Oh! Those Dragons!
LJ Idol
Week 1, topic 1
HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
Here they come again, those damn dragons. They are the bane of my existence, tormenting me week after week. I don’t know how to get rid of the blasted things. They breathe their deadly fire in my direction, hoping, I’m sure, to overwhelm me at last. I know they want to be the end of me. But I will never give in, never give them any quarter. My job, my mission, is to slay those dragons.
It all began last year, around this same time. I thought I was signing up for official dog walker, you know, I’m a dog person, I could do that job well. But somehow, I signed myself up as a dragon handler. How did I do that? Why oh why did I do that? Was it for the adventure, or was I merely not paying attention when I clicked that sign up link?
Suddenly, week after week, dragons started appearing in my living room. How in hell did they get in? I was always careful to lock my doors and windows tightly behind me. Did they sneak in whilst I was out with my dog? Do they have a knack of slipping under door frames or around cracks beside windows? Sometime last spring, they seemed to disappear for good, leaving as suddenly as they came. I had breathed a sigh of thankfulness, along with a strange sigh of sadness and disappointment. After all, handling those dragons had been quite the challenge, and anyone knows how much I love a challenge. I, well, I sort of missed those dragons.
Each week, as I faced a new dragon, friends and family valiantly tried to assist me in my mission. Some even wanted to try to slay the dragons for me. But I’m fierce and independent. I never want anyone to slay my dragons for me, though I don’t mind if they help me hold the damn sword as I slay. Do you know how heavy swords are, particularly dragon conquering swords? Bloody frigging heavy, particularly in the beginning, when you aren’t used to carrying and wielding those things!
I was so tentative and scared in my first attempts at dragon handling. I never received any training in the task, just to observe the work of dragon handlers before me, and the work of the experienced handlers working beside me. So, in the beginning, I felt so unsure, a sort of what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here feeling! Stealthily a dragon would appear in my living room, and stealthily, or boldly, I would set forth to conquer. The first few dragons were the worst, exhausted me, nearly besting me with their fiery tricks. They were determined to defeat me, but I was even more determined to defeat them. I came to love the challenge every week, a cerebral challenge, how best to tangle with this new dragon this week, sort of challenge. I secretly had to admit to myself that I was actually having fun. Need I say, confess, that I didn’t really try to sign up for dog walker, that I really did knowingly, with great forethought, sign up for dragon handling?
As the weeks passed, it became easier, though never something to take lightly. If you don’t pay attention when dealing with dragons, you could end up dead! Or wounded! Or just plain out of a job!
Now, here I am, November has dawned, warm and sunny. I’m at peace in my quiet little life in the kingdom. Dragons have been gone from my life for a while now. There don’t seem to be any worries in my future, not of the fire-breathing dragon variety anyway.
But wait!
Huh? Dragons again? I swear to you, another dragon appeared in my living room the other day! Where did it come from? Did I click the wrong link again? No, I must be honest, at least with myself. I quite knowingly decided to take on the dragon handling challenge again. When I received an email informing me that dragon season was coming up, I rushed off to sign up. I want the high of the chase, the thrill of the accomplishment, week after week, the heart-pounding, blood-curdling challenge of conquering those new dragons, the ones Gary the chief Handler sends our way.
I heave a big sigh. Yes, I did it. LJ Idol is here again, and I’m ready to face and conquer the weekly dragons. The topics that try to conquer me, make me pull out my hair with frustration, make me cry to my friends, “I have no flipping idea what to write!”. Those topics also make me smile, challenge my mind and soul and heart, open me up to the amazing dragon handling skills of my fellow handlers. Those weekly topics can make me crazy or excited, but whatever else they do they challenge me, and I love every bit of it.
So, come on, little dragons. Come to me my babies. I’m ready for you this year, and I’ve got a whole bagful of new tricks and ways to conquer you again. I can hardly wait!
Yeah, I’ve got to admit it. I love this job!
This is my entry for season 7, week 1 of LJ Idol.
Week 1, topic 1
HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
Here they come again, those damn dragons. They are the bane of my existence, tormenting me week after week. I don’t know how to get rid of the blasted things. They breathe their deadly fire in my direction, hoping, I’m sure, to overwhelm me at last. I know they want to be the end of me. But I will never give in, never give them any quarter. My job, my mission, is to slay those dragons.
It all began last year, around this same time. I thought I was signing up for official dog walker, you know, I’m a dog person, I could do that job well. But somehow, I signed myself up as a dragon handler. How did I do that? Why oh why did I do that? Was it for the adventure, or was I merely not paying attention when I clicked that sign up link?
Suddenly, week after week, dragons started appearing in my living room. How in hell did they get in? I was always careful to lock my doors and windows tightly behind me. Did they sneak in whilst I was out with my dog? Do they have a knack of slipping under door frames or around cracks beside windows? Sometime last spring, they seemed to disappear for good, leaving as suddenly as they came. I had breathed a sigh of thankfulness, along with a strange sigh of sadness and disappointment. After all, handling those dragons had been quite the challenge, and anyone knows how much I love a challenge. I, well, I sort of missed those dragons.
Each week, as I faced a new dragon, friends and family valiantly tried to assist me in my mission. Some even wanted to try to slay the dragons for me. But I’m fierce and independent. I never want anyone to slay my dragons for me, though I don’t mind if they help me hold the damn sword as I slay. Do you know how heavy swords are, particularly dragon conquering swords? Bloody frigging heavy, particularly in the beginning, when you aren’t used to carrying and wielding those things!
I was so tentative and scared in my first attempts at dragon handling. I never received any training in the task, just to observe the work of dragon handlers before me, and the work of the experienced handlers working beside me. So, in the beginning, I felt so unsure, a sort of what-the-hell-am-I-doing-here feeling! Stealthily a dragon would appear in my living room, and stealthily, or boldly, I would set forth to conquer. The first few dragons were the worst, exhausted me, nearly besting me with their fiery tricks. They were determined to defeat me, but I was even more determined to defeat them. I came to love the challenge every week, a cerebral challenge, how best to tangle with this new dragon this week, sort of challenge. I secretly had to admit to myself that I was actually having fun. Need I say, confess, that I didn’t really try to sign up for dog walker, that I really did knowingly, with great forethought, sign up for dragon handling?
As the weeks passed, it became easier, though never something to take lightly. If you don’t pay attention when dealing with dragons, you could end up dead! Or wounded! Or just plain out of a job!
Now, here I am, November has dawned, warm and sunny. I’m at peace in my quiet little life in the kingdom. Dragons have been gone from my life for a while now. There don’t seem to be any worries in my future, not of the fire-breathing dragon variety anyway.
But wait!
Huh? Dragons again? I swear to you, another dragon appeared in my living room the other day! Where did it come from? Did I click the wrong link again? No, I must be honest, at least with myself. I quite knowingly decided to take on the dragon handling challenge again. When I received an email informing me that dragon season was coming up, I rushed off to sign up. I want the high of the chase, the thrill of the accomplishment, week after week, the heart-pounding, blood-curdling challenge of conquering those new dragons, the ones Gary the chief Handler sends our way.
I heave a big sigh. Yes, I did it. LJ Idol is here again, and I’m ready to face and conquer the weekly dragons. The topics that try to conquer me, make me pull out my hair with frustration, make me cry to my friends, “I have no flipping idea what to write!”. Those topics also make me smile, challenge my mind and soul and heart, open me up to the amazing dragon handling skills of my fellow handlers. Those weekly topics can make me crazy or excited, but whatever else they do they challenge me, and I love every bit of it.
So, come on, little dragons. Come to me my babies. I’m ready for you this year, and I’ve got a whole bagful of new tricks and ways to conquer you again. I can hardly wait!
Yeah, I’ve got to admit it. I love this job!
This is my entry for season 7, week 1 of LJ Idol.