Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Costume

It is much shorter than I thought it would be…hopefully the crinoline I bought for the underskirt will help 🙂 I still need to find my boyfriend a costume. Our party isn’t until tomorrow night so we have a little bit more time. And maybe I’ll be able to find a beer stein purse to carry with my costume 🙂

Hallow’s Eve Eve

If I had to go back and start anew with religion, I would probably pick to be a pagan. I was born and raised Roman Catholic and never felt a strong connection with the religion. At one point, I was co-chair of our Youth Group and then was drummed out by the adult leader because we had a disagreement. It was all very odd. I did and have felt a spiritual connection at times, though, while being a Catholic…one time a guided meditation lead me to a place that was very profound for me, but these experiences were few and far between.

Upon entering college, I met a young woman named Nicki who was a practicing Wiccan and she invited me to her handfasting. It was quite a ceremony in which we were given the cord that would bind her hands with her husbands so that we could each bless it with our good thoughts and wishes. We later went to Samhain with the same group and returned a few different times, participating in the ritual each time. It was a huge change from the religion I grew up with…people were actually responding with feeling and there was movement that didn’t involve kneeling and standing and sitting and kneeling and sitting and kneeling and standing. It was quite lovely, actually.

Maybe I will light some candles tomorrow…can’t hurt, can it?

Win some, lose some…

Walked up to Government Center yesterday on my way to school and saw a bunch of people taking pictures in the direction of Old North. I turned around and was greeted by this image.

And then I found out I lost my t pass 😦 Oh well…at least I had this lovely image to temper that with.

Belle Isle Marsh

While most people who are asked would say that the only thing in East Boston is the airport, locals know different. It is home to an astonishing amount of great restaurants, weird little shops, statues of every different type, and Belle Isle Marsh.

The marsh is the largest surviving salt water marsh in Boston and encompasses 350 acres of land.  At one point in its history, it also hosted the Suffolk Downs Drive-in theater. But, little of that can been seen these days.

Today, the marsh is a great place to go if you want a bit of a break from the city without going too far away. Dogs are welcome and really seem to enjoy having the area to run around in. I mostly go to take pictures of the birds and other things that catch my attention.

Pumpkins!

Yesterday, I was feeling very low. Visited my dad in the hospital and then went home and got into bed for an hour with intermittent crying. Not good at all. So, we went in for the Pumpkin Festival. I thought it would be at the Common because it was there many years ago when we first went. However, they moved it to City Hall Plaza instead and, luckily, I remembered that it had moved.

I also remembered to bring my tripod because I have a tendancy to shake and lean when taking pictures that need absolute stillness. Its a rather annoying thing, but I guess that is what you have to deal with sometimes.

This was exactly the outing I needed, though, as I was able to just wander around and take pictures of jack o lanterns and marvel at the carving skills of some people. I have no idea how they do it…I can’t even draw a straight line sometimes 🙂

Pumpkins!

In the next few weeks, I’ll hopefully be able to grab onto moments like these to help drag me out of my depression and into a better mood. That is the only way I’ll stay healthy and be able to be of any help to my family.

Ass-hattery at its finest

You know, John…I liked you at one point. I am a Massachusetts born, sometimes catching on fire, liberal. My parents are liberal…my grandparents are liberal (they proudly paid their taxes to support the local schools even though they have no children in the system anymore and never sent their children to a public school. Its just what you do.)

But, AIR QUOTATIONS about my health? You, sir, are an ass hat at best. What if your daughters needed to have an abortion because delivering would kill them? What would you do then? Would you, like your running mate, “counsel life”? Because if you do, I feel like moving to Canada. They have cute accents, funny money, and good chocolate. You, have no freakin clue.

Rite Aid

Is it wrong of me to be overly excited at having a Rite Aid just up the street? 🙂 One just opened this past weekend and it is so nice to have something like that nearby! Not that I don’t love my little bodega with its suspect workers (children of the owners who don’t seem old enough to be working a register) and interesting products like “Jackson Pollack” frozen fish (seriously need to take a picture of that).

However! They might have the cookies that I’m addicted to…and maybe some other stuff. Who knows! I have to go explore tonight and see if they have anything I missed on my grocery trip today. I know they were giving out balloons the other day, but I couldn’t work up the energy to go see it and my paper was due 😦

Smattering of Things

1. My father has been diagnosed with leukemia. It doesn’t get any easier each time I say it or type it…but I’m not bawling hyterically right now which I was earlier.
2. Ironically, I hope he gets the hairy cell type. He is an odd man and would appreciate having that type because of its name. I want him to have that one because the survival rate is much higher.
3. In other news, I hate most of my co-workers. They are rude, self centered, and stupid. One has convinced herself that Halloween is evil and that all Obama supporters are unemployed or rich. Apparently, she forgot that I am an Obama supporter.
4. BLERG!

Back from the Wedding Weekend

Yum!

We have made it back from our weekend of Maris(s)a weddings with little problems other than a serious lack of motivation to finish my internship paper, only 2 1/2 pages left! Either way, the weddings were both for a girl named Maris(s)a and could not have been more different.

Marissa and Richard had: a full mass, a weird priest, fog for their first dance (seriously Disney like), lots of drunk friends, an injury at the end of the reception, and lots of hungover 20 year olds the next day.

Marisa and Mike had: a long Protestant ceremony, a nice priest, the best appetizers that we have ever had (they had sushi and an ice fountain with drinks in it!), an injury at the beginning of the ceremony, great food for dinner (the filet melted in my mouth and the champagne was soooo good), and a lot of hungover 20 year olds the next day.

So, some similarities, but each unique. I took some pictures…but I shake and low light does not combine to make pretty pictures. Need to get a monopod or something so that I only lean instead of lean and shake.

Right now, I’m just glad to be in my own home instead of a hotel and getting this work done so I don’t have a panic attack tomorrow. The Red Sox are going to mess up my commute to school, but I’ll be home before the game ends.