Hallowe'en at Work

I've just come back from the costume-judging down in the lobby of my place of employment. In an office of 45, we had 18 people in costume (and I think the warehouse workers can be forgiven for not wanting to operate heavy machinery in capes). Everyone got a prize and a chocolate bar (Belgian milk, top notch stuff) - we have an excellent social committee which takes care of all the little details that contribute greatly to everyone's enjoyment of the day. We have a pirate, a cowboy, an olde-tyme gold miner, a Scottish laird, several witches, a gypsy (me, in a purple wig. Most fetching, I think), Medusa, a couple of faeries (of the Tinkerbell variety), a delightful animé doll, and an assortment of monster-types.

I've had a couple of minor problems with my costume:

1. long, sweeping gypsy skirts and wheeled computer chairs are incompatible. I've pinned myself to my seat at least a dozen times already today.

2. it's difficult to type with 6" of bangles on either arm, as they keep my wrists elevated. On the bright side, I don't expect gypsies have a lot of trouble with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

I'm kind of enjoying the long hair - especially flicking it back over my shoulders with dramatic flair. And it gives me something to do when I'm proof-reading - I've added several LOTR-elf-style braids and knots to it.

And, since I'm wearing 18 lbs of jangling beads and bangles, I haven't had a single head-on collision today. We have enough blind corners in this office that getting a cup of coffee can be quite a hazardous operation, unless, as I do, you have your own early warning system.

I've had enough compliments on the purple hair that I'm thinking I might try it for real, next time it's short (I'm growing it out right now and am sticking to one colour - Feria Chocolate Cherry, in case you were interested - for the duration. Last time I grew my hair long, I swapped shades a few times and wound up with an oddly banded look).

I quite like the gypsy look, to be honest. I think, once the kids are grown and I don't have to worry about scarring their little psyches, I'll adopt a more bohemian personal style. And mutter curses at people who cut me off in traffic ...