I am having a very difficult time deciding what to be for Halloween. I think I have three problems:
I am not rich and therefore am not willing to spend more than $20 on a costume I will probably not wear more than once.
I do not want to wear something that looks cheap, despite the fact that it will be.
I don't know how to sew.
If I could solve any one of these problems by Oct. 29, we'd be in business, because I would still have time to put something together by Halloween. However, I don't see a solution coming. My plan now is to raid my closet to see if some of those dresses I wore to my high school dances and banquets still fit, go to Goodwill to see if they have anything I can butcher into an acceptable costume, and possibly spend a little bit more than $20 if I can find something that I can use with other costumes in the years to come. If you have any other suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
P.S. What is the point of all those high school dances and banquets? They are fun, I grant you, but does anyone really go to that kind of thing in real life? I have not been to an event requiring a dress/gown like those since I graduated. I would love to attend such an event, but I've never had the opportunity, and certainly not two or three times a year.
October 16, 2008
October 10, 2008
The Derby
There is an annual event here which the locals simply call 'The Derby'. When I first heard that term, I figured it was some sort of race, most likely with cars. Michael and I went to The Derby last night, and, well...I found out that Southerners will get into anything.
The Derby is not a race, but it does involve cars. It is held in 'the pit' and the cars entered do not run well, the polite name for them is 'junker'. Some are decorated, some look like they have been pulled from a junkyard just a few minutes before The Derby begins. The pit is sprayed down so that it's nice and wet, and the cars are announced and begin to fill the pit. Then the air horn sounds, and 'the heat' begins. What is the heat? It's when all of the drivers in as many cars as will fit start purposely running into the other cars in an attempt to either trap or disable them. They keep running into each other until all the cars but one or two are disabled. Then the first and second place cars are declared by the judges. Several more 'heats' follow. The the second place cars from each of those have their own heat, and the second place and 'reserve Grand Champion' are declared from that bunch. Then the first place cars from the previous heats have their own heat. From that the first place and the Grand Champion are declared.
So, Michael and I spent our evening watching grown men drive cars with the intent of crashing into each other in a mud pit. Apparently, they make it a mud pit so the cars can't get up too much speed. They don't want anyone getting hurt, you understand. They require the drivers to chain the bumpers on to the car or take them off, and to wear helmets and neck braces. They also have firefighters and EMS there in case any cars catch on fire or anyone does get hurt. And the firefighters were needed. 3 cars caught on fire. Two needed the big fire hose to be put out. The other yielded under a fire extinguisher. Thankfully, no one was really hurt.
And the shameful part about all this? Michael wants to do it. Yep, he wants to make a junk car run just long enough that he can smash it into other cars. Even worse? I actually began to enjoy watching it. It's like a car accident, you can't help but look. And you get caught up in the mob mentality. It's really hard to not laugh at people who are purposely trying to run into each other. Laughter leads to cheering, cheering leads to planning to go next year, and planning to go next year leads to planning to get there early so you can get a good seat higher up in the bleachers. What have I become? Frankly, I don't care. It was fun. I still enjoy classical music and fine art, but I enjoy watching grown men smash their cars together and watching for some to catch on fire. When in Rome, right?
The Derby is not a race, but it does involve cars. It is held in 'the pit' and the cars entered do not run well, the polite name for them is 'junker'. Some are decorated, some look like they have been pulled from a junkyard just a few minutes before The Derby begins. The pit is sprayed down so that it's nice and wet, and the cars are announced and begin to fill the pit. Then the air horn sounds, and 'the heat' begins. What is the heat? It's when all of the drivers in as many cars as will fit start purposely running into the other cars in an attempt to either trap or disable them. They keep running into each other until all the cars but one or two are disabled. Then the first and second place cars are declared by the judges. Several more 'heats' follow. The the second place cars from each of those have their own heat, and the second place and 'reserve Grand Champion' are declared from that bunch. Then the first place cars from the previous heats have their own heat. From that the first place and the Grand Champion are declared.
So, Michael and I spent our evening watching grown men drive cars with the intent of crashing into each other in a mud pit. Apparently, they make it a mud pit so the cars can't get up too much speed. They don't want anyone getting hurt, you understand. They require the drivers to chain the bumpers on to the car or take them off, and to wear helmets and neck braces. They also have firefighters and EMS there in case any cars catch on fire or anyone does get hurt. And the firefighters were needed. 3 cars caught on fire. Two needed the big fire hose to be put out. The other yielded under a fire extinguisher. Thankfully, no one was really hurt.
And the shameful part about all this? Michael wants to do it. Yep, he wants to make a junk car run just long enough that he can smash it into other cars. Even worse? I actually began to enjoy watching it. It's like a car accident, you can't help but look. And you get caught up in the mob mentality. It's really hard to not laugh at people who are purposely trying to run into each other. Laughter leads to cheering, cheering leads to planning to go next year, and planning to go next year leads to planning to get there early so you can get a good seat higher up in the bleachers. What have I become? Frankly, I don't care. It was fun. I still enjoy classical music and fine art, but I enjoy watching grown men smash their cars together and watching for some to catch on fire. When in Rome, right?
October 8, 2008
Back on the Baby Train
A typical conversation between my husband and I goes like this:
Me: How was your day at work?
Michael: Like normal. We...(Explains several things about his job that I still don't understand.) How was yours?
Me: Well, I (Explain several things about my job he doesn't understand). What should we have for dinner tonight? I thawed ground beef.
Michael: It doesn't matter, I like everything you make. Except, don't make that thing with the cheese, pasta sauce and noodles...that was wierd.
Me: Yep, that was the one experiment of mine that was completely disgusting. Don't worry, I won't make that.
*Smiles*
*Comfortable silence*
Michael: So, when do you want to have a baby?
Yeah, that's where they all end up. We could talk about work, food, family, friends, politics, music, books, ANYTHING, and we always end up talking about when we're going to have kids. Here's the deal: we both really want a baby. Like, now. But, since I will have to carry this child in south Georgia, I'm attempting to plan conception sometime in late summer so I won't be miserable by the end of the pregnancy. I could handle it, many women do, but I don't want to if I can avoid it. I also don't want to think about the amount of electricity it would take to cool the house to what I would deem is an appropriate temperature, and how much that would cost. So, we're planning, and here's the plan: I lose weight, we try to conceive sometime in late summer or very early fall. However, if that doesn't happen by late summer or early fall '09, we're probably going to try anyway. It's getting to the point where we're sick of waiting, no matter what good reasons we have for waiting. The same thing happened with the wedding, and there was a little regret, but we continue to see that it really was for the better. And as far as worrying about regret with a child? I don't even know if that's possible in our circumstances. We're adults, married, in love, and want kids. Now if this darned weight would just go away, we'd be on the way. Or rather, baby would be on the way.
Me: How was your day at work?
Michael: Like normal. We...(Explains several things about his job that I still don't understand.) How was yours?
Me: Well, I (Explain several things about my job he doesn't understand). What should we have for dinner tonight? I thawed ground beef.
Michael: It doesn't matter, I like everything you make. Except, don't make that thing with the cheese, pasta sauce and noodles...that was wierd.
Me: Yep, that was the one experiment of mine that was completely disgusting. Don't worry, I won't make that.
*Smiles*
*Comfortable silence*
Michael: So, when do you want to have a baby?
Yeah, that's where they all end up. We could talk about work, food, family, friends, politics, music, books, ANYTHING, and we always end up talking about when we're going to have kids. Here's the deal: we both really want a baby. Like, now. But, since I will have to carry this child in south Georgia, I'm attempting to plan conception sometime in late summer so I won't be miserable by the end of the pregnancy. I could handle it, many women do, but I don't want to if I can avoid it. I also don't want to think about the amount of electricity it would take to cool the house to what I would deem is an appropriate temperature, and how much that would cost. So, we're planning, and here's the plan: I lose weight, we try to conceive sometime in late summer or very early fall. However, if that doesn't happen by late summer or early fall '09, we're probably going to try anyway. It's getting to the point where we're sick of waiting, no matter what good reasons we have for waiting. The same thing happened with the wedding, and there was a little regret, but we continue to see that it really was for the better. And as far as worrying about regret with a child? I don't even know if that's possible in our circumstances. We're adults, married, in love, and want kids. Now if this darned weight would just go away, we'd be on the way. Or rather, baby would be on the way.
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