Dark Alex's Really Long Post Thread.

[Alex]

Most Americans who pronounce it, do call it El Gin which I put down to their familiarity with Spanish place names. Every time I hear it pronounced that way it does make me shudder a little bit inside, so although I have never watched 'Skins' I'd go with that pronunciation.

[Alex]

I thought I'd start posting up some stuff about the various war heroes I randomly read about.

Maniacs of WW2 - Tommy Macpherson.

While there are many stories of bravery among the Jedburghs, one of its more colourful members was  Tommy Macpherson. A Scotsman to the core, he jumped into France wearing his British Army uniform, but also a  kilt. Just as he was landing in the French countryside, he could hear the voice of one of the resistance members  there to meet him: 'There's a French officer! And he's  brought his wife!'  Macpherson's job was to train the local resistance in guerrilla tactics and sabotage. Starting with only eight men, he began by teaching them the basics of demolitions and espionage. After their first operation successfully delayed the advance of the 2nd SS Panzer Division on D-Day, his reputation grew and so did the number of  Frenchmen willing to fight for him.  Throughout the battle of Normandy, his band would stage several sabotage operations, frustrating the Germans who eventually put a high price on his head. They were constantly pursuing him, and he was continually one step ahead. They put up wanted posters looking for a  'bandit dressed as a Scottish officer' but to no avail. He had become a hero to the local French.  His most audacious act came as the Germans were on the run near the Loire Valley as the Allies were closing up the Falaise Gap. His men held a bridge that was vital to the Germans' escape, and he knew that they didn't have the firepower to hold it. He went to the German general and convinced him that there were Allied tanks,  artillery, and air power nearby, and all it took was a radio call from Macpherson to bring their bombs raining down on the retreating Germans. It was a bluff, of course, and if the Germans called him on it they could have easily taken him captive or worse. As it turned out, the German general was convinced by Macpherson's story, and surrendered his unit of over 23,000 troops!

[Alex]

We are passed the midnight point that marks it as being halfway through our last shift of the week.

Watching the final season of Ash Vs The Evil Dead. Been meaning to catch up with it for a while now and this week seems perfect for it. Can't wait to get home, jump into bed and curl up with Kristi. Hopefully, Ash will actually sleep some and we can do that. Going to go out for a meal with her tomorrow since we missed our anniversary (wow, 7 years together, who'd have ever thunk anyone could put up with me for that long or me put up with anyone else?). Hoping we'll try somewhere new or at least somewhere we haven't been for a while.

Getting close to half two in the morning. Four more hours to go.

[Alex]

Feeling emotionally exhausted this weekend. All I want to do is be left alone in peace and quiet.

That does not happen at my house.

Between sleeping in incredibly late (14:00), and then going to bed really early to get away from people talking at me I didn't get out of bed much yesterday. I did drop hints that I wasn't feeling like talking or listening, but that got me nowhere. I figured if I said "Look just shut up!" offence would be taken and that just leaving the room was the easier option. One of Gordon Ramsey's shows was on the TV. Everyone shouting at each other and the constant beep's over the swearing was seriously p**sing me off so getting out the way might just have been the best thing for me to do for all concerned as playing Disturbed cover of "Sound of Silence" or Lacuna Coil's version of "Enjoy the Silence" failed to be enough of a hint.

Slightly more companionable tonight, although not to a huge degree. Part of this is down to frustration. I was looking into a side of human nature but failed to draw any new conclusions or gain any insights into the matter. Part of it is just tiredness from doing 7 days of very dull and boring 12-hour shifts and knowing that I will work Monday to Thursday in my normal job and then on Friday start the whole 7 days again.

[Alex]

It is a lovely sunny day outside.

As long as you are inside. You go outside and that wind is going to blow you away. And yet, venture out into it we did. I dragged everyone out to go for lunch. Way back when I first arrived at Lossie, the Skerry Brae wasn't favourite eatery. It's changed hands a few times since then and is now called The Golf View Hotel. The new name is like the food I guess, acceptable but not as good as it used to be. Kristi liked her lasagne and my pork belly was presented very well, but I felt that's where the effort had went into. Not bad, but not memorable either.

Chilling out has been the order of the day, or rather the weekend. Just been feeling so damned tired.

Maybe I should pretend to work I've been called in on my standby period and stay at home in bed tomorrow.   Heh. I wish I could do that. Unless I am not well I tend to force myself to go to work even when I could stay off. Not 100% of the time. Sometimes when I have the free option of work or home, I'll take that and if I am told to go home early I'll be out of there with a speed that will make you question Einstein.

[Alex]

So I put my application in to go and work in the recruiting office in Glasgow today. A spot unexpectedly came up so I figured I should get the paperwork in immediately. Another (again unexpected) job has opened up at Lossie, involving software programming, something I have some experience with, but they want someone with a minium of five years left, so I'd need to extend my contract, something I am loath to do. I'd be tied into a 3 year extention and if I wanted to leave before that was up it would cost me close on $20,000.

Passed my fitness test today. Good to know I am still in the top percentage of the nations fittest people. f**k we are in bad shape then, I am no where near my peak physical condition, even taking age into account. Then again back then I didn't have problems with my feet and could run as long as I cared to.

I miss being able to do that. Just go outside, pick a direction and start running until I got bored, sometimes with a backpack loaded up with weights, but normally just me out running by myself in the early morning air around the three local towns rain, snow or high winds it didn't matter.

Oh well, age is a toll road we all must travel and boy does it demand payment for our ride.

[ER]

If you become a recruiter, play to hormones, Alex, always to the hormones. Show some leg.

Like back when a Marine recruiter called my cousin the spring she was graduating from high school, she was first going to get off the line with him by telling him she was a pregnant lesbian (this was 1992), but she said he sounded hot, so she decided she'd go in and hit on him (that was her MO about a lot of life's situations), but she looked in through the window in the parking lot and....thought he wasn't hot, so she drove off and ducked his calls after that.

But then the thing was, she later found out there were two Marines in the office, one an attractive man, and she was thereafter never sure if the one she talked to was the ugly guy or the hot one.

I told her, "Yeah, just think, if it was the hot one you could have slept with yet another guy in your teen years....!"

She just doesn't appreciate my evolved sense of wit.

[Alex]

So we got up early this morning with Ash crying. That isn't normal with him but does happen now and again (around 2 this time). We brought him into our bed thinking that he'd curl up between us and go to sleep. Instead, he managed to be sick over the bed and Kristi. He was then sick several times throughout the morning. I phoned in sick to work myself. I've injured my knee and while I can move about it is painful, as well as feeling tired and sick myself. By 20:30 last night, both me and Kristi were done and went to bed, whereas normally 22:00 is an early night.

As the day went on his appetite slowly returned. He took a couple of long naps (indeed I woke him up so he would sleep tonight. He clearly did not want to be woken up though and fought against it). He was eating ok and keeping it down which was all good. Just before his bedtime though he threw up over Kristi. I picked him up to go clean him up and he was then sick on me, on the stairs twice, and the upstairs hall. Pretty sure he emptied his entire stomach.

Anyway, he is in his bed now sleeping peacefully and hopefully, he will get a good nights rest.

[Alex]

I went to the doctors this morning. She's agreed to cut my pills on the road to cutting them out completely. I am wanting to be (prescription) drug-free by the time I leave. I took Ash with me to give Kristi a break from her midget magnet. The doctor was quite amused by Ash's antics in her office. As a military doc I wouldn't imagine she sees too many children in her daily work.

We had the missionaries around for dinner last night. One of them is a girl from the Philippines while the other has newly arrived from France (Normandy). I had a slight struggle but managed not to mention cheese-eating surrender monkeys.

Came close a couple of times though.

They are coming back round on Monday as they saw our board game collection and want to play some of them. It's going to be fun teaching them to play games with the language barrier. I speak a smattering of French (I can tell you what my name is and say oh s**t. Surprising how many situations those two cover). We've been discussing which ones we think will be the easiest to teach them. No so Axis & Allies then.

[chefzombie]

i'm so sorry to hear you'll have to leave lossie, i know how much you both love it there. and i can't even begin to imagine what packing your household up will be like....and then unpacking it. i hope you get the glasgow job! 

[Alex]

Just one of life's challenges that will be met and triumphed over. I got a notification today that my application had been submitted. If I get accepted for an interview my boss will write a report on my and hand it to me in a sealed envelope which I am not allowed to open. Instead, I will take it down with me to the interview, where the interviewer will read it, but I never get to see it.

Wow, is that a dick move or what? In an age when we have emails...

Oh well.

On guard again for the week. Ash and Kristi are having a rough time of it with a stomach bug. There has been much changing of clothes and bedding thanks to Ash throwing up everywhere.

I've spent the night watching horror films and writing. So far I've watched The Ritual (read the book on which it was based. I am watching on my phone though and since it is a dark movie I couldn't make out much of what was going on), The Isle (an effective little movie set on a Scottish island in the 19th century) and currently The Thing. If you don't know what that film is like then there is no hope for you.

The tide of support for Harry & Meghan appears to have receeded. The ways in which they'd still planned on trading in on their status are being shut down as they are being told: "No if you don't want to be part of the royal family then you can't use this." Coronavirus might still go worldwide and be the next Spanish flu (odd name for something that had little to do with Spain. Maybe the country most responsible for its spread didn't want its part known and blamed another country. Not something I am planning on going investigating to find out exactly what was happening with back then though). More questions have also been asked about the money (£2.4 million) taxpayers spend on having a home redone for them in the UK. They said they'd repay it, but so far there doesn't appear to be any movement on that. I think when they originally split it was a 60/40 split in favour of them having their own life. After the various things they've tried to do that seems to have changed to 80/20 against.

All much of a muchness to me. It all feels very remote and otherworldly to me. Then again I've never felt any sort of closeness to any of them. They are simply there, like some soap opera I am aware of in the background, but never watch or plan on being in, even if I have had the equivilent of a walk on part in that drama.

[Alex]

Night number 2. Watching the only episode of Masters of Horror I have not seen yet. It's called Imprint and was not shown on the initial show's run from what I've been able to find out. Not sure why not really seeing anything that bad.

Maniacs of World War 2

To those he fought beside, Jack Churchill seemed like a man without fear, but to those he faced in combat, he was a terrifying figure, such was his bravery in battle. Few could withstand him at close quarters. He moved quickly and quietly, workmanlike and efficient, most often with a basket-hilted broadsword in one hand and a rifle, bayonet honed to a keen edge, in the other. The combination of sword and bayonet suited him. He practiced hard and used his skills at any opportunity.

Jack was a crack shot with a rifle or a pistol, but he had a talent for archery, too. Before the outbreak of war in 1939, Jack was in Oslo, Norway, competing in the World Archery Championships. In '39, the championship was in its eighth year, and it still runs today, but during the war years it did not run, and Jack Churchill had to find another venue to display his abilities with this particular weapon. He took himself and his bow back to Britain.

The fighting around the ancient port of Dunkirk in northern France in 1940 was some of the fiercest the British army had yet seen. All across Europe, the chaos of war was escalating rapidly. Countries fell, governments were replaced, maps were redrawn. The steady advance of the enormous Nazi war machine seemed unstoppable.

It was during May of 1940 that Jack Churchill performed the feat which cemented his already growing reputation. 'Fighting Jack Churchill,' they called him after that.

They were in a tower overlooking an empty little town. Jack was in charge of a small unit of men, and they were preparing an ambush. An enemy patrol was due through the town at any moment. As usual, Jack was armed with a longbow, broadsword, bayonet and small arms. He fairly bristled with weaponry. There were two knives and an unusual looking revolver on his belt.

There were grenades on his belt, too. His small pack hid water, a little food, and a very comprehensive first aid kit. Ammunition in pouches was strapped under the pack, the quiver of arrows for the bow was strapped securely to the side. There was a keen look in his eyes, and the men around felt their fear lessen as they watched him. He was not afraid.

The arrow he fitted to the bowstring was very long and very straight. The point of the arrow was heavy and barbed, the feathering at the back was clean and neatly clipped. There were another nineteen in the quiver. In one flowing, practiced motion, he took his stance, raised his bow and released the deadly missile. The bowstring thrummed heavily in the tense air, and the arrow crossed the distance between Churchill and the Sergeant at a terrifying velocity.

The Sergeant raised his eyes to the tower. He took in what was happening in an instant. He was raising his hand and taking a breath to shout when the arrow hit him in the soft spot at the base of his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground.

The tower was full of soldiers, they were raising rifles to their shoulders. There were soldiers in the buildings on either side. Sudden machine gunfire peppered the ground behind the patrol. They dropped, sought cover, tried to return fire, but they were pinned down by Churchill's unit. The man himself appeared with the sword in his hand at the bottom of the tower. Leading a small group of men with him, he sprinted forward, keeping his head down as he ran.

Above him, the men in the tower provided covering fire. He heard the machine gun again, and a barrage of rifle fire. Then he held up his sword and yelled "Charge!" through the din. The men around him began firing and yelling as they surged forward to engage the patrol, but Jack slipped to one side.

He counted to ten. The patrol was fighting hand to hand and pressing forward against his unit. The suppressing fire slackened. Jack ran at full speed into the side of the press of enemy soldiers, vaulting a low wall, and laying about himself with the broadsword.

Jack felled three of the enemy before they were even aware of him, and another two as they were turning to face him. Then he shot two at close range with the revolver in his left hand, and somebody shouted out in German and raised up a bit of white cloth. The patrol surrendered, laid down their arms and were taken prisoner. That day Jack became a legend and he was to go on and serve his country with distinction.

Jack lived to be eighty-nine years old. His last years were spent in the warm and pleasant county of Surrey in the south of England, where he died in 1996.

One of the guys is watching some TV show that has been in the news because an ex-presenter killed herself. Tabloids and celebrity magazines are being blamed for heaping extra pressure on her. I wonder how many of the people decrying them will be honest and admit to themselves that if they didn't buy those magazines with those kinds of stories in them then they wouldn't be able to run them. Then agan, it is always easier to blame other people than have a long hard look at ourselves and admit what we do wrong. Then again, I had only vaguely heard the woman's name before, couldn't have told you what she was famous for so what do I know about the situation?

Ash is up and down again tonight. I suggested to Kristi that she keep him awake until I get home and then we can all get some sleep.

Not entirely convinced our tiny demon would sleep even after that.

I've been working on trying to encourage him to speak. If I try to get him to say his name, he will put his hand over my mouth and not in a 'he is trying to feel how I make the words' kind of way. It is a stop doing that kind of way. I have spoken with Kristi about us stopping to do things for him. If he wants to be lifted up he will walk over and raise his arms, if he wants a drink he brings us a bottle, food, a plate. He has no need to learn words it seems.

Just outside our room, there is an alarm system control box. Every couple of seconds it beeps. I can hear this over my headphones and the stuff the guys are watching. Beep... beep... beep... I am about ready to go find a stick, or bat or something and knock it off the wall.

On the plus side, I am getting stuff written for D&D. I've been going through guidebooks, figuring out who is going to attend an upcoming summit of the local powers. Who will attend in person and who will send a representative, what escorts they will bring if any (and remember the party has to sort out feeding everyone for however long this conference takes as well as housing them) and what everyone wants out of this meeting. Of course, there is going to be another adventure before then which I need to design. The party is going off into the wilds with Kano.

Don't think the regiment guys liked my joke. "Now that a woman has successfully graduated from Rock Ape training, do you think they will let men apply now?"

[Alex]

So when I've said to my SAC that I might need him to do a job (luckily none of the jobs have needed doing, it was more prepping because of a potential situation), he's replied along the lines of "f**k off, I'm not doing that." Got a bit fed up with this last night and told him "If I tell you to do it, you'll f**king do it."

He decided not to reply to that one, which at that point was a good idea for him. I think I was about to break my no charging people rule and fizz him for insubordination. He hasn't said it tonight, so I think he might have taken the hint that he pushed his luck slightly too far.

Day three and I am browsing the net randomly to try and find something interesting. My ennui is winning though, and the best I have seen so far is

Going to watch Paul Blartt 2. Wow, I must be desperate.

My gender neutral friend has now decided she is a he and is going for some level of gender reassignment. I can't bring myself to refer to someone as 'it' as I have a deep seated feeling that, that is just rude, so I'll call her a she until her gender is reassigned and at that point I'll call her, him. Anyway, she said she's been waking up and feeling like a man. Been one of them for nearly 46 years and I have no idea what it would be like to wake up and feel like a man. I mean do you feel like conquering the universe? Get an overriding urge to challange the alpha male of your tribe for the dominant position? Scratch your balls and belch? No idea what she means by this. I'll try and be as supportive as I can though even if inside I am just wondering WTH is going on.

I wonder if ninja's outfits rode up their butt cracks? Google doesn't seem to know.

[chefzombie]

keep in mind that some of the most intelligent people who inhabited this earth in our version of reality were nonverbal until much older than our boy is now.
  and no, ninja outfits do NOT ride up the butt crack, there's padding inside the crotch.

[Alex]

You got a secret past you've not told us about Barri? Our very own ninja zombie chef?

Watching a black and white movie. The actors are doing their best to make it look like they are in a 1940's movie but the screen is just too clean and the acting isn't quite what it needs to be. Not sure what the plot is either, but I think its going to be a haunted house or a murder mystery. I should just get to the end before the relief shift comes in. Even if a movie is abysmal I will still try and finish watching it. Occasionally I will decide the movie just isn't worth the effort (Solaris, looking at you here), but over 99% of the time I'll stick with it.

Then again, isn't that why we are all here? To plumb the depths of the abyss and brave the worst it has to throw at us.

Well, ok not Michael Bay bad, but still pretty bad.

Got some writing done. Enough to finish the chapter I was working on. I don't mind doing these nights and would happily do it again although I doubt Kristi would be quite so enthusiastic to be left to deal with Ash. It sounds like they had another rough night with him waking up every half hour or so. Suggested that we take him to the doctors today.

Evidently, the movie is a black and white Evil Dead. It has a thunderstorm going on. I miss thunderstorms. I remember sitting on shelter on hillsides watching the lightning out at sea. Ever seen lightning strike the sea? Having a recent conversation about them has no doubt had them on the back of my mind anyway. Anyway, if you've ever thought. "You know what, I'd really like to see Evil Dead remade as an old black and white movie with upper-class English toffs instead of American teenagers" then this is the answer to your dreams.