Blop!

The gauntlet has been thrown down. The challenge? To post something every day in November. That's 30 days' worth of blog posts.

Ah, so. It begins.

Day 1 shall be somewhat of a rundown of what I've been up to for the last couple of weeks, with a few highlights here and there.

In the fall, I travel a lot for my job. And I mean a LOT. I started with nearly a week in Indianapolis at the beginning of October, and I sort of hit the ground running after that, with trainings conducted in Fort Collins and Denver, a Big Two-Day Meeting in Keystone, and trainings in Durango (southwest) and Glenwood Springs (western slope). Last night, as I sat miserable on the couch in anticipation for having to get BACK in the car tonight and drive to Pueblo (south front range) for two MORE days, Loki decided that my lap was the happening place to be. Every time I sat down, there he plopped himself. Petra is still speaking to me - but barely. I have a feeling that when I come back from Pueblo only to head up to Testes Park for another work thing and then pretty much go straight to Stepford Springs for my last training, Petra will officially hate me. But then I'm done, kitty! Done!

So, yesterday was my mom's 58th birthday. Aside from some continuing divorce/money drama, it sounds like she had a good day. Mom is a middle school teacher, and every year the kids manage to find out that Halloween is her birthday, so she always ends up being sung to and has little gifts and hugs bestowed throughout the day. She always dresses up, too - some years she is a biker chick, or a witch, or (this year) a bobby soxer. When I was a kid, Halloween wasn't quite the same as it might have been for other kids, because it was also Mom's birthday. I liked it best when Halloween itself was on a weekend so we could do mom day stuff on the weekend and I could wear my costume to school the Friday beforehand and PRETEND that that day was Actual Halloween. Later, I liked it best so I could head home from college if only for an afternoon and take my mom to lunch or a movie or something. Since I moved to Denver, I haven't seen my mom for her birthday, but then again she hasn't seen me for mine either, so it's all OK.

This year, Hulk and I were invited to a couple of different costume events. One was at a bar in the adjoining neighborhood, entertainment provided by the band of an ex-coworker (he dressed as blinged-out pope, complete with enormous gold pendant on a chain that said Jesus Saves!). The band invited hundreds of people and I think everyone came, because the space was so jam-packed crowded that it took our server an hour at one point to refill our drinks. We got there early, forewarned that it was going to be a crowded event, and snagged a table.

And of course we dressed up! We made a Max from Where the Wild Things Are costume for Hulk and I put together a last-minute costume after realizing a Wild Thing might be difficult to pull off - so Thursday night I hennaed my hair red (it did get pretty reddish, especially the blonde parts) and Friday night I dressed as Pippi Longstocking. The party was a lot of fun, despite the crushing crowds, and the best part was getting to see how creative the costumes were. There were even some girls not dressed as sexy/slutty _________ (fill in the blank). Though I must admit, the girl dressed as Tinkerbell at the table next to us probably wasn't wearing any underwear, and her skirt barely covered her butt, and I kept feeling like her ass crack was going to greet me at any moment.

On Saturday we went to see The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D playing at a local theater. It was cool to see it on the big screen again, though the 3D was pretty subtle - it didn't so much pop as just open up a little bit. And I got to sing along to some of my favorite songs and almost seriously considered growing my hair again just so I could wear my Sally costume again next year.

I can't blow my entire wad in one day's post, so I'm sorry for the disjointedness and all - but this is my only day in the office until next Friday and I have actual work to do!

Wish me luck on the whole blopping thing. We're taking the train to California for Thanksgiving (I'm taking 3 days off work; Hulk has that whole week off school) so I'll have to wardrive (wartrain?) during the train ride (it's about 30 hours in each direction). I should have plenty of time for writing, but will I find wireless to steal? That remains to be seen!