Bustin' makes me feel good.

Midway through Friday night's Crazy Bowl fundraiser, a friend thought that maybe I had put a little too much thought and effort into my team's Ghostbuster costume.

But then came the announcement that we had won "Best Costume" at the '80s-themed bowl-o-rama, and all the effort paid off in an instant.

This is the third year I've taken home that prize. The first year featured a Mardi Gras theme, and I went all out thanks to a purple blazer, green polyester pants, a crown, and tons of beads. I won "best costume" that year. Then came my miner outfit during the Western-themed year two years ago.




But this year took real effort. After we had all decided what we wanted to be, I began collected electronic detritus from around the office and around my apartment. The result was pretty cool. And "Ghostbusters" is on my list of all-time favorite movies. Heck, I used to watch the first one over and over again as a kid - to the point of memorizing lines and dedicated a large part of my pre-teen years to busting ghosts myself.

I remember when I was first diagnosed with diabetes, someone bought me a toy ghost trap from the cartoon series. In the hospital, whenever a nurse would walk by, I'd throw the trap out and "get" her. Fun times.

With a little bit of hot glue and a whole lotta circuitry and wires, I built three backpacks for me, my boss, and the new girl, Tina. Marla built a really cool trap, and Liz turned an old hand-held Pacman game into a ghost detector, complete with headphones. We rocked. And a little bit of green ooze on some tyvek painters suits made the outfit complete.




When my brain gets settled on a project, I can't help but go all-out. Take my Route 66 trip. Or my Mac collection. Or my student body president campaign. Or my arcane knowledge of Spider-Man lore.

Maybe I have too many hobbies. Or too much free time (yeah right). Maybe life is just living to the fullest.




Whatever. When the local newspaper mentions something you did as "the best," it makes all that time and effort seem more than worth it.

As the old Ghostbusters theme song said, "Bustin' makes me feel good."

So does winning something fun.