A ticking time bomb

Well my moving plans have changed so it's back to looking for a place of my own now. Asha, I hope you don't mind me staying on a bit longer. Knowing my luck if I had gotten a place then it probably would have had a tree growing through it by now.

Ken is hoping to come back to the island soon - he got an urgent call from Gringotts a couple of days ago about an artifact. He's really annoyed he's missed the forest and keeps sending me advice about cursebreaking spells, despite me telling him fifty times over that this isn't the same thing.

I haven't seen the predator that's rumoured to be about, but I'm not taking any chances and am keeping the kids in sight whenever they're in my charge. Of course they think all the trees are the coolest thing ever.

So far the New Year is looking good. I've quit two of my extra jobs, but took on the role of nanny to Maggie's kids. No, I am not wearing a starched apron and little hat, or using an umbrella to fly about. I like being around the kids, just when I think I'm too jaded they find something to marvel about and I feel like I'm seeing things all fresh and new.

Thank you to those who gave me presents. Hopefully the chocolates and flowers I sent out to people reached you all.

Ken has been roaming the island, exploring and poking his nose into everything. He's got such twitchy feet, no wonder Mum despairs of him ever settling down. But then he wouldn't be Ken, would he?

Managed to score another part-time job today - at the resort, doing general maintenance. So that brings the grand total to four now. I hoped the guard duty wouldn't last so long but the merpeople aren't letting up. Annoying.

Ken is on his way, he finds the whole unplottable island thing highly amusing, but that's Ken for you. He should be here by Tuesday and is expecting a big welcome (Corrie, Asha, I'm looking at you).

Okay, have to get back to work now.

Got an email from Ken today. Apparently the island is unplottable now? So he might be delayed.

How the hell did that happen? Is is the merpeople? A couple of them almost drowned me the other day - guarding these boats is more hazardous than you'd think!

Less than two weeks to Christmas and I'm blanking on present ideas right now. If there's anything you desperately want, sing out now.

I got some extra work helping as back-up to protect the beaches etc from mer-people. It's not a lot of money, but it's adding to my savings so I can't complain.

What I am going to complain about is the amount of rent people are charging. As yet I haven't been able to find a decent flat that is within budget and it's getting frustrating. I'd really like to be settled before Ken comes but that's looking more and more unlikely.

At this rate I'll need another part-time job, but will that cause me to keel over from exhaustion?

My brother is coming to the island for Christmas! I just received the email and he's promised he'll be arriving around the 20th and will stay until after New Year if not a bit longer.

Hopefully I have a new place by then. Not that I don't appreciate Asha's hospitality, but I can hardly ask her to put up with both of us!

Electricity is back on in Excalibur and I've been working to help restore the network - which is why there is net access now.

My apartment is a wreck though. Substandard building doesn't stand up very well to rough weather. At least protecting my equipment meant it pulled through all right, but I'll need to find somewhere else to live soon - shelter living is a tad depressing.

On the plus side - the pigeon population has reduced considerably.

I'm not evacuating. There are still shelters to finish and also they need people with techie knowledge just in case connections get knocked down. I've put all my gear in waterproof storage, so that's safe. Hopefully the apartment will hold out.

Everyone take care!

I put up my hand to help with the shelter building, even though it's unlikely this hurricane will hit us. I except even so, there'll be a lot of wind and rain in the next couple of days. Reminds me of the time a typhoon swept past the coast of Japan when I was a kid. I really wanted to see it and had this mad thought that if I could just get it to sweep me away, then I really could land in Oz. So I ventured to the harbour and the wind was so strong, it knocked me off my feet and into a somersault. I thought it was brilliant fun and ran into the wind for more. The rain started, drenching me to the skin, but before I could wind-somersault again, a policeman dragged me indoors. So I never got to experience it for a second time, and now I'm too big to get blown over. Pity.

I loathe, despise and hate bloody fucking pigeons! Bloody rats with wings! Can't a bloke take a walk without the little bastards bashing him in the face AND crapping on him?

Bloody shirt completely ruined.

This is the first time I've actually been working on Halloween and it was very entertaining, more than I actually expected. There were a couple of hiccups in the form of a drunken pirate and the girl who decided that my jacket was the perfect thing to throw up on - luckily it only got ON the jacket and not anywhere else. Of course then people started asking about the tattoo on my back and what it meant. My stories got a little wild by the end of the night, but really, it's better spinning something silly than telling customers you can't remember why or when you got it. At least when I did get it I had enough wit to get something decent, rather than an embarrassing love heart or pin-up girl.

For those who are curious, the words are:

The pleasures of the mighty are the tears of the poor
~ Latin proverb

A song will outlive all sermons in the memory.
~ Giles, Henry

Hope to the End
~ um... not sure, but hey, it's a nice thought, right?

Tomorrow should be interesting and I think it'll go well. We're all as prepared as we can be and the place looks great. Hopefully no one will get drunk and stupid!

Sometimes you have to ask... what is the bloody point of even trying?

Also, being paralysed? Not fun. Especially when your nose itches.

I swear, white shirts are like a magnet for dirt. You could stand completely still in a completely clean room and it's a guarantee that there will be a smudge somewhere on your shirt in a short space of time.

At least waiting for the laundry to dry is an excellent excuse to find strange things on the internet.



Tomorrow - swimming.

Nothing cheers me up like watching the antics from 'Top Gear'. Ken introduced me to this old show years back and it's good to see the clips are still around.



Brilliant, just brilliant.

( Section private for Shin's eyes only )

It was good to call Mum last night and reassure her that I have found a job already. Ken was there too and we had a long chat. Corrie and Asha, he sends his love. Not that he used those exact words, but you know Ken, I'm sure you can fill in the correct language.

My neighbours are still having marathons in bed. I ended up charming the wall so I can't hear them, but they hear me. Ha ha.

Finally everything is sorted and I'm settled in. Not without about three interruptions though, two phone calls from Mum and Ken, and one irate neighbour. Yes, I've already managed to piss off my neighbour only five hours after moving in, this must be a new record.

I suppose I could have kept my mouth shut, but you see, this place doesn't have very thick walls even though it's fairly new (must be some cost cutting - typical) and after three hours of unwillingly listening to the neighbours getting funky, I was getting fed up - I blame the lack of sleep, I'm always a bit niggly if I don't get a full six hours. So I banged on the wall and said: "Lady, I don't really need to hear how great his winkle is, so how about keeping it down?"

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rings and I open the door to see this huge bloke standing there. Six feet four or something and broad. But I didn't think that he could probably turn me into a pretzel if I didn't move away, my main thought as I looked at him was 'how the hell does he cope in such a tiny space?'. Because really, these studio flats are small! The bathroom is a shoe box and even I, at five eight (and on my own), feel a bit cramped.

Anyway, me staring at him in bemused amazement and not reacting to the blather about my 'rudeness' (yeah, so what, I've heard worse, matey) seemed to creep him out because instead of trying to turn me into a pretzel, he just finished some laughable comment about consideration and stomped off. I think he heard me laughing... actually I really hope he did.

Okay, my bed calls me to sleep. I'll sort out the rest of my life tomorrow and see if I can piss off the other neighbour as well. My life just won't be complete otherwise.

Also need to find a job, things to do, oh, and go for a swim.

Which leads me to one last question - why didn't they locate this island somewhere warm?

( Shin Li )