So one sunny afternoon, having sent her faithful underlying to spy on the resistant household’s new construction, she opened the door and her graceless Queen of Horror stepped out of her equally horrible castle. Seeing the lady of the household on the balcony, she called out to her,

“My dear lady, the construction you are putting up is illegal! It’s almost touching my precious wall!”

For indeed, the evil witch loved and worshipped the stone wall she had erected to separate her Fief and that of her “subjects”. There was various legends as to why the old hag cherished that petty construction so much. Maybe there were gold bars hidden in the wall? Or money? No one knew, for touching the “Sacred Wall” was sacrilegious! It was also common knowledge that the old witch intended to be buried with the bits and pieces of that wall. Why would she do that? It remained a mystery, of course!

The lady of the household, annoyed at being disturbed by the hated busybody, answered,

“Oh really? And where have you learned that?”

The Monstrosity of a witch was angry at the lack of deference in the Lady’s tone.

“Oh, because I’ve learned every law this country has! So listen to me: either you leave three feet from the wall then build your construction or I’ll call the authorities to make them issue an order to stop that construction!” she proclaimed in a high and mighty tone of voice, satisfied to have showed off what she thought to be a proof of her superiority over the “lowly roaches”.

By this time, the young lord of the household and his father, alerted by the noisy altercation over the balcony [for, alas the monster witch had no notion of etiquette =( ] , entered the scenery.

“What is your problem, Old witch?” the young lord demanded furiously. The household was taken aback! The calm and peace-loving young lord never got angry!

“I’m talking to your Mother, young man, stay out of it!” the eyesore of a witch stated, with an air of superiority of course!

The young lord, not deterred by the tone, continued,

“You just stated you knew all laws right? And would call the authorities, right? Well, go ahead! Or are you all-talks and no actions?”

“You are just a petty ‘Faiseur D’esprit’,” the old hag hissed angrily, using what she thought was an insult the young lord would not understand!

Observing the whole scene, from the start with her mother, the young lady of household barely concealed a laugh.

“ ‘Faiseur D’esprit’ she said? Does that even exist? Poor bastard, she doesn’t even know the meaning of what she just uttered!” the young lady mused.

“You’re talking about laws, right? May I remind you, you built your very precious wall half on what is OUR land?” interjected at last the Lord of the household.

Hearing this, the grotesque witch was taken aback. How could these callous peasants know that? But her pride was not yet altogether deflated!?

“Lady, let’s leave these ‘Faiseurs D’esprit’ out of this discussion,” she addressed the lady, “I’m sure we can have a reasonable conversation, us two!”

For indeed, this witch was a feminist( or was it a scaredy-cat) who dare not talk to males!

By this time, the Lady and her daughter were beside themselves with anger,

“Don’t you dare insult our family,” they exclaimed in unison.

Her pride and confidence at the resistant household’s inferiority battered, the wicked old monster furiously fired a last and stupid “Faiseur D’esprit”, before retreating back in her disgusting den.

The household continued with their construction, knowing that the matter would not end here. For indeed, the old hag would certainly call on the oh-so-mighty authorities and, as insurance, prepare an evil curse for the resisting clan! But the household was prepared to face it all, with weapons that were sure to hit the damn old witch hard and deep!

Afterword: This is not a work of fiction, but an incident that happened to me yesterday! What remains edged in my mind is how stupid and ill-wishing people are. Could we still call those monstrous beings, who are always first to cause misery, human beings? I doubt it! This event just helped to convince me that society is rotten through and through and that leaving at peace in my locality is mere fantasy! On another note, I think I’ll invest in a billboard to be posted on my house! Why, you’ll ask? But of course, to post my household’s everyday life, then the nosy neighbours would hopefully be satisfied!

Sayuka~

Both of my Angelfish died yesterday, I had only two. I found them at night, just before I was going to sleep. I usually take a good look at them to make sure they’re alright. And I found them. One went, I suppose, exploring at the bottom and couldn’t get out. He managed to crawl under the base of the plants and stayed there. The other, much luckier but not that lucky, went looking for him and got stuck in the plants, or maybe he was eating the plant and didn’t care at all for the other one.

Anyway, it was already late when I checked on them, and I managed to take them out of the bowl without disturbing the others. If you’re looking for pictures, let me just tell you that at that time, taking them was not really on my mind. The water turned to a strange colour and I told myself I would change it the first thing in the morning. I kept hoping that the others wouldn’t die before I get to change them.

Sure enough, the moment I woke up, I went to check on them. They all were here, except the Angelfish of course. I fished them out, with much difficulty; they have this really bad habit of hiding at the bottom. I washed the stones and gravel, the plants and finally the bowl, without realizing that it broke. Yeah, it BROKE. How? I haven’t really gone that far for what followed were the shouts of my mom and you really tend to forget everything when she does that.

The small hole with really BIG consequences

Well, she tried to mend it and so far, it’s working. She sealed the big hole with a Nutella jar lid. This way, it won’t leak and the fish won’t go to the bottom either. So far, so good; the fish are alright, the bowl is alright and I’m still in one piece.

Sealed forever by Nutella

Sure enough, for the past month, all I remember doing really is shopping, lots of shopping, which I don’t really mind if shoes are involved (what is it about women and shoes, you don’t want to know), but just remembering the whole range of clothes and jewellery and accessories I had to review makes me feel dizzy. Traditional, formal, casual, you name it and I’ve seen it. My mother wanted to wear blue for the wedding and she ended up with like 5 dresses with practically all shades, from light blue to blue-green, not counting the ones I forced her not to take with us.

As a result, we’ve got a whole suitcase packed, the type of suitcase you use when you are travelling, except we are not travelling, we are simply going to a wedding. For a weekend. For two days. And while I am here whining about my mom’s craze, I also have like half a dozen packed, or more; I still have not decided on the ones I’m going to wear.

Are weddings always that hectic?

I can’t say that I’m not glad that the dark days are finally over, and that the sun is shining as brightly as ever in my little realm, an expression rarely used by the weatherman these days. Sure enough, while my focus has not really been on the calendar, I simply couldn’t ignore the not-so-subtle hints the weather has been giving us Mauritians recently: that winter had finally arrived. Of course, as frivolous as the wind and sunshine could be, we could hardly expect the wintry weather to come as expected, in April as it always did. Instead, after a foretaste of what it would be like during the first week of May, we spent most of the time waiting for the real thing while bathing in heat, almost rivaling with summer, but not quite; the days were growing shorter but it got no colder.

Well, the blankets are out once again, and so are the winter socks, pullovers and scarves. I’m really looking forward to using the socks Dawn sent me, but for now, I kidnapped the my father’s winter clothes, which are way more warmer and comfortable than mine. It’s not like he uses them anyway; he never feels cold and neither does my mother which is really annoying. At least, I know that whether or not the cold air affects them, my cold hands and feet will. I’m feeling very evil right now….

Anyway, while I try to work out a master plan to freak them out, I’ll leave you with my two unnamed-yet goldfish which I received today from my mom and their new buddy. My father does not know about them yet, and I don’t think we are going to tell him very soon; he will think we would be fed up very soon and then, he would have to take care of them. Oh, and suggestions for the names are welcome.

… in my case, old habits make it harder.

I’ve always abhorred disliked keeping in touch with people… for some reason, especially with those whom I can meet pretty easily. While most of my friends and cousins have come to accept that fact, most people find it strange and rather unwelcoming that I often disappear without any trace and then suddenly reappear as if nothing has happened. Just like these few weeks that have just passed… during which I was practically cut off from the whole world, no phone calls, no meetings, no chatting, no nothing. I can’t even remember the last time I logged on MSN to have a chat with my friends. It’s just that sometimes I seek the silence and stillness that life can offer me, to the detriment of other things that I actually enjoy doing…

Being an only child, I’ve been alone all my life, and over the years, I have come to like living that way, more than ever, after a period of great stress when I feel I simply have to get away and cool off my head. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I confined myself to the house, without talking to anyone. During this time, I’ve actually hit it off with my mother, which is quite an improvement, given how tense our relationship used to be when I was going to school. She was always putting pressure under me to work hard and bring good results, blah blah blah and I was irritated most of the times because I wanted to work at my own pace rather than doing what someone else wanted, which was what I did in the end, putting huge strain on this mother-daughter bond. We even went out lots of times, for shopping and or other stuff, just to have fun and spend my father’s money.

But still, this doesn’t change the fact that instead of seeking out others’ company, I actually find it satisfying alone, when I’m alone. Not that I can be called an anti-social or anything (okay, maybe I can be called that, given how stagnant my social life has been during these past two years), but I really like making friends and going out with them. I totally love the times we go out and have fun together, or even when we squat someone’s place and do all kinds of stuff. But sometimes I find myself drawn to the kind of life I use to have when I was little…

As a child, I was really quiet. Even as a baby, my mom says; it seems I never cried, not even when I was hungry. Of course, this can seem a little unbelievable, given what a loud chatterbox I am. I can go talking non-stop for hours and still have things to say. Nevertheless, I find my circle of friends, getting smaller and smaller, because of that bad habit of mine, and the worse is that, it doesn’t even bother me…

As I said, it makes it harder… for people close to me.

While I really have fun during this holiday from the holidays, I must admit, there’s no better place than home, especially my room. I literally dropped dead as soon as I came home on Tuesday, because I was so tired. My 4 year-old niece can be a real brat sometimes, and it doesn’t help she is pampered by everyone, being the youngest one of the family, and the only one from her generation… I wonder what she is going to do when my nephew is going to be born in June. It could be a niece as well, of course, but… we really are rooting for a baby boy this time, it gets tiring to only see girls in the family.

On the bright side, I managed to spend with my cousins… niece, brothers-in-law, aunts, uncles… friends… that sure makes a lot of people. Well, I do have a really big family and it’s getting bigger, with all those weddings. Is it the wedding season or what? Everyone single person in the family is getting married, one after the other, even those sworn to celibacy. I’m starting to think it’s going to be my turn soon if I don’t get away from here quickly… since there already were weird women looking at me… weirdly… at the yearly reunion organised near uncle’s place, famous for the wedding proposals my cousins get each year. I’m so glad I managed to escape…

I had to return home early, on Tuesday, because my mother needed me for some stuff; secretly, I was thanking God for this miracle, else I’d still be here, trying to cope with all those people. I like it when it’s quiet, after all I’m used to staying alone, which might be why after some time, I started feeling uneasy. I had to share a bed with my cousin, who spends half the night talking to her fiancé and whose mattress was so thin that I would get backaches everyday. I was going crazy; it was like I developed some sleep disorder; I started talking in my sleep, getting nightmares and I would wake up really early, even if I went to bed really late, at night. Glad to see the problem is over, or at least, I think it is.

As I said, these hectic days aren’t over yet. Tomorrow is yet another busy day, with 2 weddings and the funeral. My uncle’s brother just died, about 20 days after their mother passed away. I wonder if I’ll manage to squeeze the book fair held at the Caudan Waterfront tomorrow, somewhere in between.

Here’s the message:

Hi,
Please be more cautious as the warnings has been given.

Attached a photo for you.

I just received this message from a colleague. I don’t know the source of the message; I also don’t know the credibility of the content, but just beware.

Below is the content on the message:

“Hello there. I just wanted 2 let you know that please stay away from the beaches all around in the month of July. There is a prediction that there will be another tsunami hitting on July 22^nd. It is also when there will be sun eclipse. Predicted that it is going 2 be really bad and countries like Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak), Singapore, Maldives, Australia, Mauritius, Si Lanka, India, Indonesia, Philippines are going 2 be badly hit. Please try and stay away from the beaches in July. Better 2 be safe than sorry. Please pass the word around. Please also pray for all beings.”

Thanks and have a nice day.
Bless you~

Well then, this seemed logical enough since we were having a Eclipse on this day until I crossed checked with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre which offcially declared no alert whatsoever in the near future… An eclise surely causes a rise in tide but a tsunami is a totally different story.
This message is based on a GAME SIMULATION and i bet you can challenge it’s plausibility… the original message was from http://www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/15946 and even the author clearly put his disclaimer… (QUOTE) Note: I have absolutely no credibility to do this. I’m just applying the theory that the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon pulling together will do the following things. (Endquote)

Anyway there remains a possibility of 3% more chance of having a tsunami on that day due to volcanic eruption or techtonic plate lift combined with the high tide but there is no real warning issued or proof of actually HAVING it on that day. You could have it on any other eclipse day as much as you could have it next week…

My message:  DON’T FALL FOR DUMB SPAM MESSAGES. USE YOUR BRAIN AT LEAST ONCE IN A WHILE! If you need information about predictive tsunami alerts rather go to confirmed recognised organisations like http://www.prh.noaa.gov/ptwc/?region=0

Tsunami Messages for All Regions (Past 60 Days)

Click on the map or table below for more information.

“UTC” = Coordinated Universal Time (aka: GMT or Zulu).
“To:” = recipient of messages:
Pac=Pacific Ocean (excluding U.S. mainland & Canada), Haw=Hawai`i, Ind=Indian Ocean, Car=Caribbean Sea

… Chinese Checkers Craze.

Sure enough, Chinese Checkers have been my latest obsession, with me trying to get everyone to play with me. It all started, once upon a boring evening, when I was… bored (obviously) and accidentally, discovered the joys of skype games. If you ask me why I chose skype games instead of the millions of online games available and, I’ll simply say it’s more fun to play with friends than to play alone, which is why I’m not a great fan of “those” games and would rather sit at a table and play scrabble with my dad. He’d cheat, of course (I inherited my poker face from him), but among all that fighting and whinings, there’s a little happiness hidden, only waiting for you to discover it.

At first, I was going to stick to MSN games, but C. was getting the famous blue screen, and MSN didn’t allow 3 players, I couldn’t play with Sayuka and Parwez at the same time. So Skype it was. We tried nearly everything, until we fell on Chinese Checkers. It was one of the games that could be played with 3 persons, and although we didn’t know what it was exactly, we decided to try it out. There’s nothing more fun that a game you’re just learning to play.

Parwez and I tried playing it a few times after Sayuka left, and this is where the real craze began. I was already lost in the world of Chinese Checkers, with the strategies, moves and combos. I was already used to classic checkers, and I realised, it was more or less the same, the only difference is you don’t lose your pieces, which made it even cooler.

I have been playing with T. almost every night now, and I think I’ve contaminated him with the C.C. virus. I’m not really sure though why Parwez and Sayuka are immune to it. Maybe I’ll have to get that antidote because I’m so addicted….

She has been quite sick this week, yesterday, being the worst of all, so she stayed in bed most of the time. No need to say, of course, there were times I went to bug her, like the time I went to read my book on her bed, then tossing and turning around or the time I carried the cookery book there, wanting to try all the recipes in there. She was much better today, considering how she was shouting and yelling this afternoon, so she decided to make me happy and let me cook… under her vigilant eye… I don’t believe the day she’d trust me with her kitchen will ever come. She is so afraid I’m gonna put fire to the whole house, with good reasons of course; I’m too absent-minded…

Well, the menu for today was decided: I’d make Moussaka and home-made bread, and Chocolate Mousse for dessert. As much as I’d like to post the recipes, I’m afraid you’ll just have to find it online. I changed some part of the recipes, to fit it to my own “needs” and have no idea what I did. I don’t want anyone to ask if it were edible, that would just be the same as insulting me. I happen to be a very good cook, a lazy one, yes, but a good one. Though today’s meal wasn’t what I expected. My tomatoes messed up a bit, with all it’s water not drying up, and I had to drain all of it and put it in the oven again.

Note to myself: never try to bake tomatoes.

But well, it was really great, though I just had a taste of the Mousse. I had no place for dessert today, it would seem. Both my cousin and my dad said it was good; I was worried that the bitter taste would stay; my chocolate was too concentrated and I had to add some sugar to change the taste. I’m the only one at home who can “handle” the taste of dark chocolate; it would seem I haven’t inherited the sweet tooth of my parents (nor the green fingers as well… ).

Cooking is always fun, with or without my mom shouting. She is never happy when I “invade her space”, it seems. She is supposed to be the cooking ace of the family (everybody who tasted her food would agree) and likes to be the best in everything (it can be frustrating sometimes but oh well… ). Which is why I supposed I turned into someone who dislikes competition, even if she’s part of it. Not that I’m completely against it, I simply lack the drive, I suppose. I like to take things slowly, enjoying them as they go by. She is totally different, which often leads to lots of arguments, like today… when I didn’t want to do everything at the same time and she obviously wanted me too.The good thing is, our arguments do not really create tensions against us. On the contrary, it allowed us to become much closer to each other…

This marks the end of my little cooking experienc, with me dreaming of yet another day when I’ll be able to show off my skills…

Of course, I couldn’t. I had to go get my leaving certificate at school today, along with Sayuka, and just seeing this weather was simply depressing. I love the rain when I’m inside the house, warm and sleepy, not when I’m walking around, getting soaked with each step I take. On the bright side, I managed to repair my broken umbrella, though I’m not sure the red thread on the blue cloth is really ‘in’, not that I care really.

The rest of the day went by, quite smoothly, not that the weather had anything to do to lighten my mood. We managed to get the certificate; I thought they were going to tell us to come by later, especially when the clerk made a weird face on hearing our names. However, I cannot explain how I got better punctually remarks than Sayuka, when I was late almost everyday for two years. That’s yet another mystery which, I think, will never be solved.

The rest of the day was spent in talking, talking, talking; well, our usual routine. We started planning the slumber party, for which, we haven’t got the permission yet. Or the camping plan, for which… again, we haven’t got the permission yet. Nothing wrong in doing that, you never know what is going to happen next.

I forgot to mention the long chat about board games and playing cards… or euh… my cheating mania. Let’s not go there though, that’s a dangerous path to take…. I wonder when I’ll get to play those with my friends, I cannot really play at home because there’s not really anyone who has time for that. We should really have that slumber party…