Halloween...Hellaweed

You know, I thought I was going to be disappointed by Halloween this year. Between the stress of it being on a Friday night and my budgetary crisis and feeling like I didn't know what the hell was going on this year, it was set up to be kind of a bummer, but honestly, when I let all that anxiety go, I had a really good time. The main reason was Don Pedros. I sincerely wish I hadn't been in such a hurry to jam over to house parties (which were stressful and overwhelming) and had stayed there longer. I think part of me still feeling like I need to spend holidays at house parties instead of bars is me clinging to my youth. The fact of the matter is, when I hear the phrase, "party of the year" it makes me want to run the other direction. A significant portion of my crowd phobia has ebbed thanks to some pharmesutical assistance, but legitimate benzo consumption aside, I still don't like being mashed up in a crowd of sweaty bodies bouncing up and down to bad hip-hop. I don't even like it when it's good hip-hop.

Of course there will always be stellar house parties but I rarely have fun at them unless they are thrown by my friends or attended by the en masse. Being sober makes it hard for me to mingle and the cost reduction in getting drunk at someone's home vs a bar makes for an all-the-more-wasted crowd. And I'm sorry, I'll admit it, I hate having beer spilled on me. I mean, I know everyone does, but smelling like booze really bothers me. It creeps me out and brings me back to a place and time I don't want to have present on my person. The smell of alcohol isn't a trigger to make me want to drink, but it's just revolting to me at this point. Pavlovian perhaps.

Regardless, we were supposed to go to Warwick to Glen's buddy's annual Halloween party. We went last year and it was a blast but last year it wasn't on Halloween night but the weekend prior. The idea of driving in traffic back into the city at 11:00 wasn't one any of us could stomach so we went back to Glen's where he did a side-by-side taste test of the KFC Famous Bowl and the Popeyes Big Easy Chicken Bowl. He said KFC won hands down and was sorely disappointed the Popeyes chicken wasn't fried but pulled. Anyway...while at his house we had to come up with a last minute costume for Glen. This was it:


Voila! Mask and glove from last year's Mexi Kreuger costume along with Baja and bandana = Stoney Kreuger! His Zombie Wayne and Garth buddy costume with Matt fell through at the last minute due to a wig shortage.


As far as me? Well...shit. Andy gave me a beautiful gold Venetian owl mask to wear but the thought of wearing that all night horrified me so I opted out and went with the one fool-proof costume theme I already have the wardrobe for...wizardry. I am not sure what I exactly was. Warrior Priestess perhaps. Glen said I looked like the female Beast Master and when I had the fur on I felt like the missing female member of Manowar. My primary inspiration was 70s fantasy art. Then again, that's my primary inspiration for most of life in general.


You know, like this but with less T & A







Matt was one of his buddies at age 12 and Melissa was Spuds McKenzie...she looked hilarious.



Of course everyone looked amazing at Don Pedros. Check out the lovely ladies (and gents) I am proud to call my friends:











Don Pedros were a blast, bands dressed up and performed as other bands. The most exciting of which were the boys from The Weight dressed as the California Raisins:









Later at the weird house party across the street from my old apartment:




The one good thing about the party, I was able to run across the street and grab some stuff I'd left at my old apartment that was waiting for me in the hall. The fact that no one said a word to me as I was tearing open boxes while wearing a costume in the hallway of the building was funny to me, especially since so many building residents were eyeing me suspiciously. Farewell 405 Broadway. The divorce is nearly final, I just have a few more records to grab one of these days.

Next stop, Enid's. By the time we got there it was 3 am. Andy was quite enamored with my spirit stick.




Caroline was dead on as Lydia Deetz





Sam throwing smoke bombs as they cleared out Enid's was the last picture of the night. After that 10 of us went back to our place and listened to the Dead until 6 am. Happy Halloween!!!