Thursday, February 12, 2004 - Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been making some changes to this website. So, what's been happening to Yuoo these past few days? Well, it's a lot more than I care to put in one diary entry. There's something I want to tell you about, but I'll have to think about it first before I write it down. In the meantime, here is an email that Yuoo forwarded to me. It's from one of his classmates, Kaya the red squirrel.
FWD: (written April 4, 2003)
Hi Yuoo,
This is Kaya from your Spanish class. I sat at the back of the room kinda in the corner – to the right of where you used to sit. Yesterday in class I was wondering where you had been, so we asked our teacher Lissa and she mentioned that you had withdrawn. When she mentioned that the whole class got kinda quiet, and I think we were all pretty bummed out that you had left.
Then we talked about you for like 5 minutes - how you made the classroom more fun and how you weren't afraid to share your opinions and how you always were putting in a great effort.
Lissa missed you too.
I remember the time you and I were talking about Don Quijote and how you posed a lot of interesting questions that I had never thought about before.
I just want you to know that you will be missed from good ole Spanish class. I know that sometimes creatures laughed at you, but that is a reflection of their own insecurities. I think sometimes they laughed at you, but that is a reflection of their own insecurities. I think they were just not used to being around someone as unique as you! You really brought a lot to the class and it is definitely not the same without you.
I hope everything goes well and it'd be cool if you stopped by our class sometime! If you ever need to talk or need any help with anything, feel free to e-mail me back! I appreciate how kindly you treated everyone, and it was nice having you in my class.
Take care!
--Kaya Redbrush
- - - - -
Yuoo told me that Kaya's letter has really helped him feel better this semester.
Friday, February 13, 2004 - Today is Friday the 13th, but we don't mind because neither Yuoo nor I are superstitious. Yesterday, Yuoo mailed his very first Valentine's Day card. I mean, he's made Valentine cards in elementary school and for his parents, but yesterday, Yuoo mailed a Valentine to Jesika Starwatcher, the arctic fox. I'm glad for Yuoo because everyone needs a friend. Yuoo bought a digital print of a painting depicting a fox running through the woods. On the back of this picture, Yuoo wrote her a nice note of friendship. Carollo the ferret told Yuoo that he's going to cook Valentine's Day dinner for his girlfriend. Yuoo helped him select a menu: Cornish hens, mashed potatoes, cheesy broccoli, sparkling cider, and chocolate fondue. I hear that animals aren't supposed to eat chocolate in the real world, but this isn't the real world. I feel sorry for Adam. Adam is a hedgehog, one of the brothers at Mortar Abbey. His birthday happens to be Valentine's Day (tomorrow), so this morning he found that his truck was filled (inside and out) with red, white, and pink balloons! That was funny!
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - Something very wonderful has happened! Mander is getting married!!! Hurray!!! A few days ago, Nathan proposed to her. He gave her a ring made from a magnolia blossom and vine twine. Yuoo is really happy about this. Yuoo has seen other friends get married before, but this is the first time that his heart is involved in it. He has known Mander for quite a while, and he's astounded by how far she's gotten, despite all of the things against her. I know this is sounds strange, but Yuoo told me that he's so happy for Mander, Yuoo feels like *he's* the one getting married! Mander hasn't chosen a date for the wedding yet, but Yuoo has been invited. He plans to play a song on the piano during the wedding. Today, Yuoo went to the university library to read the story of Reynard the Fox. Yuoo learned about a famous Medevial ballad poem about Reynard, and Yuoo decided to read it so he could learn about his mythological heritage. Yuoo went to the section of the library for very old, non-circulating books. To read this book, he had to fill out a legal form. The book was printed in the 1850's, so it was very fragile. Yuoo sat there and read the first Canto (poem chapter), and he discovered that Reynard was a very sleezy fellow. I would tell you tell you some of the things that Reynard did, but I want to keep this diary G-rated. Anyhow, though Yuoo doesn't consider Reynard a good role-model, he still plans to return to the library until he's finished the book.
Thursday, February 19, 2004 - Last night, Yuoo went to the Wednesday night service at Mortar Abbey. Usually, Yuoo doesn't go because they play very loud music there. Because of his large ears, he is particularly sensative to loud noises, especially strong bass. Yuoo came because he knew Abbot Rains would be talking about sexuality that evening. (Don't laugh.) A couple days earlier, Yuoo wrote a letter to Abbot Rains, telling the big badger about some sensative things going on in Yuoo's life. These are things that I'm planning to tell you about eventually, but Yuoo isn't ready yet, and I want to respect his feelings. The Abbot's message that evening was a new experience for Yuoo. Yuoo was raised in a church where, generally speaking, love and affection were frowned upon. They taught that we should avoid anything that has the remote possibility of temptation. Though Abbot Rains did warn us about temptation, he told us that it's a perfectly good thing for us to give each other hugs (regarless of your gender), to show each other that we care about each other. You can laugh if you want, but after the service, Yuoo went to Abbot Rains and gave him a hug. Abbot Rains is a huge, hairy badger, and is thus very huggable.
Saturday, February 21, 2004 - Yesterday, Yuoo had a relaxing evening after a long day of working on his Alchemy homework down in the dungeon of the Love Tower. A few weeks ago, Yuoo mentioned to some creatures at the library that he would like to be an Alchemy [math] tutor. Yuoo loves all types of learning, especially Alchemy. If a person learns their Alchemy well, they can have the power to do or be anything they wish. Recently, one of librarians, a kindly mole, asked Yuoo to tutor her grandson. I know Yuoo's excited about this. It's not only a way to make money, but it's something that Yuoo knows he was meant to do.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004 - This morning, it was very stormy. It seemed like the thunderclouds were hosting their annual lightning Olympic games. Nevertheless, Yuoo made his way to class. Today, Yuoo went to the middle school to pick up A.J. A.J. is a young harvest mouse that Yuoo is being payed to take to the library for tutoring in basic Alchemy. Yuoo and I agree, teaching a person something is one of the greatest things creatures can do with their lives.
Thursday, February 26, 2004 - Today, class was cancelled because teacher's wife was having a newborn. That afternoon, Yuoo picked up A.J. for tutoring, and they played three games of chess. A.J. would have beaten Yuoo the third time if Yuoo had not added extra "mojo" at the end.
Sunday, February, 29, 2004 - On Friday and Saturday, Yuoo was at Mortar Abbey for 30-Hour-Famine. 30-Hour-Famine is a fundraising and memorial event. From Friday afternoon until Saturday night, everybeast at Mortar Abbey went without eating. This is the first time that Yuoo has fasted before. Yuoo first became acquainted with fasting from a group of lemmings. The things they told him about fasting scared him. Over the next day, Yuoo drank lots of water, and he drank fruit juice when it was available. On Friday night, everybeast went to a memorial service, where a mousemaid talked about the sad things that happen to creatures around the world. She urged them to do what they can to help those less fortunate than themselves. Yuoo helped out with the service by playing the piano. Generally, foxes aren't the most dexterous of creatures, but Yuoo is an exception. After the service, everybeast went to the dormatories to spend the night. Since this was a sleepover, Yuoo decided to bring Candace, his stuffed leopard, to see how the other creatures would react. As Yuoo had hoped, the males had no adverse reaction, and the females really liked Candace. Quite uncommon to foxes, Yuoo enjoys going to bed early. Yuoo couldn't sleep because the others were watching a movie and playing billiards, so Yuoo moved to a nice quiet burrow away from the others. When Yuoo woke up the next morning, everybeast was asleep. Yuoo found another early-riser like himself. This creature was a shrew named David (not to be confused with the other David, a badger). Yuoo and David went outside to the green, where they talked and had meditation together. Aslan must have been smiling on them that day, because the weather was extremely beautiful, and they had a wonderful time talking. After that, Yuoo had a much-appreciated breakfast consisting of two glasses of fruit juice. After that, everybeast went to the service project of the day. They all went to a farm run by a hedgehog who was kind enough to donate some of her crops to the food bank. Yuoo helped harvest a couple bags of turnip and mustard greens. Later that evening came the moment that they had all been anticipating...dinner. Yuoo always gives thanks before eating, but this time he was especially thankful. The first thing that Yuoo ate was a white-chocolate-and-macadamia-nut cookie. Delicious! Normally, Yuoo is a vegetarian, but he thought today would be a good day for an exception, so he had a nice turkey sandwhich. Many creatures claim to gain a deep spiritual enlightenment when they fast. Yuoo doesn't know how deep his experience was, but he did learn a few things. First, when you haven't eaten in a day, it is very difficult to worry about things. Your mind is occupied with other things, like pizza. Second, doing things to help others, such as harvesting food, is actually enjoyable. In fact, Yuoo would rather do this than attend a football game (which isn't saying much, if you know Yuoo). Various businesses around town were sponsoring Yuoo and his friends for the fast, and Mortar Abbey raised 12,000 gold pieces, all of which went to helping the poor.