Halloween, November

Halloween was a lot of fun. Tevia's costumes were fantastic. So I was excited to go to work in my costume on Friday (one of the few fun things we are still able to do at work). Afterwards we had our ward party, which I think went well. I say "I think" because I was stuck in the YM room manning the bean bag throw and was in there the entire time and never had a chance to leave and see the other rooms. At the same time I had a crying blue pikmin sitting in the corner refusing to participate (Malik can be quite stubborn). But it was fun and Tevia did a great job on the activity.

Saturday was Halloween so we got dressed again and went out with the boys while Risa gave out candy. We met up with the neighbors down the street and went with them. This is where I became frustrated. Year after year we have seen a reduction in the amount of people that participate in Halloween. This year the amount of homes that actually gave out candy was easily less than 25%. How sad is that! I was so disappointed in our neighborhood and wished I had some eggs to throw at some of the homes. Even more frustrating were the amount of homes that had all their lights on (many turn off all their lights including their porch lights in order to signal they are not home) and STILL did not answer the door to give out candy. This means that after an hour of trick-or-treating the kids really only have a few pieces of candy.

Why is it that so many people don't participate? I can only guess a few reasons. One is that our neighborhoods are no longer communities where we care for each other. There are a few scattered here and there, but for the most part our neighbors don't really know us and don't care about our kids, etc. Another reason is that for some reason there are more and more people who are convinced Halloween is evil (including our own local church leaders!) and don't want to contribute to the growing of this holiday. Ironically they don't see that the holiday is suffering and now limits the one holiday we really had left where we consistently visited our neighbors.

Whatever the reason is (or are), it made me very sad and disappointed. The kids still had fun and had little idea of how different it was when we were kids. But it still was frustrating to see so many people wouldn't participate.

After Halloween November has been great in terms of weather, but difficult in terms of my company. Nearly three months ago they approached me with this opportunity to go to the UK and until now nothing has been offered to me. However, I am doing the job. This means I have been working two jobs for nearly 3 months - AND been stressed about how to make plans for the next year or so. At this point I am about at my breaking point and am tempted to just send a letter to senior management to say forget it and start looking for another job. How inconsiderate these companies can be by leaving a family in the dark for so long, unable to make commitments or decisions as they strung along. And by working two jobs I have put in way more hours than usual - which I hate to do. I don't mind doing it from time to time when necessary, but to do it for a job besides the one I have and not even know if I will continue in that job makes it worse. And frustrating, as the client I work with continually asks why I haven't moved to London yet.

Thank goodness for a wife who tries to be patient. But it is time for a change. I will give my company one more week - and if this thing doesn't pan out, I will seriously begin looking for other work. And yes, I realize that this is perhaps the worst time since I have been in the workforce to look for a job.