For the last few years, it's been sort of a tradition to drag in all the left over bits and pieces from the flugtag and build a killer Halloween Cube (of dooooom). Due to a series of voting irregularities, I have never actually won the competition despite producing (in my humble opinion) some of the most over the top Haunted Cubes (of dooooom). Since the flugtag didn't come to SF this year, I hadn't planned to do anything. Then I learned there was a movement afoot to one up my last cube. This could not stand.

I decided to build to Ultimate Halloween Cube (of dooooom). The only problem was the last of supplies. Since I couldn't find my spare tarp to black out the cube, I had to settle for garbage bags slit open and taped together. The smoke machine was, of course, required as was the fake spider webs... but something was missing... Then I went to a muctache party.

I should explain that for the last month, a whole group of us had stopped shaving in anticipation of the Great Mustache Party of 2004. It doubled as a halloween party and a going away party for a friend. Now after a month of not shaving, I don't look all man of the forest like, just scruffy enough to worry people at work. Since it was, technically, 'crazy' mustache party, some alterations were in order. The party gave me some great ideas for the cube, including (but not limited to) the use of a black light, dry ice and a chalk outline.

Still something was missing...

When I was trucking all the supplies into work on Thursday night, I happened accross a tree that had fallen down and been drug into the parking lot. That's when it occured to me: When life gives you lemon, you make lemonade but if life gives you near record rainfalls for the month of October causing a tree to be blown over in the parking lot, you make the Enchanted Forest (of dooooom)!

For future referance, if you ever want to get some funny looks, walk around the parking lot with an 18' tree on your shoulder. With some help from some ne're do well engineers, I managed to get the tree in the door, around two corners, over my cube, spun in place and planeted in the abandoned cube behind mine. Safety being a prime concern with little primates running around fishing for candy, it was strapped in place.

Some things you spend a long time working at only to step back and see that they are quite miniscule. But if spend five minutes dragin a tree into a cube farm you quickly realize, that's a pretty darn big tree! Between the tree, the black plastic garbage bags and some stealthy electrical changes to the lighting around my cube, it's fairly dark and menacing in there.

The final touches were the chaulk outline on the floor (which survived three vacuumings) and the dry ice caldron (of dooooom).

Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, I give you the Enchanted Forest of Doooooom!

Questions can be mailed to Forest _AT_ insanitech.com.