A Freak Magnet
Izzie’s been suffering withdrawal symptoms for the vegie delights of Annalakshmi. The boss of Juicy Beetroot tried to tempt the serpent saying that our favorite potato dish would be on the menu today. But the Illuminite festival was on this evening at the cultural centre so some delicious and fattening layered potatoes with tumeric would in itself not alter the Izzie plans
Annalakshmi’s offerings did turn out to be a bit disappointing. Only one variety of dhal instead of the usual two and it had kidney beans instead of lentils or chickpeas. But it turned out to be worth the visit in the end but not for the reasons expected
Decided to sit outside on the balcony overlooking the river as it would be less stuffy than inside and watching the jellyfish slinking about in the river might prove to be relaxing and distracting. Yesss. The dementors paid an unexpected visit since Tuesday and the serpent was desperately trying to distract these infernal beasties
We thinks to have finally worked out the reason for their attraction to this usually uninteresting serpent but that is another much longer and locked post best left for another day. And it is all to do with goblins, the day job and deja vu
So there was this strange skinny and freaky looking lady on the next table. A bit rich for the serpent to talks about freaks but it takes one to know one. A clingy leech was the vibe that Izzie was picking up
It turned out that she would try to strike up a conversation with every passer by but it took some time for the not so observant serpent to notice this
She asked the Izzie if we had ever been here before. She had been introduced by a friend a month ago and had been coming a couple a times a week since. She would like to come every day but being a student could not afford it. She had never tried Indian food before but quite liked it and kept coming back for more. She was expecting it to be very hot and spicy but was pleasantly surprised at how mild it was.
Izzie said that before they moved to their present location they had been on the Esplanade on the second floor of some old building. In those days there was no buffet but a la carte only and most of the stuff was seriously spicy and would blow your head off. They probably toned it down for the wimpy westerners
Added that the food was not typical of what you would find in an Indian restaurant and seemed more like home cooking kind of stuff. Also found it kind of sweet that this restaurant funded by an Indian cultural organisation was one of the few places in the city that had a nativity scene for Christmas time along with Ganesha and other assorted Hindu deities. You won’t see any such thing in the mainstream department stores. They do Santa, snow and reindeer in the middle of summer but not the baby Jesus thing
As a student she loved the whole ‘pay what you can afford’ thing. She could now only manage $10 but when she would be rich and famous she would still come here and pay hundreds of dollars to make up for the old days. She said she was a student at a Christian college. But now it was the 8 week break so she had no studies to do. Instead she was concentrating on writing her autobiography which she wants to get published. She was on the lookout for some one who can do editing and publishing and that sort of thing.
Izzie suggested she should start a blog or something similar so that she could write about her life online without needing to get an agent or go through the usual publishing channels
“Oh no. I want a proper book about my life. It will be a best seller translated into many languages all around the world”
But before Izzie could add “You mean like Harry Potter” a couple came and sat at the same table at the two seats between us so the conversation sort of got interrupted and she started chatting to them instead. They turned out to be a pair of cheapskates and talked to each other that five dollars each would be a reasonable amount to pay.
They would pay seven at the Hari Krishnas for crappy tasteless food. What a bunch of scrooges. But while they were being a pair of pathetic goblins Izzie got to thinking that it is time for a bit of Christian baiting. The usual evil Izzie twinkle was not there thanks to those evil Dementors but we could not let the conversation conclude without mentioning more about the Potter boy
So the serpent innocently suggested that if she wanted to sell lots of copies of her book in many languages then she should learn from the experts. Asked if she had ever read any of the Potter books
She looked positively mortified. “Oh no. I don’t read that sort of thing. They are evil.”
So some one told you this or you came to that conclusion yourself by reading them?
“Oh. I would never go near them. I just know that they are very very bad”
The serpent replied that we have read all of them and love the books to bits. Could have added not once but seven times and also given lots of copies to friends as presents
She looked a bit shocked
Asked what she actually does read. She mentioned a bunch of Christian writers and of course her favorite - the Bible. That is what she was reading when the Izzie slinked by. Suspected as much by the thin pages and tiny print.
Then asked about the Bible College and where it was and what she hoped to do once she graduated. She was going to be a preacher and would travel around the world preaching the Word of God.
Like the American Televangelists? She had never heard of that word before but did recognize the names Jim and Tammy Bakker. She had also never heard of the “Left Behind” series
Now if the Izzie had been her usual evil self would have enquired how she could reconcile her career plans with the Biblical injunctions for women to remain silent and not to speak in church. We thinks it was Paul and the Corinthians or Romans but not quite sure.
It’s not that it was “Be nice to egotistical Christians” Day but rather that the old spark was gone. Could not even recall the name of the writer of the “Left Behind” series. Hayley L something or Larouche comes to mind. But no point in playing Devil’s Advocate when the old grey cells are just totally dead and the twinkle is not there.
Did not mention recently reading the very entertaining “Dummies guide to writing Christian Fiction” or November’s adventures in Nanoland or anything to do with writing of any kind at all. But did listen with amusement as this crazy lady dreamed about how she was going to become famous. “One day you can tell people that you sat next to me at Annalakshmi when I was a poor student but they won’t believe you” she says with a perfectly straight face
It’s times like those when you need a deck of Thoth tarot cards to scare wits out of such a freak. If she only had any idea of just what an evil beast she was conversing with today. A Potter lover who writes stories using the Devil’s deck as inspiration.
But the woman had no charisma at all. Some folks have a presence that draws people in and even if they read the stock market report they do it in a manner that makes it totally riveting. This creature was just a boring old fart full of her self importance and a few tricks learned from “How to win friends and influence people”
But the scariest of all, the woman has got a six year old son. Poor kid will have to sneak his Potter books into the house in the dead of night or slip them inside his Bible. It is not like the Izzie to sympathize with wee squealing beasties but what a sad start to life having such an egotistical and opinionated mother.
Never did ask for her name or contact details as it would be expected to offer the same in return. She came across as the sort of person who would cling to anyone who offered her the itsiest bit of attention. But can always google her particular Bible college near one of the train stations on the northern line.
Not sure if we should be scared off from visiting Annalakshmi ever again or next time be better prepared for a bit of fishing. Might bring some tasty tarot worms next time if the inner serpent wants a bit of amusement.
Annalakshmi’s offerings did turn out to be a bit disappointing. Only one variety of dhal instead of the usual two and it had kidney beans instead of lentils or chickpeas. But it turned out to be worth the visit in the end but not for the reasons expected
Decided to sit outside on the balcony overlooking the river as it would be less stuffy than inside and watching the jellyfish slinking about in the river might prove to be relaxing and distracting. Yesss. The dementors paid an unexpected visit since Tuesday and the serpent was desperately trying to distract these infernal beasties
We thinks to have finally worked out the reason for their attraction to this usually uninteresting serpent but that is another much longer and locked post best left for another day. And it is all to do with goblins, the day job and deja vu
So there was this strange skinny and freaky looking lady on the next table. A bit rich for the serpent to talks about freaks but it takes one to know one. A clingy leech was the vibe that Izzie was picking up
It turned out that she would try to strike up a conversation with every passer by but it took some time for the not so observant serpent to notice this
She asked the Izzie if we had ever been here before. She had been introduced by a friend a month ago and had been coming a couple a times a week since. She would like to come every day but being a student could not afford it. She had never tried Indian food before but quite liked it and kept coming back for more. She was expecting it to be very hot and spicy but was pleasantly surprised at how mild it was.
Izzie said that before they moved to their present location they had been on the Esplanade on the second floor of some old building. In those days there was no buffet but a la carte only and most of the stuff was seriously spicy and would blow your head off. They probably toned it down for the wimpy westerners
Added that the food was not typical of what you would find in an Indian restaurant and seemed more like home cooking kind of stuff. Also found it kind of sweet that this restaurant funded by an Indian cultural organisation was one of the few places in the city that had a nativity scene for Christmas time along with Ganesha and other assorted Hindu deities. You won’t see any such thing in the mainstream department stores. They do Santa, snow and reindeer in the middle of summer but not the baby Jesus thing
As a student she loved the whole ‘pay what you can afford’ thing. She could now only manage $10 but when she would be rich and famous she would still come here and pay hundreds of dollars to make up for the old days. She said she was a student at a Christian college. But now it was the 8 week break so she had no studies to do. Instead she was concentrating on writing her autobiography which she wants to get published. She was on the lookout for some one who can do editing and publishing and that sort of thing.
Izzie suggested she should start a blog or something similar so that she could write about her life online without needing to get an agent or go through the usual publishing channels
“Oh no. I want a proper book about my life. It will be a best seller translated into many languages all around the world”
But before Izzie could add “You mean like Harry Potter” a couple came and sat at the same table at the two seats between us so the conversation sort of got interrupted and she started chatting to them instead. They turned out to be a pair of cheapskates and talked to each other that five dollars each would be a reasonable amount to pay.
They would pay seven at the Hari Krishnas for crappy tasteless food. What a bunch of scrooges. But while they were being a pair of pathetic goblins Izzie got to thinking that it is time for a bit of Christian baiting. The usual evil Izzie twinkle was not there thanks to those evil Dementors but we could not let the conversation conclude without mentioning more about the Potter boy
So the serpent innocently suggested that if she wanted to sell lots of copies of her book in many languages then she should learn from the experts. Asked if she had ever read any of the Potter books
She looked positively mortified. “Oh no. I don’t read that sort of thing. They are evil.”
So some one told you this or you came to that conclusion yourself by reading them?
“Oh. I would never go near them. I just know that they are very very bad”
The serpent replied that we have read all of them and love the books to bits. Could have added not once but seven times and also given lots of copies to friends as presents
She looked a bit shocked
Asked what she actually does read. She mentioned a bunch of Christian writers and of course her favorite - the Bible. That is what she was reading when the Izzie slinked by. Suspected as much by the thin pages and tiny print.
Then asked about the Bible College and where it was and what she hoped to do once she graduated. She was going to be a preacher and would travel around the world preaching the Word of God.
Like the American Televangelists? She had never heard of that word before but did recognize the names Jim and Tammy Bakker. She had also never heard of the “Left Behind” series
Now if the Izzie had been her usual evil self would have enquired how she could reconcile her career plans with the Biblical injunctions for women to remain silent and not to speak in church. We thinks it was Paul and the Corinthians or Romans but not quite sure.
It’s not that it was “Be nice to egotistical Christians” Day but rather that the old spark was gone. Could not even recall the name of the writer of the “Left Behind” series. Hayley L something or Larouche comes to mind. But no point in playing Devil’s Advocate when the old grey cells are just totally dead and the twinkle is not there.
Did not mention recently reading the very entertaining “Dummies guide to writing Christian Fiction” or November’s adventures in Nanoland or anything to do with writing of any kind at all. But did listen with amusement as this crazy lady dreamed about how she was going to become famous. “One day you can tell people that you sat next to me at Annalakshmi when I was a poor student but they won’t believe you” she says with a perfectly straight face
It’s times like those when you need a deck of Thoth tarot cards to scare wits out of such a freak. If she only had any idea of just what an evil beast she was conversing with today. A Potter lover who writes stories using the Devil’s deck as inspiration.
But the woman had no charisma at all. Some folks have a presence that draws people in and even if they read the stock market report they do it in a manner that makes it totally riveting. This creature was just a boring old fart full of her self importance and a few tricks learned from “How to win friends and influence people”
But the scariest of all, the woman has got a six year old son. Poor kid will have to sneak his Potter books into the house in the dead of night or slip them inside his Bible. It is not like the Izzie to sympathize with wee squealing beasties but what a sad start to life having such an egotistical and opinionated mother.
Never did ask for her name or contact details as it would be expected to offer the same in return. She came across as the sort of person who would cling to anyone who offered her the itsiest bit of attention. But can always google her particular Bible college near one of the train stations on the northern line.
Not sure if we should be scared off from visiting Annalakshmi ever again or next time be better prepared for a bit of fishing. Might bring some tasty tarot worms next time if the inner serpent wants a bit of amusement.