Halloween

Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays.  Ever since I was a child, I had always participated in the ritual of dressing up.  This is one of the only holidays where it is encouraged for men to wear make up; I am no stranger to face paint.

I’ve noticed the last few years, the emphasis on Halloween has strewn away from trick or treating, and towards halloween parties.  By convention, it is inappropriate for adults to show up at strangers doors and ask for candy.  Instead, it is expected that one should conceal their identity and get as drunk as possible because nobody will recognize you.

Halloween in Beijing was interesting.  Halloween is only really celebrated in North America; it is just another day in China.  Luckily, there is a strong expat community, so there is always some house party to go to.

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2007:  Halloween in Beijing.  Tomas (afro) won the best costume contest.  I’m supposed to be an Italian gangster, but I’ve never seen Tony Soprano do that pose.

 

During my first few years of engineering, I couldn’t really spend a lot of time on costumes due to usually having a few midterms the week of Halloween.  Even if I didn’t get to go out the night of, I would still dress up to get in the spirit.

2007
2007:  1st year engineering.  Notice the hard hat, and the streetcar in the background.  I wore this to lectures.  It was really REALLY hot.

 

2007:  This is actually the first time I met Thuy.  I was also supposed to be studying for an exam and threw this costume together with whatever I had in my closet.  I was supposed to be an "engineer", but ended up looking like one of the village people.
2007: This is actually the first time I met Thuy. I was also supposed to be studying for an exam and threw this costume together with whatever I had in my closet. I was supposed to be an “engineer”, but ended up looking like one of the village people.

 

2009:  Jack-sparrow inspired pirate.  Notice my mom's costume.  She made that by hand!  Ricky on the right is also very crafty with a sewing machine
2008: Jack-sparrow inspired pirate. Notice my mom’s costume. She made that by hand! Ricky on the right is also very crafty with a sewing machine

 

2009:  I'm pretty sure I didn't go out to a club in this getup.  I mean, this is a costume my mom made for herself.
2009: I’m pretty sure I didn’t go out to a club in this getup. I mean, this is a costume my mom made for herself.

I believe I’ve gotten better at dressing up.  Or perhaps I’ve just learned how to put on makeup.

2010:  I believe this is one of the most (unintentionally) creepy costumes I've ever done.  I learned an important lesson that night:  do not buy the cheapest facepaint on the rack.  I think I ended the night looking like a crack addict.
2010: I believe this is one of the most (unintentionally) creepy costumes I’ve ever done. I learned an important lesson that night: do not buy the cheapest facepaint on the rack. I think I ended the night looking like a crack addict.

This is probably the best costume I’ve ever done.  The chinese shirt cost me about $20, the wig another $20, and I bought the fan in China for less than $1.

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2011:  From this point on, I’ve done couples costumes with Thuy.  This year I was the zombie emperor and she was my concubine.  You can buy Chinese clothing surprisingly cheap in Chinatown.

 

 

2012:  This year I was a vampire and she was my victim.  If you are ever a vampire, make sure to draw the widows peak into your hairline!
2012: This year I was a vampire and she was my victim. If you are ever a vampire, make sure to draw the widows peak into your hairline!

Doing a group costume is actually a lot of fun.  The theme was ‘army’ and people generally have different ideas of what that means, so there is a lot room for creativity.  I jokingly wanted to do a Chinese military costume or a confederate solider, but I was discouraged to do so.

2013:  This year was the first time I've ever done a group costume.  it's also the first time I've ever been allowed to bring anything gun-like into a nightclub!
2013: This year was the first time I’ve ever done a group costume. it’s also the first time I’ve ever been allowed to bring anything gun-like into a nightclub!

I think its much easier to do costumes as a guy.  There is no real pressure to be ‘sexy’.  As you can see, most of my costumes have been rather silly.  But sometimes you can mix silly and sexy:

 

Sexy banana.  Really ...?
Sexy banana. Really …?

Review of Algonquin Park: Canisbay Lake

Review of Algonquin Park:  Canisbay Lake

I got the chance to go to camping for a weekend.  This would be my second time camping at Algonquin park this summer, and I’d like to document the experience so each time I go it gets better.

The drive:  4/10

This time of year traffic is bad, so what was calculated to be a 3.5h drive from downtown Toronto turned into  a 5 hour drive.  After hearing the 400 was packed, we decided to go through some of the country backroads instead. We got stuck on the Northbound rush out of the city at 3PM, but it looked like traffic was heavy since about noon.    I think its safe to assume that everybody is heading is either taking Friday afternoon off, or heading up to cottage country.


View Larger Map


About 10 minutes before you enter Algonquin on highway 60, there is a Walmart and a Dollar Store on the way at highway 60 and 11 (C on the map above).  Between these two places, you should to buy anything you forgot to pack before entering the park.

There’s also an East Side Mario’s that we ate at on the way back.  I got a free desert and felt like a kid when the staff sung me happy birthday :).

Camping and the Camp Site: 7/10

We had two camp sites maxed out with 6 campers each.  We stayed at campsite 42 and 43, which is in the middle of the loop.   The camp sites were clean and large enough, but a little too close to the other sites.  At 11 o’clock at night the park ranger came and told us to shut up because he could hear us from the entrance.  Next time I would suggest picking a more secluded camp sites such as 126-128.  This is next to a water fountain and outhouse, but farther from the beach and showers.  This would give our large group a little more space to be loud, and also its in a RADIO ON zone.

Two people in a 6 person tent gives you a lot room to move around.  We had an air mattress, which made sleeping MUCH more comfortable than last time.  I easily slept through the night, except for the first night when a raccoon decided tried to get into our tent, and when the wolves were howling at each other.

We also forgot a few vital things, such as a can opener.  If you think you can open a can of beans with a hatchet, you should probably bring a raincoat.  We ran out of bowls, so we improvised by using aluminium foil folded into a bowl.

Stargazing: 9/10

The beach was a 10-15 minute walk from our campsite using a shortcut through the woods to the beach.  When we got there it was  clear and great to look at for about 20 minutes, then the clouds came and made everything hard to see.  Some of us lay on the wet sand, and some of us sat on a wet bench.  Next time I’d either bring a towel or the folding chairs.

Portaging: 8/10

[Original Map]

Portaging was the highlight of the trip.  The route we took was long and challenging, but doable for inexperienced relatively-fit portagers.  This 12-hour route took us through 39.1km of lakes, 4.2km of portages (12 portages), short 100m puddle jumps, over beaver dams, and through difficult to maneuver river passages.  We left the Portage Store at 8:30AM, and got back at about 8:00, just before sunset.

All 12 of us went on this trip, so big groups are doable but some of the portage spots got a little bit crowded with 4 canoes.  We portaged our 3 man canoes with 2 people; one at the front, one at the back.  Portages ranged from 110m to 710m.   I carried the front of the canoe by resting the nose of the canoe on my shoulder; whereas the carrier in the back would put the back seat on his shoulders/traps.  The lifejackets can be used as makeshift cushions and allowed me to shoulder the canoe without pain for about 250m.  The canoe isn’t heavy, but it does hurt after awhile.  The 710m portage was painful, but doable without rest.

There is a 20ft high cliff an hour from the rental store.  We tied off the canoes at the shore and went down a cliffside path. The water in front of the cliff is about 2m deep, which makes is safe to jump off.

We didn’t see much wildlife.  We saw some crows, loons, and some ducks.

Everyone tried to bring at least a litre of water, but we still ended up running out .  Getting desperate, some of us tried drinking lake water without getting diarreah, but we’ll have them checked for parasites when we get back.  Apparently its okay sometimes but not all, and in the middle of the lake away from traffic, fishing, swimming etc  is generally the best.  Drinking water near a beaver dam is a no-no.

We packed a little more than 2 sandwiches per person, but the cheese singles melted and became visually unappealing.  We only had 8 peanut butter sandcastles which went first.  Apparently some campers like to pack ‘suicide sandwhiches’, which consist of peanut butter, jelly and cheese wiz.  Yummy.

Summary

– Traffic was bad both ways

++ I feel like I proved something during that 12 hour portage trip

– Forgotten items: can opener, dishwashing tools, area light (non-directional lamp)/head mounted light, hand broom, extra underwear, jacket

– Kicked a rock coming back up from cliff diving

– Sunburn on legs and arms

+ Got a free dessert at East Side Marios

=As expected, there are animal disturbances

 Trip Rating: 8/10