A Very Happy Halloween

I had a very good all-hallow's eve last night. So good, in fact, that I had to write myself notes about it last night before collapsing into bed. So, in expanded form, here are some of the reasons why I had a good night:

1. The Costume: Thanks to an awesome idea by Gillian, and excellent common-sense execution by Katie, I was the Paperbag Princess. Which basically involved a large heavy-duty leaf bag turned inside out (with head- and arm-holes and a fashionable fringe) and a paper crown. However, this costume struck such a cord with people of a specific demographic (18-50 Anglo-Saxons, mostly) that I was treated to everyone from old businessmen to tarted-up university girls yelling "the Paperbag Princess!" at me in tones of sheer delight. And of course there was Biku turning to me every five minutes and saying "that costume is so awesome," which goes a long way to dispelling the shame one feels riding the subway in a giant square paper bag. Biku looked pretty awesome herself, with dramatic black lips, white makeup, and a fabulous hand-made (by her!) black-and-white dress making her a silent movie star. Vamping and taking pictures while waiting for the subway was a lot of fun. The best, though, was one woman yelling at me while we were trick-or-treating "Ron is a bum -- don't marry him!" At that point I decided I loved my costume so much I may just have to reprise it another year. Also, it turns out wearing a big shapeless bag all over downtown toronto is actually pretty good for your self-esteem...

2. Rent-a-nephews: I may not have anyone properly hallowe'en aged in my family, but Biku's got several nephews that we got to tag along with on their first proper stint of trick-or-treating. Daniel, adorable in a wee gorilla suit, had difficulty grasping all the various parts of trick-or-treating with his still-wee brain. He managed to hold the bag upright, get up and down the stairs of various porches, say trick-or-treat, get a candy, say 'thank you', walk down the stairs, explain to various other people that he was a gorilla (not just a monkey) and move on to the next house -- just not all at the same time. Pokey (who has a real name, but it's not nearly so cute) had a blast in his cow suit strapped to his mother's chest, his tiny legs kicking like he was going to propel the both of them forward into a marathon. There were other babies around, Edward (who tested his poor father by a continuous stream of questions about what demons are and where do they come from and what do they eat), as well as a couple of Danish children out with their father for their first trick-or-treating experience. At this point my wee book version of the paperbag princess came in handy as I explained a bit of Canadian literary culture to the Danish father and his daughters. A quick stop off at Tina's house to exact Auntie tax and plunder their candy bowl, and we were off to our next engagement.

3. Do the Monster Mash: Swing dancing (which is regularly on Wednesdays) happened to coincide with Hallowe'en, so there was an extra-special bash with baked goods and special dances. We saw the end of the lesson on how to dance the Monster Mash, saw some truly awesome costumes (two people as Battlestar Galactica officers, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a male belly dancer having way too much fun with his hip bangles, and Rosie the Riveter), donced, took some smoldering pictures in the courtyard, danced some more, and ate candy and vegan cupcakes. Oh, and I, after some prompting from Biku, finally found Waldo in the crowd. After a few months of playing polkaroo, Joel and I finally managed to get to a swing event at the same time and got to dance together, which was fun, if crinkly (my costume was perhaps not the best for dancing in). I took it off in time for a Jack-and-Jill dance, in which we were all paired up for a scary dance off. I happened to line up with a guy I'd never met before, and after we minced hand-in-hand theatrically down the middle of the room we took a few seconds to introduce ourselves. I think his name was David. In any case, we had great fun doing basic swing moves while grimacing and growling, zombie-style. We got to the second round of competition and bumped it up a notch by adding occasional dipping/vampire biting to our routine, as well as a finishing move which involved me miming ripping his still-beating heart out of his chest. We were unanimously judged as the winners, but the prizes (pink afro wig and bag of candies) weren't nearly as fun as biting a complete stranger's shoulder on the dance floor and then having him yell "Rip my heart out!" as he twirled me. That's why I love swing... ;) After that it was just a matter of dancing to the Monster Mash, Pinky and the Brain, and Thriller, and then fleeing before we got sucked into putting away all the sound equipment.

It was a loooong day (I'd been up at 5:40 am to supply teach), but definately worth it. Best Hallowe'en Ever.

[PS -- I'll post some of the fabulous pictures eventually, but Biku's computer is currently overrun by viruses so that's not a good idea right now. That's the project for today, I think.]