Kiva Rocks!

Many of you already know about Kiva, but for those who don't: Kiva is a fantastic organisation which does microfinancing mostly in developing countries, mostly funded by direct investments by people like you and me. They are celebrating their 4 year anniversary this coming Tuesday in Berkeley, and have a fun night planned for anyone who would like join. The cost is $20 and includes local food and wine, not to mention entertainment. You can purchase your tickets HERE. If you have the money, pay the $20, if you're broke as a toad, save five with this code: KFF

Halloween - Updated

UPDATE

Free cab rides home

The spoookie time of year is here again, and with it a myriad of happenings. Whether your cup of tea be blood-bathed haunted house, or smiley faced pumpkin patch, the following should provide you with some direction.

Haunted House

The East Bay Express did such a good job summing up our Haunted Houses that I won't waste my time talking about them myself. Find their article HERE.

Pumpkin Patch

Growing up, my family would always buy pumpkins on Halloween because they were all at least half off. It wasn't until recently though that I did a cost benefit analysis, and realized we had it all wrong. If you buy the pumpkin 14 days in advance of Halloween, you pay only .50 a day for the enjoyment of your $7 melon, vs paying 3.50 for your one day of happiness. Sure there are other factors that could be accounted for, but I will spare you. All said, you might consider going to the smallish and relatively expensive Piedmont Ave. Pumpkin Patch if you want more of an authentic experience, or just head over to Whole Foods or the Berkeley Bowl for a slightly cheaper and organic gourde.

Halloween Parties

Again, why create something that is already there. HERE is a list from CBS of mostly family friendly Halloween parties. HERE are some more adult themed options.

My personal choice: Shipwrecked on Treasure Island, brought to you by an awesome burning man crew, and including many of their fire breathing art installations, and some of the most delicious music that the Bay has to offer - all till 5am.

Costume

This is one holiday which makes laziness embarrassingly obvious, or at least very expensive to hide (if you have money to spend and are not lazy look how far you could go). Though there is less than a week left, there is still time to DIY up a great, and on average, greener costume. Use THIS SITE's  instructional videos as your guide.

Happy Halloween!!