Saturday, August 13, 2005 – The Friday of last week, Yuoo took his final exam in Spanish class. Finishing this exam not only meant the end of his summer Spanish class, but it also meant to start of his summer road-trip! :-) For several weeks, Yuoo and his friend Aurrin Lightpaw had planned for a visit at Aurrin’s parents’ house. After finishing the exam and making sure that his car was in good working order, Yuoo set out for the north, and after a very long drive, he arrived at a small town called Sahara, a place mostly inhabited by camels and llamas, where he and Aurrin had agree to meet. He met Aurrin at the local Wuffelhausen, and after an exchange of hugs and how-do-you-do’s, Yuoo followed Aurrin up into the mountains to the log cabin where Aurrin’s parents live.
Aurrin’s family very much believes in living in balance with nature. Their house is powered by an array of photovoltaic solar panels, as well as a stream-driven water wheel. [Well… not really, but this is my diary, so I can write what I want.] They have two pet cats and three pet dogs (the four-legged, non-sentient kind), whose names are Oreo, Kit-Kat, and Reesie-Cup. Both inside the yard and outside, their house is surrounded by trees. This made Yuoo feel very good.
Now, let me introduce Aurrin’s family to you. As you may know, when I introduce a person to you in this diary, I also choose a corresponding animal species for them. Since Aurrin’s human counterpart is no doubt reading this diary entry, I must tread carefully in this section, and I may end up revising it later.
Aurrin – First of all, you know Aurrin already. He’s a fox with a very thick coat of fur, reddish-orange in color. He’s a college student, studying space travel. Also, depending on what story he’s in, he can also be a nearly-immortal extraterrestrial fox from the planet Liska. His favorite dessert is orange sherbet.
Electra – Aurrin’s younger sister. Yuoo told me he isn’t quite sure what species Electra is because she seems to be a shape-shifter, causally shifting from one creature to another without anybeast else taking much notice. Just on the first day he was there, Yuoo saw her as a cat, a wolf, a tiger, a wombat, a kangaroo, a gecko, a meerkat, several types of foxes, including a fennec fox, an eagle, a coyote, a giraffe, an otter, a bear, a ferret, a beaver, and… What else was she? Oh yeah… and a hamster too. This must come in very handy for Electra because she will soon be studying to become a biologist at Garnet with Aurrin.
Auron – Auron is Aurrin’s dad-- a red wolf. Aurrin and Auron are pronounced the same, but spelled differently. He is very quiet. By looking at his eyes, you can tell that he thinks a lot of things but does not say them. Auron likes to protect his home and his family.
Aurrin’s Mother – Aurrin’s mom is a hare. She is very friendly, and she likes to talk a lot, but that’s okay because Yuoo is a good listener. ;-) She is naturally cautious and very protective of her children. She is sometimes prone to worry and has a habit of berating herself, but I think it’s just her way of showing courtesy to others creatures. She is a good cook and a good hostess.
Over the weekend, Yuoo played Dance Dance Revolution with Aurrin, and he had a good time getting to know his family and his hometown. The two foxes spent time talking about things that are more comfortable said muzzle-to-muzzle rather than online. Yuoo brought his keyboard and his recorder (both musical instruments), and he played some music for the family, which they seemed to enjoy, especially Aurrin’s mom.
Yuoo remained at Aurrin’s house for four days. It was a very good and meaningful trip.
Sunday, August 21, 2005 - Have you wondered what Mortar Abbey looks like? Well, today Yuoo sketched a picture of the Upper Chapel at Mortar Abbey. You can view it at: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/22008106/
Wednesday, August 24, 2005 - Cats and dogs. Dogs and cats. Can they ever get along? I know that a Fennec fox isn't quite the same thing as a dog, but pretend for a moment that Yuoo is a dog, for the sake of this example. Yuoo is a dog (woof, woof, woof), and his roomates are cats (meow, meow). When cats and dogs get together, they like to argue. Bark, bark, bark! Hiss! Hiss! It's sad that they can't get along, but it seems almost impossible to avoid. They try to talk to each other, to hear each others' feelings, but it's very hard. The dog says, "It's not that I don't like you. I just wish you wouldn't be so... catty."
The cats say, "It's not that we don't like you. We just wish you wouldn't be so... doggy." Oh, what to do, what to do? Yuoo the dog is trying to be catty, but often he can't help but acting doggy.
Sometimes he wants to get angry and say, "I'm tired of trying to be catty! Why can't you be more doggy?" but Yuoo knows that would be just as hard and frustrating for a cat to be a dog as it would be for him to be a cat. Yet... Yuoo wants peace. He doesn't like being scratched, and he knows that the cats don't like to be barked at.
To quote one of Yuoo's favorite owl philosophers, "Oh what to do, oh what to do? Too-whitt, two-whoo! Too-whitt, two-whoo!"
Thursday, August 25, 2005 - Today, Yuoo went tome-shopping to prepare for his classes, which will begin this Monday. He bought an advanced metallurgy and artifactory book. After that, he went to Mortar Abbey for a community Italian Pie dinner. After the stresses that have been going on at home (see previous entry), it truly felt good to be among friends.
Just as a bizarre, random side-note, Yuoo has had the nonsense phrase "shizzle von schnizzle" stuck in his head all day long.