October / November Retrospective
October and November have flown past without me having time to document some of the strange things that we've been up to - other than the Diefenbunker Zombie Costume Contest and the 3rd Semi-Annual Scotchtoberfest - so I thought I'd write up a brief summary.
1) Our Anniversary!
October 30th was Meg's and my 13th wedding anniversary (I know, shara, it has been 13 years!), so for the weekend of the 27th and 28th we shipped Rowan off to my brother's place (she got a weekend with her aunt and uncle) so we could attend the Diefenbunker "Incident at the Bunker" on the afternoon of the 27th, and then get into costume for the Witches Gathering later that evening. We unfortunately missed the Zombie Walk, which was also the afternoon of the 27th, but maybe we'll get to that next year. So, with Rowan packed off we had a relaxing morning/afternoon and headed to the Diefenbunker for 2:00pm. We arrived 15 minutes early, as requested, and waited with all the other zombie fanatics (including some people who we later discovered had been at the Run For Your Lives event near Toronto!).
Then the fire trucks started to arrive, and odd smoke poured out of the Diefenbunker entrance. At first everyone thought this was part of the "show", but when the zombies started being evacuated from the bunker it was clear that it wasn't. After waiting about 45 minutes, we realized that we weren't going to be able to participate and make it back in time to get into costume for the Witches Gathering. Luckily, the Diefenbunker was willing to swap out our tickets and re-book us for the next weekend, but that meant that Rowan and I would have to go as Meg was scheduled for her follow-up trip to the tattoo parlour (yes, Meg got a tattoo; and no, I don't have any pictures of it right at this moment).
Feeling a little disappointed we headed back to our place and started the make-up process. The theme for the evening was a celebration of the Mexican Day of the Dead, and we were told to dress as we would to welcome the dead. Meg decided to re-do her zombie costume, so I re-used my Umbrella Corporation Tactical Operative costume: my version of welcoming the dead was to put a bullet in their heads so they stayed dead...
Meg looking pretty freaky. I don't know how she does it with her eyes, but it might be a good thing that we couldn't get the theatrical contact lenses in...it would have been pretty disturbing.
The professional photos we had done at the Gathering.
Me, posing with our friend Rebecca, who I mistakenly described as a 'Dead Fairy'. Me, looming in the background.
The evening was a blast. We danced from 8:00 to about 1:00am, and we got nominated for a bunch of prizes (but didn't win...), mostly because our costumes were pretty different from everyone else's (although there were a couple of other zombies around). Then we went home and crashed. I don't think we got up until around 10:30am, had a nice lunch and then drove to my brother's place in Kingston, where we had dinner and socialized, and then drove home. As we were pulling up to my brother's place we saw this couple and their daughter out walking their dog and Meg commented that they looked like a really happy family, and then she realized it was my brother, his wife, Rowan, and their dog!
2) Diefenbunker - Incident at the Bunker!
On November 2nd, while Meg was out at the tattoo parlour, and after her swimming lesson and jiu jitsu class, Rowan and I went to the Diefenbunker...apparently the problem the week before had been as a result of the smoke machines they'd tried to use...so, no smoke, which would have made it pretty creepy. Overall it was an interesting experience, I won't say much about it in case they decide to repeat it next year, but it did make me want to go back and take a proper tour of the bunker. Rowan was pretty good; she only got freaked out when we got to the very bottom of the bunker, into a dark tunnel that went to the old Bank of Canada vault. I had to pick her up and carry her at that point, but otherwise she was a trooper (the 10 year old boy on the trip was also a bit scared).
3) Meg departs for various places in Asia!
Finally, last Friday (yesterday, I guess), Meg left for a three week business trip to Bangladesh and Vietnam. It is going to be an interesting three weeks, and I imagine she will be pretty wiped out by the time she gets back on the 23rd! Luckily all the overtime she'll be working will pretty much mean that she will be able to stay home with Rowan over the entirety of the Christmas and New Year's Holidays.