The haunted house on my street has been sold again.

It’s not haunted in the traditional sense – it’s not crumbling, or falling apart, vines aren’t creeping up over its’ surface, there’s no rusty iron gate at it’s entrance. It’s disappointed.

Ten years ago, they finished building it, and within months, a family moved in. Within another couple of months, they were gone. And it’s been like that for the past ten years. I snuck in during an open house after the fourth family left (I was twelve), determined to see if there was a ghost there. I didn’t believe in ghosts anymore then, but there had to be something that was making families move out as soon as they moved in. I cleverly hid in a closet, somehow wasn’t discovered by the real estate agents walking around to make sure everything was in perfect order for the next day, and imagined myself solving the mystery and writing a series of Nancy Drew like books about it.

After the real estate agents left I got out of my hiding place and explored the place from top to bottom. There was nothing unusual about it. I waited until midnight but nothing appeared (I was disappointed though I refused to admit it for ages). Figuring I’d be in trouble enough, I took my things and left for home. Mum answered the door absolutely speechless when she saw me, and I remember saying, “There are no ghosts in the haunted house,” and going up to bed.

I remembered that night vividly when I saw the house had been sold today. Another family – another couple months, they’ll disappear too. Maybe I’m making too much of it –maybe there’s something wrong with it that my twelve year old eyes never saw. Maybe I’ve got to give up that old child-like fascination with it and stop thinking of it as haunted.

Maybe the real reason that it’s haunted is because no family lived there long enough to make it a home.

Today’s one of those days when you wake up and suddenly you’re hit by the strange combination of mellowness, energy, and new life that is spring. It’s difficult to stay cooped up inside. Very difficult.

Which is why no one needed too much convincing to skip class today and head to the park. One of my best friends, and I decided to go instead...and it’s the best decision I made all week. I haven’t been to the park, really been, in far too long. This one’s amazing too - it’s a small animal park and some of the animals had come out...bunnies, donkeys, swans, peacocks...no llamas though. A turkey and a peacock decided to have a go at it - I’ve never seen the like. This turkey kept making moves to start something, but hop back whenever the peacock her move to fight back he’d scuttle away as if a butcher was coming. It went on for some time until finally when the turkey got close enough, the peacock swiped her tail and he fell backwards and looked as if he had no idea what hit him. I wish we thought of filming it beforehand - it was one of those things where you had to be there - but it was brilliant.

We saw a 200 year old schoolhouse - now padlocked and used for storage and wandered around - stress-free - until we somehow ended up in Uptown Waterloo and into an old record shop - la piece de resistance.

I’ve never been in one like it - or in any place that had neon orange stairs. Usually the music stores around here have a few odd records here and there - newly reprinted. This one had some originals - it killed me to not buy an original Beatles White Album. The owner had so much old-school memorabilia, T-shirts, posters, I could have spent hours in there. Sadly I needed to be back at my friend’s to get my things and take the bus back.

I’m glad I had my stress-free hours - I needed them. Now slowly it’s all coming back - the panic of trying to figure out how to fit four long papers and three big tests along with some much needed sleep in the next two weeks.

Until then I’ll be figuring out how much caffeine a person can take in their system without damaging it too badly.

 First entry, first impression – those few words, that first is what makes that tiny spring coil up inside me and tense up like it did on the first days at new schools or at new jobs. All of the sudden those ideas I’ve been waiting to write out have suddenly left me and are replaced with a big question mark.

A small introduction is in order though.

I’m Kat, a writer-in-the-making always trying to do the impossible – I love challenges. I was born and lived in Poland until I was seven, when mum and I moved and settled down in Canada. I still live at home while going to university, and I should really be finishing my Holocaust paper for tomorrow.

The rest is in list form, because I love making lists. I generally never get done half the things on them, but this one is an entirely different sort.

-When I get an idea, I’m unstoppable.
-I often say things that have a lot of innuendo in them without realizing it.
-I once climbed a third of a 60ft Eiffel Tower. In heels. If it wasn’t for the police I would have gotten all the way to the top. I fully intend to finish that climb (this is much trickier now that there’s a whole law against it), and climb the real Eiffel Tower in Paris.
-Joan Jett told me I was cool (She’s most famous for the songs “I Love Rock & Roll and Bad Reputation).
-I have two life mottos: “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing.” (Aerosmith), and “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” (Amelia Earhart) – this explains so much about me.
-I wear heels all the time – except in winter. I’d wear them now if I could but the snow and ice, in combination with my klutziness, and a pair of heels would kill me. I’m so used to the heels that when I do have to switch to flat boots for the winter, my feet hurt until they adjust.
-My best friend and I met in the first week of high school – all thanks to a little book.
-I love, love, LOVE my major. I thought I had figured out what field of history to go in, but I’ve been doubting that it’s the perfect choice for me lately.
-When I’m walking by myself I fall into daydream easily. This has mostly led to me walking in the middle of the road right in front of cars. I’ve been lucky not to be hit so far.
-I’m very klutzy.
-I don’t like ice cream. Gelato is an exception.
-I can’t go inside a bookstore without buying a book.

And…I’ve run out of things to say – something rare.  I’ll leave you with a picture of the mark I left when I went to visit one of my best friends Ria (who also snapped this) in Tennessee two summers ago: