Untitled Short Story

Darkness. 

Silence broken only by the occasional sound of dripping water falling from a great height. 

Something bad had happened. She knew it. Felt it. The ragged breathing she could hear gradually getting louder and louder confirmed it. Then with a jolt she realised that it was her. She was the one breathing raggedly. With another jolt she realised that it was dark because her eyes were closed. She wasn't surprised that she was lying in a pool of ice cold water. For some reason that made sense to her. Even if she couldn't remember why. 

She opened her eyes. It was still dark. She was inside some sort of cavern. For a moment a sense of overwhelming despair and claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to curl up into a ball and wish everything away. But she knew that wouldn't work. It almost never did, and the few times it had, things had turned very ugly. If she wanted to get out of this she would have to do more than wish to do so. She held up her hands. Good. The worzt hazn't happened. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, wincing in pain. At leazt I don't think the worzt haz happened. 

She looked around the cavern, hoping to remember what she was doing in there. Her vision was a little blurry, and she had a splitting headache. She suspected that someone had struck her on the head at some point. That blow iz probably why I waz unconzciouz. Or maybe thiz contributed. She had an arrow sticking out of her right shoulder, which had been bleeding heavily, although it had stopped now. She really wanted to remove the arrow, but knew that it would be wiser to wait until there was a healer present just in case the wound continued to bleed heavily. 

There were two long knives lying in the pool of water next to her. She picked one of them up, her eye straying to the edge of the pool as she did so. Oh shit! She scooped up the second knife and tried leaping to her feet. But she was too beaten up for that. Instead she gasped as pain shot through her body and she crouched down, knives held expertly at the ready as she looked around the cavern again. This time she saw the bodies strewn everywhere. She drummed her fingers nervously on the hilt of the knives, surveying the scene. There was a number of large blue furred creatures she knew to be vicious, blood thirsty monsters. But there were also a number of human bodies strewn throughout the chamber. Which side am I on?

She looked down at her hands again. They looked unmarked. Looked unshackled. But she knew through past experience that this wasn't always an indicator. Tezt? Or ... She looked around at the bodies of the blue furred creatures again. Do they know how to kill thoze thingz? She straightened up, bouncing anxiously on the balls of her feet. They've got to know how to kill thoze thingz. Otherwize the war would be over! She looked a little more closely at the human bodies. None of them appeared to be Fredono or The Guard. She looked down at her clothes. She wasn't in uniform. But again, past experience told her that this wasn't an indicator. She noticed for the first time she noticed that she was wearing a dark grey cloak with a jade dragon pinning it around her throat. She instantly recognised the cloak as one of the family heirlooms. Guezz that anzwerz that. 

She looked around the cavern again. Butbutbutbut. She squeezed her eyes shut and tapped the side of her head. Something wasn't adding up. She looked down at the jade dragon pendant, tapping the side of her head harder and harder. No! Thiz izn't right. The air was starting to get thick, making breathing difficult. I have to get out of here!

She was just about to turn to look for an escape when she heard people approaching from behind. She gasped involuntarily, and bounded across the pool and ducked behind a rocky outcrop, this time prepared for the pain caused from her movement. Her mind racing, she peered out from behind the rock. Hopefully I'll recognize them. Then I can figure out which side I'm on bazed on how they react. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was the best she could come up with. Her headache was starting to get really bad, that it was starting to distract her. 

Urgh! I can't fight like thiz! She bounded up onto the rock she'd been hiding behind just as five figures entered the cavern.

"There!"

 Shit! She half jumped, half toppled off the rock. She rolled, forgetting about the arrow sticking out of her shoulder until it snagged on the ground. Growling in pain and annoyance, she sprang to her feet. Her hand subconsciously rising to her injured shoulder. She was alarmed to feel warm blood seeping through her fingers. There was a blinding flash of light. Her other hand rose to shield her eyes against the sudden glare. I've lozt. 

"What happened here?" A voice she recognised as her former fiery mentor asked in a hushed voice. 

"Ummm ..." Her eyes now accustomed to the brightness of the glowing ball of flames hovering a couple of meters above the pool of light, she looked around at the carnage. The blue fur of the monsters appeared to be glowing in the light. "Do, d'ya know how to kill thoze thingz?"

"Perziztanze and a whole lot of luck. Why?" This was asked with a lot of suspicion. 

They don't truzt me. But why? She mulled over the possible reasons, completely forgetting about the others in the cavern until a soft voice brought her back to reality. 

"She appearz to be muddled."

That doezn't sound like good news for me. "No. Why. Ya wanted to know why, right?" She smiled nervously at the group. "There'z an eazy way to kill thoze beaztz that you guys don't seem to know about." She staggered slightly, and only prevented herself from falling over by catching at the rock she'd just fallen off. The cavern span dizzingly around her, and she struggled to fight against the darkness that was threatening to overtake her again. 

"We don't have time to put up with gamez." A broad man with a heavily scarred face snapped. "What happened here, Skip?"

"Well, um." She stopped leaning against the rock and scratched at her head, stalling for time while she tried to find a suitable answer to the question. The problem was, she still wasn't sure what a suitable answer was, or even what had happened. She was certain that telling them that she couldn't remember what had happened was wise. It would most likely end with her being captured and interrogated further in one of their bases. She was dimly aware of the cavern swirling gradually into darkness and a sharp pain in her knee as the nothingness that she'd been trying to keep at bay finally overtook her. She had one last, bleary glimpse of five people hurrying towards her as she blacked out completely. 

Budget Direct and Earth Dollars

Yeah, ok, so I don't know why I keep focusing on these Budget Direct ads. They're terrible and should really be ignored instead of getting free publicity (even the minuscule amount I'm giving them with this is too much) like this. But I'm sleep deprived and I've caught onto something that I just can't let go of. 

Just watch this ad:

http://youtu.be/95oE1mXx4ZU

Did you pick up on the bit about "earth dollars"? 

It's actually pretty insignificant really. After all, this ad could be set in the future where there's a one world government and currency, we live side by side with ET's and Budget Direct is the insurance company of the future.  

Plenty of possible explanations for that whole "earth dollars" comment. 

Now watch this ad:

http://youtu.be/pnadVZtZGkk

Did you hear it? Did you hear that the aliens and Budget Direct are in Australia?

That means that those "earth dollars" that were mentioned in the earlier ad are actually Australian dollars!

And suddenly these ads are a lot more interesting. Is Budget Direct implying that Australia is about to take over the world with the aid of our alien allies (why else would there be ET's living peacefully side by side with us in the suburbs)? Or is it that the one world government simply decided that the Australian currency was the best currency to adopt for the whole world to use? Or is Budget Direct actually run by aliens (and the ones we see in the ads are actually real instead of CG) who haven't realised (for whatever reason) that the there are probably better and stronger currencies to use than the Australian dollar (but then, I'm not an economist. I don't really know or care about these kinds of things)? 

Whatever the case, Budget Direct is still setting itself up as the insurance company of the future.  

I'm Just Selfish This Way

So it's that time of year again.

No, not Christmas time.

Well, actually that is partly the problem; Christmas time means everyone is out shopping at the same time.

Still, this really shouldn't be a problem. It's just everyone seems to take leave of their senses for some reason. I really don't know why; it's the one time of year that people should keep a tight grip on their senses.

But then, who am I to complain about people losing their senses? I'm guilty of this, too. I'm also quite selfish when out shopping;

For a start, I hold the unreasonable expectation of being able to use the door to go in and out of shops. I know, crazy and selfish, right? Especially since I know that the middle of the doorway is the perfect place to stand and have a conversation. But it get's worse. Much worse. Instead of trying to find another way in or out, or simply just politely waiting for the conversation to end before I can use the door as I want to use it, I'll simply barge through. And not just trying to creep around you. I mean right through the middle of the conversation. Since this is something I struggle with year round, I am actually quite proud to say that I am really good at making sure that my elbow will make contact with your ribs. There might also be a shoulder as well if there's enough of you trying to talk in the doorway. I'm not gentle either. I aim to make you remember me rudely barging through your conversation.

But you know what? I know it's inconsiderate of me interrupting your conversation in the doorway. If you give me a dirty enough look or make a comment about my rudeness I'll apologise for wanting to use the door for something other than just chatting ... although I haven't yet managed to make it sound sincere.Too absorbed in my own little world, I guess.

Secondly, and this could be even worse than interrupting conversations in doorways, I expect to be able to walk up and down the aisles without groups of two or more people standing in the middle of the aisle staring at the shelves. I get that someone has to stand right in front of whatever you're looking at while everyone else stands on the opposite side of the aisle with your trolley in the middle of the aisle. It is the only way to make an informed decision about what you're about to buy. I also understand that the middle of the aisle with your trolley pushed to one side is another ideal place to have a conversation. But, well, you see I usually shop alone, that's how I roll, and I just don't want to be reminded of this fact. That and I have this crazy notion of not farting around and getting what I need and then leaving. Still, I know that's no real excuse for me to try and push past. It would be so much politer if I just turned around and reached the end of the aisle by doubling back and finding an unoccupied aisle to walk down. But, well, I'm also lazy as well as selfish. It's just so much easier and quicker for me to push past you. Rude, I know. Especially when you see me coming and briefly make eye contact before turning your full attention back to your conversation. I really should take the hint; you're in the middle of a conversation or just looking really intently at something. I should find another way to get to the end of the aisle.

All that being said, some of you do seem to possess eyes in the back of your head and see me coming. I know that you're only trying to help me so that I will stop barging through people's conversations in the middle of doorways and aisles. But yeah, I'm a bit of a speed demon in the shops. Walking at a snail's pace at top speed just isn't going to do it for me. The lesson in patience will be lost on me because I'll be too focused on how slowly we are walking. Still, good on you for not giving up! The way you swerve with me when I try to speed up and get past you is truly remarkable. As is the way you'll stop directly in front of me to stare at how much aisle you have left until you reach the end. Maybe if I wasn't so determined to ruin interrupt conversations in doorways, I would realise the error of my way for knowing exactly what I went in to buy and wanting to get out as fast as possible. I know that's wrong of me. I know I should wander idly around the shop in a daze, stopping randomly in the middle of aisles, talking in the doorway. I know that's what I should be doing instead, and I am working on it. But well, you know, old habits and all.

But until I manage to master all these skills when out shopping, I'm afraid you're just going to have to deal with the fact that I want to use the doorway to enter and exit the shop even if there is a lively conversation being held there, I'm going to want to take the short route to the end of the aisle even if it means I have to push past you, your friends and/or family and trolley, and your attempts to teach me patience by walking impossibly slow will go unnoticed and will try to get past you, even if you are swerving all over the aisle.

Yes, I know I'm selfish and that my expectations are unrealistic, but I can't be alone in this, can I?

Another Political Post

Yeah, so I'm getting all political (again). Sorry about that (I'm not really).

But I'm sick of all the media coverage only on the Labour and Liberal parties this election. Let's face it, neither of those two parties are a good choice: with Labour we can't be sure that the person leading them will still be doing so in a year let alone by next election, and they're rapidly sending the country into debt (a massive debt). And have I mentioned all of the in fighting and back stabbing yet? With the Liberals there's a lot of emphasis on getting our budget back into surplus, which is a good thing. But then take a look at their policies so far: there's a whole lot of big spending and no accounting for where the money is coming from. 

I don't know about you, but I don't want either of those parties in charge of Australia's budget. Neither of them are exactly showing themselves to be good with money. It's all spend, spend, spend!

But that's how elections go, isn't it? Big promises that will be broken once a party is voted in. No body seems to remember this little fact, they're just surprised after each election when it happens all over again. 

So pretty bleak choices for the people of Australia to choose from. Labour and Liberal are just as bad as each other. They're both toxic and extremely out of touch with the real world (I've said it before and I'm going to say it again, I really need to become a politician for the cushy life being one brings). 

But if you look beyond the mainstream media this election, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise: there's actually more than just the two Labour and Liberal parties!

Yeah, I know. Shocking, right. 

And what's even more shocking is that some of them, not all of them, aren't crazy crackpot parties, an actually have some really good policies that are far more in touch with the average Australian than the two main stream parties. They're worth looking into before going into the polling booth this election year. I mean, even the Greens are preferencing their votes to a party that isn't Labour or Liberal. There's actually a real chance that there'll be more than just two parties and a couple of independents sitting in parliament after 7 September. 

So think about it, and vote for somebody different. It's time there was a change in the way that this country is run, and (as horribly cliched as this is) you have the power to make this change happen. This election year, there is actually a very real possibility for real and significant change. 

Just a Thought

Ok, so this has been on my mind for a couple of days now. But I keep on wondering what civilisation 4000 years from now will think of us (apart from being extremely bigoted about everything). Or, more specifically, about our popular culture and the stories we're going to leave behind for them. 

I mean, we have myths from the bible and the ancients about things that supposedly happened. What if they were merely just tales of fiction told to pass the time and set up morals for the youth of the time? And the myths we know today are just the most popular and pervasive of those stories?

What if in 4000 years they look back at our popular culture and view them as myths that we think happened in the distant or near past? What will they take from it? What will our myths be to those people?

That we looked to an alien who could move faster than bullet to save the world? That ordinary the rich donned masks and capes to fight crime and also save the world? That there were mutants among us and that some of them were less than friendly? That teenage girls were called upon to fight against the supernatural? That an archeologist played a key part in defeating the Nazis in WWII? That young children wandered around unsupervised and fought against each other with monsters that could be stored in balls? That young witches and wizards travelled to boarding school in trains?

And what if contact with aliens hasn't been made yet in 4000 years time? What will they make of Star Wars and Star Trek? That they're proof that in ancient times aliens had visited Earth and even taken humans into space with them?

Actually, even if contact has been made by then (and it probably will have by that point) the myths spawned from Star Wars and Trek would still be pretty interesting. 

How will those people 4000 years from now see us and what will they think our myths are?

And then there's our fairy tales. Will they make it into our mythology, and if so, which tales will be woven into the myths? Any of them that have been watered down into a Disney movie are sure to survive the 4000 years. But the rest? Will they be forgotten like so many other of our stories, or will they, over time, meld together and form a completely different story that people 4000 years from now will believe we told to each other?

Will those myths 4000 years in the future even be recognisable as stories from now?  

The Job Seekers Journal #1

Yesterday I finally had my phone interview with Centrelink. It went well enough. Even if she couldn't book me in with my employment agent thingy. 

One thing that couldn't be met. Not my fault though so it was overlooked with a passing comment that I may want to ask about that at the face to face interview ... quite frankly, I found that shocking. I thought even computer glitches were the fault of Centrelink customers (if I did have that kind of power, I doubt I'd be worrying about getting welfare payments). 

But at least I was able to book a face to face appointment. Based on the phone interview waiting list, I was very concerned that there'd be another three weeks before the first available slot. I was wrong (thankfully). The first available was today (even the woman conducting yesterday's interview seemed surprised). 

Naturally I snagged the latest available time today, so then I had time to gather everything I'd need to bring with me, while still getting the whole damn thing done and over with. 

Went in to the interview today with everything I was told that I had to bring with me. Spent all morning getting it together, too. Well, ok. Maybe not all morning. But it was still a good couple of hours spent getting everything. 

It was a complete waste of time. 

When I went in, a door wench greeted me and asked for my customer reference number, which I recited and then I was talking to someone, going over everything that was discussed on the phone yesterday and signing off on it. We also reset my online services password because I had some doubt about remembering it. FYI, that also required my customer reference number which I was again able to give off the top of my head. 

That was it. 

Apparently knowing my reference number off by heart is enough to prove that I am who I say I am, that I have been looking for work since being made redundant and that I am indeed poor and need welfare money (which is really depressing). All that time I spent getting everything together this morning was wasted! I could've been doing something far more productive or just sleeping in and enjoying being all warm in bed. 

I was reminded that I have to report next week and that I have the employment agency appointment and sent on my merry way. There was nothing about a job seeker diary or about how many jobs I should be applying for (if I even have to at all). It's like I'm receiving free welfare money without any of the obligations, and job hunting is just for my own benefit ... even if after a month of looking I'm a little down on the whole process. 

Oh, and there was also a moment of pure terror in the office: halfway through the interview she excused herself and disappeared for several minutes. When I say disappeared, I mean I could see her across the room talking. Then I watched her and someone else go into a conference room and talk. It was a heart stopping moment and I expected her to return and tell me to go away, there was nothing Centrelink was going to do for me today. 

Massive sigh of relief when that never happened. 

And now I'm just looking for work for my own entertainment, and also so that, you know, I have real money again and can afford to buy things I want. But at least I don't have to apply for so many jobs a week or even keep track of them (which is the worst part of the Newstart Allowance). No obligations, YEAH! 

It's an Election Year, So I Thought I'd Get On the Political Bandwagon With This Little Rant

I think I'm going to have to pay more attention to politics this election year. I'm sickened by the stunt that the Gillard government pulled excising the mainland from the migration zone. 

The act itself hasn't got me too upset ... I mean, it's a very despot government move, and is itself sickening. But Australia is a desert nation. We really can't afford to let too many people in. Otherwise we're going to be facing some serious water shortages (even more serious than it is now) in the near future. And then nobody but the ridiculously rich will win. 

It's how the government went around excising the mainland that's really gotten to me. They've been desperate to stop the boats for years now, but they couldn't just excise the mainland without massive public outrage and a drop in the polls (and in an election year, that could be disastrous). So instead they let a boatful of refugees make it all the way to the mainland. 

The navy has been doing too good a job of stopping the boats before they reach the mainland these last few years. That boat was allowed so that everyone could get all outraged that the refugees were allowed to remain here and enjoy some sembelance of basic rights instead of being shipped off to a processing centre (again, how very despot government like do the processing centres sound?). 

It created the perfect opportunity for the government to excise the mainland, and effectively stop the boats (because we all know the refugees will remain in the processing centres for years before being shipped back to their home countries), and there's very little public outrage (or a whole lot less than there could've been), because the memory of that boat landing on the mainland is still fresh in everyone's memory. 

The government used those refugees to strip away any basic rights of future refugees, and I just don't think that I can bring myself to vote for a government willing to steep so low. So I'm going to have to pay close attention this year, and see which party the local candidates are giving their votes to. 

But the problem is, it's a two party system at the end of the day, and neither party is looking particularly good.