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The Signpost: 16 September 2023[edit source]

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Hydrangeas and Me (Short Story in Progress)[edit source]

CHAPTER 1:

It was a rainy Monday morning. The overcast clouds brought about a wave of light gray over the world, allowing the rain its refuge from the harsh sun. I woke up earlier than usual, due to the incessant knocking of light rain on my window. I rose from my bed, spread open the curtains, and raised the blinds. I looked outside, admittedly a bit upset about the current state of weather, and stepped down to change into my school uniform.

The walk to school would prove a bit more difficult today because of the light spray, so I prepared my best umbrella and opened the door, ready to face the world. Each of my steps pittered and pattered. Water began to soak through my sole to my foot, giving me quite an icky feeling. I walked, feeling as if sponges had been rubber banded to my feet. I saw other students making the commute as well. Some of them rose their feet in comedic ways to avoid all the water, to no avail. Others ignored the puddles and continued forward. Rather courageous… I thought to myself, smiling lightly. Little moments like these can bring happiness, even in this less-than-desired weather.

Eventually, me and the other hoards of students successfully made their way to the front gate. Some teachers decided to move under the canopy of the school’s main entrance, instead of their typical formation at the school’s gate. As I entered the canopy, I closed my umbrella and shook off the rain on the tiles in front of the glass door. Some other students mimicked my behavior and I laughed, albeit embarrassingly. I walked into the school, put my umbrella on the stand and marched toward my shoe locker before changing into the inside schools that were required of us.

Today… I hope… Unlike the other mundane days, today was a lot more exciting. She would be there, in the garden of hydrangeas. After the change, I noted the time. 7:30. I would have a good amount of time to see her. I rushed with a silly look on my face to the library. Toward the back, there were several large windows which looked out upon the gardening club’s area of operation. I made sure to pick a table that was close to the windows. I turned my head outside, and like clockwork, she stood there tending to the flowers.

Today, because of the rain, she wore a little umbrella cap supplied to the club to fend off the rain. She stood and cut stems with tiny gardening scissors. Her look was focused, yet soft. She didn’t seem like she wanted to injure the flowers, as if they meant everything to her. Each movement and cut, every one seemed to take special care toward the hydrangeas. I sat holding my head up with one hand watching her. Today’s view was particularly beautiful. Maybe the rain isn’t so bad for today.

The girl in the garden walked toward the shed to grab a few more tools. There were about 20 more minutes until the first bell would ring. Despite that, she continued to work. Her soft look and gaze had enraptured me, it reminded me of more innocent times. It reassured me, and it calmed me. Everytime I did this, I would feel so tired and relaxed. I wish I could watch for hours. Today, I want to change things. I don’t want to watch from afar anymore. I wish to know more about this girl who tends to the garden. What kind of flowers does she like? How long has she been tending to this garden? Many, many questions trying to flow out to reach their answered counterparts. 15 minutes left, if I want to do this I better act fast.

Tens of days spent watching, relaxed, for it suddenly to turn to stress and anxiety. Would she accept me? Is this her own personal time I'm trying to infringe upon? Each doubt weighed my steps like ankle weights, but despite it all, I continued forward. I opened the glass door and went outside, with no umbrella. The rain was rather light, so it didn’t pose much of a threat to my clothing. Upon opening the door, the girl in the garden noticed my entrance. Suddenly the image became reality, like entering a painting. The smell of dirt and flowers, mixed with rain. Her appearance is much more real.

“H-hello…” I stammer, honestly not knowing what else to say.

“Hi! What brings you to the garden, were you interested in joining the club?” She directs that typical soft smile in my direction. It’s very hard to not turn away from such a bright light. The rain complemented her well, like a warm bowl of porridge.

What should I say? I hadn’t intended on joining this club, but what do I say aside from that? However, I don’t want to lie…

“I wanted… to talk to you. To see you.” Ehhh… that’s not right.

The girl’s expression seems to lighten, giving me a good chance to make eye contact. She seems a bit confused.

“Do we know each other? I don’t remember ever seeing you in class… I’m sorry…”

“The hydrangeas, I mean. I want to talk to you about the hydrangeas.”

Her quizzical expression turns even brighter than the one she showed me first.

“Oh! What would you like to know?” she’s smiling brightly, and tilts forward a bit waiting for my response.

A conversation…! We’re having a conversation! Ahhh… I’m so excited but I have to keep my cool.

“You cut the flowers with those scissors, why? Does that not hurt them?”

“Ah! It’s a process called pruning… “ She snips her scissors up toward me. She turns around and beckons me to one of the many bushes. I follow suit.

“These… are buds. It’s where the flower grows from. We prune them for many reasons, but most of the time it’s because the flower or stem is diseased.”

I’m smiling so much right now, I can’t contain myself. So much stimulation just from a little conversation. I laugh a bit, out loud.

“Hmmm…?” She looks up at me, hearing my light laughter.

I quickly blush, becoming a bit embarrassed. “S-sometimes… It’s the little things that bring me happiness…” My signature phrase comes out, resulting in a large smile formulating on my face.

The girl looks at me, and reflects my smile. “Do you like hydrangeas, too?”

“I-I think I do?”

The girl erupts into laughter, and I can’t help but join in.

“You think? Well, maybe you should think a little more… about the kinds of flowers you like. And maybe the kinds of things you say, as well?”

She lightly teases me, before standing up. “Do you have any other questions about these flowers?”

I think. An important question… yet familiar. “Do you like hydrangeas?”

I reflect her question back on her. Her expression grows warm, as if I can see the colors of her mood changing before me.

“I do… They bring me a lot of my own happiness, too.” I think back to what I said earlier and smile again. “In the rain… they are so beautiful too! It makes me think of…” She pauses. “Tears of joy, or maybe the feeling of contentment. They are so… simple. Y’know it’s not just people that can talk… These flowers can too. And when you listen close enough, you find out that they have a lot to say.”

“I’m not sure I can understand…”

“That’s okay, we all have to start somewhere.” She smiles mischievously, before walking toward the shed. “We have about 5 minutes to class, you know…? What’s your name?”

I panic over the fact that we have so little time, partially because my class is on the opposite side of where we are now. “I-I’m Akio…”

“Well, Akio, thanks for talking to me… I’ll see you around!”

“Same to you!”

I walk back to the glass door before looking toward her again. She’s working in the shed, putting her tools away. I open the door inside. For some reason, leaving that rainy hydrangea world hurt me when I walked inside. As if the dryness was worse than rain…

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2018/07/21

Today, when I was tending to the hydrangeas, a boy approached me and asked me about them. I was nervous at first, because I didn’t know what he wanted.

He wanted to ask about the flowers I was tending to, and why I was pruning them. We talked a little bit after this. He seems interesting… yet suspicious! I will keep an eye out…

Again, me and Mom fought. It hurts a lot when we fight, I say things that I don’t mean to say. She wants me to do so many things, but I’m just one person. I think she’s just living through me… I love her, but I want to be my own person. Making my own choices and decisions.

School was bland, except for the gardening club (as usual)! We have a field trip to a sunflower field coming up. It’s always so beautiful to see those fields in the summer… I hope the skies are blue that day. Maybe me and the club members can take photographs.

Ahh… I CAN’T WAIT!

Sincerely (again),

Hana

That night when I got home, I plopped back on my bed. Hours of lecturing and note-taking always takes quite a toll on me. Well, mostly everyone else too. If you think any of that is fun, I must commend you. My bookbag slid onto the floor as I unbuttoned my uniform. I felt a bit too lazy to do anything else other than rest. I noticed a pencil was sticking from my shirt pocket, if left unnoticed it might’ve poked me. I removed it, and threw it across the room. Just cause?

Downstairs, I could hear the door open and close. “Akio, we’re home!” My mother called. “Welcome back.” I didn’t really attempt to yell this so I’m not too certain as to if the both of them actually heard that.

“Man…” I thought back to earlier this morning, when me and… And…? “Ah!” I exclaimed aloud, recognizing my mistake. I forgot to ask her name. I wonder?

“Akane? Hmm, maybe too harsh…” A soft complexion, warm smile… a love of flowers?

“Aki… Akemi…” Maybe I shouldn’t focus on A’s so much. Yet that letter seems like it would make some sense.

I kept deliberating as to what her name could potentially be before my thinking was interrupted. I heard a knock at the door. “Akio?”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“I didn’t hear you welcome us, so I thought maybe you were out? You surprised me…”

“Sorry. ‘Welcome Home!’”

“Don’t tease! How was school?”

“Better than usual… Aside from the rain maybe.”

“Oho? Anything new happen?”

I thought back to how I expressed meeting the girl in the garden as ‘entering a painting.’

“‘Things may look up in your favor’” I said, like reading a fortune cookie.

“Very funny. Well, I’m glad…” My mom flashes me a warm smile, before leaving the room and closing the door.

“Don’t forget, this weekend is the festival in town. Your father and I will be going, you can come along too if you’d like?” She speaks through the door.

“Hmm… Maybe. Let me think about it.”

“Okay.”

I hear her footsteps as she makes her way down the stairs. I look up at the ceiling and use my body weight to launch myself from the comfort of my bed. I trudge over to my bookbag and collect a few slips of homework and textbooks.

“Time for the long haul…”

A few hours pass, as I complete sheet after sheet. I’m careful to review what we learned from our textbooks. My hand grows tired of writing and my eyes get weary. I look up at the clock.

10:32 PM. Yeesh, it’s rather late now. Best to get to sleep.

I close my blinds, and shut the curtains before making my final approach to the blanket kingdom that is my bed. It’s warm and fuzzy, and makes me smile with contentment. I hope that this feeling lasts forever.

Next week… Can’t come any sooner…

Maybe…

Sleep takes me before I can finish my thought.

CHAPTER 2:

“...”

My classroom door is shut, it seems the teacher has yet to arrive. I really have to stop getting here so early. The hallway seems rather barren this morning. Yet again, the rain continues and won’t let up. Even if it’s monsoon season, I want at least one sunny day, y’know?

I sit down next to the door and put my bookbag next to me, I feel rather sleepy. The fatigue from last night’s battle still sits on my shoulders. “Hahhh…”

“Tired today, Akio?” A voice stirs me, yet my eyes remain closed. “Mmm…”

Wait. Who’s voice is that? I open my eyes and turn to see who spoke.

“Ah!” I yelp, accidentally. I quickly sit up, and try to straighten myself out.

“H-hello! Yes, last night, so much homework… Not much sleep either.”

It was the girl from the garden, and I was very startled. I couldn’t handle the cognitive dissonance of seeing her in the hallway. It was a first, and the fact that she was talking to me exacerbated this feeling a hundredfold.

“I see. Well, I’m going to my classroom. See ya..!”

The girl makes her way up the hallway, marching with great purpose.

Mgghhh. A brief exchange, yet…

“W-wait…!”

She turns around. She seems a little startled by the amount of force I put into my voice. The hallway was rather empty, save for us two, after all.

“I never… got your name. Might I-I ask what it is?”

“Oh! You’re right! It’s Hana… Can’t believe I never told you. Apologies.”

Hana. Hana. A lot of A’s, huh?

Eventually, the teacher and a few students march up the opposite end of the hallway to our classroom. “Early today, Akio?” The teacher says, as he unlocks the door with her key.

“Something like that…” I responded. I’m admittedly a little embarrassed by what just happened in the hallway, even though it went rather well. An after-effect of love, I suppose.

The door finally opens and the smell of the classroom fills my nose. It’s rather comforting, but also fills me with boredom. The brief period of movement I get from door to chair is simply too little for my antsy legs. Maybe if they made every desk a treadmill it would alleviate the problem. I chuckle to myself at the thought of some of my classmates trying to keep up.

I walk and sit down at my desk, awaiting today’s lesson. A friend of mine, Jiro, turns to me. He had found his desk a bit before me.

“Oi, Akiooo! So early, today? What gives?”

“I’m always early.”

“Pshhh! Sure… Tell that to yourself last week, Mr. 5-minutes-after-the-bell”

“I’ll have you know that is not my last name.”

Me and Jiro have been friends since the start of the school year, we haven’t really known each other long, but due to our desks being in close proximity and our great chemistry, we’ve been able to get really close.

Jiro is rather eccentric and energetic. It’s a great match for my rather calm personality. We’d make a perfect straight man/funny man duo, if we were to pursue comedy.

“Yo, Akio, the festival is coming to town. And… We’ve never even hung out!? Let’s change that!” Jiro flashes a corporate smile, as if he was pitching his company’s product to a stern investor.

“Hmm… My parents asked me about the same thing…”

“It’s me or it’s them, Akio. No in betweens! I thought we had something…” Jiro pretends to tearfully sob, putting me in a rather awkward situation. Other students settling in begin to look at us.

“Ok, ok… Maybe I’ll go with you, I had a choice to begin with. I’ll have an answer for you by tomorrow.”

“Perfect! It’s a date, then!” Jiro attempts to make his most masculine face, but I can’t help but start laughing.

“Good joke?” Jiro says, smiling lightly.

“More like a good face, that got me.”

“Nihihi!” Jiro’s face reminds me of a cat when he does this.

After this exchange, the teacher begins to give some announcements before class. Some of them pertaining to festival safety, seeing as a great majority of us would be in attendance. Others included information about clubs, the coming exams, and career documents.

All of us were in 12th grade, so after this, it was time to move on to the big world and get to work. Honestly, anytime I would hear anything about career forms or schooling after high school would always scare me. I was worried about putting myself out there in the world, afraid of what might come from that. Knowing that everyone else would have to face the same thing, it did make me feel a bit better. That light knot in my stomach still wouldn’t go away, however.

The class passed by, uneventfully. The teacher talked in great detail about some wars, called on a few clueless students, and sighed a great many times. The typical class experience. Jiro got the golden ticket today, he was sleeping when he was called on. I’ve never seen a stick of chalk fly so fast and hit so hard. I could’ve sworn that he would be sent flying, but he started holding his head in pain. I laughed, but quickly fixed my expression when he looked at me with “the stare of a thousand deaths.”

As we all began to walk out of the classroom after the bell, the hallways were flooding with oceans of students. Luckily, I had a boat and paddle to bear the waves. Or, maybe just experience?

*

The rest of the school day passed by, the classes got faster with each one that came and went. I put my shoes on, and walked out from the entrance. It was cloudy today, but there was no rain. Maybe it’s really starting to grow on me. The rain usually maddens and annoys me, but this year I want to see it more than ever.

Is it because of her? What even are these feelings of mine? Is it appropriate to attribute them to a real person? I would stare and stare at her in that garden, as if admiring a beautiful landscape portrait in a museum. When we talked those two times, I was so nervous I could barely keep it together. I don’t view myself as someone who’s lacking in confidence, or has low self-esteem, but her presence is almost choking. And it’s my own fault. The more I pedestalize her, the worse those interactions will get.

I’ve already confirmed it myself, in that garden. Hana is as real as those flowers. As real as the rain. Flesh, blood, bone. Breathing, beating, human. She gets sick, uses the bathroom, and makes mistakes.

“Maybe I’ve been thinking about this wrong…” I say aloud, albeit accidentally. I think it’s okay to be curious about who she is. I have to leave this mindset behind if I want to keep talking to her. I don’t really have much of a reason though, except for that I just want to. Life is funny, in that way. Sometimes we just want to do something, and we don’t really have to explain why. Rather comforting.

On a whim, I decided to visit the garden today before I made the trek home. Walking to the side gate this time, I opened it and once again found myself at the whim of these flowers. I was half expecting people to be here, seeing as it is after-school, but there was no one to be found. It was rather ethereal. The scene was similar to yesterday’s, but it possessed much more weight. Perhaps it was because I was alone. I could be off my guard, in this beautiful place.

I walked by the hydrangea bushes, and touched their leaves. They can talk, huh? I move my hand gently to the flower and feel the petals. They are silky and soft, and a bit warm. Not too far off from human skin. The flower was a bright, light purple. It swayed with each touch, despite my light movements. As a joke, I put my ear up to the flower, as if to listen to what it was trying to tell me. A gust of wind blows through, and the flower hits my head a few times. Maybe it doesn’t like me too much? Upon realizing this, I burst into laughter.

“Silly little flowers, maybe we’re equals after all?”

Before my exit, I wave and bow courteously for the flowers and open the garden gate. Much to my surprise, a few gardening club members stood on the other side of the opening. This moment was admittedly, rather embarrassing. For one, I really hope they didn’t hear me talking to those flowers. For two, am I allowed back here? I didn’t ever really think about that.

I gaze at each of their startled faces, and yet, Hana’s isn’t there. I am a bit disappointed, I let out a little sigh.

“W-what brings you to the garden?” One of the members perks up, a small boy who appears to be a bit nervous about the encounter. The other two girls look toward him and then back at me, expectant of an answer.

“I hope I wasn’t breaking any rules by being in there, I was just ta- …loo-king at the flowers? Is that okay?” I didn’t mean to sound so apologetic, but it came out rather emotional anyway.

“No, that won’t be an issue. As long as all flowers are accounted for.” One of the two girls speaks, and gives a bit of a stern answer. She still seems suspicious about my presence.

“Mei… No need to be so harsh, he doesn’t seem so bad after all.” The last girl speaks softly to the more brusque one, and gives a warm smile. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m thanking her to high heaven right now. Who knows what would be in store for me had she not been here. My ears probably would’ve fallen off.

“S-sorry again, I wasn't trying to cause any trouble.” I make my way past the exit, and attempt to pass by the three of them. I’m successful, but I stop and turn around hesitantly.

“I love the garden, please don’t stop talking with those flowers.”

I realize that’s not exactly what I wanted to say, and in my intense embarrassment I turn around and continue home. From behind me, I could hear the group laughing a bit. I could’ve swore I heard her name too…

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 2018/07/29

A slower day than usual. Today was the last day of classes, meaning that we don’t come back until September. The festival will be starting tomorrow, as well. The week after, I FINALLY get to go on the sunflower trip. I am unbelievably excited for it.

I don’t have much else to say. Thanks, I guess?

Sincerely (again),

Hana

Today, we had the festival. I had inevitably let my parents know that instead of going with them, I would be going with Jiro. They didn’t seem disturbed by that fact, which was nice. Maybe even a little happy that they got to have some alone time. I guess this would be a win-win situation?

I had called Jiro a little while ago to confirm where we would meet before making the commute. It would be about a ten minute walk. Thank the heavens the sun is setting, or I don’t think I would’ve made it to the 5 minute mark. I was thinking of coming in my kimono, but it was much too hot to wear something like that. Decidedly, I just went with my plain clothes.

I waited a few more hours for 5:50 to come around before leaving my house. The festival started at 6:30, but we wanted to look around a bit before it began. I made the trek outside of my front door and walked to the side of the road. Despite the sun going down, it was still unbearably hot. I raised my hand to cover my eyes while walking in the sun’s gaze.

A few neighbors appeared to be preparing themselves for the festival as well. We lived in a rather small town, so most of the people around here prepared themselves for things like these. IvoctA (discusscontribs) 19:39, 16 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 4 December 2023[edit source]

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Read this Signpost in full · Single-page · Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 10:12, 4 December 2023 (UTC)

The Signpost: 24 December 2023[edit source]

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Read this Signpost in full · Single-page · Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 10:01, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

The Signpost: 10 January 2024[edit source]

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Read this Signpost in full · Single-page · Unsubscribe · Global message delivery 12:52, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Hello! Wikijournal chat?[edit source]

Happy new year :) Long time.

I just saw you've been working with WikiJournal; how are you finding this format and process? What are the bottlenecks at the moment, what else might be possible? SJ+ 14:35, 25 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hey Sj, good morning.
My submission for WJ has been quite slow due to IRL commitments, but I've had good experiences so far. One of the WJ reviewers was nice enough to give me and my buddy solid advice on how to improve our journal for submission, so I was pleased with that. The discussion at Talk:WikiJournal_User_Group#Current_status_of_WikiJournals is concerning, though, and I hope WJ will continue to be in operation. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 15:21, 25 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 31 January 2024[edit source]

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The Signpost: 13 February 2024[edit source]

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Invitation to discuss page deletion policy[edit source]

A discussion that might interest you has been started at Wikiversity:Requests_for_Deletion#Wikiversity:Deletion_Convention_2024. -- Guy vandegrift (discusscontribs) 17:49, 15 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Guy vandegrift: Hello Guy vandegrift, I appreciate you thinking about me and reaching out to me for my thoughts. I'm afraid I will have to echo Dave's response and abstain from formulating any suggestions, since I do not have the needed time to review the discussion. Best of luck. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 14:35, 17 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Movie reviews[edit source]

Paris, Texas is under a prod and when I found Book Reviews I thought of copying and creating a page called Movie reviews. I obviously don't need your permission (cc-by!), but was wondering what you thought of that idea. Any chance of attracting new movie reviews? ... Another idea would be to create a subspace under Essay, with a subpage that links to Book reviews. Guy vandegrift (discusscontribs) 09:54, 1 March 2024 (UTC)--Afterthought: See Essay/Collection-Guy vandegrift (discusscontribs) 10:09, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Movie reviews would be interesting. It can be educational, but also promotional. Personally, I don't have interest in producing movie reviews - but setting it up for future users in the hopes it is developed in accordance with our guidelines does not sound like a bad idea. I think putting Book Reviews under an "Essay" subspace would be redundant (and provide exceptionally long page titles), and that may be the same for Movie reviews. I would lean towards making it a stand alone project and, if issues arise, we can address them when we cross that bridge. Thanks. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 00:15, 2 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am astonished by the success of Book Reviews, but noticed one odd features: Certain titles are not shown on the front page. One example is A Hero for Our Time. I traced the problem to the dynamicpagelist and its count variable. I think I can fix that feature. Do you want me to?--Guy vandegrift (discusscontribs) 11:23, 2 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Of course, go for it! Thank you in advance. —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 22:30, 2 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The Signpost: 2 March 2024[edit source]

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