This post’s out easily a week later than I wanted it to be, its author on the tail end of a week relentless with its to-do list. But with Halloween and my son’s second birthday party both in the past, I can put a little more time back into writing and the tale of how I finished October with a new phone in my pocket, eyes open to an entirely new world of deliciousness, and all other sorts of random in the life and times of Casey Palmer!
Before I start, this post is indirectly brought to you by Google Photos, because without a visual history of what I’ve been up to, I’d have no clue of what went down every week.
I finished October with my family game on fleek, spending most of my time either at the 9-5 getting things done or at home with my wife and son, the little joys that pop up in the days. How cute Little Man looks when he’s done his breakfast in the morning and wants to fake a nap with his parents. Or hitting up a Halloween party for the neighbourhood toddlers, watching at least a dozen 2-year olds run around as their parents sat watch at the edges of a plush, carpeted basement (Pro Tip: if you’re going to a potluck, be the one who brings the beer!) I used a SportChek credit to keep my underwear gear on point with the Saxx Underwear Company’s Platinum line; we made our preparations to celebrate the Little Man’s second birthday… even when I wasn’t living it up as part of the #BloggerLife, I feel blessed that life had plenty in store to keep me satisfied, always reminding me there’s more to life than the mischief I get into online.
But if you think the #BloggerLife took a week off, trust me—you don’t know CaseP; there was still plenty afoot in the week leading up to Halloween—let me tell you a bit about it!
I doubted myself for a while there, but I’m finally at the point where I think I’ll actually close The 2013 100 in time ???? I’ve already promised myself that I’ll be a lot more organized in 2014, not forcing posts out in the last few days of the year like I am now. I look forward to what’s coming in the year ahead. Trips, more things to learn about fatherhood, telling better tales… but let me save all that for the last post. For now, let’s get into 81-90!
But before we go there… let me talk a bit about Halloween.
When Did Your Inner Children Die?
Here’s a question for everyone: when did people forget how to have fun? When did anyone worry about whether dressing up was “cool” or not? Seriously—when did you people let your inner children die?
I wore my aforementioned Ghostbusters outfit (sans proton pack, which I haven’t fixed yet) to work, only to discover that I was the only one dressed up.
Totally uncool. The fact that everyone was so worried about keeping up appearances (or on the other end of the spectrum, didn’t care enough to bother dressing up) that they couldn’t cut loose for a day and have a little fun (or, again on the flip side, are too beaten down by life to bother) really bothers me. Policies? Guidelines? Permission???
Are you kidding me? It’s HALLOWEEN!!!
Anyway. Gives me a lot to think about—the environments I’m in, the people I hang with—but that’s not the point of this post.
NANOWRIMOvember—Where I Grow Facial Hair and Grow Tired of Writing!
“Suddenly, a wild November appeared!”
–no one in the Pokémon game series ever
Movember Day 1 with a clean-shaven face and head to match!
So we’ve finally reached the final stretch of 2012, where we wonder where the year went, worry about what to get people for Christmas and get fat off of all the holiday parties that tend to go down!
Well, we’re not quite there yet. We still have to make it through November.
November is an anomaly of a month. Not only is it one of the few months without a statutory holiday in Ontario, unlike its cousin named June, there’s very little that we tend to like about it. No hot weather, no looking forward to the summer—just reminders that we’re getting back to layering up and grey—oh so grey—skies above.
But not all is lost in November…
NANOWRIMO: I Got 50K Problems, Finishing Ain’t One
Can I write a 50,000-word novel in a MONTH? Time will tell…
As if I’m not busy enough (because we Torontonians love being busy), I decided that writing something for National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO for short) would be a good idea this year.
The basic premise: write a 50,000-word novel through the month of November. To put that in perspective:
a good length for a blog post is around 400-500 words
when you’re writing an essay for school, a double-spaced page is about 500 words
So about 100 blogs and/or 20 or so essays over the course of a month on top of regular blog posts and Mansformation.
Not exactly my brightest idea, but no one can ever say I’m unambitious! But fortunately, I’m brimming full of ideas, so stay tuned, amigos!
Movember: Gimme Some Mo’!!!
With Movember comes events, awareness and a solid excuse for guys to grow some wicked awesome beards! I’ll admit that I never got around to participating until this year, but I look forward to seeing what I can come up with after a month! (If my post-Africa pics are any indication, apparently not much.)
I’ve drawn a quick mock-up in good ol’ Photoshop to let you see what my facial hair would look like at the end of Movember in an ideal world…
I call it… the “Evil Overlord”!!!
…but I fear that a beard of awesome won’t be a dream soon realized.
I don’t fight alone against prostate cancer, though—friends like Amanda Blake are throwing events in support of Movember! You can find me at her After Work Drinks Toronto event (or #AWDTO for the hashtag-inclined) on November 8th snapping photos and hanging out with some great company. With a $10 price tag (going right to Movember) to have free beer samples, more fun than you usually ever do and the chance to win some great prizes, I definitely encourage you to show up!
But no Movember blog post would be complete without a little self-promotion! I believe in supporting causes to help humanity improve—I support friends who climb towers, ride bikes and do all sorts of activities through the year in the name of various causes, but I rarely enter the fray myself. So now that I have, I hope that friends can give generously and help contribute to the fight for a better (and prostate cancer-free) future!
Play Me Off, Keyboard Cat
So while the news might tell you that it’s time to get yourself in Christmas mode (only 53 shopping days left, people!), November is no month to be glossed over!
So while I’m rockin’ the Mo’ and writing fo’ sho — what the heck will YOU be doing all month?
Tell your wife, tell your kids, tell your husbands:
Scorpion posing with some ladies—Scorpion… WINS!!!
It was less than a day to the SauzaSin party and I was screwed.
There was a lesson to be learned here—never buy anything for a costume that’s inflatable!
Ghostbusted
I’d mentioned earlier that Halloween’s usually a bit of a fail for me with costumes—I seriously don’t know how anyone in this city manages to find the time to work on awesome costumes—I commend those of you who do!
I’d stopped in at some It’s My Party discount store to pick up a costume, winding up with a Ghostbusters outfit with an inflatable proton pack, thinking it would be a safe and recognizable costume choice.
Recognizable as a hot mess, maybe!
It wasn’t until the night before the party where I decided to check the costume out (dumb move, right?), only to discover that the proton pack had a huge hole in it!
Problem. After getting work out of the way for the day, I was left with less than 2 hours until the party, and was without a costume—I try to never half-ass anything, so I needed to find something that would make a good impression on the crowd.
And at It’s My Party, I saw it. The costume that would set the tone for the rest of my night…
Y’all Gon’ Make Me Go All Out—Up in Here, Up in Here!!!
Note: No pockets meant no camera, though, so I’m relying on other people’s photos (you down with O.P.P.?!) to tell this story right.
There is no easier way to put this—you don’t know what you missed that night if you weren’t there.
Might sound obvious, but it’s true—PartyPeopleTOknows how to throw down with their parties and there’s no way that Thursday was an exception. These guys just outdo themselves with each new party they throw!
Held at the Stirling Room in Toronto’s Distillery District, SauzaSin was a fine combination of scintillating sounds, savoury Sauza and sumptuous sin! Greeted at the door by Meg herself (the head of this whole PartyPeopleTO deal) in a stunning She-Ra costume, she and the door crew would make sure that we got our drink tickets, welcome shot and that we were good and ready for the night!
Seriously, it was crazy in there with the amount of effort people put into their costumes! Dressed as Mortal Kombat’s Scorpion, I spent the night meeting new people and making sure to show my martial arts prowess (read: flailing) with lots of battle stances and high kicks!
It’s all about staying in character, man!
But let me tell you this—getting your groove on in a full bodysuit and mask? Crazy fun! Not my brightest moment logistically, but I was definitely enjoying myself!
Our drink tickets were good for trying two different drinks—the Witch’s Cauldron and the Diablo’s Curse. People will tell you different, but I thought the odd green-coloured Witch’s Cauldron was the better bet!
But this was all a prelude to who rocked the best costume….
“Scorpion, a priest and a construction worker walk into a bar…” — Nate Kogan
I definitely have to thank everyone at the party for voting me for Best Male Costume! Though my original choice didn’t work out, I wanted to make sure that I still brought the heat with whatever I chose, and it looks like the crowd agreed with me!
Sarah couldn’t believe her ears when I told her that we’d managed to win the trip—we’d been hoping to go to Vegas sometime soon anyway (to coincide with a hopeful trip to Bloggers in Sin City in May), but this was totally some very delicious Sauza icing on the cake!
I have to thank PartyPeopleTO and PRAXIS PR for the awesome party they put together and the amazing opportunity for Sarah and I to explore Las Vegas together! I really look forward to seeing what comes next!
As any good party of Tweeples, though, PartyPeopleTO made sure that no one would be leaving empty-handed and that the Sauza Sin shots would keep flowing well after the end of the party:
And one for the road….
You can catch more of PartyPeopleTO’s photos from the party in their Facebook album.
Great people, great venue, amazing times. If you managed to score an invite — what’s your excuse for missing out???
Until next time…
Tryin’ to outdo me and my costume??? #CmonSon
Tell your wife, tell your kids, tell your husbands:
It’s the time of the year where the crazy outfits come out, and dentists make a killing. Sure, I could always go to a store and buy a Batman costume or something, but this is only an indicator of a pattern that haunts me every year:
I have an amazing idea for a Halloween costume. Past examples include Link from the Legend of Zelda series, King Bowser Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. series or a dark Medieval knight clad in some bad-ass armour. I’d win every costume competition and have every head in the room to see how awesome I looked!
I realize that somehow it’s already late September or early October and there’s no way I’ll be able to put an awesome Halloween costume together in time.
Get through Halloween with some mediocre store-bought costume, vowing that I’ll have something way more awesome next year.
Spend the year doing everything but sort out a wicked costume idea.
Repeat from Step 1.
So while this year saw no deviation from my annual ritual (as Justin would say, “Stay free to lofty ambitions”), there is, fortunately, no shortage of Halloween parties that’ll have me anyway.
