Halloween n' Strikes n' Things

So...that was MY Halloween. :)
I ended up going to the Village parade with some Dangerbox-ers. I guess I was a...devil-thing? Right. I just liked the wig. That's my good friend (and fellow Dangerbox member) Andrew Farmer. He went as...Liz Taylor as a werewolf. Duh! It was thoroughly amusing. The parade was really out of control, and we couldn't really see anything. It's the largest Halloween parade in the world...so you add about a million drunk, costumed people to that...and you get mass chaos. After the parade madness, we watched Poltergeist and ordered pizza. I'm glad I wasn't out in the crazyness, because...yeah, people got shot and stabbed in Union Square that night, apparently. I didn't hear the gunshots because my room faces into the courtyard, but I guess a few people even died. That's terrifying. It was gang-related, but there were SO many people in that park on Halloween (there are every night), just sitting and people-watching and whatnot. Not good.
I'm going to SNL tonight...hopefully. The last time I tried, I didn't get in. Not a good record so far for this season. But, I'm number 10 for tonight, and the host is not really famous (Brian Williams, host of NBC Nightly News). So let's keep our fingers crossed.
You know what's NOT cool? This writer's strike. I mean, I 100% support the writers (obviously), and the whole situation is just sort of awful. I talked to Brian Stack (Conan writer) last night when he came out of 30 Rock, and it was interesting to get an inside perspective on the strike. The last one lasted 5 months apparently, and he said this one could be longer. I just think it's awful that these people are pursuing their passion, doing something that I'm sure many would have done for free when they were my age, but now they are having to support families on their income. Which is really cool...if they're getting appropriately paid to do so. And it's just not fair. So, when these writers go on strike, they basically HAVE to stop doing what they love and also not be able to support their family until the Writer's Guild's demands are met. And the demands make sense...from what I understand, they're not getting royalties from online screenings of tv shows, etc. I don't fully get what's going on, but I know it's related to internet access and just not getting properly compensated for the work they do. This probably means no SNL next week...and after that? Who knows. I'm trying to apply for internships and stuff, and I feel selfish wondering how it all affects me...but I guess we'll just see.
Speaking of writing...I've been doing quite a lot of that lately, and I should have a decent portfolio at the end of the semester. I'm writing a 30 minute play by the end, and I've also completed a 10 minute play as well as several scenes. I really enjoy getting critiqued. As far as my films go, I've screened 2 of them, and I'm in the midst of planning the third and final one. I should have them all on a dvd for Thanksgiving! :)
Speaking of Thanksgiving...18 days until I see many of your shining faces. I just hope I can feel like I really accomplished something before I come home.