My Halloween Day

I started off my day by riding my squeaky Harley to work.

I looked outside and saw frost and clear air so I went with it. Everything was going great until I go almost to work--I'd say about a mile away--When it became foggy. I was extra-vigilant because sub-zero temperatures and fog aren't a good mix. I kept a sharp eye on the road surface as I rode just in case. I was in 35mph zones all the way to work at that point and it was well traveled, and I relaxed when I saw that the road surface was staying totally dry. Then on the last street leading to my work, the fog got suddenly thick and "whited out" my goggles. I was the only vehicle on the street at that particular time so I couldn't just follow tail lights of the car in front of me. All I could see is the staggered street lights showing the general path of the curving road. The bottom line is that I'm fine and didn't crash or anything, but I literally almost missed the driveway going into our parking lot--I was almost that blind. Oh, and don't forget frozen--I was also that. I had a lot of trouble getting my helmet unclasped with numb fingertips...

The ride home was great. I had on extra clothing from the ride in that morning, and even though it was somewhat chilly out, I was totally comfortable and loved every moment of it. I did a quick stop at home to turn my heat and computer on, then grabbed a beer and rode over to Sarah's house to visit with her and drop off a child support check for her momma. I wonder if I would visit more often if there was beer in their fridge? Hmm. I'll bet Teresa's dad would--I think he's mentioned that before. Anyway, I visited with her for a while then left to come home and get my Halloween stuff all taken care of.

I hung the skeleton in the window like I planned, then went to the garage and brought out my plug-in garage "trouble light." Last year I bought 4 screw-in "black light" bulbs at a clearance sale (at the huge price of 2 for a buck) and screwed one of those into the trouble light and put it under the skeleton. I also replaced the overhead light in the entryway with one too. What a joke. Those are not "black lights" but rather, purple lights. They have such a dark purple coating over a standard filament that it's basically all you see is a dull purple glowing filament. I left the overhead one on just because it created a nice, eerie glow in the area, but in place of the one under the skeleton I put a candle instead. It looked much more cool.

This year was a repeat of last year pretty much. My doorbell rang 3 times for a total of 6 trick-or-treaters. Actually, it rang four times, but that one wasn't a trick-or-treater--It was Debbie surprising me with a visit! She was still wearing her "office-approved" Halloween costume, consisting of some face-painted whiskers and a kittycat ears headband. She was going to meet a gal pal after work for a drink but it fell through so she instead opted to drop in on me. It was a very nice surprise! We sat on the steps under my 50¢ "mood lighting" and talked (mostly), watching the trick-or-treaters walk by out on the street. Maybe the side door design of my apartment is why people don't ring the bell that much... I dunno. I have the porch light on but I guess that's just the way it's going to be living here. I should count my blessings I guess that I don't get inundated with kids, but on the other hand, I do like looking at their costumes and seeing their happy faces and enthusiasm.

I was disappointed that Kailey didn't come to my door. I had a special bag made up for her and it's still sitting down there. After Debbie left I went over and to deliver it but nobody came to the door. Their porch light was still on, but it's possible that they were visiting around the corner on foot. One of Kailey's grandparents lives within walking distance.

Oh well... I'll go over again today after work.