A guy at school asked me out t'other day. I told him had a boyfriend named Jim "The Dungeon Master" Clark.
"The Dungeon Master?" He asked, slightly wierded out.
"It's a sex thing." I said, rolling my eyes then walking away.
Today before World History he came up to me and asked, with a twisted smile on his face, "So, Sara, what kind of things do you and the Dungeon Master do?"
He just asked this right out of the blue. Like it was okay for him to ask a girl he hardly knows about her sex life. Now, I'm very forward and open online, but in the real world I am ANYTHING but! I'm quiet and very reserved and rarely talk to anyone I don't know.
In the community I go all out because everybody knows everybody and it's a BIG extended family. But at school, ESPECIALLY at school, I try my best not to associate to much with anyone except my girls. (This caused me problems throughout junior high and high school because I was not only considered the fReAk of Quincy, but the STUCK-UP fReAk of Quincy.)
So after he asked me this, I walked away without saying a word. No dirty looks or anything. Minutes later I saw Lora and told her about it. She didn't get upset or anything, just, "That's why we're lesbians, right."
But when I told Emily she had a canipsion fit.
"Let's go kick his ass!" She said.
To which I replied, "Sweety, we're Charlie Brown and his ass is the football. We couldn't kick it if we had a running start."
"Well, let's do something else. You know things. Let's do something mean and cruel so he learns his lesson."
Her determination to defend me was enough to bring a smile to my face and make the whole thing seem trivial.
'Nuther story...
You all know what happened to my moped and how I've been forced to ride a bicycle since, right? Well, Lora went into the storage shed over the weekend and dug out a couple more old bikes and fixed them up so we three could go riding.
Good idea, no?
No!
See, my step-dad bought a new car recently and gave his little red penis shaped one to Lora. Lora, in turn, gave her car to Emily. They both can and DO drive now. I peddle. :(
So after Lora finished getting my bike all greased up I jumped on and told her I was taking it for a test spin. Emily offered to come but my TRUE intentions excluded her being with me.
After nearly an hour of peddling my ass off, I rode into Walmart's parking lot. I was tempted to drop my bike and leave it laying on the ground, but locked it up in the proper place instead. I then pulled out my step-dad's credit card, which I had pilfered whilst Lora played grease monkey, went inside and bought the $4,800 moped I've been wanting for MONTHS.
I had them take it out back and gas it up then I rode it home. No one was happy with me when I got there.
I totally thought I was justified in my actions. Lora and Emily both could get in their cars and GO whenever they wanted. I, however, was regulated to huffing and puffing and sweating my butt off on a damn bicycle.
NOT FAIR!
After a long lecture by my step-dad things calmed down and I got to keep my moped. Punishing the cRaZy girl isn't usually something that's done here.
So now I can ride and ride and riiiiiiide! I did it for one day and it's rained every since.
Last thing; Emily didn't carry thru with her search for an Internet girlfriend, but I've decided that maybe it's time for me to get one again. :) More about that next post!
~Sara<3
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Here is something very special and COOL my friend and comics GREAT Michael Avon Oeming gave me. It's an UNEDITED scene from the book he and Brian Bendis put out called Powers! I LOVE this!
I was going to downsize it but it's SO beautiful this way! Thankx, Mike!
http://www.myspace.com/mikeoeming
http://www.mike-oeming.com
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Witch School Opens in Midwestern Town
City Residents Petitioned and Prayed to Keep it Away
By DURRELL DAWSON, ABCNews.com
(June 30) - In the "Harry Potter" series, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry sits in a mystical Scotland location, shrouded by magic that hides it from unknowing humans.
Starting Saturday, in the unlikeliest of places, a real witch school opens its doors to the public in a place known as the Sweet Corn Capital of the World.
After almost five years of existence on the Internet, Witch School is expected to operate under normal business hours in the town of Hoopeston, Ill., about 100 miles south of Chicago.
The school is dedicated to educating the public in Wicca, a neo-Pagan religion that incorporates nature and magic into its theology. Until now the school has existed almost entirely on the Internet.
Ed Hubbard, the school's CEO and director, was lured to Hoopeston by what have been considered to be some of the lowest real estate prices in the country.
The town is known primarily for its annual Sweet Corn Festival; its high school mascot known as the Cornjerker; and the National Sweetheart Pageant, which has produced eight Miss America winners.
The town could soon be known as a Pagan colony, after Witch School starts letting visitors utilize its ritual space, view the studio where it produces videos for the Internet, and peruse its library of religious, metaphysical and historical texts.
It's a humble beginning, Hubbard says. The school is adorned with a "Witch School" sign and has maintained a quiet presence since moving to Hoopeston in 2003. He says that with an estimated 30 new students to 50 new students registering on the Web site every day, the "cyberministry" is rapidly growing.
The school has roughly 120,000 active students who enroll in Witch School's Internet courses, which range from Druid and Celtic history to crystal and gem magic, Hubbard says. Students then take at least one test a month to stay active and can eventually become an accredited member of the clergy.
"We're really getting to be a functional community," Hubbard said of the increasing presence of Witch School online. The school is also increasing its visibility in Hoopeston.
Not-So-Warm Welcome
When Hubbard first announced plans to house Witch School in Hoopeston, population 6,000, it caused an uproar among some residents, who feared the school would bring notoriety to the central Illinois town.
In 2003 as he finalized plans to move from Chicago to Hoopeston, residents of the town and its surrounding areas mobilized, signing petitions in opposition to the school and lobbying the City Council to try to stop it.
"We did what we felt was our place to do at the time," said Pastor Steve Nelson of Hoopeston's First Baptist Church. He was one of several pastors who had held prayer meetings outside of Witch School's property.
Nelson says the people of Hoopeston are all too often reminded of the school's presence, because it occupies a former brick horse stable and it is in the middle of town near the Hoopeston Civic Center.
Still, he says he has come to accept the school as a permanent fixture and moved on, even though he doesn't approve of Wiccan beliefs.
"I just disagree with their anti-God approach and feel it's not good for our community," he said. "When given the opportunity, I would speak against it."
Witch School isn't the only Wicca-friendly business that has been lured to Hoopeston by low real estate prices.
There is a Wiccan-owned bookstore, and Catherine Novak moved her crafts and herbs shop from Virginia Beach, Va., to Hoopeston to cut back on expenses and expand Internet sales.
Novak describes her business, Beads and Botanicals, as a combination of New Age and hippie. She says that in the six months it has been open, her business in Hoopeston has suffered from a perceived connection to Witch School and Wicca.
"A lot of people in this area are nervous about new things," she said.
Novak says some of the locals balked when she offered a newsletter about herbs and jewelry-making, and others have been taken aback by the voodoo dolls she sells. She emphasizes that she also sells Christian postcards.
"I don't see any reason to promote any religion over anything else," she said. Novak says she isn't "pounding the pavement for Wicca" and considers herself pagan, a broader term that could encompass several religions, including Wicca.
A Growing Religion
According to the American Religious Identification Survey, there were approximately 134,000 Americans claiming Wicca as their religion in 2001 -- up from 8,000 people in 1990.
"It's still a very small group, but it is growing," said Ariela Keysar, co-author of the book "Religion in a Free Market."
Keysar, an associate research professor at Trinity College's Public Policy and Law Program, worked on the study, which is one of the broadest surveys on religion in the United States.
Part of this growth could be attributed to the prevalence of Wiccan Web sites and portrayals of witchcraft in Hollywood movies that have been "less than negative," Hubbard said.
As for his students, he says they come from everywhere: South Africa and Croatia to Australia and Uruguay via the Internet. Witch School is not alone online.
Like Witch School, the Cherry Hill Seminary in Vermont offers pagan-related classes on the Internet. However, Kirk White, the school's president, says there are a few differences in its education.
"It poses a number of unique challenges when you're talking about one experiential-based thing like religion," he said.
The Cherry Hill Seminary is a three-year program that requires an on-campus residency to include a more hands-on approach. Still, White says he respects what the Witch School does.
Hubbard, the Witch School's director, considers his decision to move the institution to Hoopeston as an experiment in religious tolerance. Most residents of Hoopeston are at least neutral toward Wicca and Witch School, he says.
When Witch School finally opens its doors to the public on July 1, Hubbard says he won't expect a flood of visitors, though he feels it will be a step toward acceptance as Wiccans in Hoopeston.
"Three years ago the question was did we have a right to be here," he said. "Now it's can we be successful."
