aiming high (twenty five!!!)

So i started doing chin ups today. I figure i'll try and do them in the mornings before i head out to work. I did discover something interesting this morning though, and it is this: even though my arms look normal enough, they are actually very weak in the chin up area. I barely managed ten, which i guess i shouldn't have been too surprised by.

Anyway, i'm pretty sure i saw guitar girl today when i was at work. I was just coming out of the lift, arms full of metal cylinders and some strange electronic boards, when i could have sworn i saw her go round a corner. I quickly followed her and saw her go through a door, but when i got there it wouldn't open. Then a guy said 'Hey! What are you doing?' and i said, 'I'm trying to open this door but unfortunately it refuses to budge' and he said 'you probably shouldn't be in there anyway,' and i was still trying to open the door and i said, 'yeah, but i saw someone go in and i'd like to ask them something.'

Then i realised what i was saying and i turned around and it was that guy who wears a suit and sunglasses that i feel i have met somewhere before. He said, 'I think maybe you will have to meet up with your friend later,' and i said 'yeah i think maybe you are right,' and then he said 'you don't seem like the others here,' and i said 'i am from out of town sir,' and then before going through the very door i couldn't open he said 'you watch who you're looking for, friend. Sometimes people make themselves scarce for a reason.'

Up there it reads like a threat, but when he said it it really sounded like advice from a friend.

Also, i tried the door again but it wouldn't work. What gives?

Lanks and i went for a walk after work for a coffee and he asked me some stuff about what was happening in the world, because he had been working at the factory for a long time and felt a bit out of the loop. I wasn't too sure where to start so i asked him how long he'd been working at the factory and he said he couldn't remember very well but it sure felt like a really long time now that he thought about it. I told him things had probably not changed much except that now there were people walking around called emo kids who wore funny jet black comb over hair cuts and seemed unhappy all the time even when they were happy. I also told him that for some alternative rocker type people, fashion seemed to be moving in a backwards direction.

He said that time moving backwards could sure be dangerous, but sometimes being trapped without time moving at all could be worse.

Roger and Peter were shouting at Turbo when i got home. Roger was shouting 'COME IN! DO YOU HEAR ME?', and Peter was shouting 'ANY NEWS TO REPORT?', so i took Turbo for another short walk because i felt bad for him. He seems ok though.

I am thinking of buying a new book but i am not sure what to buy. Any ideas?

Blake out.

a wasted day and maybe some clues (?)

So i slept through pretty much all of monday. I don't think i have ever slept that good in my whole entire life. And that's saying something, because i am a lover of sleep and the land of dreams and all that jazz.

Anyway, before i woke up, i thought i was dreaming, but it turned out it was just Peter and Roger talking. It went a little like this:

Peter: 'I think he's one of them. Maybe we should get rid of him?'
Roger: 'I have heard of a hibernation period people go into before they are turned into muffin bots. It is like time for the nanobots to ready the gun arms and the rocket booster backs as well as build ammunition for the slaughter...'
P: 'you are an idiot Roger. Honestly.'
R: 'You are ignorant Peter, like a spoilt fat boy who says he is not fat. I know muffin bots when i sees them and that boy is a muffin bot.'
P: 'you know i don't like it when you mention my childhood like that, Roger...'
R: 'If you continue to talk like a fat boy i will beat you like a fat boy...'
P: '...'
R: 'what?'
P: 'what the hell does that mean, Roger?'
R: 'that i will beat you good.'
P: 'oh.'
R: 'what do you think it is then?'
P: 'quite obviously they have drugged him so that when he awakens he will be brainwashed. He will be convinced he is a dishwasher, much like that poor town in america where everybody thinks they are a different kitchen appliance.'
R: 'i am getting very close to slapping you Peter...'
P: 'shall we pull off the cover to check for nanobots then?'
R: '...yes. yes we shall.'

Then they pulled the sheet from me and i woke up. Peter shouted 'HA! No nanobots!' and Roger said 'he's still a muffin bot i tell you!' and they walked off into the kitchen arguing. Then i realised it was seven in the evening, and i was like 'wow! i feel fantastic!', so i ate a little food, watched some 'My Three Sons', and then went back to bed.

Today at work no one realised i had been gone, which was kind of nice. I found out where the dormitories were from Grung and i snuck down to basement level 17-C with a cylinder under my arm (you know, in case anyone asked), and had a look around. I found this beautiful acoustic guitar at the end of one of the beds (the whole level is like all beds and lockers. It's HUGE!) and i just knew it had to be hers. Unfortunately, there was no one around to ask, so i got back to work.

That's a great sign though, you know? One step at a time, bit by bit, i am working my way up to finding this girl, and when i do, i will have her teach me a few chords. Then maybe i will buy a guitar and practise.

I walked Turbo after work today. It was nice, because i haven't been able to spend much time with him recently. Roger and Peter sometimes shout messages at him that are a bit confusing because they believe him to be a direct radio connection to headquarters, but mostly they treat him really good.

Tomorrow i will slip the dormitories into conversation all casual like, and learn more about the people who stay there, where they eat, etc. Ah, the mystery!

Blake out.

a vanishing musician and the craziest jazz cats i ever saw!!!

I am really really amazingly tired in a supersized kind of way because i did not sleep last night so i am sorry if this post is a bit short but i will try and include all the really important details so as not to have you feeling left out.

We went to the bar last night and i had a few drinks. Actually, i had HEAPS of drinks because all those people that laughed at my name and said they would by me a beer sometime actually DID buy me a beer and i felt like it would not have been good of me to refuse them. So i was good and jolly and talking to heaps of different people who's names i didn't catch because it was such a rush of beer and laughs and general chat.

When guitar girl came on everybody went silent again, and she was exactly the same as she was last time. She got up on her little stool and she played music that i still can't describe properly. She sings as though the saddest things she has ever known have also become the most beautiful images she remembers, and her guitar paints a picture behind it with colours both happy and sad. I wish i could put it better but i cannot.

Immediately after she finished i followed her and i saw her go out a little exit door but when i got out there after her there was no one there. It was really weird, but maybe because i was drunk i wasn't as close behind her as i thought i was? I was a little bit confused but there wasn't any time to think about it because Grung came out and said 'hey man, some of us is headin' to the jazz hut to see them crazy jazz cats is you in?' and i was so i followed along.

The jazz hut is this really small place where, like Grung said, musicians offer sacrifices to the jazz gods. There was a small guy, a fat guy, and a thin guy, and they played guitar, drums and bass respectively. They jazzed it up all the night and well into the morning and their music just went to so many different places! Afterwards i got to talk to them about it and it went a bit like this:

Blake (B): Wow you guys are really good! Like, really really good!
Small Guy (SG): Thanks
Fat Guy(FG): Thanks
Thin Guy (TG): Thanks
B: I can't believe all the crazy places you went. That was awesome!
SG: Thanks
FG: Thanks
TG: Thanks
B: But seriously, that was insane! You guys play like you're from another planet!
SG: ...uh
FG: ...uh
TG: ...uh, yeah, but we're not.
SG: Yeah, we live around here.
FG: ...uh, yeah, like just around the corner or something.
TG: Just around the corner...
SG: ...in a house...
FG: ...where we practise our music...
TG: yep
SG: yep
FG: yep

They bought me a beer but then they had to go home, but Grung and i stuck around for a while just drinking and talking about nothing in particular. Then i walked back to Peter and Rogers.

Well, i'm going to bed now so i can work tomorrow and maybe find out where the dormitories are so i can ask around about guitar girl. Maybe i should learn from the jazz trio as well! Yeah, i'll have to ask them next weekend!

Blake out.

Tonight i will find out about that music!

Yesterday was all work. Work work work work work. Bluncke, get me some cylinders. Bluncke, take this to electronics. Bluncke, smoothen these squares. Bluncke, take this to basement level 1-C, room D-01 and make sure you don't forget to ask if the pieces are ready for fire testing, and also stop into basement level 3-F, room A-02 and see if they need any more armour plated cylinders. And Bluncke, get me a coffee.

It is not really bad work, just a bit tiring. I kind of like it though because since i left my cell i have been slack when it comes to keeping fit so at least this way i am getting lots of cardio exercise. I will be super lean when i get home, hopefully. Super fit! Tim seems to have taken a liking to me, and he often says 'Bluncke, you could well be the next best thing here, what with your willingness to do things you don't understand and also in the way you keep getting me coffees.'

Then he slaps me on the back and laughs, but i wish he would not do that, because he is a big man and he doesn't hold back on the slapping power.

Ooh! Something interesting did happen yesterday actually! I met a guy in the lift, and i am going to meet up with him later tonight at the bar. His name is Grung. Or at least that's what it says on his name tag bit anyway. We got to talking because the elevator is a bit slow and some of the basement levels are super far underground. He likes some of the music i like (the beatles, yeah! the pillows, yeah! hepcat, yeah!), and we also talked about videogames, which he has not played in an awful long time, but still loves.

And in my own personal opinion, dig dug and frogger will always be fantastic games.

So tonight i'm going to the bar with everyone because that's what everyone does on saturdays. Everyone usually wears their uniform because they don't actually have any other clothes that are worth wearing, and most of the workers actually live in the factory domitories, which are, i am told, somewhere on basement level 5-D.

Maybe guitar girl lives somewhere down there?

But Grung said he would take me to a jazz band afterwards, because there is this little bar ("like, totally super tiny, you dig?" is what Grung said), and it stays open until sunrise. These crazy cats, Grung said, they play their jazz music 'til their ears are bleeding and the jazz gods are more than appeased. It sounds awesome, and i love jazz music because it's just so free and it can go everywhere.

Ooh, speaking of, i should get going!

Wish me luck! Tonight i intend to find out why guitar girl's music sounds so beautifully sad!

Go Blake, Go!

Blake out.

The most tired Bluncke there ever was...

I don't think i have ever carried that many metal objects from one place to another over the course of a day. I don't think i've ever really had to carry metal objects ever actually, but i don't think that's the point.

I had this weird dream though in which i was watching myself through some one way glass. I (the me i was watching) was in a small green room with a desk on which sat a pen. When i saw myself try to reach for the pen i said, 'Don't touch the pen,' through a microphone just in front of me. Then i saw this television to my left and i wanted to see what was on when this man in a suit and sunglasses kicked down the door behind me, said 'Don't touch that you fool!' and then kicked the door into the little green room down and shouted 'Dammit man! Pick up the pen already!!!' and then i woke up.

I don't know why today but while i was running from the square place to the cylinder place to get the electronics to take to the workshed while getting a coffee for Tim i was thinking about when i wanted to be a piano genius. I don't know why the thought popped into my mind, but it did, and man i really want to play some sort of instrument again! Maybe i should try and get that guitar girl to teach me a few chords or something. I don't have much in the way of creativity but maybe i could get some nice sounds out of a guitar.

I don't know. It's food for thought really.

But i am wrecked. I was so busy i didn't even think to look for the guitar girl, and today would have been a really good day for it, with me rushing to all these different places. I think it will take me a very long time to work out the warehous properly. It is just very big and there are so many basement levels it borders on the stupid, i think.

I am just going to go to sleep now.

Blake out.

i don't know how they made such a mistake...

I'm sure i wrote it down properly. I mean, i've spelt my name heaps before. Like heaps. Blake. It seems easy enough to remember for me, and i don't think i've ever bumped into anyone who had trouble with writing it.

But i got my coveralls today and i was all excited but then i pulled them out of their plastic bag and this strange name is looking back at me from the right chest part.

Bluncke.

I mean, can you believe that?

I tried not to let it get me down, because i had a whole exciting day of work ahead of me in the factory. Lanks and i met in the town square with a bunch of other people and we waited for the truck that would take us to the factory. Nobody really said much. When the truck came we all piled in the back and it took us to the factory.

The factory doesn't look that big from the outside, but on the inside, MAN is it BIG! All these people in coveralls were walking around doing all this different stuff and some of them were carrying stuff around and others were sitting at tables with electronics. It even goes underground a bunch of floors! Lanks showed me through to this room where a man sized me up. He was quite large, and he did not wear coveralls. I think he is a manager of some sort. His name it Tim.

'Bluncke, eh?' he said, and i said, 'Blake, sir', and he said 'eh?' and i said, 'uh... blake, sir,' and he said 'what does it say on your coveralls there, boy?' and i looked at them to make sure then said, '...bluncke.' and he said, 'now that's better! Bluncke! Ha! Come on bluncke, let me show you where you'll be working.'

He took me down a long flight of stairs and into a little room where there were some people working with metal squares. They all looked up at me upon arriving, and i offered up a little wave. Tim said 'Guys, this is bluncke, he'll be your delivery boy from now on'

I guess i will just have to get used to the name Bluncke.

I spent the whole day taking squares from the square room upstairs to the circle room, and then sometimes i took cylinders from the cylinder room to the electronics room via a lift that goes down way more floors than i needed to go. Ocassionally in the lift there would be another employee and they would say 'how's it going bluncke?', and i would say, 'not bad, but my name is blake,' and they would say something like 'hahaha. You're a funny guy bluncke. Let me buy you a beer some time.'

I couldn't find the singer girl today, but i am thinking it could be very tough. This place is so BIG i can't believe it. I may have to ask around a bit tomorrow, see if i can narrow it down to the area she works in.

Peter and Roger were really excited when i got back, and they bombarded me with questions for a while that i tried to answer as best i could but it was my first day so i couldn't tell them much. Roger said 'i reckon they're making those goddamned muffin bot parts down there!' and Peter said 'They make the muffin bot parts in France you idiot. This factory is obviously a giant teleporter that will steal all the world's zoo animals at once and send the world into a state of confusion that will allow for the final take over' and Roger said 'don't call me an idiot, you idiot. The zoo animal telporter hasn't even been made yet, and they're making it in texas anyway, it's a muffin bot weapons factory!' and Peter said 'you idiot! I can smell the livestock from here! They're testing it already!'

They kept talking but i was really worn out and tired, so i decided i would blog for you guys before i fell asleep.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, always tomorrow!

Blake out.

coveralls with my name on them! woo!

so tomorrow i get to start work at the factory with Lanks and all the gruff men that were at the bar that wanted to make me swallow bottles. Oh man it's exciting! I really hope i can find that girl at some point too so that i can talk to her about music and maybe even about life in general, because a girl that good at music just has to have some interesting stuff to say!

I met Lanks in the morning (i called him earlier and woke him up. whoops!), and we met at the town and he took me to this building that looked kind of old and inside there was an equally old man at a desk who wore glasses. He made me fill out some forms that had some strange questions on it like "have you ever thought to yourself 'today is a great day and i am glad i am not one of those filthy degenerate mutants from the other side of town?'" and "Do you like cylinders?" and "How do you feel about metal and metal type things that make clicking noises?"

It was all a bit confusing, but i like to think i got through it pretty good.

Anyway, after that, i got sized up by an old woman and she told me that tomorrow i would get some coveralls that would have my name printed on the right chest part of them. Boy that is going to be so awesome!

As we were leaving i saw this room where some people were discussing some blueprints. There was this guy in there wearing a suit and sunglasses and he looked awfully familiar, but i have absolutely no idea from where. He kind of scowled at me and closed the door.

Lanks said i might be a good factory worker, because i looked like the type of guy that could do the kind of work they would probably give me. We went to lunch and i found out that Lanks used to have a family a ways out but he lost contact with them a while ago and now he doesn't know what they are up to. He said he couldn't remember when he had left them, but he kind of hopes one day he might be able to visit them, because now he has only vague memories of his times with them. Lanks seems like a good guy, i think.

I hope Turbo will be okay when i start working. I made sure Peter and Roger could take care of him because i can't take him to work with me.

Peter and Roger are both really excited. Roger was all super excited and talking really quick like: 'Hot damn boy we ain't never had nobody doing the daring things you is doing and your doing this could well mean we'll be able to do some things we ain't never done before neither as soon as we contact headquarters and they send down the new orders of what we's all gotta do! Hoooooooooooooweeeeeee!!!'

Peter was also excited, but so much so he could only speak in gibberish and small squeal like sounds. It was a little bit freaky, but at the same time kind of cool.

Ooh i can't wait!

Blake out!

a voice unlike any other in the world

So on saturday night i found this bar and in it were all these people and they were all wearing coveralls, like the ones you see factory workers in. And turns out, all of these people work at a factory just on the outskirts of town. It's this really really big factory, apparently, and it even goes underground a few stories because they are doing so much big work.

Actually, most of the people i talked to weren't very nice to me, they were all kinds of gruff and miserable and 'let me get back to my beer city kid before i put this bottle through your eye' Fortunately, this one lanky looking guy with scruffy hair pulled me over to the bar and was like 'you don't go being that straight forward with the factory workers man! You looking for a beating or what?'

People call him Lanks, and he told me a bit about the factory, but he couldn't tell me what they do in there because nobody's really sure. Everybody has these really small jobs that don't seem to mean much but they all combine to make this one really big job. Lanks said he spends most of his days checking metallic cylinders of various sizes to make sure there isn't anything wrong with them. He said he kind of hopes that they're all working with all this metal in order to create a giant elephant. He said an elephant factory would be really cool, and he'd read about one in a book somewhere.

Anyway, Lanks and i had a few beers and then this girl came up on stage and everybody just went quiet. She had a guitar with her and she got up on a little stool, coughed a really small cough (almost like she was embarassed by it), and then she started singing. She had really long red hair that kind of hid her face a bit, and they way she held herself made her seem really small.

But MY GOD it was the most beautiful thing i had ever heard in my whole entire life, and i have no idea how she sung those songs or what chords she played but the subtle combination of the two made my mind explode. I was hypnotised immediately, and it seemed everyone else was too because the only sound in the whole bar was just her music. which wandered through the bar carelessly and freely. Somehow the songs all felt so sad but they were just so beautiful i wanted her to play forever.

A little voice in my head said 'That girl is a guitar and vocal genius much in the way you wanted to be a piano genius blake! You must find out why she writes songs like she does!'

Lanks said she works in the factory along with everybody else. I tried to look for her after she finished but it was like she'd just vanished into thin air. I really wanted to tell her how good she was but she just wasn't anywhere. Lanks gave me his home phone number and said i might be able to find her at the factory, but i'd have to start working there like everyone else otherwise i couldn't get in.

I went home and told Peter i was thinking of going 'deep cover', and explained to him that if i started working at the factory then i was sure i could break the mag lev system that i just knew they were repairing in there, and that i'd also heard they were manufacturing muffin bot parts in there and that i could effectively execute a double whammy by destroying them both. Peter discussed it with Roger who said that he'd felt something like this was coming because of that episode of 'My Three Sons' they'd watched last night, and was ok with it.

So tomorrow i'm going with Lanks to sign up for factory work in the hopes of finding the girl with the marvellous voice! Oh man this is exciting!

Blake out.

a ghost town without ghosts

I had this bizarre dream. I was sitting in a small greenish room that had one of those mirrors that always has people watching you on the otherside, and there was a desk in front of me with a single pen sitting on it. I went to grab the pen to see what colour it was and a crackly voice from a speaker i couldn't see said 'don't touch the pen,' so i went back to doing nothing for a little while. Then a man in a suit and sunglasses kicked open the door, came in and said 'Dammit man! pick up the pen already!!!' and then i woke up.

But wow! i don't think i have ever watched that much 'My Three Sons' in my whole life. Peter said that after a while you start thinking there might be some sort of underlying message that connects all the episodes in a way you can feel but you can't completely see or comprehend. He said the only way to get closer is to watch more, and that seeing as it's an entertaining show anyway, it's not really a tough thing to do.

I don't think i want to watch anymore though. I have had my taste of the 'My Three Sons' world, and i don't think i need anymore, which is why i went for a walk while Roger and Peter sat around discussing the episodes they had watched when i fell asleep.

It's a nice town, i must admit (i really have to find out what it's called, but it completely slipped my mind to ask while i was wandering around), but it feels really empty. Besides the shop i went into, it's like no one ever leaves their houses. I could have sworn i saw a tumbleweed make it's way slowly across a street earlier on.

In the bookstore, i asked the girl who was working (She's no Celes, but she is certainly cute!) why the town seemed so deserted, and she said 'maybe it is safer for them in their houses than it is out on the streets,' and i said 'but there's nothing out on the streets,' and she said 'nothing that you can see, anyway,' and i said 'what?' but then she had to close the store up because it was lunch time and then even the cafe was closed so i was left all alone in this little town that suddenly felt really big.

I know there are people here, because i saw some on my first day, but now you would swear the place is deserted. All the time i spent wandering around i could hear machinery but i couldn't find it. It was all a bit weird, really. I crave muffins or ice cream. A combination of the two would be awesome i think, but even one of the two would go down a treat. I don't feel i can ask for any particular foods seeing as i am probably already a muffin bot, which i am lead to believe is a bad thing.

Tomorrow i will find someone to talk to! And hopefully a bar or something!

Blake out.

welcome mr samuels, to a whole new adventure!

We made it into town today. It was nice to see people again, so while Peter went to look for his friend (he told me to meet him in a diner nearby at noon), i went to the town square with Turbo and took in the new place. It's a bit quiet, like most out of the way towns are, but i've always liked that about them, like you could almost believe there was nothing there at all. I stopped in at a cafe for a coffee, and then dropped into a second hand bookshop (Albert Camus - The Stranger - $5!!!) before going to the diner to meet Peter and his friend.

Peter came in and his friend followed after him. Peter's friend looks very much like Peter - kind of dirty looking and with a scraggly sort of beard, but he wears an old looking suit that he might not have ever taken off ever. He looked at me suspiciously after shaking my hand then turned to Peter and said 'he looks like a muffin bot. Is he a muffin bot?' and Peter said 'he's not a muffin bot.' and his friend said 'Well he looks like a muffin bot!' and Peter said 'Well he ain't no muffin bot!' and his friend fired up and said 'I AIN'T TAKIN' NO MUFFIN BOT HOME!!' and Peter said 'HE AIN'T NO MUFFIN BOT!!! HE'S WITH US DAMMIT!'

Then there was a short pause as they stared each other down. Eventually, Peter's friend looked down at the ground and said 'i'm sorry Pete. It's hard.' and Peter said, 'I know, Roger, i know.' and Roger said 'you know i can't stand them muffin bots, and i gotta make sure, man, i just gotta,' and Peter said 'I know Roger, i know'

I am glad i did not order that muffin while i was waiting.

We walked back to Roger's house and Roger and Peter caught up on what was happening with them, which is to say that the Black Hand had joined forces with the Lightning Corps, so now the Corps couldn't be trusted, but they were hoping to sneak a man into the Lightning Corps so they could steal a map of the underground mag-lev train system which it seemed was under repair and therefore easier to break into. Also, Roger had taped the episodes of 'My Three Sons' that Peter had missed on his reconnaissance mission, which Peter was really glad for.

Roger's house was about a half an hours walk out of town. Roger said that he didn't like having cars too close because it gave the impression that people visited his house, and attention wasn't a good idea, what with all the new spy devices that were being used against the resistance. I asked if there were any good bars nearby where they played live music but they both kind of looked at me funny like i didn't get something so i figure i'll have to discover that stuff myself.

Roger still doesn't trust me, i don't think. It didn't help that at dinner i asked him if he liked basketball, and he turned to Peter and said, 'Is he a ninja spy?' and Peter was like 'he's no ninja spy,' and Roger said 'Because you know i can't have ninja spies here,' and Peter said 'Well that's ok because he's not a ninja spy,' and Roger said 'you better damn well make sure he ain't no ninja spy!' and Peter raised his voice a little 'He ain't no ninja spy!' and then Roger shouted 'WELL HE BETTER NOT BE!' and Peter replied 'WELL HE AIN'T HE'S WITH US DAMMIT!!!' and Roger shouted 'THEN HOW COME HE ASKED ABOUT THAT GOD DAMN BASKETBALL THEN?!?' and Peter shouted back 'BECAUSE HE DON'T KNOW NO BETTER THAN THAT!! JUST BECAUSE YOUR BEST FRIEND WAS A NINJA SPY DOESN'T MEAN EVERYONE ELSE IS TOO!!!'

Dinner was a little awkward and quiet after that, until i said maybe we should watch some 'My Three Sons', which seemed to cheer everyone up a little.

Tomorrow i will explore the new town! Go Blake! Go!

Blake out.

The sun on my face, the wind in my hair

I woke up and the weather was beautiful. Peter had left a note on the dashboard saying he had gone for a walk for "supplies" (he underlined it, so maybe he was trying to say something?), and that he would be back at some time when the crows were not picking at the souls of his dead friends, friends who had died for so much and gotten so little for the work they had done and the lives they had saved and then it trailed off.

I think i should have a chat with Peter when he gets back. I think there are tear drop stains on the bottom of the note.

Peter doesn't seem to like to talk about anything but the old secret wars. Last night, i tried to find out a little about him, but it was rather unsuccessful. I said, 'You like baseball Peter?' and he said, 'Baseball is a front for the enemy! They put them stadiums in important places'n then connect them via a series of tunnels that have mag lev trains in'm that let the enemy move quickly to stamp out our resistance! If you goes to America or Japan, you'd best watch for'm 'cos they'll brainwash you real quick!'

So i said, 'yeah, i don't like baseball heaps either...'

Peter also said that chocolate bars are designed to have you pay money for the war effort, and that muffins have little tiny nanomachines in them that make you part robot so that when they need you they can just flick a switch and bam! you're a cyborg robot killer with a gun arm and a rocket launcher back. I'm glad i didn't tell him i really like muffins, and that i eat them whenever i can because i consider myself a muffin "connoisseur"

I think tomorrow we should hit town, and i can drop him off at his friend's house. He said he would show me around and we could have a drink somewhere which was nice of him. He said his friend's house is one of the few safe places left in the whole world, which i suppose is a pretty big deal.

Man, i really feel like eating a muffin now!

My friend used to bake muffins, and she always used to let me eat the first ones she made to make sure they were up to standard. She used to make some great muffins, and i would always get all excited and jump up and down because i knew they would taste great. She had long dark hair and these stunning green eyes and an easy going attitude that made her really likeable. One day i turned up at her house because it was her birthday and she had just gone. She had left some stuff around the house, but it looked like she'd packed her bags and just left for some reason. I was really sad for a while, because she didn't even say anything to anyone before she left. Her name was Ruby. I wonder what happened to her?

Wow, i haven't thought about her in years.

Talk about getting off track, huh?

Blake out.

turbo, peter, and a life on the road

Turbo is a wolf like dog i found by the side of the road, lying in a heap with a hurt leg. When i found him, he was not making much noise or doing much of anything except for lying around and breathing, so i lifted him up and put him in the back seat of my car, because there isn't anything there except for a few old issues of 'piano genius' from back when i wanted to be, well, a piano genius.

I was all alone on the road, driving nowhere in particular, so i thought i would start up a conversation with the dog. I said, 'do you have a name, little man?' He said nothing, so i said, 'do you mind if i call you turbo?' He said nothing, so i started telling Turbo about what i had been going through recently. I started with my life before Hollow Hills and worked my way somewhat aimlessly through to the present.

We stopped off at a small community and i had someone look at Turbo's leg. I don't know what was wrong with it, and maybe there wasn't anything wrong with it at all, because by the end of the day he was walking on it like nothing was wrong, so i bought him some food and sat outside with him while i ate my dinner. I talked to him about a life out on the road, travelling from place to place, discovering new things and meeting new people. Ever since then, i haven't been able to get rid of him, which isn't to say i've been trying. He sticks to my side like a trusty sidekick, and i must say it's nice to have a companion.

As for Peter, i met him just as Turbo and i were leaving. He came up to me, this old looking guy in an old grey coat with an old looking beard and he said 'Where you headed?' and i said, 'Uh, wherever, really.' and he said 'if you could take me to the next town i'd be mighty grateful' and i said 'sure thing! i was hoping for a new destination anyway!'

So for the last few days we have been a trio. It turns out that Peter is a veteran from a war he calls the old secret wars, which were wars so secret most people know nothing about them. Driving down the empty road that first night, Peter said to me, 'Blake, if that is indeed your real name, know this. You can never trust anyone but yourself, and even then you still can't know if you are trustworthy'

Peter has been telling me a bit about the old secret wars but i will have to inform you all later on their history because there is still lots i don't know, and Peter tends to jump from story to story a bit randomly. It is all very interesting, i can assure you, and he even wants to show me a secret base that is hidden underground a little out of the town we are heading towards! It sounds very very cool!

It's all really exciting stuff. I think being out on the road is a really good decision, and with company like this, how can things possibly go bad?

Blake out.

two of us - the beatles

The outdoors truly is beautiful. I am half listening to Peter talk about the old secret wars while he lies on the grass with his eyes closed soaking up the sun ("There were four of us, and we were all green. None of us knew what we was doing, but we learnt fast, boy. We learnt so quick you wouldn't have believed it. Truth be told, we didn't have no choice. Me? I was unprepared, to be sure, but who knew they was coming anyway? Invasions is like that..."). Turbo has gone for a walk somewhere, but i predict he will be back at some point.

Anyway, i should get back to what you actually want to read about.

That night, i had a visitor. I heard a loud thunk from outside the door late that night, at around two in the morning. Then i heard Trevor say 'Ow! What the hell was that for!?' Then there was a secondary thunk, followed by Trevor saying 'Ow! That hurt even more! What are you...' and then there was a third thunk which was followed by silence.

The door opened and it was a hooded monk, but as soon as she said 'follow me, quick!' i knew it was the one with the beautiful voice. Before we left though, i made her wait while i wrote down my blog spot address and a sorry note and slipped it into Trevor's robe, in case he ever wanted to contact me or inform me on how many push-ups he could do. I felt a bit bad that he would awaken with a headache.

She said, 'We don't have much time. They will be looking for you shortly.'

I said 'really?' and she said 'yes.'

We walked up some stairs and at the top she said 'i'm sorry i kicked dirt in your face blake. The others were suspecting me of something and i needed them to think i didn't like you.'

'Why didn't you just call me a name or something? I would have been just as hurt if you'd told me i was a stupid head, i just wouldn't have been dirty.' i said.

She said, 'i don't think that would have worked so well blake.'

Anyway, we snuck out to the front and i heard someone shout 'someone's let the prisoner out!'

She pushed me in the back and said 'Quick! The forest! Hurry!' so we ran into the forest, me in front and her telling me which way to go. I could hear people far off in the distance shouting, but we just kept running. I must have made them really mad.

We reached the road after quite some time, and strangely enough, there was a car there waiting. Even stranger still was that it was my car. She pushed me towards it and said, 'you have to go blake. Now.'

And i said, 'but i don't even know who you are.'

She took off her hood and even though it was dark i could tell who it was. It was Celes! I couldn't believe it! I was so surprised i couldn't say anything. She said, 'it's okay that you missed our date blake. Maybe if things hadn't gotten so crazy i could have shown you some of my pictures. I think i would have liked that. But you have to go blake, now, or they'll get you.'

I felt her push a crumpled piece of paper in my hand and then, get this, she kissed me! I was so surprised i didn't know what to do, but then i felt her push me away lightly. It was one of those 'we can't see each other anymore' sort of kisses, like i could taste the regret in it. She caught my eyes for a second and i don't know what i saw in hers, but before i could ask she ran into the bushes.

The keys were in the door, so i got in, started it up, and headed down the road. I was so busy looking behind me that i crashed into someone's letterbox. A man came out and looked at me and when he realised who i was he started screaming and shouting. It was Tony! He ran inside and came back out with a gun and even though i wanted to apologise i could see the monks behind me with fire on sticks and i was a bit scared of his gun anyway so i just drove off.

I think i will miss Hollow Hills. I hope to one day go back and eat some muffins. Maybe even with Celes.

I think that would be great.

Oop. Turbo has come back and i think he wants to show me something. Also, thinking about Celes has made me a little sad anyway, so i think a walk will do me some good. I think i need to keep looking up, and be happy that i even met someone like that, because it is not often that a blake meets a beautiful woman who is interesting.

No sir, it certainly is not.

Blake out.

a question mark - elliott smith

Where have you been Blake?

Maybe you are wondering about this. I'm not really sure, because i don't know if you are reading this or not. If you are, i apologise for not blogging in so long. I can fill you in over the next few days though, let you know what happened as well as i remember it. At the moment, in case you are wondering, i am sitting in a small restaurant with Peter waiting for some food to arrive while he talks to me about the old secret wars.

Anyway, the day after i last posted, Jared came into my room. I had just started doing some push-ups, and i was determined to break sixty.

He said, 'have you decided, Mr Samuels?'

and i said, '(25) decided on what? (26)'

There was a small pause, and then 'on whether you will join us in our life of waiting for the meteor to arrive. Will you aid us in our cause?'

'(36) i was thinking about it, (37), but it's not really for me Jared, (38), so i guess you'll just have to set me on fire.'

There was another pause, and then 'what exactly are you doing?'

'push-ups. (45). Good for the shoulders.'

'i... i see.'

I stopped at forty nine. I was not impressed with myself. I sat up and looked at Jared looking at me. 'Can i ask a favour?' i asked.

'and what might that be, little one?'

'I was thinking you might let me visit some people in town tonight, you know, to say goodbye and thanks and sorry and whatever else. I'd like to let some people know that i'm in pretty good health before you burn me to cinders.'

Jared shook his head. 'I am sorry, Blake, but we simply cannot allow you to leave this cell. Those who have been shown the path of light and refuse to take it are to be punished for their foolish behaviour. It will be as it has been written, Blake, and you will burn tomorrow, your ashes wandering through the sky until they come to rest with the earth in waiting for the coming of the great meteor.'

I must have looked a bit dejected. I sure felt dejected. Actually, i'm not entirely sure what dejected means anymore. I think it's the word i'm looking for. I just nodded, in any case.

Anyway, Jared leave and say to Trevor, 'your shoulders are looking a little bigger Trevor' A little later Trevor came to my door and said to me, 'are you ok?' and i said 'i think so.'

Then he said, 'can i do anything for you?' and i said, 'maybe tomorrow you could find Celes for me and tell her i'm sorry i missed our date. I think maybe i should have asked you to do it a long time ago but i was really hoping i could do it myself.'

He said, 'i think i can do that for you Blake.'

I sat around thinking for a while that it was a real bummer that i would be getting burnt up before i could even do sixty push-ups.

Outside they were setting up the stake and wood where i would be burnt. I could hear them doing it, and i sometimes saw people passing by my little window carrying wood. Jared told me that they would burn me early in the morning, just before the sun came up. I said i thought that was a good time to do it.

Ooh, sorry, but i have to go now. My burger has arrived and Peter is getting mad that i am not listening to his history lesson ("This is goddamn important boy! You listening? I don't just give this info away you know! I could get in serious trouble for revealing information on the secret wars!"), and also i have to make sure Turbo is ok outside, maybe bring him some water.

I'll post soon though, and update you.

Blake out.

Jared gets back tomorrow!!!

Trevor said, 'Jared gets back tomorrow' and i was like 'is this another one of your cruel pranks Trevor?' and he said 'When have i ever played a prank on you Blake?' And he hadn't, which i knew. Even now i'm not sure why i asked him that. Although once i knew this guy who would sneak up on me and slap in the face sometimes. Even when i was sleeping or drinking milk or whatever. I lost contact with him a while back.

Maybe i should find out where he lives and sneak up on him and slap him in the face. I imagine i would find that quite enjoyable.

But anyway, this is good news. I can't even remember how long it's been since he left. Finally i get a chance to sit down and chat with the man himself. I'm really sure that if we can talk, i can convince him to let me see Celes before he sets me on fire. I mean, maybe they could even arrange for her to visit my cell to ensure i don't try anything funny. It's not like i would, but it's not like they know that.

I heard that Jared didn't go so well over in Spain. Over in Spain they don't take so well to the threat of fire, and i think Jared is a bit mad that he was forced to run away from a village after they attempted to set him on fire instead. Trevor said he thinks it all would have gone much smoother if Jared had just learnt the native language and then gone over, but he also said that Jared told him before he left that the language of the mighty meteor and the flames that billow forth from it are a language all people inherently understand, even if they do not seem to at first.

It seems to me that the Spanish people understood only the fire bit.

Jared is coming back for a short spell before he jetsets off again to Japan to try his luck over there. He will stop over to see how i am doing and make sure everyone is still worshipping the same meteor then leave.

I said to Trevor 'how do i look?' and he said 'horrible, but that's good, because Jared will think you have had it really bad down here even though you haven't' and i said 'what do you mean?' and he said 'usually people really don't like it down here, and that convinces them to join if the fire isn't enough' and i said 'oh, right. but it's actually kind of nice down here when you get used to it. All you really need to do is put a shower in' and Trevor said 'i don't think you really understand this captive prisoner concept that is going on' and i said 'yeah maybe'

Well, tomorrow being the big day i better get to sleep early so i can be in top condition for my meeting tomorrow. My uncle used to say that selling something to someone is %75 percent attitude, and that the rest is shit luck and how much they want the thing you are trying to sell.

My uncle is a poor man, but he has good to talk to over a drink sometimes.

I don't know how much shit luck i have, but i have the right attitude and a mind to convince!

Blake out.

fake frowns - death cab for cutie

Nothing really happened today. I said to Trevor 'is Jared back yet?' and he said 'no', so i said 'do you know who kicked dirt in my face yet?' and he said 'no' and i said 'do you know i am able to do fifty four push ups now?' and he said 'no' He was not in a terribly good mood because he had not slept especially well last night due to a few of the monks who got loud and rowdy after some home brewed alcohol. I reminded him that at least he was invited to the barbeque and not left in a little cell with only a little window for company.

I finished Trevor's book today. I want to talk about it so if you intend on reading it someday then you might not want to read this next bit (although having said that i'm not sure if this book will ever get major publishing because Trevor is intent on keeping it to himself. "They are personal" he says.).

Samuel sees her coming, ever closer to the meteor shower. He tries with all his might to stop the meteors and although he is successful, he is moments too late, and a single meteor collides with his love and she turns into a space dust so beautiful that it illuminates all the now slow moving meteors and turns them a stunning aqua green colour. Samuel is left alone in a universe so beautiful it is only equalled by his sadness. Over a long long time life begins to spread through this universe and planets are born from which new things start. However, by the time this has happened, Samuel is long gone, wandering the universe in his infinite sadness, now spreading life wherever he goes but never aware that he is spreading it.

I told Trevor his story was sad, and Trevor said 'well, that's kind of the idea.'

I wasn't too sure what to say to that, so i didn't say anything.

I found myself thinking about Celes today, wondering what she was doing, and hoping that she might at some point during the day wonder what happened to that regular looking guy with a fairly average haircut and why he stood her up. Whatever she is doing and wherever she is doing it, i hope she is happy.

I said to Trevor, 'Do you think when Jared comes back he might let me apologise to Celes before he sets me on fire?' ( i have filled Trevor in on everything) and Trevor said 'i don't think so, because Jared is not a very lenient person.' So i said, 'But maybe if i told him what i had done, maybe he would reconsider?' and Trevor said, 'Maybe if you just joined us you could go down and tell her yourself,' but i am still not so keen on that idea yet.

I will have to make Jared understand my predicament. I don't think i would mind being set on fire so long as i could set this right first.

Blake out.

All alone in my little room (still)

So the monks had a barbeque today. Incidentally, i got left in my cell. I was all like 'oh come on Trevor! I swear i'm not going to run away!' but he was firm in his decision. 'Maybe i might know you won't run, but the others don't. Also, i'm sorry, but it would feel kind of awkward if you were standing around chatting and eating with the rest of us, you know?'

He was probably right.

I could hear them up there, laughing and eating and joking. Talking about the books they were writing and what they would do if the meteor didn't strike again. I could smell the food and i just went weak. Days of only rice porridge have left me hungry for anything that has even a remote kind of taste to it.

However, i have considerably slimmed down, i like to think. But admittedly, i could really do with a shave and a shower.

Trevor was nice enough to slip me some food through my window, which i was grateful for. I spent the next hour or so savouring my food and reading Trevor's book, which is nearing to a close. Realising that all he does is cause destruction, Samuel finds himself a small universe completely uninhabited and begins to sculpt it to his liking. It becomes surrounded by meteors moving at such a pace that nothing can get through them. But right now, the one girl who can make him well again and who loves him truly has decided she must see him at least one more time, even if it means braving the meteors. I really should have filled you guys in on that little subplot earlier, but i guess you'll just have to read the book yourselves.

I really hope things end up good for them. Samuel seems like a nice guy.

Later in the evening i was sitting around reading when there was a cough at my window. I went up to it and saw a monk's feet. 'Yes?' i said, and then (get this), the feet kicked dirt in my face. It went in my eyes and hair and stuff, and i fell down. 'You stupid monk!' i cried, 'What the hell was that for!? You think just because you write books and wear robes you can kick dirt in a guys face!? I hope your pen stops working and you get writer's block you idiot!!'

I feel bad now, having said that. I don't usually lose my temper like that.

Even still, if i ever meet that monk, him and i will be having some words, and i will make him apologise because that just wasn't very nice.

A paper plane sailed through my window a bit after that had a message in it. It read, 'He returns in two or three days. Be ready.'

That could be exciting, i think.

Blake out.

The Story of Samuel

Trevor has written lots of books now, and today i finally managed to convince him to show me one of them. I have been reading it all day, because my arms are a bit tired from trying to do too much yesterday (fifty one push-ups though!). The book is about a person called Samuel who lived a long time ago. He was born of two planets. It is quite good so far.

Here is a small section from the start:

The first Samuel began as a watcher of two planets. It was said by many that he was a product of them, that he was their creation. It would explain his fascination with them. He would watch for hours as the two planets revolved around each other beautifully, harmoniously, and although occasional meteor storms would rain down upon the planets, it was popular thought that the planets would never lose their orbit.

Of course, the reality of the situation was very different. Cracks in the planets had begun even before the birth of Samuel, and little by little, the planets were distancing themselves. The young Samuel however was unable to see these cracks or this distancing, and so continued to watch happily, believing these planets to be his grounding, his source of strength and hope.

When the planets had finally and inevitably crumbled to nothing, Samuel had found himself in nowhere land. He had seen the signs of their imminent destruction, but until the end had clung to the belief they would stay their course. Suddenly he was alone, alone and powerless. He had allowed himself to fall into a false sense of security, and despised himself for his weakness. His universe as he knew it had been destroyed, and he vowed never to let this pain inside of him again.

The young boy had shed no tears, but his anguish was great.

It is quite good so far. He becomes disillusioned and wanders the galaxy in search of something he will never find, his sadness becoming meteors that rain down wherever he goes. Quite exciting!

Blake out.

Watching the moon from my little window

Trevor always wants to be an author. We were talking about it just a little while ago, actually, over a few muffins (i convinced him to go down to the diner and buy a couple and he agreed that as far as muffins are concerned, they truly are fantastic. Also, i got a muffin. YEAH!) He loved writing but no one really read anything he wrote, so he just wrote his science fiction stories in a book that he never showed anyone.

That's why when a few years ago he found himself locked in a strange basement and threatened with fire, he decided he would just go along with it. At least this way, he figured, he had a reason to write a few books. So he spent his days writing about meteors and other dimensions and ocassionally robots, too (he couldn't show the other monks these ones, but he says they're his favourites). I've been trying to convince him to let me read some of his books, but he is a bit shy about it.

On the plus side, he can do ten push-ups now, which is double what he started with. I haven't been able to push past fifty, which is a bit disappointing.

Later in the night when Trevor fell asleep (he snores, in a kind of funny way i can't really explain), that girl visited again. She asked me if i had gotten help and i said, 'what?' and she said with your laptop, that's why i gave it to you, and i said 'huh?', and she said getting me out could take a bit longer than first thought, so i said 'ok'

She asked me what was wrong because i was a bit sad, and i told her i stood someone up and i was very sorry about it. I said that i would really like to say sorry and set things right. I couldn't see her face because of her hood, but she looked at me for a little while and said 'You are too nice for your own good Blake.'

But i don't think i am. Who knows, right?

Blake out.

the monks of the mighty meteor

So i asked Trevor about the monks today, because i might have to join them if i don't want to be set on fire, and also, there is not much to do in my cell except for exercise, and there is only so much of that i can do before i get tired. Trevor was more than happy to tell me all about the history of the monks, but as it turns out, they are a fairly recent group.

About a generation ago, an old man who lived in a house with a basement all alone looked up to the sky and decided that a meteor was going to fall. He was so sure in fact, that he needed other people to see what he saw too. He wrote some books on the history of the great meteor and how life as we knew it revolved around it in such a way that we didn't even know it was happening, and then he decided to recruit some new members.

So off he wandered to the local town, and there he found a young man of reasonable intellect, who he lured back to his house and locked in the basement. There, he informed the young man that unless he become a monk himself, he would be set on fire. Being a kind of lost individual anyway, the young man decided that believing in a meteor was about as good as anything else, so he made himself some robes and even wrote a few books himself.

Utilizing the effective threat of death by fire, the two monks became four, who became eight, and so on, until they were a small group of somewhat confused monks writing books about meteors that were set to arrive at various different times depending on who and when you asked. These monks set about erecting a small church outside the town where they could live in peace until such a time as the great meteor arrived.

One night, while everyone was sleeping, a monk went down to the basement of the church and set the poor man there on fire. His logic was that the earlier he set the person on fire, the earlier the meteor would arrive, and in turn, the earlier he would be able to surf the cosmos and rule the universe from his rock kingdom (he had written a book about it, so it was therefore a universal truth). Anyway, he did not expect the fire to spread as quickly as it did, and so he, along with many of the others who were sleeping, perished.

Unfortunately, no meteor struck that night, or even the next day. Having lost their great (if kind of crazy) leader, most of the monks disbanded, finding jobs in the local town and getting back to normal life. Jared, the current leader of the monks, is the actual cousin of a friend who's brother knows a guy who's uncle was one of the first recruits in the early days. It is a little bit confusing, but having read through the books that remain, and having written many of his own, Jared claims to be the new high leader, and has been recruiting members in the way that has now become tradition.

And who are we to tell them their tradition is a bit silly?

The monks now are not unlike the monks then. They write numerous books that conflict with each other and generally go their own way, and occasionally they find someone to throw in the basement who they threaten with a death of fire. It doesn't seem like all that bad of an existence, really, except that i still have some travelling to do and i have no real desire to wait for a meteor and write various books about it while i wait.

Jared is in Spain trying to start the first of an international chapter at the moment, so Trevor says i still have at least a few days of freedom left, but i don't know if you can really call this freedom.

Blake out.