Happy Halloweenie!

I think I'm ready...

I found some ankle boots. It makes me ashamed that I have so many shoes I don't even have a mental inventory. What am I forgetting? So far I have:

• pirate-type garb, including stripey skirt and combo vest & poufy-sleeve top (how did pirates work in frilly white blouses?)
• requisite pirate accessories, including red belt, scarf thingy and pirate hat (had to iron that one--it felt weird ironing a hat)--plus hoop earrings and eyepatch.
• undergarments, including body-shaping slip for warmth, tattoo leggings, etc.
• of course makeup, unnaturally long eyelashes, and red lipstick. I am waiting until the very last to put on the fake nails. I guess the time is now, and I'm only going to be 45 mins. late, which isn't really even late when you're talking about a Sat. night party.

Ack! Shooooooes!!!!

I have no appropriate shoes to wear! Why does this always happen? I have dozens of pairs in my closets, under my bed, even inside the windowseat--why are none of them piratey?

I may have to rethink the tattoos. The makeup is done & fake eyelashes are on, because how many times a year do you get to wear them? Probably only once or twice. (Hopefully you don't wear them every weekend, cause that would be crazy and sort of slutty-looking.) Other than finding shoes, I am ready to dress. I will do a test run with tall black boots & see how it goes.

Done!

Hair dryed & styled all in one step. I love killing 2 birds with one stone (figuratively, of course; I'm actually opposed to killing pretty much anything but roaches).

I am debating what order everything should go in now. It seems obvious the fake nails should be last, and the tattoo leggings next to last, but other than that it all seems arbitrary. I dislike disordered things (which you'd never know looking at my house...). Okay, makeup next, then look for proper pirate shoes. Can't do boots as they'd obscure the fake tattoos. Being a pirate is harder than I thought.

Update: Out of the Shower

Okay, that was fast. I hope I am really clean and not just rinsed off. We did the Race for the Cure this morning and so I haven't actually showered yet today. I know, eewww, right? But it made the long-anticipated showering experience wonderful when I finally got one, though.

I am afraid I'll be cold in my cheap costume, so I'm actually wearing a slip under it for an extra layer--it's one of those VS ones that sucks everything in & smooths out the lumpy spots, so it's an added plus. I am trying to decide if I want to brave the liquor store in pirate garb (to buy Capt. Morgan's, of course--arrrr!) or just bring the cider I picked up yesterday. Decisions, decisions.

Going to dry the hair now. I'm so glad I had 8" cut off a couple of months ago, so this won't take long. Time me!

Live Blogging: Halloween Preparations

I'm running a little behind, which is not unusual for me, as you'd know if you have ever been anywhwere with me. I hate being late, but I am easily distracted.

Today I was distracted by a 2-hour nap, which I just had to squeeze in before La Nuit Effrayante des Vampires, the single Halloween party I was actually invited to this year. I know there are lots of bands playing and open-invite parties around town, but I feel like I need a herd of people to go someplace public in costume. It's one of those weird things I have. I remember walking down Beale dressed as a mod angel a few years back, and that was a strange experience. I was wearing go-go boots, which probably explains the strangeness.

Okay, party's at 8:00, but I'm just now hopping into the shower. I shall return

I'm Serrabee, and I Endorse This Message

Good one from EJ. Might I note, however, that being a hipster is not a prerequisite for visiting these places or enjoying them.

Speaking of asses...

I feel like a total slack-a$$, because I was going to go to my first Mpact Memphis event in a long time tonight, but instead I am staying home, ordering a pizza, and watching movies. So be it.

Speaking of a$$es, I got a very annoying obscene/prank phone call over the weekend which I'm going to bet I know exactly who is responsible for. (News flash: it's okay to end sentences in prepositions now, y'all--you heard it from a professional writer.) There are very few male people who know both my blog name and my phone number, and this person used both. He also called from an 865 area code, where he is known to be somewhat regularly. Plus, he still sounded like himself, although he tried to disguise his voice by trying to make it sound somewhat manly.

Heads up to Paul Ryburn: He said you gave him my phone number. Just thought you'd want to know your name is being taken in vain. Anyway, it was more annoying to be phoned after 2am while I had houseguests for the weekend than anything else. It has helped pushed me toward abandoning the idea of blogging with any identity at all. Not that I'm posting every day anymore, but I think just having my name out here makes people think it would be funny to prank call me, so they can read all about their pathetic lives here. So it's yet another thing making me think I should just take up a blog elsewhere, not say I live in Memphis, or give any other identifying information. It would be freeing in the short run, as long as I didn't break the rules again.

Ichabod says Hello

So I've been coming back to KnoxVegas a lot lately, perhaps more this year than I ever have before in a twelvemonth, and it's starting to grow on me. Either it gets cooler every time I come, or I just discover something cool on each trip. The discovery of the weekend is Legacy, a vintage clothing store in the Old City, which was as nice as anything I've seen there before of its kind. I walked from the Market Square Mall where there was swing dancing galore (after all the music stopped, of course--I'm no quitter!). If it's here when I come back & I'm not hoofing it again, I might actually try something on. Places like that come & go pretty regularly, especially in a college town, but it seemed very unpretentious. I think the city itself has some pretentions, but all the swingers I met who live there (not that kind of swinger) were pretty darn cool. It should have been a lot cooler back in the day when I had no choice but to live there. There was always stuff like camping and hiking, but it was pretty theoretical. I just never hung out with people who did that stuff; now I might actually be able to find friends who would be interested in it. Add to that the fact that I have family there, and it starts to sound like a fun place to live. If only there were job growth to match the (sub)urban sprawl... .

But I return to Memphis tomorrow, and actually have at least the next 3 weekends "off" (i.e., at home). I need to get crackin' on my Halloween costume and decide between flapper and pregnant girl. Any advice? I thought the flapper would be fun, but the pregnancy would be funny in a kinda scary way, whereas 1920's dancers aren't all that scary to most folks. Only their parents, and people in kicking distance of their crazylegs, I guess. At this point I'm only invited to 1 party--which is pretty sad for mid-October--so maybe it's not worth it to get dressed up at all. I'll have to see how inspired I get as the time nears. Here are all the Halloween costumes I remember from my childhood:

• Witch (of course; for several years)
• Pilgrim (already had the costume from when mom made it for my older sister)
• Princess (I think I was 7 that year)
• Gypsy (not a very good one. I don't think anyone knew what I was supposed to be--I remember gold earrings and a scarf)
• Rocker (didn't everyone do that?)

Get the trend? I'm never very scary or creative with my costumery. Maybe this year I should really get into it. I could go all out and be a zombie vampire or something really creepy.

Naaaah.

life, my universe, and everything else

Once again, it's been a crazy weekend---but this time, in a much more restful way. I feel like I went into a sort of time warp volunteering for the Memphis Arts Council's fundraiser at the Zoo last night. I was a spotter in a live auction, which was actually a neat experience. I've been to auctions before, but more the cattle variety (chalk it up to East TN roots). I think my feet are still swollen from standing for hours in heels, directing octagenarians to their $1,000-a-plate seats, then watching a select few like a hawk to see if they happened to wave their cards around. I had to be ready to spring into action in case they did, which was no problem for someone who worked retail for 8 or so years, like I did.

That was the familiar part of the evening---seeing a set of 8 not-so-special-looking etched glasses (with wildlife on them, no less) sell for something like $9k... now, that was an experience. Get a few drinks in some people, and there' s just not a lot they won't do to impress their friends. No matter how old and wealthy they are.

Honestly, though I don't feel like I do when I work on an event from start to finish---or like I do when I do some volunteer work which directly benefits someone. Yeah, it's great they raised over $100,000 from the auction, and that money will go to area arts programs, blah, blah. But somehow it doesn't feel like you're contributing the same way when you dress up in a ladies' tux and kowtow to rich people for a night. I'm all askew---I need to get out and teach some kids to read or collect cans for MIFA to balance myself out.

Speaking of volunteering, I'm about to start working on creating a nonprofit. Anyone out there ever done it? have some advice for moi? please drop me a line at the ol' serrabee at gmail address. I did manage to speak with a friend's friend's friend (after the Secret Service played and many beers were drunk) about it Friday night, but she had a fancy lawyer friend who donated time to the cause. Unfortunately, I didn't meet any of those Sat. at the rich people auction. Maybe next time, eh?

ya just missed it

I just poured my heart out and it got lost when I went to post, so sorry 'bout that, folks. Waaaahhh!!!!