Maybe I should have come as a Homecoming Queen.

I'm rocking a cat lady costume today. Not a sexy Catwoman costume--a crazy hermit cat lady, otherwise known as a single woman's worst nightmare. My office is having a costume contest to benefit the United Way, and I've both known about and have been preparing for it for weeks. I came up with this idea a while ago, thinking that it would be simple and also fairly creative and original, with the added benefit of being comfy and warm.

This is my costume. I've got the kitty-cat print pajamas, the skanky bathrobe, the random curlers in my hair, the cat lady glasses (okay, I couldn't actually find cat lady glasses, so I settled for nerd glasses instead), and big fuzzy cat slippers on my feet (not pictured). I'm even covered in cat hair. That wasn't so much a planned part of the costume, it's just what happens to anything with a solid surface that comes through my front door.



In my head, when this picture was taken for purposes of contest voting, I was hugging the stuffed cat creepily and maniacally as though it was my preeeecioussssss and I was just a little too into cats. Of course, the picture shows that I was actually hugging it sweetly and completely non-threateningly. This is why I was never in drama club. But the point is, see what the web masters labeled my photo before posting it up for the polls? "BedtimeJean." And this is what people have been calling me all day. Apparently, "Crazy Hermit Cat Lady" is a little too esoteric for this crowd. They all look at me and laugh, and make some crack about my PJs and how I must have just rolled out of bed (I actually spent an hour getting dressed this morning, k'thx), and completely fail to notice that I'm covered head-to-toe in cats. There are a few who gave me credit for coming as "Sleepy Jean," as in "Daydream Believer," which is actually pretty clever, but, NOT! How can they not see that I'm a cat lady?

I'm so not going to win this contest.

At least I should get more points for originality than the umpty-five vampires who showed up today. That cinches it. I've already got the Sunnydale High tee-shirt and the wooden stake. Next year I'm just getting myself a blonde wig and coming as Buffy. And I'll be sure to also wear a pin that says "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" so that there's no confusion as to what I'm supposed to be.

But on the upside: PJs and fuzzy slippers at work = awesomely comfy. Also, it's a big food day, starting out with a pancake breakfast and culminating in a chili potluck for lunch. And tonight, there be chocolate. Happy Halloween, indeed.

In other news, I'm listening to that SomaFM Doomed channel that I linked below, and it is indeed hella creepy. I'm probably going to have to stop listening to it soon. I'm already sleep deprived from a pretty severe round of nightmares last night. I don't need this stuff settling in my subconscious and springing more on me tonight.

PS: What's really scary is how much I look like my mom in that picture. Not to say that my mom is scary looking. It's just... disconcerting.