THE RAT PACK
Made this horrendous fella this week while watching more than my fair share of zombies. I call him Pretty Ugly due to his preference for pearls and sparkle. If you cover the left half of his face, he’s in a fairly neutral mood, but cover the right, and receive a dose of extra stink. Similar to my face below.
This is a test run of tomorrow’s costume for work festivities. Why Friday and not Monday, I wonder? Coraline, I am, the title character in a Neil Gaiman book (and animated film). I dig the blue wig, but vanity keeps me from enjoying the under drawn lips. Not noticeable here though thanks to the mouth twitchery. Spirit gummed a button to my eyelid area, it’s not going anywhere.
I heard Neil Gaiman speak last year up at the University of Washington. The cadence of his voice seems designed for reading books aloud. Recently finished his audiobook The Ocean At the End of the Lane. It was written for his wife, Amanda Palmer. He wove charming stories of how they met and their life together now, or then, painting a picture for the audience of the love and support and creativity they share. It was all very touching and inspiring at first, until I started to get the inkling that they may be one of those couples that needs an audience in order to have any chemistry.
He also spoke of his idols, of those famous folk out in the world that he’s tried his best not to run into at celebrity events because he was afraid of being disappointed in who they were in real life compared to in his mind. Top on his avoidance list? David Bowie. He went on to say that it was in fact, rather hard not to meet the man, due to being such good friend’s with David’s son, Duncan. I’m glad I got to hear Neil share his Bowie stories last year as opposed to this.
It was fun returning to walk the gorgeous campus grounds after all these years since attending there as a student. Bean talked on about the times I’d take her to lectures with me and the impression that had on her tweenish years. Full-time student, full-time job, and helping my dad to raise my sister in place of my mom meant she got to meet curious professors enquiring of their young “new” student and be left to her own devices in the gorgeous Suzzallo Library while I took the occasional exam.
As we made our way through the dark along the lit paths, Bean questioned Shane about what the surroundings reminded him of to which he answered the Scream movies. This was the answer we were looking for. Further down the path, a pack of fraternity guys piled out of a nearby building cackling loudly as a large rat scurried in the opposite direction through the bushes along the wall. Coincidence?