The 13 Days of Creepmas: Are YOU a Christmas Creep???

What DO you do after Halloween is over?  I'll tell you what I do... spend lots of time trying to avoid those obnoxious pre-Christmas sales!  There are Christmas trees up and Christmas music playing in the stores already, I HATE that!!!  At least have the courtesy to wait until the day after Thanksgiving!  Anyway, as I was saying...  Back in 2011, I found out about "The 13 Days of Creepmas", and had a total blast with it on my old LiveJournal blog.  I missed it entirely last year, but I don't want to do THAT again, so I'm getting ready early this year.  :-)

Here are the rules from the latest 2013 13 Days of Creepmas blog post:

"Following the methodology of the Countdown to Halloween, The 13 Days of Creepmas is open to any blog that posts spooky content from December 1 - 13. While the primary focus is on permuted and subverted holiday imagery and traditions (i.e., giving Christmas the Jack Skellington treatment), Creepers (blogs who sign up) are welcome to post *any* spooky material to qualify as participants. The main thing is to bring that Halloween Spirit into the first 2 weeks of December, just as every store in America has brought Christmas into October.

If you'd like to add your blog to the festivities, either leave a comment or tweet the Cult of the Great Pumpkin (they're helping us out with this) with your blog link. Easy peasy!

The usual disclaimers apply: No porn, no hate, no idiocy. This is about how YOU are getting creepily creative for the Hallowdays, not how you can ruin it for somebody else. Any blogs found to be engaging or promoting sabotage, vandalism, etc. will be removed."

I won't be participating "officially", but I will be posting "creepy" Christmas stuff here for our mutual edification from December 1st through the 13th.  It'll be fun to see what strange things I can find to post for 2013!

Silly Post: If Vampires Ruled the World (or Why We Need More Dark Shadows)

This morphed from a rather silly post I began while feeling crabby into something a bit more philosophical (yet campy) than I had expected.

When I was in the second grade, my mom was working full-time, so I had to go to what's now called daycare after school.  The lady I stayed with was older (she had two adult children who no longer lived at home), her husband was at work all day, and I was the only child she looked after, so it was just me, Mrs. Gilbert, and her whippet, Rainey.  Mrs. Gilbert enjoyed watching soap operas, so of course I watched them, too, and one of the ones that was on when I got there after school was Dark Shadows. 

Now, if you've ever seen the original series, you know that it was NOT a child-friendly show.  In fact, while it was probably rather cheesy for many adults, it was pretty scary for a six-year-old with a very active imagination.  But at the same time, it totally fascinated me, so much so that it was the only show I bought bubblegum cards for (until Star Wars, of course).  Yes, they actually had bubblegum cards for a spooky soap opera!  I didn't even like bubblegum; I threw the gum away or gave it to my friends, and kept the cards.

Dark Shadows was the show that taught me all about vampires, werewolves, ghosts and zombies, and what to do if you were menaced by them (who needs The Discovery Channel when you've got THIS??).  And the vampire, Barnabas Collins (see below), became basically the hero of the story once he appeared in it, a vampire with a heart, not to mention fangs.  I had the great fortune to discover that most of the original episodes are on YouTube, so now I'm watching one every day at work (I'm up to Episode 89), and loving every terribly cheesy minute!

 

Now for the silly part of this post...

If Vampires Ruled the World:

1. There would be no more daytrading.  (Sorry, I just had to say that.)

2. We humans wouldn't want any more hierarchies, because the higher up you are on the totem pole, the more likely you are to be bitten next.

3. We wouldn't want to let the sun go down on our anger, as we might not get another chance to say we're sorry before it rose again.

4. No one would agree to stay in a dead-end job, because it COULD be forever (not to mention the "dead" part).

5. We'd realize how silly stroking one's ego really is; prey doesn't have an ego.

6. Makeup and mirror companies would probably go out of business (because one can't put makeup on without a mirror, and what vampire would want one of those around?).


And finally, click here for the shortest, funniest "horror" movie I've ever seen...  ;-)
 

A Perfect Goth Shopping Day

Ever had one of those shopping days when you can do NO wrong??  Where everything you touch is exactly what you want/need AND it's on sale??  Well, that's what yesterday was for me!

In the afternoon I went on safari to the local mall.  I had a 15% off coupon for Kohl's in my pocket, and knew I wouldn't have time to use it before it expired if I didn't go then. I walked into Kohl's; the shoe section is right inside the door, so I started there.  Saw one pair, didn't like the color.  Then I saw these Croft and Barrow Ankle Boots, and they were ON SALE:

I found one pair in a size 9, which I grabbed.  I fluctuate between 8.5 and 9, depending on the cut.  They were a bit large but I could wear them.  However, for the next several minutes I rummaged through shoe boxes up and down the aisles until I found (ta-DAH!) a size 8.5 pair!  After making sure they were a perfect fit, I put the 9 box back and headed for the checkout counter.  There was only one person ahead of me in line (when does THAT ever happen???).  They were 40% off before I used the coupon, so I ended up getting a pair of $80 boots for just under $45 (including tax).  Number of different shoes tried on: one.  Total time in store: 20 minutes or less.  Happiness IS...

Then I stopped in Claire's, just to see if they had anything fun.  They have a small "goth" section near the door, but it wasn't very interesting.  However, just as I was about to leave I saw they still had some Halloween stuff near the back, and it was going for 75% off!  Needless to say, I plunged into the mass of teens, small girls and their moms, and headed for the Halloween rack.  Bingo!!  I scored a pair of dangly silver bat earrings, a package of 6 sparkly hair clips (two purple bats, two orange pumpkins, and two black spiders), a many-chained necklace covered with black and silver crosses and black skulls, and a card of colored clip-on fake-hair extensions.  They normally come 12 per card: three each of black/red, black/orange, and black/white; however, this card had 14 on it, and it was the last one, so I got one extra each of the red and orange ones.  The original prices ranged from $6.50 to $10.50, but my total (with tax) came to $9.01, so I got each for about $2!!  MORE happiness.

The coup d'etat came when we went to EcoThrift so Martin could look for a heat thingy for his miniatures (don't ask, I have NO idea).  Anyway, he found what he wanted, and I found a black long-sleeved top and two black long-sleeved sweaters.  Two of them were $25% off, so I ended up with all three for $5.97!!!  

Is there such a thing as too much shopping happiness?  I don't think so...  :-)

Keep Your Fingers Crossed!

Well, I'm taking the plunge again!  I found a job opening at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco that I believe I'm qualified for, and I'm going to apply as soon as I have finished updating my resume and cover letter.

This job would be a HUGE plum for me, as it's in between being an administrative assistant and a curatorial assistant, which would enable me to use many of my skills while not being "in charge" of things I have no experience with.  Plus, it's at a museum that I used to visit often while growing up, so I'm familiar with many of the older artifacts in the collection.  In fact, just going through their online gallery pics was a trip down Memory Lane, so to speak, because I kept recognizing things!  While I don't have experience with "art" or art museums, my REM experience with ancient artifacts might be of use to them. 

Please keep your fingers, toes and/or anything else that seems appropriate crossed for me.  I'd be happy to at least get an interview for this position, as that would tell me I've done the right things in updating and editing my resume and cover letter.

Here are a few pics of my favorite things in this museum from the older collections.  I believe this first pic was taken when it was still at the old de Young Museum, before it was torn down and the new monstrosity built in its place:








May the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (above) hear my plea and help me in my endeavor!  (Hey, it never hurts to ask.  I DO believe in the power of museum-patron deities.)

Progress in My Cemetery Garden

Progress at last in creating my Pet Cemetery Garden!  I ordered and received personalized memorial stones for four of my dearly departed kitties, including Shadow.  My garden is looking MUCH nicer this year, anyway, and the new additions make it even better.

Here is the walkway from the door into the garden area.  I'm only able to plant on the left, as the vents in the wall of the laundry room blow out on the right.  I've got lovely basil, lemon balm, and alyssum planted there now.  At the far end you can see my lemon verbena, strawberry plant, and the stone-surrounded area with my dwarf hyacinths, paper whites, and the dwarf pomegranate, which has MORE fruits on it!!

 A better lighted view from the other direction:

Here is where I placed the new stones, all the way to the end and slightly to the right, near the yellow plum tree.  I've got a mini rosebush in front of them, and an angel candlestick holder as a "statue" behind it:

Eventually I will be putting a kitty angel sculpture there instead of the human angel, and adding three crosses with the names of three more cats.

It's not a large space, so I have to make the most of what I have.  I think that, so far, I'm doing a pretty good job!

November: "I'm SO Goth..."

 Here's my pick for November:


















Okay, I think we need a new poster person for "I'm SO Goth..."  He's entirely too smiley!  Anyone out there want to volunteer???

My Gothic Office

It's that time of year again, and I have had put up my Halloween decor at work since October 1st.  Here are a few pics of my new office space "dressed" for the season.  Sorry I'm posting this AFTER Halloween, but I just got the film back from the developer:

Starting on the left, this is the top of my file drawers.  The second pic has a few tombstones added to the lovely cemetery where the witches are doing their yearly laundry.  The two buildings on either side of the witches are mausoleums:

Moving to the right, we have the beginning of my actual workspace, complete with creepy cats hiding in the plants, and a grinning bat swooping down from my jewel orchid:

In the corner to the right of that is my permanent "shrine" area, which has the Skeletal Scarlett O'Hara drawing framed by two dragon candlesticks, some plastic skeleton hands in the offering dish before it, my resin skull to the left, and my Egyptian deities to the right:

Above all this (and also over my computer) looms the Wild Rumpus, a troll vampire, and two versions of The Grim Reaper, who actually live there year round:

Think I had enough "Halloween spirit" in my office this year???  Now, let's see how long it will stay up before someone notices it's still there!  ;-)

Bay Area Goth Meetup: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

And another meetup group event, Dia de los Muertos at the San Jose Museum of Art!  Although we did have a good time, this would have been much more fun if 1) we'd actually been able to meet up with more of the members of our group, and 2) the museum was bigger.

Here are those of us who did actually meet up:





   

Cheryl's got skull-covered leggings, I've in my new sugar skull shirt and shredded pants, and Winter is wearing a skeleton dress and carrying a ribcage purse.  Very appropriate outfits, wouldn't you say?  ;-)

Here are a couple of lobby sculptures that were created (apparently) just for this event:

 

We heard from two other people who were coming later, but never met up with them.  It was MUCH too crowded to see anyone, and no one but us looked the least bit goth!  Winter and I had our black parasols, but it was too crowded to open them, and we were inside the museum, after all.

The museum is fairly small, it was extremely crowded, and a large chunk of the lobby was kept open for the dancing and band performances, so once those started it was difficult to move anywhere.  There was a table to decorate your own sugar skull, but the line was a mile long.  :-(  We did get to see the dancing up close, though, which was good (although they were VERY late getting started).  And we didn't have to be in the same room with the mariachi band to hear it!!

If you'd like to see more pics, check out Winter's blog post.