the comics, the movies, the tshirts.

I live right outside of downtown Sarasota in a friends guest house, I do pay rent just so you know. I am the general manager of Sunstar Theatres and I feel like I have about 10 kids when I go to work. Of course, I would have been 10 when I had them, but they make me feel old. My sister is my biggest coversion to date, I went with her to the FXShow in Feb. and she met Nathan with me, but she knew him from Buffy at that point. Now she knows better. I have got her hooked. HA HA!!(mine is an evil laugh!!)

I think that is it for now... I can't wait to meet you guys at CSTS in june.

[msree]

Hi Matt! Hi Debbi!
My name is Marie/msree and I am a Browncoat.

I've been in it since the beginning. I watched every episode aired on FOX, in spite of FOX. I was not involved in the original attempts to save the show. I was naive/unaware/stupid/silly enough to not see the cancellation coming. I never thought they would cancel something that good. I am older and wiser now, but not bitter, just a little bit obsessed. I have a handful of converts that range from casual to nowhere near my level of addiction. I'll see if I can get some of them to CSTS 2008.

[Diana]

Hi everyone! My name's Diana. I'm like Matt above when I say I got into the Firefly verse backwards. I had heard about it all from day one, but never got into it. I picked up the movie on sale and the rest is history. I've proudly converted many friends into fekllow Browncoats and now all of us are planning to attend CSTS 08 in Tampa.

I'm a full time student and in my last year at UNF. I live on the east coast of Florida in a little town called New Smyrna Beach. I've got two younger siblings and great family. I love to write and have several publishing deals that I'm hoping will go through. Right now, I've got an internship at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona, so that will keep me busy and when I'm not doing that, I help run an ice cream store that my dad owns. So, dinosaurs in the morning and ice cream in the evenings. I love life.

I hope to get to know everyone better and hopefully we'll see each other at CSTS.

[Debbi]

Dinosaurs and Ice Cream.... mmmm... what a combo... sounds like fun.

[Diana]

Oh, you know that's a winning combination...besides, life should be more than mundane, right?

[Tim Burns]

Hi, my name's Tim, and I'm a Trekkie. (Whoops! Wrong community.) I was another who had never heard of Firefly until it was all over. I saw the preview for the movie in a theater once, and remember thinking that it looked interesting, but I always find it odd when I see trailers for movies that I've never heard of or seen any previews for on TV. At the time, I knew of Joss Whedon from Astonishing X-Men (having never watched, either), and the movie looked like it could be good, but I'm not a huge theater-goer, so I thought nothing of it and went on with life.
I think that it must've been the Star Trek message board (Trekbbs.com) where I heard enough noise recommending Firefly that I decided to give it a try. I must say, as the voice of dissent, that after seeing the original pilot, I wasn't completely taken with the show (although I was absolutely floored by the moment where Mal shot the bad guy, Dobson, so matter-of-factly). It was, in fact, the much-maligned "Train Job" that really got my attention, and from there, I was pretty much hooked.
When I watched the movie, I was really expecting it to just be like a longer episode, but boy, did it vastly outreach my expectations! I consider it the finest sci-fi action/adventure of all time, and it just aches that it wasn't successful. I guess we browncoats just can't catch a break.
I own the series and the movie (though I'll probably grab the 2-disc at some point), and I've been holding back from watching it over and over again, lest I should oversaturate myself, but I'm probably gonna start going through the series again within a couple months, on a big screen TV no less, and I'm sure I'll find it as profound an experience as the first time.

[Derek Gubler]

Hi my name's Derek, and I'm a Browncoat,

My dear brother found out that I had a rare weekend free - since I normally have to work - and brought over the series box set. He said a bunch of things like "great show," "excellent writing," "fantastic characters," but to be honest he had me at "sci-fi western." I was in awe as I watched each episode.

Right now, I'm living in the Northdale section of Tampa. I attend classes at USF and intern at the VA hospital in the fiscal section. My friends and I have sword practices on Sunday mornings - which is probably the coolest thing I do on a regular basis. Otherwise, I'm pretty much the standard sci-fi/fantasy geek. Oh well. I'm trying to make it to CSTS, but my work is threatening to make that impossible. Hope everyone has a great time.

[Debbi]

Use the "puppy dog" eyes on whoever makes the schedule so you can come to CSTS... it worked for me, wait... I make the schedule, nevermind.

[Diana]

puppy dog eyes has my vote!! i used it for my supervisors at the museum and they couldn't resist...hehe

[Derek Gubler]

I tried puppy dog eyes once. Got in trouble...something about sexual harassment. I dunno. The good news is that I might be getting a new job... if so, I will be there.

[Joshua Woulf]

Howdy. Name's Joshua. Maryland Browncoat transplanted to Tampa for college, and this seems to be the perfect corner of the 'verse for me to settle down in. No, Woulf is not my real last name, but it is the pseudonym I most easily identify with, as I've had it for nearly a decade. I am a double-major in Creative Writing and Rhetoric, and in my spare time I play tabletop RPGs, lift weights, go running, blog, and train to be a professional wrestler.

I was late to the party; I only found out about Firefly when I saw Serenity in theatres for the first time. From there, I relegated in silence until I popped about on iTunes one day and saw the series up for $9.99. I downloaded it, and fell in love. I own the series on .mp4 format and DVD, the movie both regular and collector's edition, both companion guidebooks, the ship's papers back home in MD, a Blue Sun t-shirt and some nice stationary from the great fella over at Blue Moon Novelties, the soundtrack, the role playing game... Tzao Gao, I've been talking too much. Anyways, I found this group through my friends and fellow browncoats over at the podcast Apartment 209. Hi. :D

[Jodi]

Ya know...I can't believe I haven't posted here yet. Hmmm...what to say?

Well, I'm Jodi...I am not only a Browncoat, but a Whedonite in general. Started with Buffy, followed into Angel, and kept going with Firefly. I didn't get to really watch FF when it originally ran. I caught a few episodes when I wasn't at work and when I could FIND them on FOX. But it was enough to fall in love. Tried to stay on top of all the fan stuff going down, but life got in the way. Fell out of touch until I heard about the possibility of Serenity from a friend on a Buffy fansite. Jumped back on the bandwagon and got as involved as I could until once again life got in the way. Got the DVD's and showed them to everyone I knew...and when Serenity was released, I dragged by best friend to see it 3 times in the opening weekend. Skip ahead a bit and I ended up organizing the '07 CSTS screening here last year. That was a wild ride. On board again this year, of course.

What else? I am a self-professed geek. Love most genre stuff...comics, horror, some sci-fi (Battlestar Galactica being on top of my list right now) and I watch WAY TOO MUCH television. Work at the local blood bank, going back to school for my RN this fall, and currently live in Land O'Lakes until I find something better.