Halloween

is coming up real soon, eh?

Last year, our university approved having a fall break, just as other universities have a fall reading week. When I first heard of this, I thought, "dang, why do good things always happen after I graduate?!" but then when I decided I was coming back, one of the first thoughts was, "Aww yissss, I'm gonna get to experiemce FALL READING WEEK!"

And then the university was like, "no, you only get two days, suckers!"

So our fall break is only two days long, but it adds on to the weekend, so we get an extra long weekend, which isn't too shabby if you put it that way. Plus it's an extra long weekend for me, since my Wednesday lab is cancelled for that day!

It also isn't shabby because one of the days we get off is Halloween! I have never been to a Halloween party at university. Nor will I this year... most likely. I think I might be going home for the break, so I'll still be able to join my siblings' and little cousins' Halloween festivities; this means free candy, and I finally have an opportunity to dress up! I haven't dressed up in the LONGEST time. The last costume I ever wore for Halloween was a stupid one - partly because it was really last-minute as we were asked to accompany our little brother and cousins trick-or-treating a few hours before they planned to head out: my sisters and I went as a bunch of tourists. We had t-shirts that we had from different cities (I had a "I <3 NY" t-shirt on), sunglasses, hats, backpacks and fanny packs; and asked for candy in foreign accents. Yeah, it was pretty lame...

This year, though - I am so so sooooo excited because this is the best costume idea ever - I'm going to be a character from one of my most favourite movies ever. I thought about using this costume years before, but I never really had the opportunity to dress up as I was never invited to any parties, nor did I have anyone to trick-or-treat with...

Without further ado, I'll be dressing up as:

... Violet from the Incredibles! At the time when the movie came out, she was a character I related to in a few aspects: she's the eldest child in the family (with a very annoying sibling - though I have three); and not very confident in herself and pretty shy at the beginning of the movie. Watching her transformation/maturation during the movie was a bit inspiring for 13-year-old me... though I haven't really cracked my shell or upped my self-confidence too much since then.

One of my favourite parts - I'm sure every girl has done this at least once in her life, haha.

Oh, and we have pretty similar hair.

Here is what I have so far for my costume... I have two versions:

Version 1:

• Team Canada shirsey - I don't own any plain, solid, vivid red tees, other than this and my Blackhawks tee... so I turned it inside out - and you can still kinda see the Team Canada logo, but I'll be taping the Incredibles logo that I drew over that.
• Black long-sleeve tee from Forever 21
• Red opaque tights from Target - I got these today and they are SO red and SO opaque. I really, really like them.
• Black shorts which were my mom's

 

Version 2: is pretty much the same, except I swapped out the shorts for a black swimsuit bottom, which I think works better because it's tight and looks more like all the skin-tight superhero outfits you see; but it's a bit short... so we'll see what I decide when Halloween comes.

I might also try to find an orange belt of some sort, but if I don't, then it's a detail I don't really mind missing... I'll also have to find my black gloves...

As for footwear, Violet wears thigh-high boots, which would be pretty insane in reality. So I'll be opting for knee-high socks with my Converses.

And up on my head and face will be an orange headband, and of course, the mask - both of which I will probably have to make on my own... not that it's a big problem. I'm just really surprised that the dollar store and Target I went to did NOT have any black masks! Actually, Target did have them... but in packs (of 18, or some other ridiculous number) as part of a mask-making kit. But the dollar store is supposed to have everything! Sigh...

Anyhow. That's it for today's post. I have an essay to write...

Have I mentioned how excited I am to wear this!?!

Edit: I procrastinated on my essay, made a prototype mask instead.

This has been a shameless self-promo. Check out my Instagram!

Music Monday ft. Hey Ocean!

Haven't done this in a while. But I was motivated to make this post because I have just found a new band to obsess over. Like, literally, just found this band.

Okay maybe not just found. The first time I heard a song by Hey Ocean! was last year - when this song popped up on the 8tracks playlist I was listening to:

Islands
(Here is the playlist by the way - one of my favourites.)

It immediately caught my attention because firstly, it was completely different from the pop-rock/punk tracks that most of the playlist had already been; and secondly, it was a male/female duet! And, goodness, have I ever expressed my love for duets? I mean, it's not a duet in the sense that it's one voice singing to another; but it is, in the sense that two voice are performing together, I suppose.

I remember looking them up after that and adding a few tracks to my Grooveshark collection. I learned that they are a Canadian band (woohoo!) from Vancouver, BC. Oh, and that the female vocalist is a voice actress who does the voice of some My Little Pony character. Her singing voice is oh-so-sweet and light though.

Anyhow, after that, I didn't really delve into their music any further. I rediscovered them yesterday afternoon when I pulled up their album on my phone's playlist that I forgot I had downloaded a while ago (from NoiseTrade - a great site to discover and download new music).

Alley Ways

It was this song that kinda sparked my interest in them again. Oh, and I love songs in 6/8 time.

I went through a whole bunch of songs last night, and here are some more awesome songs (and the videos themselves are great too).

Big Blue Wave

I am a Heart

Make A New Dance Up

This song has been on the radio these days, and I always get so excited when it comes on. It just has that reggae-ish groove that makes you wanna dance. Ugh, it's such a happy, happy song as are the other two. But this is definitely one you'd find me dancing around the house to when no one else is at home.

Fifteen Words

A bit more somber than the last videos. I love the vocalizing parts. Those harmonies make me melt. Oh and speaking of harmonies:

Jolene (acoustic)

What's that dripping noise? OH SHIT, I'M MELTING.

I guess this has been a Hey Ocean! post. But here's an extra song if you didn't like any of those...

Still Into You - Paramore

I don't know why it took me so long to get into this song. But I think I was frightened by Hayley's haircut...

Anyhow, that is it for this edition of Music Monday. If you didn't like any of it, that's too bad... Happy listening!