I was very bored the other day so I went and had a look at www.funny.com. This picture was in the most popular pictures of all time! The picture is of a mural painted above a designated smoking area. Me not being a smoker, I found it quite funny, but I can imagine seeing someone who does smoke seeing it and feeling a bit guilty! (About what they may be doing to their body). What do you think about it? Comment please.

2008 has been one of the greatest years I’ve had so far, I think! I have been involved in so much, and everything has been very rewarding. Some of my highlights were speeches, Wearable Arts, ski trip, and the Shoemaker and the Elves. This year feels like it has gone so fast, but I can’t wait for 2009 to start. Because next year I will be a year 8, so everything will be twice as busy! I’m not complaining though, everything is rewarding in the end. (By the way, I’m sorry I haven’t updated my blog in a while, I have just been so busy this term with athletics, my dance production, Christmas preparation, lip sync and magazine work).

Some of my goals next year are…

Getting a role in the school production,
hopefully achieving class councillor, then head student (or maybe house captain),
going on the Ski Trip again,
making the school magazine twice as good as this year (if that’s possible),
being a good role model to all the new year 7’s,
continuing my music lessons with the trombone,
continuing participating in school drama,
and maybe joining another cultural option like Jump Jam or dance.

Wish me luck!

A shower of glass was suddenly launched into the air, soon cascading to the ground. All down the street, front doors began to open and people came out of their houses in dressing gowns and pyjamas, wondering what on earth the noise was. The police cars all rolled to a stop, and officers jumped out armed wih dangerous weapons. A huge array of dogs accompanied them not long after. But everything began to blur up in Jack’s sight, as he saw how bad the damage was to Darren’s car. There was no way he could have survived the crash. Rain mixed with tears seeped down his cheeks. He knew that Jack was a very bad man, but he could not help but feel sorry for him after all that they’d been through.

The dogs began to howl. But their mournful tones started to melt into a very strange noise. Almost like… a whining cat! Jack opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around. He seemed to be still lying in his garden. Amber was sitting next to him whining and whinging, trying to wake Jack up. Jack rubbed his head- he must have hit it on something and been knocked out. Come to think of it… there was a small tree resting right next to him. He got up and picked Amber of the ground, then began to walk back towards his house. Jack’s dream was slowly coming back to him now. He thought it had something to do with all the cats acting strangely, his neighbour Darren, and a lot of police dogs. Jack scratched Amber’s head as he opened the back door.

“Listen, do I have a story to tell you!”

THE END

Jack, as quickly and as quietly as he could, opened his door and slipped out into a shower of rain. Since they had stopped in a suburban area, he was able to find a dripping bush to hide behind. He heard Darren call out his name. Jack crouched down and tried not to make a noise. The last thing he wanted was for Darren to find him. To think he had trusted such a creep.

What am I going to do? Jack started to worry when he realised how desperate his situation was. It was pouring with rain. He was alone with a mass murderer in the middle of some strange town, with no way to escape or get home. Except…

Maybe those animals really are police dogs! It was Jack’s only hope. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer and closer anyway. The sound of an engine revving up met Jack’s ears- Darren must have realised that Jack knew his plan. He was driving away! Jack waited for the sound of Darren’s car to fade, then leaped out from behind the bush. He then started to walk down to the other end of the street. Hopefully, if luck was on his side, there would be police officers with the dogs.

Suddenly, the growing sound of footsteps stopped, and was replaced by a police siren. It got louder and louder, until a line of police cars appeared at Jack’s end of the street, along with Darren’s green van. Jack quickly dived behind a hedge and watched. Darren seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid being caught. He swerved from side to side, and gained speed. The van got faster and faster, finally spinning out of control. It skidded through a puddle, then crashed into a huge tree.

To be continued…

Darren quickly turned around and started fumbling around in his bag.

“Hurry Darren, they’re coming fast!” Jack was right. The pounding of huge paws on the ground was getting louder and louder. Darren turned around. He had a sheepish look on his face.

“Uh… I don’t know how to break this to you, but I packed the wrong bag.”

“WHAT?!” Jack shrieked. “What are we going to do!?”

“Run for it!” yelled Darren. Him and Jack sprinted the long distance back to the van and dived inside. They drove in tense silence for around 5 minutes. Then, a spluttering noise met their ears, and the van slowed to a stop.

“There must be something wrong with the engine”, muttered Darren as he looked at the fuel gage- which was almost full. Darren hopped out of the van and jogged around to the bonnet. While Jack waited, a newspaper clipping met his eye. It was poking out from under the seat.

‘NOTORIOUS MASS MURDERER DARREN HENRY ESCAPES’ read the title. The article had a picture too. it was of a younger Darren holding Cupcake as a kitten. Jack froze. This couldn’t be right. Darren- a murderer? The date on the top of the page read: 12/5/06. This meant that supposedly, Darren had been on the run for over 2 years. Jack now felt even more scared than before. What if all of this was just a plan for Darren to get to Jack? His mind started to work furiously. It was all making sense to him now. Darren had moved next door two years ago. Amber acting strangely- she must have known about Darren’s plans somehow. All of the lies about dogs- Darren must have made them up in an attempt to take Jack away to a remote place. But then what could the huge animals have been? Fake…unless they were police dogs! Maybe the police had found out about Darren’s plans.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps met Jack’s ears. Darren was coming back to the van!

To be continued…

Darren and Jack climbed the staircase to the outside world, and trudged over to Darren’s beat up green van. Jack, following Darren’s lead, threw his bag into the backseat and hopped inside.

“So, where exactly are we going, Darren?” Jack asked.

Darren laughed. “Right to the edge of our town, young man!”

He revved up his engine and the van started to creep along the driveway, windows rattling. Jack breathed a sigh of relief once they reached the road, for he knew that he wouldn’t be in danger of waking up his sleeping parents anymore.

Ten minutes later, the roads started to turn more dusty. Jack poked his head out the open window and could smell the scent of dryed up shrubs. The dark landscape in front of them displayed a desert-like scene. Jack’s thoughts were suddenly halted- he could actually hear the chirping sound of cicadas! Up until now, the harsh rain had blocked out any noise except raindrops clashing with materials. But the rain had stopped, and Jack could even detect a flowery scent among the smell of dryed shrubs.

The old green van slowed to a stop, and Darren jumped out the door, beckoning Jack to follow him.

“Grab the bags on your way out!” he called, and Jack obeyed. Jack and Darren started to trek across the desert. They stopped walking around fifteen minutes later.

“Here we are!” said Darren. Suddenly, a mournful howl consumed their ears. All too quickly, silhouettes of large animals appeared on the horizon.

“Darren! What do we do?!” Jack shrieked.

To be continued…

Jack scrambled out of his chair, dusted himself off- then stopped.

“Darren? How do we get out?” he inquired.

“Ah.” said Darren. “I forgot to mention that. There’s a staircase over there.” He pointed to the far corner of the room. Jack couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before! Jack thanked and told Darren that he would see him later, and climbed up the staircase. He heaved open the trapdoor that appeared above him, and poked his head out. He seemed to be on the edge of Darren’s garden. He scrambled up and out, while closing the trapdoor behind him. The garden was a beautiful sight, even in the, still wet, darkness. Jack could tell that it looked spectacular during Spring. He ran across the garden and jumped the fence into his backyard.

As he was about to take a step forward his foot connected with something squishy- and soft. Amber! She screeched and ran towards the back door. Jack followed her, opened the door and she dashed inside. Jack glanced at the clock- 11:00pm. He set his watch to go off at 5:15am. Then he threw on some pyjamas and settled in for the night.

* * *

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! Jack’s watch woke him a with a fright. It was still dark and rainy outside. He rolled out of his bed and toppled onto the floor. He knew he wouldn’t have any time for breakfast, so instead just quietly put some clothes on, being wary of the fact that his parents were still sound asleep.

I suppose I’d better get ready. Jack thought, and spotted his backpack by the door. He threw in some food from the fridge and his drink bottle. He also included his pocket knife set. The door loomed appealingly at him, so he gave up on doing anything else and exited the house.

Back in his study, Darren was waiting excitedly for Jack. As soon as he arrived, Darren lept out of his chair.

“Okay mate, let’s go!”

Sorry about this, but this picture I took of my cat is so cute that I just had to show it to you!

“W-what are you d-doing here?” Jack stammered. “What’s g-going on? Who’s coming at d-d-dawn?”

Darren sighed. “I knew this day would come. My hideout is too obvious for the adventurous types.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I might as well start from the beginning. Take a seat.”

Jack sat.

Darren continued to stroke Cupcake. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a sixth sense. The ability to predict the future and the present. Normally it works in favour of me- such as this time. I built this study to give myself a place to think and research my abilities.

“About 3 weeks ago, a strong feeling of anxiety began to creep into my system. I had dreams and visions of a gang of vicous dogs coming for our town. I know it sounds strange, but it’s true. I researched it, and found out that these dogs are known all over the world as a myth, and that they cause cats to become out of character. Hence Cupcake venturing out of the house.”

“And Amber hating warm milk” said Jack quietly.

Darren continued. “I even managed to find the exact time and date that these canines would arrive. Tomorrow at 6:00am. But now, since I have told you everything, the offer becomes more apparent. Would you come with me to help ward the dogs off?”

Jack sat up. “Are you mad?! Of course I will! Anything to get Amber back to normal!”

“Great then!” Darren clapped his hands together. “I knew, as soon I saw you come through that bookcase, that you were the perfect helper. Only a true adventurer could figure out how to get down here. Shall I meet you back here then, at say, 5:00am?”

“Sure!” said Jack.

To be continued…

Jack’s head was suddenly abuzz with questions. Who were ‘they’? Why were they coming? Where was Cupcake? How did she get out? His eyes traced the path of the paw prints. They began at the bean bag underneath the trapdoor, and finished right where he was kneeling. They were a little scuffed where they stopped, so Jack guessed that she either had to jump, stand on her hind legs, or crawl to get to the exit. Jack remembered a story he had read when he was younger. It was about a boy who was trapped in a room, and the only way he could get out was through the bookcase. How had he done it? It was right on the verge of Jack’s mind… 

He got up and paced back and forth in front of the bookcase. Maybe it was blocking something- the exit could be behind it. Jack walked over to a side and pulled. Nothing happened. It wouldn’t even budge!  

Suddenly, Jack’s eyes caught sight of something. It was a book called ‘Handles’. The author was ‘Ima Doorknob’.

That’s ironic, thought Jack. Too ironic. He walked over to it and tried to pull it off the shelf. A faint ‘click’ was heard, and the entire bookcase swung towards him. Jack was hit and flew back towards the beanbag. He wasn’t put off, however, and jumped up straight away -but somewhat cautiously- to meet the sight before him.

His eyes slowly took in what he was seeing. It was Cupcake, proudly purring, and sitting in the lap of Jack’s 50- something year old neighbor, Darren. One hand being used to stroke Cupcake, Darren leered at Jack from a rickety old rocking chair.

‘I see you’ve found my study.’

To be continued…

Jack scrambled under the dripping flowers and readied himself to jump down into the trapdoor. Then a terrifying noise stopped him. It sounded like an animal hissing- but it didn’t sound like Amber. He slowly turned around and found himself face to face with the neighbor’s cat, Cupcake. Her normally calm ginger face was twisted into a snarl. Jack froze.

How could this be Cupcake? She never comes out of her house- especially in the rain. He made a fast, loud noise- but Cupcake didn’t budge. She didn’t even run away like her usual self would. What could Jack do? Suddenly, Cupcake pounced. Jack rolled sideways out of the way, and Cupcake went sprawling down the open trapdoor.

Phew. Jack quickly scanned the dark garden for any more strange happenings, but seeing nothing, turned back around and followed Cupcake down the trapdoor. He fell in darkness for a few seconds, but then landed with a thump on top of something. Something soft. He looked down and realized that he was sitting on top of a squishy bean bag.

What the heck… Jack’s eyes swept the room and they fell upon a dusty wooden floor, a table with a lit candle on it, a full bookcase, and another bean bag. It was some kind of secret room. A rush of fear and confusion came to Jack- the candle was already lit! Somebody had been in here, and they were definitely human. How could a cat light a candle?

Cupcake! Jack suddenly remembered. Where was she? He lifted up the bean bags, checked under the table, and scanned the floor. Nothing. Not a trace of fur anywhere. Just a few paw prints in the dust leading to the bookcase… Jack jumped in shock- he hadn’t noticed those before. He followed them, but they came to a halt at the bottom shelf. Then something caught his eye- a note sticking out of one of the books. The book was called ‘Canines from Afar’. Jack pulled the note out. Written on it, in scrawled messy handwriting, were the words;

“They will come at dawn.” 

To be continued…

A saturated Jack, once again, peered through a small tree. Nothing. How was he supposed to find out what had happened to Amber with no clues, leads, or hints?

Wait a minute. Jack stopped. Where was it that he had found Amber before?

Under the kitchen window! Jack remembered. He jogged over to the flower bed under the window, only pausing to flip his umbrella the right way in again. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning lit up the gloomy sky. In the brief light Jack glimpsed something hiding underneath some withered lillies. A pair of eyes.

“Amber!” Jack hissed. Startled by Jack’s voice, she sprung out from under the flowers and whisked herself off into the shadows. Jack groaned loudly. Deciding that Amber could look after herself for a while, Jack bent down to examine the ground that his cat had just deserted. He reached out a hand and felt around in the dirt. Then his hand bumped into to something that felt suspiciously hard.

“A padlock!” he whispered excitedly. Jack fished around in his pockets for a paperclip and began to pick the lock. With a small ‘tuh’ it sprang apart. Abandoning his umbrella, Jack put both hands under the flowers and brushed away the dirt. A wooden square began to formulate. A trapdoor! Jack heaved it open and peered inside.

To be continued…

Oh man, where is she?

Jack adjusted his hold on the umbrella, and bent down to peer through a small tree. It was a raining, cold, dark night, and Jack was searching around his family’s garden trying to find his pet cat, Amber. He regretted letting her out earlier, because he knew how much she hated thunderstorms. Jack squinted through the raindrops, thinking that he had seen something under the kitchen window. He crept over and gingerly poked the lump.

A piercing screech filled the damp air, and Amber shot out from under the window and flew through the open back door. Jack ran a hand through his light brown hair and breathed a sigh of relief. He let down his umbrella and followed Amber through the door.

Inside the cosy suburban house, Amber was quivering beneath a table. Her eyes glowed in the bright light as she watched Jack prepare a saucer of warm milk.

“Here Amber! Come here!”

Jack coaxed her towards him and set the saucer down on the wooden floor. Amber crept over to it, caught a whiff, and streaked back under the table. This is very unlike her, Jack wondered, warm milk is her favourite drink. A crack of thunder ignited the silence and sent Amber in a whirlwind sprint towards the open towel cupboard door. She soon darted out and ran back towards the table, then began to frantically lick her paws. Now this is wierd, thought Jack. Something strange happened out there, and I’m going to find out what it is.

He grabbed his umbrella and stepped through the back door, not noticing Amber sneaking past him and running into the darkness.

To be continued…

It was interval, and my friends and I were sitting around talking and eating. One of my friends said that she had seen a dead ginger cat on our street. The words hit me like a bomb. I pestered her for more information, and the description she gave me sounded just like my cat. She said that it was after I had left to go on the bus. I could picture my cat chasing a stray pet across the road without checking for cars. All day these horrible thoughts ran through my mind and I found it hard to concentrate on any of my school work. All I wanted to do was go home and check if it was my cat who had been hit by a car. On the bus ride home, I started to feel sick. We were nearing my house and I would be getting off soon. The girls next to me started talking about their pet cats, and I felt like crying. We turned on to my road, and I scanned the ground outside my house for a trace of ginger fur. There was nothing. I got off the bus and looked down the whole street – there was no fur or anything. I couldn’t find any cat at all! I walked up our driveway and went into our house. I looked around, and I found my cat, alive and well, outside on the deck! I gave her a huge hug, and texted my best friend; ‘SHES ALIVE!!!’

This just goes to show that you shouldn’t believe everything you hear, and that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. After this happened, I gave my cat, Jaffa, so much attention that she ended up getting a bit frustrated with me. So when your mum, or dad, or dog, or someone, gives you a hug in the morning before school, don’t brush it off, hug them back because it just might be the last time you see them.

“Education Ministry figures show a 41 per cent increase in girls being stood down, suspended or kicked out of school for assaults between 2002 and 2006. But the way violence is dished out appears to be changing. Experts point to a new gang-like mentality among schoolgirls whereby a popular “queen bee” uses friends to bully or hurt others to reinforce her power.

Secondary Principals’ Association president Peter Gall said schools were seeing not only more overt physical violence by girls, but a big increase in cyber-bullying – sending nasty text messages and e-mails, or putting humiliating images or words on the Internet.” -Stuff.

I was looking around at stuff.co.nz, and I stumbled across this article. The information wasn’t new to me, but I decided to share it with whoever reads my blog, incase they ever come across a situation that involves cyber/mental bullying. I think this is a much worse variation to bullying than the physical kind. Because in some cases, words can hurt far more than hits. It contradicts the old saying; ’sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’. Bruises and cuts heal a lot faster than a wounded soul. If you are ever aware of somebody being bullied in this or any other way, I think you should stick up for them, and help them get through it. If you ever get stuck in a cyber bullying problem, I think a good way to deal with it would be to try and ignore whoever the bully is, and tell someone you trust and/or know will help you fix the problem. I have never exactly been a target in cyber or mental bullying, but I am sure to watch out for it. I advise you to as well.

“Myanmar’s state media said Cyclone Nargis killed at least 22,980 people and left 42,119 missing.

American diplomat Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Yangon, said the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because safe food and water were scarce and unsanitary conditions widespread.

The situation is “increasingly horrendous,” she said in a telephone call to reporters. “There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks.”

A few shops reopened in the Irrawaddy delta, but they were quickly overwhelmed by desperate people, said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in Bangkok, Thailand, quoting his agency’s workers in the area.

“Fistfights are breaking out,” he said.

A Yangon resident who returned to the city from the delta area said people were drinking coconut water because there was no safe drinking water. He said many people were on boats using blankets as sails.

Local aid groups distributed rice porridge, which people collected in dirty plastic shopping bags, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared getting into trouble with authorities for talking to a foreign news agency.

U.N. officials estimated some 1 million people had been left homeless in Myanmar, which also is known as Burma.” – http://www.kansascity.com/449/story/609158.html

Cyclone Nargis, which hit near Thailand, struck on the 2 & 3 of May 2008. I think this is a really horrible thing to happen. Cyclone Nargis was worse than Hurricane Katrina (for more info click here), which is saying quite a lot! It is horrible to think about the fact that now 1,000,000 more people are homeless due to this disaster. It’s even more horrible to think that at least 20,000 were killed too. I read at www.stuff.co.nz that New Zealand has donated $500,000 to aid the relief agencies in Myanmar. I was actually quite proud when I saw that! It’s great to know that our country is contributing to the funds. My heart goes out to the people in Myanmar who are suffering because of this terrible cyclone. I hope the rest of us can pull ourselves together, to do everything we can to help.

Do you like my new theme? It’s a photo of my 16 year old cat, Jaffa, that I took this morning. I was getting bored with my old theme, so I wanted to change. Many thanks to Milly for showing me how to make the header into a photo. And vice versa! Oh, and sorry the photo’s a little pixelated. It came up really huge when I downloaded it, so I had to shrink it to fit.