Hallow's Eve

I know that if word got out that I did something funny and completely out of character, and did not share it; there’d be a lynching party outside my door. This situation would not be very pleasing, not to mention, I can think of better ways to leave this earth than from the end of a rope. :-) So, here comes my post!

In my little circle of sisters and friends, we have a little tradition. When the leaves turn and fall, the apples ripen, and the pumpkins rise; we have a Halloween party. It is always held at Charlotta’s place. The day of the party, we all get together in the morning and spend the day cleaning the house, making the goodies for the party, finish the decorations, and have a good time. About an hour or two before the party we get into our costumes, help out with hair and makeup and such.

Then, the other guests arrive and it's time to party like it’s 1999! After an hour or so, comes another tradition. Trick or Treating. Charlotta’s family believe that there is no age limit to this activity. I agree. For the most part, most people are quite hospitable for us ‘older kids’. This year, not a single person complained. This one guy asked each of us “Trick? Or Treat?” Everyone in our party said treat. I looked the man in the eye and said “trick”. The man looked at my companions and said “you should have said trick” as he handed me a dollar bill. SCORE!!!!! The rest of our sojourn through the neighbourhoods went nicely.

When we got back, we participated in another tradition: Sort the Loot! This is where we sort through our sweets and then take turns picking what we wanted. This went in the following order: Marissa, Amanda, Nicole, Charlotta, and myself. Charlotta is always among the last to have a turn due to her rabid addiction to chocolate. She still made off with quite a bit. I did not mind as I am not chocolate fan.

After the loot has been taken care of, we sit down and watch horror movies until bed. This year we watched Red Rose-the haunted house that used to be in Seattle, Washington until the early 2000’s. It was four hours long and great every second.

Now, costumes. We shall start from oldest to youngest.

Nicole: She decided to go as a cowgirl but after all was said and done, ended up a scarecrow. It was very cute and she didn’t even have to pay for it.

Amanda: Took an Athena costume (which traditionally flows to the ankles) and turned it into Artemis (which ends at just above the knee). She completed the ensemble with an olive leaf tiara.

Charlotta: As always went as a Vampire. Instead of all the blood and what not, she decided to be an elegant one. She dressed in all black along with a wicked black cloak. Her fangs were great (as she has had them for a few years).


Myself: I was completely at a loss on what I would go as. Money was tight and my wardrobe was somewhat diminished. Dad then suggested that I borrow his black graduation robe and go as a hanging judge who ended up at the end of her rope (a possible theme, perhaps?). I decided to go as a Vampire Judge. When I was getting ready it was suggested that I wear a red cloak. So I did. Nicole used four cans of white and silver hair spray to turn my hair silver. The aerosol was sooo overwhelming! My hair ended up as straw so when I took a shower the next morning, I had to wash my hair several times.

Marissa: Vampire number 3. She decided to go Goth. She purchased coloured contacts- ice blue, and her fangs online. She too wore all black along with a scarlet tie. She also wore a killer trench coat. It was awesome!!!

It was fun having everybody there. The food was great, the company pleasant and the movie was to die for…..literally…..Well, I hope your Halloween---where ever you were---was pleasant and that you were all safe. Thanks for reading and I will post again soon!

C-ya!

ke7ejx

The Life and Confessions of a Starving Undergrad

I know that I haven't been as diligent in posting as I should....for which I apologize....so, to make up for it, I will give you a detailed list of all that is going on since early July, by date. Some of my faithful readers (who rock by the way) already know this but...repetition isn't always bad.

July 11th- I went to my friend Katie's wedding. She was married to Michael, another long time friend. They had the ceremony and reception at the Humane Society outside of Redmond (near the new Wal-Mart). Katie was in a gorgeous gown-sheer long sleeves, medium sized train...beautiful. Michael was handsome in his black and blue tuxedo. The bridesmaids were stunning. The little flower girl and ring bearer were absolutely adorable. The father of the bride was emotional the entire evening (understandably so). It was a wonderful ceremony, though it made me slightly melancholy as a single woman who hopes for this sort of thing in the future. I did one thing that was really bad...when Katie's sister randomly stuck a video camera in my face and told me to give a toast to the happy couple... naturally, I was at lost on what one should say for these sort of occasions. In the middle of my toast, however, I completely blanked on the name of the groom....some one I have known virtually all my life. I think this provided karma for the next event on my list.

July 15th- A few days after the wedding, I was in the living room curling up to one of my favourite novels-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Dad was doing yard work, so he left the cell phone in the house with me. My brother Gregg calls, telling me that I was going to Cline Falls State Park with them. So, I changed into my swimsuit, packed P&P in my bag along with a towel and sweatshirt. He showed up with a friend and her ten-month son. I get into the car and we take off. We are driving down Cline Falls Highway when this girl blew a stop sign. Gregg ended up locking his brakes and swerved to avoid t-boning her. We struck her right behind the drivers door. It had happened so fast that no one had time to react. By instinct alone, I had covered the boy with my body. On impact, I flew forward, the lap belt caught me and threw me back into my seat. Gregg managed to get to the side of the road where the girl had ended up. The left front of Gregg's car was virtually non-existent. The girl's car was smashed in on the left side. It was not a pretty picture. The plus side was that there were plenty of witnesses. Dad shows up, her parents show up, insurance information was exchanged (or so we thought) and we were able to get both vehicles home. I rode with Dad, who asked me if I was all right in various ways. I assured him that I was well. After the adrenaline was gone, that's when the pain kicked in. I was getting really sore while making dinner, so Dad told me to take a hot shower after I got some food and sugar in me. I was in the shower until the water was freezing. However, I did not feel better. I took four Advil and Dad gave me a Flexiril (muscle relaxant) and I lied down in the sofa. As the evening went by, the pain became more and more potent. Finally, at 2330, Dad and Gregg carried me to the car and rushed me into the ER at St. Charles. After three to six hour of poking, prodding, sticking me in a cervical collar, and going through X-rays and CT scans; they diagnosed me with severe cervical strain and back muscle strain. ouch... I was prescribed Toradol and Flexeril and sent on my merry ol' way. The next day I called a few people and that afternoon my Bishop and Stake President arrived to give me a priesthood blessing. I go to the doctor the next week and found out the following:

1) My condition had worsened

2) My doctor knew how to push the magic button that completely paralyzed me.

3) I was becoming my father every second the doctor poked and prodded me. In other words, I was thinking thoughts no Latter-Day Saint should think. I wanted to make the man lose his manhood.

4) The hospital gave me a drug that could've killed me (Toradol). He nearly had a stroke when he found out.

And last but certainly not least: I had big time Scoliosis; for those not too familiar with Health; that is curvature of the spine. We pulled up the X-rays and sure enough, my spine went ten degrees to the top left. Talk about a wake up call.....

Now, after a few weeks of no improvement and three prescription drugs later, I was sent to physical therapy. I was assigned to two therapists: Tom and Hailey. To be honest, I liked Hailey more. Tom was nice, but when someone stabs your back with his forefinger and go "tell me when it's just pressure" for over an hour....it takes a whole new meaning to the term "purgatory". Hailey massaged instead of poked. She was close to my age, loved thrift stores as much as I did and had eclectic taste in clothing. I looked forward to those sessions. For a few weeks I went to it three times a week, then at the end of August, two days a week. I graduated on the 4th of September.

Now, there has been some confusion in regards to my current physical location. So, here's the scoop. I was going to move Utah, it was all set. On the 16th of September (after the Stock Market went down the hole) I found out that the banks that were going to give me the loans I needed for that sojourn called me to inform me that they couldn't do it. I also found out some personal information that down right devastated me. So, I will move next June.
Where does that put me at the present? I volunteer at the High School as a Teacher Assistant and Tech support. Obviously, I don't get paid, but it will be taken as college credit at three different universities in Utah. I am also looking for a paying job in Redmond. Once I do, I'll let you know.

I am sorry you've had to wait so long for a post, I just didn't consider much of this as being newsworthy. I hope you all are well where ever you are, and I shall post to you again soon.

c-ya

ke7ejx