We’ll Get Up Again.

[dodger_sister]

I meant to make this post last week, but then Sandy hit and the World Series seemed less important suddenly. And then my Halloween fic came back from beta and then the election happened. So now…let’s talk a few things.

Not only did the Tigers lose the World Series, but we got completely swept, losing the first four games right off the bat. Ugh, boo. For the record, my appreciation for the San Francisco Giants has turned bitter. No amount of adorable flirty fanfic about their pitchers and cute little talented catcher will sway me now. San Francisco, you’re officially on my list!

This is the problem with being overly invested in these things. What an anti-climatic letdown that was. Still, I am going to get myself an American League Champions shirt because the Tigers are still amazeballs and that was an awesome season! And I still hate The Yankees. This year was the 11th ALCS win for the Tigers since they were founded in 1894...112 seasons, all of them in Detroit! Just wish we hadn’t got swept so bad in The World Series.

And now baseball season is over and…/gasp/…I can go back to filling my days reading fanfic! I know, you’re all shocked.

In other news that makes me sad-face, Halloween kind of blew. The BFF was sick and didn’t come down. Half of our tombstones were ripped or destroyed. It was too cold out to do our witches theme in the front yard. And we only got, maybe, 1/3 of our usual trick-or-treaters. Both the weather and those stupid trunk-or-treat things kept them away. (Raise your hand if you know what Trunk-Or-Treat is - I am curious as to what other states have this.) We sat for an entire hour without a single trick-or-treater. Finally we got about 30 kids and my sister gave away the candy in handfuls, because it was obvious that we weren’t going to get our usual 150+ kids. Of course, after she gave away the candy, we got 20 more kids at the door and I had to send them away empty-handed. The whole thing was a bust.

Here’s to next year, I guess.

Finally, on a better note, I would like to take a minute to say ‘THANK YOU’ to lizibabes, denig37 and vikingprincess for the V-gifts of Halloween cookies. I think I am really hungry right now because suddenly I am craving cookies coated in delicious sugary frosting.

Comments

[dugindeep.livejournal.com]

What is Trunk or Treat my dear??

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

What is Trunk or Treat my dear??

Trunk-Or-Treat got popular here in MI about 5 years ago. It is usually at churches or schools. You come with candy and set up in the parking lot and everyone pass out candy from the trunk of their cars. The kids come dressed up and they go from car to car and get candy and then there is usually some kind of carnival inside the church or school as well.

It sounds good in theory except...a) It's a little creepy to be like "Hey kiddies, I have some candy in my car...do you want some?" and b) It supposedly promotes 'community living' but I always thought your community was the neighborhood you lived in, where you should be trick-or-treating. It's my theory that it was just made up by parents who are too lazy to walk their kids around the neighborhood.

Anyway, it leaves single 34yr old women without any children, like myself, no place to go for the holiday. It would be weird if I showed up at a church I don't even belong to or a school I don't have any kids in, all dressed up like a creepy witch and tried to entice children to my car, right? Trunk-Or-Treat may have started with a good intention - but it's stealing my trick-or-treaters away!

So, hm, I wonder if it is not popular in your state or if you just don't have it there because you are in a bigger city (though that might actually be the kind of area you would want something like this, with so many apartment buildings).

[dugindeep.livejournal.com]

I have not heard this! I don't really live IN the city, but in the burbs and my burb is pretty small, though we're surrounded by a lot of other bigger burbs. ANYWAY! I wouldn't doubt if it happens in certain places but I don't know any better because I don't have kids and don't know many with kids LOL.

My brother took his kids down to the city to trick or treat the Saturday before. Apparently they had some fun event in one of the plazas. My BFF takes her kids by her grandma's (also out in the burbs) where they trick or treat at the safety town, which is kinda reminiscent of what you're talking about but a few less car trunks involved :-P

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

*waves from Friends-of-Friends*

I'm in Virginia, and Trunk-Or-Treat is a big thing here, especially (duh) with churches.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

Hi! Interesting. Can I ask...are you in a major city? I started wondering about this when a friend from Nashville had never heard of Trunk-or-Treat. And I wondered what states had it or if it was more about the size of the area. I am in Michigan but I am not in a major city (it's not Hickville or anything but it's certainly not what you would think of as a major city either). I also have several friends in Chicago who don't know what it is and again I am wondering if that is a state thing or because they are in a bigger city.

We have a lot of churches do it, but also several schools have started offering Trunk or Treat as a safer place to bring your kids. I am not entirely sure how teaching children to take candy from people's cars is 'safer' but mostly I just want my Trick-or-Treaters back!

Thanks for commenting!

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

We are sort of a combination suburban/rural area (halfway between DC and Richmond, bedroom community for both). We have some subdivisions, but many kids live in rural areas without neighborhoods to trick-or-treat in.

I have no small kids/grandkids so everything I know about local treat-or-treat customs comes from my co-workers! And basically all they talk about it Trunk-or-treat.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

Oh see, I didn't think about rural areas. That does make sense there. I could see that as why my brother had it where he lived and took my nephew. They were in the city/town area but a lot of the surrounding area is farmland. But I don't live in a farm community, so I still don't get why we have so much Trunk or Treat here. I should have thought of rural communities though, since I grew up in one!

Like you, I don't have kids, so it would be kind of odd for me to go to a Trunk Or Treat myself. Plus, my sister and I like to do a whole 'scary haunted house' theme; graveyard, sound activated witch and reaper, scary flashing lights, scary haunted house noises - can't really do that out of the trunk of our car. 8)

Thanks for answering my curiousities! BTW, your Coulson icon is so freaking pretty. I love that man.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

*grin* I'm baking cookies, surfing LJ, and watching "The Avengers" so he seemed appropriate!

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

I'm baking cookies, surfing LJ, and watching "The Avengers" so he seemed appropriate!

Oh, that sounds like the best Saturday night! I am contemplating a double dose of Jeremy Renner killing zombies in 28 Weeks Later while I kill zombies of my own in a Plants vs Zombies videogame play. I don't have cookies though.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

There's beer too. You could probably substitute beer for cookies? *gigglesnort*

[ceitfianna]

I've heard of trunk or treat but in your neighborhood it doesn't seem like it would make a lot of sense.

Yeah, my Halloween wasn't as much fun as I wanted either. I was feeling incredibly tired and so wasn't able to do a costume. The kids at school did neat things but I think the upper respiratory infection that whalloped me yesterday was working on me then.

*hugs* I feel you on the sports teams. The Eagles were playing in the Super Bowl my first year in New Zealand, I took the day off work and took my Kiwi boyfriend to a sports bar to watch the game. The Eagles lost, they did great but lost and it hurt. The Phillies have done okay but I don't follow them as much, but as someone from a town with not so great sports teams, I know that investing and let down feeling.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

I've heard of trunk or treat but in your neighborhood it doesn't seem like it would make a lot of sense.

Right? I actually think it makes the most sense in a bigger city - some place where you have a lot of apartment buildings (because trick or treating inside a building never really works) or some place where you have unsafe neighborhoods. But even the ghetto here is mild in comparision to larger cities. Detroit, they could use Trunk or Treat. Here, it just feels like it is un-promoting community living by taking the trick-or-treaters out of their own neighborhood. I hate our damn neighborhood kids all year long - playing in our yard, running up and down the street screaming, tossing their crap on our sidewalk - Halloween is the one time of year I want to see the neighbor kids, you know. :)

Ugh, I am sorry your Halloween sucked too. A costume would have been a cool way to show off a little for your students. Everyone was kind of grossly sick for Halloween it seems - bummer. That respiratory thing you got going on just sounds utterly dreadful. You have to get better, woman, so you can come here and be around the cats without having a major setback. Bring lots of cold medication! Also, do you have a dehumidifier? That might help. Feel better!

*hugs* I feel you on the sports teams.

It's so disheartening when they make it that far and then get completely stomped. I would like to say, "Well at least they played great," but they didn't. They didn't even look like the same team out there on the field, to be honest.

The Eagles were playing in the Super Bowl my first year in New Zealand, I took the day off work and took my Kiwi boyfriend to a sports bar to watch the game.

A chance to show him how your home team does it..and they blew it! Oh man, that had to hurt.

[ceitfianna]

My normal Halloween plan is doing face makeup but the theater person who was going to help me was never in so I didn't get a chance. Also I hadn't bought makeup for myself as I learned I could use the school's. It wasn't a bad day just an awkward one.

Yeah, that Super Bowl was hard but it could have been worse. For a football game, it was pretty fast paced and intense and close as well. So the Eagles did a lot better than they could have, it still sucked.

[rockstarpeach.livejournal.com]

You know... I think I still have an ALCS poster from like... '88? '90? Something like that.

It's got a big huge blue jay with a tiger tail coming out of his mouth. 'Cause we ate you guys for breakfast!!

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

You know... I think I still have an ALCS poster from like... '88? '90? Something like that.

I remember '87 was a pretty damn good season for us. Also I know I was at least ten before I saw a bad season for the Tigers, so I looked it up. 1989 - Blue Jays took the division while the Tigers came in last place. The next year you beat us out too but we both got stomped by the...Red Soxs or the Twins, I can't remember. I was born in '78, so I got ten good seasons before I had to see a bad one. I just remember once we hit the 90s, things started to go downhill for The Tigers, but decidely uphill for the Jays.

It's got a big huge blue jay with a tiger tail coming out of his mouth. 'Cause we ate you guys for breakfast!!

Dude. That's harsh. ;) We aren't in the same division anymore, so I am happy to let the Jays take the East - as long as it's not The Yankees!

[shirebound]

Sorry Halloween wasn't a good one for you this year, I know you look forward to it.

[dodger-sister.livejournal.com]

Thanks, darling. Yeah, Halloween was a bust. We had to have a bad year at some point, I suppose. Our first year in the house we had kind of a bumpy start, not knowing what to expect in the new neighborhood. But ever since then we have been gathering more and more things for the graveyard and making more elobrate plans and getting more kids who want to come to the 'creepy haunted house'. But I guess you can't plan for weather and illness.

Next year's gonna be better!