Mr. November

I knew October was going to fly by, with all of the change of the season activities... I was feeling overwhelmed towards the end.

My two big house-held events went great: the Eat So They Can potluck on the 17th, and the Devil's Night party on the 30th. I raised the $500 minimum requirement to be eligible for a trip to Africa to help distribute the money raised. Of course, I also had a bunch of friends and neighbors over and shared some delicious food. Afterward I hung out with Ben for a few hours and had great conversation.

The next day, I decided to take a long walk. I had somewhat of a revelation along the way. I realized that all of the emphasis I had put on other people motivating me to be the way I should be was really just myself feeling inspired to bring out the part of me that I admired in others and hadn't yet realized in myself.

The following weekend Alex came over and the two of us went to the Harvest Beer Festival in Eastern Market. It was much colder than I had dressed for, but that only prompted me to drink more. We made it home, watched a movie, then went to Qdoba for dinner before driving out to Rochester for my friend Cori's Halloween party. The people there were a lot older than Alex and I, but we hung around for a while before driving back to Royal Oak and hanging out with Ben, Liz, Dan, and Stephanie.

That weekend was at the center of a really intense project that Chris and I worked on that resulted in seven long workdays (some of them 12+ hour) and an additional eight hours on Sunday. At least it will make for a nice paycheck in a couple weeks.

October ended with an enjoyable Halloween. Friday I had my Devil's Night party, and had a great turnout. Considering, I had fairly minimal clean up the following day (plus $8.00 in can returns!) I had intended to take it easy on Halloween day, but Ben, Liz, and Adam (who was in town for mine and another party) convinced me to go to this other party with them. So, Halloween Day I spent hanging out with Ben and Adam while Liz had to work. Afterward we drove out to Rochester for this party. It was in a townhouse that was near the Oakland University campus. A lot of college kids... none of whom I knew. It was definitely a well-thrown party, but the atmosphere was a little too "frat house", and we were all happy to leave after a couple hours.

This week, I started on a company-wide project to produce a documentary. I've spent the past couple days capturing hours and hours of footage that we've collected and logging the shots. Over the next few months we'll continue to scan the already-loaded footage and try and form a cohesive story.

I am going to do my best to relax and enjoy the upcoming holiday season. I've already got a surprise present idea for my parents, and am glad to have new windows in my house. I want to try grow a full-on beard for the first time. I also got myself the coolest winter hat I've ever owned. This winter won't be quite as cold as the last one.