Halloween

Today is Halloween and I can't think of a better day to add my first post. As you may have noticed, I love fall and everything about it....this includes Halloween.

Work today has been pretty mellow for being Halloween but I have enjoyed seeing the kids in costume coming around to trick-or-treat.

In the several years I have worked here, the trend seems to be that no one dresses up so, as a result, I have never dressed up. This year however, I decided to have some fun and give in to my computer nerd self and fit in around here!

I can't take full credit for the idea. We had a Halloween party last weekend and my soon to be sister-in-law Mandi and her sister were dressed as nerds. I took notice.

I recalled a Java shirt that I had picked up at a store by my house that reads, "I have a friend." I didn't think much at first and then saw the Java logo on the sleeve and remembered that the web engineers I work with were in the process of becoming Java certified. I giggled to myself and bought it. Until this point, I only wore the shirt to workout and sleep in, not in that order of course, but now it would be seen outside the house.

I talked my sister Brandee, who is also a web developer at my work into dressing up as a nerd too and thanks to the tip from Mandi, we headed to Hot Topic.

Brandee picked up the "nerd kit" and I also got one for Marco, who had a costume theme of Revenge of the Nerds at work.

The kit includes:

• wig parted down the middle
• big black glasses with tape in the center
• rotten teeth
• pocket protector
• cut-off tie
  

To add to the ensemble, I also picked up a pair of suspenders for Marco to complete his look with his prior purchases from savers, a skinny tie and a multi-colored stripe short sleeve collar shirt. Let's just say he tried it on last night and looked like Booger from Revenge of the Nerds. He was workin' it!

As for me, I headed to the clearance section of the store and found some perfect pieces, which I will add, none of it was Halloween attire but day-to-day wear for the average teen rebel and twenty-something bad ass.

Among the goods were 80s inspired jewelry made of bright plastic and a lot of it, Strawberry Shortcake, Barbie and Hello Kitty buttons, stretchy jelly bracelets, and all sorts of vinyl spiked belts and chains-not so computer nerdy.

Since I already spent money on my real costume for our party, batgirl, I narrowed it down to items my budget could afford. I picked up a blue wrist band that reads, "My other ride is a robot," a button that reads, "I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am," some hot pink footless tights and some very large and colorful striped heart earrings.

Combine that with a polka dot sparkly headband, strawberry barrettes a colorful star tote to serve as a purse for my tickle-me-Elmo and other furry friends, an orange tie, a corduroy skirt, some Nikes, vintage nerd glasses, a pink belt, a side ponytail and a face full of bright adolescent applied make-up and you have yourself a nerd.

OK, so it may not be the typical computer nerd, but think of it more as Never Been Kissed nerd or Napolean Dynamite nerd, as in a girl trying really hard to be cute, but its just not working out.

Brandee on the other hand, was a computer nerd. So much so, that some of the desktop guys didn't really laugh because it is normal to them. She wore a baggy button down shirt with her pocket protector; which is apparently missing a pencil so said an engineer on our team, some baggy jeans rolled up and the shirt tail coming out the zipper fly; the whole nerd kit and pig tails.

The pictures, when posted, will speak for themselves!