h |
|
|
|
Sunday, October 26, 2003
Halloween party
Ahhh, the aftermath. The day after is never quite as glamorous as the party. We had a couple of hitches, the biggest being J.T. had to work and was unable to trade shifts or get off early. He walked in around 9:30pm, changed into Shaggy, scarfed a burger, so we could get on to the radio drama. Needless to say I missed him on many levels. He's the life of any party I go to, and, a party of this magnitude is a bit much for one person to pull off the day of. There were casualties. I managed to get a small sliver of glass in my foot that I never had time to fish out until afterwards, and in curling my hair for the Daphne costume, I burned my neck something fierce. I figured it looked like a hickey, which was probably in character. The other hiccup was J.T. forgot to turn on the recording for the entire third act so we had to do it again. Sadly, there were less mistakes for the blooper real. And the diorama contest was a big flop. J.T. and I had the only finished entries, and Velma had a partially done entry. Cool as mine was, the host is not supposed to win especially when they own two of the three entries. Prizes instead went to the 2nd (Scooby-Dum) and 3rd place (Headless Horseman) costume winners (first place was Velma who was dead-on right out of the cartoon). Our non-costumed guests took the door prize of Scooby Doo pop tarts for bringing the most creative food - a four+ foot high Shaggy styled hamburger. I kid you not. Next year, the non-costume competition will be some contest of skill that doesn't require much preparation. The diorama was a good idea that no one had time to implement. BUT, that said, I think it was an overall success. Too much food, which is better than the alternative. A great radio drama with new and improved, all digital sound. The sound pit was way high-tech this year and run by one person on a networked computer - last year it took three people. No more banging pots with wooden spoons. And J.T. found a gold mine of sounds at www.clipart.com (which has clip art too). Our friend had a great Scooby Doo voice, and J.T. surprised me with a great Shaggy voice. I'm a natural at the dumb chick voice - not sure how to feel about that... And it ended with a ton of great desserts, including crepes. To quote Fred, "This is the one party I look forward to all year." Friday, October 24, 2003
To date, we haven't had much of a fall yet. Mid 80's, plenty of sunshine. It's what California is known for - I shouldn't complain. I remember trick or treating in my little costume, being cold, trying to beef up the costume with tights, jackets, etc. This year? Kids could trick or treat as a beach bum and be alright. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. Is Halloween-party-eve a word? That's today. I spent mucho money on food and drinks. It's potluck, so explain that one to me. While out, I had to feed myself and chose the closest drive-thru. Not my normal diet, but hey a girl's gotta eat. I had the most magical drive-thru experience. Yes, it's possible. I ordered my #1 combo, drove to the first window and the lady predicted I'd pay with a five dollar bill because she had the $1.65 ready to hand back all in one motion. I looked ahead and an arm was hanging out the next window with my drink and bag of food in hand. 30 seconds and I was outta there. Magical I tell you. I highly recommend the Wendy's by the Sunrise mall. Saturday, October 11, 2003
Fall is my favorite time of year. I melt in the heat, so it's such a relief from our often 100 degree summers. ("But it's a dry heat.") The trees turn beautiful, rustic colors, and leaves crunch under your feet. Our trees in the backyard put on a fantastic show between vibrant red and golden yellow. (I highly recommend Chinese pistach and gingko trees.) You get to bring out the sweaters. The weather is perfect. And the fall contains my favorite holiday: Halloween. Have I mentioned we throw an elaborate party every year for Halloween? It's the 3rd annual radio drama and party. The first year was an experiment, trying to perform a script written in somewhat old English. There was lots of tripping on the lines, cumbersome logistics trying to get the microphones, and no one had time to prepare because the script got finished the night before. Last year, was a pirate theme and we wrote a script based on the movie "Abbott & Costello meet Captain Kid". We fixed the logistic issues and everyone was a bit more experienced, knew to pause when they screwed up so we could easily edit the line out. The script was circulated a few days before. But, the sound pit was less than perfect and we had to figure out some sound effects the night of the party. A new tradition was introduced: contests with prizes. A costume contest (of course!) and a pirate ship race where our engineering friends constructed custom boats out of popsicle sticks, Legos, and other such creative materials. There was a prize for the coolest ship and a prize for the fastest across a small wading pool. Our friend that dressed up as the Dread Pirate Roberts won. This year, it's a Scooby Doo theme! We're all of the age that SD is nostalgic. The radio drama is based on an episode with the Headless Horseman as the villain. :) Everyone with a "gang" part is supposed to dress up as their character. I got my Daphne costume all settled last weekend. And this weekend, I'm creating my diorama. That's the contest this year. I figured last year favored the engineer. This year favors the crafty soul. I've also learned a couple lessons in the last two years and I feel this year is more under control. First off, I'm time boxing my activities. Last weekend was the only time I spent on my costume. By the end of the weekend, what I had was what I'd wear. This weekend, I will finish my diorama, for better or worse. The fall is way to wonderful to waste being stressed out. Next weekend I have Mom and a friend coming over to decorate - 1 day and that's it. And I made it potluck this year. The script will be ready record early this year! All this makes for a happier Heather and I can also focus on getting ready for my Germany trip next month. :) |
