The El Grupo Journals

How to design a labyrinth

2011-01-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

How to design a labyrinth

This is worth knowing just for its coolness but there are people who believe that walking a labyrinth will help you find solutions to your problems or new ideas, inspiration. Of course you’re not supposed to be worrying about vampiric initiations by muscle monsters, probably not the best way to encourage meditative state of mind.

Anyway labyrinths: they require logic to create and intuition to walk.

1. Start with a cross:

2. Dot the corners of the square:

3. Draw your first arc – from the top of the cross to the top right dot:

4. Now, moving anti- clockwise one place from the start point, start at the top left dot and draw a curve to join it with the right arm of the cross:

5. For each curve your start point is one step anti-clockwise from the one before and your end point is one step clockwise from the previous end point.

6. This is a simple labyrinth so there is only one more ring to go:

2010-04-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

DG

2010-04-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

When was the last time DG wrote on here?

DG

2010-04-08T20:06:00.001-07:00

DG's gone really moody - what's up with him?

Diego

2010-04-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Diego's started to smell bad.
He wore the same clothes to the last two parties and I'm sure he hasn't changed his uniform for a loooong while...

Mar - Still Heartbroken

2010-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

See? Nobody cares. How can anything be more serious than heartache? They’ve never been in love before that’s their problems. Especially Mrs Maths – maybe she was once but she’s forgotten what it feels like – my world has ended. Termino.

Mar - Heartbroken

2010-04-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

I can’t take it anymore! I have no one to be there for me – they’ve all stopped listening.

So now it’s just u & me dear journal. No one else understands the heartache.

Diego has “outbursts” all the time for no apparent reason at all but they just lead him quietly away and talk to him. I get detention – que mala! – Just for walking out of maths – in tears – heartbroken.

The Ana Maria Incident - Alicia

2010-04-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

I knew he’d be weak. I just knew it.

They’re all the same. Men. Boys. Weak.

I’d thought the weakness might be to our advantage – weakness of the flesh anyway. But no - He couldn’t even do it for love.

She had to be taught a lesson. She can’t go around acting like she’s one of us. She just isn’t.

So when it was obvious we weren’t going to get Diego’s willing cooperation, I had to take charge of the situation.

I quickly intercepted AM, linking my arm through hers.

“I need to talk to you.” I whispered like it was some big secret. “I’ve been talking to Diego.”

She tried to twitch away from me but I had a firm grip.

“Listen idiota it’s good news!”

“What?” Her voice full of pathetic, deluded hope.

My anger vanished, I had her. “Well – ” I smiled sweetly, “-What would you say if he asked you out?”

She pulled a stupid face and giggled like a five year old.

“Don’t be silly! Why would he?”

I rolled my eyes, impatient again, “I’m asking the questions.”

“I’d say yes.” Deluded hope had returned.

I let a real smile cross my face.

“So you do fancy him?”

She nodded at the floor.

I bit back a smirk. Now for the stinger: Double whammy. I’d get both of them.

“Well, he’s all confused, he told me he likes you and he wants to ask you out but he’s too shy.”

She bought it of course. It’s her dream come true after all. Poor deluded cow.

All I had to do now was tell Diego what I’d done…

The Ana Maria Incident - Mar

2010-04-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

The plan was beautiful. If I do say so myself.
I could hardly control my excitement as we waited at break for Ana Maria to appear.
Diego was looking pretty sick at that point actually – he truly does seem to have a soft spot for all the losers – but Lola was keeping him in line. Never underestimate the powers of feminine charms. Especially Lola’s: The boys can’t resist her.
Alicia was acting all bossy – taking charge of us all, like we needed to be organized. It was sooooo obvious she was as excited as the rest of us though.
Ana Maria was suddenly there, wandering back from the Kiosko, scooping up guacamole with tequeños. Some of it dripped off and landed on her school sweater: A big splodge of bogey green in the middle of all that pristine blue.
I was filled with disgust. I really was.
Who does she think she is fancying Diego? She’s such a wannabe. She’ll never be one of El Grupo.
She was getting closer.
Alicia was nudging Diego’s arm and hissing at him urgently.
“Go on! Or it’ll be too late!”
But it was already too late.
For now.

Out of Date and in a State!

2010-02-02T14:21:00.001-08:00

I know - it looks like ages since anything was put up here and it is. But there are more recent blogs on the 'private' pages and there are some missing blogs - soon to be restored. I'll give the whole lot a re-vamp and tidy up this week - honest!

Diego - English Class- Bog 4 - Thoughts on Writing

2009-06-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well there go Tonio and JP having a wrestling match... I’ve only just started typing and already got another funny look from another teacher surprised to see me writing. You’d think they’d just be pleased. But there’s sheer suspicion in their eyes.
It’s just, I heard somewhere that if you write your thoughts down it can stop them jumbling around in your head and start to make them start to make sense. A bit like when dyslexic kids wear those cool coloured glasses to stop the words jumping about the page. I tell you what, it’d be a lot easier if I could just wear some of them coloured glasses. If anyone ever invents some to make your thoughts stand still and in order I’m first in line to get some!

English Class - Bog 3 - Birth

2009-05-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

Anyway where was I? My birth… Well truth is I can’t remember it and you really don’t want me retelling my Mum’s gruesome stories of the pain I caused her. My first memory? Dad walking out when I was 2, lots of crying (Mum and Dad not me). More gruesome stuff, let’s not get into that either.
So… Well we’re not really talking about my childhood...
Well we’ve got to write something for you to read Miss - sorry I've been writing in my private blog instead☺
Anyway at least you’ll be pleased to know I’ve got quite into this blog thing I like the idea of a complete record of my life right now. But I’m pretty sure I don’t want you to know it all – no offense.

English Class - Blog 2 - Diego

2009-05-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Goddamn that boy loves himself! He is pretty cool but he don’t rule and he ain’t the king and, truth be told, he’s not that hot at footie either but then none of us is compared with Gabriel, The Boy With The Magic Feet. He won’t show off either. Probably he’s gonna leave us all soon and go play for Barçelona (no joke!) which is why he’s the kid in our year “most likely to have a great future” and the rest of us’ll end up doing whatever our dads do.
Comments from Rey and Gabs below...

English Class - Blog 1 - Diego

2009-03-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to know where to start really.
“Duh!” Daniel would say. “Start at the beginning obviously.”
But how do you know where the beginning is? We’re not talking fairy tales here. There’s no “Once upon a time.” I suppose the beginning is my birth (if we’re not going to be silly about it and go back to when I was “Just a twinkle in my Dad’s eye.” Or even further back to when my parents were born or right back to the very first humans, the very first Gonzales-es. If this is even my story, which it might not be.)

That gave me an idea. Let me introduce you to El Grupo:

Doesn't tell you much does it? So how about they introduce themselves?
You'll have to read the comments...