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October 31, 2004
Storytime
It's time once again (well, for the 2nd time now) for my almost-annual Halloween Ghost Story.
I had planned on making it a yearly thing, every halloween to write and post a story up here, but it lasted one year. I regret I was too busy/forgot last year, but this year, I have one for you!
Yeah, well, I left it at home.
Anyhow, for those of you who weren't around 2years ago for the first story (or can't remember the 1st story), here it is again...and I shall try to remember the new story for tomorrow, though it'll be a day late.
This was originally written to be for kids, but it ended up being slightly too scary.
Once there was a very old house which loomed evily over the neighborhood in which it resided.
The house was so old that it would creak and moan in the wind. The battered shutters would slam open and shut in storms, and the yard was unkempt and cluttered with leaves and broken tree branches.
The children who lived on her street would avoid the house at all costs. Some wouldn't dare to look at the house, for fear that they would be cursed. Others wouldn't even walk past the house, preferring to go out of their way to avoid it. Many a child was dared and double-dared to go up to the front door. But no child was ever brave enough to make it past the rusty iron gate without running back with their heart racing wildly.
One day, a very brave girl, Sabrina, who was new on the block, was dared by some very devious boys to go up to the door of the house. Sabrina wasn't scared of anything, and despite the other girls urging her not to go, Sabrina, wanting to prove herself, flipped her hair over her shoulder and made her way down the sidewalk to the gate.
In front of the gate, she turned and saw the group of children that had clustered together to see if Sabrina could actually make it to the door. Sabrina raised her eyebrow at the other kids and slowly turned and faced the house.
The house was even more menacing up close, and Sabrina gulped before pushing the broken gate aside and making her way up the cracked brick walkway to the front steps.
The old wooden steps were broken and falling apart. Sabrina negotiated the holes and rotting wood and crept up the stairs to the front door.
As she arrived at the door, she reached up to the rusted brass knocker, which had the face of tooth-baring lion, lifted it and let it fall back onto the door with a thud that echoed throughout the neighborhood.
The cluster of children across the street shuddered in their coats and the girls clung to each other in fear at what fate would possibly bestow on poor Sabrina.
Before their eyes, they saw the door in front of Sabrina slowly creak open, and despite their straining to see, there was nothing but blackness beyond the door.
To their horror, Sabrina, instead of turning and running, slowly stepped through the crumbling doorframe.
The group gasped together, as Sabrina disappeared into the blackness and the old door closed shut behind her, and the thud of the knocker once again shook the neighborhood.
It seemed like hours that the group stood on the sidewalk, mouths agape, staring at the front door of that evil, old house, praying and hoping that the door would open and that Sabrina would emerge unharmed.
The afternoon waned and the sun began to set, and the mothers soon began to call each of their children in for dinner, one by one.
Each child was loathe to leave without knowing that Sabrina was ok. But no child dared to let out the secret to his or her mom or dad that the new girl on the block had disappeared into what could have very well been a vortex of evil.
Each child shuddered in their bed that night. Cuddling up in their blankets and shivering at the thought that poor Sabrina was locked in the old house alone....or worse.
One young girl, who could stand the suspense and guilt no longer, blurted to her mother at breakfast of the terrible dare that had been bestowed on poor Sabrina. Her mother, shocked and disapproving, immediately told the girl's father, who promptly rounded up a few other fathers in the neighborhood to go to the house themselves in search of the poor missing girl.
Four fathers walked the long walk to the door of the old house, as mothers, neighbors and kids all looked on anxiously.
They knocked. The door opened, and one by one, entered into the blackness on the other side of the rickety old door.
Gasps escaped the lips of the shocked on-lookers. The girl who had broken the news to her mother, cried at the thought that her father would never return after disappearing into that terrible evil house.
Hours passed and there was still no sign of the fathers, nor of Sabrina. Murmers and whispers littered the air, as the mothers and children alike speculated as to what could be happening...or what may have happened already.
The day dragged on, and still the neighborhood held vigile outside of the house. Sharing eerie stories about the noises that would come from the house, and the ghostly moaning that could sometimes be heard faintly in the wind.
As one mother told of how she had seen a ghoulish green light dimly streaming from the upstairs window, the group looked up at the window and saw a figure, ghostly pale, standing staring down at them.
A few members of the group let out a yelp of surprise, and all at once, the figure was gone. Vanished.
Hearts were beating wildly, and mothers held their hearts, attempting to calm themselves after the fright of seeing such a sight. Children clung to their mothers skirts, old neighborly women wrung their hands nervously, and some began to pray for the safety of the girl and the fathers that had braved the old house.
Just as everyone had finally calmed themselves from the frightening apparition, and as the sun began to slowly creep back down toward the horizon, the front door opened slowly, creaking and moaning. Out of the blackness, the brave men emerged one by one, each white-faced with fear, one whose hair had inexplicably turned white from fright, the last father appearing with Sabrina hanging in his arms like a limp doll.
The mothers gasped and ran to their husbands, everyone gathering around them questioning, wanting to know what happened, if they were ok.
All attention turned to Sabrina who was slumped unconscious in the arms of one father, who tried without luck to rouse her. Her face was a ghastly white, and her long brown hair ratted and stringy and clinging in patches to her damp face. The man, cooing softly to her, gently tried to pick her hair from her face. All of the sudden her eyes opened wide, her pupils wide as saucers and the whites of her eyes red and bloodshot.
The groups which was gathered around, looming over her watching, recoiled at the sight. Sabrina stared out, unseeing and a low growl came from her throat. The group slowly began to back away, as Sabrina's body stiffened and her fingers knarled in an evil claw. The man gently tried to slither his arms out from under her, but she lunged up at him, and with one quick lash of her hand, slashed his face from his ear to his mouth, leaving a gaping wound.
He crumpled to the ground and Sabrina pounced up onto her feet in one quick, graceful cat-like movement. She snarled at the frightened on-lookers and ran on all fours, quickly like a panther to the front door of the house. Before she bounded up the rickety steps the door opened and she pounced into the darkness beyond the door and it shut behind her.
In the upper window, the crowd saw the apparition again. An old woman smiled evily at the group, her eyes glowing red, and then disappeared.
The part of the street where the house resided was blocked off. Politics and red tape preventing the neighborhood from doing the damage to the house that they thought was deserving. No one could touch the house. No one wanted to. And from then on, no one went to the evil and darkened portion of the street where the house loomed. The bright and cheery houses on either side of the house were soon abandoned, never again to be inhabited.
And no child, ever again, dared or double dared another child to walk up to the house.
'Remember poor Sabrina', they would remind each other. And forever more, the evilness of the house darkened their neighborhood and their city. Remaining there, unkempt and abandoned, as a lesson to devious little boys and brave little girls.
Posted by calima at 03:05 PM | Comments (1)
October 29, 2004
busy busy busy busy busy week
I ran around this week like a marathon runner gone mad. I feel like I haven't stopped to do nothing in a while. You know that way? When you sit down for the first time in ages and think, 'Gah, it's been a while since I've had spare time to do nothing.'
Meetings everywhere...meetings crammed into 10 minute intervals between classes...then I find out that I've been nominated for a committee on top of everything. I'm honoured to do it, but still I'm thinking, 'Wow, I'm never going to get to sleep again'.
And I'm running in my sleep, too. I wake up in the morning feeling just as exhausted as when I went to bed. But I don't delay for too long, as I've got somewhere to be just then, so I hope out of bed and get my day running, running, running.
I'm looking forward to this upcoming week and a chance to slow down a bit. It's reading week at Uni, so I won't be in to campus at all and can get a full work week in. Ah...t'will be nice.
Oh, mypod is fixed. It just needed an attitude readjustment. Scared me there for a second, I thought that I was going to have to part with it. Bless.
All in all, things are going grandly (if not quickly), and I'm looking forward to possibly getting some shopping for the flat done this weekend.
Also, if you've never had a full scottish breakfast, you should. It's more food than you would ever consider eating in the morning, but it really gets you going for the day. We're talking about eggs, bacon, sausage, potato cakes, tattie scones, baked beans, mushrooms, and a tomato. (And black pudding if you're into that sort of thing.)
Can you say 'Oy!'?
Posted by calima at 01:55 PM | Comments (2)
October 25, 2004
Well, things got better
Had a meeting this morning that went very well. And next week is reading week, so I have no classes at all! Hurrah!
Today I saw another star on the ground. Actually it was a small cluster of stars...silver and perfect. It might have been Orion, or the Seven Sisters, but I couldn't tell as I was in a hurry.
I didn't dare pick them up.
Fell asleep in literature today. Oops. It was an early morning for me today. Methinks I'll sleep well tonight.
x
Posted by calima at 02:01 PM | Comments (2)
argh
My ipod isn't playing any songs.
*whine*
Thomas? Ben? BILL?!!! Somebody help! *cries*
Posted by calima at 08:38 AM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2004
pay it forward
I was walking to the tube station after studying late in the library with 2/5th's of The Set, to get the tube home and get more studying done. As I walked in, I noted that all of the ticket machines were closed down and that I would have to stand in the queue to get my ticket home.
As I walked up to the queue, a girl, who had recently disembarked from the train herself, came up to me, held her ticket out to me and said 'Discovery Ticket?'*
I said, 'Thanks!', went through the Turnstiles of Death, and got on my train.
When I disembarked, I saw a man walking up to the queue to buy his ticket, so I walked up to him, held out the ticket that had been given to me and said, 'Discovery Ticket?' and he said, 'Cheers!'
Give a little.
Take a little.
It's all about karma in this little theatre production we call 'life'.
x
* A Discovery Ticket is an all day unlimited pass for the underground.
Posted by calima at 10:43 AM | Comments (3)
October 16, 2004
This one's for you
This is your journal entry today. I mean it's yours: It belongs to you.
Two phrases have been circling each other in my head today:
Education is never a waste
and
You learn something new every day
So, today, (and tomorrow also), I hand you a challenge:
Tell me something I don't know.
x
Posted by calima at 03:12 PM | Comments (20)
October 15, 2004
Grrrrreat!
I'm having an excellent day today! I realize that lately I've been having a bunch of entries where I swoon about the little things that make me happy...but today I had 3 huge things happen that made me go all crazy in my head.
...but I can't tell you what.
But just trust me...they're huge. They're great, and I'm ecstatic!
Lovely friday. Skint for the weekend, but coping very well.
I also saw an hilarious video that I want to share, but don't think I can...it's hilarious though. Made me cry, for laughing so hard.
This is a very vague entry. Sorry about that. But just take my word for it: everything's great, and everything's funny.
x
Posted by calima at 03:50 PM | Comments (3)
October 14, 2004
Tape
Interesting conversation at lunch today.
After having been given a very cool postcard from Regan (who's back, btw), we promptly agreed that it needed to be taped to my diary so I went on a quite laid back search for tape.
'laid back search' means that I simply asked those around me, if they had any tape, and they said 'no'.
At any rate, while the Set were sitting around the lunch table (which reminds me a lot of high school for some reason), we had a very interested discussion about clear tape. Sticky tape. Sello Tape.
I'm not sure how we got on the subject, but they asked me what the American term for Sello tape is, to which I replied. 'Scotch'
And they laughed!
We then mused that Scotch Tape would just be called 'Tape' in Scotland, just as Chinese Food, in China, is called simply 'Food'.
Ha!
In case you haven't noticed throughout my long and rambling journal entries thus far, we (the Set) find the most minor things hilarious. And this is why we're good fun to hang around with.*
x
(That last sentence ended with not one, but TWO (2) prepositions, which is double the bad grammar, unless by some mysterious and unknown rule a double preposition cancels each other out, in which case, I'm cool. Well, I'm cool anyway, but you know what i mean ;) )
Posted by calima at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2004
Language lesson
Becuase I'm feeling like not blogging about personal things today, here is your scottish language lesson.
For any scot that reads this, please bear in mind that I got these from my Scottish Language class and, yes, they may be outdated words, but I like them and plan on bringing them back into regular usage.
thole - (this is not a glaswegian term...it's more...umm...I'd say 'northern', but I still haven't found anyone around here who's heard it) Means: to put up with. Ex: I needed to clean last night, but I couldn't be tholed
'Nights are fair drawn in' - 'Hey, it's winter and getting darker earlier!'
bampot - an eejit...someone who's a bit off their head.
fankle - nuisance (I'm still learning this one)
gallus - cocky, overly self-confident.
jorries - marbles
peely-wally -> pale, white, ill 'See yon that peely-wally nyuff?' (hee! I'm pretty positive I didn't spell that right!)
sannies - sandwiches, or sand shoes (sandwiches can also be called 'sarnies')
vicky - rude gesture (the 'victory sign' backward)
outwith - almost a strickly scottish term, means 'outside' Do you have any classes outwith Strathclyde Uni?
Posted by calima at 09:45 AM | Comments (6)
October 11, 2004
The Bane of My Existance which Must Be Destroyed
Yes! You're getting another entry about the dreaded midieval torture devices which are also known as 'turnstiles'.
Ummm.....later....
x
[Later....]
So, this morning, I'm walking along, singin' my song, drinkin' mah mocha, and pretty much lovin' life, lovin' mypod, lovin' the morning, when I get to the Dreaded Turnstiles of Hell.
The Dreaded Turnstiles of Hell hate seeing someone having a happy day. The Dreaded Turnstiles of Hell wish to see nothing but destruction of happiness. They are the anti-happy. They are anti-content. They are hatred and evil.
They ripped my earplugs out of my ears. Actually, I shouldn't say 'they'. I know 'they' planned it, but in all fairness, it was one single lever of turnstile that actually carried out the dastardly deed, but I, argueably unfairly, blame all turnstiles everywhere.
Why?
Because Turnstiles are the epitomy of all evil everywhere and must be destroyed until they are all dead dead dead.
Anyhow, my day has brightened up (again) nearly to its former brightness before the Evil Turnstile Incident, by my being reunited with my potato and cheese lunch, with which I have been parted for nearly 5 months. Oh Potato. How I have missed thee.
I'm silly today. I attribute this to two things:
- My last lecturer was silly
- I have just spent nearly 10 minutes flipping through the same issue of Glamour, in an attempt to find an article that I only glanced at in passing, but, unable to find it, I kept flipping. This action, it is believed, has severly lowered my I.Q. to approximately the equivalent of room temperature.
Before the unfortunate I.Q. dropping incident (not to say that Glamour always drops your I.Q...sincerely, if your I.Q. isn't high to begin with, then you should see no change whatsoever. This is not to say that I necessarily have a high I.Q., for I did, in fact, buy the magazine in the first place...oh nevermind...)
*ahem*
I was walking to class this morning and I saw that a star had fallen to the ground. It was glittery and perfect, just lying on the sidewalk. I wished I had a ladder tall enough to hang it back in the sky, however, I mused I would have to wait until the sun went down to find out where in the sky exactly it belongs.
You'll never know what you can find on the ground in Glasgow unless you look down. (And in most cases, you really should walk looking down to reduce your chances of stepping in something rather unpleasant...)
Posted by calima at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
October 09, 2004
Finally a sneezy category entry that makes sense.
Yesterday in the office was unbearable. I know that in the past few weeks, I've been complaining about the temperature in the office becuase they (building maintenance) hadn't turned the heat on yet, and it was positively Baltic in here. Well, now it's the other end the spectrum: the heat has been turned on and it is now tropical in here.
I don't know which I prefer: being too hot, or too cold. Either one isn't really preferable at all. But if I had to choose...well...I'd choose Option C: Neither.
At any rate, I have a horrible cold. I just recovered from my last cold, but this one snuck up on me with its squeakless trainers, and tiptoed right into the middle of my very busy, very hectic life. I think that there are a few contributing factors to the hold this cold took over me:
- the fact that my body defenses were down already from the last cold
- Loki bringing over an unknown virus to my flat.
- Another friend bringing a cold all the way from Pakistan and
- the inconsistant and constant fluctuating of the office temperature.
At any rate, I was in misery yesterday, as it was so hot in my office that I couldn't even tell if I had a fever or not.
Work ended, other work began and I trudged through it all. Then my lovely sweetheart of a partner proclaimed that he had intended to make me a hot toddy last night, but we forgot the lemon. It's the thought that counts, and I love him for thinking it, even if the lack o' lemon kept it from being a reality.
At any rate, I feel better today, but I sound worse, if that's possible. And I turned off every thermostat in the office and left the window open overnight and it's finally a decent temperature in the office.
Also, for those of you who are in the middle of a game of scrabble with me, and are wondering what happened to me yesterday, I was just too out of my mind with sickness to think clearly, so rather than making dumb scrabbling mistakes (like I did on one game with Oj), I just decided not to play for a little while.
At any rate, that's the news, and I'm calling a full lid.
x
Posted by calima at 02:37 PM | Comments (3)
October 07, 2004
That silver lining
The thing about Glasgow is that it's completely unpredictable. Have you ever had a friend that always did exactly opposite of what you expected him/her to do? You complain about her being late all the time, and she shows up early. You say she never wears her hair up, and she arrives with it in a twist.
Glasgow is that friend. If the sun is shining brightly and the trees are gently swaying you could walk outside to:
1. Freezing weather
or
2. Delightfully warm weather.
Moralitis: Just becuase the sun's out doesn't mean it's nice outside. Of course it doesn't mean it isn't nice outside. You just can't tell.
If it's sunny in the morning, it may or may not rain by the afternoon.
If it's raining, the sun might just come out anyway. This does not mean that the rain will stop.
Today it is brilliantly sunny outisde. I would consider this perfect weather...the sun is shining so brightly you have to squint, but the air is cool enough for a coat, but not so cold you need a hat or gloves. You can walk along with your coffee and see the steam rising from the cup, the heat of the coffee keeping the hand that holds it warm.
Beautiful morning..absolutely stunning. And I walked to the tube only to find that the Inner Circle was shut, and had to take the long way around**, but I didn't mind. I was only slightly annoyed, but it quickly vanished becuase I had my beautiful morning, my cup of hot mocha (which is £.60 cheaper before 11am), myPod, and I just rode along, enjoying my morning, my coffee, my music and being in love.
x
p.s. I do have lots of games of scrabble going, but I'm always on the lookout for more. Challenge me. come on!
**I'll explain the tube system, to those of you who haven't encountered it, in a later entry.
Posted by calima at 10:50 AM | Comments (4)
October 06, 2004
How to Spell
Play Scrabble.
I'm up for the challenge. You can use the email listed on the side bar there.
Dare you.
x
Posted by calima at 03:05 PM | Comments (4)
October 05, 2004
?
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop?
Posted by calima at 10:46 AM | Comments (3)
October 03, 2004
If you're gonna play in texas....
...ya gotta have a fiddle in the band...
la la la la la leeeee la la la
...
I got hit on Friday night by a much older gentleman. Quite frankly, it was one of the most eye-rolling pick up lines I've ever heard. I was working at the bar, (where I can usually expect to hear really pathetic pick up lines) and he and I had a discussion about our use of plastic pint glasses instead of standard issue glass.
him: You don't have a real pint glass for me, do you?
me: Nope, sorry, just the plastic.
him: hmmm...
me: I know they're not pretty, but they do the trick.
him:...
him: ...
him: ...but you're pretty
Ooooh dear. And he didn't even give me a tip. Though I did get a 200% tip from somebody else, so I suppose that makes up for it.
Oj and Pam are back in town finally. I'm excited to hear how their holiday went. Those brats went to Naples. It's not fair!
I got to talk to Moosie last night for the first time in *ages*, and she's finally going to send my boots back to me. I'm so relieved. I truly believed she was going to hold them hostage. Actually we joked about her sending me a photograph of the boots and a little ransom note. Then, about how she'd have to include a newspaper in the picture so that I'd know the picture was recent. Hee! I miss her.
I also got to break the news to her that my sister-in-law is pregnant! Woo! Here's to a healthy baby!
x
Posted by calima at 02:38 PM | Comments (3)
October 02, 2004
pleasantly surprised
I like being pleasantly surprised. It's a nice feeling, I'm sure you would all agree.
Had an awesome night last night. Yes, there were some rowdys who got thrown out, but overall, I thought it was a good night.
I am at work. Oui. On a saturday. Ho hum. I have to give major props to my boss, though, for being so flexible with my work hours now that I've gone back to Uni. I was scared about then when seeking employment, but this has worked out quite nicely.
I would also like to warn you all that I'm taking a grammar class at Uni now which will continue for the rest of my degree program, so you can expect me to be insufferable for the next 3 years (at least) ;)
Tomorrow is 'Scary Movie Night', which ought to be a blast. I'm quite looking forward to it, and though we've already decided to watch 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' I'm debating on buying 'The Ring' also, as I really want to see it.
I don't know why I like scary movies so much...but they just appeal. Not gore, but psychologically scary. The only drawback is that movies in that genre get exactly the type of reaction from me that they intend to, and I often end up sleeping with the light on, or reading until I can't keep my eyes open any longer.
But that's the fun, isn't it?
x
Posted by calima at 03:44 PM | Comments (5)
October 01, 2004
merrily we blog along
Not feeling very journally today.
But just wanted to say this:
How cool is it that bitka and I can text each other across the pond?!
rock rock rock.
x
Posted by calima at 06:29 PM | Comments (1)