The Adventures of Blake

(Is anyone still here?)

2007-11-26T09:55:00.000+10:30

I should apologise.

I'm sorry guys.

I don't know if anyone reads this anymore, but i figure i should tell you all what has gone down in the last year or so.

I met this girl when i got home called Clarice, and i thought i fell in love with her because i couldn't seem to think of anything else but her and every time she looked at me i got all funny and embarrassed and my words got all mixed up and i couldn't seem to function properly, but even then she seemed to like me too so we went out a few times for coffee and whatnot and suddenly we were dating and she wanted me to go with her to some mountain lodge that she went to every year.

So of course i said yes because who doesn't want to chill out at some mountain lodge for a holiday and besides i really dug this girl like you wouldn't believe, but funnily enough when we got to the lodge she kind of vanished and i got given some kind of plain cotton clothes and a room key and was told that everyone was gathering at 8 for dinner and worship and i figure, 'well, whatever, let's see where it goes,' and i go to my room and put on my new clothes and chill out for a while.

Actually though dinner sucked and they didn't even have the internet at the mountain lodge and no one would let me go home. Everyone was all like, 'you don't want to go back,' and i'm all 'the hell i don't,' and then they'd say, 'it's all full of idiots and morons and as soon as our forces have built to the grand number we will have them destroyed so we may once again reign the earth as we had centuries ago in the unwritten past,' and how does a guy reply to that anyway? So i figured it really wasn't going to go all that great for me, but up so high in the mountains i didn't really have any choice but to wait, so wait i did.

Clarice, it turned out, was one of the recruitment agents of this group, and you know it's funny but all the time i was there it was like if she'd have asked me to walk into a wall or eat an ice-cream cake through my nose i totally would have done it because she just had these eyes and this look and i mean her body was smoking hot too and you just wanted to believe anything she said but now that she didn't talk to me or even look at me i guess i just kind of got dropped from cloud nine straight back to earth. The fall was kind of painful, too.

Anyway, i couldn't read anything but the books of the unwritten past, because the library didn't have any other books, and no one would listen to me when i told them that as soon as they were printed and bound they became the books of the now written past, but by this time less people were talking and more people were just kind of sitting around with kind of sad and lonely eyes as though something important had been ripped from their hands. So i just sat around reading these books of the unwritten past and eventually because i knew so much about it i became a librarian at the lodge, which saved me from getting the 'inner-sight', which as far as i could tell would just give me sad and lonely eyes and steal away something important from me.

So anyway, being a librarian meant that i could order stock, and ordering stock meant that i would have to have contact with the outside world once a week, and i met this guy called Dashiell and he and i would sit around and smoke stuff we shouldn't and shoot the breeze until i had to go back to work, and so that became my kind of weekly routine: reading books and lending books out and ordering stock and hanging out with Dashiell.

It was a pretty good escape for a while, even if everything around me was getting kind of weird and intense.

Anyway, i better cut it short here because Turbo is looking like he wants to go for a walk, and i'm thinking maybe we could go to the beach and hang out.

Blake out.

So i know a guy who's been on hoiday....

2006-10-31T22:29:00.000+10:30

You see i think the thing i like best about being on holiday is that there is never any pressure to do anything. Unless you are married to a woman like my uncle's wife who would plan out in great detail all these different things they would do when on holiday like nature walks and kayaking and night time hikes and morning bus tours and my uncle would say things like, 'dammit blake one day i am going to throttle that woman!' or 'blake the best holidays are the ones when she goes alone and i get left on the couch with a cigar with the good reverend jack'

So i am sorry i did not tell any of you i was going on holiday but the last two weeks have been a kind of rollercoaster ride where the the rollercoaster goes off a jump and disconnects from the tracks but lands safely on the ground and slides further until it reaches the highway and snags onto a truck which drags it along some before launching it off the highway and onto an ice rink and then finally onto the cool grass and i get off and i'm on a beautiful tropical island where a woman brings me a drink in a coconut and a hawaiian shirt and i sit under a palm tree enjoying the sun.

Actually though i am on a tropical island right now but i'm not allowed to tell you guys where because it's a security issue and Jane thinks it best i stay 'off the radar' for a while.

The trouble started when i found Tony and Turbo (Woo!!!) but of course they were underground in a kind of facility i had never seen before and i had to dress up like a guard to get in there and say tough things like 'yeah i hit him in the face. So hard in fact i hit him again' and then i got Tony and Turbo out but then the alarm went off and it turned out there was another intruder and everybody was in a rush and in all the hustle and bustle tony and i stumbled into what i was later told was a drug laboratory and we accidentally set it on fire and that in turn led to the whole facility exploding.

Actually the person who broke in was none other than the beautiful red head who's name is Cayce and in fact it is a bit strange because she was the one who hired me to find Tony and Turbo in the first place because she believed them to hold valuable information on the whereabouts of one of her agents.

It's all a bit complicated but i will try to keep you guys informed over the next few days.

Right now i think i will go for a swim!

Blake out.

the continuing story of bungalow bill - the beatles

2006-10-15T21:17:00.000+09:30

I checked out an office with Jane today and she said 'this is the one' and i said, 'cool' because i knew i wasn't going to change her mind because she's like that. While we were on our way to the office actually, my phone rang and i answered it and it was her but she was sitting right in front of me and she said, 'i just wanted to make sure you're carrying it with you because we've invested in you and we need it to pay off!'

Anyway, i promised i would finish off my story, right?

So on thursday Peter and i went to 'for blue hearts' and sure enough there was a brown car there and we waited until it took off and we followed it but then out of nowhere these three black sedans pulled up behind it and in front of us and suddenly some police cars came up behind our volkswagen with their lights blaring and the brown car sped up so everyone else did and i saw a white van driving along side of us and in it was the sad looking man who had slapped me all that time ago while i was tied to that chair and he was talking into a walkie talkie but i lost track of him because two helicopters came from high above with men in them firing guns at the police and we were all speeding along with the black cars firing at the police and the helicopter and the police firing at the helicopter and us stuck in the middle. A car in front of us spun out and flipped right over us onto a police car and one of the helicopters exploded and then i noticed two other identical brown cars pulled along side of the first one and weaved in and out with each other and then turned off in different directions and so we all split off in search of a different car all hoping it was the right one.

Wow.

I promise i will never write big paragraphs like that again.

Anyway our car came to a halt behind the brown one at what appeared to be a small gas station on the edge of town and Peter was unconscious from all the crazy driving so i ran inside and found in the office a filing cabinet that had been pushed over to reveal a small staircase down into a massive basement computer room in which a man was rapidly clicking on a mouse button and he saw me and pushed his glasses up and said 'haha! you'll never get it! not anymore!' and i said, 'get what?' but i never got to answer because another voice said, 'hold it!' and it was the sad looking man and two cronies looking a little dirty and angry and they said, 'mr wilmot you'll come with us now,' and i said, 'mr wilmot?' but i didn't get an answer to that either because then another voice said, 'HOLD IT!' and it was palazzo and two cronies and they also looked a bit dirty and angry and he said, 'wilmot comes with us,' and i said, 'like kasahara wilmot?' but because everyone was pointing guns at each other and looking angry no one heard me, but then there was this sound upstairs and these two canisters fell down into the room and started releasing this gas and everyone was coughing and i heard some guns go off and someone gave me a gas mask but i couldn't see and i was crying and it took some time before i could recover.

Whoops.

It seems i did it again.

In any case when the gas cleared all these men in shirts and ties were carrying everybody out and the beautiful red head was smiling at me and she said, 'thankyou blake,' and i said, 'thankyou for what?' and she said they were trying to organise a big bust for the sad looking man and palazzo and wilmot too was working for some agency he wasn't aware of and they couldn't have done it without me but i really needed to see wilmot so i said, 'where's wilmot?' and she pointed to a corner where he was sitting looking uncomfortable and i said, 'mr wilmot,' but he didn't hear me so i said, 'mr wilmot this is important,' and he still didn't answer so i slapped him across the face and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him towards me and said, 'enough! Where's kasahara!?' and he said, 'what?' and i said, 'the dog man! Where is it?' and he said, 'oh no! kasahara! I left her at the dog hotel. It's called 'happy happy holidays'' and i let go of him and left even though the red head was calling my name.

I wish i had stopped for the red head now but i was a man on a mission and my mission was uncomplete. I felt bad for may and wanted to make sure everything was seen to asap.

So then on friday i went to happy happy holidays and found out they'd given kasahara to a local animal shelter because she hadn't been picked up so i went there and found her and got her out and brought her to May and May gave me some cookies as a reward and that made me really happy and i went back to Peter's place and fell asleep because it felt like i hadn't slept in ages.

Then on saturday i contacted Jane and told her what was going on and she started all the preparations for a new place and such.

It feels good to finally have that all out for you guys to see.

Now i'm going to eat a cookie and relax for a while!

Blake out.

feet up, time to relax(?), case closed!!!

2006-10-14T20:00:00.000+09:30

Well everyone can relax because at last Kasahara has been found!

Hooray!

To be honest though, i have a strange feeling about what happened over the last few days that has me feeling a little bit on the paranoid side. I told Peter about it but he just shrugged it off and said that often when people exist in two universes at the same time this sort of thing happens and it is similar to deja vu in that you feel you have done something before because you have in that other universe and i told him it was a little bit different to that and he explained that it must mean my experiences in rapidly moving from the past to the present and the future at speeds so quick i didn't even realise it was happening must have left me with a sort of bizarre jet lag.

Maybe he is right.

Or maybe it is the hotdogs i buy every time i visit this dingy little internet cafe.

In any case, on wednesday i had Peter dress up in one of my suits and i loaned him my jacket and then we went out and i bought a sharp black suit (Oh man it is sooooo cool!) and some nice looking sunglasses and then we headed straight to an alleyway across the road from my office in Peter's old volkswagen. As soon as Kris came out Peter ran over to her and the people who were watching her all rushed at him so i rushed in with them and grabbed Kris while Peter shouted all sorts of angry things and threw handfuls of rocks that we put in his pockets. In the confusion i managed to get Kris away because everyone thought that i too was a sharply dressed bad guy.

After convincing Kris i was blake and not some bad guy we ran down the alleyway towards Peter's car and there was this almighty bang and we turned to look and it was my office and it had exploded and it seemed so unreal but i had to get Kris away still so we jumped in the car. Then we met up again with Peter who was huffing and puffing but happy all the same and we went to his little ramshackle apartment where Kris insisted on making everyone coffee that didn't end up tasting too good.

Then we realised there was a letter taped to Peter's television and it said that we should go to 'For Blue Hearts' tomorrow at one thirty and follow the brown car and there was a kiss mark on this one too so i told the guys we should trust it because the kiss mark had also resulted in Kris being saved.

Oh darn, that's Jane calling me on my brand new mobile phone. She insisted i carry one with me because the office blew up and she couldn't get in contact with me and was worried sick about me and Kris. She's been busy looking at new offices for me today.

Anyway, i better take this call, but i'll fill you in on the rest soon!

Blake out.

a quick recap before the hunt begins

2006-10-10T21:14:00.000+09:30

This will have to be quick as the internet cafe man says i don't have all that much time and even though i said 'but i paid you your money', he said, 'well you didn't pay me enough' and even though i know i did i really don't feel like dealing with him at the moment because there are other bigger and more important things for me to be doing.

saturday...

palazzo came in for his meeting and i knew what i had to do. As soon as he went to the toilet (which was somewhere after his third beer) i got gestahl from behind the counter and went to the toilet. Then i found the cubicle palazzo was in and slipped the bottle under the door and in as gruff a voice as i could manage said, 'you will tell me what i want to know and i will not allow this super mega seven different types of poison spider out of it's bottle and onto your face,' and he was quick to tell me about the person he was meeting. Apparently, he works for a group that is also trying to find Mr Wilmot and apparently they have some information on a pesky detective that has been snooping around some though he has dropped off their radar recently although they still have his secretary under close but secretive scrutiny, but he doesn't know anything about where mr wilmot is now. He was breathing quite heavy and was super scared and i felt a bit bad so i said in my gruff voice, 'thankyou for your help, we will take it from here.'

I went back out with gestahl and put him behind the counter and when i turned back around the person who was meeting with palazzo was unconscious and all his henchman were bruised and bleeding and without teeth and i found Jimmy behind the counter with a black eye and i gently shook him awake and he leapt away from me when he saw me because he thought i was someone else and said 'don't touch me!' and i said, 'it's cool jimmy it's me,' and he said, 'look blake we are pals and all but if you bring in people like that red haired ninja again then we will have to talk,' and it was weird because jimmy is a tough guy you know? Anyway, one of the henchmen was holding a note and it was all crumpled but it said, warehouse six on the pier, monday night, 11:30 and there was a kiss mark on it that was dark red in colour.

sunday...

Peter insisted on my going with him to visit a friend of his who has for a long time supplied weapons for the resistance and who has also fought in many of the most important battles of the underground. The guy was stick thin and wore a camo headband and had a long scraggly beard and had a cigarette dangling out of his mouth and he took one look at me and said to Peter 'ain't givin' a weapon to a muffin bot,' and Peter said, 'he's been reprogrammed Scmidt,' and Schmidt said, 'ain't givin' a weapon to a muffin bot Pete,' and Peter said, 'look i know one took your leg but you know i'm good for it Scmidt because you know what sort of work i'm doing and why i'm doing it and where i'm doing it and when i did it in the past as well as how it was being done and where i was doing it and why i was doing it as well as the work i am doing in the future that affects the immediate past and why i need to be doing that, so please Schmidt, i'm begging you,' and Schmidt said, 'when you put it like that...'

So now i have a forcefield protector device in the shape of a rounded stone that i am to keep on me at all times because Shmidt still didn't want to give me a weapon although Peter assures me that will be all i'll need.

monday...

I spent some time trying to track down the man palazzo was meeting but Jimmy didn't have any info on them and all the places i went to didn't give me anything to go on so i kind of wasted the day away although at least i got to eat a muffin at a nice cafe somewhere down a sidestreet.

At 11:30 i went to the warehouse and it was dark and i slipped in and all i could hear was the rain pounding down on the roof and then there was a cold metal feeling at the back of my neck and a female's voice whispered in my ear, 'your secretary is in danger. You need to get to her as soon as possible,' and i said, 'tomorrow?' and she said, 'wednesday, noon,' and i said why not tomorrow?' and she said, 'i can't say,' and then she pulled the trigger and there was a sharp pain through my body and then i woke up and it was today at around two in the afternoon and i was in an alleyway right near peter's little ramshackle house and i felt a bit strange and i had a bit of a headache but otherwise i was ok so i went to the internet cafe and now here i am.

tomorrow...?

Off to rescue Kris and return a lost dog!!!

Blake out.

one step at a time on the trail for friends

2006-10-06T19:43:00.000+09:30

I met a guy in the bar on Wednesday (the bar is called 'For Blue Hearts') and he told me that if i ever needed someone taken care of then he was the guy, and he gave me his business card which is pretty cool so i might give him a call next time my mum wants a day all for herself on her birthday or something like that because i think she'd really like a day where everything she wants is taken care of and all she has to do is lie around and be lazy.

That girl with the red hair hasn't come in since i saw on Tuesday so i guess it's lucky i haven't been looking out for her otherwise i would have been disappointed that she hadn't turned up to electrify me with those amazing eyes of hers that seemed to chill me to the very centre of my being.

In any case, i struck up conversation with the barman and he seems like a cool guy. His name is Jimmy Plant and he's been working behind the bar since the old guy who worked behind the bar before him was stabbed in a vicious argument over the price of two pints. Jimmy says that the only reason he hasn't been stabbed yet is because on his first day he did the stabbing. He says that although the jail time wasn't all that great, it was worth it for the peace and quiet he has in the bar now. He loaned me a big clear beer bottle and i caught this massive spider in it and we decided to call in Gestahl. It's really cool!

Yesterday i went back to the office but Kris is still under the watchful eye of those men and i do not think it would be wise to try anything against them at this point in time. Peter tells me they are an interplanetary group of mercenaries, hired by various planets to source out people with high enery levels who are then drained of their energy and left to live out the rest of their lives as extras in television shows becase, as Peter explained, the extras in television shows are always lacking the brightness of the stars. The energy powers a giant machine the purpose of which no one is completely sure of, though they know better than to keep it underpowered.

Either way, even if i have a space laser mega cannon i still don't want to run into them.

That old cop came in to the bar today while i was in a booth staring at the rain and i hid under my jacket and fortunately he didn't see me. Turns out his name is Palazzo, and he has a meeting here tomorrow with somebody i've never heard of and he just wanted to scope the joint out a day before so as not to be caught by surprise. Jimmy said that his bar holds no surprises, only liquor, and Palazzo said he didn't believe Jimmy and that made Jimmy really mad but Palazzo just laughed and walked out into the rain and pushed someone into a puddle on his way down the street.

It looks like staking this place out was a good idea after all...

Though i do wonder where that red haired girl might have gotten to...?

Blake out.

the sneaky life of the sneaky detective

2006-10-03T22:02:00.000+09:30

I slipped out early on monday morning to the office to see if i could get in contact with Kris but it would seem that i cannot as she is being watched by the group i suspect may have kidnapped me a little while ago. I watched them, hidden in a dark alley behind my new jacket, as they watched her from behind their newspapers and their sunglasses.

It felt very detective!

At the moment i feel it is best not to get in contact with Jane as this is probably a situation i can deal with by myself and besides this also seems a bit like the sort of work a detective in a cold rainy city like this one should be used to even if he doesn't like it.

I went to mr wilmot's house and it was deserted. the door had been kicked in and everything had been turned upside down. I wandered around the mess and got myself a glass of water and stood in the kitchen wondering what to do next when i heard some people talking and getting closer to the apartment so i quickly ran into a closet in the bedroom and waited and two people came into the house and started talking.

One of them said, 'You find him yet?' and the other older one said, 'you can see we turned the place upside down can't you?' and the first one replied, 'that wasn't my question,' and the older one said, '...no. No we haven't found him. Have found any feckin' clues whatsoever,' and the first one said, 'well you better hurry, because we don't like...' and the old one cut him off and said, 'i know what you don't like and i told ya i'd find him didn't i? We'll find him, you hear?' and then there was a pause and the old one said, '...could you... could you crush that for me?' and the first one said 'crush what?' and the old one made some sounds that were kind of high pitched and the first one said, 'why that's just a spider, you stupid git,' and the old one said, 'i don't care just get it the feck out of my face and let me get back to the search!' and the first one said, 'cool your head old man, don't want the other officers thinking you had a heart attack on routine patrol do we?' and the old one shouted 'GET IT OUT OF MY SITE, YOU HEAR!?'

and that was when i realised it was the old police officer from the other day who told me to watch out for my blood noses, which seemed strange to me.

I waited a good fifteen minutes after they left but when i tried to get out of the closet the door was jammed so i had to force it and when it opened the roof in the closet space collapsed and a bunch of papers fell on me as well as a box with some documents in it. While i gathered them all together i found a match book for a bar that wasn't far from Peter's place so i put it in my pocket and returned with everything to regroup and plan my next steps.

Today i went to the bar and it seemed nice enough, with pictures on the wall of old movie stars and a nice big selection of liquor on the back wall from all over the world. I spent most of the day just sitting at a booth and staring out at the rain, waiting and staking the place out for people or clues to come walking my way. At around five pm a girl came in and she wore a beautiful black long jacket and she had long red hair and she talked to the bar keeper in hushed tones and then waited as he left for a moment and came back with a package which he gave to her which i pretended not to see.

As she was leaving our eyes met momentarily and i felt as though i had been struck by lightning because her eyes seemed to knock me flat on my back they were so powerful and all of a sudden i felt like she knew everything i had been doing and she smiled to herself and left like it was just another day at the office and i just sat around for a little while trying to work out what had just happened.

Unfortunately the bar closed early tonight, though the barkeep assured me that tomorrow night they would be open longer so i guess i'll just have to stake the place out some more because this is the only lead i have.

And it's not because of the girl with the red hair, if that's what you're thinking.

It's for work.

Definitely not about that girl.

No way is she my focus.

It's all about Kasahara.

Really.

Blake out.

soldiers of tomorrow!

2006-09-30T20:08:00.000+09:30

So Peter put me up at his place for the night and i have pretty much just slept and recovered over the last few days, including today. Tomorrow i will venture forth into that scary city and i will look more into the whereabouts of mr wilmot because it's what i've been hired to do so damned if i'm not going to give it one hundred and three percent!

It is made a little difficult by the fact that i cannot go back to my hotel room because those men might be there again and i also can't go back to my office because of the same reason and you know what's worse is that i can't even get in contact with Kris because i never looked up her address or phone number when she started working with me because i never thought there would be people out there trying to get information from me i never had.

It sure is a strange world sometimes.

It turns out Peter is down here on a scouting trip for Roger because Roger hurt his leg but anyway they were made aware via the language of the clouds that something bad was going down in this city and because Peter was the only person they knew that could get in without being traced (he'd had his human registration chip taken out a few years back) he was the only person capable of getting in and breaking down the system so as to let the helpless and mindless sheep (people) roam free in their chosen grassy field.

Actually the only reason he let me stay with him ('You're of no use to me anymore, muffin boy!' is what he said when he found me in my little cage in the rain) was because i told him i was looking for Turbo and he realised it was a chance to get in contact with Commanding Officer Rumsferrytwinklemans III and get some clearer details on the enemy in these parts.

So tomorrow i will have to continue on to the house where mr wilmot used to live and see if he left in clues for me to follow up.

Hm. I must find a way to get in contact with Kris!

Blake out.

i am not dead but i am tired and hungry and wet and a bit mad...

2006-09-28T23:40:00.001+09:30

Things Blake does not like:

- Being kidnapped
- Being tied to chairs and beaten
- Having cold water thrown at him at random times during the early morning/late evening
- Some other sad looking man with a scar asking him if he would 'like to talk now'
- Being kidnapped before he even gets to start on the muffin he bought
- Big spiders (like those ones that build trap doors and stand on their back legs)
- Having his new favourite jacket ripped up in front of him
- Being hung up on
- Long long queues at the supermarket
- Being slapped repeatedly in the face by the previously mentioned sad looking man
- People thinking you are lying when you are not
- The same people punishing you for lying when you are not lying
- The same people doing so often
- Women with mustaches or beards

I am cold and i am tired and i am hungry and this dank little basement internet cafe is not making me a happy blake and i am also very angry that i will have to buy a new jacket and i am also angry that i am freezing cold and wet and will probably have a cold in the morning because i had to walk in the rain for ages.

This week has not been a good week and at the moment i don't feel like talking about it because it just makes me mad and then sad and then mad again and then tired so i'm just going to go to a cafe and get a hot chocolate and a burger and maybe some fries and a muffin and then find some place safe to sleep so that i can sort out all the rest of this madness.

I have to go now because my time is nearly up and anyway Peter keeps saying this place isn't safe and that the wavelengths from all these computers being so close together is probably relaying all our thoughts up to the giant satellite that compiles all of them and files them so that when the big corporations need to they can send out fears down to us while we are sleeping so that when we wake up in the morning we will want to buy their deodorant or their toothpaste.

I am a tired blake, and i will do my best to update you all soon.

Blake out.

blake's on the case, but he thinks it's a suitcase

2006-09-21T21:13:00.000+09:30

So i visited May's mother today while May was at school and the door into the apartment was open so i just walked right in and it was kind of murky and there were a few parts of the ceiling that were dripping somewhat randomly which created a strange kind of music to my ears as i searched for Mrs. Wilmot who it turned out was sleeping.

She looked up for a moment and had a hard time opening her eyes and she smelled a little bit like vodka and whiskey like if you had them in the same glass and she said 'what the feck do you want? You know i payed the rent already,' and i said 'actually my name is Blake Samuels and i was wondering if you could help me find mr. wilmot,' and she said 'bah! that freeloader! when you find him tell him i want to stab him in the eye and pull his intestines out of his mouth and choke him to death with him,' and i said 'ok but i really need to find him to tell him that,' and she said 'GET THE FECK OUT ALREADY!!!' and i said 'please...' but she shouted 'FECK!!!' again and threw and alarm clock at me followed by a pack of cigarettes, and the cigarettes came from a bar nearby so i figured i would go there and snoop around.

I like the word snoop. Sounds detective like.

At the bar there was this old man with sunken eyes and sad look on his face and i asked him if he knew mr wilmot and he nodded at a man near the door and the man closed and locked the door and then the old man said 'did he send you?' and i said 'no sir,' and he said 'you're a bad liar, boy,' and i said 'maybe but right now i'm telling the truth even if i'm telling it badly,' and he said 'funny guy, huh?' and all the time his face never changed and always looked sad and i said 'i'm looking for mr wilmot because he took my client's dog,' and the old man turned to the guy by the door and said 'is that slang for cash or drugs or something?' and the man nodded so the old man said 'well you best find my "dog" too,' and i said 'cool ok i'll ask him about it when i find him but i need some place to get started looking' and the old man pointed me in the direction of a factory mr wilmot used to work out before he vanished.

So i went to the factory and i got the address for mr wilmot's last known residential address but it's a bit far away so i decided it would be best to go tomorrow instead of today.

Back at the office Kris had another a coffee waiting for me and i said 'you bought the coffee i told you about, right?' and she smiled and nodded so i asked, 'and two sugars this time, yeah?' and she smiled and nodded and i took a sip but it was still bad so i said 'maybe next time try three, okay?' and she smiled and nodded and then said 'no calls today,' and i said 'ok' and then went into my office and sat down in my chair and watched the rain for a while.

I'm at least happy i'm getting somewhere, even if i'm tired as a dog.

This detective stuff is really interesting!

Blake out.

it was a cold rainy day, but then again, it always is...

2006-09-20T19:43:00.000+09:30

I was drinking another cup of bad coffee when she walked in. Actually, she took me by surprise because i was staring out the window again with my feet up on the desk thinking about how the rain never seems to stop in this city and she said 'you must be Mr Samuels,' and i almost spilled my coffee and i looked over and there was this little girl of about seven years standing in front of me.

So i said 'i am Mr Samuels, yes, but Blake is fine,' and she said 'i saw your advert in the paper,' and i said 'there's an advert in the paper?' and she said 'yes,' and i said '...really?' and she said 'yes,' again so i figured it had to be true so i said, 'and how can i help you today?' and she got a sad look in her eyes and sat down across from me and told me what had happened.

Her name is May, and a few weeks ago her dog went missing. The dog's name is Kasahara, a black female daschund with a love of doughnuts and yellow balls (appalled by blue, apparently). When she had last seen it, her father was taking it to a country farm so it could play with other dogs for a while but she had not seen it since and was beginning to get worried but she didn't live with her dad anymore and didn't know where he lived so couldn't ask him. And so she came to me.

'Ok!!' i said, 'I will find Kasahara for you!' and she said, 'how can i pay you?' and i said 'payment?' and she said 'yes,' and i said, 'oh, right. You pay me to look for stuff, huh?' and she said 'yes,' and i couldn't work out how much i was supposed to charge because i'd never known any detectives so i said 'If you can find a place that sells really good muffins, like a cafe or something, then we can call it even, ok?' and she seemed a bit happier with that and left.

So i walked around in the rain for a while but i couldn't work out where to start looking, and all of a sudden it was dark so i came back here and decided i would work out a plan for tomorrow. I think the first thing to do would be to track down May's dad and ask him, but first i need to find out a little more about him.

Damn, i really should have asked May about that earlier!

This detective stuff is kind of harder than i thought...

Blake out.

Slow work days, like a snail

2006-09-19T15:54:00.000+09:30

I don't think anyone really knows that my little office exists at the moment because no one has come in to ask me to do detective stuff for them but then maybe i was just so excited i expected action would be right there when the job started even though realistically speaking this is kind of a silly idea.

My secretary is a really pretty girl and her name is Kris Boone. She doesn't talk much but she seems to know what she's doing because she spent most of yesterday organising all the paperwork i didn't actually know was in my filing cabinet. She also made me a coffee which was really nice of her but unfortunately it was a really bad coffee and i'm still a bit confused as to how she could have gone so wrong in that department.

I went out yesterday afternoon for a bit of a walk and outside it was raining and i thought i would start the search for Tony and Turbo but it occurred to me that i really had no starting clues or any leads to go on so i went to the police station and looked at their message board and talked to the officer behind the counter who was a cute girl with spikyish hair and a really good attitude. There was an older policeman watching me the whole time until i left and when i did finally leave he followed me outside and said 'this our city and we have it under control, you hear me mr private eye? People who put their nose where it's not wanted usually end up with blood noses, you hear? I said, do you hear, mr private dick?' and i said 'of course. I'm not deaf,' and he said 'then make sure you heed my words,' and he left.

I went back to my office and sat around watching the rain for awhile. That's what i've been doing most of today, actually. I fell asleep for a while and woke up when Kris brought me in another coffee, which i finished because i'd feel bad not drinking it and i want us to get off on the right foot.

Nothing is happening, just like yesterday, so i decided i would make a quick update.

Ooh! The door!!!

Damn. It was just someone looking for the dentist, who is a floor above us, according to Kris.

I guess i'll just have to put an ad in the newspaper or something.

Fingers crossed a case comes up soon!

Blake out.

work starts tomorrow!

2006-09-17T20:51:00.000+09:30

I got a call from Jane yesterday and i was really happy but then she told me that even though she'd found a secretary work wouldn't start until monday because she gets the weekends off which is fair but i was all psyched up to get started straight away.

It kind of sucks, you know?

Actually i went to bed pretty late and i spent most of today in bed and didn't wake up until a bit after 12. When i woke up i still felt really worn out and it kind of felt like i hadn't slept at all so i had one of those days where i felt tired and worn out but couldn't go back to sleep and didn't feel like doing anything. In the end i just played some guitar and watched some television because i could do both of them at the same time.

Hooboy though am i looking forward to tomorrow!

Hang tight Turbo and Tony! Blake's on the case!

Blake out.

snazzy suits and secretaries

2006-09-15T19:37:00.000+09:30

so i bought a snazzy suit yesterday, and i got a call from Jane but it turns out they are still holding some interviews for the secretary position and i asked if maybe i should be there too because i'd be working with the person but jane said that wasn't necessary so i guess all i can do is cross my fingers and hope that the secretary is an easy person to get along with.

I was walking around today in my suit, just to get the feel for it, and i figured i wouldn't wear the tie that i bought. I kind of prefer the collar open look anyway and my goodness ties feel so restricting to wear kind of like a mild suffocation all day and i don't know how people can do it all their lives because i don't know if i could. Still, even without the tie i like to think i am a smart looking guy with this suit on.

Actually though, i'm thinking i might buy just one more, so that if this one gets dirty or maybe even bloodstained(!) or something detective like i have another one i can whip out.

I'm leaning in the direction of pin stripes, but i'm still not really sure yet.

Fingers crossed everything goes well and work starts soon!

Blake out.

How did this happen?

2006-09-13T19:58:00.000+09:30

Man yesterday was really busy! This lady rang up yesterday and said she was Mr Figaro's assistant and said she would be over to see me a bit later and i said cool and looked at the clock and it was 7:30 in the morning so i fell asleep again but there was a knocking at my hotel room and i looked at the clock again and it was 7:50 so i dragged myself out of bed and to the door and there was this beautiful red head in a smart looking business suit kind of thing with glasses and she said 'my name is Jane Mary, Mr Figaro's assitant. I called earlier this morning. Now if you'll please put on a shirt we can get started setting you up in town.'

I was a bit powerless to refuse the orders of such a smart looking woman, so i did what she said and all of a sudden we were office shopping. We went to five and Jane did the same thing each time: she walked into the center of it, took in all the details in one look and then shook her head. The sixth one, however, was bingo town!

Bingo town is probably a stupid word, but it means that it was the one we were looking for.

Jane said 'this is your office,' and i said 'ok,' and so then we went around to a bunch of stores and Jane always had a store person walking around with her and when she pointed stuff out the store person would mark it on a piece of paper and then when we were finished everything was dropped off at the building and a bunch of guys were waiting to hoist everything up the stairs and into my office.

By the end of the day i had a full office in front of me, with a desk and a spinning chair with wheels and a small reception area with it's own desk and best of all from my window there is a view of the street below, and it looks a little bit grey and dirty just like in the books i read as a kid! It's totally awesome!

Jane sent me home and said that she'd set up a secretary for me and get my name put on the door and everything but that getting me in the telephone books and such could take some time so she said she'd call me when it was all done and i said 'ok but could you please thank Mr Figaro for me because i'm really grateful for all his help in this,' and she said 'Mr Figaro is a busy man but he knows who to trust to do what and if you're a detective then it means at some point he will most likely require your services and i said, 'cool no worries then'

So now it looks like i will be a detective so long as i do Mr Figaro a favour some day. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal, huh?

So i spent most of today sleeping and then i went to the 14 carrot cafe and had a few beers while i read some more of 1984, which i still haven't finished. No one came in while i was there so it was like being in my own personal jazz bar for a little while. Very cool. I didn't hear from Jane again, but i figure that should happen in the next few days.

Which reminds me, i think i might need to buy a suit or some clothes that seem more suited to my job. I'll have to have a scout around and see if i can find something.

Blake out.

i love living in the city - danko jones

2006-09-11T20:48:00.000+09:30

Yesterday i called mr figaro and asked him if he had any jobs for me but he was really busy so he scheduled a meeting for today instead.

So today i met up with him at a restaurant and i said 'thankyou mr figaro for seeing me like this' and he said 'call me ed,' and i said 'ok ed,' and he said 'so lydia said i could trust you and her word is gold but i don't have heaps of time blake so what can i do for you,' so i told him about tony and turbo put part way through the story he got a call on his cellphone so he answered it but wanted me to talk to him at the same time so i told him i was thinking i wanted to look at getting a detective to ask around and he said 'you want to be a detective?! no, not you, this blake guy. What? oh yeah, we can do saturday,' and i said 'no i want to hire a detective. Do you know if one has an office nearby?' and he said 'you want an office too!? no, not you, this blake guy. Yeah. And i bought you an office already, remember? Of course it's in the bahamas. I mean, where else is there?' and i said 'no i think i'll wait until you finish on the phone,' and he said 'fine i'll call you tomorrow and send someone over to sort you out, ok? no not you, this blake guy. What? Oh, you need some sorting out too? How about you wait until we both visit the bahamas, ok? hahaha alright alright, that's not a problem, we can do that too' and he got up and gave me a wink like everything was cool and left.

I was a bit confused but i also wanted to do something with the day so i walked around town for a bit and found a jazz bar called 'the 14 carrot cafe' and it was down some stairs and it is so awesome. There is a sad looking bar tender with a long face and we talked about the jazz music that played at the cafe and it sounds awesome so i'm totally going to come back here at some point in the future, maybe to drown my sorrows to the soundtrack of the blues or something like that.

I am still not sure what is going to happen tomorrow, but hopefully everything works out well!

Blake out.

At the big smoke!

2006-09-09T17:27:00.000+09:30

I just checked into my hotel room a little while ago and i must say it's quite nice with it's view of the city (up on the 13th floor i reside!) and it's cozy kind of feeling. I was supposed to leave early in the morning but i was talking to Elliott about the not so successful solo career he had after he left the group he was in. He started out with simple acoustic songs that were nice but kind of amateur sounding (i haven't heard them, but he was adamant), and then released another with the introduction of world wide instruments like the koto and the sitar along with flutes and the such and though it sounded like a good idea at the time it came off sounding a bit chaotic, which at first Elliott didn't like, but then he met a famous shaman and they tripped together and Elliott realised his true musical power animal (a small squirrel type creature of some kind, i can't remember it's name, but it ocassionally ate it's young and did not often live long) and moved into chaotic music styles, settling with electronica. The electronica album bombed hard, and he has found it difficult to secure contracts for future projects.

I told him that when i was richer i would help him, and he said cool, because he had all sorts of ideas for concept albums and he was aching for a chance to get them properly recorded. Awesome, huh?

Anyway i figure i'll stay here for a few days and get in contact with a person Lydia recommended called Edgar R. Figaro and see if he can secure me a job or something. Actually i wanted to talk to him today but i'm feeling a bit worn out and tired from all the driving so i figure the best course of action might be to have a big dinner (i feel like eating curry) and then go to sleep early and wake up fully powered up for tomorrow's events.

Actually, maybe it might be worth giving Edgar a call now just to let him know i'm in town.

Blake out.

pancakes and muffins and music!

2006-09-07T20:57:00.000+09:30

Actually i was supposed to get there today but i the pancakes i had this morning were so incredible that i decided to spend another night here so i could eat them again tomorrow. I feel a little bad because Tony and Turbo are out there somewhere maybe possibly probably not waiting for me to save them but i mean if you ate these pancakes you would totally know where i am coming from because oh man they taste so great it's like they are the most perfect pancakes you have ever eaten.

Maybe it's that i haven't eaten pancakes in a while, i'm not sure. It's a possibility, for sure, but also they have muffins here and i had a choc chip one with my lunch today and that was fantastic too and i think i may have found the perfect place for getting away from the world for a little while. It's called 'Morning Bell' and i jotted the name down on a new list i started only today in my notebook and the list is called 'Places i totally have to go to again'

So the owner of the place, Elliott, was telling me that he used to play for a band and they toured the states and lost a drummer to drugs before finding another one they lost to a crazy kama sutra expert groupie and then they just got a drum track that played through a computer which ended up short cicuiting mid gig and repeating a section of a sound sample from the start of one of their tracks so they were left being booed by the crowd while the speakers kept on saying 'alone in the dreamer's pocket' over and over again so they ditched drums altogether and recorded an acoustic album and it actually did really well for a little while but they missed the rock and roll lifestyle, so they found a semi permanent drummer and recorded an experimental album full of concepts and ideas that flopped hard because everyone said it was too drums heavy which resulted in the bass player getting into an argument with the drummer which in turn resulted in the drummer breaking his lucky right leg and by that time everyone thought it was probably time to pack it up anyway.

Elliott played me a song from the last album called 'a dreamer dreaming the dreamer's dreams' and i actually found it really cool and i told him and he gave me an album for free because it turns out he has lots of them. It's totally awesome!!!

One of these days i really have to join a band and go touring! Maybe i can try and slot that in somewhere before the becoming a detective part.

But what sort of music do i want to play? Food for thought, i think!

Blake out.

right where it belongs - nine inch nails

2006-09-05T22:35:00.000+09:30

Last night i showed the ghost girl the necklace while we were both sitting down, and she got all excited and after a minute i finally understood and i put it on the floor in front of her, and i asked her a question i already knew the answer to which was 'it's yours, isn't it?' and she nodded and i saw relief and happiness flood through her sad face and i said 'that means your name... is Ayla,' and she nodded again and it was as though a great weight had been lifted from her and i thought that maybe she had been here so long she had forgotten her own name and maybe all along she had been waiting for someone to come back to tell her but that someone had never come.

If only for a brief instant it was as though the planes of reality we existed on merged because she picked up the necklace and put it on and she hugged me and it was freezing cold but full of warmth and i could have sworn i heard her say 'thankyou,' in a voice that somehow reminded me of Relm and then she smiled at me in such a way that i thought that maybe things would work out and then all of a sudden it was early morning and i was awake. It all felt so distant and faraway and i couldn't tell if it had really happened but i think maybe that's for the best anyway.

I hope you stay well Ayla, wherever you go and whatever you do!

The cottage felt empty this morning so i made my decision to leave and i packed up all my stuff and went to the car and as i was putting all my stuff in the whole cottage just collapsed on itself so i guess maybe my timing was good. I took one more walk to the field and i found Terry and Andy looking at some plans and i asked them what was up and Terry said 'We're going to make this singular pool idea of yours into a real business venture because i think it's a fantastic idea! You got us well and truly started so now all we need to do is fill in these holes some with tiles or something and make some more and i think we'll be set! Oh the money my friend! The money in it all!' and i said 'didn't you come here to get away from people?' and he said, 'don't make me slap you boy. Not while i'm on this massive happiness high,' and i said ok and good luck and i went back to my car.

I'm staying in a nice little motel at the moment and i had a schnitzel for dinner with chips and a salad and then some ice cream afterwards. I realised while i was eating that i had completely forgotten about Tony and Turbo, so i have to make sure that when i get to the next city (The big smoke!) i ask around and find out where they are. I hope they are ok, in any case.

Blake out.

we're in this together - nine inch nails

2006-09-04T23:20:00.000+09:30

Early this morning i asked the ghost girl if she knew what it was that was going on but it was strange because it was like she couldn't hear me anymore because it seemed she could hear me but nothing i said was getting through to her, so we sat around in silence for most of the evening and i felt a little better about playing my guitar in front of her. I wrote a song that i thought sound really lovely and i was going to call it 'my little ghost girl' and even though it was just music and no words i was really happy with it but i woke up and i'd forgotten it which made me a bit sad.

I spent all day out in the sun just digging and i wasn't really thinking about anything and late in the afternoon i sat in one of the holes all sweaty and something in the dirt caught my eye so i dug at it and i found a necklace that had a beautiful kind of pattern on it i can't really explain and there was an engraving in it that was really small so i had to climb out of the hole and get some sun on it to read it properly but it said 'all my love for you, Ayla,' and something about it made me sad, and i surveyed all my holes and i realised that i simply didn't feel like digging anymore.

I went to Andy's shop and Andy said 'done yet?' and i said 'yep,' and he said 'hooboy! When we get to fill it with water?' and i said 'not it, Andy, them,' and he said 'what do you mean?' so i took him out into the field with the holes and he said 'what's this?' and i explained to him that i had read in a magazine that there was this new thing coming in that was personalised pools and people were really digging it because they could just sit there soaking in the water and bathing in the sun and not worry about other people getting in their way and they could keep drinks and reading materials all close like for convenience and Andy spent a long time looking at the holes saying nothing and i was worried he was going to get mad but he said 'oh my friend you wait till i tell Terry he's going to flip! this is the best thing ever! oh my god how can i repay you my friend?' but i told him not to worry about it because i just felt like digging my way to some sort of goal for somebody.

When i got back to the cottage i put some acoustic alchemy on and i lay on the floor and stared at the ceiling and my whole body was so heavy i felt like maybe i would never move again but i closed my eyes and i didn't fall asleep so for a long time i just let the music go through one ear and out the other and my mind felt empty and light and everything just seemed to be ok for the while.

I wonder how the days pass for the ghost girl, in that empty nothingness that eats up her day? I wonder how many nights she has gone without company? I would like to give her this necklace i found but it makes me sad that she could never wear it.

Maybe she will appreciate the gesture anyway.

Blake out.

closer - nine inch nails

2006-09-03T21:32:00.000+09:30

Terry was wearing a hawaiian shirt today and a grin that was as big as a mountain or maybe just a little bit bigger and he said 'how's that pool coming along?' and i said 'pretty good, though it is not a pool in a conventional sense,' and he said 'how do you mean?' and i said, 'well terry it's kind of a surprise you know? But i think you'll like it,' and he said 'ah i remember the day my wife surprised me with another man. That was on our twenty seventh anniversary and i can tell you now that i have never ever wanted to hit a woman so hard in my whole life. I had trimmed my beard all nice like and was wearing my best safari suit and i had some roses and some dark chocolate because i knew she liked it and all of a sudden there was this other guy and it all went straight to hell in a freight train and i said that he could take her but he had to leave me an eye or an ear and it got a bit messy so now i work a little shop in the middle of nowhere all peaceful like and free from anything really damaging to my aura, you know?' and i said, 'i think so, yes.'

I think i have finally reached my maximum amount of holes now. I'm not exactly sure why but i started another one today and i had no desire to start anymore because everything just seems to be about right now and i can feel that i am getting a bit closer and i feel that in the next few days something is going to happen.

I did slack off a bit today and just lay around soaking up the sun for awhile and thinking about nothing in particular. I don't know why but a strange memory popped it's way into my head out of nowhere and it surprised me that i had forgotten because it meant a lot to me when it happened. You see, when i was like seven years old i had a spider-man umbrella and i really loved it and took it with me to play on rainy days because it was the only spider-man thing i had and one day i dropped it and the wind took it and it went into a river and i never saw it again and for days i was the saddest person in the whole entire world because i didn't have my umbrella.

Sometimes it is the little things that mean the most but it's even stranger that the even the things that mean the most can sometimes just up and disappear from our memories as though they never even happened, you know?

The ghost girl again seemed distant last night for the short time that i saw her (i can't seem to keep my eyes open past two am, and she turns up around oneish i've come to notice) but she seemed a little brighter at the same time, and i couldn't help but think that maybe on her plane of existence maybe there were fireworks or one of those aurora borealis things that always seem really awesome on the television. Somehow i think my being around the place has made her closer to this world at the same time as being pushed further from it, although i am not sure if that really makes sense or not.

Is this a good or a bad thing?

Blake out.

the line begins to blur - nine inch nails

2006-09-02T17:37:00.000+09:30

I started another three holes today, because i felt the ones i've been doing haven't really been getting me anywhere. This is not to say that i'll stop digging them but i think that the more i spread myself around the field the more the world of the field will open up to me. Actually, you know, i'm not entirely sure what that sentence means but it kind of slipped out of me so maybe it's important.

The ghost girl and i talked for a little while last night, which is to say that i talked to her about holidays i had been on and people i had met and i even tried to play some guitar for her which she seemed polite enough to at least pretend to enjoy, which is better than nothing, i think. Anyway, she seemed a bit distant last night, and i had some trouble getting her attention. It was like maybe on her plane of existence something was happening that she could see but i couldn't.

Instead of getting straight into the digging today i went for a walk past the big field and i found a few ramshackle cottages that had indeed seen better days and i went and had a look in them. There wasn't really anything of any importance in there, but i did find an old book that was falling to pieces and inside it were some fading drawings that a child must have done a really long time ago. Somehow i felt like i recognised some of the pictures so i took the book outside but the wind was so strong it simply ripped the pages of the book straight out of it and took them further and further away until i couldn't see them. That was a bit of a pity.

Digging today felt better than the other days, even if i haven't found anything yet. A few of the holes are actually as deep as i am, which i must say i am a little proud of because i have never dug a hole that deep before. I stood up and surveyed my work today and was a little sad that the beauty of the field had been a little ruined by my digging, and i thought it was a pity that i would be ruining it a little more when i started up more holes, but at the same time i knew it had to happen because it isn't like i can just stop digging, is it?

I was thinking today that i was supposed to be doing something instead of digging, but as hard as i tried i couldn't remember what it was. I'm sure once i finish digging i'll remember though. It is probably not all that surprising that i have forgotten. Digging is tough work, you know?

Blake out.

even deeper - nine inch nails

2006-09-01T19:40:00.000+09:30

Last night the ghost girl turned up and i told her i had started digging in the big field, and she smiled her sad smile and i imagined that maybe a long time ago that smile would have been filled with a genuine kind of happiness or that maybe there was more to it than a distant longing feeling and a sea of emptiness.

Of course, as was expected, i feel asleep before we could really get to talking, but at least it is nice to know that she seems happy about my digging project.

I slept until midday and then went straight out to the field and worked on the holes as well as starting another two. It was quite sunny today so a bit after three i was really hot and sweaty so i went over to Andy's and there was a different old guy behind the counter who wore a cap and i said 'where's Andy?' and he said 'Andy went off to buy some pool supplies,' and i said 'oh,' and he said 'i'm his brother, Terry. You the boy digging it for us?' and i said 'yes sir i do think so,' and he said 'ah, the youth of today is so different to the youth of my day, my young friend. Even with all the sexually transmitted diseases you are carrying around and the bad lungs from all the smoking and the bad liver from all the drinking and the bad brain from all the drugs and acid and whatnot, you still have the energy and the will to dig two old men a pool in a field in the middle of nowhere. You seem like a stand up guy. Grab yourself a couple of drinks, and don't you worry about the cost today. Old Terry's got you covered.'

I finished up around seven and then trekked back to the cottage. Nothing really came of today's digging, but fingers crossed that tomorrow shows some more progress. I like to think now that all the holes are just a little bit deeper than they were yesterday, and i hope that tomorrow will show similar results. At some point i imagine the digging will stop, but for now, i have to say it is a great shoulder workout, although i may have to be careful about my back in future, because i think prolonged digging can injure it somehow, and i really like being able to stand up and walk and all that kind of stuff.

Ah. Even if the days are straight forward and boring, there is a joy in simply going out and doing something interesting every day, i think.

Blake out.

underneath it all - nine inch nails

2006-08-31T20:32:00.000+09:30

More names for the list:

Vernita
Elle
Sofie
Joleen
Erica
Janeen

I ended up talking about past girlfriends last night because they seem to be something everyone ends up hearing about anyway so i figure it best that i am the one to tell people rather than have them later come up to me and say 'i heard about Sue burning down your apartment in a fit of rage over the rug you chose,' or 'if i were you i would have dumped her the moment she said she felt a strange attraction for the turtle' or 'oh tell me she didn't run off with the drummer from three eyes of the holy death puppets!! But that guy has seven toes and that unborn twin thing!' and all the rest of it that gets a little old when you hear it too many times.

Anyway, i dug a few different holes today, and i figure that come tomorrow i will dig all of them a little deeper and maybe even start two or three more. Digging is really hard work, and at the moment i have trouble lifting my arms up because they are so tired and heavy, but when i am out there in the sun with the light breeze across my face i feel like i am really pushing forward and doing things.

When it got to late afternoon i sat in the grass all dirty like and watched the sun go down and wondered if maybe somewhere in this wide world of ours maybe Celes or Relm or Tony or Joanne or any of my friends might be doing the same thing. While i am digging my holes everything seems so faraway and distant like i am digging a little further away from everything and everybody with every bit of dirt i shovel. Even still, i have to admit that when you truly wear yourself out in search of the unknown (or maybe just for the heck of it) you really do feel a strange sense of accomplishment.

I am not sure if i will be able to stay up for the ghost girl tonight. My eyes are so heavy and my body is tired like it has not been tired in a long time.

Blake out.

tomorrow is a day for digging

2006-08-30T20:07:00.000+09:30

To be added to the list of names that are not the name of the ghost girl:

Eurydice
Juliet
Tomoe
Kei
Maggie
Evelyn

Last night while the ghost girl and i hung out, i talked about my life before i went travelling, because it feels like a really long time since i have told anyone where i grew up and who my parents were and what sort of things happened to me while i was in school. I think maybe there is a part of me that is always looking for something in my past that will explain why it is i have turned out the way i have, but at the same time another part of me pushes me forward onto new things that will change the way i see the world around me.

It can get a little confusing to be the vehicle in which these two parts of me search, but at the same time it is fun and as long as i get a muffin and maybe some ice cream along the way then i can't say i am too bothered really.

I laid down and stared at the ceiling and i talked and talked until i must have fallen asleep because all of a sudden it was morning again and i was all alone in a dusty little cottage with a charm all of it's own.

I went for a walk today, and after a while i found this great big field and the wind blew the grass around and from where i stood it just looked so fantastic with the sun shining and the field stretching on for as long as it wanted. I walked out into the middle of the field and let myself fall on my back in the grass and stared up at the sky, thinking about how nice it would be to fly around wherever i wanted. Then i had this funny feeling well up in me and i suddenly realised there was something i had to do, so i went over to the shops.

Andy was there, as always, and i asked him if he had a shovel and he said 'what for?' and i said 'for digging,' and he said 'you got a body on your hands?' and i said, 'no, nothing like that. I just want to dig,' and he said 'well i don't know m'self from experience or nothin' but i have read that there are better ways to dispose of bodies than digging them holes,' and i said, 'well when i do need to dispose of a body i will let you know but at the moment i just want to dig a hole,' and he said 'for a swimming pool?' and i said, 'yeah, maybe, probably. Will you lend me a shovel if i dig you a swimming pool?' and Andy said 'Heck yes!' and ran off and came back with a shovel and said, 'you let me know if you need anything else young mister and i'll do what i can to help. Hoo boy i ain't seen a swimming pool since god knows when! I remember sitting around with Jennifer and Tracy sunbaking and then soaking in the pool and then throwing ice at them and making them laugh and oh my friend, the good times we had! Such good times...' and then he left muttering to himself and i left to start digging my holes.

Actually though i only had the chance to dig one because it started raining and even then the hole i dug was pretty poor. I ran back to the cottage and had a nap for a while and now i'm up again and i think i'll do some reading or maybe grab the guitar from the boot of the car and strum out a few chords.

I think that's exactly what i'll do actually!

Blake out.

information travels faster - death cab for cutie

2006-08-29T22:33:00.000+09:30

I discovered very little last night, and it is mostly due to the fact that i am not a very good detective, which i must admit is a little bit worrying because one day i would really like to be a detective in the kind of town that always seems to have rainy weather so i can walk around in a cool trenchcoat and hat and hang around in smokey bars with a whiskey on the rocks and think bitter thoughts like 'dames. All they do is take your money and leave you to die alone in the gutter with only your broken heart for company, bleeding out in a city that doesn't care.'

She seemed to like having company around, and it turns out she has been here for a long time but she really has no idea just how long she might have been here for. It feels a bit weird talking to a person and not having them respond to you, and i know i did exactly that with Turbo but it felt different because he has his own way of communicating ideas, and even if i couldn't understand him most of the time i still got that impression. Anyway, for a long time we sat around watching the lightning outside in the darkness and because she likes having a person around i talked for a long time about all the things i had been doing recently, like celes and the monks and the factory and relm and even little things like the sorts of muffins i had or the way some thickshakes just aren't as good as others but i don't really know why.

I still haven't gotten her name, but i started a list of names that are not hers:

Gina
Mei
Fio
Kiki
Sheeta
Eboshi
Chihiro
Sophie

I have never been good with names, so i guess it makes sense that i wouldn't get it on the first night. I guess i'll just have to come up with some better guesses next time.

At some point i fell asleep and woke up when the sun first came up because i left the curtains open to watch the lightning and it felt strange to not have the ghost girl around for a while, like every day maybe she haunted by the past much in the way she is haunting the cottage, a kind of sadness creating sadness that goes on for as long as her hopes and dreams and thoughts go untouched an unaccomplished.

I walked over to the shops today and it rained on me on the way there like i knew it would and the old man at the shop (His name is Mr Bogard. Andy is his first name, i think) looked at me for a while and then when i payed for my drink (iced coffee! Yay!) he looked at me all soaked to the bone and said 'rain dance worked, huh?' and i said 'what?' and he said 'i know you young people are all in touch with other alternative ways of making the earth be the earth and the rain dance is a pretty simple one but i guess you guys like to keep that stuff to yourself which is cool because i can pretend like i don't know nothing because truth be told i'm just an old man running an old store in the old part of an old country trying his best to sell the old stuff to the young crowd like i've done since the old days,'

And so he smiled and i smiled and then it was back to the cottage.

I found an old copy of 1984 in here, all dog eared and dusty and i haven't read it but i really liked George Orwell's Animal Farm when i read that so i figure i'll give it a shot during the day and maybe it will give me ideas for what the ghost girl's name might be, because i honestly have no idea at the moment.

Blake will prevail however! Patience and persistence, my friends!

Blake out.

the interesting thing about last night (believe it or not)

2006-08-28T21:15:00.000+09:30

I met a ghost last night, and i don't know what her name is or what she's doing here in this little cottage but i do know that she is the ghost girl from my dreams and she needs me to help her with something and i don't know what that something is yet.

I woke up in the middle of the night and there she was, watching me from the corner, and in her red eyes i saw a strange kind of longing that gave me a strange kind of deja vu feeling i could not place and we both sat there in the darkness for a while saying nothing, her because she actually can't talk, and me because i had never seen a ghost before.

After a while i said, 'Are you the ghost of my one true sweetheart, the girl i have never met, here to take me with you to the afterlife at any costs whatsoever?' and she shook her head, which made me quite happy because i once got told by an old fortune teller lady that if i met the ghost of my one true sweetheart then i would be in big trouble.

Actually as it turns out she can't speak. She can mouth words but i can't hear them at all even if i get really close to her mouth. Even though our bodies are on the same plane of existence, it would seem that our voices are on another altogether, but i guess we should be thankful that at least she can hear because otherwise that would make things really difficult.

I have had to ask her yes and no questions as a way to understand exactly what is going on with her, but i still haven't found out all that much.

She was twenty one when she died, and she still does not know exactly how it happened. She wanted to pass a message to someone but as of yet i am not sure who that person is or if they are still alive. She has a sad smile that always seems far away, which i suppose makes sense as in a sense she really is very far away, even though she is also right here.

In the morning she disappeared, and in a strange turn of events, so did the rain, so i went out as soon as i could and drove to the nearest shop, which is actually quite far away, and bought some food. The old man who works behind the counter said 'you look a bit tired boy,' and i said 'yes sir i am,' and he said 'i heard about you "tired" young men and your drugs and your women keeping you up all night and i ain't all that good on the fact it's a healthy way of life but admittedly if i were your age i'd probably be off at all hours in the truck with some women and some of that hashish and we'd be partying so i don't mind you sticking around and doing your thing so long as you don't do nothing wrong by me or my kin,' and i said 'ok. i think i'll go now,' and he smiled and waved me off.

I feel so much better now that i've eaten. It's incredible.

I slept through the day and woke up a little while ago to wait up for the ghost girl to come back again.

Come to think of it, i don't even know what her name is.

Blake out.

hungry and maybe hallucinating because of it

2006-08-27T15:57:00.000+09:30

On friday night i had yet another strange dream in which i awoke in the cottage and there was light coming from outside so i went out the door and the sky was a purple colour and the sun was shining and it was a really nice day and the forest was full of all sorts of different trees but there was a path marked out into the forest and everything that touched the path was dead. I walked the path for a long time and i noticed that while i was on the path anything i touched would shrivel up and die and turn to dust but i kept on walking until i got to a wide field of waist high grass and i walked into the middle of it and i saw a girl off in the distance walking away from me when suddenly i was pulled down into the ground and i couldn't stop it and i reached up towards the light but the earth closed on me and when the pulling suddenly stopped there were some red eyes in the darkness and they moved so close to me that i could feel the body they belonged to and it was cold and some tears fell from the face and i heard a girl's voice say 'I'm sorry.'

And then i started awake and it was raining outside so heavy and there was a strong wind and for a little while i was very confused as to where i was and why i was there, but then it all came back to me and i fell back on the floor and strangely i felt really exhausted.

So exhausted in fact that i slept through to mid afternoon. I think that having it always raining and windy and cold outside has made it difficult for me to get a bearing on what the time is. It is almost as though it is always night or close to it, which is a strange feeling that makes me feel tired all the time.

Last night i was sleeping and another weird thing happened. I was just about to fall asleep when i felt a really ice cold hand on my face, and i couldn't move all of a sudden because i was just so spun out and it ran down my face as though whomever it belonged to was blind and trying to search for something in my features. When i finally reached up to grab at it there was nothing there and i realised i was all alone again and i was a little bit confused because i really couldn't tell if i had been asleep or not.

I am worried that not having eaten in the last few days has made my body eat away parts of my brain so that it may keep functioning. That might explain me being tired all the time and the weird thing that happened last night.

If this rain keeps up then i think i will have to just brave it and try to get some food and stuff.

Blake out.

I am a tired blake and i will go to sleep quite soon

2006-08-25T23:40:00.000+09:30

Last night i thought someone was watching me as i slept. It was a strange feeling that would not leave me all night until i finally managed to get to sleep. I dreamt that everywhere i looked all i could see was buildings but they all seemed so far away and distant that i thought maybe i would never ever be able to reach them ever but as it turned out they were all made of marbles and as i walked towards one of them they all collapsed and a sea of marbles engulfed me.

Today i couldn't really do anything because it was (and is) raining so heavily outside. I brought my backpack in with me so at least i have stuff to read but i haven't eaten it what feels like eternity and i think that maybe even the animals outside can hear my stomach as it growls to be fed.

Boy, sitting around doing nothing really takes it out of you.

I feel like i'm being watched still.

Is that weird or what?

Blake out.

a nice little quiet cottage in the middle of nowhere with electricity too!

2006-08-24T22:17:00.000+09:30

So i took a wrong turn somewhere in the darkness and found myself driving kind of aimlessly down winding roads i recognised less than the roads i was supposed to be driving that i might not recognise anyway. In any case, a little while ago i found a cottage and i figured i'd stop and ask for directions there but as it turns out no-one is here and i know it's probably rude to stay at a person's place without their permission, but it's raining way heavy outside so i figure if i don't eat any of their food supplies or do anything really stupid then hopefully they shouldn't mind too much.

...

Actually, i'm beginning to wonder if anyone lives here at all, what with all the dust and the lack of any food anywhere and the not working water. It's a wonder there's still electricity actually, but once ages ago one of my uncles said that he'd gotten electricity somewhere then never paid his bills and somehow he slipped through and got his electricity for free so long as he didn't use so much that he drew attention to himself. Actually, he was a paranoid guy and so he used candles all the time anyway and never opened the curtains in his house and only watched television between the hours of 2:30am and 6:30am because he thought that saved power.

Maybe this house is a bit like that?

Ah, at least it is nice to be isolated for a little while, with just me and the rain and my thoughts spilling out onto this here blog which maybe some people read everynow and again and for whom i am very grateful. It is nice to be able to sit around and not worry about anything, even the small things because if only for the one night, i am going to sleep like a log and wake whenever i feel like it and then try and make my way back out onto the main road.

Even blakes need a little bit of time by themselves to gather their thoughts and meditate on everything and nothing at the same time. I'm not sure exactly what that means but a zen monk said it once and it stuck with me because it sounded profound but seemed simple and maybe even a little silly. He was a really cool guy actually, that monk. I can't remember what happened to him all those years ago.

I hope he is well though.

Blake out.

around and around and spinning and spinning!

2006-08-23T22:32:00.000+09:30

I can smell the freedom in the air and i can feel the miles and miles of space that await me tomorrow, because it will be the day i trek off for new places and new people and maybe even adventures! Somewhere out there, hopefully not too far away, a dog and a crazy man wait for me to find them, and the way i figure it, the sooner the better!

Marle is also a bit sad i will be leaving but she gave me her address and said that as long as i write to her once in awhile then she will be happy and i haven't written a proper letter in so long that i thought it was a great idea. Pen pals and all the rest of that stuff rock!

Although once i had this female penpal and for a while it was really cool because i thought they lived on the other side of the planet and we were getting to know each other for a few months and then i got this letter that started with the line 'i was watching you sleeping last night and you were really cute...' and i was a bit confused but i thought that maybe that was just something they said wherever she came from, you know as a joke, but then i got another letter the next day saying 'oh how i longed to be the choc chip muffin you ate yesterday. Oh how i long to be all the muffins you eat every friday and sunday morning at around 10:30' and i got a little scared so i stopped writing letters but i kept receiving them and they had photos of me in them from when i went for walks and stuff and i think she might have really liked me and eventually my girlfriend at the time left me because she thought i was seeing another woman and even though i said 'but she's crazy!!!' i couldn't stop her.

Eventually the mystery woman vanished from my life, just as i was going to get the police to help me out.

I don't think Marle is that sort of person though.

I have packed up all my stuff and am pretty much all set to go! I put those sketches from the fridge in my bag along with that hair clip, which i probably should have given to Celes when we rescued her but i can sometimes be stupid like that i guess.

Woo! And up in the sky the Blake soars, not unlike a bird or a plane!

Blake out.

I feel the wind is changing...

2006-08-22T19:55:00.000+09:30

There is something about this life in this small town that seems to be a little lost on me all of a sudden. I worked yesterday and i bumped into Yoko and i told her things were going in a very strange direction for me and she said nothing for such a long time i thought she had not heard me but then she said 'this is a business you can never truly escape, and yet somehow you seem different to the rest of us...'

I was not sure exactly what to say so i just said thanks, and she smiled. She has really really nice teeth. Like really nice though.

Anyway i told Lydia i would be leaving in the next few days and she seemed really genuinely sad. She gave me a few cards for people who work in the city i will be going to next (the name of which i seem to have forgotten, but i'll let you know in good time!), and said that she would call ahead for me and make sure i am treated well. Lydia sure is nice. She even said she wants to get me something before i leave!

I will visit Marle tomorrow and let her know too.

But to be honest, i feel a bit bad because i haven't been searching for Turbo and Tony and i haven't seen them in ages, which has me feeling a bit like a worried.

I am not sure what has happened to me but since angry Blake revealed himself i have had trouble focusing on things. Everything feels a little bit blurry and unreal which is strange because i have never felt like this before but i think if i move on to somewhere new i will hopefully find things to bring back some colour to my life and maybe even happiness to the lives of others.

Blake's on the move again! Hooray!

Blake out.

Maybe there are two blakes in the one blake?

2006-08-19T17:35:00.000+09:30

I have been in a strange mood the past few days and although i think it is somehow because of Celes and not sleeping because of the ghost girl i am still a bit surprised by what came out of me yesterday.

So anyway on Thursday i had to work all day which was good, but because i wasn't sure if i was working or not so in the morning i went to the gym and worked out really hard and then came back and found out i would have to deliver stuff again to everywhere in the whole town that i might or might not have been to before.

I was the busiest blake that ever was, and i have been pretty busy before.

It was all sorts of stuff, like documents to Trent, and shoes to Chris, and letters to Matt, and feathers to Jess, and light bulbs to Adrian, and in the end i kind of phased out and went a little robot like.

Then yesterday i went out to visit Marle, who lives way far away from town in a little cabin a little ways from one of the main roads and it's all picturesque and beautiful but there was a real nice looking car out the front, a big one, and i had a feeling i knew who it might belong to. I knocked on the door and Marle answered it and looked all surprised and then slammed it on me and then opened it again and said 'leave! hurry!' and then shut it again but as if i was going to do that so i knocked again and after a pause and some muffled talking the door opened again and it was Mr Smart and he said 'come in blake, please' so i did.

He said 'Blake i have issues when it comes to other people and things i deem my own property and you have stepped over the boundary and i hate punishing my property but you know you've kind of made me do it so i guess i'll punish you too,' and then he pulled a gun on me and i saw Marle looking scared and it reminded me of Celes and the ghost girl and i got so mad i slapped the gun right out of his hand and picked him up off the ground and threw him into the nearest wall and then ran over to him and before he could get his breath back i picked him up and i did it again and then i kneeled down next to him and i said 'if you even think about hurting my friend in any way shape or form then expect to be hurt in return.'

And then i kind of came back to being blake and i watched Mr Smart run away and get in his car and start it up and drive away and then Marle and i looked at each other and Marle was confused and so was i and i said 'i don't think you will have to worry about him anymore,' and Marle said 'i think so too,' and i had to sit down for a while because it suddenly felt like i had found another blake inside of me who was a much angrier person.

I am still not sure where he came from, or if he will come back again.

We talked for a while and then i went home and slept until late afternoon today, and until now i have been watching television and listening to music and thinking i might need to invest in one of those nintendo DS's so as to play some video games.

I am going out with the other delivery guys again tonight, so i better start getting ready.

Blake out.

happy, sad, and a bit of the inbetween

2006-08-16T20:44:00.000+09:30

So we rescued Celes the other night, in a fashion that was so perfect in execution that you might think all of us were controlled by the one person, which of course is not true, but what a wacky situation it would be if we were all under the control of some strange puppet master like leader, don't you think?

Actually security was quite light so it was quite easy.

But even though all is well, i feel a bit like i have missed an opportunity. I really wanted just a chance to say a 'thankyou' and maybe even ask a 'how are you?' but i had to keep my mouth shut all night and act like i was a tough mercenary commando with no links to her whatsoever and it was very hard to do when we dropped her off at the bus stop and she looked my masked face in the eyes and said 'thankyou, whoever you are.'

All i could do was give her the sketch of the girl falling down the hole which was all scrunched up because i had to slip it to her because i couldn't let the others know i had it. Even if it is very little, i hope that she sees that sketch and it makes her a little happier.

What a crazy world it is we live in where a simple Blake can be the fuse that lights a giant stick of dynamite that explodes into war and general unhappiness for the population at large.

In any case, Lydia came to my apartment today and said that she had work for me and i was super tired because i hadn't slept very well (another dream about the sad girl with the red eyes and the pale skin. She looked at me in a strange way that made me feel like i had forgotten something important i was supposed to do), and she asked me if i could work because she was being overloaded with deliveries. She said that in the last two days things have gotten really hectic and she needed as many people as possible.

I spent the day bicycling around (it was a beautiful day, and Cleardly has two bikes) and delivering all manner of bits and pieces from a to b and c to x and y to z until it was evening time and even though i was really tired i felt really good for some reason, so i passed by The Alchemist because i hoped Marle might be around to talk to but she still seems to be missing. I asked the manager if he knew her phone number and he seemed to be an understanding sort and gave me her address along with her number because he'd seen me with her before.

She lives quite far away, so i figure as soon as i get a day off i'll visit and see if she's ok because her phone is disconnected.

Blake out.

a quick post but maybe an important one too

2006-08-14T21:10:00.000+09:30

So this post will have to be quick because lives are at stake and the only reason i have time to type now is because we are waiting for a sign from one of Mr Empty's men who is currently scouting the building to make sure everything is green for go.

Ok so here is the rundown. After a nothing day on friday I saw those guys in suits taking someone out of the hotel so i followed them to a small cafe where i got a chance to see the person and it was Celes! She looked a bit confused and maybe a little worried and they took her into the cafe and i ran in there and all these people looked up at me but i couldn't see any of the guys in suits so i ran past all the tables and into the kitchen but there was no one there but a cook and he threatened me with a really big knife so i ran away.

No wonder i felt something strange about those sketches!

I was in shock. I was wondering to myself whether i had actually seen Celes or not when i remembered that Mr Empty said i could call on him for any favours so i rang him and then met him at his hotel and he said he would help me rescue her.

Unfortunately, Mr Empty informed me of a situation that currently exists between Lydia and another person named Mr Dougall. Mr Dougall runs a business that has many different facets and Lydia and him often clash because their businesses seem to sometimes run parallel, so they are always at ends with each other and recently things have gotten quite bad and as Mr Empty puts it they are both waiting for the straw that will break the camel's back and when the camel's back breaks the war will start.

It is all a bit confusing.

In any case, it turns out that although i am allowed to rescue Celes, i am not allowed to let her know it is me that is saving her, because if it comes to light that one of Lydia's employees has interfered with Mr Dougall's business then i will be the straw. I was a bit sad because i really want to talk to Celes again because she saved me last time and i feel i owe her but i guess if i can save her then it doesn't really matter all that much as long as she ends up ok.

So on Sunday we kidnapped one of the suit men and we all wore masks and we found out that Mr Dougall's men don't actually know they have Celes, they think they have the daughter of a famous industrialist and they are planning to blackmail him, but of course it won't work because his daughter is perfectly safe and sound at the moment. I called him stupid and i slapped him and he cried and then i felt a bit bad, so when we dropped him off far away so that he couldn't easily contact the others, i made sure we gave him some candy too because that sometimes cheers me up.

So now we are waiting for the sign. It is all a bit exciting.

Oh, looks like we are getting some sort of signal.

Blake out.

as tiring as it gets there is still something that keeps me awake

2006-08-10T20:32:00.000+09:30

i'm sorry i haven't posted for the last few days, but it has been a busy few days and the work has piled up in ways that keep me from feeling like typing what i have been doing down.

But now i can fill you in on the week's happenings thus far:

Tuesday:

I got sent to a small house and at the house a man invited me in and sent me down to the basement that was all set up in a high tech fashion with computers and lots of people in uniforms moving around in a rushed manner and some of them carried notes to other people who looked at them and said things like 'contact hq. let them know what's happening.' There was a man in a room nearby and the room was decked out like a really nice office. He had one of those fake windows that look like they're looking out on something. This man was dressed in a nice suit with a blue tie and he also wore a black mask which covered his face but let his hair run freely, because it was long and black and beautiful. The man said 'so you are Blake,' and i said 'yes,' and he said 'so you work for lydia now?' and i said 'yes,' and he said 'hm... maybe there is more to this after all,' and i was a bit confused so i just said 'yes.'

He gave me a letter which i took to Lydia who then sent me to Yoko who made me follow her to what seemed to be an abandoned building that had a small room in it that had a safe and she put my letter in the safe and then said we were done and left.

Then i had to walk home because she seemed to just vanish and it took forever and i just fell asleep the moment i sat on the couch.

Wednesday:

Lydia sent me to deliver a briefcase to a friend of hers who was staying in the same hotel as Mr Empty and when i knocked on the door he said 'come in' and i did and he was getting a massage from a two small asian women and he saw me and said 'aw hell get outta here ya goddamn pervert you ain't the room service guy!' and i said, 'but i was sent by-' and he cut me off and said 'dammit ya idiot if you don't get out i'ma teach you a lesson' and he pulled out a gun so i closed the door real quick and then i saw some people in suits like the ones i saw at the warehouse and they were carrying a big black bag into the staircase at the end of the hall so i ran after them down a floor and then i couldn't find them, but i did find another sketch on the floor.

The sketch i found was of a girl falling down a big hole but she was reaching up for a rope that was just out of her reach.

I must have knocked on every single door on the floor but i didn't get anywhere from it.

Dammit Blake you were so close!

I went back to Lydia and she said she would deliver the briefcase herself. She had forgotten her friend could be so intense.

Today:

I mulled around outside the hotel in my car waiting to see if any of them came out but no one did. It was very boring but i just know something is happening in this hotel and i need to know what it is.

Actually i fell asleep for something like three hours at around two so i am quite mad at myself.

I am not sure what to do from here. I would like to talk to Marle about it but she hasn't been around the past few days, which is a bit strange.

I will work something out.

Blake out.

Empty warehouses becoming familiar warehouses

2006-08-07T21:15:00.000+09:30

I went over to that warehouse again today to look for clues and i was all sneaky like and i went around the back way to make sure no one would know i was there but it turned out the place was well and truly completely empty. I went into that little office room and all the furniture that was in there when i first visited was gone and so i went to that little room i heard noises coming from before and all i found was a really pretty hair clip which was sitting in the corner, so i put it in my pocket.

Maybe this belongs to the girl, and maybe it doesn't, i don't know.

Is it silly of me to feel like this hair clip is important somehow?

Anyway i went to The Alchemist and Marle said 'lets go for a walk because i finish soon' and i said that sounded grand so i had a coffee and then we went for a walk to the local park because Marle said there are some nice spots to just sit and do nothing. The park is actually really nice and we spent some time just sitting around talking about music and books and stuff and it was all really nice.

But then as we were heading away from the park a car pulled up, a real nice looking one that was big and the driver wanted us to get in and Marle looked worried and she said we should, so we got in and there was this guy with a goatee and he said 'what's your name little man?' and i said 'My name is Blake sir' and he said, 'ah blake. A nice name, to be sure. Now listen Blake, i'm not telling you not to go near my woman or anything like that, but listen up good, ok. Don't go near my woman. Are we cool?', and i said, 'i think we are, mr...?' and he said 'Mr Smart. Now get out of my car. Both of you.'

Marle said she was sorry but she probably shouldn't see me for a while and before i could find out what was going on she ran away, and then out of nowhere it started raining so i had to run home and i got all wet and it wasn't much fun.

Damn, it looks like i have some investigations to do! I always wanted to be like a private eye or something like that, and i guess this is my chance!

Blake out.

Yoko Kanno - Atomic Bird

2006-08-06T17:27:00.000+09:30

I went out with Cleardly and all the other delivery people last night, and besides a little confrontation early on everything went pretty well, although i couldn't really get those sketches out of my head. I still can't actually, so i am thinking i might have to talk to someone about them soon.

Anyway, there was a guy i was introduced to early on in the evening and he looked at me suspiciously and shook my hand extra hard when we were introduced and his name was Matt. All during our dinner at the bar (Schnitzel and chips and beer? Rocking!!!) he had a foul look on his face and glared at me with an intensity i have never really known personally. But i didn't really take much notice of it because my mind was swimming in a sea of possible meanings regarding those sketches.

A bit later on in the night i was getting a coke (I was not in the mood for drinking) when he came up to me, quite drunk, and said 'i know who you are, even if the others don't,' and i said 'what do you mean Matt?' and he said 'dammit if you play stupid anymore i am going to put your lights out,' and i said 'i don't understand what you mean Matt. Have we met before?' and he growled like an animal and hit me in the face and i don't know what happened inside of me but i felt an anger i have never known previously and i hit him back so hard in the stomach he fell down and just sat for a while stunned.

I felt really bad about it because i wasn't mad at Matt at all, he just triggered something that i think might have been building up for a little while.

Maybe i have JJ to thank for my punching power?

As it turns out, Matt thought i was a person who had stolen his girlfriend and all of his money and ran off a few years ago. His name is Grey, and apparently he even comes from Hollow Hills, which i thought was kind of interesting. Matt says i talk different and i have a different haircut, but that the likeness is just crazy. Matt is actually a good person, and by the end of the evening we weren't mad or anything, and we talked about videogames we'd played when we were kids.

Matt is old school. Like NES and SNES old school. It's pretty cool, all his knowledge on all those old games.

Today i woke up late and just stayed in reading and playing guitar. I came up with a few simple song ideas but i don't have anywhere to record them or keep them which is a bit sad because i would like one day for you guys to hear them and tell me what you think of them. They are not anywhere near as good as Relm's songs, or even Joanne's, but i think that maybe they are just a little bit enjoyable in just a tiny sort of way.

I hope so, anyway.

I think Marle wants me to visit tomorrow, so i think i will try and do that after work.

Blake out.

i found another sketch (read: clue)

2006-08-04T21:22:00.000+09:30

So yesterday Lydia sent me over to an old warehouse on the outskirts of town that apparently was once thought to be haunted, and many still believe to be. As Lydia explained it to me, the place seems always to draw the 'wrong crowds', and that long ago to keep people away someone made up this rumour that the warehouse was haunted and it stuck. Lydia also said that maybe it's not completely untrue, seeing as many people have died there.

Anyway, there were a group of people in a little office in one of the corners of the warehouse and i was supposed to pick something up from them which i would then bring back to the cafe where i met Marle (incidentally it is called 'The Alchemist') and give to a man called Barry.

There was a little room connected to the office and i could hear something coming from it though i couldn't tell what it was. I said to the man who was sitting in front of me, 'What do you guys do here?' and he said 'nothing' and i said, 'what's that noise coming from there?' and he said 'nothing' and i said 'it sounds kind of like a person,' and he looked at me and said 'it's nothing' Then i saw a sketch on a desk and it seemed familiar somehow so i walked out to the doorway and i shouted 'JUMPING JIMINIES WHAT THE HELL IS THAT PERSON DOING HERE?' and everybody came out to see and in all the hustle and bustle i took the sketch without anyone knowing.

The drop off went well and i went back to my apartment and hung the new sketch up next to the old one and i know now that they are by the same person. The new sketch is of a person sitting on a roof top looking up at the starry sky but he is completely unaware that there is a big ugly monster creeping up behind him, ready to pounce. The sketch is something i would call equal parts beautiful and scary. The picture is very good but something about it is a bit unnerving.

I am not sure if i should but i feel like i should go over to the warehouse again at some point because i am a bit worried even though i don't entirely know why.

Anyway, today i had a free day so i went to the gym and visited Marle at The Alchemist and we shot the breeze for a while and then i went for a wander around the local mall which is actually not very interesting and then i went back home. Actually though, i did call up Cleardly and he said that i should totally come out with them on Saturday night because it's Robert's birthday and it will be a great chance for me to meet all the others.

It sounds like it will be fun.

Blake out.

second mission - success!

2006-08-02T21:41:00.000+09:30

Lydia gave me a briefcase of my own today and made me wear some sunglasses that she said i would have to give back to her later. She said i was to go down to the local supermarket and go to the vegetable section, where i would meet up with a man in a suit who i would swap briefcases with. Then with my new briefcase in hand i would head over to an expensive hotel and ask for Mr Empty and then deliver him his goods.

I was told that at no point was i allowed to take the sunglasses off.

It didn't actually take too long, and it was actually quite easy. The man i met in the vegetable section was also wearing glasses, but his made him look quite smart and intelligent. He wore a blue suit that was ultra stylish and he had cool hair. He looked at me with my rockstar glasses and my briefcase and he said 'you are the one lydia talked about. I think you may have a... future with us should your work continue to be... satisfactory'

We swapped briefcases and then it was off to the hotel.

Apparently Mr Empty is a rockstar of sorts, but in an underground sort of way. He took my briefcase and said 'come on in man' so i did and then he sat me down on a chair and said 'now tell me who sent you,' and i said 'lydia did' and he said 'that's what they all say and so far they're all liars' and i said 'oh really? how many other people?' and he stopped for a minute and said 'Well jeez i don't actually know,' and i said 'because i would be interested to find out,' and he said 'hell yeah me too man! I'm gonna call up and find out!'

So actually it turns out there were another six people who came to his hotel room and pretended to be sent by lydia, and all of them were dealt with the only way Mr Empty's crew knows how, and apparently it is not the nicest way to be dealt with. Mr Empty ran a check on me and said i was cool and that he liked my glasses and we talked about music for a little while and had a few beers with his two bodyguards who also seem pretty cool.

Mr Empty said that if i ever needed help while he was in town i could call on him. 'Any time, any place my man, i'll be there,' he said and gave me his phone number.

Lydia was quite happy with the way things turned out and gave me the rest of the afternoon off, so i went and checked over the messageboards for any sketches i might have missed but i came up blank, which was a bit sad. I looked at the picture on the fridge again but i still can't seem to work it out. It feels like a puzzle and the missing piece is floating around somewhere in the empty space of my memories.

Tomorrow i think i am working again, but i'm not heaps sure.

Blake out.

dinner out with a beautiful woman! Go blake!

2006-08-01T21:52:00.000+09:30

So i went to the gym today and i ran on the treadmill and did some benchpress and shoulder and tricep work. It was bizarre because i went kind of early in the morning and there was no one there and i had to turn the lights on and it was all quiet except for my ipod which i had playing the whole time. I guess i expected lots of people to want to work out too, but then again i guess most people don't feel pumped for it at 8am.

I think maybe i could be a little stronger than i am, but at least i am working towards a goal of some sort.

On the messageboard in the lobby there were all sorts of messages for all sorts of different people. There were people looking for love and people looking for more, people looking to start bands and also advertisements for when all the delivery people meet up and hit the local bar on saturday night because apparently nobody ever gets shifts on sunday. I took a little tab from down the bottom which had the phone number of a guy called Cleardly and then i noticed a picture hidden behind some pieces of paper.

It was a picture of a person running from a big black shadow and for some strange reason it reminded me of something i had seen a while ago and the feeling in fact was so strong that when i was sure nobody was looking i tore the picture off the messageboard and put it in my pocket. I put it on the fridge and i looked at it for a good few minutes but nothing came to mind. It was not signed by the artist or dated but i just know it is familiar somehow.

To take my mind off all that stuff i went to the local cafe and brought a new book i am reading called 'an imaginary life'. It seems quite short but also quite interesting too, so i am interested to see just how it all pans out. In any case i saw someone i recognised there but again i am not sure where from and he had no hair and he saw me and then squinted and then left so maybe he knows me too?

The waitress at the cafe is quite pretty and she said 'something wrong sugah?' and i said 'nah just thought i saw someone i recognised' and she laughed and we talked for a bit and then she said 'what you doing after five sugah?' and i said 'i think i might get something to eat' and she said 'would you like some company?' and i said 'yeah i'd love some but where on earth am i supposed to find it?'

So after i got what she meant we went to a chinese restaurant and talked about music. Her name is Marle (cool, huh?) and she sings but she wouldn't sing for me because she was too embarrassed. It was really cool to meet someone new and get to know them. She said we should go to dinner again some time and she can show me around afterwards so that sounds really cool.

Anyway, best get to bed early in preparation for work tomorrow!

Blake out.

first day - mission complete!

2006-07-31T21:53:00.000+09:30

So everything ended up going quite well today. i got a wake up call at around 9, got up and started getting myself into work mode, and then lydia came to my apartment complete with briefcase and 'briefing' material. She said 'Blake you look like you know what you're doing, so i'll get straight to the point. Head over to the cafe marked on your map, and meet up with Yoko. She'll give you a backpack which you will then take over to your first contact, Mr B. Tell him Lydia sent you and everything should go perfectly. Are we good?'

We were good.

Yoko was so beautiful it was stupid. She had shoulder length black hair and she wore cool sunglasses and a cool dress and she had this 'i don't care about you in the slightest' attitude that had her looking not unlike an action movie star. I bet if gangsters busted in while she was giving me my backpack she would have just killed them all in a ruthlessly efficient fashion without losing her sunglasses or looking even remotely bothered by it.

At least that's the way she struck me anyway. I would like to see her again some time.

Mr B invited me in for coffee and when i sat down he said 'is it a bomb?' and i said 'don't think so' and he waited for me to take a sip of coffee and then said 'it's poisoned. I have an antidote. Is it a bomb?' and i said 'don't think so,' and he offered me a biscuit and when i ate it he said 'two different poisons now course through your body. I have the antidote. Is it a bomb?' and i said 'i really don't think so' and he said 'damn. You're good. Alright so there's no poison, you win. you win, mystery man...'

Then we talked about the music we had been listening to and the television we had been watching.

Lydia said that my first day had gone really well, and the work should just keep flowing on at this rate. She said that although it is all delivery work, sometimes the way deliveries are done will be very different so i should stay alert and ready at all times. She also said sometimes i will be called upon to work evenings, but usually i will get good notice before that happens.

Ah, after such a successful first day it is all one can do to put their feet up and have a beer and listen to some music. It doesn't look as though i have any work tomorrow so i think i will hit the gym and then check the message board in the lobby.

Blake out.

captured - bic runga

2006-07-31T00:03:00.000+09:30

Today i visited Lydia and she said 'Blake i have a job i think you would be very well suited to,' and i said 'that sounds great,' and she said 'we can pay for your accomodation so if you like i'll show you to your apartment, you can get settled in, and then we'll get you started tomorrow morning,' and i said 'that sounds great too!'

The apartment i have been moved into is so awesome it is kind of silly. There is a flat screen television and comfortable couches and a king size bed and it is fully air-conditioned and it has a stereo system and oh boy i am just going to enjoy hanging here for a while i think. Also there is a gym near the top floor that is free for residents, which is fantastic, because i may be getting fat (I'm not sure yet). Apparently other delivery people live in the apartment complex and there is a messageboard down in the lobby so maybe i will visit it later on and try to find out who is who and what is what.

I went for a walk today and picked up a thickshake even though it was raining so i walked around town with an umbrella and a thickshake and i had a real good time scoping out the world around my new home. A nice cafe, a little bookstore, a shopping centre nearby too. It looks as though everything i may need is right where i may need it, which i suppose is nothing but a good thing.

I think tomorrow should be fun. I mean, i've had delivery experience in the recent past, so i can't imagine this being too different, and even if the work is kind of hard, i'm more than willing to do it all just for this swell new apartment i get to live in!

After dinner i looked out the window and i had this strange feeling like i had forgotten something, and then i felt like something had gone terribly wrong, but i couldn't work what it was or what had happened. The feeling is still kind of there, in the back of my mind.

Maybe i am just a bit nervous about starting work tomorrow.

Blake out.

late night sleep tight!

2006-07-30T01:32:00.000+09:30

Sorry for the super late super quick post but i just arrived at the new city, and i only just got into my motel room for the evening a few mintues ago.

If i'm not mistaken, it's the same place Lydia told me i should contact her, so maybe tomorrow i will!

Still no sign of Turbo or Tony, but i'm sure they'll turn up at some point...

I can barely keep my eyes open. Wow, i had no idea i was so tired!

Blake out.

back on the road, but all alone this time

2006-07-28T20:37:00.000+09:30

I had a wander through the forest the waitress told me about but i couldn't find anything at all. There were no car tire trails or anything that seemed to indicate that anyone had ever been there in the recent past. It was a little disheartening, to be sure, because i really don't know how they could have disappeared like that.

So now i am back on the road heading where i was heading when they were following me and hoping that this time i am following them. It shouldn't take me too long to get to a new town because they are all pretty close together but it will still take a good days worth of driving i think, because i spent most of today wandering through the forest, which was quite pretty to walk through.

It is funny because it almost feels like i have been abandoned and even though i know i haven't it brought back to mind memories of childhood like the time my friends and i played hide and seek and one of my friends said 'blake hide in this closet' and i said 'ok' but then they locked it on me and i heard one of them say 'now you have to kiss sarah or we won't let you out!' and i said 'but i don't want to kiss sarah' and then another one of them said 'but we haven't put sarah in there with him yet,' and the first one said 'Shit! i guess we better go find her then,' so they all ran off and left me in the closet for a while and so because of that i am not afraid of the dark because i got so accustomed to it.

It is interesting the things that can happen to you in life.

Chin up, Blake! Onwards and upwards!

Blake out.

off once again in search of something new... kind of

2006-07-27T19:38:00.000+09:30

So yesterday JJ and i gave Joanne her guitar and she seemed really happy with it. She said that she was actually packing her bags and going travelling too, but that she would be going the opposite way to me ('for kicks, mainly,' she said). I told her that seemed like a grand idea but JJ made sure she took some mace spray along with her, just in case.

Tony and i left in the early afternoon of today. John gave me his daughter's contact details and said that i should look her up should i ever be in her neck of the woods, but then after a moment of thought stressed i should only look (no touching), that we should never neck, and that should i consider wood in any way he would teach me a neat trick with a rake.

I said if he was worried i didn't have to take her contact details at all but John just laughed a very hearty laugh and then looked at me and pointed and said 'Seriously Blake. Seriously.'

So Tony followed behind me while we drove and Turbo was there with him because Tony said he wanted someone to talk to and i figured that would be fine because Turbo is a good listener. Anyway, at some point or another I seem to have lost Tony so i stopped into this truckstop diner and i've been waiting in the hopes that they do the same.

A truck driver came up and spoke to me and he said 'Blake,' and i said 'how do you know my name?' and he said 'i haven't slept in i don't know how long and everytime it happens i see things and i have to tell people about them before i fall asleep because goddamned if they don't feel like important things to say at the time and they also keep me awake for just that bit longer and if i succumb to sleep now i may as well be sleeping with the fishes because that shipment, well, it ain't going to drive itself though i have heard if you train them up and give them certain drugs they are technically capable, but not necessarily trustworthy. You won't see your friend Tony in a while so avoid the suspicious Blake' and i said 'um... what?' but then he shouted 'JACK BURTON! LIGHTS OUT!' and then he fell asleep in front of me.

The waitress said just to leave him because he does that sometimes, so he is still sitting in front of me, sleeping kind of peacefully.

I wonder how he knew my name and Tony's?

Anyway, according to the waitress there is a small forest near here that i think maybe Tony could have gotten lost at so i guess i should check it out and see if i can pick up any clues like a detective might. There was a time when i wanted to be a detective, but then at some point it just vanished, that dream. I guess i just wasn't suited to the job like i might have hoped. Oh well, maybe in the next life.

Blake out.

A dream about a girl with black hair and red eyes

2006-07-25T21:26:00.000+09:30

So i had a strange dream last night, in which i was at a movie premiere but i was not one of the special guests so i had to wait outside with all these other people and all the big stars came to the cinema (a really old looking kind of place that seemed very royal) in various different batmobiles from the television show and the movies. I went and talked to a man working at a small popcorn stand which was empty and he said something to me about what was going on but i wasn't really to sure what he said because i looked out the window and the sky turned from being a kind of dark blue into a purple.

So then i woke up and went and got myself a glass of water and wondered why all the guests in the batmobiles wore big pimp hats and nerdy looking glasses.

But when i went back to bed i had another dream but this one felt very different to the movie one and it made me quite scared and uncomfortable and i woke up in a cold sweat thinking 'Blake! What just happened!?'

In my second dream i was in a barn that was in the center of a forest somewhere i hadn't been and it was night and outside the wind was blowing and all you could see were trees as far as you looked. Then when i went to the lounge room area i suddenly could not move and it got really cold suddenly and out of nowhere there was this girl standing in front of me with skin that was as white as i had ever seen and long black hair and red eyes and she looked at me very sadly and it was like she wanted to say something but couldn't talk, and i still couldn't move and she came up and touched my face and i felt ice run through my face and somewhere i am sure i heard someone say 'help me...' but i was so frozen all i could ask was 'how?' but then everything went blank and i woke up.

Strange, huh?

Anyway, today i saw Mr Biggs and he had an eye patch and looked a bit injured and i asked him what had happened but he was quite busy and mumbled something about 'getting out of town before losing the other one' while pushing his two girlfriends into a taxi and squeezing in with them and taking off on holiday or business or something of some kind.

JJ is fixing up that old guitar and he said 'Blake i don't know how you did it but i think you made this place a much better little old town to live in. Hell, maybe i can start having bands in again,' but i wasn't too sure what he meant because i hadn't really done anything you know? But i told him about the crazy jazz trio i saw and he said he would love to hear them but unfortunately i don't even know what they called themselves, or where they went. I just have this feeling we'll meet again somewhere.

Ah, today was quite a nice day, even if it was a bit cold. I had this strange thought that maybe if i was sick and had been for a few days that i would not be as happy a person as i am now and would actually be quite miserable and maybe not much fun to be around.

So i guess i should thank my lucky stars that i am still in perfect health!

Blake out.

i found another guitar!!!

2006-07-24T20:26:00.000+09:30

Actually, i found it yesterday afternoon, but it is still big news! I was searching down in the basement area and it called out to me with a voice that spoke on maybe another wave length to what i am used to. I dug around and through piles and piles of junk and there it was, the acoustic guitar, just sitting against a wall a little broken and having gone so long unloved and untouched. Well, i couldn't just leave it there could i? For some reason it looks to me like something Relm would enjoy playing, or might have even played, but that doesn't really make sense because this guitar looks so old, you know?

Anyway, it is in dire need of repair but JJ said he could do that and then we can give it to Joanne before i head off, which will be pretty soon actually.

Oh, that's right! I should update you guys on the weekend's events!

So on Saturday i went to visit Mr Rickson with his present and he looked heaps happy and healthy from having been on holiday to wherever it was he went, and i said 'Hey Mr Rickson!' and he said 'Ho! My friend Blake! Let us party down like party animals!' and i said 'I have a gift for you from Mr Biggs!' and i was about to pass it over to him when i got pushed over and the package got taken away and i heard a voice saying 'I will take this like you took my letterbox!!! You fool Blake!!! YOU FOOL!!! YOU F-whoop.' and then i heard the person trip over.

And there was this almighty explosion, the likes of which i have never heard.

We all ran up to the guy who had taken the package and he was all freaked out because all of Mr Rickson's suited guys were around him talking into their head mike/phone things and it turned out he had thrown the package when he tripped over and the explosion had only taken his eyebrows and some of the top of his hair. I guess Mr Biggs fireworks box present needed to be handled a little more carefully. But i was so surprised to see who it was staring back at us looking kind of surprised because he had no eyebrows.

I said 'WOW! Tony! What are you doing here?' and he said 'you bastard Blake... you will get yours yet...' and Mr Rickson said 'this man is a friend of yours Blake?' and i said 'well... kind of, i think,' and Mr Rickson said 'because he has saved my life....'

We made sure Tony was alright (You guys remember Tony, right?), and we even took him out drinking with us, which gave us a chance to clear up everything. As it turns out, ever since i accidentally ran over his letterbox, Tony has been hell bent on revenge for all the wrong doings ever caused him by the person who looks just like me but is actually not me, which he didn't know.

I told him i would buy him another letterbox, and that made him a bit happier. He looked very surprised, but that was how he looked all night, with his burnt face and crazy singed hair.

I told Tony that we could move on to the next town together if he wanted and Tony said i was much too nice a person but that he would accept my offer as he has gone a very long time without company and felt he was going more than a little crazy.

Mr Rickson told me he had some 'business' to attend to and so he had to leave early and Tony said he wanted to eat a whole bunch of painkillers and sleep for a week so i was left alone at quite early a time in the evening but i stuck around for a little while and talked to a woman who said she was in the business of deliveries and that i should look her up if i ever passed by her way because she could give me a job and i was like 'oh that's awesome!' and she said that with my attitude i could well be perfect for the job.

Her name was Lydia, and i have her business card now, which is all sorts of stylish.

Well, i best get some reading and sleeping done, because i have to get up early to get this guitar all fixed up and ready.

Blake out.

Satruday night party night!!!

2006-07-22T17:55:00.000+09:30

Man tonight is going to be fun! I picked up Mr Rickson's present just a little while ago (Kind of heavy, and a bit cold, maybe made of metal, but probably filled with fun!), and i put on one of my good shirts and got all spruced up because it's just one of those nights i think. Parties, drinks, laughs, and all the rest of that stuff will occur and reoccur until the morning and maybe even longer too!

Oops.

I might be late if i don't hurry.

Party on Blake!!!

Blake out.

one more job and blake is a free man!

2006-07-19T22:47:00.000+09:30

So i took the envelope to Mr Biggs today and he was quite happy. He was feeding his fish and there were some pretty girls in short skirts sitting on a big couch in the corner listening to music and kind of looking at the ceiling but not really because maybe they weren't looking at anything at all. The blinds were pulled shut and a few lamps were on which gave the place a bit of a mysterious look because of the cigar smoke that floated up near the ceiling.

Mr Biggs checked the contents of the envelope and said 'it is good Mr Samuels, that your eyes and legs and feet are unharmed and will hopefully remain that way' and i said 'yeah! It is pretty cool isn't it?' and he said, 'but it took a while, my young friend, and because my associate will get this late, i'm going to need you to do one more favour for me before i can fully forgive you of this terrible but obviously accidental mistake,' and i said 'well i guess that sounds ok mr biggs but didn't you say i had until the end of the week? Because i thought i got it in early,' and mr biggs said 'we live in a world that is forever changing and sometimes the changes work against you.'

So now i have to deliver a parcel to Mr Rickson for Mr Biggs because Mr Biggs will be very busy and only i will be able to do this job properly. He said that on Saturday i can pick up the parcel from one of his men, and then i can take it to Mr Rickson and give it to him as a present because he will be coming back from some big meeting on that day.

It sounds ok to me. I was thinking even that i might get Mr Rickson something myself because he has been really nice to me.

JJ is still trying to teach me some self defense but he is always saying 'Blake you are a cool cat but you lack the fighting spirit man! Sometimes you gots to defend yourself or face the consequences, you dig?'

And i do dig, really, but i am just not very good at that kind of stuff.

I heard Joanne singing again when i got home and it is really nice because it reminds me of Relm but that made me a little bit sad because i really have no idea where she might be or what she might be doing. In any case, it is great to hear her doing so much in such a short time so because i have a day free tomorrow i might head down to the basement and try and find an old guitar and then maybe see if JJ can string it up for me and then i will give it to Joanne for being a really cool person and showing me that great ice cream shop!

Anyway, i better get some sleep!

Blake out.

clues and clues but no mystery man

2006-07-18T22:25:00.000+09:30

So i found a car today while i was wandering around town today, and it was a bit of a mess. There was a smell like old clothes coming from it and whoever owned it had left the front passenger window down. There was static coming from the radio, and a sleeping bag laid across the back seat and the foot end of it there was a letter box which looked as though it had been ripped from the ground and was not in good condition.

It was a bit weird because taped to the front of the steering wheel was a message that read:

He took your money.
He crashed your car.
He took your wife and daughter.
He took your letterbox.
Punish him.
Punish Blake.
Beat him to death with the letterbox.

I found an envelope on the seat and it was my envelope! The one that i had lost when i got beaten up. I looked around and then took the envelope and then ran to JJ's because i did not want to meet the owner of the car by myself because i did not particularly feel like getting punished.

Even though JJ taught me some stuff i am still probably a bit useless with my fists.

JJ closed up store and we both went down to the car but it was gone and all that was left was burn out marks on the road and JJ shook his head and said 'dammit man i was going to pummel that guy so good and proper for busting your face, Blake. I was going to make sure that he never did anything like that again because damned if you deserve that kind of treatment!' but i said it was ok because at least i could return the envelope to Mr Biggs, right?

JJ said he hoped so, but he seemed a bit concerned anyway. Joanne said that she heard her father talking to Mr Biggs about how useful i could be to them and that maybe i should get out of town in the near near future because otherwise i will be stuck in their pocket and before i know it i'll be a hitman for them killing innocent people who got out on the wrong side of their car and all sorts of nasty work.

I told Joanne not to worry because Mr Biggs is concerned for my health and that as long as i got the envelope to him everything would be dandy.

Joanne seems worried too.

Now i am a little worried, but i don't even know why.

Blake out.

searching for the invisible man

2006-07-17T14:04:00.000+09:30

I am taking a short lunch break at the moment. I have spent yesterday and today asking and asking and asking people but nobody seems to have seen the person that beat me up. It is very difficult as well because i don't even know what he looks like or what he does or anything about him so essentially i am asking if people have seen a stranger in town and most of them say 'you are a stranger, aren't you?'

Which is true, but i didn't beat myself up, you know?

Joanne says she will talk to her dad and try to get him to talk to mr Biggs to buy me some time but i told her not to worry because i think eventually i will be fine anyway. JJ also told me that he wants to teach me some self defense techniques in case anything should happen again and i said ok even though at heart i am a non violent person. JJ used to study different martial arts in all different sorts of places and he is quite strong.

John said that i didn't need to paint anymore, and that i should put all my energies into recovering that lost envelope, which was nice of him, but i kind of miss painting those rooms. I think maybe if i ever own my own house i will build it from scratch, and paint it and do all the garden stuff as well.

I was wondering today about Trevor and Celes because it really has been a long time since i last saw them and i hope they are doing well. It is funny how one minute you are around people and then all of a sudden you are somewhere new and they are not around anymore. It is a strange feeling a bit like losing something you didn't even realise you had.

hahahaha.

I am talking a bit of gibberish today, aren't i?

Maybe i should go see if the ice cream place has seen my mystery attacker. Surely even bad people need ice cream occasionally, and maybe they even need it more than regular people.

I will probably get some ice cream while i am there too.

That will be awesome.

Blake out.

mr biggs' big office

2006-07-15T20:08:00.000+09:30

Last night i met a man name Mr Biggs, and we had a bit of a talk. Mr Biggs, it would seem, is Mr Rickson's 'right hand of justice, and left hand of business smarts' and has brought this town into a new age of prosperity in the few short years since he started. Mr Biggs is a big man with a gold tooth and he talks like he has known you for a long time even if you just met him.

I was summoned to his office which is really massive and it even has a pool table and a really big television and a massive aquarium filled with all sorts of really cool fish. His desk is so huge i think it might fold out into some sort of makeshift bed should Mr Biggs ever stay too late at work. The whole back wall behind his office is a big window that looks down over most of the town.

I was sat down in a comfortable chair and i looked at the back of Mr Biggs chair as he looked out over the city. 'Blake,' he said to me, 'it has come to my attention that you have been in an accident of sorts,' and then he spun around to look at me.

'Yes sir,' i said, 'it would seem i have angered someone and now am receiving overdue punishments.'

'Ah, i see,' Mr Biggs said, pressing his fingers together and then bringing them to his lips, 'but it has also come to my attention that you had an envelope you were supposed to give to a certain Mr JJ, and that this envelope has "mysteriously" vanished on the very same night that you were receiving said "overdue punishments". Would this be an accurate statement, Mr Samuels?'

'Yes sir, i said, 'it would seem it was taken from me or possibly lost whilst i was lacking in consciousness.'

Mr Biggs squinted his eyes and then sighed and then said 'Blake i would like to be blunt with you: Do you like to walk?' and i said 'yes sir,' and he said 'do you like to watch movies?' and i said
'yes sir' and he said 'do you like that you can eat ice cream by yourself?' and i said 'yes sir' and he said 'because i need that envelope back Blake, and i think you might be the only person to get it for me. I need this envelope by next week because it has to be delivered to a friend of mine in the case that JJ refused us.'

'ok mr Biggs' i said, and he said 'and i would hate to see you Blake, happy as you are in this world, suddenly unable to walk, see, and use your arms the way you normally do because they were so terribly injured that they became useless.'

I told Mr Biggs i would hate that too because i like being able to walk down the street and look at my own ice cream that i am eating with my own hands and Mr Biggs said 'of course you do Blake, and i'm glad we could come to this understanding. I hope to see you soon, and please be careful Blake.'

Mr Biggs is a very busy man, so i could not really talk to him after that conversation we had, and i am also unsure what to think of him at this point because he got straight down to business but it is nice to know he is concerned for my safety.

I spent today reading and watching the rain because i still feel a little bit sore. Maybe tomorrow after i finish painting i will ask around about the envelope.

Blake out.

i am not in very good health today

2006-07-13T21:40:00.000+09:30

So yesterday John wanted me to deliver some stuff to JJ for him and so i did and JJ took one look in the envelope and said 'you take this back to John and you tell him it doesn't work like that' and i didn't feel like i had any other choice so i said 'ok JJ, but can you show me some guitar before i go?'

That seemed to cheer him up a bit and so he showed me some jazz stuff but no way am i good enough to play like that yet. It was really cool because he gave me this book to look at and it has jazz chords in it and JJ says that they are good for practise because they make your fingers strong and flexible.

Anyway, i was leaving JJ's, and it was getting kind of dark, so i tried to take some shortcuts Joanne had taken me through but soon i got lost, and was just wandering down alleyways looking for something i recognised and then all of a sudden the back of my head really hurt and i was really dizzy and i was lying down and someone was kneeling on my back.

The man who was sitting on my back grabbed me by the hair and hit my head into the ground and said 'Hoo boy it took some time but i found you didn't i?! Didn't i Blake!? I found you good and now you can finally pay for all the pain you put me through not so long ago!!! Do you remember Blake? Do you?!' but i couldn't answer because i was in lots of pain and also bleeding from the mouth and nose and when i tried to say something he hit my head into the ground again and shouted 'YOU CAN'T GET AWAY WITH STUFF LIKE THAT BLAKE! NOT IN MY TOWN AND NOT IN THE NEXT!' and then he hit me again and got close to my ear and said, 'you break a man's letterbox and you got judgement coming boy...'

After that i blacked out and when i came to it was raining and it was today and my face hurt a lot and JJ was standing over me and he said 'goddammit Blake what the hell happened!? Come on let's get you fixed up and looked at.'

JJ said i am not a pretty looking man anymore but now i have a rugged kind of battle scarred look to me and he said that women dig men who have lived through tough battles and he would introduce me to some of them, which is nice of him because i looked in a mirror and i don't even know if my mum could love me.

What i feel terrible about is that the envelope John gave me must have been taken because i don't have it anymore and i told John and even though he told me it was ok i think that it was important because he seems a bit worried now.

Joanne is a bit worried about me too but i think everything will work itself out eventually as soon as i can talk to that man and find out what i did wrong and sort things out between us.

A long time ago i was beaten up because a guy told me i stole his girlfriend when really it was my room mate. That was really bad and i had to go to hospital and get stitches and have my shoulder put back in place but afterwards the guy came up to me and apologised and now whenever i am in town he buys me beers and we hang out because he is very sorry.

I am very tired and still sore, but i will try and update tomorrow too.

Blake out.

where are you, oh foolish wanderer of the night?

2006-07-12T22:21:00.000+09:30

Blake has not returned again.

I heard John tell him to go out and do something, but i'm not sure exactly what it was. In any case, that was a good ten hours ago, and he still isn't back.

I played guitar for a while today. I don't really want to talk about it but Blake keeps on going on about it and giving everything away so i guess i should clarify some things:

a.) Blake is a fine guitar player, whether he admits it or not.

b.) I am still learning, no matter what Blake says.

c.) The guitar can be a beautiful instrument even if you are a beginner.

Over the past few days Blake has been talking about all the travelling he has done and it has made me feel kind of strange. If i were a puppet on a string, then i would say that someone is pulling those strings, because i feel compelled to leave this place and discover the rest of the world.

Is this what it was like for you, mum?

I might visit JJ, see if he's seen Blake.

---

leave all your problems up in the sky
and let them float around for as long as they like,
because maybe when we have enough of them
we can paint the skies a colour of our own.

day two of blake's recovery

2006-07-11T22:32:00.000+09:30

It was hard to get up this morning. It was also hard to get myself into gear because i felt very worn out but eventually i did it and i think the only person who really noticed was Joanne who laughed at me and said 'you are an idiot Blake, but you are a good one. I'm stealing your guitar for the day.'

Painting today cheered me up though. I was listening to Feeder most of the day, and it made me a happy little painter Blake. It was like i was in my own little universe where i got to turn a white world into a red world to the soundtrack of songs like 'Buck Rogers' and 'Satellite News' and 'Love Pollution'

JJ said to me today that i should watch myself in the future, because although Mr Rickson is a cool cat with a cool way of seeing the world and maybe too much money in those all too deep pockets of his, he rides with business types that are not really business types but sharks in shallow waters preying on little fish and stupid children.

He told me to watch out for some people but i was so tired i forgot their names already. Also though, it is partially JJ's fault for putting on cool jazz music and making me quite possibly the world's greatest coffee ever. I don't know what it was but i could hardly concentrate on anything else while i was drinking it.

JJ is a skilled coffee artist. I'm not sure what else to call him, but that seems right enough.

John was very happy that everything went well for me and we sat around again drinking beers for a little while. He said 'Blake you have no idea how fantastic this is. Really! It's just great, superb, excellent! I am so happy i could give you my daughter's hand in marriage!!!' and then he took a sip of beer and said all serious like 'But really Blake you touch her and i will take your eyes.'

Joanne is getting really good on the guitar. I heard her singing and i thought it sounded really nice and so i told her that and she said 'WHAT!? You heard that?!' and i said yes so she made me promise not to tell anyone because of how embarassed she would become.

Tomorrow will hopefully be another quiet day in which i will paint, eat, and find a new book to read.

Does anyone have any cool recommendations again?

Blake out.

Hammering in my head - Garbage

2006-07-10T18:20:00.000+09:30

Boy i am wrecked. I think maybe inside my head there is a train wreck, all broken and smoking and maybe even a little bit on fire. Everyone on the train though it would be fun to take the train somewhere new but no one realised that taking it off the rails was a really stupid thing to do. Especially when the train is over a bridge.

I don't even know how they got the train off the rails actually, and to be honest, i think i was one of the drunk idiots on the train that just kept drinking all the way to the bottom anyway.

I should inform you guys of something though, before i try and go back to sleep.

Last night i had to deliver and envelope for John to someone important. That important someone was Mr Rickson, an eccentric old businessman who lives in what seems to be the biggest building in the city. He has all these people working in his building who are wear suits and sunglasses and those cool ear mike things that secret agents get to wear.

Anyway, Mr Rickson was glad to see me, and glad to see that 'everything in the envelope is perfectly as it should be' and he said 'Blake, oh my good friend Blake, if tonight is a night for any one thing then tonight is a night for a night out on the town with drinks and women and cigars in the moonlight!'

We hit a few bars and then the rest is kind of a hazy mist i cannot seem to see through properly or understand completely. I think maybe we went to lots of bars and i think probably that Mr Rickson paid for everything and i know also that i smoked a cigar because my mouth tasted like smoke this morning and i know i drank way too much because we were still out and about when the sun came up.

At the second bar Mr Rickson said 'Blake, oh my good friend Blake, there is so much for you yet to learn and if you learn only one thing important in your lifetime let it be from your new friend Terry Rickson! In time you can learn of the finer things of business and pleasure, and oh my friend, how fine they are!'

I have not been outside since i got back, and i have also not opened the blinds because i fear the light will turn me to dust much like the vampires i was scared of as a child. Joanne checked on me to see if i was alright and then laughed at me for a good long while before playing what is probably the nicest thing i have heard a beginner play on a guitar ever.

I think she might already be better than i am.

Okay okay okay i am going back to bed and sleep because i have to paint again tomorrow.

Blake out.

Am i playing with words or are the words playing with me?

2006-07-09T20:38:00.000+09:30

Blake still hasn't returned.

I guess i shouldn't really be all that surprised.

Mr Rickson is well known for taking a liking to new people, and if they are people like Blake?

Well, you can expect a night on the town that will probably go until daylight.

I went to JJ's cafe with my notebook and i sat sipping coffee and listening to the music he plays, because he only plays jazz and it's always really good to listen to. A long time ago he said he used to have bands come down and play but now nobody rolls into town, so it just doesn't happen. Blake told me that before he came to our town he saw some really cool jazz, too.

Sometimes i think i was born to late.

There is something about the night air tonight that has me feeling a little worried. All the shadows are a bit sharper, the buildings more menacing, the wind whispering messages that could be important. I knew a lady who could read the wind once, but dad forbid me to see her and before i could sneak out to see her we'd already moved again.

I wonder what she would say about tonight?

Blake left me his guitar and an old chord book he bought. I have been plucking away somewhat randomly and i like what i am hearing, though i wonder how it really sounds. Maybe i will write a song tonight, something lonely but hopeful.

---

In an ocean of letters
all i can do is form words,
sentences that reach out through the darkness.
Messages to a person i've never seen,
but have always longed for.

New stuff to do and new people to meet!

2006-07-08T17:37:00.000+09:30

So i went into the basement the other day and it rocks so hard! I found this old record player and all these old jazz records and i spent so much time listening to music while i wandered about in what i am now referring to as 'my dusty little wonderland'

I also found a piano but some of the keys don't work and it is out of tune and generally in a bad state. It made me want to learn piano though.

So tomorrow John wants me to deliver an important parcel for him to an important man.

It sounds important, doesn't it?

Anyway, he said 'Blake, you may be able to, in your own funny way, make the best of this situation.'

I hope he is right, because i do enjoy making the best of situations. At least i enjoy it more than situations making the best of me, and even though i am a little unsure of what that means, i have this feeling that it happens more often than the first one.

Did you like Joanne's post? I think she is a cool person, and maybe she will write again. I gave her my login information so she can post whenever she wants to. I was a little worried at first but it all turned out ok in the end, but maybe i think she should post in a different colour so people can tell the difference between us, because even though we write a bit different maybe people will still get confused and say 'Who is this Blake imposter!!!'

I played guitar for a little while but chords are still hard to come to grips with. My fingers are not very strong yet so i still get a buzzing sound sometimes but the good news is that i can play some stuff that sounds a little bit nice, and i figure a little bit nice is better than not nice at all.

Oh, that sounds like someone is calling me. Probably John.

Talk to you all soon!

Blake out.

Hello and Goodbye, Goodbye and Hello

2006-07-06T22:29:00.000+09:30

Blake is looking around in the basement today. He has been down there for quite some time now. Ocassionally i think i hear squeals of joy i assume come from him, but i am also a little too scared to consider what else it might be that inhabits the floors of this ever aging hotel i stay in.

Oh, that's right. Introductions are usually first.

Hello, my name is Joanne, and i'll be your pilot for this evening's flight.

Think of this as a kind of outreach program. Feeling my way through the internet and discovering new things, I write miscellaneously and drift wherever i feel. It is a good kind of life, and one i wish to share with others.

Namely, you.

But presently i feel at a loss for words. I feel like maybe i should put on some music and then let the words flow through my fingertips but imagining what Blake is up to down in the basement is taking up all of my mental space. John won't let me down there, and in all the time i've been here, the crazy old man has never let anyone down there.

So why Blake?

Anyway, life here is still the same as it has always been. The town has it's problems, and i fear they will be coming to a peak sometime soon, though i could not say for certain exactly when. Poor JJ tries his best but he is simply outnumbered and i fear that even the mystical arts he learnt in the orient may not save him as there are only so many bones he can break before the karmic gods demand a few of his own bones to be broken.

Why my father still works for Mr Biggs, i don't know.

Actually, i do know. But i remain unimpressed.

And so i stay in my room and i listen to music and i write silly little stories about meteors falling from the sky and generally i keep to myself. It is not easy being the daughter of my father, for reasons obvious the moment you understand the way the town works.

Would they understand were i to attempt to explain myself? Would they even pretend?

I like sometimes to think that they would.

Joanne

---

Cold to the touch
It's no wonder i couldn't find your heart.
In the mess of wiring and circuitry
I felt so sure i had found something to keep you with,
But what was it?

Painting, painting, painting, blake is still painting!

2006-07-05T19:02:00.000+09:30

So by tomorrow i think i should be finished with this painting. There are still some rooms to be done but John said i could do them a bit later and take a few days off before i do the other stuff for him. The room is really starting to look nice now. As soon as the floor gets done and all the furniture comes in it will look very cool.

I did pushups and situps and chinups today because i ate lots and lots of ice cream yesterday. Joanne took me and she was right: even the vanilla kicks out the jams. But i had not had ice cream that good in a long time so i also had cookies and cream and mint choc chip and boysenberry.

Afterwards i had to stay seated for a little while because i was quite full.

I went to JJ's and there were some guys there in very nice suits and two of them had very cool sunglasses and JJ told them to piss off and never come back again or he would teach them a lesson in pain the likes of which they could never imagine. They looked quite scared, and i asked JJ about it later and he said 'Blake there are some people in this town you must be careful of. Not everything in this town is as good as the ice cream you ate earlier.'

John also told me that tomorrow i could go and have a look in the basement, so that is going to be really awesome! According to John many different people have stayed at the hotel over the years, so there is all sorts of different stuff down there.

I spent some time looking out my window and thinking about nothing in particular. I watched people walk by for a while and i was thinking about something but then i fell asleep, and had a dream i was walking in a field with an old man who was very rich and very strong even though he did not look either. We talked about stuff but i can't remember what it was we talked about now. I don't know how Joanne can do what she does and not fall asleep.

I think maybe i will ask her.

Blake out.

Coffee, muffins, books... it is 'the good life' (Weezer)

2006-07-03T20:59:00.000+09:30

John sat me down this morning and he said 'Blake you are a good man but i cannot let you marry my daughter. You have a good heart but my daughter deserves the very best and although you may place second or third you do not place first. One day, maybe, when you have slain the dragon that has kept her spirit caged all these years, releasing along with it true happiness, we can talk again about these matters.'

I told him that i was not going to marry his daughter until i met her, and even then i would have to think seriously before committing to such an agreement, but John told me it that actually he knew that but he knew that one day he would have to refuse young men the right to his daughter's hand, and he thought he would practise on me first.

I do not want to be the person that gets refused by John.

I had the day off from painting so i stopped in at a bookshop and bought Fahrenheit 451, and then stopped in at a small cafe for coffee and muffins. The cafe is called 'forget about tomorrow', and the owner, JJ, is a really cool guy. He noticed i was reading Fahrenheit and told me he liked it and then we talked about other books we liked and places we had been and all sorts of stuff. He said he would teach me some guitar because he has been playing for a little while now.

He said 'Blake, you are one cool cat! I like the way you jive!'

He even let me have the muffin and coffee for free! I was really happy because it was a genuinely good muffin, the sort i have sometimes dreamt about. They reminded me of the muffins i ate long ago, and that made me happy.

I will have to return to that cafe in the future!

Joanne and i talked about nothing in particular over some cookies and it was good. She said she looked at my blog the other day and that it was quite funny. She said i should say she is beautiful in a very natural way, and that her hair flows like an eternity of tears, and that in her eyes is a universe few have discovered, but she wanted me to put it in all discrete like so that people didn't know she wanted me to do it. I loaned her the Weezer cd 'make believe' because i thought she would like the title.

Hello again Joanne! I hope you are having fun staring out the window and listening to music!

Tomorrow is ice cream and paint day!!! But i will not be eating paint.

Blake out.

a blake enjoying the simple life

2006-07-02T19:47:00.000+09:30

I have been painting the last couple of days. It has been good actually, because i put my headphones on and then paint up and then paint down. Then i move on and paint some more and repeat the process until there is nothing left to paint. I have been painting this big room a dark reddish colour, and i think it will look really fantastic when it is all finished.

Today at breakfast i met a girl named Joanne. She lives near my hotel room, and her father works here as a financial advisor for some big business man who runs a few businesses around here. Joanne said she would take me to a really cool shop near the hotel where they sell ice cream that is so good even the vanilla kicks out the jams. Joanne told me she spends lots of time looking out her bedroom window and writing what she sees and what she thinks. I told her about my journal, and she said she would have a look at it when she got the chance.

Hello Joanne, this is Blake! How are you?

The person who owns the hotel is called John, and he said that come sunday i will have to deliver a few important packages for him to various people around town. He said to me 'Blake in this little world of ours we play a giant game of give and take. An "I do favours for Bob who does favours for Mario who does favours for me" kind of thing, but on a much much bigger scale. Everything is in a kind of harmony but that harmony can be easily broken. I like you blake, so i will entrust you with the job of continuing this harmony'

I like John. Last night we sat near the top floor of the hotel drinking beers and talking about nothing in particular and watching the rain outside. He has a daughter who is studying in a university a few towns over, and he does not get to see her very often anymore but they still write letters monthly. He said 'Blake you would like Lynne, you would like her i think. A beautiful little creature so beautiful it is hard to believe i am her father. But blake my friend, i'll tell you this once and i won't tell you again. You touch her blake, you make her sad in any way, and i hear about it, i will hurt you blake. I will hurt you like you have never been hurt ever.'

I said 'Ok John', because it seemed fair enough i guess. Then John told me that in the basement of the hotel there is all this old junk that people have left over the years that he has not been able to let go of and he even said i could have a look around there one time. Oh man that is going to be so COOL!!! I really hope there are some old books and magazines because i have almost finished mirror mirror now. It is very interesting because it is very different to the original story but not in a bad way because changes are refreshing!

Tomorrow i think i will look for a nice cafe and buy a muffin and a coffee. How long has it been since i last had a muffin?

I think it has been too long if i cannot remember where i was and what sort of muffin i ate.

Boy i hope they have good ones, because that would be awesome!

Blake out.

A new town means new stuff!!!

2006-06-30T21:28:00.000+09:30

***

We stood in a dingy hotel room, and even though outside the sun was singing and the birds were shining, it felt dirty. Dirty like a dimly lit bar that has not been cleaned in a few months.

Bethany held the gun at my face and she said 'Blake, if i can't have it, no one else is allowed to have it either.'

I held her glance, trying to work out whether the gun she held was a water pistol or not.

'Have what, Bethany?' i said, cooly.

And Bethany said, 'That's what you don't understand Blake, and it's what you never will understand.'

I prepared myself for the spray of water that was to come but it never did. Through a window dived a shadowy figure, and in an instant it had Bethany pinned to the ground. The speed at which it happened somehow slowed me down and it took some time for me to realise who the shadowy figure was.

'Bob! Where did you come from?'

***

I am trying my hand at writing stories. I wrote this today and i got Bob to help me write some of the sections out because i could not find the words i was looking for. Bob thinks maybe i can sell it under the banner of 'based on a true story', but i don't know yet.

Anyway, that is mostly how it happened. Bethany made me go into a hotel room with her and she demanded i do what she say, but i didn't know what she was talking about so i was awfully confused and therefore unable to do what she wanted. She got so furious she said she wanted to kill me and then Bob came out of nowhere.

Bob explained that he had not gone missing but he had gone into hiding so as to catch Bethany unawares. He said that he also needed some space away from her because 'that girl is toxic and addictive'

Bob apologised and said he had not been telling me the complete truth. He said that yes he had been a door to door salesman and a painter and a musician, but he said that after that he turned to a shadier profession and became a bounty hunter. He said that a few months ago he had been hired to capture Bethany but had not gotten around to it yet because behind closed doors Bethany was an animal wink wink nudge nudge. I said that sounded kind of interesting, and Bob told me i really had no idea.

Bethany screamed in anger for a while but then she calmed down and she said 'Blake, i will find you yet and i will have you suffer for what you have done to me and when that day comes i will laugh and you will hurt.' Then Bob slapped her and said 'i know a rich old man who wants to know what happened to his mansion in sicily two years ago, so we had best get going Beth.'

Bob was also kind enough to bring Turbo with him, and he seemed happy to see me too.

So i worked a deal out with the hotel people downstairs. They are going to let me stay with them so long as i do oddjobs for them here and there when they need things done. It seems like a good offer to me because the people are nice and they are also giving me food. They're even letting Turbo stay with me so long as he doesn't make a mess!

But i also think Bob might have talked to them beforehand too, on my behalf, because they said 'If mr Bob says we can help you, then god damned if we ain't going to try our darndest and hopefully not get killed or injured quite badly!'. Bob gave me a card with his number on it and said 'if you ever need help Blake, let me know and i will do all i can. Also, let's meet up again and play some guitar!' and i said 'Yeah! that sounds cool!'

It is a really cool card too. It has his name on it and everything! Sometimes i wish i had a business card. Something like 'Blake Samuels - World Wide Wandering Adventurer!'

I wonder if i can get them made up somewhere in town?

Blake out.

Ps. Bob told me that Bethany wrote the other posts, and i told him i would delete them because they were a bit strange but he laughed and said they were funny, so i guess they can stay. Bethany is a bit scary and confusing i think, but it is nice to know my arms are developing, because they still seem a bit weak to me.

a slight headache and cramped surroundings but blake is back!!!

2006-06-27T20:38:00.000+09:30

Okay, so i am awfully sorry i have not posted, but i lost my laptop a little while ago and i could not find it. I thought maybe it was stolen and then i thought maybe the person who stole it kidnapped Bob (he went missing you see, and i'll fill you in when i can), so Bethany and i went for a walk to find him and Bethany said 'Blake look at this big stick' and i said 'it certainly is big' and then i turned back to looking for Bob and now i am here in the boot of a car that is going somewhere.

Fortunately, i found my laptop in here, so i thought first things first, best let everyone know i'm in pretty good health and no real danger.

Anyway, it looks like someone has gotten into my blog and written some bits and pieces in it. I don't know who they are yet because i haven't had a chance to look at it because i just wanted to say hello to all of you but i will look at it soon and sort it all out.

I guess it is my fault for leaving my blog open and logged in. Once i left my diary out and open and one of my friends found it and laughed at me for writing letters to michelle yeoh about kung-fu films. It was a sad day, and you would think i would have learned from such mistakes, but it would seem i have not.

There isn't much room in the boot of a car. It is a bit squashy, and also very hard to type, what with the bumping and the ocassional swerving. I think maybe there should be seatbelts in the backs of cars just in case people end up needing them like i do now.

I am not really sure of the logistics of such seatbelts and how they would work, but i suppose that is why i am not in car design.

Ooh, it sounds like we're stopping. Maybe the boot will open and there will be all these people and they will shout 'SURPRISE BLAKE!' and they will have party hats and cake and bethany and bob will be there and they'll be like 'we wanted to hold you a surprise party for no reason!' and we'll all have fun and listen to cool music.

I do kind of wish we weren't stopping already though. I would have liked to see those other posts.

I'll update you guys soon!

Blake out.

patience wearing thin (oh so thin)

2006-06-26T20:43:00.000+09:30

Plan B failed, and seeing as i don't have a gun and two oranges, that leaves out plan C. :(

That there are no caves and I have no access to mining equipment means that plan D is completely out, but I never really liked plan D much anyway.

I will not tell you anything more because a crucial time is upon us. And by "us" I mean me, because if it was happening to you, I wouldn't care.

Bob still hasn't shown up, which makes this all the more easier.

Oh poor Blake, the things we could have seen had you not forced my hand...

Littlle miss B ;P

Ps. What? Expecting some sort of b word thing at the end there? You're thinking "Oh she's totally out of ideas", aren't you! AREN'T YOU!!! "She's doesn't have any more b words to fall back on now. ahahahahaha"

Admit it!!!

Well let me tell you something. If i wasn't impossibly beautiful and completely in control of you, you little puppet like creature, i might be offended by your thoughts.

And admit it. You ache for the words I type. You eat them up like candy.

the perfect situation is oh so quickly turning make believe...

2006-06-25T23:01:00.000+09:30

I don't know why I keep reporting events to you. I don't know what sort of audience Blake managed to gather during his short period of time online, but I can only imagine that you are all unintelligent and ugly, the sort of people who read this and think 'ooh, who is this ravishingly beautiful woman writing in blake's place?' but don't bother calling Blake and simply asking.

You see, even without having seen me, you know I am beautiful.

You can feel it.

Bob has gone missing. I can't say i'm particularly sad, because he was getting on my nerves anyway. I can't stand people with a drive to succeed and the will to see things through. They eat away at my soul and stab me in the eyes with their daggers of hope and success all the while chewing my ears off with their talk of the bright future ahead of them.

Really, take it somewhere people care, little mr. or ms. happy.

And yes, I'm talking to you.

I said to Blake that we must hurry out of this place because maybe we would be next on the kidnapper's list, but Blake would have none of it. I was surprised actually, because I put on an academy award winning performance, and grabbed at his arm like a true damsel in distress would (and might I add that I like the feel of his biceps ;P) but he stood tall and strong and stupid and it made me quiver and want him even more than I wanted him before.

Blake and I spent the day looking for Bob but we came up with nothing. Mind you, I wasn't really looking.

I told Blake I was scared I was going to be taken next and I tried ever so hard to get him to stay with me tonight but he wouldn't do it. Something about taking Turbo with him (stupid dog) to look again for Bob.

Oh you stupid, stupid blake. The worlds you could discover if you only spent one night in my room...

I guess I will have to move on to plan B.

The ballistically charged little miss B :P

I went CD shopping, yeah...

2006-06-23T17:27:00.000+09:30

but i'm not going to tell you what i looked at.

I don't even know who you are, or what you do, and unless you are a member of the little miss B fan club (and if you've never heard of it, shame on YOU!), i don't know if i want to.

I will tell you one thing though: that Blake is about ready to give up on his laptop, i think. He came up to me with his puppy dog eyes and his beautiful hair and he said to me 'little miss B i am sad that my laptop has gone missing and what's worse is that it may never come back. I suppose i will just buy a new one when i get somewhere where i can, but i am very sad because i had grown attached to that one. Do you mind if we stay here a little longer in case it turns up?'

I put my hand on his shoulder, his much stronger than it looks shoulder, which made me wonder whether the rest of him was stronger than it looks, because he doesn't look particularly strong when i think about it now, but i bet he his hiding a mean physique under those jumpers of his. I see him doing his chin ups in the morning, and push ups at night. I've seen him go for jogs after dinner. He is a tasty morsel i must eat, and eat soon.

Anyway, what was i saying?

Oh, that's right! I put my hand on his shoulder, and i said 'of course we can Blake. We can wait here as long as it takes, because i simply wouldn't have it any other way. all i want is for you to be happy, and if we have to wait around for your laptop to show up, then i'm willing to wait until the world flips upside down and the energy finds you.'

That Bob is an idiot. He said we should ask around, see if people have seen the laptop around. I mean really, Bob, why the hell do you always have to be so kind to people?

Ooh, actually that gives me an idea! :)

Tomorrow i might send Bob off to ask around for the laptop. That will leave Blake with me for the day, assuming i send him in the 'right' direction. And by right, of course, i mean wrong.

Did you understand that, or are you stupid?

Because it wouldn't surprise me if you were, you stupid person.

Blake and me, a whole day together.

Yum.

The blissful and babelicious little miss B ;P

SHOE SHOPPING!!! SHOE SHOPPING!!!

2006-06-21T20:02:00.000+09:30

So i went shoe shopping today on my brand new laptop. I had to do it in the bathroom so i didn't get found out, but it's all good, because the boys went for a walk to play some guitar.

Blake is still strangely resistant to my charms.

But let it be known that I am a hunter, and that as a hunter I have always captured my prey, whether it be with tranquilizer guns or nets or simply through my sheer attraction factor.

I looked up different shoes because I do not know how much this laptop will sell for.

These shoes are for when Blake takes me out to dinner and pays for everything and then walks me along the beach and then takes me back to his rich apartment for some private energy research in the bubble bath and after that we...

*ahem*

Sorry, I got a little lost there. ;)

http://www.raffaello-network.com/raffties/detail.php?itemid=68292&rangeid=29

This is for when Blake takes me jogging and then I get tired so he has to carry me on his back and when he gets tired I tell him I will transfer my energy to him but then he falls over from exhaustion and I laugh at him because I am a much better person and also smarter.

So much smarter.

http://www.raffaello-network.com/raffties/detail.php?itemid=50824&rangeid=29

And these are just for when I want Blake to know that I have sexy feet, so I will be wearing these a lot.

http://www.raffaello-network.com/raffties/detail.php?itemid=58570&rangeid=29

Shoes don't mean much to me though, when I think about it now.

Maybe I should buy some cds instead?

I wonder how many I could get? Tomorrow I will go cd shopping!!

Blake wants his laptop back oh so badly, and at least I am here to comfort him in those times of sadness. Oh Blake, my precious little Blake, if you could only see that what you really want is right in front of you...

the brilliant and bashful little miss B.

the adventures of blake shuts down - SORRY :(

2006-06-20T22:15:00.000+09:30

It truly is unfortunate. That Blake sure was a character, wasn't he? I mean, I don't need to read any of his previous posts and I won't, but I know a character when I meet one.

But let's be honest here, shall we?

Who in their right mind leaves their laptop open in their room, and their blog space open for all to see and edit as they see fit?

:)

Unfortunately, that poor Blake, he will be devastated that his laptop is stolen. I mean, I would be crushed if my laptop was stolen. I would feel as though my heart had been ripped out through my throat along with my lungs, and I would stand around wanting to cry but I mean really, who can cry when they can't even breathe?

I know I can't.

Blake will learn that his one true love is the energy of the world, and that the truest energy in the whole wide and wild world is right here within me and around me and it always has to do with me no matter what else is happening in the world around him.

I am just that sort of person.

I simply must have him. He exudes a quality i have never known and must have. And let us make no mistake:

I get what i want.

I need some new shoes. How much do you think a laptop sells for?

---

The Beautiful and Blossoming and always Blessed little miss B. ;P

Happy to Hang Around - Travis

2006-06-18T18:51:00.000+09:30

Bob has had a few different jobs in his lifetime. After he finished university he went straight into door to door dvd encyclopedia selling, and from there he went on to lead a group of specially trained door to door salesmen who specialised in selling to the old and the handicapped. He said that at the top levels of door to door salesmanship, you have sold your product the moment you ring the doorbell, and that various factors could go into selling them. He said that before ringing the doorbell, an elaborate pre-selling process would occur in which many incidents were staged to lead the person into thinking they needed the product. He said he would have his people talking about dvd encyclopedia's on the bus or at work within earshot of the target, and even to the point of interfering with their radios and playing fake radio competitions in which the answers to questions could be found in the dvd encyclopedia.

After a successful pre-sell, Bob said, a customer purchase was almost guaranteed.

Bob left the door to door selling after a few years and went into painting for a while, creating elaborate impressionist like pieces that displayed feelings of loss and tragedy whilst at the same time hiding strong feelings of hope. He said that once he had discovered this way of painting, he did one a day and sold them at galleries for huge amounts of money. People, he said, knew that life would not give them everything they wanted, and they could see that in the broader views of his paintings, but the feelings of hope that were subtly woven through them gave people something they wanted, and so his paintings came to be regarded quite highly.

The illusion of hope, Bob said, is to most people stronger than hope itself.

Bob then became a studio musician, as he had always played guitar and was at this point quite good at it. He cruised along steadily until his guitar work was recorded on Tamaril Millimar's breakout album 'five fingers of fear and foreverness', and he suddenly became the most wanted hired gun around. He played live with more bands than he can remember, and recorded with even more.

Rock, Bob said, is a world all of it's own.

One day Bob was walking in the park and he met Bethany, who was with a young man around Bob's age called Barry. They got to talking and Bethany taught Bob about the truth in the world around him, and suddenly Bob was able to understand the world in a way he previously could not. He saw Bethany more and more, and eventually he quit his studio musician job and donated almost all of his money to charities, deciding to start fresh in the fresh new world he now lived in.

As it turns out, Bob has a strange sort of energy flow, because unlike other people he has been harmoniously placed so that his energy is always positively enriching. The problem, Bob said, was that his power could run both ways, and bad people could sense it and would want to use it even if they could not see it. Bethany told him she could teach him how to control the flow better but they would have to leave right away. Bob said he never say Barry again, but Bethany assured him that Barry was a strong energy warrior capable of fending for himself.

Bethany's energy flow training, Bob told me, was nothing he could explain to me without blushing and feeling a little dirty. He assured me however, that it is an amazing workout, and it opened his eyes to universes of pleasurable energy flow the likes of which he had never EVER previously known.

Bob seems like a really cool guy.

I was going to head off today but Bethany convinced us to stay an extra few days. She said that this area was a positive area and that we should soak as much of it in as we can before we leave. She looked at me and she said 'if possible i want to suck in ALL the energy in this area, and feel the flow of it all around and inside of me.'

I am not sure i understand Bethany yet.

Blake out.

all about energy flow and worlds within worlds

2006-06-16T21:21:00.000+09:30

So we all stopped at a little roadside inn today, early in the morning. Bob and i had been driving all night so we were both very tired, and decided that a rest was in need. This place is quite nice, and the old couple that run it are happy for guests because they do not get them often and so they love to hear about anything you have to say. I updated them on my guitar situation and Peter and Roger and how sometimes muffins can taste better or worse depending on the weather you are in when you eat them.

When Bethany and Bob went out on one of their energy walks, i took a nap, and i dreamed that i was a small squirrel collecting shoes that dropped from trees and matching them with others i had found so that when the owners of the shoes came along i would have everything ready for them. After a while it started raining so i had to run to shelter and there was a girl under there who seemed familiar and she smelled of cake and i wasn't a squirrel anymore so i tried to ask her if she was baking anything tasty but as i approached her she kept shrinking until she disappeared and then i woke up.

When Bob and Bethany came back, Bob went to their room and decided to have a nap. Bethany sat with me outside and i was trying to play some basic fingerpicking stuff but it wasn't really working out for me. Bethany said that i have a strange sort of energy flow, and i said really, and she said yes because unlike other people i have been harmoniously placed so that my energy flow is always positively enriching. I said that sounded good, and she said yes but it is also bad because people can sense it even if they can't see it and they may try and use you for purposes other than good. She placed her hand on my arm and she said 'you have an unusual attraction factor Blake, and above all you must not take advantage of it because certain women will find you irresistable and they will run away with you in a heartbeat and even leave whoever it is they are with sleeping in their motel room.'

The she looked at me for what felt like quite a long time and said nothing. I said she didn't need to worry because i did not often get myself into trouble, and she got up and said 'maybe next time...' and walked off.

I am trying to teach Turbo to catch a frisbee i found but so far he is not quite getting it. I think it would be really awesome if i could throw it really far and he could run and jump and catch it then bring it back. I am totally going to work on that in the next few weeks!

Blake out.

PS. Oh, in case i forget, someone remind me to talk about what Bob and Bethany did before they learned about energy flow and the true nature of the world. It is quite interesting!

quiet days but nice days

2006-06-16T01:06:00.000+09:30

Turbo and i have been taking it super easy over the past couple of days. I picked up two hitch hikers on the way and they are a couple and their names are Bob and Bethany. They are nice people and they have been telling me all about a life they used to live that they have since run away from.

As it turns out, the world as they see it is made up of massive amounts of energy, and people are made from this energy, but not only that, people are constantly creating more of this energy which seeps from them invisibly and affects the people around them both positively and negatively. In cities, because of the sheer number of people, huge amounts of energy are created and because no one knows it is there or how to use it, it simply deteriorates into negative energy which slowly seeps into people and animals and eats away at them.

Bob and Bethany are on a trek through the wilderness, and also through places less crowded than cities. She says that the world is clearer out this way, so much so you can feel it through every part of your body, and sometimes in the mornings i think she might be right. Bob is kind of new to the energy thing, and so needed to escape the cities because they were making him feel a little sick. He and Bethany have been learning to cope with energy flow and redirect in ways that will have positive effects on the world around them, but Bethany stressed to me that they were not about controlling the energy flow. It was more allowing it to flow the way it should have always flowed but couldn't.

Over the evenings we sit around a fire and talk and listen. It's been really good so far, and Bob has taught me some guitar stuff. He taught me some barre chords, but they are a bit uncomfortable for me to play at the moment. Bob makes them sound really clear and pretty but mine still feel a bit blunt and muted. It is nice though to know some new stuff because now i can start expanding my little world of music into a little galaxy in the hopes of someday becoming a little universe with stars and milky ways and other planets with populations and forests and seas and such.

A universe made up of music. Damn that would be cool.

Bob and Bethany said they would travel with me to the city that is nearby, because Bethany said that Bob is probably ready for another city experience, and also that because this one is not too big, he should be ok. I am happy because it means i will have their company for a little while and also i can get Bob to teach me some of that nice finger picking stuff he played on my guitar earlier today.

The days have treated me well recently, and here's hoping they keep doing so. I think maybe Bethany is right about some of this energy stuff. All these clear skies and peaceful scenery has really cleared me up!

Blake out.

blake's back on the road again!

2006-06-12T13:15:00.000+09:30

So the wind is in my hair again, as Turbo and i coast along random roads in the hopes for random goodness and interesting people to meet. So far it has been a bit boring but that is also kind of good because ocassionally we will stop somewhere nice looking and i will practise some guitar for a bit. Man, guitar is really hard to play. My fingers hurt a bit but i hope i am getting better because i really want to become a decent player even if i can never make it to guitar girl's standard.

On saturday Peter and Roger were mad because they did not know where the factory had gone. Roger ripped a maxi safe cape of the wall and went back early in the morning to search for clues, but found none. He came back looking a bit sad, and i think he was disappointed because he was hoping to find some muffin crumbs or another scout report team cat to talk to. It turns out Peter knows i have been a muffin bot all along, and he told me while Roger was out. He said 'Blake, i knows you is a muffin bot because you're always talking about them in your sleep, but i think maybe you are a broken muffin bot because you have not tried to shoot us or kill us yet so i was thinking all along that having our very own muffin bot in the resistance forces could be very good for us, especially when those awful parachuting squirrel forces attack.'

However, Roger still doesn't know, and we agreed it is better that way.

I went to the bar later that night, and i went in but there was no one there. No bartender or anything. I know i probably shouldn't have but i had a walk around behind the counter and backstage and stuff, because i have never really had the chance to do so before. It is really interesting for me, but i won't bother writing it down for you because it is actually kind of boring, i think.

I sat around for a while. In fact, i sat around for a couple of hours, but nothing happened. I was a bit sad because i had hoped that someone might turn up so i could talk to them but no one did.

It felt like my time to leave had come, so i decided to head home and go to bed so i could get up early and hit the road. On my way out though, i found guitar girl on the steps, and she was playing her guitar but she wasn't singing. I told her i was sorry i scared her off last time but she said that i had made her feel really good with my comment. I asked her what happened to the factory but she wasn't sure. She said she had always been kind of sad and that my comment had made her feel like maybe there was more she could do and that made her want to write happier songs.

I felt much more comfortable around her this time and i got her to teach me some guitar. She taught me a c, a d, and a g chord, but i don't play them very well yet. She even gave me her guitar, even though i refused multiple times. She said she had plenty of them and that she knew i would enjoy playing it once i got a bit better at it. After that she said thankyou again and i said it was nothing (because really it was, you know?) and then she disappeared into the night.

I went home and played guitar until very early in the morning, and my fingers hurt. I slept in and told Peter and Roger that i would be leaving for new shores. They were a bit sad, but Peter was saying that he needed to do some more scouting around local areas soon so maybe we would bump into each other again, and when that happened we could once again fight together. Roger shook my hand and told me that although he still didn't trust me, i reminded him of a young friend he lost in the giant muffin bot battle of '65, and that was a good thing, i think.

I wish i could have said goodbye to Lanks and Grung, but maybe i will see them again somewhere anyway.

Thank you again, guitar girl Relm!

Onward and upward Blake!

Blake out.

waiting for tomorrow...

2006-06-09T23:26:00.000+09:30

i got woken up by Peter this morning. There was a lot of noise coming from outside my room, and it surprised me because i forgot we were invading the factory, and thought maybe Roger was kicking me out. That's happened before, me getting kicked out of places i lived in for no real reason. One of my girlfriend's even kicked me out of my own house once, and then locked herself in it. I had to get the police to come and everything.

Peter shouted 'Get up boy! Today's the big day! We're hitting that factory hard and we're hitting it fast! We'll be a three man tornado filled with dynamite and the factory will be the poor guy whose stomach we are erupting from! HOOO WEEE!!! I haven't felt like this since we blew up those invisible tanks in that invisible factory hidden in that peculiar empty field! Are you listening yet!? Get up boy!' And then Roger ran in wearing a curtain as a cape and he was carrying this big old elephant gun and he said 'Damn it Peter! I told you not to wake the muffin bot! Well, nothing we can do about it now. Give him the electric power slap 3000 and come over here and help me get your cape ready!'

So we got to the factory, all of us dressed in curtains and old stackhat bike helmets and i was given an old spatula (a really big one) as a weapon because Roger didn't trust me. Roger carried his old elephant gun and Peter had two water pistols filled with a substance he called 'instant kill juice super acid', which he said would send people packing quicker than people forget the villainy that slaps them in the face every day of every week of every year. We all looked at the factory from the top of a small hill and Roger said 'you go in first, muffin bot boy, they know you,' and i said 'but they'll know something's up the minute they see my helmet and maxi safe cape,' and Roger said 'that's why you'll go invisible the moment they think something's wrong. Duh! Now get in their, quick, and remember the signal!'

As it turned out, i didn't need to use the signal (three quick waves followed by me spreading my arms out like wings, and then a squat and then a 'Hey Hoooooooooo!'), because there was no one in the factory. We all wandered the first floor a little confused. The elvators weren't working anymore, so i couldn't go down to the dorms, and to be honest, it looked like they would not work then or ever. It was like the whole place had been abandoned in a single evening, and all that remained were a few dusty tables and some triangles sitting on top of them. Peter said he had heard of this happening before, giant teleporters sending people from factory to factory the moment they knew an attack was coming, and then Roger noticed reinforcements had arrived, in the form of a black cat. He ran over to it and said 'Any news to report?' then turned to Peter and said 'calibrations must be off' and then turned back to the cat and shouted 'ANY. NEWS. TO REPORT?!' We all left a little dejected when we realised nothing was going to happen.

I found a note on my way out though, and it said 'please meet me at the bar tomorrow night', but it looked kind of old, so i couldn't tell whether it was for me or for someone a long time ago who i didn't know. In any case, i thought it might be a good idea to go to the bar anyway, to see if any of the workers showed up. I would hate to think that Lanks and Grung left before saying anything to me, but i feel confident that if they did they would have had good reasons, because they seemed like good people.

Roger thinks the teleporter idea is rubbish, and that the factory workers were all turned to dust instantly, which is why the place looked so old. I thought it was a little gross that i was breathing in Sumael and Lanks and Grung, but i didn't say anything.

So i guess maybe sunday will be my last day here, and then i will head off to wherever it is i might be headed to.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Blake out.

PS. fifteen chin ups this morning, but i felt a little slack about them.

a mostly forgettably wednesday but maybe friday...?

2006-06-08T22:53:00.000+09:30

Wednesday work was really dead. It was like a ghost factory all of a sudden, because when it is filled with people you tend to forget the sheer size of it as you are among hundreds and hundreds of other workers. There were very few people working today and most of them were not really in a good state to be working anyway, ocassionally falling into sleep mid triangle creation. I passed a few couriers who had fallen asleep standing up, and even a few who were sleep walking around!

So with that in mind, i went to the dormitories, got the big grey book for Peter then left work early. I mean, nothing was really getting done so i figured me leaving wasn't really going to harm anything and also it was another great day outside and i really wanted to enjoy it and soak up the sun again.

Peter was really happy to get the book. He got this fiendish look in his eyes and he said to Roger 'It is time Roger!' and Roger said, 'Time for what?' and Peter slapped him in the face (real hard like, too) and said in a lower but more serious voice 'It is time, Roger.' and Roger didn't seem to understand but he said 'Ah, i see. It is time.' Then Peter turned to me and he said 'The day after tomorrow we raid the factory Blake. Be on your ready. If you have weapons, i suggest you prepare them for battle. On friday, the factory will fall.'

I didn't really feel like i could say anything, because i also feared the slapping i would get for speaking out. I spent the rest of the day wondering where guitar girl had gotten to and i also read a little bit more of 'Mirror Mirror'

I found Lanks asleep in the cafe this morning, and it took me a bit of work to wake him up. When he did wake up, he was happy to see me but also a little confused. 'Blake,' he said, 'how long has it been, my friend?' and i said 'Um... i saw you yesterday Lanks,' and he said 'Ah, yesterday. How long ago was that?' and i said 'i um... i don't know what you mean Lanks,' and he looked out the window and said 'too long, Blake. Maybe i will see my family soon. I think i would like that.'

I heard guitar music when i left the cafe, but i couldn't seem to locate it. I walked around the place for a while and even went down some side alleyways but i couldn't work out where it was coming from. It was really weird. It reminded me of guitar girl's music but something about it was different. I don't know how else to describe it, but it felt like what i was hearing was in colour, and not in black and white. Does that make sense? I hope it does.

I went to the bar but it was closed, so i wandered over to the jazz bar and the three jazz cats were sitting outside. We talked for a little bit about nothing, but the long and the short of it was like this:

Blake: Hey guys
Small Guy: Hey Blake
Fat Guy: Hey Blake
Thin Guy: Hey Blake
B: What are you doing?
SG: Waiting for a ride
FG: Nobody left to play for
TG: Town has spread thin
B: Where you guys going then?
SG: Where the wind takes us
FG: And the music
TG: And where we're told, i guess
B: Good luck then!
SG: you too man
FG: yeah, you made this place interesting for awhile
TG: seems everyone is going man, time to move on...

They are some tripped out guys, but man they are cool! i wish i could have seen them one more time, but i think maybe i will find them again sometime when i am drunk and in the mood for jazz music. I just get that feeling, you know?

Tomorrow should be an interesting day, i think.

Blake out.

tired, tired, tired tuesday...

2006-06-07T00:11:00.000+09:30

So i got to work today, and everyone was a little odd. It was like something about them was missing. They looked like ghosts, all pale and tired. Everyone did what they did every day, but they looked a bit sluggish, and i couldn't work out why. I thought maybe there was a party everyone went to that i didn't get invited to. That's happened to me before, people holding parties and leaving me out of them.

Anyway, finding Sumael was easy. I was delivering some electronics down to 13-F when i bumped into him. He seemed as tired as all the rest of them, kind of dazed and confused and generally out of it. I said 'oh hey man i have some stuff you ordered from a friend,' and he was like '...huh?' so i said, 'here' and gave him the 'sensitive materials'. He opened the bag and said '...oh... right. i'd, um... completely forgotten. Um, could you take this stuff to the dorms for me? Also, there's a big grey book near my bed. Give that to Peter,' and then he gave me some batman comics.

I headed down to the dorms and it was just empty. You could have told me that there was no one left in the whole factory and i might have believed you. But then i heard something so i followed the sound down a corridor and down another one and through a door and suddenly i was lost. I opened another door and found myself in a corridor that looked vaguely familiar. It had a kind of light green feel to it, and i could hear people further down it so i headed towards them, but before i could get there someone grabbed me and threw me up against the wall.

Turned out it was that guy in the suit with the sunglasses. He got up real close to me and he said real seriously 'What the hell did you do?' and i thought he was mad because i had skipped work yesterday so i said 'oh man i'm way sorry but it was just such a nice day i had to enjoy it you know?' and he was all like 'what the hell does that mean? Is that some sort of code? I don't take well to code Blake, and i can break you. i will break you. Where is she?' and i said, 'Turbo is a guy dog, i swear to god. And he's at home. I know i can't bring him to work, and i never have.' and he said 'Turbo? What the hell are you talking about?' and i said 'what are you talking about?'

Then he paused for a moment, and looked at me real careful like. He said, 'Relm. I'm talking about Relm. Where is she?' I didn't know who he was talking about. I said 'Relm?', and he said, 'the guitarist Blake. The girl guitarist. Her name is Relm. I know you bumped into her, and i need you to tell me where she went.' I said 'She went somewhere?' and he said 'she left last night, and no one knows where she went. This is really important Blake. Really important.' I told him i had no idea where she was and he said 'i think you may be the only one who can find her Blake. I don't know what will happen if she's gone much longer...' and with that he pushed me out through a door and locked it.

I was back out in the factory, so i just went back to work. Everyone was moving so slow. By the end of the day everyone was really exhausted. Grung and Lanks couldn't work out what was going on, and they said they felt like they just wanted to go to sleep for a while.

I went back home to Peter and Roger and Peter got heaps mad that i'd forgotten the big grey book. Roger was convinced it was a conspiracy. He said that first i wormed my way into his home, which had become unsafe, then i blocked off their communication to headquarters, which was sleeping soundly in the corner, and now i'd forgotten a vital piece of information to aid the resistance, which he knew meant only bad things and muffin bots. I said i would get it tomorrow but Roger said time was a wasting and i was a wasting it.

I went outside in the night air and i thought i heard quitar girl playing something, but maybe i think i just wanted to hear her. My mind can sometimes be funny like that, playing tricks on me and such. I wonder where she went to? I hope she is ok, wherever she is...

Blake out.

lazy monday morning, lazy monday evening

2006-06-05T22:14:00.000+09:30

i slept in today. I took turbo for a walk and just ate up as much sun as i could. It was one of those days in which i did next to nothing but i felt really good for it.

I'm thinking i should get moving soon, but i really need to try and learn something from guitar girl first. I have this strange feeling like i can't leave until i work out why her songs are like they are. I've never felt this kind of need to know something before. It is actually a very strange feeling.

Oh, i guess i do have something else to talk about. In my dream this morning i was in a hallway with a janitor's mop and bucket, and i was trying to clean up a puddle on the floor but it just wasn't happening. The pattern on the floor was all these squares in various shades of green, and it was all a bit ugly. Then this guy in a suit and sunglasses pushed me over from out of nowhere, kicked down the door in front of me and shouted, 'Don't touch that, you fool!', and then i saw him kick down another door and shout, 'Dammit man! Pick up the pen already!!!'

It was a bit strange.

Peter said he had an assignment for me, and i said i would accept the assignment on the condition that he and Roger stopped attempting to contact headquarters through Turbo. Peter talked it over with Roger, and after convincing Roger that it was not a plot to cut off communication for the oncoming muffin bot slaughterfest he was sure was coming, he agreed to my condition.

Funnily enough, i have to deliver some 'sensitive materials' to a factory worker called Sumael (What're the odds!?), and he will direct me from there onto my next 'assignment' Actually, Peter said i don't need to worry about getting it to him straight away, so long as he gets them by the end of the week.

I think i will stick around one more week, because Blake is feeling like a move might be necessary. Somewhere with more people, and more bars, and more things to do.

Actually, aren't i supposed to get paid for working in the factory? I really should look into that.

Blake out.

wasted opportunities and awesome jazz music

2006-06-04T18:49:00.000+09:30

So i met guitar girl on friday, but i still have no idea what her name is. I was delivering cylinders to the triangle room (you should see these triangles! They're massive!) really early in the morning, and one of the guys there, Sumael, wanted me to drop something off for him in the dormitories. It was some old spiderman comics that had been delivered to him that he now needed delivered to his bunk. Anyway, i was all like 'alright! Excuse to check out the dormitories again!'

So i took the lift all the way down to 17-C, and i was wandering around looking for Sumael's bunk when i heard the sound of a guitar. It sounded like someone trying to piece together a puzzle, like they were working out which chords went together, and i looked over and i saw her. Guitar girl. Sitting right there at the end of a bed playing her guitar. And i dropped the comic books and she heard it and she looked up at me all shocked. She got up and apologised like she'd done something wrong and then she was about to walk off.

'Wait!' i said, and she turned around and looked at me like i was going to tell her off, and i went suddenly blank. 'I... uh... i really like your guitar playing. It's real... nice...'

I had all these things i wanted to say and that really doesn't cut it, i don't think.

Anyway, she smiled a kind of sad smile, and then ran off down a corridor. I was left standing around with a bunch of comic books feeling really stupid like.

She didn't play on saturday night. Everyone was standing and waiting but she just never turned up. Her little stool sat on an empty stage, and when everyone realised she wasn't coming, there was a strange confusion in the air, because she played every saturday, and this was the first time she'd not shown up. It was really strange. I hope i didn't do anything wrong, or say something stupid that made her not want to play. Sometimes i say stupid things and i don't even know i've said them.

We went and saw the jazz guys again, and just like the last time they were just awesome! I was really drunk, but for a while there i was convinced the guitarist had like seven fingers, and the drummer was going so fast it looked like he had three arms.

Man i was SO drunk though. My eyesight goes everywhere when i'm drunk, it's kind of funny.

So i spent most of today recovering. I went to the bookstore and i said to the girl there, 'hey can you recommend me any books,' and she didn't look up from her magazine she just said 'try this,' and i said 'what is it?' and she said 'it's got words in it. You can probably combine them into sentences and maybe even be entertained by them,' so i said 'cool!'

The book is called 'Mirror Mirror' I haven't read heaps but it seems interesting so far. That bookstore girl knows books!

I am still a bit worried about guitar girl. How do i avoid freezing up again though?

You can do it blake! Dust yourself off and try again!

Blake out.

work all day, random thoughts at night...

2006-06-01T23:27:00.000+09:30

So work was uneventful, but Grung said him and some guys were going to see some more jazz on saturday and that i should come, and i was all like 'oh man i'm totally going to be there because last time it was just awesome!'

maybe i was a little too excited. But i mean, these guys are really good.

Anyway, i got to thinking about this guy i knew a while back, maybe a few years. He was the only person i knew who ever really pretended to be gay to pick up women. I mean, you always hear about it but you never think people actually do it. He always used to say to me 'Blake, a guy like you could probably pick up some beautiful women, but i think your approach is all wrong. I think that's why you always seem to have ugly girlfriends.'

He wasn't entirely wrong, unfortunately.

At the time i was playing final fantasy six again because it is one of my favourite games ever, and he would just come round uninvited, sit on the couch and talk to me. His plan was to work himself into their life as the gay friend, and have them fall in love with him. He would say to me 'Blake, it is one thing for a 'gay' guy to turn hetero because he loves a woman, but it is another thing for the same guy to turn because the woman loves him. If i can find the woman to 'turn' for, i will have myself the catch of a lifetime.'

I don't know if he ever found that woman, but i know he usually had three or four 'projects' going at any one time. I'm not sure why he did it, really. Once we were sitting around and i was playing through that bit in the game where Cyan's castle gets poisoned, and my girlfriend put some stuff in a suitcase and i said 'what are we having for lunch Tara?' and she said 'I've been seeing the drummer from three eyes of the holy death puppets for the past week. Go fuck yourself blake.' and i said 'alright, i guess i'll get some take out,' and then she left. This guy looked at me and just shook his head. He said 'Blake, they walk all over you, man. You got to walk all over them by having them think they're walking with you man...'

He was full off sayings like that. I think Tara and i had a pretty good run though. I mean, besides her being an alcoholic and somewhat keen on throwing my stuff at me, we didn't do too badly.

I don't know what happened to that guy. I wonder if he is still playing the gay guy.

It is funny sometimes how my mind wanders all over the place and then realises it is nowhere important. Tomorrow i will actually ask about guitar girl. I feel like i've been putting it off even though i just keep forgetting.

Blake out.

Ps. eleven chin ups today! woo!

aiming high (twenty five!!!)

2006-05-31T22:26:00.000+09:30

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 (?)

2006-05-30T23:31:00.000+09:30

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!!!

2006-05-28T16:40:00.000+09:30

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!

2006-05-27T19:09:00.000+09:30

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...

2006-05-25T19:47:00.000+09:30

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...

2006-05-24T20:16:00.000+09:30

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!

2006-05-23T22:34:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-22T13:23:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-19T22:47:00.000+09:30

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!

2006-05-18T22:41:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-17T22:24:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-16T23:01:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-15T20:43:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-14T19:45:00.000+09:30

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!!!

2006-05-08T20:30:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-07T20:48:00.000+09:30

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)

2006-05-06T20:14:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-03T20:55:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-02T23:17:00.000+09:30

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

2006-05-01T21:44:00.000+09:30

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.