Tuesday, September 6, 2005 - This morning, Yuoo decided to ride his bicycle to school. Since yesterday was a holiday, he slept in a little bit later than usual this morning, which was probably not the wisest thing to do. He loaded his new black bookbag into the bicycle basket, put on his shiny yellow refletive vest*, and he set out on the open road on his way to school.
* Just like opossums and armadillos, Fennec foxes do not enjoy being run over by automobiles. You would not believe how difficult it is to wash tire-tread marks out of one's fur. Please forgive me for this morbid side-note, but always remember: "Look twice. Save a life."
Anyway, Yuoo left his house one hour before his appointment at school. About half-way to school, Yuoo yielded to the temptation of laziness, deciding to wait at a bus stop. This was not without good reason. The area of town surrounding Yuoo's school is very hilly, and bicycling uphill is quite unpleasant. (not quite as unpleasant as being run over by an automobile, but unpleasant nonetheless) However, Yuoo's punishment for waiting at the bus stop was the fact that the bus never came. He waited until about 7 minutes before his appointment before he finally gave up and petaled madly toward school. He arrived at his appointment, gasping for breath, only to find that the appointment is really schedule for tomorrow! Well Yuoo, at least you weren't late. :-)
Last weekend, there was a terrible hurricane that struck Bastón Rojo, a place not very far to the west of Yuoo's hometown of Loblolly. Many poor creatures drowned, and many are starving at this very moment, waiting to be rescued. What is worse, some of the creatures living there have been infected by rabies, causing them to attack other victims of the hurricane or even the relief workers trying to rescue them! Yuoo has been praying for everybeast affected by the hurricane, and even though he lives on a tight budget, he did donate a small amount of money to his favorite charity, World Vision.
Yuoo had a birthday a couple of days ago! :-) He is now a quarter of a century old. His birthday was on a Sunday, so after meeting at Mortar Abbey for worship, he went out with his friends to feast upon some Italian pie. Afterwards, Yuoo went back to Mortar Abbey, to play some video games. That morning, he had brought his old video game systems from home, and that afternoon, he played some of them with his friends.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005 - Today, Yuoo took something called the G.R.E. It's the test that he has to take before he can get admitted into graduate school. He studied for this test over the weekend, drilling vocabulary cards and practicing analogies. Speaking of analogies, here's one for you.
Giraffe is to long neck as Fennec fox is to ________.
A) long nose
B) big ears
C) wet gills
D) surreptitious iconoclast
While he studied for the test, Yuoo was drinking lots of green tea sweetened with honey, and I guess the sugar kind of got to him because he started to get jittery like a hummingbird looking for nectar. The night before, he ate a nice pasta dinner, and he went to bed early so he could get up early. Ironically, he almost didn't make it to the test in time! He left an hour before the test started, but he had trouble finding the testing center. The reason he didn't double check the directions is because the testing center is a place he used to go to all the time when he was a kit. It's a place called the Serval Learning Center, where he once took private tutoring lessons when he was little. He thought he knew well enough where the place was now, but it turned out to be on the other side of town! Fortunately, Yuoo stopped by a library along the way and got directions from a kind owl working there. Yuoo made it to the testing center just in time. The test went very well, and although he doesn't have the official results yet, Yuoo tells me he thinks he did pretty good on it.
After the test was over, Yuoo mused thoughtfully he looked around the Serval Learning Center. He imagined what he must have looked like years ago stepping into that place wide-eyed. Yuoo looked at his reflection through a window, and marveled at what a difference the years had made. He had dressed himself up in his nicest professional clothes today, and this made him think about what sort of fox he had become.
Wednesday, Sepember 21, 2005 - Today Yuoo is filling out his application to graduate school. Yuoo is graduating at the end of this year. Some creatures don't like the cap-and-gown ceremonies, but Yuoo certainly does! =^.^=
Thursday, Sepember 22, 2005 - Wet, wet, wet!! Yesterday, the weather was very weird because of hurricane Rita. Although Loblolly only got hit by Rita's tail, it was quite a soggy tail. Yesterday, Yuoo took a test in one of his classes. The sun was shining brightly when he began the test, but by the time class was over, the sky was almost dark outside because of the storm!
Yuoo is registered to have extra testing time because of his Finicky Disorder. Because of a mixup at the special testing facility, Yuoo had to rush through the rain to his teacher's office. Yuoo's teacher is a red panda named Chang. Dr. Chang is a fastidious, likeable panda but with a mild case of Tourette's Syndrome.
Yuoo is praying for everybeast living in Bastón Rojo. They're already devistated by hurricane Katrina, and this new one is also headed in their direction. Yuo donated a little bit more money to World Vision.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 - This morning, Yuoo got up at 3:00 AM to have a special meditation time, as well as to do some schoolwork. Mortar Abbey is holding a special week of Devotion. This week, Yuoo is abstaining from video games and webcomics in order to focus more on Aslan. (That's the plan, anyway. It's easy to get distracted.)
Yuoo likes helping blind people, and Yuoo likes watching seeing-eye dogs in action. But what do you do when you meet a blind person who is acting short-tempered with their dog? I feel sorry for the dog, but Yuoo feels sorry for the blind person.
Today, Yuoo had lunch with a friend of his, Mr. Jeff. He is a river otter with chocolate-brown fur. Mr. Jeff is the computer administrator at the student disability cetner at Yuoo's school. Yuoo is registered there because he has Finicky Disorder, a disorder that makes you... well, finicky. ;-) It's fascinating that Mr. Jeff works at the disability center and helps so many creatures, for you see, Mr. Jeff is disabled himself. Years ago, he was very athletic, as most otters are, but he received a neck injury that made him unable to use his legs or his tail. :-( Still, he is very busy, going back and forth in his motorized wheelchair, making sure that everybeast there receives the help that they need.
Thursday, September 29, 2005 - In one of Yuoo's classrooms, there is a mysterious sign that says, "OCCUPATION OF THIS ROOM BY MORE THAN 120 ERSONS IS UNLAWFUL AND DANGEROUS." What exactly is an "erson?" Perhaps an Erson is some kind of wolverine-grizzly-bear creature. I can see how that could be unlawful and dangerous. Or, perhaps Ersons are a type of large whale? In that case, then just a single Erson occupying the room would be dangerous, not only to the room itself and its occupants, but also to the Erson itself, considering that there is no water in the room. This is a mystery that we may never understand.