October 30, 1999.

Once upon a time, there was a pretty little princess who fell under an enchantment in the middle of every work week. From about Tuesday to Thursday (and sometimes Friday as well), she would abruptly cease all communications with the world, as the spell would steal all of her time away so that she could do naught but eat and sleep and ride the underground trains of the Great Forest. This spell meant that every week, followers of the pretty princess' exploits would be left wondering what on earth had become of her.

It was truly a vexing situation.

As the princess was a witch of some small skill, it was generally assumed throughout the kingdom that something had gone wrong in her casting, and that some sort of rogue spell had gotten loose & attached itself to the little princess witch. But the townspeople, being good God-fearing folk, wanted nothing to do with an ensorcelled person, even if she was the princess. So they sent her into exile, where she spent her days washing her own finery, writing poems with a sharp stick pressed against birch bark, and playing Freecell on the cabin computer.

I'm utterly exhausted. Wanna know why? Because last night was (wait for it) the Froghopper Nook careenin' Hallowe'enin' kareoke party. And I had to commute back home this morning to work this afternoon. Hence the exhaustion.

Now, first things first: I managed to break the Nook Party curse and...drumroll...not vomit. And for those of you who gauge an event by the sickness it causes in the participants, it was a wonderful party notwithstanding my uninterrupted digestion.

As for my costume, I had been worried about going to a Hallowe'en party heavily populated with LARP people, but I acquitted myself well as the sky (golden glittered face, spiky glittery blonde hair, black shiny clothes, a silvery wrap and a moon mask). It was by far my most successful Hallowe'en costume of recent years, and got a great response (I had people singing the opening lines of "How Soon Is Now?" all night, plus I garnered runner up in the costume contest. Another prize mug! Yay!)

My hair is still spiky & glittery. So far so good.

We spent a fair bit of time talking about Game, since most of the players were at the party, since the whole phenomena still fascinates me and now I have some of the basic vocabulary, since we use that room to play, and since vampires are a natural topic on Hallowe'en. In particular, I wanted to recoup some of the warm feeling about these people that I didn't experience last Thursday. I mentioned that no one talked to me all that much, and while I understand the in game/out of game distinction cerebrally, it's still a bit upsetting on an emotional level to be snubbed by friends.

What's really interesting is that I basically got the exact same explanation from everyone about their character: 'oh, he hates everyone, to him you're lower than waste.' So we have a game full of violent, powerful misanthropists played by people who hold the door open for little old ladies. That says something right there about the psychology of character...but I'm not sure exactly what.

The kareoke was a brilliant idea. I like kareoke generally, but I'd had my doubts about introducing it to a midsize party. Boy, was I ever wrong...the very size of the group made it that much more intimate & that much funnier. As long as I live, I'll never forget the Straight Cowboy - who I've only seen enjoying Madonna & Tori - singing a very credible "Friends In Low Places." Or Dirk ("Mr. Entertainment"), un-funkily talking his way through "Bust A Move"...possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. Or the whole room of party survivors singing "American Pie," having drank enough not to care about being cool.

I tend to be depressed around Hallowe'en. When I was little, it was because my costume never quite matched up with my imagination. In the last couple years, it's been a very anti-climatic night...when you dress up as a vampire every third weekend or so, Hallowe'en tends to lose it's eerie appeal. But this year, everything went right. I got pleasantly intoxicated at the party, people loved my costume, and I was extremely amused by the costumes of others. For instance, Dirk in his bathrobe...as a very credible Arthur Dent. Anne with a pink dress, pillbox hat & a lap full of blood: Jackie Kennedy. Q & Pixie as George & Martha ("and that, as they say, is that.") Stacy had the cutest costume ever: the wolf suit from Where the Wild Things Are. And I shall never forget Jesse, winner of the costume contest; Jessie whom I know primarily as brawny security at the Garden; Jessie as Princess Leia...or as the Boy quipped, "the man who puts the organ into Leia Organa."

Wouldn't that be Han Solo?