Food is my reward for cleaning <3
Ok, so when I said I'd update regularly, I lied. It wouldn't be the first time. (Not that anyone reads this journal anyways).
So, major dumpage ahoy:
* Decided to give up on the Japan job, only to find out a week later I didn't get it anyway;
* Started back at uni last week (actually went to class and did homework and everything!);
* Tightening my budget so that I can have $10,000 saved by the new year (Donate to the "Get Dimi out of Rental Properties" fund - it's a really worthy cause);
* Been to see Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, Transformers, The Simpsons, and Bridge to Terabithia at the movies and loved them all;
* Read (and was kinda disappointed with) the last Harry Potter book;
* Finally got around to going to AVCon, the Adelaide Anime and Video Game Convention;
* Did a major clean of the house today.
You get to a certain point in your life where you can no longer keep living in filth - especially when it's not all yours. The walls of the bathroom were mouldy, the bathroom sink was covered in and clogged with I-don't-know-what, and I don't think we had a clean dish in the place (not to mention the spilled food and grime all over the cupboards and benches). It was absolutely disgusting and I'd had enough. Now, normally I don't have a problem doing my share of the cleaning, but ever since I moved in, my share seems to be EVERYTHING. When I do the dishes, I do everyone's dishes, but no one else helps/takes their turn; I can't remember when someone else cleaned the toilet or bathroom and it's really starting to shit me off. It's not fair, but if I don't do it, no one will and I can't stand living in such a filthy house *sigh*
Next step: cleaning my room and the lounge room.
I should probably get to doing some homework soon - I have a prac and a tute tomorrow and I haven't prepared for either (where did the day go?).
Oh, I also wrote my first story in about 18 months. Woo! Alex asked for my help on her Bajka comic, and I ended up writing a little fable type thing to go in it (though whether or not it gets used is up to her). I haven't read over it since I finished it, so I have no idea whether it's any good or not, but I want to give it enough time to distance myself from it and look at it objectively. It's the first thing I've written since I stopped studying Creative Writing last year and I don't want to spoil it by automatically calling it crap. Therefore, distance is necessary.
Story
There’s an ancient story from far across the ocean that tells of an unruly fox spirit, and a young boy who just wanted a friend.
They say this young boy was special, “gifted”, and this caused him no amount of trouble in the town where he grew up. He was often heard talking to spirits, and people were frightened of his ability to see and speak the truth in a person’s heart. There were many times when he would come home from school covered in bruises from being beaten by the other children. This made the boy very sad and lonely.
Eventually, his parents decided it would be best to send him away to live with his grandparents in the city, far from the influence of the local spirits, who they believed were corrupting their son. They hoped that someone there might be able to cure him.
What the parents didn’t know, however, was that the grandparents’ house was haunted by a mischievous fox spirit who would often cause problems and steal things. They had tried everything to rid themselves of this pest, but to no avail. In his loneliness, the boy turned to the invisible spirit for company; he would often burn incense and pray to the fox to behave.
People thought he was crazy since they had already tried everything, but the boy remained persistent and patient. Eventually, his efforts paid off and the fox seemed to behave. For a number of years, nothing was heard from the fox again, and the boy soon grew into a well respected young man. He still continued to pray to the fox spirit, however, considering it his first and closest friend.
Just before the young man was due to leave to sit his Imperial Examination, the fox spirit returned, worse and more mean spirited than before. Things would be found broken or spilled, and many of the house’s valuable contents went missing. The grandparents despaired and appealed to their grandson for help. Although upset by the fox’s antics, there was still something about the fox that called to the young man so he tried many things to calm it again.
Every night the young man would offer some coins from his own pocket as a gift, and for the first few nights they disappeared. Soon, however, the fox wouldn’t touch them. Next, he tried sharing food and wine from his own plate. But again, after a few nights, they weren’t touched. The young man often invited the fox as a guest to join him in gazing at the stars, or to talk, but the fox never accepted. Foxes are known to be emotionless, fickle creatures after all.
After trying so many things with little success, the young man instead found a gift from the fox waiting for him one night. Sitting by his bed was a large keg of wine, but there was something not quite right about it - the wine was a dark, murky green. Nevertheless, he accepted the gift and drank it down.
The young man slept fitfully that night. He found himself consumed by a burning fever and an insatiable urge to steal, so running to the richest house in the neighbourhood, he jumped the tall fence and stole various jewels and fur coats. So overwhelming was the fever that his body just couldn’t cope and he collapsed in the street on his way home.
The young man woke many hours later to find himself lying in the lap of a beautiful stranger who was nursing him back to health.
‘Who are you?’ the young man asked weakly.
‘Just a friend,’ replied the stranger, who fed him a soothing liquid and told him to go back to sleep.
It wasn’t until the young man awoke again a few days later, in his own bed and completely alone, did he realize what he’d done. Hearing of the uproar caused by the family he’d stolen from, he was overcome with remorse and threw the stolen goods back into their yard the next night. Things seemed to settle down at that point and the young man went off to sit his Imperial Examination.
The young man passed his Imperial Examination with flying colours, and received many recommendations for his honesty. The next day, however, someone had posted a notice within the courts that told of the crime he had done and called for his rank from the exam to be taken away.
The young man appealed to the courts and tried to explain the situation, but many refused to believe his excuses. One man especially was adamant about pronouncing sentence - the head magistrate’s son, and the young man’s former classmate. Twirling a little blue ball in his hand, he watched gleefully from his new position at his father’s side and demanded the courts punish the young man for his impertinence. All seemed lost.
Suddenly, a great wind threw open the doors of the courts and a tall, red-haired man burst into the room. It was the beautiful stranger who had helped the young man before. All were awed by his presence as he made his way to the young man’s side and demanded the courts listen to the truth. The magistrate’s son became deathly white at the sight of the man, but this went unnoticed as the stranger proceeded to explain what really happened.
Apparently, insanely jealous of the young man’s charm and popularity, the magistrate’s son sought to destroy his reputation by capturing the fox spirit that had lived in the grandparents’ house. Binding it to service by stealing the ball that contained its power, the magistrate’s son forced the unwilling fox spirit to perform all those unspeakable acts, including poisoning the wine.
The magistrate’s son screamed in outrage and threw his chair at the stranger, only just missing when the stranger suddenly disappeared. Standing in his place, however, was none other than the fox spirit, no longer able to retain his human form. Too weak to move, the fox spirit could do nothing as the courts descended into chaos. Feeling afraid and somehow cheated by the creature’s sudden appearance, many of those present fell upon him with great savagery, thinking to destroy him.
All the while, the young man watched on, deeply moved by the fox’s actions. Not wanting to fail his friend in his time of need, the young man did the only thing he could think of - he ran. Snatching both the blue ball and the fox from the mob, he fled into the wilderness where he was never heard from again.
Some say that he died in the wilderness; others say that, when the fox recovered, it turned him into a flower and disappeared. There are those, however, who claim that, when the western wind blows, a foreign man and his strange, red-haired companion can be found moving from town to town, two of the most unlikely friends you’ll ever find. Perhaps you’ve seen them?
Dimi's Random Thought For The Day: "J.K. Rowling - killing off your favourite characters since 1997".
So, major dumpage ahoy:
* Decided to give up on the Japan job, only to find out a week later I didn't get it anyway;
* Started back at uni last week (actually went to class and did homework and everything!);
* Tightening my budget so that I can have $10,000 saved by the new year (Donate to the "Get Dimi out of Rental Properties" fund - it's a really worthy cause);
* Been to see Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, Transformers, The Simpsons, and Bridge to Terabithia at the movies and loved them all;
* Read (and was kinda disappointed with) the last Harry Potter book;
* Finally got around to going to AVCon, the Adelaide Anime and Video Game Convention;
* Did a major clean of the house today.
You get to a certain point in your life where you can no longer keep living in filth - especially when it's not all yours. The walls of the bathroom were mouldy, the bathroom sink was covered in and clogged with I-don't-know-what, and I don't think we had a clean dish in the place (not to mention the spilled food and grime all over the cupboards and benches). It was absolutely disgusting and I'd had enough. Now, normally I don't have a problem doing my share of the cleaning, but ever since I moved in, my share seems to be EVERYTHING. When I do the dishes, I do everyone's dishes, but no one else helps/takes their turn; I can't remember when someone else cleaned the toilet or bathroom and it's really starting to shit me off. It's not fair, but if I don't do it, no one will and I can't stand living in such a filthy house *sigh*
Next step: cleaning my room and the lounge room.
I should probably get to doing some homework soon - I have a prac and a tute tomorrow and I haven't prepared for either (where did the day go?).
Oh, I also wrote my first story in about 18 months. Woo! Alex asked for my help on her Bajka comic, and I ended up writing a little fable type thing to go in it (though whether or not it gets used is up to her). I haven't read over it since I finished it, so I have no idea whether it's any good or not, but I want to give it enough time to distance myself from it and look at it objectively. It's the first thing I've written since I stopped studying Creative Writing last year and I don't want to spoil it by automatically calling it crap. Therefore, distance is necessary.
Story
There’s an ancient story from far across the ocean that tells of an unruly fox spirit, and a young boy who just wanted a friend.
They say this young boy was special, “gifted”, and this caused him no amount of trouble in the town where he grew up. He was often heard talking to spirits, and people were frightened of his ability to see and speak the truth in a person’s heart. There were many times when he would come home from school covered in bruises from being beaten by the other children. This made the boy very sad and lonely.
Eventually, his parents decided it would be best to send him away to live with his grandparents in the city, far from the influence of the local spirits, who they believed were corrupting their son. They hoped that someone there might be able to cure him.
What the parents didn’t know, however, was that the grandparents’ house was haunted by a mischievous fox spirit who would often cause problems and steal things. They had tried everything to rid themselves of this pest, but to no avail. In his loneliness, the boy turned to the invisible spirit for company; he would often burn incense and pray to the fox to behave.
People thought he was crazy since they had already tried everything, but the boy remained persistent and patient. Eventually, his efforts paid off and the fox seemed to behave. For a number of years, nothing was heard from the fox again, and the boy soon grew into a well respected young man. He still continued to pray to the fox spirit, however, considering it his first and closest friend.
Just before the young man was due to leave to sit his Imperial Examination, the fox spirit returned, worse and more mean spirited than before. Things would be found broken or spilled, and many of the house’s valuable contents went missing. The grandparents despaired and appealed to their grandson for help. Although upset by the fox’s antics, there was still something about the fox that called to the young man so he tried many things to calm it again.
Every night the young man would offer some coins from his own pocket as a gift, and for the first few nights they disappeared. Soon, however, the fox wouldn’t touch them. Next, he tried sharing food and wine from his own plate. But again, after a few nights, they weren’t touched. The young man often invited the fox as a guest to join him in gazing at the stars, or to talk, but the fox never accepted. Foxes are known to be emotionless, fickle creatures after all.
After trying so many things with little success, the young man instead found a gift from the fox waiting for him one night. Sitting by his bed was a large keg of wine, but there was something not quite right about it - the wine was a dark, murky green. Nevertheless, he accepted the gift and drank it down.
The young man slept fitfully that night. He found himself consumed by a burning fever and an insatiable urge to steal, so running to the richest house in the neighbourhood, he jumped the tall fence and stole various jewels and fur coats. So overwhelming was the fever that his body just couldn’t cope and he collapsed in the street on his way home.
The young man woke many hours later to find himself lying in the lap of a beautiful stranger who was nursing him back to health.
‘Who are you?’ the young man asked weakly.
‘Just a friend,’ replied the stranger, who fed him a soothing liquid and told him to go back to sleep.
It wasn’t until the young man awoke again a few days later, in his own bed and completely alone, did he realize what he’d done. Hearing of the uproar caused by the family he’d stolen from, he was overcome with remorse and threw the stolen goods back into their yard the next night. Things seemed to settle down at that point and the young man went off to sit his Imperial Examination.
The young man passed his Imperial Examination with flying colours, and received many recommendations for his honesty. The next day, however, someone had posted a notice within the courts that told of the crime he had done and called for his rank from the exam to be taken away.
The young man appealed to the courts and tried to explain the situation, but many refused to believe his excuses. One man especially was adamant about pronouncing sentence - the head magistrate’s son, and the young man’s former classmate. Twirling a little blue ball in his hand, he watched gleefully from his new position at his father’s side and demanded the courts punish the young man for his impertinence. All seemed lost.
Suddenly, a great wind threw open the doors of the courts and a tall, red-haired man burst into the room. It was the beautiful stranger who had helped the young man before. All were awed by his presence as he made his way to the young man’s side and demanded the courts listen to the truth. The magistrate’s son became deathly white at the sight of the man, but this went unnoticed as the stranger proceeded to explain what really happened.
Apparently, insanely jealous of the young man’s charm and popularity, the magistrate’s son sought to destroy his reputation by capturing the fox spirit that had lived in the grandparents’ house. Binding it to service by stealing the ball that contained its power, the magistrate’s son forced the unwilling fox spirit to perform all those unspeakable acts, including poisoning the wine.
The magistrate’s son screamed in outrage and threw his chair at the stranger, only just missing when the stranger suddenly disappeared. Standing in his place, however, was none other than the fox spirit, no longer able to retain his human form. Too weak to move, the fox spirit could do nothing as the courts descended into chaos. Feeling afraid and somehow cheated by the creature’s sudden appearance, many of those present fell upon him with great savagery, thinking to destroy him.
All the while, the young man watched on, deeply moved by the fox’s actions. Not wanting to fail his friend in his time of need, the young man did the only thing he could think of - he ran. Snatching both the blue ball and the fox from the mob, he fled into the wilderness where he was never heard from again.
Some say that he died in the wilderness; others say that, when the fox recovered, it turned him into a flower and disappeared. There are those, however, who claim that, when the western wind blows, a foreign man and his strange, red-haired companion can be found moving from town to town, two of the most unlikely friends you’ll ever find. Perhaps you’ve seen them?
Dimi's Random Thought For The Day: "J.K. Rowling - killing off your favourite characters since 1997".