Halloween & Dia De Los Muertos In Austin + the Blue Skirt Chronicles

I think the year should be structured so that Halloween always falls on a Friday or Saturday, sort of like Easter is always guaranteed to come on a Sunday.  Being monetarily challenged, I didn't get to do all of the things I wanted to participate in this weekend, (thus I'm blogging rather than watching Gogol Bordello), but I did try to take in as much free excitement as Austin afforded me.

Friday night, I attended a party hosted by the lovely Katie and Jo, who win the best costume category hands down by dressing as the too-oft overlooked rap dynamic duo, Kriss Kross... backwards pants and all.  The girls of the party also won the flip-cup showdown, beating the boys five times in a row.  N00bs. 

I hadn't actually put any thought into a costume, so when I went to work on Friday and saw one of my staff (who is also a teacher at the school during the day), wearing a cheerleading outfit with zombie make-up, I immediatley ran to the dance teacher to ask to borrow an old cheer ensemble.  Most of the tops were fringed and silly, so I just took an old high-stepper skirt and glittery belt.  I matched it with my sailor top and thigh high tights from my beer wench costume of last year, and topped it with my starry antennea headband, found in a box of my childhood belongings, original origins unknown.  I think I make a great American flag, and yes, slutty is part of the statement.  The real point here is: free costume!

Saturday night, one of my coworkers, Julie, played a guitar set, representing Girl Guitar Austin.  The next item on my agenda after finishing this post is to sign up for lessons. 

She played at Jovitas, which had an amazing spinach and mango salad.  I also enjoyed my $2.50 bottle of Dos Equis lager with lime - which I'd somehow never tried before.  It also made me really happy to see one of my busy co-workers pursuing her passion for music and songwriting, (she has a beautiful voice), as sometimes it seems like I'm not working hard enough if I'm not letting work consume my life.  And that's just not healthy thinking. 

Today was Dia De Los Muertos, and the Mexican American Cultural Center hosted an event with live music, arts and crafts, vendor booths, colorful altars, lots of sugar skulls, and a custom car show. 

My roommates especially enjoyed this particular custom job because, (Lennon), "it is riDONKulous," (Eirik), "in a way that is glorious."  A car with love making on it is obviously pure sex on wheels.  It even beeped if you stood too close to it, kind of in a moaning frequency. 

Everyone there was walking around with cameras hangin from their necks or in their hands, so I felt a little toolish being the thousandth camera happy non-Hispanic attendee, so I didn't take as many pictures of the event as I actually wanted to.  This was a mistake, and a foolish thing to worry about.  Next time, I won't let myself be hindered by feeling self-conscious. 

The blue skirt makes its second appearance.  I may never give it back. 

I was also amused by this seemingly random giant ear of corn, and then Eirik joked that Lennon had finally found ears bigger than his own.  Snap!  Here is where I have to insert a comment by Eirik about the beauty of the light shining through Lennon's ears. 

Last week my friends Elizabeth and Andrea threw a Dia De Los Muertos apartment warming party, and we got to decorate sugar skulls.  Mine is the furthest one back, with a candy pumpkin stuck to to its head.  I gave the pumpkin a frosting smiley face and called it a conjoined twin. 

It's also important to note that today marks the FIRST DAY of National Novel Writing Month!  Now I'm regretting not reading the book No Plot No Problem prior to today, as I am indeed facing just such a conundrum.  I'll write about space invaders when I get stuck. 

And of course, I have to end with another photo of my beloved skirt, taken Saturday.  I will miss it dearly when it goes back to its lonely storage bin on campus.  It kind of looks like a space girl skirt.