Here are a few pictures from the party we had on Saturday. We usually do Aprilween, but because April was so busy, we pushed it back to May. Thus, Maprilween.
Hand-made banners
It looks dreary in the morning-after light, but the photo corner has become the cornerstone of our parties.
Some people really went all the way with their costumes this year. If there had been a prize for most unwieldy, least-likely-to-get-in-the-door costume, it was this homage to the Wizard of Oz. What you can't see are the black and white striped stocking, red sparkly shoes and beer-holder.
Lastly, make sure that you delegate tasks according to one's skills. If someone is good at mowing the lawn and washing the dishes before the party, let them. Don't force a square peg into a round hole by trying to make them purchase party snacks. All you'll have to show for it will be 8 mini Reese's cups and a miniature bag of Jelly Bellys.
Freeze Dried has started a summer book challenge for June over at her blog. Here's what she's got to say about it:
Come up with a list of books that you want to read by June 30, 2011. The list could be as short or as long as you'd like. Those books gathering dust on that shelf there? You want to put those on your list. The ones you're already reading? Perfect, throw them on there too. And feel free to pull from my booklist on the sidebar.
The goal is to write one post a week about the book / books that you have read during the week. If you haven't finished a book before your post it due, that's cool beans!, post anyway - talk about your thoughts on the book so far.
Ping me so I put you on the blog list again.
I think it's a great idea now that J and I have time to read (well, I've always had it, but reading together is awesome). Once I figure out how to put the little list up on my sidebar, I'll get cracking. We're halfway through the second book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, A Clash of Kings, and I'm about to start Alice Randall's The Wind Done Gone, a reinterpretation of Gone With the Wind.
I haven't read Gone with the Wind, but growing up in the South and having seen the movie a few times, I think I can skip it. If it's between reading "American Classics" and trying something by a marginalized writer, I'll go with the latter. Gone with the Wind is pretty solidly in the American consciousness, so it's like I was born with it in my harddrive.
More to come! I need to do a little write-up on Vox, the classic phone-sex novel by Nicholson Baker. It's more awesome than it sounds.
Aprilween is fast approaching (or, long belated as it were) and J and I are just now finishing our costumes. After wasting an afternoon with the failed ideas of giant starfish and geometric hats (I really wish I'd taken pictures of these horrible things) I went to my dress closet and decided to match a party dress with a mask and call it quits. J had been pondering an incarnation of The Doctor (from Doctor Who), but another friend beat him to Number Eleven (Matt Smith). He's always been fond of the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker.
Baker played the doctor for seven years, long enough that most people consider him THE Doctor. We're low on time and resources, so we decided to focus on the unusually long scarf that was the Fourth Doctor's trademark. Others on the interwebshave maderecreations of his scarf (most specifically, doctorwhoscarf.com), but we went the easy-peasy route. I'll show you how we did it!
Ever have a great party, but forget to take pictures? I've found if you create a space to get your picture taken (and you have an awesome photographer friend) people will be drawn into that space. Everyone likes a good picture of themselves.
Well, I had to turn down the job I had a great chance at because of a measly $3,000, and I found out today I didn't make the cut for the big job. It's been a week. I guess the pressure is off now, and I don't have to debate with myself about whether to take a job if I could be moving. That's solved! The sadness may not make sense-- because I am not as anonymous as I used to be, I don't talk about my job. I enjoy what I do, but I have a bad relationship with my supervisor, and all the time I have worked here has not made any difference in that, and not for lack of trying. What do you do when you do your job well but your boss still doesn't like you? Well, cry in the bathroom of course!
J has finished eight applications in the past two days. He is a powerhouse. I'm much better prepared for the future job hunt after my big job application, but helping him proofread and nit-pick on words is good practice. I like to be a part of things, and this is more fun than scanning a dozen Google alerts for applicable job listings every day. (Anyway, I'd usually ignore the qualifications if it was in a cool city.)
We finished Game of Thrones last night, and it was so awesome at the end I cried. Not because it was sad, but because it was the end of the book, but because the ending and what happened to one of my favorite characters was so amazing, terrifying and cool I couldn't hold it in. And that is why I love reading.
For those of you not into reading 4,000 pages of this series, you can watch it on the TV, or on the secret internet. The title sequence alone gives me shivers. From a maker's perspective, this thing is intricate as fuck and so beautiful (even if it is just CGI). It looks real enough for me. If you are geeky enough to read an interview about the making of a title sequence, here ya go.
What is Aprilween? Halloween in April, of course. J and the Painter (his old roommate/our old roommate) celebrated Aprilween in college, and together we have way more awesome memories from this holiday than its parent holiday. For one, a lot of costumes are ruined by an October Halloween. Coats don't go with most costumes. Sure, you see plenty of young women dressed as sexy dental assistants not wearing coats, but they have obviously made their choices. Hrmph.
Secondly, there's no Halloween pressure to come up with something grand. You just do it for the fun of it. Like, when you get a present that isn't a Christmas present, it is so much better. Because there's no hubbub around it, and it's less likely robbers are going to kill you in your sleep for your gifts in July.
Thirdly, there must always be a thirdly, costume parties are my favorite thing in the world. I hear that is even pretty normal for me. I've found that while it's hard to get everyone to participate at a dance party, almost everyone will come well-equipped for a costume party. And it's soooo much easier to sidle up to a lovely single lady/gent and talk about costumes than pretty much anything else. I used to have parties with large tubs of neon PGA punch, and now I have parties where people are dressed like puns and 80s movie references. I'm betting an equal amount of people are getting laid afterward.
front of the house, pre-party. The Painter likes earthy colors, but this is the closest you can get a a party store.
Ok, first things first-- what is Branson? Since we're in Arkansas, we refer to Branson, Missouri. It's hillbilly Las Vegas, or what Las Vegas would be like if you took away the drinking, prostitutes, fun, gambling and sand and replaced all that with elderly white people and Starbuckses. It's where pop and country stars go to die (Nelly was there recently!). It's the place people tell you they are going for a vacation, and you smirk inside and think about how sad that is that they are excited about Branson and then realize what a smug asshole you are and have to go listen to some Smiths. But really, how hilariously terrible is a butterfly exhibit called "White Flight" in an area not exactly known for racial transcendence?
Gaga, Kanye and Justin Bieber masks, for those without costumes
The idea for the party was to dress up like a celebrity or performer that you'd imagine would take a career dive and end up in Branson. I dressed up as Gwen Stefani (I have major issues with her "Harajuku" schtick) but there were a few Biebers, Ke$ha, fictional characters who just wanted to be there, Adam Lambert and some Branson tourists. Birthday friend likes a party with some real thought in it, so we put together a red, white and blue themed party with a photo corner where you could design a tack Blingee-inspired picture or get a photo with a life-sized Dolly Parton or Elvis impersonator. The IRL Blingees* were my drunken inspiration, but said friend is an absolute Blingee genius, seen here at Use Your Allusion. She has a master's in kick-ass.
Job Bluth, of Arrested Development, showed up, also.
Don't go to Dollar Tree for flag bunting. We bought all that shit.
My "Hollaback Girl"-era Gwen Stefani. And for the record, I put a giant pair of sunglasses in EVERY blingee I've ever made.
Stars, flags and patriotic poofs. Elvis can barely be seen on the bottom.
The party was a tremendous success. There was trepidation from people that coming up with an appropriate costume-- a pop star was one thing, but an aged pop star? With a dash of retro-futurism? In the end, everyone just showed up looking as much like their character as possible, and with an explanation of just why they thought said character would end their career in the Show-Me State. This was one of the only parties where I took the decorations down the very next day, they were that blindingly patriotic.
*IRL = in real life. Check out Blingee.com to see what that actually is
I decided to go for the pay-cut job, as it would be a much better working environment, but after being honest with myself I knew that with J out of a job, I couldn't justify a pay cut. Plus, I'd be working for a friend, and if it went south, I wouldn't want a friendship soured. I'm a little sad, because I think it would have been great. On the positive side, I got a letter from human resources (re: the big job) saying they were sending my application to the search committee, so it looks like I cleared the first hurdle.
We've been doing a lot of talking about whether to stay or go, meaning, whether J should make more efforts to find something local. I've been dissecting the chip on my shoulder about a "fresh start". Am I forcing a move? I was playing the game for years, with moving as the main objective, so if I'm causing friction it's because I've been planning my life around it. I hate to bring up resentment, but I feel like I'd be resentful if I had martyred myself at my job so he could get a cool one somewhere else, then we stayed. I know I should let go of that, especially since I know I could. I could have any of a hundred reasons why I want to move on, and it shouldn't be because THAT WAS THE PLAN.
What do I really want? To be swept away somewhere else so I have no choice but to leave my job and start afresh somewhere else. But that's a lot of pressure on J.
