Wild Rumpus: My Max Costume Project

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play." - Heraclitus, Greek philosopher (500 B.C.)

I have finished my costume for Halloween. I decided that I wanted to be Max from Where the Wild Things Are which is also a wolf costume. I really liked the book when I was in the 1st grade and am looking forward to seeing the move. I went to the costume shop to rent a costume and they sold out of Max hours before I got there and this was two weeks before Halloween. I decided that I would make my own costume even though I have no experience whatsoever with sewing or arts and crafts in general.

I don't dress up for Halloween often and for some reason this year I felt up to it. I was also influenced by an experience I remembered from back in the 2nd grade. We had this play in front of the school and my character was a bear. I was excited because in my mind I would be wearing a full out bear mascot costume like I had seen at football games. Since our parents were in charge of helping us make our costumes, mine ended up being nothing like I imagined. (Maybe I didn't ask for help.) I wore my stripped polo shirt, shorts and a head band with a 8in construction paper cut out of a bear like shape (that I cut) pasted the front. I looked nothing like a bear and my representation of a bear was weak and clearly could not be seen past the stage. Small stuff affects you I guess. This wolf costume was my chance to finally make up for that bear costume so I devoted a lot of mental energy to this. So this was my goal: (and by goal I mean ballpark.)

I had many ideas at first like just buying a white hoodie sweatshirt, turning it inside out and putting buttons on it. I even went as far as buying one I later returned. Then I decided to buy a painter's suit with hood, and use it as a pattern and maybe just sew the costume to it since it is the right shape. I then went to a craft store and found a pattern of a similar costume and decided to go that route. I purchased a huge piece of fuzzy material and some buttons. I later went to a costume store and purchased a crown and a scepter, which was really the top of a pimp cane. I also purchased a sewing machine since I did not think I'd be able to do it by hand. Learning to sew was hard for me, maybe cause I couldn't get the thread in right. I jammed the machine many times at first and even broke a needle. I was finally able to get it to do the most basic work after a few hours and I took it one piece at a time. It started coming together and I felt genuinely proud of my work. It was a fun experience. After all my work, below you have my max costume:


Here are the photos from my costume project start to finish: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyadus/sets/72157622694813238/

I am now ready for Halloween 2009. I plan to go to Six Flags and 6th Street, but we will see. It is going to be cold, so I'm glad my costume is somewhat insulated.

let the wild rumpus start

Define This

"The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold."- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

You have to watch the: Kate Beckinsale's Steamy Esquire Sexiest Woman Alive Video . How long have I been saying this? The video is amazing and makes my point. She is a very attractive woman and deserves the accolades. Someone told me she looks more like a doll, but isn't that a good thing?

We got a nice cold front this weekend. There is nothing like cool weather to make up for the scorching summer we had to endure. My weekend was relaxing and my highlight was getting through a month's worth of ironing. You would think I could just iron my clothes before I wear them, but I'm always in a rush and after I wash I'm usually just being lazy. When that is my highlight, you can pretty much figure out what kind of weekend I had. The Cowboys won and so did Texas, so I was happy about that.

Last Tuesday I took my car in for routine service. It is always a pain to drive 40 minutes to north Austin just to get my oil changed. It is free so I can't complain. I also like that it is free for about a year more. I don't know exactly what they worked on, but at least now I can gas and go for another 10,000 or so miles. I have way too many miles on my car, but that is due to my drives to the Valley and my long commute to work.


I finally finished reading (listening to the audiobook) Wicked. It was not what I expected at all and a lot more graphic. I can see why they made the changes they did for the musical. I'm glad I read it though and did enjoy the story. After, I was thinking about starting the 2nd book, when I decided to read up on the Wizard of Oz. I thought, maybe I'll read the original and be caught up from all angles. Little did I know there are over 40 Wizard of Oz books, with at least 14 by the original author. And those are only counting the official books. There is no way I could read that many books just as background for other books I would like to read. There is a lot you can learn from wikipedia. Next I'll start on Son of a Witch.


Barney's Blog is a great read after watching HIMYM. Here is part of a recent one I found funny.

DEFINE THIS!
September 21, 2009

I thought I’d offer up some better definitions of how two people choose to
interact… well, the PG version anyway.

hook·ing up [hoo-k-ing up] - When two people do it, consistently, but aren’t hanging out during daylight hours – unless it’s for the express purpose of getting it on.
hang·ing out [hang – ing – owt] – The process of participating in an organized activity together – such as a movie or dinner - followed shortly thereafter by furious banging.
see·ing where things are go·ing [see-ing wair things ahr going] – The process in which two people hang out, hook up, and do everything they can not to think about what it means.
da·ting – [day-ting] 1) The first time seeing where things are going fails. 2) Hanging out without the guarantee of sex.
marr·iage – [marr-edge] see: suicide.
play·ing the field – [play-ing the feeeeld] – Banging as many people as possible.
just friends – [just frends] – Two people who probably could’ve banged that one night but didn’t and it’s been a little weird ever since. They’ve thought about it, though.

I think he did a good job of covering the definitions. I think there are a few missing, but they are just variations of the ones he detailed. I wish we will all embrace our outer Barney.

Student Loans The "New Indentured Servitude": The Atlantic
I have to say that I do feel like an indentured servant to my student loans. I'm sure in the long run it will pay off, but in the mean time it feels like somebody else owns my success and a huge chuck of my paychecks. You can't get something for nothing, but it doesn't mean I can't complain.

I did watch a bit of the The National Equality March on CSPAN this weekend. I think it was a good idea, but Barney Frank makes a good point that they should also be contacting their congressmen. I'm personally for the equal right of gay marriage (since it doesn't affect in any way a marriage I may have) and I am also for repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That said, I found some of the speakers I saw annoying. You just can't blame society for all your ills, but at the same time I don't blame them for being impatient. I just don't see the great problem with this being a heteronormative society. Some great signs I saw said, "Jesus loves me, why can't you?", and an interracial couple holding a sign that said, "Our marriage was once illegal too." I may not have a dog in the fight, but other people's rights are important too.

you know that I could use somebody

My ACL Fest 09

“When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have.” - Edgar Watson Howe

This past weekend was the ACL Music Festival ("Austin City Limits"), a three-day, eight stage event with 130 bands that I had previously mentioned I was going to attend. I had a blast. It was an experience I'll never forget and as Abram said, maybe even one I'll tell my kids about someday. In the past it was way too hot, so they moved it a few weeks later into October. It was a great idea in theory, but they didn't count on the rain. I'm glad I went, but it really was an endurance test over the 3 days. I took a lot of pictures and videos. Here is my Flickr photo set ACL 2009.

We should have bought our tickets in advance. I think I say that after every ACL. Christina was able to score me a ticket for Saturday, and I was very appreciative of that. It was at a time I was unsure about even going. Abram was then able to find two 3 days passes and later I scored two Saturday tickets for his two visiting friends. We were even able to get Oscar a ticket so getting in was not a problem.

Day 1

Friday after work, Abram dropped me off at ACL. I showed up in time to get a great spot watching Kings of Leon. The weather was perfect, there was a nice chill and no rain. I admired the grass which had not been there in years past. I heard that the ACL folks spent a couple million bucks on putting in new grass at Zilker Park. It was gorgeous, and I saw more than a few fans walking barefoot. I'm glad I didn't know what was in store for the grass over the next few days. I saw News reports that the grass is now hidden under the muddy mess, but I don't know if I believe that. One thing I quickly noticed when I got there on Friday night was how dark it was. The concert was great and a highlight for me was when Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam jammed out with King of Leon. It was a cool experience and a great way to get things started.. After the show I met with Christina and her two friends, Bill and Iliana who were visiting. We headed for West 6th Street and had some drinks and conversation there. I had a good time and later we met up with Abram and his friends Nancy and Roseanna. It probably wasn't the best idea to be out drinking late when we had two more days of ACL to go, but it was fun.

Day 2

Saturday, we picked up some rain supplies and we all met up at ACL. The weather started off nice, but the showers were inevitable. We met up with Oscar at Mute Math and headed to The Airborne Toxic Event, which put on a great show. After, we staked out a great spot at Flogging Molly where it started to rain. The rain went went with the Irish style music and we were all huddled under umbrellas as we still got soaked. We even made some new friends there. This is when Christina was able to join us, the smart one wearing rain boots. Mos Def came on later, late by 20 minutes and put on a decent show. I decided to see the Decemberists next, but wish I had gone to see STS9 or DeVotchka instead. The mud was starting to become a factor, but it didn't hamper anyone's excitement. Then we had to make our Saturday night decision, Ghostland Observatory or Dave Matthews Band. We picked DMB and the show was amazing. The rain had stopped and we worked our way not too far from the stage. It is the first time I've seen him in concert. After the show, we walked back to our car and headed home.

Day 3

Sunday, it was just Abram and I. We prepared for another day of rain since there was a 70% chance of rain, but instead, Sunday was hot and humid. ACL was also a huge mud pit. It didn't detract from the fun on Saturday, but on Sunday it got in the way. We got to see the Toadies, State Radio, Dirty Projectors, and Ben Harper to name a few. Abram and I then worked our way to see the headliner, Pearl Jam. It was the last and only show at 8pm, so there was an ocean of people. They hadn't played in Austin since 1995 or so. The show blew me away. Eddie Vedder is an impressive individual. It was the highlight of my ACL and made Sunday definitely worthwhile. Man it was great.

Eddie Vedder himself.

I was proud of myself for getting through 3 days worth of ACL, but man it took a lot out of me. It was a pretty amazing weekend though and I look forward to doing it again next year. One thing I will say I noticed was that there was love in the air. Everywhere you looked there were couples enjoying the event together. It was nice to see and hard not to notice. There were also many groups of friends who came from far and wide to spend this time together. I had a great time with my brother and my friends.

crash into me

Journeys

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

10 years ago, while in college, I applied for a passport to visit a girl that I was in love with who was studying abroad in London, England. It was an expedited process as far as the getting the passport, as was the decision to visit. I knew at the time, even if I couldn't admit it to myself, that I was going to say goodbye, but it needed to be done in person and those fleeting moments still belonged to me. The trip was everything I could have hoped for as far as a first visit to Europe goes. We went sightseeing, we walked the town, ate dinners out and saw plays, thoroughly enjoying ourselves with only a hint of premonition that it was our last moments together. As the trip ended and I had to return to school, I left with a broken heart. She had met her husband to be on that trip and all the years of friendship and the months of passion that we shared would never be rekindled again. A side effect of this experience is that it did create inside of me a desire to travel, but on my own terms for my own enjoyment.


I enjoy traveling to new places and though many people have been there before me, I always feel like I am discovering something new. It has been a few years since I have traveled abroad and I wonder when I'll be able to fit a long vacation into my life. I also have places in my own country I'd still like to visit that I have yet to reach. I know that compared to a lot of people, I haven't traveled very much, but I also know that compared to others I have experiences they may never have.


Today as my passport expired, marking those ten short years, I filled out my renewal application and mailed in my old passport to the government. In it was the first stamp from that trip to London, and stamps from Mexico, Canada, Spain, Italy and France. These each have their own individual stories of intrigue, passion and in some cases heartbreak as well. One stamp that isn't on there because it isn't required of course is that of Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. The memories I made will always be with me and they were all pretty special. A new passport will be sent to me and I'll stamp new countries with new experiences which I am very much looking forward to, but I'll never forget about my first real trip abroad and the reason I got a passport in the first place.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware