Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Tales from the Crypt

It’s 6:30, and trick-or-treat has been underway for a half hour. It’s a little slow so far. However, I must say, the munchkins have been awful adorable. I've seen two Power Rangers, one frog, a Jasmine, several witches, a storm trooper (oh my!) and an already-frazzled dad asking for beer. Ok, it was Stan, and he was probably kidding. But probably not. :)

It's 6:45 and I’ve already cast my vote for best costume. Napoleon Dynamite rang the bell. After I gave him a Reese’s Cup, he said, “Thank you. Vote for Pedro. Pedro offers you his protection.”

I’ve seen a dead bride, a dead soccer player, Dorothy (Toto was absent). I wonder if I’ll see an Elphaba.

Teo pre-teen girls just came by. I opened the door, and the first thing out of their mouth was, “Sweet plasma!” referring to my tv. Apparently, they told the whole neighborhood, because some parents told me they heard I had a nice plasma.

I really want to photograph the cute little ones, but in this day and age, you just can’t do that. I’ll never forget a few years ago, the best costume I ever saw. A little boy, probably around two, came to my door. He had overalls on, a patch that said his name, tools in every pocket, and the largest ring of keys I’ve ever seen attached to his pants! It was adorable, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that one. The picture’s only in my memory.

Oh my god... A devilish 14-ish-year-old with a tatoo on the back of her neck just scored a Butterfinger from me. I’d better not see any tramp stamps tonight, or I’m giving up on society all together.

A little boy in a Nascar costume just stopped by. I know nothing about Nascar, so I asked him who he was. "Braden!”... um... “Awesome!” I didn’t know what else to say. (I found out later that Braden was the kid’s name. Maybe next year, I’ll know to ask “Who are you dressed up as?”)

We just got complimented on our sidewalk (by a parent). Apparently it’s wider than those in the rest of the neighborhood. We just had it put in because MI Homes sucks. Our sidewalk cracked after it was poured, they re-poured it, and it cracked again.

A pharoah, a creepy dead-brain guy, a dead golfer’s wife and a dead Minnie Mouse. The latter two probably didn’t have a costume until 5:45 tonight.

A girl with what I think is Down’s Syndrome just came by. She looked to be in her twenties, and I think it’s great she has the confidence to trick-or-treat. She was a mouse, and when she saw Cleo, she said, “meow, kitty!”

7pm. It’s only been an hour?

The girls are getting lots of compliments. They love it when the doorbell rings, partly I think because Indy hides under the bead. It’s girl time! Since Indy’s a vegetarian (meat comes back up), we also give the girls Fancy Feast when we have company. They LOVE the doorbell.

Roman just got home. Apparently he told the parent of the kid at the door that he was surprised I wasn’t sitting outside (I used to). She said “Everybody else is.” I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel. We’re going outside. Now that Roman’s home, that’s cool - I just didn’t want to sit alone!

It’s over. And I finally had time to eat dinner. Somehow, we have about five pounds of candy left over.

YES!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Halloween is tomorrow!

I like Halloween. When I was a kid, it was a chance for me to escape the shy-girl shell I existed in. I remember a few costumes of mine, but not a very many. We weren’t a picture-taking family, really. (Boy how my life has changed!)

One of my first Halloween memories was staying at my friend Stacy’s house for trick-or-treat. I’d spent the day with her, and it just sounded like so much fun to go out and get candy with her and her siblings. PLUS, they still had the Rubik’s Cube costume that her sister Julie had worn the year before. It was a perfect fit for me. I LOVED my Rubik’s Cube (I could only ever complete two sides, though, before I got frustrated and took all the stickers off and reapplied them as a “solved” cube...). It was also a perfect fit because it was a box with holes cut for my head and arms. I didn’t even need to change my clothes! The only setback was that the box was so wide that I couldn’t hold my pillowcase open very well upon entering the free candy zones. Ultimately, I made out. Stacy’s neighborhood bought the GOOD candy.

In high school, my friends and I decided to trick-or-treat when we were Freshmen (I was only 13). It was then that I learned I was too old to beg for candy. Lots of grown-ups asked us if we weren’t too old to trick-or-treat. Ultimately, though, I made out. The neighborhood we were in gave out full-sized candy bars! I also learned that if I really wanted candy, Mom could buy it for me.

For the past five or six years, I used to sit out on the driveway and hand out candy with my neighbors, but they go out with their kids now. So I'm probably just going to be pausing the DVR when the doorbell rings this year.

I still like Halloween a lot. I love seeing the imaginative costumes that kids put together. And I do like seeing the babies all dressed and bundled up (even though it irks me that they’re not even the ones who will be eating the candy I bought). It’s also a chance to meet some of the neighbors.

I hope that after 8pm, there’s still some candy left for me!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

I Captured Cincinnati

Recently, CiN Weekly decided to run a collaborative photo contest called Capture Cincinnati. The concept was great:
CiN Weekly, in collaboration with C-Change, is proud to announce a new era in book publishing: collaborative publishing. A book published for you, written by you, edited by you. Your best photos, plus our best photos, plus our combined editing means this book is truly the best of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Apparently the contest started in early September, but I didn’t find out about it until three days before the contest ended. It would have been nice to know about it sooner, but I managed to post eight photos that I had easy access to. (Most of my photos are archived on DVDs, and I didn’t have the time to go through them all.)

I'm not sure if any of my pictures will end up in the book, but I checked out the site today, and some of my pictures were in
the "greatest" pages:


I don’t know what constitutes “greatest.” The only other category is “freshest,” which I assume means posted most recently. Anyway, I’m in the “greatest” category, and that’s just fine with me. I guess I’ll have to wait until my book arrives to see if I’m actually in it!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

What does brown do for you?

Typically, at this time of year, I ache to get outside with my camera to capture the changing leaves. We had such a dry summer this year, and everything that’s not green is ugly brown.

It’s not pretty. Does nothing for me. Makes me want to hibernate in my down blanket and veg in front of the television.

But wait. Hopefully weather.com doesn’t lie. Their fall foliage map says that, as of October 12, we’re still “patchy” - almost to “near peak” - then onto “peak.” So it looks like I have another couple weeks! Woo-hoo!

A few years ago, on November 5, 2005, I got some amazing shots. Roman and I had just dropped off my old word processor (that saved my life in college!) at my mom’s house. (She said she could use it, even though she has a computer...) It was still early enough in the morning that the light was really nice. These shots were taken when the fog had almost completely lifted from the lake. Mom lives on a golf course, and we had driven past the lake when I made Roman turn around. Just a week before, I had purchased my Canon 60D, but I still didn’t know how to use it, and I hadn’t even put the batteries in it! I had it with me, but I didn’t want to waste any time. I used the Nikon 5700 to get these shots, and the shots I got that day are some of my favorites. The colors were so vibrant, and the sky was so blue!

It’s times like these you learn to live again. It’s times like these you learn to love photography again.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Accounting?

I’m not quite sure what made me look at my own “about me” profile tonight. Maybe there’s a full moon? Dunno. But, apparently, the industry I’m in is Accounting. Hold on a sec while I regain my composure! You’re reading this, so you KNOW I have no math skills AT ALL!

I searched around the blogspot “about me” area, and I have no earthly idea how to change my industry. But in case you’re wondering, it’s retail. Some day it will be photography or art or something, but until then, know that I still have no math skills. Or sense of direction. I still can’t find Fountain Square on my own without a map...

Maybe I’ll ask Santa for a GPS this Christmas.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Jungle Boogie

I had a business thing tonight after work in Fairfield. You might be asking yourself, “What’s in Fairfield besides Jungle Jim’s?” That’s a good question. The answer is... Not a whole helluva lot! You have some car dealerships, dive bars, and...um... I really don’t know what else. Oh wait - there’s a Bass Pro Shop.

There’s a new convention center in Fairfield, and it’s at Jungle Jim’s. Meet Oscar. WAIT! Before you click on that link, note that the first thing on the page says, “Please note... these photos do not represent the current decor of the Oscar Event Center, they’re just an example of what your event could look like!” It seriously says that. But I’ve been there, and it actually is a pretty nice place for a reception.

At said reception, I was served a very powerful glass of house chardonnay. I guess what they meant by “house” was actually “100 proof,” because I didn’t feel at ALL comfortable driving home. So I went shopping in the Jungle to kill some time.

Now, I’ve shopped at Jungle Jim’s before, but it’s been years since I’ve been there. So many, in fact, that I forgot just how much cool stuff they have! I entered the store in the wine section. I toured all the areas I like: California, Argentina, Italy. I ended up with a cart full of Pinot Noir, Malbec and Pinot Grigio.

Right next to the wine section are the restrooms. Apparently, they were voted best in the city. And here they are! Don’t be deceived. They’re not really port-o-potties! It’s a facade! They’re actually quite clean and nice inside. But I didn't think they were that special... This is coming from a woman who visited England’s Loo of the Year 1998. And I have the photo to prove it. I’ll scan it in later. I’m actually thinking about making a photo collage of the loos of the world I’ve visited, and America’s Best Restroom will definitely be included. I have this IKEA five-photo frame that would be great for my downstairs half bath. And what else would you want to look at while on the loo but other loos?! Sometimes my brilliance boggles even my own mind.

Anyway, back to the Jungle. If you’ve never been there, plan a visit. Don’t die without seeing this place. Elvis even makes appearances...every five minutes. I was lucky enough to catch a show. When the store opened (see history here), Jim bought up a bunch of the old Chuck-E-Cheese characters and put them in his store. I think I got to hear Hound Dog.

On to produce. Jungle Jim’s has THE BEST produce section in the entire world! And yes, Amy, there is a Santa Honeycrisp. They’re $2.69 a pound (so much better than Wild Oats’ $3.99/lb.) I got four apples. Not only do they have the traditional apples and oranges, but they have things I can’t even pronounce and am afraid to touch. Maybe someday I’ll be brave. They also have a million varieties of eggplant. I’m glad to see them in person. When I was trying to select eggplant seeds for my garden earlier this year, I had no idea which ones to grow. Again, some day, I’ll be brave enough to make some baba ganoush out of the different ones.

I didn’t really buy so much because I was overwhelmed. I wish I’d had a shopping list! I could be making some killer international dishes this weekend. Ah well. I can go back any time. It’s only 30 miles away.

Finally, there’s a zoo outside the Jungle. I managed to catch a gorilla and a giraffe in action. :)