Who doesn't love a (Halloween) ice breaker?

The Week in Selfies: 10/19/20 - 10/25/20

Oct 24, 2022

Hello from the grave (my bed).

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Once again, I decided the approach for this week’s newsletter a little last minute so…aren’t you in for a treat?!?! This is going to be another Halloween-themed two parter!!

What’s the approach you ask? Well, I asked a few friends and my marginally viewed instagram story audience to ask me a Halloween or spooky season themed question. It’s basically ice breaker questions and who doesn’t love those? (If it’s in a corporate setting especially, no one loves them.) A few questions this week, some more next week.

Oh and the instagram story will be up until midday Monday (10/24). Or you can always drop a question or two in the comments.

Now come up to the lab, and see what’s on the slab:

What is your favorite fall tradition?
Most of my favorite traditions center around being inside and food. Particularly on certain days in NYC (Halloween, SantaCon, St. Patrick's Day), I avoid the drunken wilds of outside. I prefer, on those days, to create my own drunken wilds with spooky movies, season appropriate snacks, and friends.

Halloween movie day very much fits that bill. For a good amount of years, my dear friend Jen and I reveled in the Halloween movies. More friends would come in and out but we are the core of it. We haven’t been able to do it in person for a couple of years because of, well you know, but I can’t wait until we can again. There’s always Hocus Pocus, Rocky Horror, and a buncha sweet things. Snacks I mean. FOOD. I mean food.

What is a spooky destination you’d love to vacation at?
I’d love to do a little bone tour of Europe. Let me explain. Obviously, places like the Paris Catacombs first come to mind and yes, those would be on the list. But the major stops would be the churches of Evora, Alcantarilha, and Faro which are churches made of human skulls. (This is where my Mom would tell me I’m weird.) Mourning is such a huge topic and, you know, a huge experience for everyone and I am endlessly interested in the different methods of grieving. These churches really have something to teach about the way we interact with our dead.

For more information, Caitlin Doughty did a great video on them.

What was your favorite candy to get trick-or-treating and has it changed as you’ve become an adult and buy your own candy?
This is a great question. I feel like I don’t remember specifically what candy I really craved when trick-or-treating. To be honest, it was probably all of them. As much candy as humanly possible. But I do know I loved a Crunch bar, Twix, and Kit Kat. Oh, and Necco wafer type candies. I was that sort of kid.

These days, I don’t buy many of those classic American candies for myself…almost ever. Dessert is always in my house, multiple desserts, but they are generally things I have made or some of the “more adult” types of chocolate or candies. So, when Halloween time comes around, I really use that as an opportunity to buy bags of the stuff I loved as a kid, put it in all sorts of bowls around my apartment, and grab them absent-mindedly throughout the whole month of October. It still feels like a special kind of treat.

What is your coolest past Halloween costume?
This wasn’t my coolest costume but definitely a costume that feels important to my core. Sophomore year of college, I was Mary Lane from Reefer Madness: the Movie Musical. I found a vintage-y skirt and a white button down and I just covered it in blood. (Um…that’s probably a spoiler there.) I remember standing on our balcony over a towel or a tarp or something and just squeezing a sponge full of fake blood all over my chest. It was the first time I really let myself do something bloody, something I felt was a little bit edgy. Not a ton of people got the costume at that point but I was so into it.

What’s your favorite scary movie?
Scary movies and I aren’t on friendly terms so I would say my favorite scary movie is… *gestures vaguely around.*

Thoughts on Hocus Pocus 2?
I still have not watched it. It’s been on the list for the movie night my best friend and I do cross-country every week but we haven’t gotten there. Check back next week?

But seriously, check back next week for part two!

Monday, October 19, 2020