The Post Halloween Coma Blues

Halloween was alright, I suppose. You'll have to click over to AK's blog to see photos of the twinks and Max as Ketchup, Mustard, and Zorro. I usually voluteer for hand-out-the-candy duty. But this year our porchlight bulb was out. This sounds like a wwwwwwwweak cop-out indeed, but if you saw our porchlight -- and the way the whole fixture seems to be held in the ceiling only by cobwebs and some coats of paint -- you'd understand why we homebased from Gramma's house this year. Gramma's house is closer to the nice McMansion neighborhood, and that worked out since AK & the boys were walking and it was CHILLY last night. It also saves on candy, since apparently no one trick-or-treats on Gramma's street! We got only her neighbors on both sides as trick-or-treaters, and I imagine they just were seizing the opportunity to introduce themselves to Gramma.

I'm going on record as a crotchety old man here, and stating that I'm in favor of costume parties but 100% against the hoarding and gorging on candy. I see the 6th graders in Max's class and I remember the 6th graders in my class and the new 6th graders weigh -- as a class -- twice as much. There are many causes, Halloween is not a cause of the problem. But given the problem and the fact that no one seems to be effectively addressing it, lets skip the get-as-much-as-you-can-and-eat-as-much/fast-as-you-can part of this Fall tradition.

The boys's school, and I've learned other local schools, are against the holiday perhaps for religious reasons or something? Some schools can celebrate but can't call it "Halloween"? At the boys' charter school they couldn't even have costume parties? I don't understand the reasoning there. But personally I don't have a problem with any part of this holiday aside from both our children and the Mars/Hershey corporations wallets getting fatter.

All I know is I had a class full of sugar-crashed zombies for Readers Theater today.

Max had his Halloween piano recital last week, and it went very very well. The pressure is off, since this is the lowest-key of the years' 3+ recitals. Many kids perform in costume, so how serious can it be? Max had two pieces to do and knew them well. The only thing was at the last minute the teacher decided she needed another Halloweeny piece, so she changed Max's to a minor key. This had the effect of making it sound spooky and Halloweeny, and didn't phase Max.

So yeah, there's that. Piano is going well for all the boys.

Job hunt is still going. I have a 3rd interview tomorrow for a marketing job that doesn't pay as much as we'd like but still twice what Lux Graphics makes. This month will be the month we finally catch up from The Great Work Stoppage of Ott Seven, and that will feel good. I'm really not worried about Christmas this year. I don't think it's a coincidence that as our Christmasses have gotten smaller & simpler they've gotten better and better for all involved.

Tomorrow the boys are out of school. And "The Bee Movie" comes out! Maybe we'll check it out & report for y'all. I'd also like to get the boys' "school" portraits done before all of the colors are gone. They've already made it to the top of the "mountain" ranges here, and they've gotten more earthy than flourescent. Something about how it was a dry year, so we get less color? Or the colors don't last as long?

Nuttin' but love for ya!