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On Saturday, my dad and I drove to Terre Haute to watch the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals. I went to cover them for the Star, but my dad was going there anyway, and as an added bonus, my law-school-attending brother Kennywas already planning to drive in from St. Louis. So, that was a cool visit. And after years of taking pictures of him and his/my teammates for free, he was really happy that this time, I was getting paid.

Here's the full 26-photo gallery for the Star. I also got two photos in the dead-tree edition yesterday.

Jackson Bertoli of Terre Haute South reacts to winning the boys' race of the 33rd IHSAA Cross Country State Finals in Terre Haute, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013.

I didn't give or get candy tonight, and I didn't dress up in a costume, but I was around a lot of the latter last night. In a near-repeat of last year, I took photos of costumes and their people at a Halloween party at the Tin Roof bar downtown. Last year I sent 39 photos, and this year you get 37 pictures of people in costume to ogle over.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Terre Haute to cover the state cross-country championship. I haven't done as much driving for an assignment since the election last year.

People dress in costume for a Halloween party at Tin Roof, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013.

A full pre-med schedule fills my days, but I still have chances to update the blog every now and then. Today, we have the assignments I've done for the Star in the last two weekends. You can find full galleries of the Miss Irvington Halloween Pageant, the Franklin College football team infested with Speedway High School alums, and the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on the Star's website.

Side note: I did a fancy thing during the pageant. I saw the huge window behind the stage and thought at first that it would transmit annoying backlight (it was still daylight when the pageant started). I put two radio-controlled flashes on each side of the stage, though, and when they went off, it created the mirror-like effect they use in interrogation room windows. The outside was dark by then, and so in the pictures for which I used the flashes, everything that's happening inside is reflected back, including the audience. I rather liked that effect, and I should find other occasions to use it.

Xavier Lee, Malcolm King and Gavin McLure dance zumba to keep warm before the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk downtown, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013.