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It's Halloween, and I feel just like a kid again.
Except in my case that's not a good thing.
I was raised Jehovah's Witness, and never a more inbred, closed-minded fundamentalist cult will you find anywhere else in so-called Christendom, with the possible exception of the Mormons.
Halloween was a pagan ritual, and we were therefore barred from observing it. (So was Christmas, and on that one they happen to be right, but what the hell.) I never carved a pumpkin until college (but I won 1st place in 4th grade for *painting* one... go figure, that was okay, but taking blade to squash was not.) I have still, to this day, never gone trick or treating.
Every year we would eat dinner with the lights as low as we could stand, and then quietly scurry off to the basement or some other 'hidden' place and do everything in our power to ensure that no one thought anyone was home. I could hear the other kids coming to the door anyway, could hear them giggling, ringing the doorbell, and then ensuing confused discussion until they left. I wonder if my folks realize exactly how much of a hell that was for a child... I finally realized after a few years that the reason we didn't just answer the door and say 'no' was that my Dad couldn't stand to see the disappointment on the kids' faces. Well, the other kids at least.
Tonight is similar. I have the lights off, I have the radio and TV off, and except for the glow of the backlight on this laptop, there isn't a light on in the house. I can hear the children coming to my in-laws' door a few feet away, and getting their candy, but I'm doing my best to Not Be Home. I haven't any candy to hand out in any case, not expecting to be home tonight, but instead be at work.
That didn't work out as planned however. I ran into a snag a bit ago, a rather large one. gcc is completely throwing away information I need, and in this case there is no possible way that I can see to reconstruct it... and it is essential information. This means that the past four months of my working life have been wasted, unless someone out there knows a way to get around it.
So tonight, I have the lights out, I have rum, and scotch, and eggnog. I can't stand to face happy children tonight, and I could stand less to tell them that I haven't anything for them. So I hide, just like I did as a kid.
Won't someone raise a glass with me? I hate to drink alone.
I was raised Jehovah's Witness, and never a more inbred, closed-minded fundamentalist cult will you find anywhere else in so-called Christendom, with the possible exception of the Mormons.
Halloween was a pagan ritual, and we were therefore barred from observing it. (So was Christmas, and on that one they happen to be right, but what the hell.) I never carved a pumpkin until college (but I won 1st place in 4th grade for *painting* one... go figure, that was okay, but taking blade to squash was not.) I have still, to this day, never gone trick or treating.
Every year we would eat dinner with the lights as low as we could stand, and then quietly scurry off to the basement or some other 'hidden' place and do everything in our power to ensure that no one thought anyone was home. I could hear the other kids coming to the door anyway, could hear them giggling, ringing the doorbell, and then ensuing confused discussion until they left. I wonder if my folks realize exactly how much of a hell that was for a child... I finally realized after a few years that the reason we didn't just answer the door and say 'no' was that my Dad couldn't stand to see the disappointment on the kids' faces. Well, the other kids at least.
Tonight is similar. I have the lights off, I have the radio and TV off, and except for the glow of the backlight on this laptop, there isn't a light on in the house. I can hear the children coming to my in-laws' door a few feet away, and getting their candy, but I'm doing my best to Not Be Home. I haven't any candy to hand out in any case, not expecting to be home tonight, but instead be at work.
That didn't work out as planned however. I ran into a snag a bit ago, a rather large one. gcc is completely throwing away information I need, and in this case there is no possible way that I can see to reconstruct it... and it is essential information. This means that the past four months of my working life have been wasted, unless someone out there knows a way to get around it.
So tonight, I have the lights out, I have rum, and scotch, and eggnog. I can't stand to face happy children tonight, and I could stand less to tell them that I haven't anything for them. So I hide, just like I did as a kid.
Won't someone raise a glass with me? I hate to drink alone.
Re: Just because I read this ...
Did you *REALLY* want to see that headline this morning?!
Re: Just because I read this ...