Saturday, January 3, 2004 - Well, Christmas break is over, and Yuoo has left his parents' house to continue school. Yuoo now lives in a forest-town called Loblolly (pronounced "Lobb Lolly"). He's living with a new roommate, a male otter named Kyung-Tae. Kyung-Tae is by nature a traveler and adventurer, but he studies very hard. He's friendly, and he pays much attention to detail. Today Yuoo spent most of his time on the computer, chatting with a friend named Mander. Mander is squirrel that likes to pretend that she's a dragon. She lives far to the North, where she is studying to become a chef. Today, Kyung-Tae invited two of his friends to Yuoo's house, a female mouse and ferret. Drat! I've forgotten their names again. Anyway, both of them are very nice. The mouse is very quiet. The ferret is very outgoing, and she likes to argue. All of them ate shrimp-and-hotroot-soup for dinner. Yuoo only had a little bit because he doesn't tolerate spicy foods very well. Afterward, they all played a two-on-two game of chess with the chess set Yuoo's parents gave him for Christmas. Tomorrow, Yuoo is going to go to church at Mortar Abbey. Last time he was there, he knew a kindly mouse named Abbot Tim. Abbot Tim was very wise and very sweet. However, Abbot Tim has since retired. Tomorrow, Yuoo will meet the new Abbot.
Sunday, January 4, 2004 - Today Yuoo went to Mortar Abbey. Mortar Abbey is called such because it is made of unadorned concrete. It is lovingly referred to by its inhabitats as "The Bomb Shelter." Yuoo arrived early so he could meditate and play music on his recorder. Later, he met a couple of hedgehogs, both friars of Mortar. They informed him that the others were away on a pilgrimage. Yuoo followed the two hogs to another church nearby. The priest at this church is a loveable March hare. During the sermon, he hopped around in the center isle. Yuoo had a lot of fun. At this church, Yuoo noticed a tapestry of Aslan the Great Lion. Aslan is a wonderful beast, the creator of all living creatures. Many years ago, Aslan died to save those he loved, and he rose from the dead. You can read about Aslan in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. After church, as Yuoo was heading home, he noticed a tent by side of the road. Various creatures were there, giving blood. The healers there collected blood, categorizing it by species and blood-type. Yuoo would like to give blood because he knows that there's some canine out there who really needs it, but he'd never given blood because he's afraid of needles. Yuoo decided to give blood, but one of the healers, a female shrew, told him not to because he was recovering from a cold. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 6, 2004 - Yesterday was a busy day for Yuoo. First he went to school to pay for his class. He's only taking one class because he took too many classes last semester, and he became one nervous wreck of a fox! Next, Yuoo went to Mortar Abbey. He climbed upstairs to the belltower, where he spent time in meditation and played some music. Then, he went to the dining hall to eat lunch. There, he met Abbot Rains. Surprising to Yuoo, Abbot Rains is a large, shaggy badger. After this, Yuoo went around town getting job applications at all the places he would like to work. This included several office supply stores, a couple pet stores, and a couple of Chick-fil-A fast food restaurants. (Foxes love chicken.) Yuoo has decided to become a fair-weather vegetarian (meaning that he can cheat whenever he feels like it, which may be often if he gets the job at Chick-fil-A). Anyway, Yuoo was at the mall, at one of the nutrition stores. Yuoo asked the clerk about protein suppliments. The otter clerk started showing him the protien shakes and said, "You should also buy these multivitamins to make up for the fruits and vegetables you're missing." Yuoo just nodded his head, but he was thinking, "Are you kidding me? I'm a vegetarian. What do you think I eat all day, chocolate chip cookies?" This morning, Yuoo slept late. He filled out some job applications, he chatted with Mander the squirrel, and he moved his computer desk to another room. It's a shame that school's starting so soon. Yuoo starts his first class this Thursday.
Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - In this entry, I've decided to switch to first-person perspective. Let me tell you about my family. My father is an Arkansas fox and thus is more typical of a fox than I am. His coat is brilliant red, with graying fur around the muzzle, and he has an insatiable appetite for fried chicken. He loves to study history, especially the Civil War. He loves music and is part of the Abbey choir, but he sometimes has a problem hitting the right notes. He has a tendency to be insensitive, especially when he’s irritated about something, which is why I loathe it when his computer messes up and I try to fix it. But over all, we love each other very much. My mother is a hedgehog from Korea. She has black quills, and she is very active. She likes exercising, gardening, and eating anything with hotroot in it. She is very strong-willed and quick with her tongue, which is why my father never wins an argument with her, but beneath her spiny exterior is a loving heart. My brother is also a hedgehog. When you’re little, it’s difficult having a hedgehog for a brother because all brothers wrestle, and I would often end up picking spines out of my pelt. Several years ago, my brother became very ill. This was a hard time for all of us, especially since both of my parents are healers by trade. I thank Aslan that my brother is doing much better. He now works as a ski-lift operator in Utah. Guess what? When hedgehogs are cold, their spikes rattle when they shiver. It’s funny.
Thursday, January 8, 2004 - This morning, Yuoo learned a valuable lesson: When you're spraying your car with a water hose to remove the ice from your windshield on a cold January morning, be careful when you drop the hose on the ground. If you're not, then the hose will land trigger-side down, causing the hose to spray you in the face. An otter, Yuoo is not! Yuoo's first day of school was pleasant. He arrived early, so he first went to Mortar Abbey to meditate. Next, he made his way to a place called the Love Tower, and a strange place it is indeed. The Love Tower is where students go to study and practice a strange mystic art known as Mathematics. This Mathematics is a powerful form of magic that duel in nature. It has been used to both save and destroy countless lives. It has brought both wisdom and corruption to the minds of those who practice it. For good or for ill, those who dare to discover its mysteries are often changed forever. In the past, Yuoo has had bad experiences with Mathematics. This year, Yuoo will be more careful. Yuoo's teacher is an easy-going but tempermental Italian mole. At the top of the Love Tower is the observatory. This is where creatures, mostly squirrels and birds, go to study the sky. It is very serene there, and Yuoo finds it a good place to meditate. At the bottom of the Love Tower, deep underground, is a dungeon, but I will tell you about it later.
Saturday, January 10, 2004 - Today, Yuoo has spent most of his day studying. Though studying isn’t exactly what you would call fun, Yuoo has had a strange feeling of peace and self-worth since he started school again. Imagine this. You are an athlete that runs for hours every day. The work is grueling, but you are disciplined, and you do as you are supposed to. One day as you are running through a meadow, you fail to see a rabbit burrow, and you step in it and trip, breaking your left hind paw. It takes almost a year before you recover. During this time, it feels good not having to run every day, but eventually you start to feel...a little useless. One day, you decide to resume your training. Though your left hind paw has healed, you notice that your muscles and your stamina have deteriorated. Still, it just feels good to be running. That is how Yuoo feels. He will have to relearn many equations and algebraic techniques, but it feels good being back in the game. Also, it was interesting for Yuoo to see which of his friends at school were especially glad to see him back. One such friend is a wide-eyed ferret named Carollo. Tomorrow, Yuoo is going to bring his roommate with him to meet Abbot Rains and the otherbeasts at Mortar Abbey.
Sunday, January 11, 2004 - Last night, Yuoo went to bed early, so he woke up this morning refreshed at 6:00AM. Since church didn't start until 11:00AM, Yuoo spent his time relaxing, meditating, reading, eating breakfast, and chatting with Carollo the ferret. Once it was time to leave, Yuoo found out that his roommate wasn't going with him to Mortar Abbey. Yuoo really wanted him to meet Abbot Rains. Yuoo marvels at the things that he fails to hear despite the size of his ears. At the Abbey's Sunday morning service, Yuoo sat down next to two males, a sandy feathered sparrow and a small, dark-furred otter. This morning, Abbot Rains spoke about how rich we are compared to other creatures, both in Loblolly and in the world. Abbot Rains told us of how Aslan has commanded us to help other creatures. The Abbot encouraged us to volunteer in soup kitchens, nursing homes, or tutoring programs. Yuoo was impressed because it isn't often that they give you something practical to do. After the service, Yuoo talked to the sparrow and found out that he works at the observatory at the top of the Love tower. That night, Yuoo invited a friend of his, a small, gray badger, to his house to work on schoolwork. Yuoo invited him to talk with his friend, Mander the squirrel. They began to argue and started biting each other before Yuoo got between them. Yuoo thinks that there would be fewer fights in the world if creatures swallowed their pride.
Tuesday, January, 12, 2004 - Today, Yuoo went to visit Carollo the ferret. Carollo lives in a mossy cave just to the northeast of Mortar Abbey. There, they sat drinking fennel tea and discussing their plans. Carollo is thinking about joining the Wide Patrol as a chaplain. Yuoo found out that Carollo's roommate is a Canadian goose. Afterwards, Yuoo went home and went to sleep very early.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - These past few days have been a bloom of creativity for Yuoo. First, as Yuoo chatted with Mander, Yuoo learned that Mander and Thaniel her mate would be celebrating their 4th-season anniversary. A wave of creativity hit Yuoo, and he began writing a story for the two lovesquirrels. Yuoo named this story "Mandarin Wings." You can read it at http://www.fictionpress.com/~yuoofox
Being a fictional character, Yuoo has been very concerned with his self-image lately. Yuoo was worried that people would stop reading about him. What would happen to him then? Yuoo decided that he needed a portrait drawn of himself. A self-portrait was out of the question because with his drawing skills, he would probably end up looking like Yuoo the Were-Chihuahua. Yuoo visited an art school and found an artist named Gecko that agreed to draw his portrait for 40 gold pieces. Yuoo is very excited because in the next couple of days, Yuoo will meet with Gecko.
Friday, January 16, 2004 - This morning, Yuoo had no classes to attend, so he went to Mortar Abbey. First he climbed the bell tower, a place where Yuoo likes to meditate and recite the Creedo Vixenarius. Next, he went to the main hall where he attempted to study, but Emmith ruined his plans. Emmith is five seasons old, and he's the cutest little squirrel you've ever seen. Emmith was there with a sitter, and Yuoo spent most of his time there playing games of bob-stones with Emmith. Emmith is very clever. Yuoo ate a damson plum and a couple of scones for lunch. Afterward, he joined a group of beasts gathered to pray for Abbot Rains. Here is something that occurred several days ago. Yuoo met somebeast he had not seen for several seasons, and he was surprised how much he had changed. Yuoo had known Millan, a white-and-gold furred weasel ever since he was a kit. Back then, Millan was very bitter and sarcastic. He seemed to think that the world was a horrible place, and he if he noticed that you are optomistic, as Yuoo usually is, he would smile at you as if he thought your presence was somehow amusing. However, Millan was very different the next time Yuoo met him. The look of bitterness was gone from his eyes, and it was replaced with empathy. He looked almost...well...afraid. Yuoo is glad that Millan has changed, but he feels a little sad because he suspects that some difficult times were responsible for this change.
Sunday, January 18, 2004 - Today has been a good day for Yuoo so far. Last night, he went to bed at 6:00PM, and he slept until 6:00AM this morning. After breakfast, he went early to Morter Abbey to pray for the morning's service. Depending on who's reading this, you may find it odd that Yuoo goes to Mortar Abbey to pray so often. Yuoo goes there for several reasons. It helps him relax. It's a nice, quiet place where he can talk with Aslan. Mortar Abbey has good acoustics inside, and Yuoo enjoys playing his recorder there. He enjoys talking to other creatures before the service starts. Abbot Rains was not there today because somebeast in his family had died. Today, a mouse named Wendy gave a sermon about helping the poor. Yuoo is very glad he got to hear a female give the sermon. He likes the Abbey very much. Yuoo went home and talked with Gecko on the telephone. He is going to meet with the artist tomorrow at lunchtime to discuss his portrait. Today is Mander the squirrel's birthday. Yuoo called her and played "Happy Birthday" for her on his recorder. They sat and talked for a while. Mander related to him a sad story. Several years ago, Mander was captured by a group of rats. They forced her to work hard, and they often bit her for enjoyment. This is especially hard for Yuoo since some of these rats are his friends. Sometimes Yuoo feels a little trapped because his friends are so different. Today, Yuoo will go to the gym to exercise with a group of otters from Mortar.
Monday, January 19, 2004 - Yesterday at the gym, I discovered something that Yuoo and I both have in common. Neither of us sweat very much. First, Yuoo is a creature native to the Sahara Desert, so he's designed to conserve as much water as possible. That's why his ears are so large. They radiate the heat away from his body. I'm not sure why I don't sweat much. Perhaps it has to do with my sweat glands or my Asian ancestory or something. Anyway, I'm just glad that there are plenty of water fountains around for me to spritz myself with.
Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - Yuoo has spent most of his day studying at home. While studying, Yuoo caught himself constantly pulling hairs from the tip of his tail. It was obviously time for a break!
Later that day: After attempting to study, Yuoo the Fennec fox finally loses his mind. Yuoo gets down on all fours and sniffs his Algorithms book suspiciously. He begans to growl and bark at it. Foaming at the mouth, Yuoo attacks the book, ripping pages out with his teeth.
Kill! Kill! Kill! (snarl) DIE, ALGORITHMS, DIE! RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH!!
Torn pages litter the floor. As Yuoo lies on the floor, panting for breath, he gasps joyfully "I finally did it."
"Think again."
Yuoo looks up to see the spectral form of his Algorithms teacher. His teacher outstretches his hands, and mysteriously the Algorthms book pieces itself back together! With an evil glare, the teacher hands Yuoo the book says, "You can't get rid of me that easily. Back to work!"
Yuoo wimpers.
Shortly after writing the story about eating his Algorithms book (the one you just read), Yuoo decided to chat with an acquaintance of his, a turkey. They talked for a minute, and the turkey asked Yuoo why he's only taking one class right now. Yuoo began telling the turkey about some sad things that happened to him in the past. "Here's what I think about that," said the turkey. The bird then jumped magically through his computer screen into Yuoo's room. The turkey blinked at Yuoo a couple of times, then he perched himself on top of Yuoo's head. Curiously, Yuoo's eyes expectantly looked up at the bird standing on his head. Yuoo was rewarded by a white gooey mess that spattered on his face and in his eyes! The turkey laughed as he flew back into his computer screen. Thoroughly embarrassed, Yuoo went to shower himself off. Yuoo was upset at himself for being treated like that, because unlike most foxes, Yuoo is very passive. Yuoo did learn two things that day. 1) Never let a turkey perch on your head. 2) The internet will never cease to amaze you.
Saturday, January 24, 2004 - These past few days have been busy and eventful. Looming over the horizon was Yuoo's homework assignment. Eventually, Yuoo turned in the assignment Friday, but he didn't finish the last three problems. Math can be a very painful thing at times. So far, Yuoo has met four people from his hometown recently.
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - Yesterday, Yuoo went to the video game store and bought a collection of old games starring Miles Prowler, one of Yuoo's heros.