Costume Party A successful social technique consists perhaps in finding unobjectionable means for individual self-assertion. -- Eric Hoffer

Friday, October 30, 1998

I was a bit distracted at work today, thinking about the costume party that Jack and I were going to. I left at four o'clock, and drove home to assemble my costume from various bits and pieces I had on hand.

We had arranged that Jack would pick me up at my place, on the way back from driving his daughter to Olympia. I was ready and waiting, so I was surprised to get a call from him from his place! He had forgotten his belt pouch with my number, so had driven straight back there. Could I drive over there? That would resolve some logistical difficulties for the evening. I could drive my car, but not his stick-shift Ford Explorer, and that way he could drink at the party. This was fine with me, so I hopped in my car and headed on over.

I was surprised to see Jack already dressed in his costume! His friend and former coworker Brett had helped him get into his great kilt. That's an old-style kilt a la Braveheart, simply a long length of fabric, rather than a pre-pleated modern kilt. Jack had told me this was the first time he'd worn a costume in about twenty years, since a toga party when he was in the Air Force! He had picked this because of his interest in his Scots heritage, and the ease of construction, and because it gave him a chance to wear his sword. Brett loaned him the sweater. Note the flask, filled with Glennfiddich, cask-strength.

I drove my car, following Brett, to the party, which was at a house in the Bridle Trails area. This is a subdivision built with horses in mind, and many folks who live there have horses in the backyard, including our hosts. I didn't make it into the backyard to see the stable, though.

Brandy and Mark were our hosts. They both work for Microsoft, and I think most of the guests did as well. The house was modest in size, as these places go, but they had lots of cool toys there! The main feature in the living room was a full-size cast of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull! This was the skull called "Sue" that's been involved in legal wrangling for several years, so only around ten replicas exist. They also had a big screen TV in the family room (I approve strongly!) and a cute German Shepherd puppy, around two months old.

They did a lot to decorate the house. There was a fog machine and lasers in the living room, spooky drapes covering all the furniture and separating the living room and dining room, and all manner of Halloween gadgets. I especially loved (before it drove us all quite mad) the skull that repeats everything it hears, one octave lower. Great food! Russian piroshkies -- dumplings of beef and veggie varieties, and sweet ones with apples or other fruit, and borscht! Lots to drink, as well. The kitchen table was covered with every kind of liquor you might want.

It's the fog machine that makes the colors in this image a bit strange. For my costume, I wore a black hat decorated with gold stuff, a black sequin mask, a black lace tank top and a black skirt. Under this I wore my red satin bustier (first time I've had a chance to wear this! ) and red stockings. One of our hosts collects old cameras, which were a feature of the living room along with the dinosaur skull. These are visible on the mantle behind me.

We had a great time at the party, though I think there were not as many folks there as in previous years. I talked for a time with one woman who works in the recruiting department at Microsoft. She seemed intimidated by the computer topics that were dominating the conversations, and said several times (not to me, but generally) that she was non-technical. I told her that I had started out that way, but I've learned as I've gone along. (I wasn't intimidated by these topics, but I will admit to being a little bored by some of them. So: I move to another part of the party, or start a new topic!) I talked for quite a while with one man, about movies and science fiction. I started this conversation with one of my favorite gambits when meeting someone new: "What have you been doing for fun, lately?" This usually gets some response that I can comment on. If they say they haven't been doing anything fun, we talk about that! (And I don't think that's a proper way to live!)

I talked about movies with this guy while Jack was in the hot tub. To call this feature just a hot tub is really not doing it justice! It's in front of the house, but very secluded among the trees. To find it, you walk along a flagstone path, planted in mint and rock cress. The "tub" is below ground, and looks like a mountain pond or natural hot spring, surrounded by boulders. I didn't get in, because we'd left Jack's place so quickly that I hadn't remembered to take my bathing suit out of my bag, and I wasn't quite comfortable enough to bathe nude with strangers in someone's front yard, secluded though it might be. No one else was nude, either. Even Jack wore the shorts he'd been wearing under his kilt.

When Jack decided he'd been parboiled enough, and the party seemed to be winding down, we drove back to his place, stopping for ice cream on the way. I bought three kinds! though we only ate the Triple Chocolate Truffle. I was surprised that Jack seemed unfamiliar with the concept of eating ice cream directly from the carton! Why bother scooping it into bowls? I made myself laugh when we were watching Letterman. I said to myself, "I guess CBS has gotten smart and is showing Late Show repeats on Saturday nights, now." Then when we switched to Conan on NBC, it sank in -- it wasn't Saturday night at all! It was still Friday evening!

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