Boo

Halloween's coming up and people invariably ask what costume I'm planning to wear. To which, I respond: Sigh.

I don't do Halloween. I place it in the same category as New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day and my birthday -- pseudo holidays I don't care about. But people always expect you to "do something" and express profound disappointment when you don't.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, which means more parties and such than usual. And I'd like to attend -- except I'll look like a sourpuss if I don't dress up. Sigh. I just want to go to see a concert and have fun my way. Is that such a great offense?

Apparently it is.

(Aside: I think Halloween falls just behind NYE as the most pressure-filled "You Must Do Something Or Else You're Lame" holiday of the year. Most people are sympathetic to the single person's plight on Valentine's Day, and you can usually find a friend or two in the same situation. And birthdays of non-numerical significance generally get a pass. Luckily, I've done the big 30 thing, so I'm probably safe for another decade.)

So, I'm wracking my brain for a costume that a) isn't unbearably stupid or slutty, b) fun enough to pass muster at a party (so no "going as myself" or "I'm an undercover spy"), and c) won't look ridiculous at a concert later. Wish me luck. Sigh.

• My first attempt at homemade pie crust today did not go well at all. I didn't even bother with filling and baking it, I just trashed the whole thing. I don't think the butter was chilled enough and the dough sort of fell apart. On to the round 2 ...
  
• This is the worst sports time of year for me because I don't follow baseball or football, tennis is pretty much over and college basketball hasn't really gotten underway. I think I've settled on adding hockey, but it's incredibly difficult to get into any sport just like that. In any case, this doesn't solve my problem of feeling left out of the collective sports conversation because nobody follows hockey.
  
• I've seen the end of 'The Office' wedding episode way too many times to be healthy. If you didn't happen to catch, go watch it now. It's cued up; make sure to wait around to see Jim's last expression, around minute 17:50.