A very Fishy Story... (Update no. 2)

"Official Report and Statement Released by the Detectives at the Metrofishitan Police Force:

Beatrice was gentle and caring; a loving and generous fish. However, she could not cope with the burden of being a mother. That is why one sad evening she did the most devastating thing a mother could do... Beatrice decided to give her babies Betty and Barry up for adoption. Sadly, before he could find love and shelter with a different family, Barry passed away. We hope to explain this tragic turn of events to you more fully in order the shed some light o the experiences your new child, Betty, has endured.

Barry and Betty had been undergoing a sexual relationship (which in sea life is legal) however; when Beatrice found out it drove her to the edge of sanity. She went mental. Beatrice did not approve of it being legal for all fish to be lovers regardless of their possible relation to each other. Beatrice felt this way partly because her brother Bongo and sister Bella had an affair which resulted tragically in them both killing themselves. Bongo and Bella were seen as the sea versions of Romeo and Juliet... and you know how that story ended. However, back to the accident: when Beatrice found out about the nature of Barry and Betty's relationship she had an emotional breakdown. She lashed out at the pair and confined them to a small tub. She selfishly left them alone for several hours while she went out and painted the sea blue. When Beatrice came back the following morning, she had a terrible fishover and found Barry on the floor DEAD. She found his tiny fishy body contorted on the sea bed. Betty told her mother that Barry could not cope with their mother's disapproval and resentment. He felt that the only way out was taking an overdose of air which he did before Betty could stop him and he collapsed onto the floor and died.

Beatrice could not live with herself after Barry's death. She blamed herself for both of her children's misery and for Barry's suicide. She believed that she would find peace within herself once her remaining child, her beloved Betty, was safe int he care of more capable loving parents. Unfortunately she was wrong and discovered that she could not cope. Although this family's terrible story is filled with betrayal, woe and pain, we hope that it will not result in an unhappy ending. We implore you to provide for Betty the quality of life that her fish family could not, and to attempt to erase the pain that had been so present in her life up until the point you rescued her.

Beatrice's WILL reading is still being finalised with will be annouced once the date is officially confirmed. The finalisation of the WILL has experienced a few minor complications and is therefore delayed until further notice.

In Memory Of Beatrice Bobblethorpe."

So this is the third/fourth letter now. Getting more and more strange, and this letter definitely indicates that more letters are to come. And they did, which I am going to post in my next blog.

-Tarka98

A Very Fishy Story... (Update no. 1)

Ok, so woke up this morning, and went to fetch my post to find... YES... another letter. The letters get weirder and weirder, and I know there are more to come, as this letter indicates there will be.

This is what it reads;

"Dear Tenants,

My name is Detective Brad and I am writing to inform you that on the 15th May Betty's mother committed suicide. Beatrice Bobblethorpe Left the following message for Betty...

Betty, my poor alone Betty

I, your mother just could not cope with what I; YOUR MOTHER did to you. I was saying a little prayer on my birthday and it all came rushing back to me. The flashbacks really got to me and I was so alone and disturbed. By the time you read this I will have been found as dry as a bone on a bed of hot rocks somewhere in the Mediterranean.

I thought that I could cope with what I did to you, but no, I was wrong. I don't know why I thought I could live with myself after what I did. I really wish I could go back in time and change my selfish immature, cowardly actions. I can no longer live with myself after what I've done to you, so I say goodbye to this cruel world.I am such a sea WHOREse.

Please, please, please don't hate me. Just remember that I am forever your fish mother and despite my lack of love and care, somewhere deep down in my fins I truly loved you. So when you can find time to forgive me, look down into the sea and you might see my fishy reflection staring back at you.

Love you forever, mummy.

As you can see from the message, Betty's mother was a very disturbed fish. We felt the need to pass along this message to Betty, so she would receive this vital information about her mother and would not grow up doubting herself of fishy origins. I am pleased to pass on the information that Beatrice's mother and father would like to stay in contact with Betty. Their names are Benedict and Barbara and expressed the deepest shock, disgust and sadness when they found out the news that Betty had been put up for adoption. They were considering fighting to have Betty returned into their guardianship, but thought it would be better for her to stay with her new family she has become settled with.

With your co-operation they wish to make regular contact with Betty in the hopes that she will at least know some of her blood fish family.

I will be in contact shortly to let you know of Beatrice bubblethorpes funeral and will reading.

Detective Brad."

Again, I am lost for words what to make of this. Should I be expecting to receive stuff out of the "will"? Haha, or should Betty... who as I said, I renamed Custard, be expected to attend the funeral?

I really do applaud the author's imagination on this one. I really do hope I find out who is behind all this! It is definitely the most random thing that has ever happened to me. Whether this be a stalker, a neighbour, someone I know, or complete stranger... whatever, I hope they find a way to read this or see my youtube videos, or else I'm gunna have to come up with more inventive ways to communicate back.

Again, feel free to comment or whatever, or maybe give some advice? Ha!

I'm signing off now, expect a youtube video later today!

-Tarka98

A Very Fishy Story...

Hey guys,

Yeah, been a while again since I'd posted but never mind.

I have good news. I MOVED HOUSE! And it's beautiful. Got a gorgeous spacious bedroom, and a happier, bigger location to film my vlogs.

Anyway, aside from that, I've got a really really strange story to tell you all.

After moving into my new house, a week later, I came home from a BBQ at a friend of mine to find a strange surprise awaiting me at my door step.

A plastic beaker, full of water and a goldfish. Not only that, the beaker full of water, with a goldfish also came with a note. A note that said;

"Dear Tenants,

Please please please look after my baby: Betty. Through my neglect, her lover Barry killed himself. [Picture of Barry "dead"] (Barry the fish. Dead)

This has proven to me how much of a bad parent I am and I hope you will be able to give Betty the love and support she deserves, but that I cannot provide."

So yeah, that was weird.

Picture of the letter above, hope you can all read it, and then the fish in the mentioned beaker just below:

So, I took the fish in like any reasonable human being, not like I am going to leave a poor goldfish outside for a chav to find and probably try to BBQ.

The next day, I bought the fish a tank, some fish food and chlorine stuff to make the water nice. Cost me just over £6, so thanks stranger for leaving me an extra £6 short, cuz I really need all the money I can get at the moment! You owe me.

So I figured, I took the fish in, that would be it. Then, a week and a half later, I received a letter through the post. A letter a lot longer then the note I was given. Very strange.

The letter reads:

"My darling tenants,

I don't know where to begin to thank you for your fantastic hospitality of Betty. Betty was a good girl at heart, always new how to be a good girl and treat the other fish with love and respect. However, Barry treated the other fish BAD! Sometimes I think that is why god took him from us so early in fish pond life.

Sunday 27th March, the sun was shining and I had just given birth to my babies. Late afternoon I was allowed to leave the aquarium as I didn't bleed too much and they were both easy swimmers. They both swam out of me like the titanic leaving the docks; that horrible event always brings a tear to my eye.

Bet, their father though I am unsure as I did have unprotected sea food one summers evening with a naughty shark. I always like to think Bert as their daddy as he sadly died in some fish nets after giving me a yummy massage one December morning. Oh that morning was a cold one; you could so tell Christmas was on its way!

For my birthday, which bu the way is May 15th (Hint, Hint) I would like you to say a little prayer with my Betty. Every night, we would always pray together that life would not separate us. I feel so ashamed of myself for just not being able to provide for my babies. Currently I am lapping it up in sunny Spain with my mother Barbra. I always dreamt of taking Betty to see her, however, that never happened.

I hope Betty is settling in comfortably at your residence and not causing too much hassle. I would love to visit her one day, but I just cannot face what I did to her. This is why I am writing this letter, in the hopes you will read it to her one day when she is old enough to understand. And maybe one day, Betty will find a lover that will treat her like a pearl... something Bert, Betty's father, could not do. He was always on the scrounge, which did make me consider abortion, but it was just something I couldn't bring myself to do.

As this letter is coming to an end, I just want to send my love and kisses to my darling Betty. I hope one day she will come to understand my reasons for giving her to you, and perhaps one day, when she is ready, she will decide to track me down on facefish.co.uk. Tell her to find me under Beatrice Bobblethorpe. At the moment my account is deactivated, as I do not want to pressure Betty into anything so sudden, but I will re-activate it once my heart begins to mend itself. I should think that this is when Betty is 18 and can willingly look for her true, fish mother.

Yours sincerely,

Beatrice Bobblethorpe.

7 Rocks to the left,

Behind Pearl Lane,

Centre of Crab Street.

Mediterranean Sea,

Spain."

Yeah, so very very strange stuff! I can honestly say, I don't know anyone that would come up with this bizarre stuff! I mean, I've had weird things posted through my door before, as a student before, but nothing like this! (And that is saying something).

I thought this maybe might meant to be a riddle, or there are hints in the letter to who this can be, if there is, I can't figure it out. I'm sure this is a prank by someone, but who, I have no clue. Myself and my house mate think it is no-one we know, but friends I have shown the letter to think differently.

I really can't guess.

If the original owner of this fish is reading this by chance, I re-named the fish Custard. Sorry, but Betty is just a ridiculous name for a fish, and she is tragically scared for life from her previous guardian. She felt a change in identity was a better way to go.

I am now curious to see if I get anything else related to Custard through the post. I shall keep you posted.

-Tarka98

A Very Happy Tarka

So it's only been just under two months since I posted here but never mind. I WILL try harder, I promise. My youtube uploads have dwindled too, but for good reason in which I shall explain.

You may have noticed that my url for this particular blog has changed. It used to be fal108.blogspot.com and now it's tarka98.blogspot.com - the reason for this is that I've gone through a bit of a re-brand. Well, a recycled re-brand. Many years ago, when I first started out on the internet in 1998, all my user accounts for any internet website, I used my dogs name Tarka, as one of the many rules of children (and even as adults) never use your real name. So I used my dogs, because she is special and significant, and I don't see the name around very much, so it felt unique.

Now, I know those very few of you that do read my blog posts will know my real name, which is fine. I am nearing 22 now, so I think I can safely say it doesn't really matter whether people on the internet do know my real name or not, and those that don't, I'll give it you now, even though it's in my profile description box. My name is Zoe. As I said, I am old enough and wise enough to be able to publicize my real name, which I have been doing for some time now, but with enough maturity to be careful enough for silly things to not happen to me.

Anyway, back to the point of this blog post, which wasn't originally supposed to be about my name or change of url address.

I got some very happy news today.

I'm pregnant! Nah - just kidding. I know we've past April Fools but I couldn't risk that little one liner.

The good news is that I have a new house to move into. It's very pretty, spacious and non-studenty. Which is lovely and all sunshine and rainbows.

For my last four years of living in Lincoln, I've lived in student flats or houses, meaning having to share with 4-7 people at any one time. First year it was five other people, second year it was three, so four including me and then third and final year was five other people again and after graduating but remaining in full time work, I've been staying in a 7 person house share. Well, technically 6, but there are usually 7 people here. Which can be lovely, but from May onwards, I get to share a house with just one other person, and in that house I look forward to the letting agents to not be treating me like a student.

I also look forward to many other things about the new house such as not having to conceal that fact I have a rabbit anymore, having my own bathroom, having a huge big double room, being able to treat my bedroom like a bedroom and not my living room and dining room too, and I can actually have a living room and dining room for the initial purpose. I know this may all be very boring to you all, but I am very excited about it, and I will be inflicting a vlog on it too once I get the keys to give you a tour!

Oh yes, the reason behind the lack of videos. Well, as mentioned before, I live in a house that is occupied by 6-7 people at any one time, and truth be told, I feel weird and strangely un-confident about filming my videos with any of my house mates in the next room. I'm not used to it, and it was strange filming the recent vlogs over the past 6 months or so. My real life friends do know my habits, but it appears I am a wuss to filming around them. I do feel right silly. But once I move, that should all change. Living with just one other person and feeling silly should be easy, and it also means I'll be more comfortable with multiple film locations too instead of just constantly filming in my room which does get boring.

I know my last videos was me trolling trolls. Don't worry, I shant be stopping that, but I do want to continue doing normal vlogs too and other little projects I am thinking of as well as attempting a few short films. So watch this space patiently and I should be kicking myself up the arse soon enough to please my lovely little quaint audience.

Night my lovies!

-Tarka98

Sleep is a luxury not a life necessity.

I love to sleep. It's probably my favourite out of all life's necessities. Although I see it more of a luxury, because when I wake up in the morning, or depending how rough a previous day, in the afternoon, I always seem to remember my dreams. Dreams that set me off on adventures I can't even begin to imagine. Every morning I wake, I get excited over remembering what I did in my sleep, but also disappointed it didn't really happen.

For example, when I woke up this morning, I smiled as I remembered I dreamt about Captain Hook. Now the only explanation I have for him popping into my mind in the land of slumber is because I've been watching "Hook" on my breaks at work. Which is bizarre as I have watched "Black Swan" now three times within a week and a half. If anything, I would have expected that one to pop in my dreams. But no, Captain Hook. I'm not complaining however, I do like the chap, he's entertaining. I've dreamt about him before.

The first dream I ever had about Captain Hook dates a few years back in my life. Definitely childhood - but childhood at secondary school, so between 11-13. I can still remember that dream almost as clear as day now. Tinkerbell came to my bedroom and gave me some of her magic dust that allowed me to fly. So I walked outside into my back garden in the dead of night, my mum fast asleep next door in her bedroom that is next to mine. I jumped into the air, and I was flying. It felt so real and unbelievable. I was flying, I was really flying. Of course, I wasn't really flying, it was just a dream, but even now it felt like it really did happen.

I flew over my village, remembering every detail of it from a birds eye point of view, then headed Stratford way and eventually towards the North Star.

Tinkerbell suddenly disappeared, I don't remember when she did, but she wasn't around anymore. I arrived at Neverland alone, and gasped in horror. It was completely destroyed. No-one was around, there was smoke and dust everywhere. It was a wasteland. I landed on the wasteland and started calling Peter's name, as one would expect to meet Peter Pan on their arrival to Neverland. He didn't appear. I started to walk across the wasteland that was once Neverland, and suddenly, I began to hear voices. They were familiar, but not a good familiar. They were pirates, and where there are pirates in Neverland, there is Captain Hook. I need to hide. I thought and quickly browsed around for where too. I saw a cardboard box, big enough for me to fit in. I scrambled inside, clenched my teeth and shut my eyes tight, praying they wouldn't find me.

I could hear footsteps by this time, and their voices had grown louder.

"Someone has been here. I can smell it." I heard Hook say. "Look everywhere." I watched in fear and awe as from my hiding place, I saw him take a step forward so his feet were in my line of vision from my hiding place. He bent down onto one knee, and in slow motion, I could see him lower himself to look into my hiding place, first his long, ebony dreadlocks came to view, then his pointy, sharp and savage face peered down toward me, a smile elongated across his face in pure delight. He fad found what he was looking for, and what he was looking for was me.

Then I woke up.

Which pissed me off. I wanted to know what happened next!

So I had a good old dream about good old Captain Hook again last night. Like the film "Inception" reminds us all, we never really remember how our dream starts, we are just there, and it doesn't occur to us how we got there. So there I am. I'm not alone, I know I am with friends, but I can't remember who I was with. One of my friends informs me that Captain Hook has been arrested, and it was my job to go "book him in". Now I don't exactly take him to a police station. I take him to a strange and unfamiliar house. Unfamiliar outside the dream, but in the dream it was familiar. Have you ever had that happen to you?

So yes, there I am with Mr Captain James Hook, I take him, in handcuffs to this house. For some reason, no-one has taken his weapons off him, so I quickly see to that, taking his sword and gun off of him. Then I take him out into the garden and handcuff him to something that I don't remember. All I know is that he can't escape. Or so I thought. I go back into the house and I'm chatting with someone. There are holes in this dream that I don't remember, but eventually, Captain Hook breaks free, and I'm pretty much shitting myself because I know he is going to come after me. I run into the garden, and we both freeze as we acknowledge each other. I run into the shed and grab at whatever weapon I can, and we begin to battle.

THEN I FUCKING WAKE UP. UGH.

For once, I wish I could dream a full dream and remember every detail of it.

So, blog readers/writers, do any of you remember your dreams, and do you find them particularly epic? I would love to know. Comment on this blog if you do.

I'll be uploading a vlog later, a little rant about a particular troll that is trolling at the moment, if you are interested, take a gandar on this page: http://www.youtube.com/tarka98

NaNoWriMo!

I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo this year. If you haven't heard of it, what is involved is that you have to write 50,000 words within the November month toward your novel. The novel I'm working on, I have planned for many years now, dating back to a time when I was a wee lass at Secondary School. In that time I have made many changes, but hopefully this year my mind is set on the plot. I don't know if any other author out there has had the same type of thing when writing a book, but this seems to work for me.

I know I've been away from blogging for some time, but hopefully my writing for NaNoWriMo will help me write more, as well as vlog more, which is something I have been doing more of recent.

If you would like to check out my NaNoWriMo progress, you may do by clicking the following words: My NaNoWriMo Page.

When I write this, I have only just hit over 6,000 words, and as it's day 10, I am supposed to be way over this word count. Fingers crossed I can catch up!

Anyway, I need to go now, if you are interested in what I am writing, you can read below the synopsis as well as an extract from my novel, feel free to comment with your opinion and critique, I love to know what other people think and what I could do to improve, but please be gentle, this is the only first draft, so it isn't going to be perfect :)

Synopsis: Grace Miller: Otter Odyssey

Grace Miller is your typical inbetweener. Not popular nor un-popular at school. Nothing special. Lives at home with an ordinary mother. Visits her ordinary Grandmother. Her father not in the picture, because he died before she was born. Not that ordinary, but nothing that made her peculiar.

Until her Grandmother, Suzie, is suddenly diagnosed with a fatal illness. An inoperable tumour nested right in the middle of her brain, leaving her just months, if not weeks to live.

Grace prepares herself within these months to say goodbye to her Gram-Gram, and when she leaves her life forever, a new chapter in her life starts, particularly when she opens a letter left for her from her Gram-Gram telling her the truth about her father... her real father.

Now Grace embarks on a journey of self discovery for the missing answers of her life, helped along when after a thunderstorm in the middle of a meadow strikes her with a lightening bolt, trigging something inside her that she never knew existed...

Excerpt: Grace Miller: Otter Odyssey

Dear Grace,

If you are reading this, then it means I am no longer with you. Just know, I love you and your mother with all my heart, and I’ll be watching over you. It was the right time for me to leave. I’d had many chapters of adventure in my life, and while it is sad that I say goodbye to you and your mum now, we will see each other again. I know I’ve never been much of a religious person, but I do believe death isn’t the end.

Even though I’m gone you still have a life to live, and your own life chapters to write. I have left you some money. I’ve known since you were little you’ve always talked about how you would like to travel the world. The money I have left you, I would like you to use that for that purpose.

Now, there is something I need to tell you. Please make sure your mother isn’t reading this part. It’s very important and I don’t think she is going to like what I am about to tell you, so much so, I was a coward and decided to leave it until I was gone.

There’s something you need to know about your father. Your father isn’t dead. In fact, he is very much alive. He was arrested for murder, and has been in prison since before you were born – well, he was supposed to have been, expect he escaped. No-one knows what happened to him. I happen to believe he was innocent, despite what your mum thought. Now don’t get too mad at her, she told you what she told you because she loves you and thought she was protecting you.

Your actual father’s name is Oliver. He escaped from prison. The police contacted me, and told me to let your mother know what had happened in case he came to find her – and you. Even though your mother had told him she had had a miscarriage, he didn’t believe her, he knew her too well to know when she was lying. So he knows you exist. I can’t say where in case this letter gets into the wrong hands, but since he escaped, he has been sending you letters, pictures, birthday and Christmas cards, all of which I have saved for you.

I believe Oliver has a brother who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. His name is Jeremy and I have his address logged down in my address book.

I’m sorry this information has been kept from you for so long, but your mum believed him to be dangerous, and was only looking out for you, not many people believed your father, I was one of very few, and he didn’t deserve to stay in prison. I told him I’ll make sure you are aware of his existence when the time was right, and if you wanted to contact him, it would be easy for you to do so.

Love you forever and always,

Gram-Gram.

30th September 2010

A lot has changed for the better, finally. I’ve finished uni now, and although there is some angst over sitting some resits for a few failed units toward my final degree, my job has picked up from the last couple of months of depression that was there when changes began to happen, and everyone was down in the dumps for.

For one thing, the new changes, although have been difficult and challenging, they’ve definitely brought something different to the team I work with. A competitive side, which, despite much disagreement, I think has made working healthier then not. Obviously, no job is perfect, so there is always something that people are going to complain about, and when these people complain, it fuels that complaint to sounding worse than it actually is.

Fortunately for me, the past few months at work has served me well, and after this week it could not get much better, for I successfully have been granted a nice small promotion following up from my interview the Friday before. This is something I am particularly proud of myself for, as I was really convinced I wouldn’t obtain a place, and to be told that I really impressed people with how I handled the interview has really uplifted myself with confidence that I never thought I’d have.

I had told myself before I went for the interview, with the likeliness of me not getting the job, which it would still be worth going through the interview process just for experience for the future if any other similar job elsewhere were to arise that promised better or more life full-filling opportunities.

I got the good news whilst I was at home-home (home-home being where I lived before I left for university) visiting family, as my Uncle, whom resides in Australia was visiting with his daughter of 1 and a half years. Her name is Alice, and she is beautiful.

Now, as I write this post, I am on a train journey, Lincoln bound, to home, except I am going via Nottingham to visit some friends before returning to Lincoln tonight. I wish I had more than a week to spend with little Alice, so she would remember me for the next time she visits. She goes home today as well. Via Canada for a week first though. By the time she visits England again though, she would have forgotten myself, mum and her Poppa (I know Poppa might mean father to a lot of people, but Poppa is Grandfather to me in my family). I would love to visit her in Australia, but alas, that costs money, and money is something I do not have in this current time.

I’m still settling into my new home in Lincoln, in which I had decided to stay after I finished my university course, mainly because I want to remain independent after I finished university, although, as of this year, I do have family moving up here. My younger cousin has just moved to Lincoln for his university course, so I expect to see much of him now he’s here, which is great because back at home-home I didn’t see him that regularly compared to other family.

Seems that I will shortly be arriving at Derby, where I need to change for my train to Nottingham, so I’m signing off here for now, and will return to add more later. Toodles x