Halloween Howl

, 1999

Well, my coworkers are still recovering. You see, I wore the tramp outfit to work for Halloween - of course, I was wearing the PVC jacket - for decorum. And sitting quietly in my office. I had modeled the gloves and whip part earlier, then removed them and put the shirt on and sat in my office typing on my ap note.
Not good enough.
Some little angel thought it was too offensive - which means he couldn't handle his reaction. So I had to change or go home.
If I hadn't had a meeting, I would have gone home.
I had jeans with me and I buttoned up the shirt.
Of course, when I went to be a judge at the costume contest at noon, they were wearing less than I had been! My skirt came down to mid thigh. Their's came down about 2" below the crotch.
And they had nothing under a light-weight shirt.
Even HR at the judging couldn't understand the fuss.
He'll get his. Just not from me. I am busy doing other things.
Interestingly enough, I was instrumental in affecting the winners. One man was in some lycra pants, sandals, hood and carried a whip and a beheading ax. He was whipping himself as he walked. He was from Finance.
His body did not support shirtlessness - so I felt he deserved it for guts.
There was a short person dressed in a hunchback of Notre Dame - mask, hump and all. And a man from Corporate marketing dressed as Jack from Jack in the Box - with a big white head made from a parking lamp globe.
And last of all, a group had dressed in cardboard as Y2K bugs. Wings, stingers, and antenna.
And following them and part of the group were two guys dressed as sticks of TNT - complete with caps and long fuses. You see, to computer people, the only way to fix Y2K is to blow up the machines!
Inside joke.
These were the winners. None from my group.
You see, you should always be nice to the judge before the contest! (Actually - they showed up late! Synopsys time. Inside joke.)
My older son was supposed to report for yard work this weekend.
Instead, my older son staggered out of a sick bed Sunday at 5PM - since my younger son was busy working at the mall. My older one and his partner went into full speed decorating mode - green black light-responsive spider web and spiders, strobe lights, mouse toys wrapped in web with spiders on it. Black lights in the sockets. Hanging on the roof. Grave stones. Candles. Melting eyeballs.
My 30' alley was a web of spiders and cocoons and real moths confused by it all.
The little kids crept down the wall under the black lights, the strobe and the melting eyeballs, scared to death.
Perfect.
The kids were dutifully scared witless. They even remembered to ask about my younger son - who had scared them brainless last year. So my older son got up on the roof and slammed doors, etc. and made them jump. It is not Halloween if we don't have kids run for it or hang onto their laughing parents.
I was in a Star Trek outfit - shiny boots and a black and green outfit with insignia. Too cold for anything wild.
I ate peanuts - M&Ms - and made myself ill. I had cut all the raspberries out on Sat., along with bougavilla (both of these plants have thorns) and cut up all the cardboard boxes on Sunday so I was pooped and cut up myself.
Without the long sleeves I would have been dripping real blood all over the kiddies.
I also mowed the lawn - so hard that I had lost a wheel off the mower.
My elder and his other repaired my lawn mower. They did not mow the lawn. They just fixed the mower so I could.
When the elder one picked up his brother and brought him home, the younger one said, "Good job on the cardboard."
The elder one had to respond, "Mom did it before I got here."
I didn't hear that.
They are due back next week - to move the redwood.
Eventually, they WILL report for yard work.
I am not moving the tree stumps.
Mountains, yes. Tree stumps, no.