more madness
it started about a week ago.
i recived a package in the mail containing a surval kit good enough for mcguiver. a match stick, a surgical mask, a lipstick sample, a computer diskette, a rubber band, a tooth pick, a package of tissues, a dried flower, and a safty pin. along with this came a letter, which said, 'open this letter only if you a) don't like mental challenges, b)aren't as clever as you think you are, c) are willing to face the concequences (okay, it said circumstance, but i figured it ment concequences) or d) are an american who has found your slovene identity. while condition d certainly true, i didn't want to admit to a and b, and c just sounded scary. so, i kept the envelope closed, and figured that if i should find myself in a need to craft an explosive, i would find all the nessisary equipment within the bag.
a day later another envelope arived. this time, it said nothing on the exterior, so i opened it without fear of recourse. within it, i found a riddle,
'it is somewhat long and winding road that leads to the little hill.
upon that hill a dragon guards the town and looks down feverishly from the top of the tower.
are you brave or are you weak?
at the front gate upon that hill on Sunday the 7th at 3 PM is the answer you seek!'
this clearly told me to go up to the ljubljana castle at 3 on may the 7th (that would be today, were i actually writing this on the 7th, not the 11th).
so, 3 pm found me huffing my way up the hill to the castle. it's not a flat road that goes up to that castle. i arrived at the top and found sheila sitting there, trying to look inconspicuous while reading a book. with a grin, i headed over and acted suprized to see her. she acted suprized in return (she was actually a little suprized, since i got there a little early.) she gave to me a gift for solving the first clue successfully, which was a box of friendship. she then said that she had found a letter on the ground with my name on it. it must be for me, so she handed it over and i opened it up:
'it is a school art,
but you won't be painting there
on Wednesady the 30th of May.
no, no, you'll be wiggling your hips.'
i figured instantly where it was that i should be going. there is an open air theater behind an old church which has been converted into an art school. on the 30th, there is a concert in that open air theater, so i figured that's where i should be headed. i arrived and found a jj dressed in orange waiting for someone. the story was that maruška and kiki and her had planned to go to coffee, but for some reason had ditched jj at the school. so, it was a good thing that i showed up. she congradulated me for figuring out the clue and handed me a jar of cooking tips. then she said there was another letter found on the ground for me. opening it, i found:
'it is a place that can be found on the corner. Diagonally
across the street an old house of music & dance sends
positive vibes of PRIMA women to the lounge area where
I will be sitting and enjoying my latte macchiato.'
after a moment of thought, it struck me: the opera bar. it sits diagonally across from the opera house. we all embarked upon a walk to the opera bar, only to find goran sitting there, drinking a latte macchiato. for solving the clue, he gave me a bagful of trust (and turisty stuff) and said that yet another envelope with my name on it was waiting for me on the table when he arrived there. feeling that i should open it, i found:
'as a poet you should know where the muse holds
the gold(en branch)
as she stands over the drunk lawyer
by the three bridges
where you walk on the sun
(you're the poet not me)'
instantly i knew i was to head to prešeran square. the statue in the square is of him, with his muse leaning over him holding an ugly, golden branch. and, well, the three bridges... so, we marched our way over there, and from a distance i see maruška sitting at the base of the statue. when we reach her, we joke a bit, saying that we thought she was with kiki. had kiki ditched her too? turns out she had, and so maršn was waiting for someone to show up, hoping it was us. she handed me a gift of cheezy hearts (heart shaped papers with different types of cheeses written on them) and a fourth clue. this clue read:
'Freud would probably love its shape
Even a 100% mental ill person'd like it
Legolas would make it in his wedding with Kiki
Aristotel'd include it in his study of soul if he knew how pozitive efect it has
Find a place that makes it
Leave psychology out of this and see the pig picture - think simple.'
it took me several moments to figure this one out. finally, brainwave: F E L A F L. felafl. kiki was waiting at the falafel place up the road. so, we all 5 of us, maršn, sheila, jj, goran and myself, headed up trubadorjeva, chatting and laughing as we walked. when we arrived at the falafel place, we found kiki sitting there, with another gift. this gift was a bucket full of crazy ideas. and it was litterly a little brass bucket (i kept calling it a pail, only to have maruška and sheila glare at me and say, 'it's a bucket!' this only encouraged me to keep calling it a pail.) stuffed with a large peice of paper containing crazy ideas. we all bought a falafel, ate, and then kiki mentioned that she had found one last clue. this clue read:
'Sheila says: "It's the only normal place around!"
J.J. says: "The only place with a good DJ!"
Gogi says: "Lets sit down in a nice quiet courtyard in the middle of this noisy jungle!"
Marshn says: "Let's get a drink!"
Kiki says: "But soon to be killed people wander there too."
I mean, do we even have to say where we are meeting?'
this one, shamefully, took me a bit to figure out too. i wasn't entirely sure, but after a few moments of thought, i realized that it was indeed meaning that we should be headed for cutty sark. the bit of the clue that took me the longest to figure out was kiki's line, '...soon to be killed people wander there too.' it wasn't until i realize that jan plečin has been there a few times with us, that i got the reference. we don't like jan much. he's a pompus musician who thinks he has latin roots or something like that. a while ago, when i took the 'mobster' pics, we were joking that we were being hired to take a hit out on him. anyhow, we made our way back to cutty sark, and enjoyed some drinks.
at this point, a last and final envelope appeared for me. inside it was a form inviting me to join a special little group. i was being invited to join the order of the gigglrs. what these five people, maršn, kiki, jj, sheila and goran, call themselves. so, after signing my soul away, i have become a junior member of the gigglrs. and they couldn't have presented a more enjoyable way to bring me into the fold.
i recived a package in the mail containing a surval kit good enough for mcguiver. a match stick, a surgical mask, a lipstick sample, a computer diskette, a rubber band, a tooth pick, a package of tissues, a dried flower, and a safty pin. along with this came a letter, which said, 'open this letter only if you a) don't like mental challenges, b)aren't as clever as you think you are, c) are willing to face the concequences (okay, it said circumstance, but i figured it ment concequences) or d) are an american who has found your slovene identity. while condition d certainly true, i didn't want to admit to a and b, and c just sounded scary. so, i kept the envelope closed, and figured that if i should find myself in a need to craft an explosive, i would find all the nessisary equipment within the bag.
a day later another envelope arived. this time, it said nothing on the exterior, so i opened it without fear of recourse. within it, i found a riddle,
'it is somewhat long and winding road that leads to the little hill.
upon that hill a dragon guards the town and looks down feverishly from the top of the tower.
are you brave or are you weak?
at the front gate upon that hill on Sunday the 7th at 3 PM is the answer you seek!'
this clearly told me to go up to the ljubljana castle at 3 on may the 7th (that would be today, were i actually writing this on the 7th, not the 11th).
so, 3 pm found me huffing my way up the hill to the castle. it's not a flat road that goes up to that castle. i arrived at the top and found sheila sitting there, trying to look inconspicuous while reading a book. with a grin, i headed over and acted suprized to see her. she acted suprized in return (she was actually a little suprized, since i got there a little early.) she gave to me a gift for solving the first clue successfully, which was a box of friendship. she then said that she had found a letter on the ground with my name on it. it must be for me, so she handed it over and i opened it up:
'it is a school art,
but you won't be painting there
on Wednesady the 30th of May.
no, no, you'll be wiggling your hips.'
i figured instantly where it was that i should be going. there is an open air theater behind an old church which has been converted into an art school. on the 30th, there is a concert in that open air theater, so i figured that's where i should be headed. i arrived and found a jj dressed in orange waiting for someone. the story was that maruška and kiki and her had planned to go to coffee, but for some reason had ditched jj at the school. so, it was a good thing that i showed up. she congradulated me for figuring out the clue and handed me a jar of cooking tips. then she said there was another letter found on the ground for me. opening it, i found:
'it is a place that can be found on the corner. Diagonally
across the street an old house of music & dance sends
positive vibes of PRIMA women to the lounge area where
I will be sitting and enjoying my latte macchiato.'
after a moment of thought, it struck me: the opera bar. it sits diagonally across from the opera house. we all embarked upon a walk to the opera bar, only to find goran sitting there, drinking a latte macchiato. for solving the clue, he gave me a bagful of trust (and turisty stuff) and said that yet another envelope with my name on it was waiting for me on the table when he arrived there. feeling that i should open it, i found:
'as a poet you should know where the muse holds
the gold(en branch)
as she stands over the drunk lawyer
by the three bridges
where you walk on the sun
(you're the poet not me)'
instantly i knew i was to head to prešeran square. the statue in the square is of him, with his muse leaning over him holding an ugly, golden branch. and, well, the three bridges... so, we marched our way over there, and from a distance i see maruška sitting at the base of the statue. when we reach her, we joke a bit, saying that we thought she was with kiki. had kiki ditched her too? turns out she had, and so maršn was waiting for someone to show up, hoping it was us. she handed me a gift of cheezy hearts (heart shaped papers with different types of cheeses written on them) and a fourth clue. this clue read:
'Freud would probably love its shape
Even a 100% mental ill person'd like it
Legolas would make it in his wedding with Kiki
Aristotel'd include it in his study of soul if he knew how pozitive efect it has
Find a place that makes it
Leave psychology out of this and see the pig picture - think simple.'
it took me several moments to figure this one out. finally, brainwave: F E L A F L. felafl. kiki was waiting at the falafel place up the road. so, we all 5 of us, maršn, sheila, jj, goran and myself, headed up trubadorjeva, chatting and laughing as we walked. when we arrived at the falafel place, we found kiki sitting there, with another gift. this gift was a bucket full of crazy ideas. and it was litterly a little brass bucket (i kept calling it a pail, only to have maruška and sheila glare at me and say, 'it's a bucket!' this only encouraged me to keep calling it a pail.) stuffed with a large peice of paper containing crazy ideas. we all bought a falafel, ate, and then kiki mentioned that she had found one last clue. this clue read:
'Sheila says: "It's the only normal place around!"
J.J. says: "The only place with a good DJ!"
Gogi says: "Lets sit down in a nice quiet courtyard in the middle of this noisy jungle!"
Marshn says: "Let's get a drink!"
Kiki says: "But soon to be killed people wander there too."
I mean, do we even have to say where we are meeting?'
this one, shamefully, took me a bit to figure out too. i wasn't entirely sure, but after a few moments of thought, i realized that it was indeed meaning that we should be headed for cutty sark. the bit of the clue that took me the longest to figure out was kiki's line, '...soon to be killed people wander there too.' it wasn't until i realize that jan plečin has been there a few times with us, that i got the reference. we don't like jan much. he's a pompus musician who thinks he has latin roots or something like that. a while ago, when i took the 'mobster' pics, we were joking that we were being hired to take a hit out on him. anyhow, we made our way back to cutty sark, and enjoyed some drinks.
at this point, a last and final envelope appeared for me. inside it was a form inviting me to join a special little group. i was being invited to join the order of the gigglrs. what these five people, maršn, kiki, jj, sheila and goran, call themselves. so, after signing my soul away, i have become a junior member of the gigglrs. and they couldn't have presented a more enjoyable way to bring me into the fold.