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agapesophy · 5 months ago

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Male Logos

Unbeautiful & Invisible Witnesses!

Third Draft

My slumbering awaken shy away to my male Logos before my solitude I wait for friendship, because I can imagine a defense you can't take away! Because no drug will betray my trust without water! The flag of Guardianship of the green Earth has my Defense to my Republic because divide and conquered can only destroy myself, because life is Mercy,. because Death of Monarchy and Death of Theology are my loyal guide of my indifference of my life say wisdom of my white hares seniors of my initials M.D. because Medicine can't doubt Mercy's Truth, because the doctor of the law ain't nothing to me!

Because nothing is rough right now for me, before black grab morning too gay for my tears to bother precious my tears sorrow because that ain't no uniforms worth just trash thrown away morning for Mother's tomb stone witness before my grand parents with my own eye's Sarah, Sara, Ra, who provoked me to be damnable proud brother of the oral traditions that honors my grandmother guardianship of her mother a very complainted my expense to honor my fathers because the canines of speech Bark Mark Ark before the winds of the western for most and Tao of Asia my praise the war of silence before kittens, cats, Lions, and breast milk slanders of diseases return her honor with the innocent ladies who knows she did nothing wrong a mother but a slap to the face to honor my father because ghosts made nothing happen because fear was not attraction because cry of pains repeat was not a joke before father eyes slandering me in the bathroom that was the only bathroom and not a John to my eyes witness he saw,

for Michaels sleep walking urination was prevented the salvation's dependent how my little sister's middle name "Beth" like my "Christine" first name to my mother's Middle name another father's Honor for his Relief like a damnable driver's license privilege I kept for an eternity without ever knowing how to use one because the issue date was altered upon it anyway because my other womb was the year online yoked for all the reasons I slept around I did to drop her yoke and so I married to forget her yolk and she returned because you slandered the dick upon her for the honor of your father's complaint "Christine",

I am my own witness as God as I wouldn't you've already lost my sweet forgive me I couldn't redeem you, because a little sister left with the honor my second womb either way and requited our love mutually unknown, one I see use bathroom in Trinity Lewiston was John on a john, Because Google didn't give a damn about capitalization until recently because it played dumb enough to not know what the corndog was to know I ate few of those things that made damnable every lie you could know becuase that ain't eating disorder but conditioning of tolerance created from an autoimmune disorder so don't choke a chicken wrong because it ain't bloody with any disease of my harm, but the Rio Linda slandered defense of a biological nurse without her child because she ate death the cow of breast other utter pump left behind before cross bow mystery kitty, cat, and Lions on the mountain slain no one pet and before crossbows of who's ownership was before David friendship to escape what I found questionable later in trust's confabulation of my mother never seen the gay as a pedestrian night be as if you could drive a lie inside your closet kept silent for your honor slandered and masked red head of diseases wonder in the bathroom to lies stayed I trusting David's house to spare family my wonder that damn him my fear because my solitude is my own will powered to do so who do not know my english words spoken guilty flags shit eating dogs who can't slander me without waking me to your Death!

oh Jeckel to your dead pussies to my father's guardianship to cry bury them ain't right to his own screaming of what wouldn't eat meat himself, because you can put crossbows where you want but somebody buried them it says to my statistics of some black cat at David's house it weren't a willful thing to know the truth! I would never use to be abused by who lived for bloodshed but I can't stand bloodshed because a license to hunt and a license to fish is worthless to me but I can get a gun license for something I'll never need for most of length of my life so far, because it serves the interest of my father's preference to eat what he kills, because I ain't no RobinHood to say what land and meat belongs to a Barber or Butcher and a home taken for nothing I'm a priest that hates bloodshed literally that is why I am a priest in itself, but the lady's utter pump got me in Rio Linda like my Indian cow of mother first name so my slander more merciful than begging for her job back as the sheriff's wife a Maricopa county supposedly less merciful act because one biological weapon for another is fair political honor to honor a mother other's milk & politicians that are all the same because playing chicken with my witness that is an invisible uniform for God my comfort to be my freedom Spirit and my Witness, because I return cowardly surviving my white guilt won't make a murderer if I can retreat, if I don't understand the citizenship of natives dual citizenship to live on Islands in this nation of my guilty for not being red native, because my Hoodoo is mine unless voodoo becomes you as your might don't make right to me,

So I am meek about the wrong you can't see cost me to learn how to speak diplomacy caught me by green-eyed mother who say you can't say no, because you asked me, before I could be so certain my silence is understood, because the old have the freedom to die as they wish free having lived a long life because murder suicide of young won't have a retreat before the front of confidence online who can't afford a pity of candy to a kid's trust what goats of blame can't save deported because material possessions ain't love she gives but my defense you worship Solomon's gold worthless citizens to deny my life, because she ain't a doubter to have my defense as malpractice insurance don't belong to no judges, concerning matters of guardianship and restraining orders fiction nor hardship of child support damnable to biologicals because, I will come to the government is to the judge but I am to the lady my own government because of it, because the innocent can hold the innocent because visiters are voluntary acts not involuntary will to coyotes trump that made any indivisible visitors and hostages of coyotes teach mayors and governors are united by the sheriff's judges because federal powers understand divide and conquer because might makes right but it is present to doubters because a visitor is a major criminal AKA political refugee or hostage POW of coyotes divide and conquer because Mercy saves the criminal because power won't know the mind of Allah who receives Mercy for his family being a good guardian and the coyotes hatred that cry might don't make right to the confused visitor who pays the same expense to ignorant family knowing not coyotes way because I couldn't call the police for fear might will never make right the kidnapped victim before the defeated judge because the federal ones seek out the coyotes I witness not by making sure the visitors know who to run from can't be the same that save good guardians because my flag says Fuck the law because I honor guardianship but who is the coyotes cry fascist to deny us by treaty that might is fair to us?

Not love the Bling of Solomon!

A city's and county's and State's uniforms honors complaints and not jealousy of unfair opportunity, because Justice is fair at my own expense cry Mercy because we most have been employed out of our loyalty any trust of city's uniform made wrong for me because the uniform has the same value as the city it represent, because you don't understand my witness because his honor can't push a uniform trust,

for that reason of might, because I witness what makes me guilty because the uniform is worth what it is to me, because a tiny billet in the heart ain't nothing to honor one because that is my word, hence if one is not allowed to maintain his position anyway out of prejudice of that City's residence then he ain't confused to be foremost to keep his uniform and therefore he deserves a government job, because he was loyal before the prejudice of the people, because we paid taxes but if we paid payroll to uniform we would also be liable to the complaints we have in trust of the city, but spare the people is what government does in guardianships loyalty that knows we can't ask to pay for what damn us so the foundation of every good is a corpse that never was!

To city of pets that are cats slain like sleepwallers accidental statistical study before me because that is not evidence in itself just the likely event of it being the truth, even this one just born Because Mercy honors loyalty that refuses to be foremost and praises the best because no prejudice can deny him, but a lady and the city the same, because the city must honor the most basic prejudice I won't judge a peer who has right of my trust of a peer group, because my Hoodoo is my own voodoo be freedom spirit because I have my own way of trust because I witness my responsibility because the invisible uniform is the invisible because I can witness my responsibility because I am deprived of trust least I become it and so I love as Mercy,

Salt Lake City has homeless people like a house I lived in at Ogden before the frozen cold cramping camp basement because no one need tell you your trust passing so long ago and that can kill you because the uniform will ask you to depart, and the death ain't Mercy's Trust but the city murders for less than the worth of the uniform!

I won't blame on my trust, because any city is the same city to me and they are all the same so just blame the nation for your death not the uniform, because fear a place they won't tell you your trust passing in homeless way but betray not anyone's trust then for fear you know them not, because I am my own hostage because I can't escape from judgment if I betray a place of my shelter having never needed one before to survive, because the trust of a city is far more than a house I suppose as Mayors complain to governors but the youth forsaken is the lesson of injustice that prisoners are free to find better guards, because any one's dead corpse is a corpse of vacation AKA I mean a municipal corporation, because I can't survive retreat so I understand why I'm not coward anymore because murder is just a merciful lie to me!

Only a bitch of a judge can have a complaint against it! For as long as I am the corpse, I won't give a damn! Because my Justice is my own and so are my reasons just the honor of a uniform that I would never wear because I'm not a bloody priest is my traditional of Trust in a war that must die in that makes sense I was firat.defense of widow father, because a dead corpse wouldn't know any different so let me be mercy at my expense who won't be foremost must be government employed to some other endeavor if uniform of Trust is my Hoodoo and praise of the man as my joy who can wear one we got the residences practice against the uniform, because the prices people pay are wrong to trust you, because of conflict of interest I won't care because who is going to resolve conflict of interest by Trust of a uniform's worth that is worth of the city or I judge the loss is worth my life, but if taken the trust of uniform away then consider the expense of city who opposes your worth but I must honor my life because the ransom of my life is cheaper than the city!

I'm the Democrat in training to know that Republicans lose because they choose to lose for the worth of social security's bet for the sake of the balance of the parties because I won't play part but know when Republicans leaders run the show must lose used as leaders by bettingon social security wrong because the dead prove otherwise with Allah who knows because we know money lost exceeds what Democrats save in their deaths because that is what social security shalt not be mistaken in the wealth of nation lost because Social security won't be mistaken on their bets because the pay out what will cost you endless more on deaths that will not pay out because the old only had the freedom to die the way they wish you can't make them do so,

So prove their loyalties worth social security because I trial everything cultural because the individual is an animal and I am a priest that don't practice bloodshed don't blame the worm because I don't like sports nor do I enjoy sports of fish and wildlife because I don't practice bloodshed, I don't need to be a vegetarian to do that,

A Barber is not one who just cuts his own hair because I ain't a Butcher as won't eat it because my preference buy meat at store but even a worm on a hook is acry for help to me, I put on there for justice fate before my guard who teaches you on my cry for help I wouldn't enjoy a soda pop with my fast food for a reason with my lady fate and they are more righteous than you can ever be as Charity and life of corpse the fate I dare give honor because you can't hear Mercy because I was not born from my snoring dead representation of everything but myself that never was, so don't insult the babe born yesterday he had never had the intention to speak you fools,

Until a jackel of U told him a lie before my freedom's return because my freedom of speech follows upon realization of innocence as the fact that I utilize it to learn to speak because the bang upon my swollen legs' truth won't hurt me because the ancestors defense of your children by doing so upon my shins of slanderous mosquito bites to the honor of my short pants or long pants In the summer time that reveal my shins injuries are not an idiom of speech concerning my life that didn't care because I lived off a few Dollars a day plus pack of cigarettes for my victim mother and other womb and my conditioning to vomit the rest up and taxes thereof the honor at expenses so my honors as shorts never worn back then because my uniform at my corporations of corpses wouldn't allow it,

So shouldn't matter who pay a bill my God who love money more might pay the bills I gave her the check cuz I didn't give a damn for money, because my loyalty don't give a damn to blame the freedom I gave everyone because I once forgave a black man who asked me to be forgiven so I did, because I usually do what people ask, because my death is nothing in full age or the fault of a nation double the fault of far worse because you show me the cut of the point of old age to show the lack of your Mercy to win liars you always can just die because they are old enough to die no longer covered by Social security! Cowards! Don't act insane unless you are because I don't trust you then!

So Fuck you with my birds on my branches dead or alive because I wouldn't know what you mean!

By my or our many birds of my or our branches, because the broken ones are mine foremost of the West because my silences of the East Tao won't impress you unless I praise what you don't get because you can't know it!

I am Mercy because I can't doubt my loyalty because I have always been freedom except when I had gotten my inheritance spent for my grandparents complaint spent but I am proud it was for freedom, I am able to agree you punk bitches who can't push uniform before my guilty sight because you can't make me guilty of my invisible Mommy & my own Good God because Mercy won't shed a tear for you!

The uniform is the worth of a city and any City is the same as the worth of the Green Earth onto me because my trust can't betray anyone! Mercy is life in the eyes of an old Charity who knew me!

Because she would claim to be a Republic and I her Democrat, because I won't hang a jury of eleven to prove it, because Charity won't waste money on her defense!

Mercy won't betray her!

She is a year older than my second womb, but she pay for Mercy's Heart that wasn't for nothing just the debts of my bones that won't be here for the many devil's cackles because Mercy bones forsaken of my own self in honor of my grandmother complaint to to her guardianship daughter, who is my biological mother because gestations is a labor at the cost of her or in part my life in my slumbering corpse of my body who represented your best interest instead of my own, but I had to live anyway because my choice is too long to be beautiful to you! So refuse to be for most is short enough to be beautiful to me! I couldn't afford anything and survive it!

Because Mercy speaks for the innocence of you jackals

Who teach because that is our education!

Any horror is fiction because Mercy ain't going to agree Horror is fact.becuase that can't honor justice's Charities nor Mercy who can't afford Charity, because that slanders the innocent, you won't need a judge, for a librarian to shhh you!

#Mercy don't speak for himself #The hostage the jackel slandered because I won't know I was slandered #I won't be mistaken because you error to doubt Mercy.#Chris ain't Christine #stupid fags!#Ask what the second womb looks like you lion whores!

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deathbysatellite · 2 years ago

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Grunt Household: Week 1

Much like with the Pleasant household, we start off the Grunt household with one sibling repeatedly antagonizing the other.

Quit being mean, Ripp.

Intercept ended up being the correct choice, and General Buzz earned $20,000 doing so!

Interesting bug that happened: the school bus drove off after dropping off Tank, then a second school bus came by to drop off Ripp. Sitting on the opposite end of the bus isn’t enough to Ripp to avoid his brother. No, he needs to take a whole other bus home.

Both of them wanted to get some gadgets, then Tank decided he wanted to buy some jewelry. I bought a necklace for Ripp and a watch for Tank, but I forgot to put the watch on Tank before he aged up, so it ended up going to Ripp.

Ripp becomes fast friends with Tycho Curious, while Tank introduces himself to Puck Summerdream.

No offense, Tank, but you literally don’t have any friends to invite to a sports party (yet).

General Buzz brought Tristen Nott home with him from work.

And while Tristen busies herself with the fish, we end up with a rare sweet moment between Buzz and Ripp, as Buzz autonomously decides to push his son on the swing set.

Buck wanted some help with his homework, so I had the person with the highest relationship score do that. In this case, it was Ripp.

The tree out front briefly caught fire during a lightning storm.

Once again managed to pick the right choice, and Ripp won $500 in a sweepstake prize.

While hanging out with another coworker, this time Kimberly Cordial, Buzz found his passion for Sports.

Ew, Kimberly, that’s literally rotten.

Poor Buck ended up so tired, he passed out where he was standing in the dirty bathroom.

Ripp snuck out late at night with Ophelia Nigmos.

Somebody left a pile of trash in front of the house, and somebody else had the bright idea to try to squash the resulting roaches, so now Buzz has the flu.

Tank discovered his love of science via the telescope.

Buzz decided to introduce himself to Ophelia in an interesting fashion. Come on, what did Ophelia ever do to you??

Oh, look! Ripp and Tank are getting along for o-

Well, that didn’t last long.

I honestly don’t remember which brother brought home Nawwaf Jordan.

Come one, Tank! Puck gave you a sincere compliment and you rejected it? And now you��ve briefly lost your first friend!

Buzz seems to be getting popular, as he’s now brought home Matthew Picaso home with him. This is getting dangerously close to a party.

And just in time for Tank and Buck’s joint birthday, too!

Tank’s Lifetime Want is to have 20 pet best friends. His first attempt at befriending a pet didn’t go so well, as Scout rejected any interaction from Tank other than being fed a treat.

Buzz has much better luck making friends, as he pretty quickly ended up networking with Marylena Hamilton. I told you he was getting popular!

Well, damn! I did not expect that!

How come Scout is nice to you??

Randy London became another victim of Unsavory Charlaton.

Buzz decided to congratulate Tank for...not going to college. Y’know, that actually seems in-character for him.

Tank decided to break from the family’s long military tradition, and join the Athletic career instead.

Buck’s been wanting to get a kitten for a while, so I finally got him one as a birthday present. Meet Bonkers!

Meanwhile, Ripp brought Meadow Thayer home with him from work.

The weekend finally came, so I sent the family on a trip to Bluewater Village.

This is mostly for the purpose of getting them some clothes, now that Tank and Buck have aged up. If clothes shopping didn’t take so long, I would have had them do something afterwards.

Ripp met Ivy Copur, and most of his Wants rolled to be about her. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem very interested in him.

Tank took quite a liking to little Bonkers, quickly developing a friendship. Something I’ve noticed with Tank, is that he builds relationship score with other Sims very quickly. They’re often at about a 75-85 with him, before he’s even at a 50 with them.

Being the only person he has chemistry with, Ripp asked Meadow out on a date.

It went well enough for him to score his first kiss!

Uh-oh! Mrs. Crumplebottom’s here, which means things could go hilariously wrong, very quickly.

Luckily for the two of them, Mrs. C was too busy lecturing people for wearing their swimwear in public (at a public pool), so Ripp ended up having a dream date.

Tank managed to get promoted pretty quickly.

Rare Want? I’ve never seen it at least.

Ripp and Meadow hung out again the next day (along with Catherine Viejo, who tagged along with Meadow).

Despite having just bought clothes the day before, Buck decided he wanted to go clothes shopping again.

I gave Buck Popularity as his primary Aspiration, but Grilled Cheese as his secondary. He rolls Grilled Cheese Wants far more than Popularity Wants, and the constantly rerolling want to gain a cooking skill point has earned him enough enthusiasm in Cuisine to get a magazine subscription.

Tank, on the other hand, has Fortune as a secondary Aspiration, and he’s one of those shopaholic Fortune Sims. He’s constantly rolling Wants to buy really expensive stuff, like this $500 statue, or what I’m pretty sure is the most expensive stereo in the game. Well, something for him to hold onto for when he gets his own place.

Tank rolled Wants to invite someone over, become best friends with Puck, and play catch (another rare Want?), so I’m hitting three birds with one stone.

Thanks to Meadow, Ripp got promoted to the top of the Slacker Career, and became an overachiever!

Having neglected his homework all weekend, Ripp spent Monday morning rushing to get it done before school. I try to do Wants based gameplay, but since teens don’t typically roll Wants to do their homework unlike children and young adults (I actually have yet to see that Want appear for teens), I have them do their homework if they roll a Want that requires having good grades, like getting into private school, or getting a part-time job, or going to college. Ripp had been rolling the “Go to College” Want quite a bit.

This creates another similarity to my playthrough of the Pleasant household. In both cases, the teen that’s supoosed to be lazier ends up doing really well in school due to an abundance of “Go to College” Wants.

And we end the week with Tank leaving the nest to find his own place.

Bonus: Tank’s new home.

#the sims #ts2 #gameplay #ts2 uberhood #long post #kind of a short one compared to the others #but there were a few days that were just a struggle to balance needs so not a lot of interesting stuff happened

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necromancerluna · 7 years ago

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First Christmas Dinner

AN: This was actually suppose to be day 4, but I am panicking because I am so behind and I wanted to write this more anyways, so it's day 3's now. This is set Christmas Eve after day 2's prompt, this is the same universe and day 1's one shot has no connection to either.

Summary: Rey Dameron watched her mother cook for the large Dameron family since they adopted her at age 13. Poe was coming home from deployment for the Holidays, she planned to make a large dinner at Ben and Her's house. She will be meeting Ben's parents for the first time, her parents couldn't afford to make it out this year. so Poe would be there with her as well as his boyfriend and her best friend Finn. With Darth Squeaks helping her along the way, nothing would ruin their first Christmas together....right?

Trigger warnings to be safe is Anxiety Attack and maybe some angst and feeling inadequate.

Darth Squeaks is based off of one of my cats. :3

sorry this was so rushed!

Happy Reading.

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Ben woke to the familiar fluffy paw of Darth Squeaks. A pitiful squeak came from said cat. He groaned and peeked one eye open at the rather large blind cat. He had no eyes, they were surgically removed as a kitten. He explained it to Rey, he was lonely, he needed something in his life. He'd always been a cat person, so he found a non-profit No Kill Cat Shelter. He thought of adopting a few of the adult cats in their general population room, but he couldn't resist going into the kitten room. I mean, who doesn't love kittens?

There was a tiny black ball of fluff, arched down into pounce mode, growling like an extra small lion at a cat toy. The rest was history, it was then he asked to adopt him and found out he would have to wait, the kitten had been born blind and his body was rejecting his eyes. So he put down a deposit and begged them to put him first on the list to adopt him. Like destiny had willed it, the tiny kitten had not been claimed by anyone but Ben. It had been the two of them for a few years, now it was the three of them. He petted the black house lion, Squeaks nuzzled into Ben's armpit as if forgetting the fact he had been just begging for food.

The alarm of their third party member went off. Ben and Squeaks both seemed to perk up, she never got up this early on a non teaching day. He had been planning on getting some work done on his latest novel before she woke. She yawned and stretched and turned to them, “My two favorite men, we need to get up, it's Christmas Eve! Poe will be here and so will your mother and father-”

“Han decided to pick up mother,” He tried his best to hide the bitterness in his voice. Ben had only been in the very minimal contact with his father for five years. Some things were still a little sore between the two.

She sent him a pointed look, “Ben.” “I can't help it Rey, he hurt me and mother a lot- sure he was never physically violent and he wasn't cruel- but the arguing, the disappearing and the neglect and he hasn't really bothered apologizing, he acts like none of it ever happened.” he defended, laying on his back still, he looked up at her, Rey was sitting up. Her back was exposed due to the fact she wore nothing after their love making last night. He used his arm to cuddle Squeaks closer for comfort, Squeaks was sucking on his his furry back paw, a habit he's had since kittenhood.

“Let's try to be civil though.” she held up a hand when he went to protest, “I am not excusing how he treated your Mother and you- but this is our first Christmas together and Poe is back. I want him to come home to warm and loving home, he's been through enough tension and negativity.”

He nodded to her, “I am sorry Rey.”

“That reminds me, Finn has to work today, can you please pick up my brother from the airport, besides-” she reached over and snatched the large cat. She placed a tiny red apron around his neck, to which Squeaks started to bat and nibble at. “Me and my Sou Chef here are going to be cooking all day. Finn will be by with the Green Bean casserole probably just after you guys get back!”

He nodded and took his poor furbaby from her grasp. He left to feed Squeaks, only putting on his discarded boxers from last night. The black cat trotted behind him, squeaking in joy as his namesake dictates. The house lion was fed and happily assumed his place on the kitchen island, his black paws a stark contrast on the white counter top. He listened, his ears twitching as Ben cooked eggs, his little nose sniffing as Ben put the beacon in the other frying pan. Rey was happily drinking her coffee, it was about fifty percent creamer and fifty percent medium roast coffee. Her feet swung under the bar stools that were at the island. She petted Squeaks between her texting to Finn, her parents, and Poe. She sent a few messages to Rose and then some to Hux and Phasma. Rey had wanted to invite the couple over, but they were new parents and with twins only the age of two months old, the red head and drop dead gorgeous blond were exhausted. She watched her boyfriend, he only put on jeans now, his apron that said, “What's cooking good looking?” to stop from getting burnt by the grease.

She wanted to giggle when their cat was startled by the pop of the toast. “It's okay Darth Squeaks, it's only papa.” Ben had cooed, giving the cat a quick peck on the nose. Much to Squeak's disdain, for the cat must have wished it was beacon. Breakfast was served, Squeaks merely did a 180 but kept his sitting position, his face in their direction almost as if he could see them. He looked too cute and both Rey and Ben gave him a piece of cheese and beacon. “Are you sure you don't want my mother to come help you? Mom has always been a great cook, she'd be thrilled to help you- or me, I would be more than willing to help you.” his phone went off in his pocket, “Speak of the devil.”

He answered his phone, getting up to speak away from the table. Rey didn't eavesdrop but instead snuck more cheese to Squeaks who greedily ate it up.

“Guess not, Han isn't able to get mom, I have to go get her, she's already there.” Ben had a twitch in his eyes, his hand went into a fist but he breathed, counted to ten and released his fist. He shoved his phone into his back pocket. He took the apron off and headed off to their room. Rey wanted to say something, but knew he needed to cool down first. He had a temper. He came back out in a nice deep purple v neck sweater and light grey jacket. “I'll be back honey, don't you and Squeaks have too much fun without me.”

“We will try not to.” she said, “When will you be back?”

“Not sure, it's 7:30 now, probably 9? If not later, mom wants to visit with Chewie and Maz for a few and then we'd head back here I guess. When is Poe coming in?”

“His plane is to land at 11:30.”

“Okay, mom and I will just stay out then, Uncle Chewie's and Aunt Maz's isn't far from the airport anyways.”

They hugged and kissed one last time. Rey grabbed her laptop from the office and sat down at the island, she pulled up at least ten Youtube videos on making pies, Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes from scratch. She placed on her apron, a Christmas one of course, with pockets and snowflakes. She set a pot of water to boil, it taking it's time due to the stove being gas. She peeled and cute the potatoes, giggling as Squeaks batted the wayward potato peels that missed the trash can. While she waited for them to boil she began to work on the pie crusts, using her brand new roller to roll out the crust. She did this several times, realized she didn't make enough and decided to not throw the crust and the rolling pin out the window but to more on to the handmade stuffing. Bread crumbs, onions, celery, and butter with water. She gave it some salt and pepper and left it covered in the fridge.

She was dancing and singing loudly to Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson Christmas music as well as a blend of classics. Squeaks mostly grew bored and took his daily naps under the Christmas tree surrounded by his presents that he somehow knew were his. In fact, he was sleeping in the crushed wrapping paper of his new cat bed. She snapped a picture of him and sent it to Ben with the words, “We should just let him open it tonight.”

He responded after a few minutes with “LOL. Well, it is tradition for us to exchange on gift on Christmas eve.”

She heard the hissing of water overflowing. “Shit!” she hissed and practically threw her phone down. She turned off the heat to the potatoes, tried to strain water and mash them with the masher she found in the kitchen drawers. She then realized they were too thin, she had left too much water in them. In fact, the potatoes didn't stay together long. She screamed, throwing the failure away and rinsing the pot. She would worry about it later.

She calmed herself down and went back to the pies. She made the crust better this time. She smiled and held it up victoriously before she fit it to the glass pie pan. She stuck her tongue out and concentrated on the pinch at the top of the crust. Flour in her hair, which was in a bun that strand of chestnut hair had come loose. At least forty-five percent of the pinches looked as they should have. She watched the video several times while mixing the ingredients in for the pumpkin pie. She sneezed and put a bit too much nutmeg in. She shrugged, she liked nutmeg anyways. She started a mental checklist for herself to make sure all was mixed in.

Pumpkin from a can?

Check.

Evaporated Milk?

Double check.

Cinnamon? Yes.

Nutmeg?

Indeed!

Ginger?

Yes!

Salt?

It's weird but it's in there.

Eggs?

….............She did put the eggs in right? She glanced around at the sprawled out ingredients. There were no eggs around, she must have used them. Who'd forget the eggs? She hummed along to All I want for For Christmas is Food. She loved that parody. It was almost Eleven in the morning, potatoes weren't that hard to make and the stuffing was ready, she'd put the Turkey out to thaw soon. She preheated the oven and waited for the ding, once ready she placed the pies in.

She had a minute, so she decided to have a little fun. She went to their bedroom and sent him a message on her phone. Are you away from prying eyes?

He took a while to respond, Yes, I can be, but what for?

You'll see ;)

She put on a red babydoll lingerie top with white feathers on the top of the bra part, and red panties. She took some of her hair down and angled her camera up, pushing her pert breasts up.

NSFW she texted and then gave him two painstaking minutes to hopefully read the message before sending the picture.

She began to worry at her lip, she had gotten dressed and it had been ten minutes since she sent it. Squeaks seemed to sense her anxiety and hoped onto the bed to snuggle with her.

Santa might not bring presents to a naughty girl.

She giggled. Went to respond only to have him send another message.

I'm going to spank you when we're alone, naughty, teasing me while I'm out, getting our family no less.

She wanted to squeal, she texted back:

Tehe, can't wait.

She zoned herself back in enough to give Squeaks a kiss on the head before returning to the Kitchen. The pies would be done sooner than later but she wanted to clean quickly before they all arrived. She dusted, swept and mopped and when the timer for the pie went off she checked them.

Her heart sunk deep into her stomach. The pies weren't rising. She shook her head and blew it off, maybe she didn't set it for long enough. She realized it was going on One in the afternoon. She went to call Ben but he had already texted her:

Poe's plane was late, I just have him now, we're on our way. Sent at 12:03pm

Rey, we're going to get Finn, his car isn't starting, We're probably not going to get there until closer to 2:30-3, everything okay? Sent at 12:56pm

She answered:

Everything is fine, thank you so much honey! You're a hero.

He answered back with a winky face. She placed the frozen turkey into the sink with cool water, an hour or so would be plenty to thaw, it wasn't a huge turkey. She brought the stuffing out and tried to prepare it. It however didn't like staying together. She put water in. Too late had she realized that was too much water, so she started to fill it with crumbs and more onions and celery. She then started the panic. She couldn't get the consistency and this was supposed to go into the turkey and the oven soon.

She began to breath heavy, she still needed to do the mashed potatoes and the pie timer is going off but her hands were covered in stuffing that would have rather stayed on her hand than with each other. She washed her hands and went to the pies. To her horror they hadn't risen still. She took them out and put them on the counter. What did she do wrong? First the potatoes and now the pies? The stuffing won't stuff. Her stomach knotted, her heart sank to the floor as she turned to see on the turkey, '3 to 6 hours to thaw'

Ben was calling her on the phone. She heaved and answered with the best smile and chipper voice she could manage, “Hello!”

“Hey, I jumped Finn's car, he and Poe are going to go grab something from the store before they close, I have mom and Han is coming.”

She heard his mother in the background saying, “Don't call your father by his first name Ben.”

Dread weighed on her shoulders, she almost doubled over onto the island, narrowly missing her arm on the hot pie pan. She croaked out, “You're coming early?”

“Yes, I can't wait to get home, I bet the turkey smells delicious and the gravy and pies, I'm excited.”

Her knees threatened to fall out from under her.

“Mom says she'll do the mashed potatoes since you've been working so hard on everything else, but I am going to drive now, We'll be there in twenty minutes Sweetheart.”

It was almost three in the afternoon. The turkey was half thawed and the stuffing laid there in it's bowl. Rey didn't know how long she held the phone up to her ear with one hand and balanced herself with another. Ben had hung up long ago and her head spun. She needed to breath but every time she moved she saw the failed stuffing and pumpkin pies and wished to weep. She was always successful. She skipped two grades in middle school, she graduated High School her Junior year and took college courses online at the same time. She graduated college and was an Instructor at the local community college. Her GPA was always 3.8 to 4.1. She had been good at sports, decent at almost anything that went her way, she was even one hell of a mechanic.

But she failed at Christmas Eve dinner. What was his parents going to think? What was Poe going to think? How awful for him to come home and not even get a home cooked meal. What would Ben think when he saw the mess she made of his well organized pristine kitchen? Squeaks had maneuvered his way around everything. He angled his face towards her and squeaked almost like he asked if she was okay. Her lips had begun to involuntarily tug upwards when she heard the keys turn. Squeaks jumped down to greet Ben, Ben petted the cat and turned on his right to smile at Rey.

That was until she burst into tears.

Ben was startled to say the least. He looked past everything, he ushered his mother in and closed the door. Squeaks realized there was a stranger in the house and bolted to their bedroom in the back. “Sweetheart!” Ben knelt to her, “What happened?”

She buried her head into his chest and sobbed. Leia looked on from the other side of the island. Rey finally calmed down enough to explain, “I don't think I put eggs in the pumpkin pie, they're ruined, all four of them! I only had enough to make four, I ruined the mashed potatoes and the stuffing won't stuff.” she sobbed, “I didn't look at the instructions on the turkey, it's still frozen!” She seemed to calm herself a little more until Poe's smiling face came in. He was dashing in his Air Force Uniform. Finn closed the door behind him, with a grocery bag in his hand. Poe held out his arms expecting to see his sister run into them. Instead he saw her crumpled into Ben's arms. She locked eyes with him and went into hysterics.

Ben nodded to the food. Poe went to the unrisen pie with burnt crust and dipped a finger into it. “Pumpkin pudding! Rey, that's my favorite!” He exclaimed, “I don't know about y'all but I am going to eat this one all to myself!” He glanced around at all the decorations, “REY! It looks just like the old place, when we were kids!” He laughed and glanced down at her with a winning smile on his features, “You outdid yourself sis!”

Finn stepped in, “And here I am ruining everything by not bring the green bean casserole! I bought a rotisserie chicken though-...” he spotted the turkey in the sink, “since I don't care for turkey anyways.”

Rey with each passing moment slowed her breathing, her heart seeming fuller somehow. Ben smiled down at her, she sudden;y became embarrassed everyone was nicely dressed but her, still in pjs with her hair a mess and covered in various foods. Leia walked up, she held her hand out to Rey, “I am Leia Oragana-Solo, since my son doesn't want to introduce me, I guess I will have to!”

Rey wiped her hands on her apron, which probably didn't make them any cleaner and shook her hand. “I'm Rey Dameron.”

Ben rolled his eyes but helped her get up with him, “Sweetheart, why don't you get cleaned up, you've worked hard.” it was just now he saw the mess. She saw part of him stiffen. In her panic and rage she didn't put things back and the counters weren't clean. He sighed but smiled, “Mother and I feel bad we weren't able to help, so why don't we clean up and set the table.”

Rey went off to shower, Ben glanced at the turkey. He picked up and placed it back into the freeze. Leia looked at the stuffing and mused for a second. “She forgot the egg in both I see.” Leia fixed the stuffing and set it to cook. They scooped out the pumpkin pudding and put them into desert cups and into the fridge. Leia's fine china set had been set out onto the table, things were clean and set. Ben made mashed potatoes but Poe took over saying that he should check on his sister. Ben left the pilot and went to Rey. She was in a blue knee length dress and had blue rhinestones around the crew neck collar. He was shocked it wasn't a red or green dress.

Her hair was done in a simple half up half down style and her feet hovered above her black heels as she sat on the bed. Her focus was narrowed in on Squeaks who seemed content curled in on himself next to her hip. He knelt before her and looked up to force her to look at him. “I'm a failure.”

He smiled, “No, you're not, you simply took on too much.”

Their eyes met and hers were wide with shock in her eyes. He went on however before her trembling lips could help form a word. “You spent your whole life driven, which is great, and yes you did juggle a lot, more than I ever could- I mean, when I was your age I spent it traveling and didn't graduate University until I was twenty seven.”

she huffed slightly, “Well, you had the money-...”

He placed his hands on her hip, “Stars, you silly woman, I am not having a bigger cock contest here, my point was we went in different ways, but in your determination and hard work you forgot something.” she raised an eyebrow, “You had a mother who packed your lunch- even through college- and made sure you ate, you had a dad that made you stop studying so you could go to the movies with your family, you had a brother that shot you in the back of the head with a nerf gun and got you out into the sun.”

Emotions flooded through her. She stayed silent, folding her hands in her lap. “You're childhood sucked dick, if you don't mind me saying and I am not here to invalidate that fact. What I am trying to say is, you can accomplish anything- a lot you already have, but maybe you should remember there are people around here who want to help.”

The tears welled in her eyes, she fell to his level on her knees and kissed him deeply. He had to pull her away. They went back out hand-in-hand. When they came out, Poe darted to his sister and lifted her to twirl her around in a hug. “There's my sister, Merry Christmas!” he placed her down and put his hand on Finn's back to push him towards Rey. They exchanged Merry Christmases to each other and began to dish up. Rey noticed Finn and Poe under some mistletoe.

“Hey, Poe, you're not going to break a tradition are you?” and she pointed up.

Finn was utterly confused but Poe noticed and with a wide grin he placed his and Finn's plates down and dipped his boyfriend into a deep kiss. They had a feast of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, plain stuffing, hard boiled eggs and cheese and broccoli, all made by Leia and Poe while they were in the bedroom. They sat down with full plates, wine being poured in each glass. Rey felt the need to get up when she saw Leia still on her feet, the petite woman gracing and practically gliding throughout the dinning room and kitchen. She seemed to be setting three more places at the table. Ben was avoiding eye contact with her. She narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend, not being able to talk to her brother since he and Finn were too busy feeding each other.

The door rang, Leia smiled at her son and then to Rey. When Leia opened the door, Rey almost wept for the third time today. Her parents came in with store bought pumpkin pies and marshmallows on sweet potatoes. A man who seemed almost as tall as Ben came in after them, his eyes immediately locking with Leia. They hugged, he went in for a kiss, Leia shook her head with a playfully scolding look and Ben folded his arms and scoffed. Poe had exclaimed something but she was tearing up happy tears as she joined him and their family got together in a group hug.

“I thought you guys didn't have the money to come out this year?” Rey exclaimed, hugging her mother tightly.

“Dad, you didn't take out a loan did you?” Poe asked, giving his father a pat on the back when they hugged,

“You didn't change out of your uniform?” Mr. Dameron chided.

“Rey you didn't have to stop eating.” Mrs. Dameron said, putting her hands on either side of Rey's face. “Finn, get your sexy butt over here!” Poe said after he and Rey switched hugging their other parent.

“Poe Dameron, don't scar your mother, you two don't have sex!”

It was a cacophony of voices from the Dameron family. Finn had lingered aside to watch with amusement on his handsome features. Crossing his arms in Poe's APECS Parka. Leia and Han moved to Ben, to let the family come together. Ben merely nodded to his father, reluctantly giving him a handshake. When his mother shot him a look he said, “Love you mom.” and encircled her into a hug.

Rey spoke up however, after Finn had been unwittingly dragged into a large hug as well. “But wait, how did you guys get here?”

Mrs Dameron went to Ben, she offered him a hug to which he bent to her and hugged her back. “Your boyfriend's idea, he paid for half of our tickets, mostly because we wouldn't let him pay for it all.”

Leia added to it, “He even spoke to his father to get them from the airport so you and Poe didn't know.”

Before anything else could be said, they sat down to eat. More food, more voices, more kisses and tears. They said their good byes, Finn had the Dameron's with him and Han went his own way. Leia announced she was going to bed in their spare bedroom. Ben jumped up and went to go fix her room up and encouraged the two women to talk a little while longer.

Leia patted Rey's knee when she knew her son was out of earshot. “What is the matter, Rey?”

Rey bit her lip and twirled her thumbs, when everyone left she was left with the feeling of guilt. Ben had bought Christmas decorations, brought her mom and dad here, and bought her the beautiful emerald with crystals tear drop earrings and necklace in the velvet box she was holding. She got him a nice pen for his desk and writing, got him a few books he wanted to read and a watch and fine leather wallet. “I don't feel like I gave enough back to him.”

Leia smiled and chuckled, she patted the younger woman's knee. “To tell you the truth, I helped with some of the plane ticket cost, but that's besides the point. Rey-” now the two women were angled towards each other and facing each other, “I know my son, he's been very angry and very bitter for a long time. His change from when he met you tells me you do a lot more for him than you think. Ben is lousy at expressing his feelings with words- so he over does things. Acts of Service, Gifts, and physical touch, love languages. Besides, he's never smiled and laughed so much, or call me so much until he met you.”

Rey couldn't help the smile on her face. Leia nodded to her and wished her good night. She went to their bedroom, both too mentally tried from the day to even think about sex. They undressed, got into the covers. Watched Squeaks come from his hiding hole under Ben's dresser and waddle his way up to cuddle between them. They fell fast asleep with “Merry Christmas.” barely leaving their lips.

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curiouskarenscapers2017 · 7 years ago

Text

Volume Two – September 2004

Ni Hao! (Chinese for hello remember)

Ok, so after about three tries we got it right and the teething problems are over, we are at press!

Thanks for all the compliments and please, if there is anything specific you want me to check out lemme know, it will make my life more interesting here!

I got the photo’s downloaded and we’re A for away. Will let you know about those.

Anyway, where were we, oh yes. We lost the two Canadian girls and got a South African, Penelope (Pen for short, because the locals had a problem saying the name) and the Canadian Kimberley (Kim for short, just easier) a day later instead. Poor Penelope’s luggage never left SA and two days later she got them delivered to the school by Cathy Pacific! They were put in a new apartment just down the road from us. Pen was having a very hard time about it. They were shoved into teaching the next day with no training whatsoever.!! Hectic, now where did I hear that before……oh yes, it happened to me too!! Anyway, the weekend they had time to breath after a terrible and disastrous two days teaching. They would be fine. I told them they must just calm down over the weekend, do an orientation stint then while it’s quiet and brace themselves for Monday. It will be better and it does get better. My week was a total nightmare hours wise. 13 hrs a day, 71 hours a weak, 306 hrs a month! But obviously I’m not being paid for the hours spent at the office only teaching hours are billed. It’s cruel!!! The initial 3months are used for training then after that you can go home if you don’t have class. For the first 3 months you have to stay at the office weekdays from 1pm – 9pm and Saturdays from 10am – 4pm. This is fine if you are not doing a kindergarten class that starts at 9am and you have to be there at 8am to prepare! So all in all my 1st three months will be 8am -9pm. Cool!!!!!

Anyway, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!! I finally went to the night market the other night. What an experience!!!! It was a maze of narrow rows between hundreds if little stalls that ranged from food to gadgets and of course the cell phone stores in between!!! My word! The food, the smells and some of the smells…..eeeeeuuuuwww. But overall the food look appetizing and very oily, everything is fried…fried dumplings, fried, noodles, fried meat etc. etc. ect. But what a vibe, Tuesday nights and Friday nights the night markets lives on, with people flowing like blood through it’s veins. Awesome. Better than Leki in Lagos. But different in a way as well. I liked Leki for the unusual stuff, with the odd little Chinese store in between, here most of it is shiny, glittery and it looks like Taiwan is stuck in the eighties!! So I’ll do the expected and start buying cool glittery hair clips and baubles for my hair, seeing as I don’t have much of a choice in the heat, I’m tying it up…can you guys believe it!!

Some beautiful hair stuff. Stunning Jade jewelry. Small trinkets for about NTS300 = R60 to NTS3000 = R 600. Stunning bangles of jade as well. You get a light white jade with a hint of green and then others are dark green. All little religious symbols and things you find at our Chinese stores back home as well as some different ones. This market is just interesting with all it’s stuff and smells. The gadgets are the best, the lighters are awesome, everything flashes!! Lot’s of CD’s DVD’s and VCD’s. All quite cheap. Didn’t look too closely as I was swept away by the stream. Boy what a stream!!! It’s like the game with the frog that has to jump across the road and avoid being hit by a the cars, level advanced!!!! I actually at one stage had to fall back in the stream the way I came and pop out a quiet pooled area on the opposite side and make my way upstream along the side I wanted to get to in the first place!!!! Anyway, it was a great experience and I saw lots of stuff for everybody. The girls will love the hair gadgets and clips and the brother will love the guys shirts here, very with it and clubby!!! The interesting food caught my eye as I was bustled by. Ducks head an neck fried to a crisp, Chicken feet fried to a crisp!!

Saturday I did my time at the school, had to teach 2 classes and then started on this volume. The girls are moving today which means I am moving into the big room with the en suite bathroom, going to miss them and the dogs!! Will go visit as Teri is leaving in 5 sleeps and poor Abby will be alone at home with the kids!

I had a weird traditional food on the Saturday that taste like raw dough…my favourite….but has a spicy or sweet centre that looks like fried onions. Weird, but ok. Won’t buy too many of those. They also look like the green goo we used to buy when we were kids that didn’t stick to your hands, it just kind of went through your fingers but left your hands clean. These balls were like that, they stuck to the plastic they were in but didn’t come apart or leave goo behind…very interesting food. Wonder if it will stick to a car window at a high speed………

Anyway, I moved and have never in my life sweated so much as when I was cleaning out our flat when the girls left. My word, it was soooo hot on Saturday, I went to bed in the quiet apartment and Sunday spent time going through all the left behinds to see what is useable and what’s not. A whole new way of life for me!!!! You don’t want to end up buying something expensive and you can’t take it with! So use what’s left behind and save on costs. The en suite shower is quite an experience, in there being no shower!!! The is a wall mounted tap set and the shower head and away you go, next to the loo in the middle of the bathroom, no curtain, no indent just a slight downward angle and two draining holes…..quite cool actually. Maybe it would be a good idea for the resort…a fiberglass bathroom floor, raised and sealed along the edges and everything in it. Easy cleaning for the crew, you don’t need a bath for the resort and it’s hygienic! Viola, all these ideas!!! I tell you!

So I finally get the dreaded cold I was bracing myself with Vitamin tablets against!!! Got it after Sunday’s cleaning and felt it more on Monday, Tuesday evening I had it full blast with a day from hell the next! Like I said, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger….right?….just incase you don’t hear from me again after this edition…….I love you all!!!! I mean it!!! Naaah not this “onkruid”.

Judy (the owner) was shaking her head in disbelief at the most amazing and well timed, managed, organized way my passport and visa was done compared to EVERYONE ELSE. For some weird reason, I’m the only one with no problems getting a 60day visa, secondly for some unknown reason my visa is the only one, now that they did leave it too late to get the ARC in time, able to be renewed until Oct 21 at the local police station without having to leave the country!! Strange but true, I’ve been telling everybody I’m easy and nobody believes me!!! I’m being looked after big time……as usual. Anyway, I have a three empty rooms, and I know who’s all living in them at the moment while there is space….once again!!!!

So, this is a sign for them maybe to…..I don’t know….hurry the process up a bit with the ARC!!! I’ll stay on them. Just a reminder if I haven’t mentioned it before, the ARC is the Alien Residency Certificate, basically allows me to stay here and work.

(Verimark add scenario)This new rice diet I have tried really works for me! I can’t believe the results! I was a lonely fat teenager all my life and the Chowfan rice diet has change all that!! I can look at people and say….yes, it’s me!!! …No really it’s me, me? Karen, remember? No really it IS! Look, see it’s me…..yes!! Over here, it’s me, I’m here!!!…..okay, maybe not THAT thin yet, but the loss of 10kg’s in my first month and a half, says something for the Chinese people’s cooking. There are very few obese people here, except for the foreigners who eat things like, fried dumplings, fried calamari, fried rice, tipenyaki and all the 7eleven can offer, because of their money that is. But once again, money is the root of fat, the less money the thinner you are….so I have come to the equation – no money = thinner! Eureeeeekkkkaaaa! I better hide my money away from myself after payday! But where….where?????

In my huge room I now have, I have cordoned off a section for exercising. I got some foam tiles you buy in a pack of 6/8 and you connect them to form a mat. I do my sit up/push ups etc all on this little piece of lime green foam. Good to have an exercise routine, I have been missing it! Made a list of what I need for the flat, so that I can go get it this weekend after payday Friday!!! Wonder what we’ll be getting?!!!?

Saw Teri off on Wednesday night at work…can’t believe she’ll be at home tomorrow sometime. Weird to think she’ll see boetie before I do! And I probably won’t see him for nearly a year! Never happened before!! I’ll have to organize…and what about the family, what about my friends and the cats…….aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Anyway, I’ll survive!

Found out a few minutes ago that we don’t have to sit here for the whole 13 hours a day, so we won’t!! Not that my classes are scheduled in such a way that it will benefit me though. But the small gaps in between might help getting away a bit! We’ll see how that goes.

Well I it finally happened again and this time I gave in to my deepest maternal instinct! The first time, someone found a few weeks old stray puppy and I refused point blank, emotionally, space wise and this place is no place for a dog. No grass, no fresh air, no…..wait, I want those things!!!! Anyway, so yesterday evening Abby and Teri was taking out their trash when they found a 3 week old orphaned kitten. She asked me today whether I would please take care of it, I didn’t want to, I said I don’t know, really I did, I was soo strong!!!!! Then I remembered last night when I got home, to my huge empty flat with no life in it at all…….! And then it happened…that little niggly feeling deep down inside, what will happen to this little orphaned kitten? Who will help it? Here? no one!

With typhoon season in full swing, it will probably drown in the trash or get swept away down a drain or…what if the stray dogs eat it??? What then??? It got to this stage and obviously needed help to have a full happy life further, it was meant to be found by them and be taken care of by me! It will have a wonderful life!!! It might just become the flat cat! I’ll see him tonight (Thursday 9/9)

We’re making plans to do the Carrefour journey this weekend to get all the necessary living items. Like bedding!!! I have been sleeping on a fitted sheet and a pillow! Amazing how it turned out that we got here in Summer, Winter would have been a bit funny with no bedding!!! Anyway, it’s not and I don’t have to! Carrefour is actually just around the corner, well sort of, maybe about 5km’s away. Can’t wait.

Ok, so off we went on Saturday after school at about 5pm. What a place!! About three stories high with everything your heart desires! From toiletries to food to bikes to hi-tech stuff……I was like a kid in the proverbial candy store!!! And every time I saw something I saw something else at the same time and bumped into myself a few times until we both pulled in the same direction!!! Stunning!!! Got stuff for the flat, like a wine opener!!!!!! Got bedding at long last, now my bed looks like a bed not a temporary couch I spent a month and a half on. Also the temperature is slowly declining at night and in the wee morning hours, so the new fluffy thick duvet with my different types of blue colouring looks homely and cozy!! You have never bought so blind as here. 1 picture with a full bed set on it. 4 pillows, 1 duvet, 1 fitted sheet and when you open it you have 1 pillow case and a duvet cover. Then you buy another to see whether you could get it as close as possible to the colour and then you find a fitted sheet with 1 pillow case in another….so at the end of the day you have a semi matching set consisting of a denim blue duvet cover with a check pattern and a light blue broad border that isn’t on the picture, a bright blue fitted sheet with circles on it and matching pillow cases and an old night frill around the bed frame that was left in the flat of a different blue….viola!!!!!

Anyway, I sleep well and it feels more like home!! Back at the store! I was still shopping away. Myself, Jane and Melissa(the new Canadian girl that is sharing with me). She was a legal secretary for 8years and decided to do something different, got married the day before she got here! Hectic!!!

So we stopped at the cats/pet section and I got Draco/ Shao Long (Little dragon) a sandbox, very fancy, we should get one for the cats back home!! Some Friskies for cats and Purina for kittens. Jane (one of the Chinese teachers here) was my shopping planner/co-ordinator. She eventually took my list and off she went! People were checking us out because we were probably the loudest shoppers in the mall, well definitely the most excited ones!!! So, we got all the basics and some nice things, checked out the bikes and saw a stunning red Coca Cola bike, but it was a bit of a girls bike….but really cool looking! I eventually left it for now as I wanted to check out the bike place where all the other teachers go for bikes. A toaster, a vacuum cleaner and a few other essentials came to a very reasonable price! We would never pay that in SA for all the things we bought! The coolest part was between the different levels where they had a walking escalator not a stairs one. The best part is that the trolley’s are magnetized and sticks to the escalator!!! You can’t move it!!!! Even with a full trolley, it didn’t budge up and down the escalator…cool!!!! I even approached it at a running speed….amazing! I will definitely go back there. We called the taxi and at about 7o’clock we left Carrefour!! I want to go try out all my stuff at home! Can’t wait!

So that evening the other girls came over, Pen and Kim and we (or rather Melissa) made stir fry, we watched a movie and they left with plans for going exploring tomorrow morning to find the everything store!

Well what a variety of everything stores this place has. Just when you thought this is definitely the everything store you walk into one that has more everything than the first one! I was so sure I got it until we actually got it! We walked a mile….but we were in good spirits and it went quickly. Our first stop was a video/DVD store where we enquired as to how much to rent etc. etc. Worked out to NTS1000 for 80 DVD’s That is a good deal compared to our Blockbuster deals. R200 for 80 DVD’s!! We’ll remember that and we filed down the road again. Next stop was the Pizza shop. Stunning little yellow shop with inside seating and two tables outside. We opted for inside as the aircon does make a difference in a place like this. A small pizza and iced tea worked out to about just over R10 something. Very good as well, I took a membership card as we left and immediately got it stamped!! We’ll be back!! Next stop was a big pharmacy on the corner of a main intersection. They even have a counter as to when the lights will change, this one started at 80sec and counted down. Cool really. Anyway, the pharmacy had quite a bit of paraphernalia and interesting weird stuff. A huge baby section was located upstairs. It’s quite a big deal having children here and they definitely cater for it! Didn’t find what we wanted, which was for me to get nail glue! Everything else is false around here except nails……….

Then we went across the road and found a huge book/stationery store. Cool, books below and stationery above. I left the girls to wonder around in their as I continued my quest for the everything store……just past the book store I found it, I’m sure of it!! A crammed supermarket type shop with everything in it. Looks like a typical Indian shop, you can’t move in the isles. Lots of food and further down lots of household stuff, like cutlery dustbin bags for cheap and then a huge section with beer….interesting! Got two little dustbins for the bathrooms, lots of bags for them and the big dustbin in the kitchen and was off to find the girls and let them know! Got back to the bookstore and they had disappeared into the myriad of shops in Changhua, swallowed by the black hole of consumer marketing and products on demand! So what to do…do I go on shopping or do I go find them….hmmmm…sat on the corner like a foreigner for a few minutes, nothing, walked up a while and side ways, nothing….Oh well, they’re all together so I’ll go exploring down this way………found some shoe shops and a huge everything shop with red writing further down the road. Cool and they had a little bit of nail glue! Must remember this place! Got some sparkly stuff for my hair and felt like a kid again. One with neon orange flower bits with a clear bauble behind it, two with two pink squares on either side with a mother of pearl shine and one with clear squares and a red elastic. Cool!!!!

Walked out and back down the street and as I came to the corner again they were crossing the road. I told them about the shop and they wanted to go see it. I waited at Mac Donald’s with Kim and had a Lemon Coke. We started our journey back nearly 4 hours later. Stopped at the Yellow store, a huge yellow electronics store called BC. Lots of gadgets in here!!!! Translators, camera’s MPR3 players to die for, CD players, TV’s you name it. Laptops are the same to a tad cheaper that home. HP Presario’s at about NT35 000 which works out to about R7 000 to more. I was hoping for much cheaper but they too import them. Then we checked out the Hi Fi section and we all had our favourites. I got a small Philips Hi Fi with a sound to die for and all the extras including a USB port to connect your laptop to it to play MP3’s. Also plays MP3, CD’s RWCD etc etc etc etc. Boetie, will love this!! Nee, dis myne!!! Stunning little thing for under a R1000. They had to order one. Got two fluorescent lamps for the bathroom and kitchen and we were off again. Got closer to home and found a huge fresh market. Walked in and they had all sorts in there! ALL SORTS. We took a quick route past the live chickens being slaughtered and checked out the seafood and other meats. Interesting but also very fresh and good pricing. Calamari to die for doll, squid, octopus, shrimps, clams bubbling away in their cold water crates, eels and al sorts of fish. I wonder if they have butter fish, we had it in Paternoster as part of our sea food platter, I could make a huge seafood platter with these things!!! At the end they had pastries and it smelled stunning! We left and suddenly walked into “The Everything store”. From pots and pans to electrical things in one huge corrugated iron room. Got a lamp for next to my bed, a squeegee to clean the floors with and Melissa also got some stuff. We were nearly home and passed so many eating places on the way. We made an arrangement that once a month we will try out one of the eating places, maybe twice a month as there are so many!!!! Got home, the girls left and I did my hair and nails and went to bed….a good shopping day!!!

The week started with a bang and I was back into my 13hour shifts. Although I had no class on the Monday until the afternoon! Then later I found out they went to the Confucian temple! I wanted to go tooooooo! Abby got the brochure and we’ll go soon. The week flew by and the guys from BC phoned me to come fetch the HiFi. I organized with Jane, my new Chinese best friend, and after work on Wednesday we got on her scooter and went to go fetch it! Great, it was there and they had it waiting. The box was not too big but just uncomfortably sized. At least it had handle holes on the sides. So we started planning how we were going to get the box, me and her on the scooter, so Jane suggested I ride and she’ll hold the box, I advised against that option as she knows her bike better and will be able to counter weight etc etc . So she got on, I got on with the box resting on my left knee and leaning to the right and we were off. The poor scooter! Thank goodness it didn’t rain. We dodged a few cars, had to organize space for us to squeeze through and we got home. I obviously immediately started assembling the thing well into the evening and borrowed CD’s from Melissa to check whether the 5CD changer option worked well! It did, and what sound!!! I’m happy, I have a real room now, bed and Hifi what more do you want! Now, I’ll need to get CD’s!!!! Leki market used to have them at R25 a CD in Nigeria, get this, here, none of them are over NT35 which is R7….I’ll stay here…please send your lists through to me!!!

Anyway, Friday arrived and I had to go to the new school. Asked Judy for her scooter and she said no……..what?…no? What do you mean no? If I have enough time they want us to either walk or ride our own bikes because of the safety hazard on scooters. FINE!!! I’ll take my bike!! I started cycling in about 30C heat and in jeans! It was great! I had such a cool cycle. With the bicycle you go past things slower and you can actually see shops….more shops….cool places to come visit! I made it to the school in just under 20min. Shows you what the scooter does to you, it makes you lazy!! I had a good workout while window shopping. Today they had a world Peace moment from 2:00 to 2:30 and no cars drove around….best time to get where you want to! On my way back from the school, I saw many army trucks and a road block….so much for world peace!!!

I had the weirdest epiphany while cycling back to the school. I suddenly realized fully I was in Taiwan. A country I have only heard about in my entire 34 years. The other side of the world. If I start digging now I’ll come out in Jo’burg somewhere….I’m sure of it. It was so cool, I looked around me saw the emerald green rice paddies in the fields between the buildings, suddenly was aware of all the Asian people around, the writing and the odours from the shops and small votive temples along side the road! Wow, I’m really here! Cool!!! I’ll let everybody know……oh wait, they already do, I’ve been here for two months on the 24th already. Ok then.

There is a Moon Festival party on the 24th in our complex and we are all going! I’ll take pictures! This Saturday is Kim’s birthday party at the Flamingo and we’ll go flea marketing or something on Sunday.

Well, the party at Flamingo’s turned out to be quite the party so we cancelled Sunday! It was great. We were all sitting there and even the Chinese teachers joined in! Melissa and I bought a small little cake at the night market on the Friday. It’s a bout a A5 size compared to a A4 sized cake….if you get the picture. We whipped it out, got the stale sparklers going….my idea of course and sang while the sparklers were going haywire and nearly burning the pub down….so typical!!!

Anyway, we sang for Kim and Sara. Sara is one of the front desk ladies that help us in all our teachings and materials for teachings etc etc etc. It was her 22 birthday to……….WHAT!!! 22….wow, when was that? 19………sad hey? I’m ok…I’m ok. So there we were, Sunny the owner is quite the cool Chinese guy and the place just got fuller and fuller. And guess what, all foreign people, they were coming out of the woodwork!!! Even more SAfricans emerged. From Cape Town nogal! It was great seeing normal faces where ever you looked. Weird! We had a ball and left at about 2:30. In bed by 3:00am and sound asleep. Sunday we woke up after 10 and remembered we organized to go to the morning market near Abby’s place. Nothing happened and I went to the roof to go read my book and relax in the sun. We had a craving for KFC and I went to go fetch it down the road. All the tour buses were parked outside the temples and people were in the streets with their uniforms on waving little flags. Interesting, obviously celebrating the moon festival period. At about 5pm Abby arrived and we all just sat and chatted and watched 2 CSI Miami’s in a row and she left. The one day weekend went so quickly….why?????

So the rest of the week went by. And I had to go get an extension on my Visa….after all that!!! Lucky….once again for me, I could do it at the local police station 2min from the school. I came to school early on Tuesday, got everything organized and was off. Got there and this huge fancy Police Station looks more like a hotel foyer than a police station in our country! So I ask the guy at the front desk what I should do and he gave me a form and I filled it out. Now, they are not supposed to know that I am working. I am only extending my Visa for the sake of holidaying a bit more. I had to go to a room around the corner and spoke to a very straight forward Chinese lady. I had to get the friend that I was staying with to come in and then it changed to I should get this other form filled in by the friend. So off I go again and in between my lessons, Mr Woo (Judy’s husband) got everything filled in for me. And at about 13:30 off I go again. Then the back office people were on lunch and they’ll be back at 2:00. Ok then, back to school and only at about 4:00 could I go through again and they close at 5pm. So off I went again! This time there was a guy that could help me. Very funny guy…don’t know his name. After a barrage of questions, he said to me “OK, I give you two months.” I couldn’t believe my ears. From a normal 2 month visa I’m getting nearly 5 months wear out of it!. Coollll!!! Anyway, as we were talking he said that I must just get a work permit before I start working here….I was like, what was that? Noooooooo, I’m off to Sun Moon Lake and my friends want me to stay for the Moon Festival etc etc. He just smiled and handed me my passport with my extended two month visa. He knows, I know it. I think they get so many people doing the same thing and the next week or two you face him again with a work permit!!!! Teeheeeee.

So there I was, free from any stress of having to leave the country to get a renewal, although a trip to Hong Kong or Thailand would have been great round about now!

Friday arrived and we were all so paste with working so many hours that we were a bit lethargic when we spoke about the Moon festival party at our apartments. We said we’ll see what they have going when we get home. Got home and it was one big Karaoke event with families sitting around their tables and eating and braaiing. So more of a thanksgiving party kind of thing. We decided to give it a miss and have our own. The girls and Ryno pitched in and we christened our rusted braai that has never been used and after a tremendous Smokey Robinson effect in our flat we ate at about 1am. We all just chatted , listened to music and never got around to the 10 VCD’s on the table Abby brought. I got some fish and meat at Yumawo and some mayonnaise for the potato salad Abby was going to make. Got wine and was ready to party. Kim, Abby, Neps, Melissa, Ryno, myself and the Draco(the cat). He had a ball with all the attention and we realized that he had grown double his size since he was found, just skin and bones. He was eventually passed out hanging over the couch arm behind the wine bottles. Would have been a cool photo!!

Found Ming Chia Mei on Thursday, Abby took me to show me where it was. What a shop. Like a huge double story Clicks! Everything you want regarding cosmetics, clothes, shoes, snacky types of foods and kitchen stuff. To die for doll and everything is on sale! They have absolutely all types of things here and even things I recognize from home although the names are different. Once again the logo’s stay the same! Thank goodness. Taking the rest of the girls there on Saturday after school.

It’s Joyce’s birthday on Tuesday and everyone is invited to a coffee shop around the corner called Vogue. They have a strange way of celebrating their birthdays. Just a tea with the friends late afternoonish and then that’s it! No presents, no party till dawn, no nothing, just a card and a cake to die for! I must say, they rival the Germans with pastries here! Their cakes are quite a big thing here for special occasions. The night at Flaming when we whipped out our A5 sized cake they maneuvered in a cake that makes ours look like a cup cake! The box alone is impressive with gold writing on a cream background and the famous, nasty translations of a once stunning birthday wish or something. I’ll enclose some of the translations here……you will kill yourself laughing if you get over the confusion part……WHAT? Can you say that? Is there such a sentence pattern?

It’s the thought that counts! So, tomorrow, Sunday 26/9 we are off to the Moon Carnival at Sun Moon Lake, about an hour or two from Changhua. Can’t wait, camera ready, batteries new….ready, pose, shoot!!

Just as well I did take the extra batteries and my original memory card because I filled it all! I still had photo’s on the cards from the beginning of my trip. I got it downloaded at a little Fuji camera shop. So now we can start seeing what’s going on. Well, what a jol this weekend was.

We got up at about 7am, got a taxi to the train station, Kim, Neps and me. We met up with three new people we didn’t know but that were friends of Abby’s and Nicolene. We explored the train station for the first time and boy, am I going to travel now!!! It’s like a gateway to anywhere! NTS 27 = R5 for a trip to Taichung. Coool!!! Anyway, we had 3 min to get to the platform and we got on the train and was off.

Reminded me of the last time I rode on a train. London underground and this was so similar. We got to Taichung station at about 9 and started looking for a bus to Sun Moon Lake.

A guy approached us with a taxi kombi and quoted us a price on taking us there. After about half an hour and exploring different options as well we decided to take him up on his offer. So all 8 of us got into the taxi and off we went. I called him James, the driver. Just so that I could say “Home James” He immediately handed us brochures of Sun Moon Lake. I think he was very well organized for a bunch of foreigners. It was excellent. We eventually paid NTS 250 there and NTS 250 back and boy for our NTS 500, which is about R100 we got a full on guided tour, stops and chauffeuring around the lake that we would never have gotten on a bus! He was looking after us from 9am to 6pm when we got back home! AND he dropped us off in Changhua that we didn’t have to get a train back. It was the best deal out, we’ll definitely use him again, good driver too. He definitely planned it well, had all his connections along the way where we stopped and shopped….clever.

So we arrived at a small town called JiJi.

This little town has a unique tourist attraction which is a animal freak show. Albino snakes and weird animals. We didn’t go in, had other things to do, like shop around.

They were having a festival outside the small JiJi Train station. The small train that uses their railway is called Chi Chi. It’s like a banana express or the Cherry express etc. We were finally ushered into a shop that we didn’t really want to go into with lots of snacks and biscuits etc. We eventually walked out of there with about three paper bags each….empty nogal. I think these Chinese people must think there is something seriously wrong with us foreigners. It is probably like them walking into Checkers in SA and asking for 3 plastic carry bags and being ecstatic about it because they will use it as gift bags for presents back home. That’s us in JiJi. We freaked out about the stunning brown paper bags with a picture and Chinese writing on. I actually felt a tad embarrassed as we were trying to pay for the bags and they refused point blank to take our money for it. So I bought a yogurt to justify getting three stunning paper bags!

Next stop Sun Moon Lake. Our driver serenaded us a bit more and the next minute the blue green water of Sun Moon Lake stretched out before us and a holiday atmosphere was evident. People all over and stalls and colours and food smells! Stunning! Reminded me a lot of Hartebeespoort dam. The water was just clean and green blue because it was clear not full of algae! There was an International swimming contest on as well from one end of the lake to the other!

Quite a distance but on a day like this, what a pleasure! We drove around the lake and I just wanted to get out and start exploring but we kept on driving to the top of a hill where the magnificent Wen Wu Temple sat overlooking the lake! What an impressive site! We got out and started doing the tourist thing. I explored the flea market as we usually do, quite organized so that I don’t miss anything. I came upon a little stall with a honey drink. And obviously had to try it. It is called honey vinegar and it smelled a bit like vinegar but when you taste it, it has the most amazingly refreshing honey taste. I bought two glasses on ice and eventually had to buy the bottle to take it home and make it there! We then got to a stall that had a soup made of 8 different mushrooms in a huge pot. We stopped and had our breakfast there. It was a clear soup with all these mushrooms in and some herbs. Stunning! I never new there were so many different looking mushrooms…..you could eat! From weird little button type mushrooms attached to long stems to the weird huge ones cut up into pieces. I was sure I was going to be quite happy the rest of the day! The tastes were mixed and nothing like our bland Denni’s mushrooms, fresh crisp and spicy tastes and tastes I’ve never tasted before! Devine!

Anyway, we made our way into the temple and had to stop at the curio shop first. The most beautiful Chinese material tops and shoes. Most way to small but they are starting to cater for the fuller figure!

Well, what a temple! If you think the Roman Catholic Cathedrals are ornate and decadent, you must see this! The most amazing wood crafted window panes, the gold filigree in the walls and the statues in the little prayer rooms were amazing craftsmanship! Here was a little shop in the temple about the third floor with the most stunning woodwork I have ever seen, except for ma’s and tannie Elizabeth’s work of course! I took some photo’s. We went right to the top of the roof where it looks out over the different levels of the temple roofs and the lake in the back ground, what an experience, this is what life is all about!!

After that we went to the Peacock and Butterfly park. The peacocks were a tad dodgy an looked like they have been harvested! Shame, they looked OK but a bit worse for wear, not like ours with at least the full plumage. The white ones were a bit dirty but the idea was cool.

The Butterfly park was closed…..since 1999 when they had their bad earthquake. It destroyed many of the buildings, including the butterfly park. We then went back down the hill to the town and where all the people were milling around the swimming contest. Got there and the contest had finished so we decided to go on a boat trip on to the lake. So for about R40 we got a boat of our own and we organized some drinks for our what was going to be a booze cruise. We designed a new shandy called the Taiwan Shandy, which was using Taiwan Beer and Nestea Lemon tea. Stunning, please try it! We just started and we stopped at a little drifting island in the lake.

The whole island which was probably the size of half a rugby field was entirely made out of drifting platforms of plants and flowers with a solid piece of island in the middle with a monument. Beautiful, it nearly looked like it could be Avalon.

At this stage there was a storm brewing and the mists were all over the place and the mountains, making it look just like a Scottish lake. Too beautiful! Their monuments are so well organized and soo much effort had been put into them with quality material and workmanship. The platforms were of a sturdy wood and the tourist information was on pieces of glass framed by the wood. They sandblasted the island shape and information on these pieces of glass along the path as you circle it. Every piece of glass had some information on a plant on the island with pictures of it. Stunning! We were there for about 15 min and was back on the boat off to a town on the opposite side of the lake. This town was the starting point in the swimming race. A long wooden jetty with a pagoda at the end greeted us. As well as a huge blow up bridge with two dolphin shapes bobbing merrily on top of it, probably the starting point of the race.

What a cool little town this was. The colourful poncho’s were lining the streets. This was more a historical village that showed us a bit more of the original inhabitants of the lake. The Shao and Han people. They are called aboriginal as well and their art reminded me a lot of African art. The figurines, the straw hair the shapes. Very interesting. They had some extraordinary arts and craft here and we’ll have to come back! Not enough money this time round.

We had a very interesting lunch snack at about 5. They make a thin dough lining in a circle shape, fill it with veggies like spring onions and some other greenery and lots of mushrooms, fold it closed into a little ball and deep fry it.

Stunning!! This was so nice, except for the oil it was quite healthy.

It started to rain and the foreigners walked back to our boat. The boat actually looked more like a typical taxi with a dragon on the side breathing fire! Cool!! We got back to shore and got into our taxi and off we went…..Home James!

But James had a another stop to make first. We stopped at a heritage village shop. Nobody wanted to get out of the combi, we were so tired and just wanted to go home. But we did and after all we were definitely getting our money’s worth! SO we got out and the next minute we were all being dressed up in traditional wear! We looked sooooo cool! Bright reds and blues and silver beading on the tops, jingling away merrily as we started posing for photo’s against a traditional painted background outside. Seeeee, everything happens for a reason, we had a ball after all and that’s not all……..then we were treated to green tea! This was turning into a typical Tupperware party. All the girls( all 8 of us) around a table and an old white haired Chinese gentleman pouring us tea from a little stove in front of him on one side of the table. Then they brought out the merchandise……honey, royal honey to drink, royal honey to use on your skin which has amazing rejuvenating abilities. Made by the queen be only, it’s not sticky or sweet like normal bee honey. We were all sold and bought some royal honey to stay young forever! Then we could buy a royal honey drink mix, but I declined saying I had my honey drink already thank you….next time. We got a little tour of some famous peoples pictures that were taken years ago of Chang Gai Shue, a famous person in the history of Taiwan. The Taipei airport is named after him. I will find out more about him.

Then we saw a weird little packaged item in the counter and asked about it. It turned out to be a deer fetus and there were 5 of them! They believe that if you grind it into a powder and drink it you will have longevity and health. At NT$15 000 = R3 000 per fetus! Interesting. What next? How do they get deer fetus if they don’t have to kill the mother? So much for the continuation of that species!

Anyway, we loved the experience and once again told James Home! This time we ended up in Changhua and walked home at a leisurely pace. I quickly went into a Fuji film shop and transferred my two filed up memory cards onto disk for NT$50. Excellent, now I can start all over again!

I couldn’t believe it was the end of the month already. Nearly payday, then we can travel again!

The 28th September is a holiday, no ways……an actual real holiday that people don’t go to work…weird!! So Tuesday came and the Moon Festival was celebrated. It was full moon on Monday night and Tuesday. They celebrate it here by having braais( BBQ’s) with their family, very much like a bit of a Thanksgiving, like I said. We slept late for the first time in a while! Did as little as possible and went shopping at Yumawo (our Woollies) for some braai things. We’ll have a braai of our own. We ate at about 7pm and everybody went to bed early! The Fire crackers have not stopped since. They started about a week before and carried on for about 2 days after. The poor dogs around here! There is no control over fireworks here and we saw kids lighting massive sounding crackers!! I don’t even want to know about it….thanx! So the crackers were going full blast until way past midnight on the Tuesday night. Chasing the bad spirits away! I’m sure it worked well………..other than polluting an already heavy polluted environment and air. The sky was thick with things burning from incense to fireworks to their little stoves on the door step burning paper to ward off evil over this time!

Anyway, savouring my day of doing nothing for a second I listened to my music on my Hi Fi, with Draco (the cat remember) trying to suckle my ear and fell fast asleep!

Well until we meet again………miss you all…….wish you were here!

Tsai Chien! (Goodbye in Chinese remember…there will be a test in the future and you could win a Chinese gift…….made in Taiwan, teehehheee)

Taiwan Times Vol 2 Volume Two – September 2004 Ni Hao! (Chinese for hello remember) Ok, so after about three tries we got it right and the teething problems are over, we are at press!

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