The Maze Runner

I'm reading a book called Maze Runner, and for a book written by a Mormon author, it is pretty gory, and has some pretty close language.  For instance when Alby says, “what the Shuck is wrong with you?" or "you shank," or "you Klunk- head."  I don't like the book, but I have to wait for the second book of The Beyonders to come out.

The book starts out where there's this boy in an elevator that is moving.  He doesn't remember how he got there, and he doesn't know where he is.  He gets scared and panicky, and he can't see a thing.  He starts trying to remember where he is and how he got there.  The only thing he seems to be able to remember is his name.  His name is Thomas.  He remembers things that he did, eating a hamburger or hotdog, watching a movie, but he can’t incorporate places or people in them, so they’re void and empty. It’s frustrating.  He doesn’t even know how old he is, or where this elevator is taking him.  All he knows is that he’s been in this elevator for a really long time, and he wants out.  After what seems ages of being in the elevator shaft, he sees a sliver of light, and feels the elevator come to very abrupt stop.  It’s so bright that he can’t see what and who is there.  All he can see are blurs.  He starts to pass out, and the voices around him get muddy and indistinctive.  They pull him out of the elevator and he’s standing in front of this big group of boys of various ages from 12 to 17.  There’s this Asian guy who’s looking at him from head to toe, examining him.  His name’s Alby.

We’ll stop here,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

THE CONCERT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got to the Maverik Center where Celtic Thunder was performing, and I was so excited I almost passed out!  I was like, "I hope Damian will be here, and Paul."  We were in line for merchandise and I saw the poster they had available of Damian, and I almost fainted!  HE IS SO HOT!  I swear I almost fainted several times.  So while we were waiting I got to talk to this girl that I met named Sarah!  She's a Junior in High school, and she is in love with Damian and Paul, like I am!  She plays the piano too! We’re like sisters, OH MY GOSH!  She’s obsessed with all music, and just as big as a dorky nerdy goofball as I am!  She reminds me a lot of my favorite cousin, Cassie.  We went in the theater after buying out the whole merchandise store (literally), and we took our seats.  The only thing was the show didn't sell out for some reason, so they pushed the stage forward and our view was blocked by a column of speakers. That was really annoying.  We ended up getting up and moving to better seats in the next section over, LOL!  It was awesome.  We were sitting behind this Mormon family that drove all the way down from Rupert, Idaho to see the show.  They were just as crazy as we were.  The girl and I bonded immediately.  Her name was Rebecca, she's fifteen, and she has really high standards!  She loves Keith and Emmett the best. Personally, I love Damian, George, and Paul the best.  My mom likes little Danny, George, and Keith.  So we moved rows and sat by them because they moved to.  When Celtic Thunder came on the stage, I screamed so many times, I almost passed out!  I felt bad though, because the people sitting behind us moved and so did the people sitting in front.  After a moment I could care less.  I screamed louder.  This was the moment I’d been waiting for all my life.  The first song they sang was in Gaelic, Little Danny sang a solo.  He has a very pure high soprano voice.  My favorite part of that song was when Danny, who is still fairly new at performing, got nervous and didn't know where he was, George grabbed him on the shoulder and situated him.  That was the sweetest thing.  George is the nicest man in the world, and I love him so much, and just for that, he's my favorite, even though he's bald. Personally, I think bald guys are sexy.  And also, George is the greatest performer. HE'S A HOOT!  He is always making the audience laugh, and when the crowd was cheering for him, he gave us thumbs up.  He even smiled and winked at me!  I ALMOST DIED!  He’s gotten so much better in the last 4 years, and I am so in love with him!  What is it with me and bald guys, or older guys that I find attractive? I HAVE NO IDEA!  But I'm a teenage girl!  We’re weird!  So anyway, enough talk about sexy George.  

Now on to Keith.  Keith was awesome!  He would throw his pick into the audience after he was done playing a song.  Keith is also an excellent performer.  Neil doesn't have the pizzazz, and Danny is still new.  Emmett on the other hand, he has a voice like an angel, and he sings Opera!  THAT IS SO HOT!  He’s also a BIG fan of Josh Groban!  Emmett's the third hottest of them all.  Here they are (in my opinion) in order of hottest to least hot:  Damian, Paul, Emmett, Keith, Ryan, George, Danny, and Neil (ucky wucky!!). 

So, anyway, the concert was amazing, so I'm going to stop babbling now. 

DINGBAT OUT!

Sitting here, in the Albuquerque airport, bored as all heck!!!!

I'm sitting here in the Albuquerque airport at my terminal, A8.  FUN!  Now we have to wait for 1 hour and a half.  When we got here we learned our flight had gotten delayed, and I thought here we go, it's going to be really tight trying to get to the concert on time because we'll get there at 5:30 pm instead of 4:30 pm.  The concert starts at 7, and by the time we're out it will be 6.  It's going to be hectic but it will be worth it!!!!  Oh, and guess what's so ironic?  We were checking in and there's this Jewish guy (I'm pretty sure he's Jewish), and he looks almost exactly like Jakey!  It's so cool, and he's even on our flight LOL!  The reason I think he's Jewish is because he's got curly hair and a big nose.  Now believe me, I WOULD NOT be saying this if Jakey didn't say it all the time, and he's Jewish, so it's ok.  I am NOT meaning to stereotype.  Then after that incident we went to this restaurant called Los Cuartes and our server looked exactly like Flower, I mean EXACTLY!  She was even as short as her (4 foot 10)!  She even walked like her, it was crazy!  My mom told me she'd take a picture with her Black Berry, but I said no, because that's weird.  So this is the jest of my really weird adventure here at Sunport Airport in Albuquerque.

That's a wrap,

DINGBAT OUT!

CELTIC THUNDER IS AMAZING!

Tomorrow we are going to go on a flight to SLC, UT to see a concert of my favorite band of all time - Celtic Thunder.  They have been around for about 5 years, they are all Irish and started out with five members.  Now there are 8 of them.  The original people were Ryan Kelly, Paul Byrom, Damian McGinty, Keith Harkin, and George Donaldson.  Damian was 14 when he started and is about my age and he is super, super cute and smart.  He gets straight As and he respects his mother, which I think is hot!  Paul is also super, super cute and was 28 when he started with Celtic Thunder and he starting training at the age of 7 to be an operatic singer, which I also think is hot because I want to be an Opera singer, or study Opera.  Keith Harking has an amazing voice and he started at the age of 28.  He is amazing with the guitar.  He loves music, has a high pitched voice for a guy and sometimes sings like a girl as far as the range.  He is not nearly cute, in my opinion, as Damian and Paul.  I will have pictures of them for you to see, since now there are 8 members instead of the original 5.  George is a really cool guy and has an interesting voice. When he started he was 48 and he is bald naturally.  He sings a lot of the folk songs and the sad songs.  Ryan was an Accountant before he joined the group, and he is cute, but not nearly as cute as Damian, Keith or Paul in my opinion.  Ryan was in his 30s or early 40s I believe.
Now, after 5 years, they have added three new people to their group and they are finally coming in concert to Salt Lake City.  They now have a 12 year old boy named Daniel Furlong.  They have a man in his 20s named Emmett Cahill that is to die for!  I think Emmett is better looking than Damian, which is hard to believe, and he has an amazing voice.  They have a new guy named Neil who was with them originally as a musician.  I don't care for him much as I do not care for his voice and I do not think he is that cute.  We are going to the concert tomorrow night and we are going to sit nearly in the front row on the farthest right side of the stage.  I think the view is going to be fantastic.  I think the tour they are doing is either Heritage or Storm.  I am not sure.  I would like to get CDs of Heritage and Storm at the concert.  Now I am going to insert pictures of these amazingly hot men!

George Donaldson

Damian McGinty

Keith Harkin

Neil Byrne

Paul Byrom

Daniel Furlong

Ryan Kelly

Emmett Cahill 

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Jakey became a skeleton!!

My best friends Briana, Sam and I painted my other best friend Jake's (everyone calls him Momo, but I call him Jakey) face.  We used face paint.  It was in Anatomy and Physiology class because we have a test tomorrow and we have to know the bones.  The Piercing Spear brought in a white T-shirt that our principal gave her.  Jakey volunteered to wear the shirt and be labeled.  It was awesome.  Sam, Briana and I put glittery face paint on his face to label the bones in the skull.  I painted the Frontal yellow.  I also drew his ribs on his shirt, and his clavicle.  We even put lip gloss on his lips, (to his strong opposition) to label the muscle in his lip.  I forgot to mention that when I was drawing his ribs, he complained a lot because he, The Quack, Flower, Kevin, Austin, J.D., and Nick just got back from a caving trip in Carlsbad Caverns, and his ribs are bruised, poor guy.  I love Jakey.  We also put hair-ties in his hair.  He looked like a chick, LOL!  The Piercing Spear drew the vertebrae on his back and front, and Sam and Briana labeled and drew his arm bones. Then we were done.  PICTURE TIME!  I took three pictures with my phone and I'll put them on here.  The faces he makes are hilarious.  He was totally up for it too.  He said, "This is the only day of the year that my mom will let me get away with this."  Then after we were done we went to show him to our Principal.  The Barbour and The Short man were in there.  Then we went and showed him to The Robot Lady.  We tried to show him to the Quack but he did not look happy that we were disturbing his class, so we left and went back upstairs and showed him to the Sewards Rat.  Then we showed him to Shimmy Dude.  Here are the hilarious pictures of Jakey:

DINGBAT OUT!

Bwahahaha, I got to take the Barbour's stitches out!!!!!

In Anatomy and Physiology class we had an opportunity to take The Barbour's stitches out.  He had had a cancer on his face so they had to cut it out and stitched him up.  He only had one stitch on his face, so he told the Piercing Spear that he would let one of us take his stitches out.  The Spear asked who would be interested and me, Sara, Sam, Briana, and a couple other people raised our hands, and The Spear put our names on pieces of paper and then we had a drawing.  I had a hunch I would get picked because I have really good luck, so I left to go the bathroom, and when I came back, I was told that I had won.  I screamed like a Banshee, I was so excited.  The Sewards Rat came in and so did the Barbour.  We sat him on a chair and I took the sanitized scissors, but I was so nervous that I grabbed them wrong.  I would not in any case make a good surgeon, because I tend to freeze up right before, and then I cannot to save my life remember how to do anything, not even hold scissors.  I went for his stitches with the tweezers in my left hand and the scissors in my right.  I know no one noticed, but my hands were shaking wildly.  I grabbed the knot in the stitches, pulled gently, and snipped the knot and pulled it through. It was short and sweet.  Sara was like, "That's it? That’s lame!" The Barbour's response was "I let you guys do it because it's easy.  What did you expect?" I was still shaking and shocked but I think I did a pretty good job. 

That's a Wrap,

DINGBAT OUT!

OH MY GOSH I'M GONNA BE FAMOUS!

You know how I got to go to D.C. because I was one of the ten selected out of 210 out of 4,700 people to be at the grand opening of an art show that was going to tour my original artwork all over the country right? Well guess what?  I learned, just barely, on Friday when I was at Arts Adventures Teen Night that MY artwork that I was only goofing around to make was bought by a museum in SALT LAKE CITY UTAH!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!!!! I was so overwhelmed and happy and shocked and just plain overloaded that I just fell apart, I mean I was weeping!  I was shaking wildly, my face was bright red and I almost passed out!  I mean I'm 15, 15 and my artwork was bought and is going to have a permanent home in my hometown, Salt Lake City, Utah!  I mean, when does this kind of stuff happen to a 15 year-old???!!!???  I could not be more happy, and I am so thankful to my beloved Heavenly father for the blessings he's bestowed upon me in my life, and now, more than ever, he is helping me accomplish what I want to in my life, and not just in art, in my academics.  I have straight A+s (well, except for the Short) thanks to his help.  He is my father, and I love him so much.  I'm thankful to my parents for giving me the Gospel, and raising me as a Latter-Day-Saint.  What would I be without them?  Nothing.  My parents are a blessing in my life, and I love them more than anyone except perhaps my Father in Heaven.  The support they have offered me in my life is astronomical, and they are always pushing me on.  Sorry I'm being so sentimental, but this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me. EVER!!!!! THIS COULD MAKE ME FAMOUS!!!!!! 

Anyway, enough ranting and raving on my behalf,

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!!

A shocking truth and a proposal of service: BEYONDERS

Maldor walks in and pours some liquid into his goblet and tells Jason its Lumbaberry juice.  Jason is so bewildered nothing happened. Maldor was still here. As if he knows what Jason's thinking, he tells Jason he got the word right.  "Well if I got the word right, why didn't it work?" Then Maldor explained that the word would unmake a different wizard, one who was dead.  In other words, the word is a fake, and Salzared, the one who wrote the book bound in human skin was his servant, and knew that the word was a fake.  He is a displacer.  The book has his eye and his skin on it, and is written in his blood.  The purpose of this was so that he could be the ultimate spy.  Jason is so lost.  How did this happen?  It was all a fake?  All of it?  Jason asks him angrily why he created the word.  Maldor tells him it was to test people and he see that his greatest fighters were so he could recruit them.  He tells Jason that he is one of the only people in the world who know about the truth of the word.  Jason asks if Galloran knows.  Maldor says he told him it was a hologram of him so he could erase the suspicion.  He tells Jason that he was surprised that he knew the whole word, because he thought Jason only knew 4 of the six syllables.  Jason tells him that Galloran broke the rules and allowed access to the syllables in other places.  Jason asks him what his second order of business is and Maldor says it's because he wishes to propose something to Jason; an offer to serve him.  Maldor tells Jason how impressed he is of him and how he is the kind of man he needs.  He points out that Jason is wise, patient, clever, witty, strong, brave, impulsive, courageous, and most of all loyal and competitive.  He indulges him even more by promising that if he works hard, he will become one of the most respected and honored of his men, and receive rare treatment.  He also states that there is no reason to keep resisting him since the word is a fake.  Jason contemplates these things and the choice held before him.  What about Rachel?  What about Tark?  What about Drake, and Jasher, and everyone else?  He had to tell Rachel the truth.  He wasn't going to let her suffer for something that isn't even real.  Maldor is evil, why should he serve him?  He will warp his mind, and make him into a bad person.  Jason shudders at the thought, although it would be much easier. Jason shakes this disturbing thought out of his mind.  "Galloran said that a real hero is willing to stand up for what is right no matter the consequence" Jason said, glaring at Maldor.  "I refuse."  Maldor shook his head. Then Jason asks him if he knows how to get back to the beyond, and Maldor says he does.  Jason asks him if he will help him get to the beyond, and Maldor says he does not help his enemies.  He gets up and leaves. (OK, honestly I'm getting tired of talking about this book in so much detail so I'm just going to sum up.)  Jason gets drugged, and thrown in prison first with a huge kind of cobra snake.  He runs away for a while and then inevitably gets bitten.  The venom makes him spill the beans of everything to his interrogators.  Then he gets drugged again and thrown in a coffin.  Then Ferrin comes and knocks out the guards and rescues him and brings him to a well in a cave.  The well will take him back to the Beyond.  Jason fights, not wanting to leave Rachel, and so Ferrin pushes Jason in the well but Jason drags him in with him.  Ferrin detaches his hand and Jason keeps a hold of it, and then he's in the beyond.  He puts the hand in his pocket and walks to a house and asks if he can use their phone.

WOW, THAT'S A LOT!

DINGBAT OUT!

Disappointment, anger, imprisonment: BEYONDERS

We left off were Jason says the word.  I mentioned how he can feel the power of the word as he screams it, yet after he screams it, nothing happens.  Maldor just sits there, perplexed and puzzled.  "Well? Is that all? Then away with you.  How unfortunate that the one word you had to say is in gibberish.  Take him away!" The guard who escorted him in takes him out with instructions to put him in a holding cell.  They walk him down to the dungeons to a holding cell with a thick iron door.  The guards open the door, and push him in.  He tries to escape, pushing two of the guards over, but he is grabbed and pushed to the floor with unnecessary force.  Then they pick him up and force him in this chair, and lock in his arms and legs and waist, and neck into place with these metal confinement rings.  Then they leave.  He can barely breathe.  He can't move.  It's dark.  He’s extremely claustrophobic.  He starts freaking out, and has to calm down.  He tries to forget that he is tied up and can't breathe.  He goes to his "happy place."  He tries to keep track of time. Where is he exactly?  What time is it?  How long has he been here?  Each minute seems to drag out for eternity.  He tries to tell how many seconds, how many minutes, how many hours he's been locked up in this chair.  It's completely dark.  He can't see a thing.  Why hadn't the word worked?  He was certain he had said it right.  He couldn't remember the syllables as promised, so what was he going to do now?  All of a sudden, after who knows how long, the door swings open, letting in blinding light that hurts his eyes.  What’s going on?  Who is it?  MALDOR.  He walks into the room alone with a silver tray holding a bottle of liquid. The door closes behind him, flooding the room with darkness once again. DUN DUN DUN!!!!!

SUSPENSE!

DINGBAT OUT!

Arriving at the City, and a Change in Plot: BEYONDERS

When we left off, Jason was captured.  They take him and they start traveling to this city.  The leader's name is Ian.  He tells Jason to brace himself for what lies ahead for him in the prisons.  They travel for two days, and then he starts seeing the peaks of the city.  He is in awe at how protected and sturdy it is.  It has never been invaded.  Jason now knows why (I mean you can't even climb up the walls without being killed).  When they arrive at the gates they settle down for the night.  They will journey inside the city tomorrow.  They go to bed.  Jason wakes up with a hand over his mouth.  It's Drake! Drake pulls him to his feet and explains that he killed the guards.  He tells Jason that in order to get in front of Maldor and say the word, he explains to him that he needs to go inside the city and bang a gong.  When the gong is banged, a law states that that person must get an audience with Maldor, but he/she cannot choose the consequences that come from the audience.  They sneak into the city at night, and Drake kills the guards so that Jason can run to the platform where the big gong hangs.  He grabs the mallet and bangs the gong three times for effect.  The one guard who survives Drake's violent attack tells him he will get his audience, and then drags him roughly to Maldor's castle.  As they walk through the halls Jason runs the word through his head: Arimfexendrapuse, Arimfexendrapuse, over and over again.  Jason wonders if he will be able to pronounce the word correctly in the presence of Maldor.  They finally arrive to some double doors that are rough and heavy.  Upon approach, the doors open loudly allowing them to pass through.  As Jason walks in, he sees this man sitting on a throne in a black robe with a scepter in his hand with a handle of a smiling skull.  Sitting around him are dozens of displacers.  Jason tells Maldor that he wishes to share only one word with him, and then belts it out: "ARIMFEXENDRAPUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  He screams.  He can feel the power of the word in his body, taste it on his tongue. 

We’ll stop here,  

DINGBAT OUT!

Departure Cont'd and the Explosion of Jasher and Capture of Jason: BEYONDERS

We left off with the borehounds are chasing these men and they kill Tristan.  They catch up to Drake and Tark too but they start slaying the dogs.  Jason does too, but they get a hold of his arm and his leg, and he finally gets them off of him and he is bleeding.  Drake is not bleeding anywhere, and has four dead dogs around him, his sword covered in blood.  The dogs were followed by men on horses; one of them Kimp.  Then Jasher comes out with Rachel, and he rides toward Kimp.  Once close enough, Kimp jumps off his horse, colliding with Jasher.  Then a bright light and clash, and Jasher and Kimp are on the ground; Jasher blown to pieces, an arm over here, a leg over there, his head on top of his charred body; Kimp’s on the ground a little farther away, on fire.  The impact of Kimp’s tackle triggered Jasher’s Oriantum causing an explosion.  Jason runs to where Jasher lay, and starts frantically looking for the seed with his companions so that they can replant it and give Jasher a new life.  Jason checks the man’s charred neck for the seed, but it is not there.  He panics, asking his friends to look harder, and the anticipation builds, while their chances of escaping are becoming slimmer and slimmer.  Finally, after what feels like ages, they find the seed and head off on the horse Rachel has.  Unfortunately, there is a group of men coming their way.   Jason gives Tark the seed, and tells him to tell Rachel that the last syllable is DRA.  One half of the group of men pursue Tark’s group while the rest stay and confiscate Jason.  He surrenders, and they tell him they are taking him to a city called….. (Oh shoot, I can’t remember.  It’s kind of important to know what it’s called huh?  Sorry ‘bout that.)   Anyway, they start heading toward their destination.

That’s enough for now,
DINGBAT OUT!

Duke Conrad duel and departure cont: BEYONDERS

When the preparations are made they gather into the Billiard room, where one of the billiard tables is filled with billiard balls.  The rules are simple:  they pick up the billiard balls and throw them at each other until one of them dies or is killed.  The match starts, and Jason soon realizes that Duke Conrad is very slow and clumsy when it comes to dodging and throwing balls.  He hits Jason with one ball, and Jason soon throws a ball that unintentionally hits him in the head. Jason was aiming for his shoulder, but Duke Conrad ducks, making his head the target instead of his shoulder.  He slumps to the ground unconscious.  His second tells Jason he has the right to kill him, but Jason declines the offer.  All he wants is to leave.  He asks if anyone wants to come with him other than Tark, and finally Drake says he will.  He says that he told himself that if Jason won he would go with him.  Also, another man, Tristan, decides to come with him; however Jason is a little concerned because Tristan is very obese, and they were going to be doing a lot of running.  He offers one last time, and then they head off on foot, all armed with their own personal weapons.  They start running and almost immediately they hear dogs behind chasing them; borehounds mostly.  So they keep running, and Tark and Drake are very fast runners, so Jason is having a hard time keeping up with them.  Tristan on the other hand is having a hard time keeping up with them, and they haven't been running very far and his face is already red.  The borehounds are running faster than they can run, and they catch up to Tristan and attack and kill him.  

More to come....

Kimp and Duke Conrad Duel: BEYONDERS

Jason waits a long time in the bathhouse and finally Kimp comes in to take a bath.  He is bulging with muscle and covered from head to toe in tattoos.  Jason enters into the large tub and tries to strike up a conversation with Kimp.  Kimp is not showing any desire to talk, and tries to explain to him that this is his "relaxation time," but then Jason brings up his tattoos and he becomes much happier and accepting of the conversation.  He starts talking to Jason about them and even turns around to show him the shark on his back.  Jason is so excited and lucky!  The 4^th and last syllable is on Kimp's shoulder blade!  He eagerly scoots closer to see.  It's DRA.  He puts the word’s syllables together to create the "all powerful" word.  The word is Arimfexendrapuse.  Finally he has the word that can destroy Maldor!  He can now leave.  He tells Tark he is going to leave, and plans to announce it at dinner.  So, at dinner, he stands up and announces that he is going to leave.  Everyone goes silent.  Duke Conrad’s face twitches.  Duke Conrad stands up infuriated; face twitching with anger.  Jason tells him that he is leaving and will not change his mind.  Duke Conrad orders a duel in the courtyard with rapiers or swords.  Jason gets scared because if he fights Duke Conrad with a rapier or sword, he will surely be sliced up into bits.  Jason tells him that he wants to choose the weapon and Duke Conrad refuses at first, stating that he is so much higher than him, considering that Jason is only a lowly lord.  He corrects him, and tells him that he is also the Chancellor of Trensincourt.  Duke Conrad argues by saying that he resigned or gave up that post, and Jason says he did nothing of the kind.  Unable to win the argument, Duke Conrad finally succumbs and lets him choose weapon.  Jason, unsure of what to say, chooses the first thing that comes to his head:  billiard balls.  Since Duke Conrad is unfamiliar with this type of duel, Jason tells him the “customs” of the fighting style, and Duke Conrad has it arranged as so.  They each pick a second, well at least Duke Conrad does.  Tark sort of volunteers himself to be Jason’s second.  Afterward Jason tells him his reasoning for picking the billiard balls.  He picked them because he can throw balls really hard and accurately, but if they were to duel with a rapier or sword he’d be cut into bits. 

Stay tuned….

Harthenham Cont'd: BEYONDERS

The next day Jason goes to the lounge to check the place out.  He sees one of the men there that he saw at his feast.  The man is eating some pie with purple berries.  There are very fat people there, and skinny hags, and all manner of miserable beings.  Trying to get away from this image, he walks over to the long black-haired man eating the pie.  The man starts talking and tells him his name is Drake, and that the pie he is eating is called Lumbaberry pie, and it is the most delicious thing in the world.  He tells him it does not provide real nourishment, but once you get hooked on it, it’s all you ever want to eat, so it gradually kills you.  Jason shudders at this thought and says that he’d rather skip the pie.  Then Drake tells him that the pie killed him three times, and that makes it obvious that Drake is a displacer.  Jason asks him how these people could do this to themselves, how Drake could do this to himself.  Drake sighs and tells him that he thought it would be good just to be ridden of all the opposition.  Jason offers to take him with him, and they can leave, but Drake turns down the offer.  The conversation ceases, and Drake tells him that Kimp, the one he knows he’s looking for, takes a bath in the bathhouse in the afternoon. 

After leaving the lounge, Jason explores the grounds a little bit more.  Jason then heads to the bathhouse in hopes that he will find Kimp there.  While walking there, he finds Tark sitting on a bench outside in the courtyard and sits down by him.  They start talking.  Jason was not expecting to see him there.  Tark tells him he was invited there because he killed some manglers, blew some stuff up, and therefore threatened Maldor.  He tells him how ashamed he is by coming here because he feels he just gave up again like last time, and it seems like that's all he's good for.  Jason tells him to come away with him because he's leaving after he gets the information he came for.  Tark's countenance changes into a look of hope and his face brightens.  Tark tells him he will go with him, and then he asks him why he's here, but Jason can't tell him.  They leave and he goes to the bathhouses in hope of finding Kimp.

That's enough for this blog, 
DINGBAT OUT!

Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Jason goes with Jasher and Rachel to Harthenham Castle where they drop him off and hide.  Jason rides and meets up with a horseman who escorts him to the castle, where he meets Duke Conrad, a very refined, clip-speaking man who wears a white uniform.  The castle is so beautiful, even beyond belief.  Duke Conrad takes Jason in and has him make the demands and orders for the welcoming feast and as to what he wants.  Jason is the guest of honor.  Jason tells Conrad that he wishes to be escorted to his room, rest a small while, and then promptly after attend the welcoming feast.  Jason goes to his room and is absolutely blown away.  He’s so drawn in that he fears it will soon become impossible to leave.  Anyway, Jason attends his feast at a big table which is strewn with guests, most of them obese.  Conrad takes his seat at one end of the table and Jason at the other.  On one side of Conrad, there is a bald man with tons of tattoos all over his head and face.  JACKPOT!  IT’S KIMP!  Servants come out with plates and platters towered high with food, sausages, etc. etc. etc. etc. ETC!!  There’s so much stuff.  Jason is soon disgusted at watching the really fat people just cram the food down their throats, dipping their hands in the clean water and wiping them and getting them dirty immediately again.  Jason tries to pace himself, eating everything in little portions, trying to look refined as the Lord of Caberton should be.  Then he notices him, it's TARK!  It’s the musician of the Giddy Nine!!!  He had no idea he was here.  Anyway, dessert finally comes and the first entree is the livers of a Wasitch.  A Wasitch is the only rodent who can eat a certain plant that is poisonous.  I can’t remember what it is.  Anyway, this makes their livers taste delectable.  Jason tastes one of the five on his plate pensively and then scarfs the rest down greedily.  The food here is the best he has ever had.  It is the best in this world.  Anyway, they finish eating and he goes off to bed.  


OK, we'll stop here.

DINGBAT OUT!

Pythoness: and Harthenham: BEYONDERS

Ok, so we left off where Rachel and Jason are going to the Pythoness's lair.  They are going through the water and it takes two days to get there.  Jasher rows all day both days.  (Big muscles - that’s hot!)  Anyway, excuse my teenage girl romance phase.  All girls go through it I expect.  I have a big crush on Jasher. 

Anyway, back to the story.  They arrive at this tree that is on a small island with a bunch of snakes on it.  It’s Jason's turn to take the risk so Rachel stands watch and he goes inside the tree.  He starts losing memory of the outside world as he gets deeper.  Why is he in a tree?  Wasn’t he supposed to be finding a word?  What word?  He couldn't remember.  What was his name?  He finally came to the end of the tunnel where he meets a girl who lives there.  She asks him who he is and he doesn't remember.  She then takes a puffball from the wall which she says is a mushroom and sticks it below his nose.  He remembers who he is, and what he's looking for, and who sent him.  She then gives him some cheese and sap and then water, and he tells about Galloran, and what he's become.  The girl said her mother was the real Pythoness, and died not long before Jason came.  Her mother had passed down the syllable to her, and she told it to him.  It was Rim.  They talked for a little bit.  He thought she was cute and liked her a lot.  She was only abou15 and had fair skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  She gave him some puffballs to take back so he could remember their conversation.  He starts walking out of the tree and forgets where he was.  Wasn’t he supposed to go in the tree?  Had already gone in the tree?  What happened?  Rachel asks him what happened and he sticks the puffballs to his nose and tells her.  After that, all three of them go into the tree, and none of them remember who they are.  They sleep there for the night because they don't want to have to deal again with the possibility of getting attacked by snakes.  So they sleep there for the night.  She tells them where the last syllable is.  It is at Harthenham, tattooed on Kimp's shoulder blade.  How lucky.  Jason was invited to the feast at Harthenham.  In order to get the word, they decide that Jason needs to attend the feast at Harthenham, but he must leave.  We’ll stop here.
That's a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Jasher and the Pythoness Part 1: BEYONDERS

I finished the BEYONDERS today, and I was already behind so I really am behind now.  We left off where they leave Ferrin only to be caught by another displacer.  He tells them to mount his horse if they like, but they will not escape.  So Jason and Rachel take the horse and ride out.  As promised, they are ambushed from nowhere and attacked by manglers.  They are surrounded by men with all different attire, spiked armor, lighter armor, and even no armor at all, or weapons.  Jason and Rachel have no choice but to surrender. They take their weapons, except for Rachel's Oriantum, because it is hidden in her robe.  All of a sudden, when they're about to be captured, there was a blazing flashing white light and three of the manglers and conscriptors blew apart on fire.  This man came riding in, slaughtering man after man, finding the weak points in their armor.  He had black or white hair, I can't remember.  He’s awesome!  He killed all the horsemen, and took three horses that were still alive and uninjured.  He told them his name was Jasher.  He is of the Amar Kabal, the People of the Seed.  He has a seed lodged in the back of his head and when he dies the seed dislodges from the skull and plants and hopefully grows a new Jasher.  I think he's died like 11- 14 times.  When a seed person dies, they a reborn at the same age that they first died.  In the Amar Kabal culture, there is a ceremony held at age 21, where they are killed.  This age is picked so that they can be born into adulthood, but still be very young, and have a good life ahead of them.  Also, if they feel they are getting to old, they can kill themselves or die on purpose so that they have full use of their body again. 

Jasher tells them he works for Galloran and that he's been keeping an eye on him from a distance, ever since Ferrin came aboard.  Anyway, they tell him about the word, and Rachel tells him that Malar told her that the second syllable is located in the lair of the Pythoness, and the Pythoness lies deep in the swamps, which are extremely dangerous to travel through.  Anyway, Jasher gathers up three uninjured horses, and they ride into the swamp.  Then they continue by foot.  Jasher uncovers a skiff that he has and they use it to start treading through the water.  Jasher tells Jason to watch out for green slime, which, if let on board, will eat a man until there is none left of him but his bones.  There are also a ton of poisonous snakes, mud vipers, etc.  They’re exceedingly nasty.  So anyway, let's save the whole Pythoness part for next time shall we?

That’s a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!

"CRIPPLE"

Ok, so I love sports.  I mean I absolutely love them. My favorite sport of all is basketball.  I love playing with the boys because I can show them that I'm not weak.  I'm not a girly girl in any respect.  But, being boys they can naturally be very mean to girls.  A lot of times they push me down, or trip me without knowing they did, or knowing they did, but being too rude to care.  A lot of the time, they make fun of me for falling down, which only makes me push myself harder.  A lot of the time, I'm too competitive for my own britches!!  Sometimes I push a little too hard and end up getting hurt, like today when I sprained my ankle by twisting it.  I limped in to the Quack's room to rest it so I wouldn't damage it more, and it started getting worse and worse.  I mean, come on!  I already sprained that ankle by playing ultimate Frisbee.  I didn't cry, but then again, when do I cry about receiving injuries?  I mean they don't hurt me at least.  So, the Quack gave me his "roley" chair so I could get to the front office to tell them what had happened.  Ms. Vicki took me upstairs to the nurse and she iced my ankle and put me in a wheel chair!  That was fun!  People were like "hey, I want to be in a wheel chair!!"  It was a little annoying though because everyone was like, "what happened?"  That got annoying, and then everyone was trying to help me.  That’s a no-no usually because I am extremely independent.  It was really fun though.  I popped wheelies!  My friends are really nice and caring to me.  One of them, Momo, who is very sarcastic and dorky kept calling me cripple every time he saw me.  That made me laugh because I know he meant it as a term of endearment. 

Well, that's a wrap,
DINGBAT OUT!!!!!

Master Project!!!!

Okay, so every other Tuesday we have a master project day at my school, meaning we have a short schedule so we are able to work on master project for two hours.  My sponsor is the Barbour, and he is so dang brilliant!  I tell him my ideas once, and they're pretty complex, and he is able to get it immediately and draw a very well thought out picture.  He is able to think it out more in 5 minutes than I am in weeks.  His idea for this particular thing was different, but impressive.  Wait wait wait, hold up.  Maybe I should tell you what my master project is.  My master project is to design a prosthetic limb that is anatomically correct and hooks up to the brain.  It will have millions of robotic bionic microscopic nerve endings and nerves that will be programmed to sense pressure, heat, pain, all sensations.  It will be like spider web of wires as Mr. Barbour pointed out.  At the end of each finger there will be a hub, which is the single controller and modifier and maintainer of all those nerves.  Then all 5 of those hubs controlling the nerves in each finger will be connected to another hub, which will hold all of the arm nerves as well, and this hub connecting all the nerves together will be connected to the mother controller which will be connected to the brain.  Complex huh?  Yeah, I think so too, but that's why I want to do it.  I love it when I accomplish things well beyond my years of complexity.  It builds my character, my confidence, how I feel about myself, and in turn, how I treat others, and it helps me be grateful and appreciative that I have teachers that cheer me on, and believe in me, and genuinely care for me.  All the teachers in my school mean so much to me and are amazing, but there are a select few who mean an aweful lot to me; namely The Quack, Shimmy Dude, The Barbour, The Short Man, The Sewards Rat and the Piercing Spear.  Also, the Dragon Lady.  I didn't like her at first but now I LOVE HER!!!

Well, that's a wrap!

DINGBAT OUT!

Tim's Place

This fall break I went to a place called Tim's place with my mom.  This restaurant is unique in a very special way.  It’s owned and run by a kid with Down syndrome named Tim.  Tim is so ADORABLE!!!!  His spirit is so big and sweet.  He has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met.  The philosophy there is special.  I remember we went in and his helpers opened the door for us.  You immediatlely feel right at home.  He shook our hand and walked us to our table.  The greatest thing is at the back of the menu there is his amazing story.  The motto he’s always gone by is:  "If you can dream it, you can do it."  This is so inspiring to me.  When you meet someone who has a sore trial in their life, yet they're accomplishing and doing things any "normal" person can do, it encourages you to work harder and believe in yourself.  It was so funny, we were eating and the music was playing, and he was jammin' out man!!!  It was awesome!!!  It was like he was at home, but of course; the sign in the front says "this is my happy place."  One more unique thing that no other menu has:  FREE TIM HUGS!!!!  This is the best part of Tim's place!!!  He gives the best hugs!! I don't even hug as well as he does, but then again, who does? When I hugged him, I felt his energy, his sweet calm loving happy energy which spreads like a wildfire.  It’s infectious.  My teacher Mr. G. used to say, the energy and mood that you exert affects others around you.  I mean in those few minutes we were there, I felt this special bond between him and me form.  He became my best friend.  I mean I'm almost crying.  That is how much this experience meant to me and how much he means to me.

Well, that's a wrap!!

DINGBAT OUT!!!!!