Crooked Crane Game is a winner

Some of you will know this, but most of you won't; I'm a Halloweenie. It's an inherited passion, passed down through the Gilberts. Yes, Grandma, Mom and I all have a love of the gruesome holiday. Since I can remember, we decorated the house, dressed up, and hit the streets.

It's not about the mountain of candy you can amass with a well planned route. It's not even about the costumes. It's about experiencing autumn. When you step outside on October 31st, it isn't just any night. You can smell it in the air; feel it as the wind caresses your cheek. Some people think the veil between our world and the afterlife become thin enough to pass through. Ghost stories are told, resulting in goose bumps and a tingle down your spine. Myself, I'd say it's the most perfect night of the year. Cool, crisp, fresh. Full of promise.

The start of high school was the end of great Halloweens. You're suddenly too old to trick or treat. The women's section in the Halloween store seems more like a hooker's closet. Far away from friends, bars seem to be the only place to go. Surrounded by strangers who are only thinking about getting drunk (and getting laid), it becomes increasingly hard to have a good time. As for DJ's, while taking requests seems like a good idea, on Halloween it backfires. There aren't a whole lot of festive songs that aren't embarrassingly outdated. Thriller is the greatest Halloween song ever. Monster Mash... should have been allowed to rest in peace.

This Halloween seemed a bit last minute. For months I harassed John about costume ideas. After the Venner visit we had less than a week. I gave up on a couple costume when John told me he likes waiting until the day before to make his. I purchased a dress and declared myself a 50's Hollywood Movie Star. The day of, as he drove us to Walmart, I was offering suggestions ranging from ridiculous to decent. Receiving no feedback, I was fed up by the time we walked past the greeter. Turning to my left, I saw a crane machine.

Knowing John's affinity for them I offered my last suggestion, "You could be a crane machine..." That's all it took, and he was off and running. $30 and four hours later, John had his costume.

Katherine had invited us to join them for Halloween which we did. She and Don were dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite and Deb (the portrait photographer girlfriend). At 9 they decided the trick-or-treaters were done, and we went to the Flight Deck. John won the costume contest and $500. Katherine and I were dead on our feet by the time they announced it at 1 AM but John was all smiles.

Fisher Invasion

John and I are the only ones in our immediate families living out here in Calgary. John had to leave behind a lot, including his friends. No matter where I went I was going to be leaving someone behind. My parents are in Kansas. My brother and my friends are in Jersey, and my sister is way down in New Mexico. So why not follow love, end up in a different country, and see what there is to see?

Since we moved, our families have been talking about coming out to see us. The first ones to make the trek ended up being my parents. They aimed to come up for Canadian Thanksgiving; the idea being, John would be able to have guilt free time off with my folks! Also, it would be my parents first Canadian Thanksgiving! Now I wish I could give you the precise rundown of what we did on which days, but I failed to journal.

I know my memory's limitations, so I record everything in a journal. The problem is, now that I'm living with another person, and sharing the same bedroom, writing in bed is no longer an option. I don't feel comfortable journaling with a witness, and I'm not mean enough to kick him out of the room while I do. So yeah, I could leave the room, but by the time I get back, John is usually asleep, so I miss valuable cuddle time. "So do it during the day!" you are probably telling your computer. Sorry guys, that won't work either. The journal is also part of my falling asleep ritual. I usually have a ton of useless thoughts running through my head before bed, so the journal allows me to get it all out so I can actually sleep. I'm not sure how I will resolve this issue, so let's continue with the story!

My parents arrived October 9th, via Continental (much to John's disappointment). He was hoping they would fly up in Skywalker, the Mooney. If it had still been summer-ish weather, taking the little plane would have been much faster. Unfortunately, we had a cold snap that week, leading to snow in the mornings.

Snow on a grass landing stip = no stopping. Cold air = ice on the wings.
(Personally, I'm glad they left the flying to a commercial aircraft)

-October 9th was our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY by the way! Congrats to us! Don't worry, we celebrated the day before to avoid any awkwardness. However, this did not stop mom from offering to wear earplugs (the start of many embarassing yet humorous comments).

Now the problem with moving to an unfamiliar location, and then trying to entertain family, is finding stuff to do with them. John and I were not (still aren't) familiar enough with Calgary to properly entertain visitors. We took them to Banff and did a little shopping. Mom and Dad bought us a set of western, wood handled steak knives. Thanks guys! We got to see an Asian tourist wipeout and almost take me with her. John got to learn a few things that no boyfriend deserves to know. He and my parents enjoyed my embarassment as mom began to freely share all sorts of info.

We decided to go check out Lake Louise while we were out that way. It was a first for all of us which made it a little more special. That cold snap made being outside less than pleasurable so the time spent there was short but sweet. We managed to get a couple pictures, and then we ditched.

I had done a little research before they came up, and discovered the +15 Walkway system. The +15 is a covered, elevated walkway system that allows Calgarians to go from building to building without having to go outside during the freezing winter (My parents took pictures which are now on facebook.) We went on the weekend, so we didn't get the full experience. The main path South to North was open, but all of the side walkways were locked.

Since we were there and hadn't done it before, we went to the top of the Calgary Tower. While not as impressive as the CN Tower in Toronto (great memories), the Calgary Tower was still entertaining. They recently put in a glass floor, so we got to look down at the people on the street and the roofs of the shorter buildings surrounding it. Again, the pictures from this are on mom's facebook.

On Thanksgiving, John treated us to a tasty turkey. Mom and I learned a new trick to keep the turkey meat juicy, and we were all impressed with his stuffing. John got a taste of the midwest with the Gilbert Cranberry fluff recipe. He ate a ton of it, so I'm pretty sure he liked it. We took it easy that day. If we did anything besides eat, and do tons of laundry, I don't remember it, haha.

Tuesday morning we woke up to snow. Much to my displeasure, I got to drive my parents to the airport in it. Calgary does not believe in snow plows, apparently, and instead of using salt (it would run into the rivers and kill the fish), they use gravel. This is probably why most Albertans have cracks running across their windshields. We saw cars and SUV's in the ditches along the road and even got to watch one lose control at high speed. Thankfully we arrived at the airport on time and without incident!

Not to anyones great surprise, we survived the first family visit!