Happy Halloween! And who were you this year?

[Whill]

Did any of you dress up for work or take yor kids trick-or-treating or go to any Halloween parties?

After taking my wife to a comedy club to see comedian Hal Sparks for her birthday celebration, we are going to an annual Halloween party at her aunt and uncle's house Saturday night. I am going as Indiana Jones this year. I have the authentic fedora, shirt, pants, shoes, side pouch, whip, gun and holster, and five o'clock shadow. I also have a brown leather jacket on loan from my mother-in-law. I'm no Harrison Ford but otherwise a pretty damn good Indy.

So who were you?

[skeloric]

Didn't do anything.
With money so tight, there was no point to buying "trick-or-treat" candy.

[imported_Magman]

Haven't celebrated Halloween is many many years. Too busy to get to any parties and got no kids to join in on their fun. But it does give me more time to answer post like this though. :D

[Stormchild]

I was invited to a Halloween party, but had decided not to go. I pondered for a time if I would go for the first time, but finally decided against it. If I was interested in dressing up strangely, I would be in Live Roleplaying.

[cheshire]

I had an absolute blast this year. One of my jobs is as a youth pastor, and I've got a weekly teen event on Friday nights from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. So, I utilized Halloween as a great excuse to get everyone dressed up and sent them on a photo scavenger hunt. We gave them a list of 20 clues and two hours (from 9:00-11:00) and they were driving all over town trying to get pictures of various locations and staging certain activities. The kids talked about it like they had the time of their lives.

Oh, yeah, and I had a great excuse to put on my Renaissance garb that I use while working the Ren Fair. I love cloaks. :)

[The Game Guy]

I handed out candy and I went as a really scare character- ME! Or maybe I went as the admin of a message forum ;)

Either way... really spooky! :)

[Kalzazz]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/keikiru/1031081419.jpg

Im supposed to be a Magician. The students asked if I could do any magic tricks, and were somewhat dubious whether or not giving them back their quizzes counted

[Cryonic]

"I was no one"
"That can't be right. Check it again"
"There is no one"

Yep, I was a boring old me for Halloween. Didn't dress up or party. Worked out for an hour after work, rode my bike home and crashed out till the next day.

[The Game Guy]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/keikiru/1031081419.jpg

Im supposed to be a Magician. The students asked if I could do any magic tricks, and were somewhat dubious whether or not giving them back their quizzes counted

And did you? ;)

*Edit* Nice Costume by the way

[hellsreach]

I was Captain Morgan.

[The Game Guy]

I was Captain Morgan.

Be honest- were you Captain Morgan or were you just drinking Captain Morgan ;)

[hellsreach]

I dressed like Capt Morgan.

I was drinking Bacardi.

[Whill]

With money so tight, there was no point to buying "trick-or-treat" candy.


I handed out candy

When I was kid, "trick or treat" was a threat. Heck, even if all the lights were off and they didn't answer the door, my friends and I remembered that house and pranked them later (nothing too serious or property damaging, but they had to be "tricked" in some way because there was no "treat"). It sucked to be them if they were single and to work a 2nd shift job. The same for houses that ran out of treats before the night was over.

Nowadays participation is not "mandatory," so if you don't want to pass out candy then you just turn your outside light off and they don't even stop at your door. I quess we had it made when I was a kid, because there was a much higher candy-to-distanced-walked ratio then kids have today.

Ever since I was too old to trick-or-treat myself, I always made sure the place where I lived would be passing out candy if I couldn't be there to do it myself. Maybe there's no threat of being tricked anymore, but it is so deeply ingrained into my personality due to my cutural upbringing that I still feel compelled to participate. Besides, Halloween is fun!

Sadly, for the first time ever, I was not able to pass out candy this year. My wife and I had a last minute opportunity to go out of town to see the Beastie Boys live on our Beggar's Night, and I chose the concert. I've been a big fan since the 80's and never got a chance to see them (I was even a B-Boy one year for Halloween as an adult). The concert was awesome and well-worth it. And I guess my wife did get to pass out Candy at the school she works for, and also at her Mom's house because it was a different night.

And accept for the night of the concert (our local beggar's night), I did have my favorite Halloween decoration up in out front window: a Kiss album with Gene Simmons on the cover (I was Gene Simmons one year in the late 70's for Halloween too).

[The Game Guy]

I dressed like Capt Morgan.

I was drinking Bacardi.

Your no fun. :)

[The Game Guy]

When I was kid, "trick or treat" was a threat. Heck, even if all the lights were off and they didn't answer the door, my friends and I remembered that house and pranked them later (nothing too serious or property damaging, but they had to be "tricked" in some way because there was no "treat"). It sucked to be them if they were single and to work a 2nd shift job. The same for houses that ran out of treats before the night was over.

Nowadays participation is not "mandatory," so if you don't want to pass out candy then you just turn your outside light off and they don't even stop at your door. I quess we had it made when I was a kid, because there was a much higher candy-to-distanced-walked ratio then kids have today.

Ever since I was too old to trick-or-treat myself, I always made sure the place where I lived would be passing out candy if I couldn't be there to do it myself. Maybe there's no threat of being tricked anymore, but it is so deeply ingrained into my personality due to my cutural upbringing that I still feel compelled to participate. Besides, Halloween is fun!

Sadly, for the first time ever, I was not able to pass out candy this year. My wife and I had a last minute opportunity to go out of town to see the Beastie Boys live on our Beggar's Night, and I chose the concert. I've been a big fan since the 80's and never got a chance to see them (I was even a B-Boy one year for Halloween as an adult). The concert was awesome and well-worth it. And I guess my wife did get to pass out Candy at the school she works for, and also at her Mom's house because it was a different night.

And accept for the night of the concert (our local beggar's night), I did have my favorite Halloween decoration up in out front window: a Kiss album with Gene Simmons on the cover (I was Gene Simmons one year in the late 70's for Halloween too).

It's funny what you said about turning the light off. Towards the end I was running low on candy (and I wanted to keep some for myself). I had the front light off and I had 3 girls still knock on my door. Luckily I had candy and they were the last of the trick or treaters.

I also had a couple TOT say "Marry Christmas". I was like "Your a little early"

[skeloric]

I also had a couple TOT say "Marry Christmas". I was like "Your a little early"
They're not early, the stores are early.
They set up for Christmas "Toy Land" areas by October 1st some places these days.
Confusion is quite natural.

[The Game Guy]

They're not early, the stores are early.
They set up for Christmas "Toy Land" areas by October 1st some places these days.
Confusion is quite natural.

Yeah, I can see why there is the confusion. Its the pure greed of making money that makes the stores start earlier and earlier each year.

[hellsreach]

Yeah, I can see why there is the confusion. Its the pure greed of making money that makes the stores start earlier and earlier each year.

Wow is it greed for a store, whose sole purpose is to make money, to push for sales?

Most people would probably be shocked that retail, on average, runs in the negatives the whole year until Black Friday. In fact, for a store to hit their annual break even point before black friday is extemely positive, so it is no wonder that everyone wants to push the holidays season earlier and earlier.

[Jamfke]

Seems to me that it doesn't really help matters though. They've been pushing the holidays up for years now and they are still barely breaking even on "Black Friday". At least that's what I've noticed from news and business reports over the years. Just about everyone I know hates it when the decorations start going up early. Heck, Waly World started putting up Christmas the day after Halloween.

[hellsreach]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm totally annoyed by it too, but I was just commenting on it being for "greed." Perhaps I just have a different view of things, but when I think of "greed" I think of the pursuit of money or possessions, beyond what you have "earned," to the detriment of others around you.

I don't think a free-market business desperately looking to break even on the year in November as greed. Especially when they are simply displaying decorations and early shopping options, rather than attempting to coerce the buying public.

I'm certain I was over reacting, but I tend to get defensive when people starting alluding to a adversarial division between business and consumers. Most businesses, even the largest ones (actually -- especially the largest ones) don't actually make a lot of "profits" as most people would define them. Most people think of profits as income that exceeds all costs. Actually, that is called SUPER profits, and they are usually rather rare in mature business and always temporary. Profit (or Normal Profit) is simply "breaking even." Most companies are happy to break even -- covering production costs, labor, overhead, taxes and hopefully oppurtunity costs for the chance that sometime, down the road, they can experience a brief period of super-profits, which they can use to expand the business -- so that can go back to breaking even again.

Businesses are rarely "greedy." Rather, they operate on a knife's edge and it is a constant struggle to simply survive. If they don't, it often means thousands of lost jobs and the reduced competition will drive the "other guys" prices up. Granted, in the effort to compete and grow, some people loose sight of common business ethics and the comsumer often pays the price, but that is also fairly rare -- highly public, but rare.

[Kythian]

Costume "Ingredients" List

1 roll of clear tape
1 jar of coins

Tape coins to outfit of choice.

Q: "What are you supposed to be?"






















A: "Change you can believe in!"

A little Halloween political humor. :D