stick
hi everyone...my name is stick. i'm a praying mantis...
stick
let me tell you all a little story about me and moby...we used to be really good friends...
one fine day a few novembers ago, i happened to fly all the way up to the 23rd floor of where moby was staying, and actually crash landed into him while he was sitting on the toilet bowl. shocked as he was, he saw that i was very tired after the long journey, and so he took me into his care.
he kept me in a plastic insect container which suited me just fine...in fact, he even planted a few shrubs and sticks around to make me feel more at home. then he immediately went out to buy some crickets (my favourite food) for dinner. i was so happy that i immediately grabbed one and beheaded it in front of the watching moby, who was immensely entertained.
we had a beautiful relationship, me and moby...he would change my water everyday...spray the leaves of the branches in case i got thirsty...provide me with an endless supply of crickets...and i would provide him with entertainment.
however, as is normally the case, the relationship turned a bit sour...he was complaining that my poop was very smelly (sheesh, given the circumstances under which we met, i should be the one complaining), while i was complaining that he gave me too many crickets to chomp (how to eat so much at once?)...
and the food supply was becoming a fast problem for the both of us. not only do crickets chirp non-stop during the night, depriving both of us of our sleep...they started breeding with one another inside the small container that moby kept them in, and also those uneaten ones in the tank where i lived...and soon, quite a few of the small baby crickets, being tiny enough to squeeze through the airholes that moby had poked in the container, escaped into his room...crickets are not the ideal insects to leave around unnoticed, cuz they eat just about everything.
with all of the above problems, moby and i decided that it was best that we went our own separate ways...and so he left me on a small tree downstairs, with a lifetime supply of crickets nearby...
sigh...i still miss him sometimes, and think of him once in a while...but then again, i'm not sticky. =)
stick
let me tell you all a little story about me and moby...we used to be really good friends...
one fine day a few novembers ago, i happened to fly all the way up to the 23rd floor of where moby was staying, and actually crash landed into him while he was sitting on the toilet bowl. shocked as he was, he saw that i was very tired after the long journey, and so he took me into his care.
he kept me in a plastic insect container which suited me just fine...in fact, he even planted a few shrubs and sticks around to make me feel more at home. then he immediately went out to buy some crickets (my favourite food) for dinner. i was so happy that i immediately grabbed one and beheaded it in front of the watching moby, who was immensely entertained.
we had a beautiful relationship, me and moby...he would change my water everyday...spray the leaves of the branches in case i got thirsty...provide me with an endless supply of crickets...and i would provide him with entertainment.
however, as is normally the case, the relationship turned a bit sour...he was complaining that my poop was very smelly (sheesh, given the circumstances under which we met, i should be the one complaining), while i was complaining that he gave me too many crickets to chomp (how to eat so much at once?)...
and the food supply was becoming a fast problem for the both of us. not only do crickets chirp non-stop during the night, depriving both of us of our sleep...they started breeding with one another inside the small container that moby kept them in, and also those uneaten ones in the tank where i lived...and soon, quite a few of the small baby crickets, being tiny enough to squeeze through the airholes that moby had poked in the container, escaped into his room...crickets are not the ideal insects to leave around unnoticed, cuz they eat just about everything.
with all of the above problems, moby and i decided that it was best that we went our own separate ways...and so he left me on a small tree downstairs, with a lifetime supply of crickets nearby...
sigh...i still miss him sometimes, and think of him once in a while...but then again, i'm not sticky. =)
15 comments:
wah lau!!
you made them breed?!!!
Check out Intrepid's tour itinerary for ideas
http://www.intrepidtravel.com/tripnote.php?code=KSM&codevalidity=KSM1/1/200
Phnom Penh - enjoy great river views from the popular coffee shops, browse the busy Russian Market and explore the delightful Royal Palace. For extreme contrast visit the chilling Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields.
Kampong Cham- Follow the Mekong River to Kompong Cham and Wat Nokoran, an 11th Century Buddhist shrine. visit the charming Wat Hanchey.
Siem Reap - travel through Kompong Thom where we can sample a dish of fried spiders! Then it's on to amazing Siem Reap, our base for visiting Angkor Wat and jungle-covered Ta Prohm. The tantalising blend of Hindu and Buddhist influences make Angkor one of Indochina's most famous sites.
Battambang - This attractive town with friendly Khmer people has interesting architecture from the country's French colonial past. Keep an eye out for the rather interesting 'bamboo train'!
Kampot -With its fading elegance and relaxed atmosphere, the riverside town of Kampot is a peaceful place to rest for the night.
Bokor Hill station -The fascinating remains of an old French hill station offer sweeping views of the southern coastline and nearby Bokor National Park.
Sihanoukville - Untouched beaches, palm trees, blue waters and friendly people are the hallmarks of Sihanoukville, Cambodia's only seaport. Sample the delicious seafood and enjoy the local nightlife.
how come gin gin nv disturb sticky???
You, sir, are a good man.
i like this. btw, you are pretty good at story telling, want to read some to my gals? (*smiles*)
Whoa. That's quite a good deed you've done. Doubt I'll be as kind as u.
*salute*
bm...err...no...i think you read wrongly.
ting...thanks for the seasoned traveller's tips! really appreciate it. =)
furfur_angel...gingin stays with my parents...i'm an independent-young-at-heart-guy. haha. but i'm sure she'd tear stick to pieces if i brought him back...haha.
adrian & kingmeng...nah...i guess i was just reminded of my old self when i saw stick...i'm not half the man i used to be though ("yesterday")...haha.
graceyumommy...haha...sure! where should we start? the beheading of crickets? hahaha. =)
Stick doesn't have a nose, so it's okay about the smell lah. Heh.
amitabha! kindness begets kindness!
But i'm amazed at how a praying mantis can fly 23 storeys high. Maybe it took the lift, or the stairs.
Maybe I'm missing something here but Moby deserted his mantis ? How is that kindness ? Because he left him a lifetime of crickets ?
Hm.....*ponders*
zhe bin...haha...happy belated birthday. =)
daniel...haha...no lah, i ain't no saint...just ask mandy, caris and kat...hahaha. but yeah, up to this day i still wonder how he ever got there...
ene...i didn't desert him lah...we left on amicable terms...which is normally how relationships should end...i'm sure he likes it better in the wild anyway...maybe he'll find a mate who'll bite his head off, which i obviously can't do. i'm sure he'd live for that. haha.
omg how could you leave him to the whims of a murderous female mantis! Nobody appreciates getting his head bitten off!
hmm..but how do we know stick is male in the first place...
as to where it came from, maybe it was a 'test'? heh I'll leave it at that in case pple start thinking I'm potty!
daniel...i assumed as such...since stick didn't bite off my head. hahaha. but then again, i did survive quite a few of those...hahaha.
Hereby we do complain, rather intensively, for the quality of the provided services during the Tibet unplugged trip (code FRE).
Our groupleader mr. Barakunta, to our opinion, is definitely insufficient for his position both in terms of his assessments of diverse situations as well as for the inaccuracy of the information he provided to us during the whole trip.
More concretely, we come to notify the following;
1. Really bad evaluation of the health situation of some members of the group(4 sick people, thus 30% of the group including him as well). We made our point clear to him pinpointing the potential dangers this could mean for the group when ascending to higher altitudes. The whole event took place in Lasa, where there was a hospital and the ill members of the group could easily be examined by the doctors.
The whole thing could develop to a crisis situation. To prove the accuracy of our words, Pal, the Norwegian participant, asked for medical help at the Lasa Chinese military hospital, alone, just the day after we had the talk with mr Baikunta about our evaluation of the health status of the group. we ourselves, gave a lot of medicine we brought with us to other members of the group, mr. Baikunta included, undergoing so the danger not to have enough medication for us and the other one Greek companion, if any urgency would show up.
2. What really made us outrageous was the fact that we were not informed by the group leader or anybody else, that in order to have the right to stay overnight in the tent in Everest camp, we were obliged to order food there. We felt as complete idiots when we started eating the food we had with us. The people in the tent were gazing at us as if we were the biggest criminal in the world. Suddenly the problem arose out of the blue just because we were not informed.
Please do keep in mind that mr. Baikunta knew already that only the Greeks should walk all the way up to Everest camp. He also knew that we had bought all provisions needed (specially lots of dry food and water) from Zhangmu, totally about 20 kg each, a heavy load to carry from Rongphu monastery to the Everest camp. Why should we carry all this load if we already knew that we shouldn’t have to mind about food? He didn’t tell us anything about that.
3. In the itinerary, it stands ‘days 10-11 everest base camp’ and this means two days in either Rongphu monastery and for the fittest Everest base camp. From the very beginning we made clear to mr. Baikunta that these two days were the highlight of this trip for us, the three Greeks.
To make sure for the itinerary, we checked it once more two days before we left Greece(28/06/06), and there was no change.
Suddenly, out of nowhere (and not in the beginning of the trip as Intrepid or mr. Barakunta ought to do), we were informed that we’d spend only one night either in Rongphu or in Everest base camp because of a road construction and we’d spend a night in Latse instead (there was no Latse in our itinerary, which we double checked right before we left Greece).
We can accept the argument of the road construction, it’s obvious. What we can’t accept is the total lack of information either from Intrepid or mr. Barakunta’s side because that road didn’t start getting constructed just the day before we arrived there and you knew it (since Barakunta claims that he’d told about the road construction in good time before, but you didn’t make any changes to the itinerary). We don’t know who is lying, Intrepid or Barakunta. What we know is that there were changes in our plan and we were deprived of one night in the EVEREST camp which we paid for.
For all these reasons (1-3) and for many more which due to economy of time we are not referring to, we hereby demand the following;
-Half of the sum we paid (643 € out of 1285) to be given back.
The nr. Of bank account for both of us is: Alpha bank (Greece), client nr:3738663/01, and the account nr is:487-002101-009562. The name is: Panteleimon Kevrekidis.
-It’s almost unavoidable not to share our bad Intrepid experience with our colleges at the University where we teach, when asked. Many of them were expecting us to describe our travel experience. Perhaps a call to our media services (tv – radio – newspapers) could also be done.
We are making clear that we don’t complain for the accommodation, we have been in a lot rougher conditions than these, since we are mountaineers.
-We reserve all our rights to address you with all legal means, in case our minimal demand isn’t satisfied by Inrepid. We will take advises from Greek embassy in Australia & from your local tourist government office as well.
Yours sincerely
1. Panteleimon Kevrekidis
2. Charalampos Politis
e-mails: pkevrek@hol.gr, babispolitis@yahoo.com, orfeas@compulaw.gr
Phones: +306977890334 (Kevrekidis), +306945053105 (Politis)
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