h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The news these past days is worse than usual, it's really nauseating to listen to the radio, getting worse in the near east every day, and bombings in India, and ..ah well you all know

So I'll just share this which totally cracked me up just now - Wandering through the library today I discovered they had Michael Palin's "Full Circle" which I borrowed at once. I read it before, some years ago, it's the book accompanying one of his BBC travel-series, around the Pacific Rim. So: in a hotel in Punto, Peru, he writes:

"They have provided a thoughtful English translation of the Spanish telephone instructions, but I gave up after reading it twelve times:
>Mr. Passing:
If it did not obtain you response until the third stamped, I will serve you to cut the call and to return to attempt it, thus avoiding you the unnecessary collection of their its your his called since telephony system register the call as of stamped quarter through may not have been obtained response.
Thanks.<"



I really should be revising Business English because tomorrow's the exam, ...but this is much more fun

Another thing, I think my new favorite animal will be the toad . Yesterday I was standing on the terrace, when I noticed a quiet plopping sound, so I looked around. And I found, sitting in the shade of some bush, a cute, brown toad. And it eats ants, the little darling ! The plopping sound (I found out after watching it for some time) was when its tongue snapped after an ant. Maybe I should keep it as a pet, it could free me of all the million insects that crawl around.

Thanks for the laugh, kiddo! How have you been? Took Micio to the vet today, and got scratched for it.

Aw, poor you, and poor Micio for having to go to the doctor's...

I'm reading a lot, again , at the moment it's John Irving's "The Cider House Rules", I have nearly finished it. There's always some melancholy in his books, and while I'm reading it I try to figure out how he creates the atmosphere and develops the plot. Some days ago I started to write again, I hadn't done that in a long time. I tried to begin a fictional story, maybe I'll develop it, or start a new one tomorrow. I'm missing some extraordinary things happening in my life, so, I guess, I could try to write some extraordinary things happening to my fictional characters...

My English exam this morning was okay, I didn't know everything, but I gotta live with that . But sometimes it annoys me: I could be better and achieve better marks, but not under the circumstances the Uni sets up. I need more time for everything. But as I don't get that time, I'll have to live with mediocre marks. *shrug*

Oh JEllen, I think my reply to your Petunia-thread got swallowed up yesterday, there were some Server Too Busy Error messages. Anyway, what lovely flowers ! I think when I return to my appartment after summer-break, I'll plant a few things in pots on my terrace..

*chat, chat, chat*