Darkness stirs and wakes imagination

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I am seriously seasonally affected; after all, it's a big reason I moved to LA. Well, it was especially clear to me tonight, when I left work in the pitch dark, and, after a day of feeling fairly energetic, I suddenly felt so tired, I questioned whether I was going to make it all the way home.

It didn't help that traffic has been HORRENDOUS lately - in fact, it has been so bad the last few weeks, I feel fairly confident in telling you that the recession has to be over - these people must be going somewhere. The commute took so long tonight, I didn't make my yoga class, and instead just went food shopping and headed home. Within ten minutes of walking in the door and turning on all the lights, I felt fine. Better than fine, actually - energetic and productive and like a normal person. As much as I enjoy waking up to actual sunlight, I'm already more than over daylight savings time.

The extra hour to sleep in on Sunday was nice, though. I needed it. For the first time since I've lived in LA, I had a pretty major Halloween. Having it on a Saturday night, helped. And I was excited to get one more use out of my 1992 prom dress!

I don't know why, but I seem to have a long-standing aversion to store-bought costumes. Despite the fact that they usually look better than anything I can craft on my own, I have a stubborn habit of always wanting to create something original from my closet. One year, I wore all black and painted my face and body silver. Another time, I decided to be a superhero, but couldn't decide what emblem should go on my chest. I went to the fabric store, traced a purple a purple sequined question mark, and attempted to sew it onto my shirt. However I must have been looking in the mirror while doing so, because Crafty McCrafterson sewed it on backwards. Rather than look mysterious and powerful, I just looked like a dyslexic joker. Go Super Grammar Girl, GO!

And then, for three years in a row in New York, I wore all black with a pink wig. I wonder where this year's costume ideas came from... Photo gallery is here.

I know I haven't been writing as much. I blame that on my DVR. One of my arguments for holding out as long as I did was that I don't need to watch more TV. "But you'll watch good TV!" everyone says. Yes, I do watch good TV, if you count watching Mad Men three times in a row and four episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 back-to-back, but I really didn't need the option to do so. Don't get me wrong - I'm head-over-heels in love with the device, but other, more mind-stretching activities are suffering.

Which is why I'm considering taking another course at UCLA this winter. There aren't any writing courses I'm interested in - at least not until I can get an actual writing project off the ground - so I'm thinking more broadly. I'm actually thinking of revisiting two courses I took as an undergrad: Art History in the Renaissance Era, and Introduction to Wine. (Yes, I took Beer and Wine Tasting, for credit, as a first-semester senior. My life was so good.) I loved both classes, went to every single one. I also forget most of what I learned. Both are around the same price and meet the same number of times per week. I figure either way, I'm becoming more cultured, and building quite the case for a return trip overseas.