Jack en Poy Hale-Halloween!

It's almost the end of the October. Here in the land of marketing ploys they do not have "araw ng mga patay". Instead, they try to sell all the harvested pumpkins which would otherwise rot everywhere. Since it's my first trip to the US, my boss got me a pumpkin. And without any experience in pumpkin carving , I believe I made a decent enough Jack O'Lantern.

We are leaving for Orlando tomorrow and I will not have any chance to crack this giant vegetable before the day when even the adults wear Walmart bougth costumes. So we decided that I do it today.

Below is the stage by stage documentary of me birthing Jack. Yes we named the lantern Jack. Somebody has ran out of names.

Of course Jack started as a pumpkin. Just like any other real Jack O'Lantern.

Then I had to crack his skull. I felt like Hannibal Lecter doing this.


All the mulchy, stringy parts and seeds go to the in-sinkerator (some neat food disposal unit found in most american sinks). Then the tricky part. I had to create a pattern for his jolly face by poking it with a stick. You will see them holes as we progress. They're like those dots that you connect to create an image. Remember kindergarten? I'm sure you did that once as a kid. After poking, the slicing happens. LOL! I started with the eyes.

Then the nose to help Jack breathe.

Half of his mouth with one of the teeth came next.


And then voila! A face only a mother without ovaries could love. Does't he look like he just regurgitated some orangy, chunky and stringy stuff?

He looks pretty nice for a pumking, doesn't he? Of course he ain't no lantern without a candle. So here he is in his full glory.
And here's another one.


I played around with my my new camera and tried to shoot in speed priority without a tripod. Not a very good idea but it made a ghostly image. One that is well fit for the season.

And that is how Jack came about. Now all I have to worry about who to be on halloween. I'm sure I will be a pretty She-ra. And I'm also sure everyone agrees.