supercheesegirl | Entries tagged with halloween

Holy cow, you guys, flamenco is HARD. I thought by now that I would have tried pretty much most of things that are possible to do with my body, but this is all new stuff. And there's so much to remember. There are the hands and fingers--if any of you ever start getting carpal tunnel, flamenco is the thing to try, because you are always turning the wrist and stretching the hand and flexing the fingers. (The teacher also said it's good for carpal tunnel, at pretty much the exact moment I was thinking it myself, so look, I'm not just making that up.) There are the arms--the elbows are really important, and can't move while all the hand stuff is going on. And then the shoulders need to stay up, with a straight back, while the core is engaged ALL THE TIME, but you're wearing heels and you need to keep your weight pitched forward a bit over the toes with the knees slightly bent--not enough bent that you're in chair pose and the thighs burn, but enough that you feel it up the backs of the legs. The tush isn't tucked under or badonked out, it's just back there and I have to keep remembering not to tuck it, and to keep the back straight and the shoulders up and the core engaged even though I'm pitched forward over my toes. So there's all this posture stuff, and THEN I am expected to move my feet around! And my hips, separately from my feet, while keeping the torso mostly still, and THEN I'm supposed to do things with my arms too. And the rhythms are totally different than most western music. I've had just enough musical training to be dangerous, and this is so weird. It's a count of 12, first of all, and the 12 comes on the downbeat, and the timing of the counts is different and syncopates, and I thought last night that I'd never get it out of my head again but now I can't recreate it at all.

So, yes, flamenco is kind of insane. And my teacher is this teeny Spanish woman, and nobody else wanted to stand in the front so I'm standing in the front, and so I feel like a big awkward giraffe. But I think I did mostly okay. And, I have to say, there's one woman in my class who always makes me feel better: she's a few years older than me, and she has four kids but she's still hot and in great shape (which gives me hope all by itself), but she's not exactly a natural dancer, you know? And she knows that and she's still out there doing it and having a good time and learning, and I figure that first of all if she can be out there doing it then I can too, and secondly that I have to be doing it at least a tiny bit better. So, okay, I will give this flamenco thing a try.

So today I am discovering how to be sore in entirely new ways that I'm not used to at all. I did some jammie yoga for about 20-25 minutes. My neck was really sore, to the point that it was sore to sleep on too--I think because I was clenching up everything else my neck got clenchy too--so I worked on that, and worked on arms and legs and feet, and just tried to be gentle. But dang do I need a real yoga session soon. Hopefully Sunday.

In other news, I painted my nails last night for the first time in ages. They are black with sparkles, in honor of my favorite holiday and in preparation for my costume tomorrow.

F and I are working on our Halloween costumes. We're trying to decide what we're going to be. You can help!

[Poll #1469984]

Thoughts:
- Sonny and Cher would be awesome. F would make a terrific Sonny (go look up an old video on youtube if you doubt me), but we'd have to buy him extra chest hair. This costume might require an expensive visit to a vintage store for the appropriate 60s/70s clothes.
- Gomez and Morticia would be awesome. This costume would pretty much require us to make out all night! F could get a pinstripey suit or even a smoking jacket, and R could find a black velvet dress. Would definitely require shopping, could be pricey depending on what we find.
- The first two costumes, interestingly, would both require a mustache for F and a long black wig for R.
- Death and Dream would possibly be the easiest costume to do. I've got black jeans, a black tank, stompy boots, and an ankh necklace; F could basically do a Gaiman impression (black t-shirt, black jeans) and pull it off if we did his hair right. Would only need to acquire easy things like maybe a black cloak for F, a black top hat and black wig for R, and a lot of black eyeliner. Downsides: we'd be playing siblings (though F points out that the Endless don't have to play by the same rules mortals do!).
- I really want to do a couple costume. This whole year has been about us two coming together, and our Halloween party is also a housewarming party, to celebrate our new home together. (For those of you who liked the sound of Sexy Rainbow Brite, I will likely be looking to buy this on sale after the holiday to wear next year.)
- We also considered doing Boris and Natasha from Rocky & Bullwinkle, but decided it'd be hard to do that and 1) make it obvious who we were, and 2) make F look like a Russian spy instead of a pervert in a trenchcoat. So that's off the list.

Summary: I really miss the Garment District. We could take care of all this in a couple of hours!

I went to a Halloween party on Saturday night with Rose and Lauren. I didn't know anyone there, and I didn't make any new friends because I'm bad at people and I suck at life, but at least I looked pretty.

The awesome new addition to the usual fairy costume: eyelashes.

( four pictures )

stress, stress, stress at the advising office. the freshmen get to register on thursday and friday of this week (those with transfer hours or AP credit on thursday, brand-new first-semester freshmen on friday), so we're trying to get them all advised ahead of time so they can actually get decent schedules. we're supposed to advise all the freshmen in the college of arts & sciences (NOT those in business or education or music or dance or sport science or etc) and everyone who is undecided on a major. but lots and LOTS of the little morons wrote the wrong thing on some form at some point and never figured out how to change it, or else they were wrongly assigned to somewhere else when they should've been assigned to us or vice versa, so we get problems. you wouldn't believe the problems we get. so when barbara's at lunch, i get to sit at the front desk and field the problems. we're only supposed to make appointments for the people who are on our list (the aforementioned freshmen and undecideds), but we get tons of calls from people who aren't on our list but want to be, and i have to figure out whether they should be or not. if they should be, then i get to make a file for the person with a degree audit, because it's difficult to advise someone when you don't know what classes they've taken and what classes they need. i also have to look up the advising code for the student, "advising code" being the randomly generated number that each student needs to register online and cannot get unless s/he sees an advisor. if the student in question hadn't been clueless to begin with, he would've been on our list in the first place and we would've already made him a file and had the advising code in our records. (it's not *always* their fault, of course.) and the making of the files for x amount of clueless students takes place in between advising appointments (actually helping an individual student to figure their shit out) or while i'm sitting at the desk, answering the phone and figuring out why there's half a dozen people milling around in front of the desk. ( here's a sample conversation: )

anyway, today just happened to suck more ass than usual. on friday afternoon, see, i sat at the desk from 12:15 till 4:30, because i was doing a favor for barbara so she could go visit her son. and while dealing with the usual insanity i managed to also do 35 degree audits and look up the advising codes for all of the above. and that's a whole lot. so today when i came in, there was *already* (at 11:30am) a list of like ten people who needed audits done, and what barbara didn't mark on the sheet was that these people were coming in TODAY. so people came in, didn't have files, i ran around like a crazy person making the files, while answering the phone, listening to students bitch, and generally having a sucky time.

so i left work fifteen minutes late (i could've left on time, i guess, but i had everything straight in my head about what needed to be done for who and i felt like i should just get it done rather than try to communicate to barbara what had to be done). and where did i have to go right after work? to the uncg health center for my yearly gyn exam. and it was okay, the nurse practitioner was really nice, but you know, there's just lots of other things i'd rather do. but as long as my cervix is pink and healthy-looking (which apparently it is), it's all good.

tonight i cooked chicken, ate it, finished Aurora Leigh and wrote my response to it, read and commented on the student poems for tomorrow's workshop, and cleaned up my house. the house was a big ol' mess after the events of saturday night. jorn briefly mentioned the halloween party, so i'll just briefly mention it here--i was glittery. rhett was Aluminum Foil Girl. jorn and rhett and élan and i all got ready here, so there was glitter and wings and aluminum foil and duct tape (which had attached the foil to rhett) all over the house. and then at the party, i proceeded to get smashingly drunk and make an idiot of myself (as i always seem to do), so much so that i Won the Pig. here in the mfa program we have a halloween party tradition by which the drunkest puking student is awarded the halloween stuffed pig (which entered the program as part of the costume of a drunk puking student several years ago) by the previous year's recipient. so yeah, it was me. but i did not actually throw up till almost 2am, and the party pretty much broke up around 3:15 from what i've heard, so i wasn't as bad as poor emily last year, who passed out around midnight.

sigh. the party was really, really fun before that, though. i'd tell you more about it, but there's lots that i just don't remember well (although i'm sure i'll hear all about the highlights eventually), though i am definitively sure that it was very fun. and my hair looked really cute, and was arranged so well that it did not come undone till jorn took it down for me when he put me to bed. we won't even mention what sunday was like, but by sunday night i was feeling much better and watched a pokemon movie with jorn, so the day wasn't a total loss. sigh. next weekend hopefully i won't have to leave the house, so whatever embarrassing things i do can just stay right here.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: actual skateboarders on tate street

halloween was fun. all the fiction writers dressed up for workshop yesterday, and a few of the poets did too but not as many. went to the bar after workshop and it was okay--talked to tom and jay mostly--then went home, picked up jorn, went looking for fabric stores. he got 5 yards of stuff to wrap around his head, hopefully that'll be enough. then we still had like half an hour before we had to leave to pick up rhett from the airport, so we went back to my place and got ready for sunshine's party. i did the ten-minute "little kid in pajamas" costume--i wore my purple flannel pjs with the jumping sheep, and my oscar the grouch slippers, and pulled my hair up into pigtails and stuck some sparkly clippies in it. élan came home from her office and decided to join me in pajamas, only she combined hers with cowboy boots and a fringe jacket. jorn just wore my viking helmet. then we all went to the airport to get rhett (it wasn't too busy, so no one looked at us too oddly), and then we dropped rhett off at her place and went to sunshine's boyfriend's house for the party. the decorations were really awesome, he had made all his living room walls checkered and hung up creepy things, and the whole effect was awesome. i'll probably post pictures. and tom was there, dressed as a ghost in a pastel-striped sheet. there were eyeholes cut in it, as well as little holes next to the eyeholes so he could wear his glasses on top of the sheet. and he danced. it was great, he was the happiest little ghost i ever saw.

today: spending the whole day at CASA--working my normal hours this morning, 10-2:30, but then filling in for barbara this afternoon and sitting at the front desk so she can go visit her son in kentucky. long day. doing nails tonight.

this morning i got up a little later than i planned, and then lost like fifteen minutes reading jorn's Far Side daily calendar before i got back to my apartment. then i frantically read Aurora Leigh--i was in the middle of book (chapter, basically) 7, and there's nine books, and i was supposed to have it read for today. so i made it to the beginning of book 9 before i had to run to work (literally--i was five minutes late), and it was incredibly annoying because Aurora had just found out that Romney didn't really marry Lady Waldemar, and Romney had just asked Marian to marry him and told her that he'd love her bastard son like it was his own. and of course, Aurora is finally admitting that she's in love with Romney herself, so this is a very complicated situation. and i had to leave right at this crucial moment! but the crucial moment will probably take six pages at least of iambic pentameter, so it'll still be there when i get back. (it's a book-length poem, if you didn't know). so when i get to class at 3:30, i'll just ask dorothy or allison what happens in the last chapter, and they'll fill me in. sigh.

last night, i went to a "literary roundtable" at the library, and i got to hear several panelists talk about the early years of uncg/woman's college and the beginnings of the MFA program and all their good memories of the library here (because the thing was in celebration of some award the library just won). afterwards they had a reception where they were selling books by MFA/uncg alums, and there were 20 or so authors signing books. i bought Primate Behavior by Sarah Lindsay, which i've heard wonderful things about and which is amazing and captivating so far (i've only read two or three poems out of élan's copy of the book). and Sarah Lindsay signed it for me, too.

also last night, xina told me about a co-worker of hers who has a five-year-old daughter who wants to be a princess for halloween, but the co-worker doesn't have money to buy a fancy costume. so xina and the woman were trying to think of cheap ways to create a princess costume, and they basically figured out the dress and the hat, so all that was left was pretty costume jewelry. so i brought xina back to my house and lent her some sparkly beads for the little girl. i am all about helping others achieve princessdom.

i got paid today. that always makes me happy.

the big MFA halloween party is supposed to be this weekend--i'm planning to be a fairy, and i've got the costume pretty much all planned, down to the glitter and the fake flowers for my hair. but they still haven't found a place to host the party, since it's got to be walking distance from uncg (NO ONE should have to drive home from this party),and there's a few people that could have it but won't for various reasons, the most valid of which being that they hosted it last year (and no one should have to host the damned thing twice). another girl is hated by her neighbors so they'd definitely call the cops, another guy doesn't smoke or drink and doesn't want booze in his apartment, and another couple of guys would have it but their apartment isn't big enough and only has one bathroom (two bathrooms at least would be preferable for this kind of party). so we're not sure what to do. but the party better not be canceled (or held in someone's backyard, which is the current idea), or else i will be very very sad. and very cold in my sleeveless top, too.

so i'm thinking about getting people together to go to this this weekend. i don't really think jorn will want to go, but élan seems to be up for it, and i know rhett and xina would really like a ren faire (rhett's never been to one before! she would *so* love it) so that should be a big enough group. i invited some other friends too, so we'll see what happens.

oh, and we never did go to carowinds, did i mention that? the tickets were just too freakin' expensive--it would've been $32 *after* the discount coupons. which is absolutely ridiculous. only spoiled rich kids and drug dealers can afford prices like that, yo.

about the halloween costume, i found a pair of blue cords at the used store today--cost $14, but they fit pretty well, and i'll wear them for other stuff too. i'd still rather have a floofty skirt, but i'm thinking that's not going to happen--i'll just be a hip modern fairy (thanks for idea, amy).

feelin' like i should read some joyce carol oates. rhett's reading Foxfire right now, i'm going to borrow it when she's done.

to do this week:
--call stina! haven't talked to her in ages!
--call xina RE pancakes on wednesday, weekend plans
--menstruate, starting wednesday
--read Aurora Leigh; try not to fall asleep
--go to the library and print stuff out for intro poetry
--get some stamps, idiot
--write some, revise some
--keep an eye on the plants (the heat kicked on, and i think they're getting all dried out. the really healthy one turned all black)
--don't go to feminist theory on wednesday, since it's cancelled--get pancakes instead
--grocery shopping
--make that damned gyn appointment
--stop eating so much junk food at work
--go to the damned gym and stop being so lazy

so i just tried on the wings (hadn't done so before, but i mean, it's just two elastic straps around the shoulders, it's not like it won't fit), and they looked great, even better than i had hoped--only problem is that there's a clump of white fake fur attached in between in the wings, and it's glued down so i can't really take it off. oh well--maybe i'll find some fake flowers i can attach on top of it. and i thought of this sleeveless lavender top i have that has little silk flowers down the front of it, and it matches perfectly! score! now i just need a bottom. i'm considering a lavender prom-y skirt i saw at ross--it's the sort of skirt my friend sunshine could wear with black ass-kicking boots and a weird top and make it look completely awesome. ie, i'll probably never wear it again. i don't know if i want to spend like $20 on a skirt i don't know if i'll wear again, though. plus, it'll need to match my flower top. i'll probably go over there one day this week wearing the flower top to try it on. i bet it won't even fit, though. but i think i definitely want a long skirt, so i can wear my blue docs.

Current Mood: giddy

today was very nice, but i'm really freakin' tired right now. jorn and i went to the mall earlier. it's three floors of fun and excitement. we had lunch in the food court, and it's times like this that i know how poor and bereft of entertainment i am, because the food court was so, so cool. i was all excited. so many choices! (we picked sbarro, btw, but the salad dood put way too much dressing on my caesar. yuck.) anyway, i was looking at the mall for: 1) halloween costume stuff, and 2) the cute brown shoes of my dreams (long story, maybe i'll post it later), but alas, we found naught. i only bought a pair of hello kitty! hair thingies from this adorable japanese import store. they are green and happy.

after that, i dropped j-dogg off at his place and then went shopping on my own. i went to teh walmart to get some fabric (my beat up jeans need patched again, in even more strategic places), and a binder. i am very big on binders. i also looked there for halloween costumey stuff, but had no luck. i then tried tj maxx, where i almost found everything i wanted--emphasis on the *almost found*--i didn't buy anything, but tried on a great pair of nine west shoes that were too tight, and found a few satiny nightgowns that would've worked perfectly for my halloween costume, had they not been pale green. then i tried ross-dress-for-less, and had even worse luck. i went grocery shopping after that, and then came home and near fell down i was so tired.

okay, so the halloween costume. i am going to be a fairy again this year, because in the past, wearing wings has made me so damn happy. go look at this picture if you don't believe me. but i don't want to wear the wings that are in that picture, because they're my good wings and they came from the ren faire and they were expensive, and i don't want them to get as trashed as i plan to get at the MFA halloween party. so i got a pair of cheap-o wings from the costume shop. they're still pretty wings, and they're large enough for me to see them over my shoulder (which is important; what's the good of wings you don't even know you're wearing?), and these wings are blue and lavender and silver. and now i need an outfit to go with them.

hence, the shopping. i still have a few weeks before the party, but i'm glad i started looking now since i haven't exactly been making progress. so the costume could happen a number of ways. it could be a nightgowny costume. it could be a leotard-tights-flowy skirt kind of costume. it could be a tulle prom-y skirt kind of costume. a dress/skirt isn't necessary, but i just can't figure out what i'd do with pants. i feel like the whole thing should be shiny or sparkly or something (ie, not cottony), but that's negotiable. and i'm *so* not creative. i mean, i'm sort of required to just find the right thing, because i can't really look at an item and think of how i would modify it to work. i wish i was like farbo, she would have no trouble at all building a costume. she would have even made the wings herself. i don't really want to be a "modern" fairy (ie, jeans and a top with the wings and makeup) because first of all, it's uncreative, and secondly, a fairy would be expected to have cute bell bottomy jeans, which as we all know i don't have.

so the problem now is that i'm thinking about taking back the pretty wings and settling for some sort of store-bought goth scary evil fairy thing. which would also be fun, but i would much rather be a happy fairy. any suggestions? or does anyone have a perfect outfit they'd love to ship to me? :)