Loss Of Faith In Humanity

At 12:15 this afternoon, K and I came home for lunch, as we always do, to discover that our house had been broken into and we had been robbed. Thankfully, our cats are safe, but thousands of dollars in property were either damaged or stolen. Due to this unfortunate event, Christmas will most likely be postponed this year, Worst of all, my faith in humanity has been broken. For the rest of the day, as I was calling the authorities, insurance company, repairmen and other various people in order to pick up the pieces - I just kept thining, "You are going to have to prove to me that I can trust you."

I am both saddened and angered by how cruel, heartless and disrespectful some people can be. I am tired - it is only 8:30, but it feel like midnight. It has been an exhausting day and the furthest thing from my mind is the defense of my thesis tomorrow afternoon.

Not Quite Over...

Mood: Anxious
Song: Forever Young - Alphaville
Units of Caffeine: 1
Days Until Graduation: 18
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 0

Almost a year; several hundred hours and many headaches later, I completed my thesis paper this past Saturday. However, I cannot celebrate just yet. I delivered the paper to all the members on my committee this morning, but I still have my defense tomorrow afternoon. Ever since I completed the paper, I have just become more and more on edge and am feeling sick with anxiety right now.

The past few weeks have gone rather quickly... now the hours are just dragging!

I'm Just Wild About Harry...

Mood: Burned out
Song: Miserere - The Sixteen
Units of Caffeine: 0.75
Days Until Graduation: 23
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 5

Amazingly, I have a moment to write about something other than the Renaissance right now. Woo hoo! For the past two days I have been writing from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; stopping only to answer the phone or do some small task at work and to eat. Right now I'm pretty sick of the paper and can't wait to be done with it - But, of course, doing anything for 14 hours at a time for two days in a row would make someone pretty chachi. Truth be told, I'm doing these marathon writing sessions so that I can enjoy some of the holiday this week. (At the very least, I would like to just enjoy Thanksgiving Day without working on the paper.) It makes me very happy to think that next week at this time, I will be done!!!

But enough about me and this seemingly neverending paper. Let's talk about other things. Pleasant things, like yummy turkey; delicious stuffing; and custardy pumpkin pie. Mmmmmm. You know... it forces me to ask myself: If I like turkey so much, why don't I have it more than once a year? Well, truth be told; K and I live almost exclusively on turkey. We are fare from being vegetarians, but for health reasons, we don't eat very much red meat at all. Probably once a month, on average. Almost every meat product that we eat is turkey meat: ground turkey, turkey sausage, turkey ham, turkey dogs, etc. But, it's true that there is really nothing like eating it as nature intended: Roasted with mashed potatoes.

But something else I enjoy on Thanksgiving, aside from the massive quantities of food, is the tradition that K and I have to go to a movie after the Thanksgiving dinner. Since we have dinner at my in-laws, we started the tradition as an excuse to leave; but now it's more than that. It's not just an excuse, but something we enjoy and look forward to each year. Of course, we can catch a flick any time, but there's just something about our annual post-Thanksgiving dinner movie. It's like that glass of brandy on Christmas Eve; or that little something extra you do on New Year's Eve... it's something special. This year, we held off on seeing the new Harry Potter film on opening night just for this very occasion. I am really looking forward to this film because The Goblet of Fire is my favorite book in the series so far. As many have noticed, Harry and his cohorts have gotten a bit more... em.. mature. And I will have to say, I'm starting to feel a little resentment towards my lady friends who are discussing how hot some of the cast is getting (has gotten). Now, I will be the first to agree - Yes, I'm sure that Harry is certainly getting a goblet of fire, alright. BUT! Why is it that whenever I pointed out how hot some teen actress is getting*, I get that look as if someone had stamped the word "PERVERT!" across my forehead? Yet, when some ladies speak of Mr. Radcliffe being a "hot piece of ass." it's perfectly alright? Now, let me clarify something here - I am NOT the type that goes around constantly talking about how hot certain actresses are. So, ladies - please - go ahead and indulge in the soon-to-be-famous "Harry Potter bathtub scene," BUT, then allow me to drool a bit if and when Ms. Emma Watson begins to fill out.

My Life

Mood: Insane
Song: Here Is Gone - Goo Goo Dolls
Units of Caffeine: 3
Days Until Graduation: 25
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 7*

Well here's a little view into my life: I'm tired. I'm sick of carrying all this crap around that is my thesis and the above picture is what my office looks like. But the good news is that a time and date have been set for me to present my completed thesis: *Tuesday, November 29th! Not December 1st as originally planned. So, I have quite a bit to do between now and a week from tomorrow. If one were to look at my paper, one would say, "Well, you don't have that much to do." Umm... well, looks are deceiving - I've still got a lot to cover. And for I'm bad at papers when estimating how much time it will take. So, you bet I'm working my ass off now. If I get done ahead of time - GREAT! But, I'm kinda' freaking out right now. So.... if you don't hear from me for a week; you know where I am.

Introspection

I went to my friends' memorial service last night and, although I'm very glad I went, the surge of emotions that I was just getting over with this week hit me again ten fold. It had gotten to the point where my throat had closed up so much and my chest felt so tight - I just couldn't speak. I guess what made the memorial service different from hear the news for the first time is that I heard the news with K. K and I had talked about it; our memories and such. But here was a theatre full of friends, family, colleagues and students. There were pictures of my friend - the shows he did - the lives he affected - ALL of this in the same room at the same time.

I am very thankful that I have not had to deal with death in quite some time. The last time a person died with whom I held a personal relationship was a friend of mine who died of a brain tumor right before I went to college. I haven't had to deal with a loss like this in quite some time. I tend to close off the world around me. It's not that I am falling into any pits of depressions myself, (although I would be lying if I told you I wasn't depressed); it's more of a type of introspection and meditation. When something this emotionally traumatic happens, it forces you to re-evaluate some key things in your life. When a death occurs to someone who is close to you, at some point in the course of your grieving, you can't help but think of that old saying, "Life is too short." However, when a suicide occurs, you can't help but be reminded of how fragile the human soul is. It makes you want to just stop all of the pointless bullshit that is happening in your life; tie those threads of relationships that somehow got undone and frayed and tighten the ones that you hold dear to make them stronger.

One of the speakers at the memorial service said of our mutual friend, that he is like a button, (one of the most overlooked inventions in the history of fashion design); when you lose a button from your shirt within the day; you still wear it as you always have - but you know something is missing, and it just doesn't feel right.

Too all of my family and friends: those I know, and those I have yet to meet; those I have lost through loss of communication, an unfortunate event or to the fates:

I don't wear my heart on my sleeve and do not share my emotions as often as I should. Each and every one of you has made me who I am today, and for that I am truly thankful. Each and every one of you holds a special place in my heart. If our paths have gone separate ways, I will remember you always and forever hope that our paths will cross again. If our paths are still joined, I am grateful every day for the friendship we share and always look forward to seeing you again soon. You are very special to me, and although I may never say it (and at times you may not think it), you mean so much to me. Thank you for being in my life.

Stick A Fork In Me

Mood: Happy
Song: The Buzz of the Fluorescent Fixture In My Office
Units of Caffeine: 2 (Yes. Amazing as it seems, it's a little after 4:00 in the afternoon and only two cups of coffee today. What's happening to me!?!?)
Days Until Graduation: 29
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 14

I've decided that I am done! Well... for today, anyway. I have spent the past four days diligently working on my thesis project; worrying about deadlines; dealing with an unfortunate death; and fighting with the people at Modern Language Association - My brain is properly fried and it is time for a break. So, I am giving myself tonight off from even thinking about the Renaissance period, Commedia dell'Arte or... you know what? Theatre in general. I am just completely on the verge of being burned out.

The good news is that two weeks from today, all of this will be done and over with; and one month from today, I will have my Master's degree. I also had my last weekly meeting with Froggy today, (since next Thursday is Thanksgiving; and the Thursday after that is the day in which a present my completed work to my committee.) The meeting made me feel very good about how things were going. Froggy wasn't too apathetic this week and assured me that I was doing good work. This came at a good time since I spend all freaking morning trying to figure out how to cite a few Medieval tunes. It's like trying to cite "Happy Birthday." An author? A year? Anyone you know who actually published the song? Actually, "Happy Birthday" is a pretty bad example since I read somewhere on the Mythbusters web site that someone actually holds the royalties to the song. (Man; talk about getting screwed out of a lot of money.) But, you get the gist. I actually ended up calling someone at the Modern Language Association of America about this. You know, as frustrating as this sounds, I was actually entertained by the thought of someone who's job it is to promote language. Who on earth would do that? Talk about your crappy jobs.

So, anyway... it's now 4:36 in the p.m. and I'm going to start doing nothing right now.

Let the nothing begin!!!

Back On Track

Mood: Okay
Music: Storms In Africa - Enya
Units of Caffeine: 0.25
Days Until Graduation: 30
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 15

To some, it probably isn't a big surprise that I had to take a couple of days off from blogging; to some it will be a surprise that it wasn't necessarily due to working on my thesis. Early Sunday afternoon I received word that one of my friends had killed himself. I have tried writing about this two times before this entry, and I am in hopes that I can get this one out. I guess I just don't have the words to describe how I've been feeling these past few days, or it's just difficult for me to write about - In the past failed entries, all that came out were random, disconnected thoughts. I'll promise myself this: regardless of how this bog entry turns out, I'm posting it.

It wasn't until halfway through the day yesterday before I began to feel 'normal' again, but Monday was just entirely weird - It's hard to describe, but I guess the best way I can put it is that I felt very 'out of body.' Over the past few days, I have had a surge of emotion ranging from depression to anger. The man was a parent; a mentor; and an educator. For a long time thoughts like, "How could he do this?" and "How selfish!" raced through my head. The man was a responsible adult. How could he come to such a rash decision? I know this must sound a bit ironic coming from one who was also suicidal, but this is quite different from my experience. I was 17 when I dealt with it. As harsh as this is to say, teens are almost expected to make rash decisions. As a teen, I remember feeling like the world was collapsing around me and there wasn't a single person who could understand. It was indeed, very egocentric. But I remember not being able to see the larger picture - I couldn't see two weeks ahead of me, let alone years. I couldn't see the people it would affected if I succeeded. If I knew then what I know now, suicide would never have been an option. As an adult, you should be able to see the larger picture. It wasn't until a little later, when I was speaking to another friend of mine who is a psychologist that this wasn't a matter of thinking like an adolescent vs. thinking like an adult. It was a matter of thinking like a stable person vs. thinking like a person who is severely depressed. This statement really took a toll on me. For about three or four years of my life, I went through a very dark period. I suffered a depression that I thought would never go away. Up until now, I had honestly thought that this was purely an adolescent issue. I have felt that it was like acne: Now that I'm out of my teen years, I don't need to worry about it. But now I find out that everyone has the potential to sink this low; it is not just a teen issue.... like acne. This is not to say that I feel as if *BANG* I'm going to go back into a deep depression. I know that it is all a matter of control. My friend died because he lost that control. I am very aware of myself, and I will never lose that control.

I guess what also hurts is the knowledge that my friend was going through that and although he had a very large group of friends, not many people knew about it. Depression is a hard, treacherous road. Something no one should travel alone.

Motivation?

Mood: Exhausted
Song: Eileen's Song - Burlap To Cashmere
Units of Caffeine: 2 or 3 sips
Days Until Graduation: 35
Days Until Thesis Is Due: 20

It's 6:40 in the a.m. and I have no motivation to do anything today. It's not to say that I feel like climbing back into bed, (which is what I would probably do anyway if it were the weekend or anything) - I'm not tired; I just feel completely drained of everything.

This week I really gained a lot of momentum with the thesis project and started getting quite a bit done. I was still a little clueless about some aspects of it, but I worked my way through them and really started to get this thing going. Not only was the project coming along, but I was slowly, but surely checking off all that little shit required of the Graduate School prior to graduation. I was feeling better this week because of an evening I had last Saturday. K and I actually got out of our working world for a while and enjoyed a nice dinner out at one of our favorite local restaurants with a very good friend of mine whom I haven't seen since May. After dinner we went and saw that play in the dark I briefly wrote about last week.

The full title of the play is "The True History of The Tragic Life and Triumphant Death of Julia Pastrana, The Ugliest Woman In The World." The interesting thing about this play is that, in order to gain the production rights, one must agree to perform the show completely in the dark. I went into the show, quite honestly not knowing what to expect, (other than a dark theatre, of course). I had to laugh at myself because, when I was seated, I immediately turned around to ask the person behind me if she could see alright. Hey, what can I say? I'm a creature of habit. The show was actually really, really good. The production took the element of sight away from the audience, but put a lot more emphasis on sound and, (a few things we almost never utilize in a theatrical bag of tricks:) smell and touch. If there are any theatre people reading this and you ever hear of this show being done in your area, I'd highly recommend seeing this show. If for nothing else, to experience a show which forces actors, directors and designers to think outside of the proverbial box.

So, it was great to just get out and experience theatre as an audience member. I hate it that I don't get enough of that. Since I'm always involved in theatre in some way, I almost never have the time to go and actually see a show. I think the last time K and I saw a show with which neither of us were involved was last December! Gad! That's way too long! But anyway... I can't really say how, but this show inspired me in some way. It gave me the spark I needed to really get moving on my thesis. My friend also played a really good part in doing this. My friend graduated from the department last year; he's very driven and has really good artistic vision. I admire him a lot. So, I told him about the frustrations I was having with my thesis project - how the Renaissance Madrigal Banquet died and, all of a sudden, I have a professional paper to pull out of my ass; and how the department is being so nonchalant about the whole thing. Working as a G.A. for a while, my friend told me that he feels that the department has a lot of confidence in me, which is why they are sort of just letting me take off in any direction I choose. He told me that he has seen other grad students who weren't doing so well and how they were hounded by the department every second of the day, demanding more and more from these folks. So, I was feeling good, knowing that if I were on the wrong track, I would be feeling it. But still, I wish there were a happy medium between being smothered with constant pestering and prodding from the department and almost complete isolation.

I met with Froggy yesterday for our weekly meeting to discuss the progress of the paper and something required from the Graduate School. I showed Froggy my introduction, of which I had made three drafts. She skimmed it quickly and said with an "I don't care" tone: "Okay." I asked if it was too short or too long; if she felt that I needed to add, delete or change anything; do anything at all to ameliorate the paper! She responded with, "No. It's easy to read and very direct." Well, hell... That's like saying that something is simply "adequate." "How was your dinner?" "Oh, it filled my stomach."

So then I moved on to the paper required by the Graduate School. I have very mixed feelings about what happened here: Although my projects are due on December 1st, apparently the Graduate School wants proof that they are completed by next Thursday. So, the Graduate School is requiring me to submit a form to be signed by my thesis committee, stating that I am done with my final projects. Before I could fully explain this to Froggy, she had signed the paper. I told her that paper she just signed states that I am done. She said, "Okay." So, then I went to the department director. (She also sits on my committee). She also signed it, with no questions asked. I then went to the third out of four members on my committee, who also signed it without question.

On one hand, I am glad that I'm not getting any resistance on this, since it is due to the Graduate School in less than a week, but on the other, I wish that my department acted as if they cared about it. I went back to my office, put the paper away and just let my mind wander for the remainder of the day. It's hard to get motivated about something when so many people have that "I don't care" attitude. I guess I am just so sick of working so hard on something only to either have it fade away, or have little recognition. I totally hate having this attitude, but right now all I want to do is finish this thing and get the hell out of here. So, today I will continue to work on the projects here and there. But I'm sure as hell not going to go through three drafts of it.

Apathy isn't a given trait; it's learned.

A Sad Day

Mood: Disappointed
Song: Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon
Units of Caffeine: 0.5
Days Until Graduation: 37

Just a touch over five years ago I moved to this state. I moved here because my heart told me to. (No, my heart didn't say: "Move to Texas. It's a glorious state!") I moved here because I wanted to be with K. K and I have been together, off and on, for ten years, but the first five were very tempestuous. If you knew either of us during that time, you probably wouldn't know for certain whether or not the relationship would work out. However, five years ago K and I learned a lot about ourselves; Our lives took different paths for a while, forcing us to do a lot of introspection. Since I moved here, we got married and are enjoying a very strong relationship. Our relationship is based on unconditional love and trust in each other and neither K nor I feel that anything in heaven or earth threatens this base. To think that anything outside of ourselves could threaten our love for each other is ludicrous!

Also, since moving to Texas, K and I have forged many strong friendships. Although I moved here with several of the typical stereotypes associated with Texas; K & I have found an ever-growing list of things that we enjoy about this state, 1,500 miles from our "home" in the northeast. As previously stated, we have found some great friends; we've found a thriving theatre community that pulses throughout the entire Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex; we have seen the beauty of the Hill Country and enjoy our regular weekend getaways to San Antonio. Due to the availability of land and real estate, we were able to purchase a house; even with our modest "artist's earnings." I can honestly say that, with the exception of a few snags here and there, (which one could find in any state), we have a good life in the Lone Star State. But then, every once in a while, Texas shows its true color, and all I can see is red.

I am not surprised that Proposition 2 passed; however, I feel that it is something that should never have been put on the ballot in the first place. Yes, I had a glimmer of hope - The thought that people could, for just a moment, look beyond their own personal beliefs and see the larger issue here. It's at times like these where I see Texas Pride turn into Texas Stubborn. It's at times like these where I get so thoroughly disgusted with this state and look ever more forward to moving to Seattle next year.

Blackout!

Mood: Happy
Song: Dream On - Aerosmith
Units of Caffeine: 1
Days Until Graduation: 39

Happy Monday, everybody! It's hard to believe that a Monday can be better than a Friday, but it is. At about 9:00 this morning, the power went out on half the campus; including my building. So... we sat in our office suite, doing nothing for a while. It only took about an hour or so for us to find out what was going on. And by noon, I was allowed to go home. Yay! It's a Monday and I had a half day of work!

However... it is a little bittersweet as I had some things that I really needed to do today in regards to graduation. And, of course, Froggy is no where to be found today. One of my friends is a grad assistant who works in the office across from hers. I'm arranging it so that he calls me if/when he sees her go into her office. It's so retarded, but whatever works, eh?

I'm looking at the photo above, and I'm a little depressed. You see, that photo was taken during a workshop session of the "Dublin Project." I know it looks kind of weird, but I felt the most inspired and most creative I have ever felt during these workshops and during my time in Ireland. Now I find myself sitting behind a computer most of the day, writing a paper about theatre, hoping that I'm doing it right. Gad! What a difference a year makes!

Missing It

Mood: Slightly Depressed
Song: Underneath It All - No Doubt
Units of Caffeine: 0!
Days Until Graduation: 41

So, I think I have decided that I could never go for a PhD. You wanna' know why? Because I am so sick if planting myself in front of a computer for hours every day writing about theatre. I need to be doing it! And now I'm just craving some stage time. I looked at my acting resume recently and noticed that I'm now averaging one role per year. Of course, this isn't saying that I'm not active in theatre - producing, directing and stage managing take a crap-load of time. But now I'm seeing productions come and go -- nay, auditions come and go, and where am I? In my office! Gawd, I can't wait for this semester to be over with. I will be done!! I think this spring I may get out of the production team scene and just do one or two acting gigs. I've found one more thing that I love about acting: when you are acting, you only have to worry about yourself!

The Weekend Is Here - is it?

Mood: Worn
Song: Anthem - Chess Cast Recording
Units of Caffeine: 3.25
Days Until Graduation: 42

I guess this shouldn't come as any surprise to me, but I didn't meet with my advisor yesterday. Every Thursday afternoon we have a Major's Meeting in the theatre and I've made a point to scheduling a meeting with my graduate advisor every week after the meeting because it is the only time during the week where I know where I she will be and know that she will definitely be there. This wee, however, we are in production - and the Major's Meetings are cancelled during production week. Therefore, there was no guarantee that I would see Froggy this week. This isn't to say that I didn't try: I made several phone calls (and left many voice mail messages) and wrote just as many e-mails. I guess I wouldn't feel too bad about it if I didn't have two important pieces of paper due to the Graduate School in two weeks: the Commencement Information Form and my Final Examination Form. The forms themselves were easy enough to complete; it's getting them approved and signed by everyone that will take the full length of the two weeks, (if not more), which is why I'm panicking.

In the meantime, I'm continuing my relationship with my research, my computer and my MLA handbook; which will probably continue through the weekend. Thankfully, I will have a break from the paper tomorrow evening when K and I will join a friend for dinner before seeing and interesting sounding play that will be presented entirely in the dark. I'll write more about that after seeing... er, rather... not seeing it.

Proposition 2

It was only a matter of time before this hit the Texas ballots: an amendment to the Texas state constitution with the motive to ban same-sex marriage, known simply as Proposition 2. I was originally going to write about how much such an amendment is a blatant form of discrimination and government control. But my focus has now shifted to the blatant stupidity of Texas government. Let's take a close look at the proposition, shall we. Here is the actual language the Texas Marriage Amendment would write into the Constitution, Article 32, Texas Bill of Rights:

(a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

This is both sad and funny all at the same time. You see, in their haste to discriminate against same-sex couples, it appears that Texas legislatures left out a few key words invalidating all marriage. Let's simplify it a little:

(a) Defines marriage as between one man and one woman
(b) prohibits recognition of (a)

If you think I'm splitting hairs on this, there's an organization that is dedicated to pointing this little flaw out. All I can say is that November 9th will be a very interesting day in the state of Texas if this amendment passes.

Dates

Mood: Wired
Song: Dreaming of Fiji - Truman Show Soundtrack
Units of Caffeine: 7
Days Until Graduation: 43

Wow. It's November. Five years ago yesterday, I moved to Texas. Ten years ago this Thanksgiving, I met K. One month from this past Tuesday, my graduate projects will be due. Gah! I finally started writing today. I know what you're asking: "What have you been doing all this time?" Well, I haven't been sitting on my ass. My notes are gathered and I put them in order, yes. But then comes the introduction.

How do you start? How does one start anything? I have no problem once the momentum is there, but getting started is the thing. This is usually why my first paragraph or two of papers suck ass, but the rest of the test is pretty good. So, I began this monster task a few days ago by jotting thoughts on paper; words, paragraphs, fragments, segments, bits of genius, lengths of crap, etc... Nothing was coming together - it just looked like a really rough patchquilt of everything I had been doing for the past eleven months and none of it made any sense. So, I finally decided to start this thing as I start every bit of writing I had ever done and just start writing. Oh, sure, I know it's crap; I'm positive I'm going to go back and change all of it - But I've got to start somewhere. And so I've started. It's pretty funny: I haven't even begun to scratch the surface and already my paper is loger than that of a former grad student in my department who graduated last year. Her final paper, along with her project was a whopping four pages long! I think it would be a real challenge for me to keep my paper at four pages and explain everything!

So, after working on the thing for about five hours today, I've decided to take a breather and blog. As, I've said, it's November. So, does someone want to explain to me why my city is in a Red Flag warning??? It's freaking November!! It should be cold! It should be nippy! But no, right now I'm sweating in my office and there's a chance of wildfires!

WTF?

Quote of the Day

"Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs."

On Trick-Or-Treating II

Mood: Pensive
Song: Erin Gra Mo Chroi - Cherish the Ladies
Units of Caffeine: 3.5
Days Until Graduation: 45

So, last night was cool: I did everything I planned - It was an evening of eating, drinking and being scary. And we had trick-or-treaters. Yes... we had trick-or-treaters. Since I was cooking, K did the majority of the door answering / candy distribution, but I always asked to make sure that they "earned the candy," and, for the most part, they did. That is, until about 8:30 or so. This is meaning to say that, as the hour got later, the "trick-or-treaters" got more ghetto. Here's the difference:

The 7:00 p.m. Trick-or-Treater
Doorbell rings once.
K goes to the door to a cute little princess saying, "twick or tweet."
K distributes some chocolately goodness to the princess and the little girls responds with a courteous, "thank you."

The 9:00 p.m. Trick-or-Treater
The doorbell rings 15 times in succession.
K answers the door to 3 or 4 people in regular clothing (no costume), who look at her and say, "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn! Dat's a big ol' bucket of candy! Gimme!"

Needless to say, we blew out our Jack-o-Lantern after the 9:00 Trick-or-Treater hit our house. Thankfully, I snagged some free bags of crappy gum that we received in our office to give out as free samples. If the trick-or-treater was unruly or not in costume, they got the crappy gum. I mean, at one point I answered the door to three girls in their mid-teens who were in street clothes. I asked, "Where are your costumes?" The girls said, "We're too old to be wearing costumes," to which I responded, "Well, maybe then you're too old to go trick-or-treating." One of the girls noticed the mountain of chocolate in my hand and said, "Ooooooooo, I NEED some of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!" (Um... no one needs a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup), but I told her that since she has no costume, she gets no chocolate.

I have no qualms about becoming the Halloween Nazi!