Scary

Halloween, having been on weekdays and me having to work, has not been that much of a factor in my life for the past few years. I always brought in candy and made students at the library say "trick or treat" before taking some, and there was the time I brought in my portable DVD player and showed Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead at the circ desk at a low volume, but that's about all. This year has Halloween on a Saturday, so the various spook-related events have quadrupled. Next weekend offers my choice of FOUR parties and three "happy hours", plus the Phantom of the Paradise/ Rocky Horror double feature at the Oaks (which sadly is on the other side of town from all of Saturday's festivities, so I doubt I'll be making that one).

Eep. And double eep, because I need a costume.

Over the course of a year, I will think of a million great ideas for Halloween costumes-- until Halloween actually draws near, and then not only does the well run dry but I also manage to forget all of the great ideas I had. This is not unique to Halloween (this happens every time there's a costume-thing), but obviously is more pronounced this time of year. I'm the person who has actually worn a toga made from my flat sheet and safety pins out of desperation (which I categorically DO NOT RECOMMEND for typical Pittsburgh weather in late October-- that which is comfortable for the arid Mediterranean does not work so well for lows in the low 40s with wind gusts and drizzle). And here we go again. Eep. I do have three ideas, but at least two would require dyeing my hair very dark at a time when I've already started going back to natural (I know, there's always temporary dye-- but my hair is light enough that temporary dye will definitely stain and I have two events the week after that require me to look the part of a professional so I'd need to commit to the color and make it look good). And, of course, cost is always a factor.

Hmm. I need to have a good think about this.