Halloween!

You know, I like Halloween. I like to dress up (depending on the costume), carve Jack o Lanterns, and when I was younger, going trick-or-treating was one of the highlights of my year. Now, I haven't been trick or treating (this time without hyphens) for years now, but I am finding myself getting all the candy fix I will ever need by whatever we don't give out to the neighborhood kids.

I guess another thing I love is the traditions associated with the holiday. One thing we usually do is set up Halloween decorations while listening to a special Halloween CD, which has such great tracks such as "This is Halloween", "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes", and "The Addams Family Theme", among others. It's a great time! This year, unfortunately, I had way too dang much homework and more than three tests to study for, so I missed out on that part. We didn't even play the CD. Instead, my mom listened to The Sing Off, which is a great show, but it didn't help to get that Halloween spirit in the air. Oh well.

Another great tradition is carving Jack o Lanterns. Every year I wonder just how I am going to outdo the previous year, but somehow or another, I manage to pull it off. Some of my favorites from years past include Jack Skellington, Giroro, and this year I did one inspired by the Fire and Ghost Type Chandelure because 1) it makes a cool looking pumpkin, and 2) I am a nerd. Lay off. It's a dang cool pumpkin, though, so you gotta give it that. (Pictures to come!)

Another tradition we have is going as a family to a Haunted House/Spook Alley together. This year we went to "Strangling Brothers' Circus" which, by all accounts and, given my past post regarding my fear of clowns, should have been a HORRIBLE idea. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this Haunted House. They made some great use of confined spaces, mood setting, and excellent timing to scare me silly. So did it help me overcome my fear of clowns? Heck to the no all over pi. Was it fun? Oh yeah. Nothing brings the family closer quite like screaming like little girls together.*

For the last tradition I want to bring up for this post, we always have a family Halloween party at my grandparent's house in East Mill Creek. There is always a theme, and this year it was Disney. Now, if I had time, money, and time, I would have gone as freaking Chernabog from Fantasia. Of course, that would require me to work out like crazy, glue a mountain to my feet, and somehow attach giant black wings to myself. But MAN it would be a great costume. Instead, I borrowed a Pinocchio costume from my Aunt. That's life for ya.

So I guess what's fun about Halloween for me is just that it's the one time of year where it's okay to get scared silly, dress up like ghouls, apparitions, or colorful wooden puppets without getting weird looks. You see, I'm all about balance in life. Take some time to explore the spooky, the deep, the silly, the fun, the serene, and everything in between. A little here and a little there is what does the trick to make life a treat. Happy Halloween!

-Kevin

*Actually, there are lots of far better things that help families grow closer together.