Happy birthday, Dax!

I did buy and carve a pumpkin last night. However, instead of carving Jack Skellington like I normally do, I decided to carve Oogie Boogie. At least I still stayed with my The Nightmare Before Christmas theme.

Our department’s Clue theme worked out nicely. We took pictures of everyone as their character and I think everyone looked great. My favorite costume is Jeff’s because he’s donning a purple suit and a real bow tie.

We also printed and taped our pictures to a drawing of the Clue mansion to make it look like the Clue movie DVD cover.

Here are pictures of our cubicles decorated as four of the rooms in Clue.

Here’s a picture of the entire Clue group acting like they’re going to kill Mr. Body.

Finally, everyone wants to know, “who dunnit?” It was Mrs. White in the billiard room with the revolver.

I had to post something today because I’ve realized I’ve only posted three posts on Tuesdays since I started my blog in June. Poor Tuesday! It feels so left out.

Tomorrow is Halloween! Halloween’s one of my favorite holidays. Each year, I carve a pumpkin that looks like Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas; I even paint him white. This year, unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance, so my virtual pumpkin will have to do.

I usually dress up for Halloween and tomorrow will be no different. I’ll be Mrs. White from Clue. It’s not my first choice because I don’t really have anything for the costume. I really wanted to dress up as an Inferius from Harry Potter, but every year my work hosts trick-or-treating for the employees’ kids. The company gives each department some money for decorations and treats to help make it a fun experience. Our department’s doing a Clue theme, so I’m “trying” to be a team player. The decorations for our team are pretty cool, so that helps make up for my disappointment in not being able to be an Inferius. I’ll be sure to post some pictures tomorrow.

I’m also excited to see all the little kids in their costumes. I love seeing kids in costumes because they always look so cute. Hopefully, Corey and I’ll get to see our friends Ali and Tyler tomorrow, so we can see their kids dressed up in their costumes. Jack is going to be Peter Pan and Sheridan is going to be Tinkerbell.  I’m very excited to see how cute they’ll be.

As you know by my book review for The Golden Compass, I was really intrigued with dæmons. I found out you can get your own dæmon. Of course, I found out who mine is and I’d like to introduce you to Zotius, my ocelot dæmon.

He was paired with me because, supposedly, I’m outgoing, spontaneous, modest, inquisitive, and humble. Okay, I know some of you are probably thinking, “outgoing or spontaneous?” Trust me, I was thinking the same thing at first too. I decided to look up the definition for each word, per my inquisitive nature , and I actually think they’re fairly close to my personality.

• Outgoing: sociable and responsive to others; friendly. (I’m friendly! )
• Spontaneous: given to acting upon sudden impulses. (Need I say more? )
• Modest: not having, or showing, too high of an opinion of one’s abilities. (Most things I won’t agree I’m good at because I feel insignificant to others. However, I’m the first to admit there are a few things I’m very boastful about. )
• Inquisitive: unduly or inappropriately curious; prying; inclined to investigate; eager for knowledge. (I think this speaks for itself.)
• Humble: having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc. (Again, I think this speaks for itself.)

I thought there would be a comic for today too, but yesterday’s was the last one. Enjoy!

Here are the comics for Thursday and today.

I finished reading The Golden Compass last night and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  It’s the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

I loved the story itself very much and I loved the story’s ideology because it’s so different from the norm and it made you think. In fact, The Golden Compass is one of my favorite books. I can’t wait to watch the movie when it comes out in December and I can’t wait to read the two sequels, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

I read this because of a book club I’m in with Erin, Becky, and Gentry–a few of my co-workers. Interestingly, I was the only one who liked the book. None of them enjoyed the religious undertones, which I thought were interesting and gave the book depth. When I told them it was one of my favorite books, Becky said, “You haven’t read very many books, have you?”

The Golden Compass begins when Lyra Belacqua–an orphaned, eleven-year-old girl–secretly enters the Retiring Room, despite resistance from her dæmon, Pantalaimon. Little do they know that by witnessing the events in the Retiring Room, their lives will change forever. Inside the room, Lord Asriel (Lyra’s uncle) shows the resident scholars a picture of mysterious elementary particles called Dust.

Dust is a source of contention in Lyra’s world. The Church fears it and will do anything–ethical or not, usually the latter–to find out what Dust really is and how to destroy it because they think it’s the cause of original sin. Because of this belief, children turn up missing with rumors of death and/or experimentation.

Lyra and Pantalaimon are catapulted into a series of dangerous obstacles they must overcome to save the missing children. Secrets are learned along the way and encounters with nomads, witches, and armored bears are just some of the adventures Lyra and Pantalaimon have.

My rating:

While reading The Golden Compass, I learned a whole slew of words. Of course, I have heard most of these words before, but I never knew what their actual definition was or that they had different meanings.

1. Abate: to diminish in intensity, violence, amount, etc.
2. Agog: highly excited by eagerness, curiosity, anticipation, etc.
3. Ague: a fit of fever or shivering or shaking chills, accompanied by malaise, pains in the bones and joints, etc.; chill.
4. Anorak: a hooded pullover jacket originally made of fur and worn in the arctic, now made of any weather-resistant fabric.
5. Attenuate: to become thin, weak, or fine.
6. Besot: to infatuate; obsess.
7. Bilge: either of the rounded areas that form the transition between the bottom and the sides on the exterior of a hull.
8. Bivouac: a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.
9. Bramble: British—the common blackberry.
10. Breviary: Roman Catholic Church—a book containing all the daily psalms, hymns, prayers, lessons, etc., necessary for reciting the office.
11. Bursar: a treasurer or business officer, esp. of a college or university.
12. Calumny: a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something.
13. Carapace: a bony or chitinous shield, test, or shell covering some or all of the dorsal part of an animal, as of a turtle.
14. Coffer: a box or chest, esp. one for valuables.
15. Cornice: any prominent, continuous, horizontally projecting feature surmounting a wall or other construction, or dividing it horizontally for compositional purposes.
16. Coxcomb: a conceited, foolish dandy; pretentious fop.
17. Crag: the neck, throat, or craw.
18. Dæmon: a subordinate deity, as the genius of a place or a person’s attendant spirit.
19. Dais: a raised platform, as at the front of a room, for a lectern, throne, seats of honor, etc.
20. Decanter: a vessel, usually an ornamental glass bottle, for holding and serving wine, brandy, or the like.
21. Desultorily: lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
22. Dirigible: designed for or capable of being directed, controlled, or steered.
23. Divagation: to ramble; digress.
24. Duff: a stiff flour pudding, boiled or steamed and often flavored with currants, citron, and spices.
25. Eiderdown: down, or soft feathers, from the breast of the female eider duck.
26. Ermine: any of various weasels having a white winter coat.
27. Evanescent: vanishing; fading away; fleeting.
28. Fen: low, flat, swampy land; a bog or marsh.
29. Gannet: any large, web-footed, seabird of the family Sulidae, having a sharply pointed bill, long wings, and a wedge-shaped tail, noted for its plunging dives for fish.
30. Gilt: the thin layer of gold or other material applied in gilding.
31. Golem: Jewish Folklore—a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life.
32. Haunch: the leg and loin of an animal, used for food.
33. Innocuous: not harmful or injurious; harmless.
34. Inveigle: to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements.
35. Kip: British—to sleep or nap.
36. Knurl: small ridge or bead, esp. one of a series, as on a button for decoration or on the edge of a thumbscrew to assist in obtaining a firm grip.
37. Lope: to move or run with bounding steps, as a quadruped, or with a long, easy stride, as a person.
38. Macrocosm: the great world or universe; the universe considered as a whole.
39. Madonna: an Italian title of formal address to a woman.
40. Mayfly: also called shadfly. any insect of the order Ephemeroptera, having delicate, membranous wings with the front pair much larger than the rear and having an aquatic larval stage and a terrestrial adult stage usually lasting less than two days.
41. Microcosm: anything that is regarded as a world in miniature.
42. Moor: to secure (a ship, boat, dirigible, etc.) in a particular place, as by cables and anchors or by lines.
43. Naphtha: a colorless, volatile petroleum distillate, usually an intermediate product between gasoline and benzine, used as a solvent, fuel, etc.
44. Oratory: Roman Catholic Church—any of the religious societies of secular priests who live in religious communities but do not take vows.
45. Pedantic: overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching.
46. Petrel: any of numerous tube-nosed seabirds of the families Procellariidae, Hydrobatidae, and Pelecanoididae.
47. Phantasmagoria: an optical illusion produced by a magic lantern or the like in which figures increase or diminish in size, pass into each other, dissolve, etc.
48. Piecemeal: piece by piece; one piece at a time; gradually.
49. Pillock: a person who is not very bright.
50. Pilotage: the process of directing the movement of a ship or aircraft by visual or electronic observations of recognizable landmarks.
51. Pip: a small seed, esp. of a fleshy fruit, as an apple or orange.
52. Popinjay: a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.
53. Precipitate: done or made without sufficient deliberation; overhasty; rash.
54. Priory: a religious house governed by a prior or prioress, often dependent upon an abbey.
55. Propitiate: to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
56. Quayside: the edge of a quay (a wharf or reinforced bank where ships are loaded or unloaded) where it meets the water.
57. Querulous: full of complaints; complaining.
58. Rapier: a small sword, esp. of the 18th century, having a narrow blade and used for thrusting.
59. Ruction: a riotous disturbance; a noisy quarrel.
60. Sanguine: cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident.
61. Sardonic: characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering.
62. Scarp: a line of cliffs formed by the faulting or fracturing of the earth’s crust; an escarpment.
63. Scimitar: a curved, single-edged sword of Oriental origin.
64. Slaver: to let saliva run from the mouth; slobber; drool.
65. Sledge: British—a sleigh.
66. Skua: also called bonxie. any of several large brown gull-like predatory birds of the genus Catharacta, related to jaegers, esp. C. skua (great skua), of colder waters of both northern and southern seas.
67. Squalid: foul and repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy.
68. Stanch: to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.).
69. Stanchion: an upright bar, beam, post, or support, as in a window, stall, ship, etc.
70. Stolid: not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional; impassive.
71. Tern: Any of various sea birds of the genus Sterna and related genera, related to and resembling the gulls but characteristically smaller and having a forked tail.
72. Torpid: slow; dull; apathetic; lethargic.
73. Treatise: a formal and systematic exposition in writing of the principles of a subject, generally longer and more detailed than an essay.
74. Trepan: to cut circular disks from (plate stock) using a rotating cutter.
75. Weir: a fence, as of brush or narrow boards, or a net set in a stream, channel, etc., for catching fish.
76. Wraith: an apparition of a living person supposed to portend his or her death.
77. Yarn: a tale, esp. a long story of adventure or incredible happenings.

Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts is featuring a Twilight-inspired Halloween strip about a bat named Edward and a bird named Bella this week.

Here are the comics for Monday, Tuesday, and today. (I’ll post Thursday’s and Friday’s on Friday.)