Curious Notions » halloween

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween

Linda — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:28:41 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesdays from others, click here.

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Dog Costumes

Linda — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:40:54 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesdays from others, click here.

Halloween Pics

Linda — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:12 +0000

Hope everyone had a lovely Halloween. I went as a cop and Alan had a lot of fun giving out Twix candy, dressed as Twix candy. I leave you some sparse photos (it was way too crowded downtown to take photos). I saved my absolute favorite photo for last. It’s of one of his roomies earlier on in the day.

P.S. This marks the first day of National Blog Posting Month. I shall be gracing the blog with posts everyday this month. Thanks to Tabitha for the inspiration.

Question: How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions this year?

Happy Halloween :)

Linda — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:17:25 +0000

Photo taken at a pumpkin carving contest at work.

A few more Halloween pictures to go up tomorrow.

In other news, I’m going to be posting everyday in November as part of National Blog Posting Month. Wish me luck!

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 25)

Linda — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:40:56 +0000

1.

I took a small break from blogging and it was wonderful. I vegged out more and may have gotten addicted to Rock Band 3.

2.

Holidays are around the corner and I’m making my “who I need to shop for” list. This year I want to try to give more experience based gifts and less stuff. Experiences result in more happiness and less materials will also mean less waste. I’ve always known this but am recently reminded of some of the best memories I have with friends are experience based gifts. Taking Jessica to Renaissance Festival for her birthday. Jessica and Brandi taking me to Seaworld. Concert tickets. Broadway shows… This year for my little’s birthday, I took her to Austin Park & Pizza and she loved it. Last year I gave her Hannah Montana crap that she’s long since lost.

3.

Just finished reading my 32nd book of the year. Chuck Palahniuk’s Diary. I love Palahniuk but only mildly like Diary. It just wasn’t as engaging as I hoped.

An excerpt:

“Everything is a self-portrait. A diary. Your whole drug history’s in a strand of your hair. Your fingernails. The forensic details. The lining of your stomach is a document. The calluses on your hand tell all your secrets. Your teeth give you away. Your accent. The wrinkles around your mouth and eyes.

Everything you do shows your hand.

Peter used to say, an artist’s job is to pay attention, collect, organize, archive, preserve, then write a report. Document. Make your presentation. The job of an artist is just not to forget.”

4.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to read 40 books this year. 8 more to go! Crap, it’s crunch time. Less Rock Band, more reading.

5.

There’s been a really obvious trend to this last week. Maybe it’s because I watched season 1 Gossip Girl marathon style. How I Met Your Mother had a recent episode highlighting the fact that girls share too many details and the discomfort it gives men. My coworker was telling me how she doesn’t know how her parents make it because her mom shares everything much to her dad’s discomfort. My bff was telling me about an conversation that she and her husband were having with their neighbors. The men think that the women talk too much. My girlfriends tell me so many tiny details about everything and guys are more closed-mouth. When girls talk about break-ups, they truly just break it down. When my guy friends go through break ups, I noticed they rarely ever break it down. In short, women thrive on the chatter and gossip and men abhor it. I used to think it was a stereotype. I’ve now reconsidered.

6.

Going out for Halloween tomorrow. I love gawking at costumes downtown. My costumes the last three years have been documented on the blog.

2009

2008

2007

7.

I bought my Halloween costume on a whim this year. And even typing that makes me feel compelled to tell you that all of my girly bits are covered. I feel compelled though because I’ve noticed there’s a lot of judging of the sexy costumes as skanky and slutty and my costume has a garter belt. And fishnets. So its a little risqué. We (women) are always so worried about appealing skanky and slutty and cheap that we tiptoe around. I don’t know how many times I’ve asked my girlfriends if my miniskirt is too short or panicked because I forgot to pack a cardigan in my overnight bag to cover bare arms. Even when it’s 100 something degrees outside. I’m starting to feel a little defiant. A slut is someone who sleeps around indiscriminately. Showing a little arm and leg with a costume and being confident enough to do so is not an accurate indicator of what one does in one’s bedroom. I am wearing my dang fishnets.

Question: How do you celebrate Halloween?

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 24)

Linda — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:40:48 +0000

1.

Do you ever look up? Sometimes you’ll find a mirror.

Me and BFF’s family last weekend in an elevator. Am I cross-eyed?

2.

Occasionally I reflect on old skills that I no longer have. For instance, I took formal piano lessons from age 5 to 17. That’s 12 years! Ask me now if I can read music? Ask me now if I still remember all my scales and which key has which flats or sharps? Nope and nope. I have no one else to blame but me. I don’t practice. I didn’t invest in a keyboard to keep me fresh when I went away to college and lived on my own.

Another skill I had that is no longer is Flash. In high school I took an independent study class where all I had to do was learn Flash. My project was an entire site in Flash. I dropped it completely when I entered college and forgot about it. I discovered the software recently on a community computer and the movie below is all I managed to do. So sad yes? Maybe I’ll read some tutorials and freshen up. Hope the movie isn’t giving you a twitch. Quick! Scroll down to take 3!

3.

I mentioned last weekend that I went to visit a close friend and her family in Houston. They are suffering the loss of her older brother. I spent most of my weekend with her family. All we did was sit and talk. Sit and talk on the sidewalk. Sit and talk on the freshly cut grass of her front yard. Sit and talk in a bathroom. On a staircase, in the living room, at the side of the house. Though my heart ached for her family, I am grateful they have each other and it was nice to be in their company. I’m selfishly happy that I was able to give hugs and see their faces. I’m happy they still have a sense of humor, though a little muted. I pray for their healing hearts. If you have a prayer left in you, please say one for them.

4.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a couple of casting directors for a reality TV show. How random is that? It’s from the same producers of The Amazing Race. They found me through this blog and she said I looked cute with a good personality. (Hey, I’ll take it!) Anyway, I’m fuzzy on all the details about the show. It’s a month sometime next year and I don’t know how that would work with my job. I will say though, even if it doesn’t work, it’s super neat to be approached!

5.

You know what’s awesome? I met my goal of raising 300 dollars for Race for the Cure and have since raised it twice. My friends are charitable! I’m also digging their pseudoymns they’re using. Who knew Brock Lesnar is charitable? If you have five dollars to spare for breast cancer research, please consider donating by clicking onto my race page.

6.

Halloween 2008
Halloween is next weekend! I’m craving a good scary movie. I’m a bad scary movie buddy. I gasp during innocuous moments which have been known to cause a chain reaction in theaters. Sometimes I’ll grab you suddenly out of fright and consequently make you pee your pants. I’ve made Deesh squeal/yelp/yell. All this still doesn’t change the fact that I’m craving a scary movie. May have to organize something. Anyone want to rent Candyman with me?

7.

Martin wrote a post about living smaller and not multitasking. He talks about reducing online and real life commitments and bringing focus to your life. Though you won’t see me disconnecting my Facebook, (My long lost sister found me on Facebook!) I have been taking baby steps towards living smaller. Mostly by watering and giving sunshine to my meaningful relationships. I want to cultivate closer relationships with fewer people. See no. 7 in this list of 100 Ways to Uncomplicate your Life.

Question: Do you have any lost skills or talents? Ever think about reviving your relationship with them?

2009 in Review

Linda — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 05:01:43 +0000

In comparison to 2008, 2009 was awful! The one thing I can think of that 2009 had over 2008 was that I read more than double the books I read in 2008. I’m anticipating the fresh feel of a new year that is 2010. In the meantime, here’s a review of how my year has gone with heavier emphasis on my blessings verses my misfortunes.

Note: All links open in a new window.

January 2009

Celebrated New Years with Alan and his friends.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Saw one of my favorite movies of the year, Slumdog Millionaire.
Kim sent me Tiff’s Treats at work to cheer me up about something.

Celebrating New Year’s with the boyfriend

February 2009

Alan took me to my third Killer’s concert as a Christmas gift.
Tried out Joe Dimaggio’s for the first of three times this year. Went as a Valentine’s date with Alan.
Got flowers from Alan at work.
Alan, his roommate, and I all played Bingo for the first time.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.

Alan and I at the Killer’s Concert

March 2009

I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Went to my first rodeo with some work friends and Brandi.
Ate at Mighty Fine for the first time, now my favorite burger joint of the year.
Celebrated Brandi’s birthday at Pete’s Dueling Pianos.

Rodeo, Austin, TX

April 2009

Went to Houston for my daddy’s birthday.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Was supposed to be Jamie’s date for a wedding. We got lost in West Austin and ended up exploring Salado, Texas instead.
Celebrated Selina’s birthday at her house on same day Jamie and I almost went to that wedding.

Selina’s Birthday

May

Worked a lot; logged a lot of hours.
Visited San Francisco for the first time and went with Alan. It was our first vacation together and we ate very very well.
Put in notice at my Clincial Research Job and thus ending that career path (for now at least?)
I finished out May working at that job and I stopped logging too many hours.
Celebrated Sae’s graduation from Law School.
Kim visited from Houston for Memorial Day Weekend.
Katambra introduced me to a snowcone stand that I frequented often in the summer.
Saw Star Trek in IMAX, was surprised to love it.

Celebrating Sae’s law school graduation

June 2009

Ate at a lot of happy hours with old coworkers, with Alan, Sae, and his girlfriend with new free time.
I took a certification class to become a teacher
I went to Houston for Father’s Day
Kim and I tried out Feast, voted best new restaurant in Houston by a handful of magazines.
I saw Thomas in Houston and we ate at Fufu’s.
Went on a lot of double dates with Sae and Young. (Here’s our first time at North)

Cindy and me at Grand Lux Cafe in Houston

July

Celebrated Fourth of July with Brandi and her boyfriend at Zilker Park..
Went on a lot of double dates with Sae and Young.
Went to Houston for my mom’s birthday.
Saw Cindy in Houston and we ate at Classic Kitchen.
Kim and I discovered Hugo’s, hands down my favorite restaurant in 2009.
Moved in with my current roommate, and long time friend, Brandi.
Celebrated my birthday with tons of great people at Trailer Park Eatery.
At one point, had 4 bouquets of flowers delivered at our apartment and they were all to me from different people. Felt very loved.
I took and passed my state certification test to become a middle school teacher for science.

Brandi and me on Fourth of July

August

The first two weeks of August, I tried to squeeze in as much time as I can with Alan because he was about to leave for Korea for up to 4.5 months.
Starting, August 16, I started counting days Alan was gone.
Kim came to visit the weekend of the 22nd and we saw Wicked.
I saw 500 Days of Summer three times this month, in theatre, of course. This is the first movie I’ve done that.
Jon visited from NYC.
I got a part-time, part-time (yes you read that right) job, thanks to Brittany dropping a good word for me.

Alan’s last night out with friends before going to Korea.

September

Hosted the first Alphabet pot luck. We started with the letter P.
Wrote a blog entry about my journals, surprisingly my favorite blog entry of the year.
Friends and I got dressed up for Deesh’s brother’s wedding reception.
Visited Mary Ellen for a long weekend in Boston. First time I’ve gone to see her since 2005. Had best breakfast ever at Mike and Patty’s and most interesting hot pot.
Alan surprised me by coming home from Korea early.
Went out for Selina’s Bachelorette Party.

October

Celebrated Alan’s birthday at Joe Dimaggio’s. Was very happy to have him back in Texas and to be able to celebrate his birthday with him and take him as a date to weddings. He had good timing :)
Stood in Selina & Ryan’s Wedding and witnessed strong love.
Realised I don’t really want to be a teacher.
Threw 2nd Alphabet Potluck.
Dressed up as a cow girl for Halloween.

November

Went to Wurst Fest with friends.
Went to Cathedral of Junk for the first time with Brandi.
Texas Renaissance with Jessica and Brandi
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Houston where I reunited with people I don’t normally see! (Willis, Thomas, Kim, Shane, Kelvin, Chris, Aishah, Kym, Hillary, Alex)
Had my second progressive meal this year.

Having hot chocolate at Ren Fest.

December

I started my new full time job and kept my part time night job.
I struggled with what it means to be someone’s family.
I struggled with what it means to be someone’s friend.
I made truffles for the first time!
Saw Avatar in IMAX opening night. Awesome.
Attended and witnessed proudly, Bing graduate from college
Attended annual Christmas Party for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America with my little and her family.
Jennifer from Philly is in town and I introduced her to Teucsher.
I went home to Houston for Christmas break and was able to see Mary Ellen, Aishah, Pinky, Cindy, and Kim of course my lovely family.
Had hot pot on Christmas day twice. Lunch with Mary Ellen and her mom and dinner with my own family. Hot potted out! (Blog entry to come.)
Released balloons 4 days early as part of a New Year’s Tradition with Kim. (Blog entry to come.)
Tonight, most likely will be going downtown for New Year’s and spending it with Alan.

After party in the car.

I’m a blessed girl. Instinctively, I’d tell you my 2009 was pretty awful but when I write it all out like this and focused on the good rather than the bad, I can see now I’m still quite lucky. Farewell, 2009.

Tell me how your year went. Or better yet, if you have a year in review entry, I’d love to read yours.

Halloween 2009!

Linda — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:12:18 +0000

I’ve dressed up and gone to Sixth St for Halloween every year since 2005. I think my favorite costume though was before my Sixth St outings when I was a devil back in college in 2003. My two roommates went as an angel and God. Hee. Anyway, I really love downtown during Halloween. I’m always puzzled when people tell me “Never again, will I go downtown for Halloween.” or “Ew! Sixth St during Halloween is a nightmare!” I disagree! Yes, it’s incredibly crowded but EVERYONE is in costume! It’s a gold mine for people watching and it’s also one of the friendliest nights out. There is a overwhelming sense of camaraderie that isn’t there for any other holiday out downtown. Everyone is everyone’s friend as long as you’re in costume. No other night will strangers so easily unite during a bar crawl. This year, I decided to debut my cowgirl boots I bought over the summer and go as a Cowgirl. The only time I got pictures of my boots was in the elevator. Here are the rest of the pics plus one video!

Alan as Meatwad and me :)

Ken and AJ went as Tim the Tool Man and Al Borland.

I asked Ken/Tim what time was it?

Palmer went as a pimp dog

I found a Popeye.

This picture is candid which makes me laugh. He looked up JUST when I snapped.

I took this picture of Squirrel man for Jessica who has a crazy pet squirrel.

Wolverine!

This guy’s costume made me laugh.

Bill as a Chippendale with a Meg. Awesome costume.

So Bill who is a lot taller than me spotted a Tiger Woods. He raved and raved. 30 minutes later I forgot about Tiger Woods but Bill hadn’t and asked me if I could take a picture of him with Tiger. So I followed him to Tiger, and lo and behold it’s an old friend of mine!

Me with Old Friend Chris/Tiger Woods.

He was with a handful of other old friends. Everyone in this picture (even partially) is an old friend.

Old friend Kris as Sam Bradford.

Megaman. His arm lit up!

Kanye

Alan from the Hangover!

These guys were so tall and serious (“Why so serious?!”) that they actually did send chills up my spine. They also just silently agreed with a nod when I asked to take a picture with them. Creepy! Well done!

Fun and safe time was had by all. The end!

Other Halloween Entries

- Sneak Preview Halloween 2009
- Hulaween 2008
- HalloNEWeen 2008
- Halloween pics 2007

Thinh as a Douchebag

Linda — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:20:06 +0000

My cute friend Thinh dressed up as a douchebag for Halloween. She even made a youtube video about it that I found hilarous, right down to the credits.

Sneak Preview of Halloween by way of Elevator Shots

Linda — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:06:10 +0000

“When I was little, my grandfather used to make me stand in a closet for five minutes without moving. He said it was elevator practice.”

- Stephen Wright

In chronological order, here are all the elevator shots of Halloween going up and down Bill’s high rise condo building.