Robert Adema posted this original on 15th January 2014:-
It is Day 5. Except for some large bugs, I haven't eaten since we left Swift Current. My energy is low. I can't find a safe place to sleep and I'm starting to hallucinate. Some images are welcome, some less so, and it's always damp. I'm chilled. Maybe I ate the wrong bug. I'm close to using my emergency phone, and writing this off as a failure. I don't think I can last two more days. An icy wind is blowing from the west and I smell wild Cinnamon rolls, but can't find them. I wish I was Martha Stewart.
It was swiftly followed by resident story-adapter Ann-Louise Truschel's... well, adaptation of the story:-
It is Day 5. Except for some large bugs, I haven't eaten since I left the swift current. I can't find a safe place to sleep. I'm chilled. Maybe I ate the wrong bug, but I have little choice. With all those fishermen around, I have to be careful which bugs I eat. Some of them could be lures! My gills hurt.
This inspired a further contribution from Eric Smith:-
Five days into the reprogramming effort and we still have several vexing bugs to fix. I haven't eaten since we moved down here from the second floor. Ideas? I’m fresh out and can't isolate the problems so we can go home and sleep. I'm starting to hallucinate: the images crowd out all productive thought. I have the DTs. Damn, where’s that next bug? I could use my emergency phone and write this off as a failure; but that will undoubtedly come back to bite me. A cold wind blows from the vents, and I smell peanut butter, perhaps.
They just kept coming, this time from Gordon Lawrie. This was all on the same day, mind you:-
It is Day 5. Except for a few battered Beetles, we’ve been unable to find any quick fixes for the electrical problems which seem to have beset all the local cars. I’m starting to see diagrams of ignition systems in my sleep. Maybe we’re using substandard parts, but we have little choice; at the end of the line, we’re hooked into a contract with this Spanish supplier who sends us kit for “BW Veetles”. (It’s a linguistic thing, I think.)
And then, from Eric Smith again:-
My Beetle has sat in the same spot for five days in the 24/7 Diner parking lot. The constables have marked the tires with chalk to see if it moves; I’m looking out the window waiting for them to have it towed to impound. I’m on my tenth cup of coffee but don’t have the funds for food. I’m hungry enough to wolf down a spider. I’d use my emergency phone, but there’s no service in this part of town. I continue to stare at the current of customers, flowing in and out the door, letting in a cold wind.
Then from Emma Baird:-
Bugs, bugs everywhere - and even when you crush 'em up and stir 'em in with a little peanut butter, they still taste pretty weird.
Alice concluded that it had not been the smartest idea signing up to I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, even with the enticement of prize money and exposure. She wasn't sure she qualified as a celeb either, but as the other half of SuperParkingAttendant Danny, she did have to wear sunglasses indoors these days.
The emergency phone beckoned. A 10-sec call and she could be outta here. The cat had promised this.
And then, to round off the day, from Jane Reid:-
The weather was fine today. I lounged in my comfortable spot, swaying in a gentle breeze. I nibbled at my snack, then wrapped it for later.
But soon I was provided with another snack, and another. I couldn’t eat them all.
I tried to wrap them for safekeeping, but they just kept coming – another and another and another.
My spinnerets were empty. I had no more silk. And another snack just landed.
Wrong. It’s my husband. I hurry to meet him.
And although I have no appetite left, I am able to finish my task. I’ll wrap him later.
Still not finished. Kerry Allemann posted the following a couple of days later (a Friday, to be fair):-
Coleoptera Redux
It is Day 5. The peanut butter is gone, and so have the bugs. All I seem to do is sleep. And dream of swift currents. A VW Beetle splashes past, trailing a scent of wild Cinnamon rolls. Could it be trying to lure me out? I am strong! I will resist! I will NOT be reprogrammed!!
It is Day 5. Except for some large bugs, I haven't eaten since we left Swift Current. My energy is low. I can't find a safe place to sleep and I'm starting to hallucinate. Some images are welcome, some less so, and it's always damp. I'm chilled. Maybe I ate the wrong bug. I'm close to using my emergency phone, and writing this off as a failure. I don't think I can last two more days. An icy wind is blowing from the west and I smell wild Cinnamon rolls, but can't find them. I wish I was Martha Stewart.
It was swiftly followed by resident story-adapter Ann-Louise Truschel's... well, adaptation of the story:-
It is Day 5. Except for some large bugs, I haven't eaten since I left the swift current. I can't find a safe place to sleep. I'm chilled. Maybe I ate the wrong bug, but I have little choice. With all those fishermen around, I have to be careful which bugs I eat. Some of them could be lures! My gills hurt.
This inspired a further contribution from Eric Smith:-
Five days into the reprogramming effort and we still have several vexing bugs to fix. I haven't eaten since we moved down here from the second floor. Ideas? I’m fresh out and can't isolate the problems so we can go home and sleep. I'm starting to hallucinate: the images crowd out all productive thought. I have the DTs. Damn, where’s that next bug? I could use my emergency phone and write this off as a failure; but that will undoubtedly come back to bite me. A cold wind blows from the vents, and I smell peanut butter, perhaps.
They just kept coming, this time from Gordon Lawrie. This was all on the same day, mind you:-
It is Day 5. Except for a few battered Beetles, we’ve been unable to find any quick fixes for the electrical problems which seem to have beset all the local cars. I’m starting to see diagrams of ignition systems in my sleep. Maybe we’re using substandard parts, but we have little choice; at the end of the line, we’re hooked into a contract with this Spanish supplier who sends us kit for “BW Veetles”. (It’s a linguistic thing, I think.)
And then, from Eric Smith again:-
My Beetle has sat in the same spot for five days in the 24/7 Diner parking lot. The constables have marked the tires with chalk to see if it moves; I’m looking out the window waiting for them to have it towed to impound. I’m on my tenth cup of coffee but don’t have the funds for food. I’m hungry enough to wolf down a spider. I’d use my emergency phone, but there’s no service in this part of town. I continue to stare at the current of customers, flowing in and out the door, letting in a cold wind.
Then from Emma Baird:-
Bugs, bugs everywhere - and even when you crush 'em up and stir 'em in with a little peanut butter, they still taste pretty weird.
Alice concluded that it had not been the smartest idea signing up to I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, even with the enticement of prize money and exposure. She wasn't sure she qualified as a celeb either, but as the other half of SuperParkingAttendant Danny, she did have to wear sunglasses indoors these days.
The emergency phone beckoned. A 10-sec call and she could be outta here. The cat had promised this.
And then, to round off the day, from Jane Reid:-
The weather was fine today. I lounged in my comfortable spot, swaying in a gentle breeze. I nibbled at my snack, then wrapped it for later.
But soon I was provided with another snack, and another. I couldn’t eat them all.
I tried to wrap them for safekeeping, but they just kept coming – another and another and another.
My spinnerets were empty. I had no more silk. And another snack just landed.
Wrong. It’s my husband. I hurry to meet him.
And although I have no appetite left, I am able to finish my task. I’ll wrap him later.
Still not finished. Kerry Allemann posted the following a couple of days later (a Friday, to be fair):-
Coleoptera Redux
It is Day 5. The peanut butter is gone, and so have the bugs. All I seem to do is sleep. And dream of swift currents. A VW Beetle splashes past, trailing a scent of wild Cinnamon rolls. Could it be trying to lure me out? I am strong! I will resist! I will NOT be reprogrammed!!
