Candy Corn and a Side of Gore

In honor of Halloween this weekend I wanted to talk about the thing I like to do during the month of October to get in the mood for all hollows eve. I usually get in the festivity mood by watching horror flicks. For instance, this year I started with Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). Although I am an avid movie buff, horror is probably at the bottom of my favorite genre list, if not dead last. However, nothing says to me Halloween like cozying up on my couch with tons of candy, popcorn, soda, chips and scary movies such as these.

The Shining (1980) – Knowing that you’re all alone with no contact with the outside world and your husband turned into a deranged killer? Movie magic! This movie has many memorable cinematic scenes and lines that makes for an instant horror classic. I love Jack Nicholson’s performance. He is so good is frightening.

Halloween (1978) – I like that fact that is low budget independent film. Some cool trivia about this movie? It was filmed in the spring in southern California so in order to portray fall in Illinois the crew had to hand-paint leaves in autumn colors and reuse them over and over for different locations. Also, the director considered the hiring of Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate tribute to Alfred Hitchcock who had given her mother, Janet Leigh, legendary status in Psycho.

Psycho (1960) – Creepy is definitely the word I would use to describe this film. A grown man living alone with the corpse of his dead mother is enough of a twist to send chills down your spine. The main character suffers from a really bad case of multiple personality disorder in which he takes on the role of his mother to murder those that “she” believes stand in the way of their mother-son relationship.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) – alright, so this isn’t technically horror but I’ve loved the headless horseman story since I was very little. I like this version with Johnny Depp because I like how he develops characters and also like how Tim Burton direction is visually rewarding and adds to the eerie, mystical feel of the film.

The Exorcist (1973) – This movie is terrifying. Period. Scary movies involving children always creeps me out, but this one takes the cake. The demonic manifestations on Linda Blair’s character are nightmare inducing. You can’t watch this film alone.

My Style Icons

I consider myself of somewhat eclectic taste when it comes to fashion, I like to try trends out, but I’m not trendy in the sense that I will try them all. I know what works best for my body type so if I know a trend is not flattering for my figure, even if I personally like it I won’t try it.
With that said, I was thinking about the looks that I always kind of default to and who my influences are for them. So here is a list of fabulous women who have shaped my style by inspiring change, courage, somberness, and fun into my look. Thanks ladies!

1. Queen Rania of Jordan

C’mon, the lady is a queen! She’s always classic, polished, effortlessly put together, modern, youthful, and professional without looking stiff. She definitely inspires my looks for work which, in my career, need to be of a conservative nature. I like it because I look professional without looking boring.

2. Kim Kardashian

She’s the epitome of sexy. She always looks fabulously luxurious, trendy, sophisticated and delicate. In addition, the fact that she’s all about curves is very inspiring to me since my body-type is similar. It inspires me to dress for my figure always looking fierce in the process. I like to be inspired with this look for when I go out with my girlfriends or on a date.

3. Rihanna

When it comes to accessories RiRi and J.Lo are the two fashion-forward women that take the cake for me. They’re bold, daring, risky, and glamorous. Rihanna’s rebellious reinvention inspires me to mix hard with soft, punk with cute, sassy with sexy. She always balances a good mix between tough chic and glam diva. It reminds me to always keep’em guessing by staying current, fresh, and unexpected. Wearing a man’s collar shirt with pearls, leather leggings, and hot pink mini-dresses are just a few of the ways to pull off Rihanna’s awesome attitude.

4. Jennifer Lopez

Jenny from the block is always about the three “B’s”; big, bold, bling. She always looks shiny and extravagant. She was certainly one of the first celebrities that made curves acceptable in our society, thus giving me the chance to flaunt my attributes with confidence. My signature hoops are definitely inspired by her essence. I love wearing huge, dangling earrings because I’m an attention seeker and it makes me feel very diva just like her.

How about you? who are your style icons?

How ’bout a hug?

I’ve always been very particular about personal space. It’s just something I guard very carefully and only allow people to trespass this zone when I am extremely comfortable with them. This obsessive compulsive attitude I have over having people around me too close for comfort is what has made me notice something interesting about how others regard personal space. Here I’m going to concentrate on a specific type of body contact. The hug.
Have you ever notice how people hug? I have. The way people hug can tell you whether they’re comfortable with you or not also, whether they want to or not engage in this clear violation of personal space with you. Ok, so they are hugging you so you may think that they want to. Not necessarily, this could be because of many reasons, for instance they may have to either for courtesy sake, or because they feel obliged due to the circumstance meriting this exchange.

How do you know if you’re getting a fake hug? Pick up on how the hug is being administered. Here is how:

You get the pat hug. Yes, the pat in the back as they are hugging you.
Ok, so what is the “pat” you ask? Well, simply put is the courteous way a person can say to you “I’m done allowing you inside my personal space, get off me….now!” Once the patting has stopped that’s you cue to back away from the hug. It’s that simple.

There’s the half hug. The person hugging you is using one arm to accomplish the task. This allows them the control of when to finish it without being restrained by the other party.

The column hug. This is the one where the person giving the hug applies the “emergency break” and so the hug ends up looking like you’re both hugging a column placed in the middle of you.

And finally there is the infamous limp hug. This one is probably the most seen out there. This is the hug that gets administered with the least amount of effort from the person giving the hug as if to feel that you’re hugging a corpse. This would be THE hug I would dread getting the worst. This hug says, “I do NOT want to touch you and I don’t want you to touch me, but since I have to I’ll endure it pretending I’m unconscious.”

Now that you know what kind of hugs are out there don’t get caught in an awkward situation, recognize which hug you are being given and reciprocate. Let’s make the exchange bearable.