It’s now November. We are registered to vote. The autumn sun is a delight. The water heater still drips.
I.
Returning to some fitness material after a couple months off. Basically a warm-up and then bodyweight circuit … that was this morning. It should be a three day a week affair, with something else those other days …
II.
That was the nicest Halloween in a couple years.
Last year we went to the house of one of Ms. S.’s old friends, where we carved pumpkins, watched bad movies, chatted, drank, etc. It was really nice, but it wasn’t entirely ‘us.’ The year before my roommate, B, and I did nothing, as far as I recall. And before that I had my Upper Midwestern parties, costumes and all, to attend … those I loved. But all such parties we would attend were weekend affairs, not night-of events. Night-of? Never do much.
This year it’s not that Ms. S. and I did much, but we did enough. Tuesday I carved one of our pumpkins and put it out with a candle in it; I relit it last night. Then last night I had about 20 kids come by — one bunch were repeats who forgot they’d come by already — and it was the first time I’ve given out candy … in years? At one place in Madison they were plenty of knocks on the door; I’d just keep the lights out while watching TV in another room and ignore them. I never bought candy. I had other apartments in neighborhoods not dominated by families … thus, no trick-or-treaters.
The last couple to come by were in their 30s, perhaps, and their toddler was back in a stroller; he was dressed in an adorable penguin costume. He was not exactly pleased to be there … it must have been a long night for him. That was nearly 8:30, I suppose. I had several Spider-Men, a Batman, one Jason Vorhees, and a couple tiny princesses.
Ms. S. texted mid-shift and asked for a favor: would I run to Taco Casa and get the requisite end of the month comfort food? That I would and did. Then she arrived just after 11, we got changed, and off to The Alcove we went. They have arguably the best beer selection in town. I learned that as of August bombers are now legal in the state, and so some large-bottle beers are now available; alas, while they had some Rogue they did not have the Chocolate Stout. For Ms. S. they guy working made a mean White Russian. I discovered that they had Aventinus (a wheat doppelbock) on tap … and I could not refuse.
Quite a few patrons were in costumes or facsimiles thereof. One showed up as the 11th Doctor, but really he was just sporting the bow-tie, haircut, and jacket. Missing were the suspenders and other appropriate attire. Fan-girls in costumes too tight for their figures approached and engaged this fellow in conversation about the 10th Doctor, the 4th Harry Potter movie (with Barty Crouch Jr, you see), and the Russell T. Davies era of ‘Who.’ The costumes departed en masse and it was a quiet bar for fifteen minutes or so before the next shift arrived, including a generic gypsy (have we reached the point, Ms. S. quite rightly inquired) where we find such costumes inappropriate … in the same way, I would clarify, as we find ‘pimp’ or ‘geisha’ costumes racist and inappropriate. Given the woman in the bar, evidently not. Two costumed dogs — one a squirrel, the other a shark? — moseyed about while their owners mainly ignored them. I think I saw Björn Borg … close enough.
III
It’s NaNoWriMo again … and I’m not sure how much I’m participating. I wrote a thousand-plus-words for another project earlier in the day. Posted, updated, passed on to the other participant. That piece is almost NaNo length now, but has been going on for about a year. Plot twists … and stagnations … galore.
But a 2012 NaNo? On the one hand I do not have time for it, as I have other things to do. On the other it’s a focal point … a point around which I could and would focus, allowing me to see my other obligations more clearly.
