Fried Oreos, Ralph Stanley, Zombies, and Canada

I've been busy brewing up a kid and having a life. That's all I'm going to say about that.

A few weeks ago the State Fair was in town. We got to introduce our friends to the time-honored Fair traditions of demolition derby and fried Oreos. Amazingly they still speak to us. Plus, I had one of the best corn dogs ever. It's a nutritional blessing the Fair only comes once a year.

The next weekend, The National Folk Festival was held downtown (and people say there's nothing to do in Richmond...). While there were many fine acts throughout the festival, I was especially excited about seeing the legendary Ralph Stanley perform. He's a trip and a wonderful musician. It's great to see him performing even at his venerable age. Richmond gets to host the festival for at least two or three more years, and I look forward to what every year has in store.

A week ago, my mother and I were shopping in Carytown when we saw across the street a crowd of about fifty zombies shambling along the sidewalk. Granted, it was pretty obvious to someone as knowlegable as myself that these were faux zombies and not actual flesh-eating reanimated dead. Still it was pretty bizarre to watch a city block-worth of costumed and makeup-ed folks shambling down the sunny shopping thoroughfare. The patrons of the bistro Can-Can all stopped mid-munch to gawk at the sight. Pretty much everyone on both sides of the street stopped to watch the undead parade. It appeared that the stunt was part of a film school project as there were a few cameramen interspersed in the crowd, filming the spectacle. It's a boon that the horde didn't come down my side of the street or I might have flipped my shit and ran.

Watching as people gaped along the sidewalk, I couldn't help to wonder if this wasn't a small glimpse into the reality of a zombie invasion. Should the average person come across a horde of zombies in the street, he would more than likely stand and stare in disbelief until some ghoul was chewing his face off and then evasive action would be impossible. People are just not prepared for the reality of a zombie attack. Granted on this particular day, I was unarmed but buddy, even at seven-months pregnant, I could have hauled ass to the car beating off zombies with my purse.

Last week I (and my unborn son!) went to Canada for a few days on business. I spent what felt like half my life on a plane or in an airport. Novia Scotia is very lovely and clean. The people are all especially pleasant. It was chilly. I played a slot machine for the first time ever. Good trip.

Now I am back in the office trying to resist my strong urge to beat my co-worker Choad/Turtleman into a bloody pulp with my shoe.

Halloween is only a week away. Adrian put on his costume last night, and I laughed so hard I nearly fell down the stairs.