Chipotle > Nanowrimo > Halloween

This is what Court Street in Athens, Ohio looks like on Halloween. For one weekend every year, the population of an already big school more than doubles, and there's barely an inch of personal space in any direction. Once I'd finished my free Chipotle burrito (first and foremost, the most important day of the year, and by far the best part of Halloween), I head out with a group of friends to people-watch and try not to get knocked over by props.

My God-- I'd never seen so many creative outfits in my life. It was like a Lady Gaga clone convention. I had my picture taken with a guy wearing a paper-mache head to look like Hey Arnold, moved out of the way of a gaggle of cheering girls dressed up as a six pack of beer, and talked with a boy who was wearing a cardboard box with a hole through it, labeled BALLOON BOY. While not as recognizable as the boys in helmets with cups glued to the tops (Double Dare contestants) or as tantalizing as the girls in "sexy" versions of the Disney princess dresses, my homemade Bellatrix Lestrange costume held its own.

After perusing the streets for a couple of hours, I got a pretty bad stomach ache, which probably stemmed from the fact that I hadn't eaten before my burrito in hopes that I'd be able to save enough room to relive last year's disgusting triple-Chipotle fest. Bad plan. Instead, I suffered through one burrito and then felt like I was having a baby made of guacamole and black beans. Luckily (well... you know what I mean), Heather was also not feeling well, so, like total losers, we left the biggest, craziest party in the country really early to have Girly Giggle Time in her room. We popped a couple Pepto Bismol, laughed over a marathon of I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, and got hyped up for NaNoWriMo. Heather and I counted eight separate ambulances rush past her room over the course of the night, people screamed and boozed and danced until all hours, and yet I worked on a novel until sunrise. Nerdfighters!

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, as of three in the afternoon on today, Day 1, I have nearly 7,000 words. I don't know if I've ever tirelessly written so much in such a short span of time, and I'm still going strong. My novel is about a thirteen-year-old girl named Gina, and it's one of those youthful insecurity stories that pretty much everyone can relate to, but will still probably be too controversial for a lot of people, because I'm trying to be as honest as possible. While I totally froze up with anxiety when Kristina asked me to send her an excerpt, I really like it so far. It's awesome that I didn't plan AT ALL, and wouldn't even allow my mind to wonder into the territory of plot before last night, and yet I've organically met this really fleshed-out character and I can already see where the story will probably go. I love writing, guys.

And now, finally, I am going to go shower and rid my arm of the Sharpie Dark Mark I drew to complete my costume, as well as cleanse my body and soul from a combination between too much fun and too much slaving away. College is exhilarating.

Sexy: Having handy writing buddies available at all times. I've been talking to Kristina on Skype for much of the morning, and we had a laugh about how, when my word count was up to 6,000, hers looked like this:

Unsexy: The condition of my physical appearance. Remnants of dark eyeshadow, hair in a floppy knot, big t-shirt and a pair of Heather's shorts. SHOWER TIME.

Chipotle burritos this year: 34

Bagel Street visits this school year: 4

Subscribers: Site maintenance. Will update next time.

Bye, guys! Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow. <3