the october update

What a month.  WHAT a MONTH!  ::tosses hair::  Y'know, for a second there I thought 2013 was going to turn into one of those "poop" years for the record books because not a lot of good stuff was happening.  Heartbreak, busted ankle, death in the family, yadda yadda yadda.  But then October (my favorite month of the year) came right on in and saved the day.  Tried and true!  And of course with today being the last of the month, that also means it is Halloween.  And it is a PERFECT day for Halloween; temps in the mid 50's, foggy and misty outside, and the annual crockpot full of chili simmering away on my kitchen counter.

The month started off on a somewhat quiet note.  In September I made a huge event on Facebook that would span the month and be the collective of "things going on" for celebrating October.  Apple farms, scary movie nights, haunted houses, pumpkin carvings, etc. etc.  Friends and family have come to know me as a little "eccentric" when it comes to Halloween and have said in numbers too numerous to count they want to DO things with me throughout the month.  Seeing as I am in an apartment this year, throwing a party just wasn't feasible for me so I figured this was the resolution.  The first couple movie nights were skipped in large though @klreynol happened to show up despite having the best reason not to (full-time job, husband & infant at home, etc.)

Around the 8th of the month my sister approached me to take pictures of her and her family.  We'd been talking about this for a while but never settled on a date, so we all met at a nature center on the north side of Appleton one afternoon.  Meg brought her camera for me to use and I just... winged it.  My fear with taking pictures is I'm going to be no good.  Not that I'm the worst in the world but I'm far away from being anywhere near the best.  I've been on several photo shoots and worked with several photographers however so I have certainly picked up a thing or two.  Chief among them being "take as many pictures as you possibly can."  It's good I took that advice with me.

Of the 180 pictures I took maybe three dozen turned out clear.  Of those three dozen, maybe 20 of them were good enough poses to warrant moving on to the next round of editing.  I knew I could save my ass in post-production, where the proverbial boxing gloves I wore while taking the pictures would come off and I could start photoshopping with the precision of a surgeon.  Just a saying... I'm not really a surgeon.  Duh.

The big surprise came when I realized how little I had to do for editing.  Sure, tidying up/beautifying people (wrinkles, stray hairs, smudges on cheeks, etc.,) but nothing as invasive as I'd feared.  It made me realize maybe I'm not the worst at this like I thought I would be and maybe it's about time I start branching out and doing it a little more often.  I shouldn't be afraid of the camera I have at home or of taking it out on random projects, it is a decent camera and I'm just a boob by always saying it's shitty.  Wouldn't hurt to have a new one though.

Several more movie nights went by, still with no one showing up.

Mid point of the month came with a trip to Door County with @markstyleme, Mr. K and Scout.  It was one of those "perfect days" you typically might think would come with fall.  It was cool but not cold, breezy but not a windstorm.  The drive to the tip of the Wisconsin peninsula was beautiful with the trees in the peak of colors they'd reach all year.  We left early in the morning for the drive and just had a great time.  I'll reiterate, a great time.  There was no awkwardness at what could have/would have/maybe should have been, we just enjoyed ourselves the way we always did as a group of four and there is nothing about that I can complain about.

I'm trying not to make this sad so let's move on.

We stopped in several towns on the way down from the tip, the best of all being Egg Harbor.  I loved it and have GOT to go back sometime soon.  We met up with some friends there during Pumpkin Fest and perused a few cute stores (one of which rips of Pottery Barn by buying our stuff and reselling it at a higher price,) including an awesome paper store called Papel that @markstyleme almost shit his pants over.  Stopped at a winery in Carlsville, drank a bit, and then hit the road.

When we got back to Appleton it was another movie night, Hocus Pocus, and that one had the best turn out with seven people showing up.  A few things happened at the end of the night that left me feeling bittersweet about it, but then it was over.  I won't get into it because this isn't really the venue for that, I'll just say "C'est la vie."  Anybody sing "c'est la vie" in the tune of the song by B*Witched?  No?  Does the cheese stand alone?  Okay.

On the 15th, @markstyleme and I drove down to Chicago for the Naked and Famous concert at the Riviera Theater.  I bought the tickets back in August because my brother had told me he'd be seeing them in Austin at the front end of the month.  A quick lookie-lou and I found them a week later in the windy city.  We decided to make a day of it, driving down and stopping to shop at Gurnee Mills and eat some dinner.  We'd be meeting Jillybean at the concert (I'd offered her the third ticket at the last minute and she was more than game for it (I can always count on her for things like that.))

After parking and walking a good distance to the venue, we were in and Jillybean showed up just a song or two into the opener's act.  Then the show started and it was absolutely amazing.  I'm beginning to realize how much I enjoy seeing live music, especially when it is one of my favorite bands and I've only ever heard them on CD (or iTunes, natch) before.  The newest album from the Naked and Famous came across as a little bit of a downer to me.  The music was noticeably much more melancholy than the previous album which to me was continuously upbeat.  Seeing it performed live?  Totally different experience.  And it was exciting, seeing them use the instruments and interact with the crowd and just be, overall, charming.

They capped it all off by playing "Young Blood," which if you remember was my theme song for 2012 and was the first played in my video for "26 Golden Things."  It was one of those moments in life where you breathe in deep, close your eyes, and know you are going to remember it forever.  I'll always cherish that moment because it held a lot more weight than I can really describe.  Just take my word for it.

Movie nights continued to go by with no-shows.

One of the events planned for the month was this "Haunted Golf Cart Tour" through a country club in Chilton.  The day of the event, people who were planning on coming started to back out.  "Dropping like flies" so to speak.  My day at work ended up being a rough one anyway and on my way home that night I got a few more cancellations.  By that point I'd had it.  The shitty thing about trying to organize things is that it is pretty fucking impossible to get people to actually DO something.  I'm guilty myself of preferring to stay indoors rather than venture out for this or that.  I'm reminded of Sally Field in Legally Blonde 2 "You cannot get the people to care."

I got home, hopped on Facebook, and cancelled the "It's Halloween Tiiiiiiiiime!" event.  IMMEDIATELY I was getting messages from people who had RSVP'd to it.  "Why is it cancelled?" "I was planning on coming to something!" "Are you still having people over for movies?" "I didn't get to come to anything yet!"

What floored me about it was how if you suddenly take something away, people panic.  And it made me even more angry.  If you RSVP to an event but never comment on it, say you want to go or don't, with no opinion about a single portion of said event, why would I think you were actually interested? Actions speak louder than words and the only people to have taken action, by all means, had.  And it was like four of them.  So I just said FUCK IT (out loud,) threw my hands up in the air (honestly,) and decided to do whatever I wanted to do to have fun.

And the Haunted Golf Carts ended up sucking anyway (went with @klreynol, @caitcd, and @joleneelizabeth) so whatever.

I think the lesson of the month was for me to stop worrying about doing things that would make other people happy and just do the things that would make ME happy.  You may think after this long I would have already figured something like that out, but... you'd be wrong!  Never too old to learn a new lesson.

Eventually the Halloween festivities came and it was time to put Superman to work, spending two packed evenings with the lovely Miss T and her version of Poison Ivy.  We went to a benefit at the Timber Rattlers stadium (where her husband's band Road Trip was playing (the best part of the event, to be honest.))  After that we trotted over to Waverly Beach for the Children's Hospital Benefit where we met up with @jonathan_kent and @leahvanrooy.  That was probably the best Halloween party I've ever been to and I will most certainly be attending in the years to come.

The first night out also reunited me with an old best, Kyle, and allowed the air to be cleared between us of whatever weirdness there had been.  The next step is acting on it but we'll get there eventually.  I just need the craziness of this month to end, first  And I need to buy more hairspray because as you can tell, I used it all and then some.

That's the only full-body shot of me in the suit, boots cape and all.  I think this was at the start of the second night but I can't honestly remember.  Superman will make one more appearance this coming Saturday and then he'll be gone, locked up in a box of costumes from the past I just can't get rid of and never seen again.  It was... different... being a dude for Halloween this year, and not just "any" dude, but the quintessential icon of comic superhero land.  Next year will be back to drag world, and if I stick to what I want to do, it'll be the ultimate costume for me and the one I've always wanted to do (outside of Superman.)  Wait and see (c;

To end this, I've got to say I don't really know why Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.  I absolutely adore December/Christmas but that is for a different reason entirely.  Unlike Christmas, Halloween is not a holiday that's only justified when spent with family.  It is a day where you can be with friends OR by yourself and still enjoy the nostalgia it offers.  You can enjoy it without feeling obligated to be with anybody in particular; just get in the spirit of things and just have fun.

Lord knows I do!

So what else happened in October?  Sorted through my MASSIVE collection of decorations and tossed a ton, got back into fighting shape, and decided to face the dating world once more.  Realized some things are best locked away and not reopened, took an unplanned hiatus on book III due to my busy schedule, and gave up trying to control the lives of those around me.  Discovered a super sexy English musician named Roo Panes, saw the Carrie remake and loved it, and of course, capped off the month carving pumpkins with mom, watching a scary movie (or two) with friends, and indulged in just a little bit of candy.

Because it's best to stop and enjoy the sweet little things when you can.  Toodles gang (c;