Have you ever met a sea faery?

If you had to think about the answer to that question then you definitely haven't. You can't mistake a sea faery for a land fairy or any other fairy-like creature for that matter.

Unlike land fairies (who live at the bottom of your garden in harmony with the pixies and the elves and all the animals), sea faeries are argumentative and can be quite ferocious. you will often see their arms bandaged with cobwebs because there has been a misunderstanding (they don't listen to each other well either) and one has sunk her teeth into anothers flesh. It doesn't do too much damage because although their teeth are all pointy, they are fairly blunt so there is only ever shallow flesh wounds.

Sea faeries live in the rockpools next to the oceans. They don't really like the beach itself (the big waves scare them), but on the first night of a half-moon they meet the mermaids in the breakers, discussing how they are going to get rid of coastal dwelling humans. They get sick of only being able to come out at night, and even then there are more and more people staying out on the beach until all hours of the morning.

These feisty girls (for they are all girls) eat mostly crab, but ever now and then, on special occasions, will gang up on a seagull. Their days are spend tplaying in the pools, jumping off the cliffs into the water, catching sand crabs and stabbing bluebottles with their spears (made from sea eagle feathers). They only sleep about two hours a day, napping at whatever time they get tired.

If you're out on the beach late at night, sit perfectly still for longer than an hour (to lull them into a false sense of security), and then listen for the sound of a healthy faery punch-up.

so once again i have decided to become a hippie.

i get these phases every few months, when my life becomes unbalanced once again, and i feel that i am lacking peace and for want of a better word 'zen'. you know, the balance between spiritual and mental and physical and everything. all i want to do is sit on the verandah early in the morning while the sun is still appearing, and do stretches while nature wakes up, with a mug of green tea and the sound of the birds.

but having no car (bring on the laughter), i have to wake up at 5.30am as it is, and for those who know me, I am NOT a morning person whatsoever. i have two alarms, both set for that deathly hour of the morning, and i snooze BOTH of them until 6 when i can finally convince myself to get out of bed. so you get the idea? mental discipline - not so good.

and work was getting me down today, so i decided that i should quit, sell my car, my materialistic possessions (eg. stereo, tv, mobile phone) and buy a one-way ticket to europe, just travelling to beautiful, out-of-the-way, intriguing places like morocco, portugal, luxembourg and tuscany... places that would restore my imagination and fulfill my longing for peace.

i know that in reality this isn't going to happen, so if anybody can suggest some ways that i can get my balance back, please let me know.

until then, i'm off to stand on my head in my quest for inner peace.

p.s. if anybody tells me that God is the answer, i will smack them on the head. i know what the answer is, however i am currently denying that this is going to solve my problem and want the non-existent alternatives that won't help anyway.

More writings from The Bus

There are 2 ladies sitting down towards the front. One looks to be in her 40's, the other in her 60's. From the way they are chatting, I believe that they are dear friends or mother and daughter. Or, more likely, both. The older one wears relatively trendy (read: not totally embarrassing) clothes for what is usual of her age group. Her hair is dyed brown. You can tell by the grey that betrays from underneath.
I wonder, what do you do with your life when you reach that age? Right now she is probably going shopping with her daughter, or maybe to a doctors appointment. She looks like a gardener though. The kind that isn't a fanatic, but enjoys the sun adn the feel of soil, and the rewards of those beautiful nastursiums that pop up. What will I do when I'm her age?

There's a guy, a very cool looking guy. The kind of guy that you would expect to see in baggy pants and no shirt at the Eumundi Markets firetwirling or playing the bongoes. He has hair that is halfway to dreadlocks, shoved up in a ponytail, and enough facial hair to tell the world that he knows he's good-looking but that he doesn't care what anybody thinks of him.
The Johnny Knoxville/Aviator sunglasses suit him, and the leather wristbands add to the hippie theme. But his shirt (advertising a Noosa butchershop) confuses me. Is that where he works? I mean, everybody has to work somewhere I guess, but a butchers just seems a little out of place. Or was it just a free promo shirt (but why would anybody wear that out to the plaza)?
I think though that by night he is a funny, artistic individual who enjoys firetwirling on the beach and juggling hackysacks. I hope so anyway. It would be so dissapointing to see a man of his looks not wearing a cheesecloth shirt.

Okay, so I've decided to make a composition of interesting characters from the bus. Not all of them have to be super interesting, but just the ones who intrigue me, who stand out because of who they are, or stand out because the go unnoticed. Here is my first few:

The Selected Cast from THE BUS

There is a lady sitting right near the front wearing a straw hat (with accompanying flowers). She also wears a white knit turtleneck and long black pants. More interestingly, she is wearing gloves. Black leather gloves. With a fully covered body and headgear, not to mention the gloves, this puts her into one of three categories.
a) she is a murderer or is at least on the run from manslaughter charges. those gloves covering her hands are her only hope for a free life.
b) she has chronic phobias about germs, dust, and other people's dead skin cells that are left on the bus seats or
c) she gets very cold hands.
Personally I like the second one.

Another young girl (who is most likely a couple of years younger than me) is listening to her ipod. Her hair shows signs of recent bleaching and is tied up with a little orange bauble hairtie. Her cheeks (I can only see the back of her head and a little of her left profile) captures the perfect ratio of concealer to blush blend, and until a moment ago I presumed her to be the typical 19-year-old preppy porcelain doll. But the trendily faded jeans and small silver hoops decieve from behind, and her studded lip and dark eye makeup intrigue me. Do china doll goths exist?

The girl behind china doll has been talking on her phone since we left. I peg her at around the 15ish age by the semi-straggly hair that says 'I haven't quite reached the age where I care 100% about what people think.' She wears pedal pushers (all the rage again so long as they have bows, which of course they do). Observing her, I think she's takling to her boyfriend. A long-term one. Friends you talk much more chattily with, mums much less so. New boyfriend conversations tend to get giggly. But she is listening intently, looking down, half-smiling, demure, and every now and then softly laughing. She thinks she has found love.

As you all know, I am now catching the bus. I did say that the bus would be a great time for me to read and write (something which I should do a lot more of, but haven't gotten round to). Now, I have no excuse, so here is the first of hopefully many random writings as part of my bus trip:

If I was flying I could visit the cloud angels. These aren't the same breed of angels that fly around the throne room of heaven, nor the warriors that watch our backs. These aren't even the cherubs and chubby babies with wings that exist only in fairytales.
These angels have only one God-given mission in life - to control the weather. you may laugh, but these beings take their jobs very seriously.

Taluga, the unofficial leader, is the mysterious type. Almost always in a dark mood, sunshine is the weather that dominates on his shifts, as is to be expected from a divine being full of contradictions - it just comes with the persona.

Eff is the cheeky one (there is always one in every group). One day when he was bored he came up with sun showers. enough said.

Tirria sees the beauty in storms and winter, and brings rain so she can snuggle into a warm cloud, drinking hot stars and daydreaming.

The angel only known as 'Clash' is famous for his favourite pasttime - making noise. Thunder, Lightning and Wind are his best mates. When Clash has his finger in the weather it annoys Adri who takes the night shift most of the time, and so sleeps all day.

Adri believes that the world's population should be spread evenly over all continents. He punishes the cities by covering the stars with clouds, but will pinch a few hundred extra stars from the next galaxy just to make the country people smile.

Think that the weather is just a by-product of natural circumstances? Think again.

Malisse just bought me moo cow socks!!! *happy dance*

just a quick note to say that i officially hate airports with a vengeance, and i'm going off to become a hermit.

that means i'm abandoning society.

goodbye.

I wish that I could just sit and write something beautiful and poetic, and that it would all pour forth like a rushing waterfall (terrible use of cliches).

Mind you, I do have a brand new pen (and its a nice one!) so that does help.

I think that about half the inspiration lies in the pen. Not the imagination part, that's not what I said, because obviously a pen is an inanimate object and can't think for itself. But the other half of inspiration - the motivation to write, to see lovely flowing words written across the page, that half can be caused by a single pen.

A pen that is too decorative, has objects or fluffy things hanging off it has too much character of its own. It dulls inspiration because it distracts, taking concentration away from the writing that is trying to form. Yet a plain ballpoint pen often just won't do (there are a few exceptions to the rule, a few ballpoints that have been able to work with my thoughts, but these are rare, and my point is that they don't create motivation, being too ugly and ignorant to be of any help). The ordinary pen does not inspire at all, does not motivate your mind.

No, what you need is a nice, slightly weightier felt tip or gel pen, one that has a lid and a metal clip on the side, perfect for playing with or sucking on when musing over a thought. These pens produce pure genius on paper, and as a bonus are also quite good for absent-minded doodling. Be warned, however, about the gel pens. If you aren't careful, the will get away from you!

So this is my expert advice on choosing the right pen for your writing career (or simply for everyday use).

For those of you who found it quite boring (as most of you probably will), feel free to leave me a comment. For those like Rhys who will completely understand, sympathise and possibly even agree, also feel free to leave me a comment (and kudos!).

If you think I'm a nutter give me kudos anyway, because you are 100 orrect.

Yours in freehand,

Mandy xxx

i have not fallen off the face of the earth.

i promise.

i have had so much stuff on. weddings, birthdays, work, more birthdays, youth, home group, church, more birthdays, work, no sleep.

yesterday i got home at 4.30pm, went to bed and didn't wake up til 6.30 this morning. crazy huh?

i'm not really in the mood to write a long blog, i'm sorry. i'm actually supposed to be writing an assignment.

sweet dreams.
the absent fairy queen xxx

hold my head up high

no, i don't have a self-esteem problem. just finishing the line of the song for those who don't know it.

but it's been forever and a day since i've posted anything. terrible i know. in fact, because it's MY blog, and not just anybody's, then i suppose it really classes itself as a tragedy!

what have i been doing? oh so much!

work, of course. uni, part-time. i have two subjects this semester the first being cor109 (communication and thought) a.k.a we will attempt to teach you how to write an essay which those of you under 25 will most probably already know how to do - i think it's a great course for those who aren't sure, but i wish that we could just elect to do it.

my other subject is 'editing for the communications professional'. i find myself constantly struggling to remember what an adjective is, and the difference between a verb and an adverb. what is a conjunctive? or is it a conjunctive sentence? what is the difference between a complex and a conjunctive sentence? how do i rewrite this sentence in an active voice with a positive structure? you get my drift. confusing.

this is the fourth week of uni, and tonight i attended my second tutorial for cor109. no lectures. my excuse for missing the last one? to cut a long story short: it was raining. yep, that's my excuse! lol. for my other class, well, the hairdressers told me that i would be finished in plenty of time to get to uni. apparently not so! oh well. cest la vie, hey michael.

i have body butter on the backseat of my car. as in, the container leaked so it's all still on there. i should actually go and get it off, but i got distracted by the sparkliness of cyberspace and i figure it's been there for the best part of 24 hours anyway, right? what a waste of body shop brazil nut body butter.

at the moment my plate is also full with youth & church and stuff, which i am absolutely loving. no smart comments for you atheists and cynics out there (you know who you are!) as of next week i will be running the grade 8-10 girls home group which will be so much fun, and hopefully amazing for the girls too. i have so many plans... i want them to find themselves now, instead of getting to 20 and a half and realising what the key is. and not finding themselves in the airy fairy mystical way, but being able to wake up in the morning and still like themselves even if they are having a bad hair day or a fat day or an ugly day or a nothing to wear day. knowing that their confidence doesn't depend on how hot they look, or how many guys have asked them out, but finding out how amazing they are inside and recognising their skills and gifts and using them to their fullest extent. learning to enjoy themselves.

i like hats and fairy bread.