What more fitting way to lose one's Halloween virginity than to go as a bride in white?
And so it was.
Dutch born and Dutch-Australian raised, Halloween was NEVER a "thing" in my world - just an odd festival Americans celebrated while "regular" people went to the Guy Fawkes annual bonfire. FFWD many years to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where so much of Thai "western culture" was driven by US servicemen on recreational leave from the Vietnam War. Add in the natural superstitions of the local foundational Brahmin and Hindu cultures, and the mass adoption of Halloween is actually not a surprise. After 18ish years living here, I succumbed. And only because my new Thai language business club, BNI Believe, was hosting a Halloween Party.
It was quite the quandary for me, and so I appointed my half-Thai 16 year old daughter in charge of costuming and make-up. I posted about my discovery of Tim Burton earlier this week: Tim Burton and My Thai Halloween Corpse Bride Crisis.
And so I closed my eyes while Miss 16 played with my make-up and "did" my face, and opened my eyes to THIS:
Miss 16's Inspiration? Tim Burton's Corpse Bride from the 2005 film of the same name:
At least now I know how I'm Likely to look at 85 years old when I'm on my last legs. 🤣 Her face contouring? It seems somewhat reminiscent of The Scream. LOL. 🤣
But my ego-driven cringes notwithstanding, I had men down on their knees:
What surprised me after 56 years on Halloween's sidelines, was that it was a fabulously FUN experience!! And after 2020, have decided that FUN has currency and relevance in life far more than I have previously allowed for.
About 70 of us partied hard at the Rati Lanna Riverside Resort, danced a LOT, sang, drank, enjoyed a stunning Thai buffet and snapped-selfied ourselves stupid; my face actually hurt from laughing so much when we finally got home. Nearly as much as my legs after hours and hours of dancing.
Gotta concede that the "spooky" Halloween theme still doesn't quite "do it" for me, much. But I'm starting to SEE the allure of cosplay in this part of the world, and how it can be totally liberating and fabulously stress-relieving to simply don another facade and pretend for an evening.
Chiseling off the heavy makeup in the wee small hours? Urgh. Grateful for coconut oil.
But mostly I am grateful for sharing a FUN night with my only daughter and my new Thai business friends, and for stepping up and trying something way outside of my comfort zone. It is NOT the passing of the years which ages us, but rigid thinking and an unwillingness to play and to try new things.
Well, play I did. I ticked a few new Never done that before! items off my list, and feel like that small opening enables and invites other new openings, as the Universe recognizes the vibration of willingness to try & willingness to play, and responds accordingly.
Grateful for a quiet Saturday to regroup... Putting the Corpse Bride 2005 Tim Burton movie on our chick-flick list to watch this coming week.
BlissednBlessed.
Sidebar for the Covid curious: Thailand is one of the leading countries in the world for managing & controlling Covid. We have NO locally transmitted cases. This country of 70 million people has only 58 recorded Covid deaths in total in 9 months. Borders remain very tightly controlled and we have no casual visitors or tourists who haven't already undergone a rigid 14 day government controlled quarantine with the mandatory 5 Covid tests. And so no one really needed a mask, although we all did have them handy (just in case) and the event WAS in a private, semi-outdoor garden section of the resort. Serving and bar staff DID wear masks. We WERE temperature tested on arrival and scanned in via the track&trace app. Casual hotel guests walking through the hotel lobby were also wearing masks.
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Spooky makeup! Looks like fun
It WAS fun and yes, @ploimrt did a great job of the makeup. Hanging out with your 16 year old when she's not squirming or even remotely embarrassed? That was the best part.
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ENGAGEtokens.Wow, look who had a great time! Nailed it! Miss 16 did a fab job getting you made up.😍
I DID have a great time. Surprisingly so!! Miss 16 DID do a simply awesome job, didn't she??!! At least I know what my 95 year old self MIGHT look like if I don't smile more!!
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ENGAGEtokens.Its so nice of you to share your Halloween experience, its not practiced in this side of the world but I have heard and seen some movies about it. Your costume really looks great and your daughter did a nice job with the make up
Hey @jizzyjoe - I posted this one cos YOU asked me to. 😊 And here you are, cheering from the sidelines. Awesome.
I personally am not a fan of ghost stuff, but hey... it was FUN.
Do YOU have dress up festivals? Costume days? Days where everyone wears a certain colour? Thailand is FULL of that! LOL.
Thanks for swinging by. !ENGAGE 15
Hahahaha I'm glad you made the post, you really had a fun filled night.
It happens mainly on occasions like traditional marriage or wedding and most times Christmas day when most people wear red and white, also independence day where you see many on green and white apart from these occasions there are festivals but the one I was opportune to attend there wasn't a dress code or color.
Happy new month dear
ENGAGEtokens.Oh you are such a superstar! I am so happy you had such a fun time - your costume and makeup are BRILLIANT 😃
Haha - it was a LOT more fun than I expected it to be, and am learning so much about letting my guarded self go and simply being silly and in the moment more. It is a life-changing idea that fun-joy-beauty as your focus is what creates abundance, and that they're not prizes at the end.
Much love to you, girl!
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ENGAGEtokens.I celebrate Samhain myself, but my kids love the dress up aspect of Halloween and I do love a bit of fancy dress for the exact reason you said, it allows you to step out of yourself and just have fun and do things you perhaps normally would not do. Your daughter done a great job with your make up and glad to hear you had so much fun xx
I used to celebrate Samhain too when I lived in a country with obligingly relevant seasons LOL. It seems a bit contrived in the tropics....
I'm thinking we should ALL have more occasions to don an alter-ego and see the world through a different lens, more playfully.
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ENGAGEtokens.That's fun. I've always been sort of a curmudgeon but will admit to dressing up a couple of times on Halloween. I actually enjoyed it.
I'm glad you got that item crossed off your bucket list!
Those are simply remarkable CV numbers for Thailand. Our country is on the opposite end of those statistics. I fear that the US is in for a real winter of discontent.
Thailand HAS done a remarkable job of curtailing Covid, and it started in January when it was the first country to be blacklisted for travel in the world, ironically by the US. The US will crumble under the weight of an entitled populace that has lost touch with the sense of communal responsibility and no longer has shared values.
I loved that you used the word curmudgeon. English is my 3rd language and it was a pleasure to plug it into DuckDuckGo and increase my vocabulary today.
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ENGAGEtokens.How fantastic! I love Corpse Bride, about as much as I enjoy The Nightmare Before Christmas. They're staples for me every Halloween.
That costume was superb! Awesome that you were able to do it.
Oh very sweet of you to stop by and make my day... thank you!
Have yet to watch Corpse Bride and don't come from any sort of Halloween (american) culture, so I have some learning and enculturation to get done.
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ENGAGEtokens.Halloween is gaining more momentum here these days, driven by retailers of course. More people are dressing up their houses or offices and of course trick or treating is becoming more prevalent. I don't mind I guess, it's not really an Australian thing to do, but times change and people could use a little relaxation and light-heartedness these days right?
Your make up looks really good. I'm trying to come up with a legit way of saying you look old as hell without offending you but just can't come up with something so I won't say it. Lol.
We had some trick and treaters come past last night, young kids whose parents stayed halfway up the driveway allowing the kids to have their moment. I wanted to give them each a floret of broccoli to help with their health and well-being but got guilted into giving them lollies and wrapped chocolate by Faith. :)
I hope you have a great rest of the weekend and thanks for using the weekend community.
Yup - I look OLD. Just say it. LOL. The most terrifying glimpse into a future if I don't smile and enjoy and relax more. Funnily enough, I see something of my mother here in the downward turn of the face. DETERMINED to not be that!
Faith sounds awesome for gently sidestepping the broccoli - hope you guys enjoyed it dipped in yummy garlicky yogurt instead.
How is Faith doing in her recovery? Amazing you all?
Off to have a look at what everyone else is up to, and shower some comments, upvotes and engage tokens around.
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I often see my dad when I look in the mirror, the older I get the more clear. It's not a bad though I guess, we'll all age. Still, I recall a younger version of me...If only I knew then what I knew now. A shame for young people that they don't often have the ability to take advice on board from older people huh?
Faith is going ok, spent a little time outside today, pottering around in her mum's garden as I worked around the place to tidy up a little. She enjoyed it although is still in quite a lot of pain.
Enjoy the rest of Sunday huh? 😁
Glad to hear Faith is doing better. Yes - post-op pain can last for months and is not fun. I personally had a lot of relief from using my Near Infra Red Light device. Check it out at theflexbeam.com LOL. Yes, that IS me in their promo - I was part of the clinical trial here in Thailand. I have no financial interest whatsoever - just found it amazingly helpful!
Rest of Sunday? It is mushroom omelette and more coffee brunch time. Followed by a leadership team meeting at 3pm (entrepreneurs often work 7 days) and then FOOTBALL practice! Stay tuned for tonight's footy post LOL. My Thai business club is competing in a "friendly" football challenge next weekend and it's the fist time I've played in 20 years plus!! 🤣
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I had a look at that link and watched the little video. It's interesting and I'll do some more research. I've never heard of it before and have nothing to lose in checking it out huh? Thanks for the link...Also, you're a natural...Good actiing! 😉
It seems like you've got a decent day planned. You're in a BNI group right? I wonder if the friend match will stay friend or get ultra competetive? It could be post worthy...A before and after post maybe?
Enjoy.
I shattered my arm in a car accident and suffered substantial nerve damage to my neck, shoulder and the base of my skull. My ortho "specialist" said there was nothing I could do and I'd have to live with my arm permanently bent. I'd been off work for 6 months with my arm in a cast so this solo mama was too broke to consider acupuncture. I saw this ad on facebook looking for people with nerve pain for a clinical trial and I applied. They gave me one after filming my sessions etc for several months and me contributing to Dr Zulia's clinical data. I have almost no pain - and that's from a survivor of bone cancer (hence my extensive fractures).
And yes, I will use it pre-emptively before football practice tonight, and again afterwards for muscle soreness and any nerve pain (I have hardware holding my feet together). And so my football practice post is a triumph in itself for me. As will be turning 57 in 2 weeks. I was told I was unlikely to see my 30th birthday when I was 27 and that I would need my left leg amputated. Still have it. Can happily run 5km with little pain despite 1 year in a wheelchair and 6 years on crutches.
Grateful everyday.
Hehe - yes, I am new to BNI and find it a revolutionary idea. It was necessary for me to do SOMEthing with Thai borders still tightly closed and Thai people preferring the idea of doing biz with family and friends. My blonde hair a dead loss for biz purposes here. BNI is a little local biz hothouse - sort of like buying into and investing into a family of choice. Curious too about how competitive it will be. 🤣
That's a story and a half! A bit of a triumph really.
I have back pain daily and whilst I deal with it mostly, sometimes it gets the better of me. I was thinking that something like this may be worth a try for me, especially since I'm 50 and not getting younger. I'll be doing some research and, whilst it's a bit of cash to outlay, will make a decision on whether I give it a try. Why wouldn't I?
Good luck for the practice and I hope you
crush the other teamenjoy a nice friendly game next week. (Lol, my competetive nature slipped out back there.)ENGAGEtokens.ENGAGEtokens.OMG, what a stunning beauty... you will still be in 40 years or so! Oh, and your daughter is a talented make-up artist. I'm glad you got a nice taste of Halloween FUN, which you seemed to enjoy a lot. As I told you, I was quite looking forward to this post, and I'm glad it turned out to be such a great experience for you.
And once again, I have to comment on the quotability of your writing: FUN has currency and relevance in life. I have to remember this one!
Sooooo.... what are you going to be dressed up as next year? ;-)
Haha.. I'm glad to hear you SAY it - yes, she did a STUNNING JOB of aging me 35 years!! LOL. It's the most horrifying part of halloween for me, seeing how my face will sag if not EVERY DAY counter-balanced by smiles and happiness. And fun. I haven't had the easiest life and am slowly coming to learn that FLOW and WEALTH and ABUNDANCE starts from ease, happy, fun and joy. It's not an end product you get at the finish line.
Wow - to have one's post anticipated is quite the compliment. Blush
I do hope and expect to not look very much different from now when I'm 80. I'm starting my crossfit assessments this week - turning 57 in 2 weeks time means it's NOW that the really important fitness stuff happens - the stuff that keeps you pain free, mobile and enjoying life for the last 50 years.
Looking forward to your Day of the Dead content too.... 💀
Sending love. x !ENGAGE 25
Hahahaha, after seeing it announced in your last post, I couldn't help but anticipate. And it was not a letdown either, but I know your posts are usually interesting, eye-opening, and in this case a lot of FUN!
As for ageing, I guess I have a bit of an unusual attitude: I see gray hair and wrinkles kinda like how a teenager sees facial hair - not only that it doesn't bother me, it fills me with pride and I want to show it off. However, I agree on the pain free and mobile part: THAT is not about looks, it is about quality of life, and super important.
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