adjustment problems

My new job is destroying the quality of my Halloween life.  It's not really a new job anymore.  But this is the first Halloween to come along since I started.  Prior to getting this job, I was out of work for a year and a half.   And before that, I spent months working for a company in what turned out to be its dying days.  Requiring my presence, but providing me with little to do.

As a result, I've had a few years with ample free time.  Time to plan and build props.  Time to explore the hills and valleys of the Internet.   Time to experiment with new recipes.  In the past, I had prepared for Halloween while working, of course.  I had made the time.  And I was confident that I could find the time once again.  It would simply require an adjustment.  But it seems that the adjustment period is taking longer than I had anticipated.   For which I blame my longer-than-expected hours and the resulting zombie-like state in which I find myself at the end of most work days.

And now, with October on my doorstep, I'm beginning to panic.  So I'm taking a deep breath, making myself a large cup of pumpkin chai (with little candy pumpkins!) and re-evaluating my Halloween plans.

Regarding outdoor props, my buzzwords are . . .  "Simplify" (even more than I had originally intended) and "Re-purpose".   I'm still planning on a couple of new additions, but some old classics will definitely be dusted off and freshened up.   Regarding indoor props, my buzzwords are . . . "Zip", "Zero", and "Zilch".   Nothing new this year.   Allowing me to devote my October evenings to savouring the aroma of my new pumpkin pie and candy corn candles, to watching always-entertaining black-and-white horror classics, and to baking with as much nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin as I can incorporate.

And hoping that I can adjust to my work schedule more successfully in 2012.