Dark Alex's Really Long Post Thread.

[Svengoolie 3]

It's complicated to fully explain, but the short version is that she is getting better. It will take months, and she'll remain in the high dependency unit.

I felt happy enough with her condition to come home for the night. I'll be going for my tattoo tomorrow and then heading back down until Sunday. Popped into work and they said if I need more time off just let them know.

How about the next three and a bit years?

Thinking a lot about work and my last three years. I've asked Kristi to think about some stuff and then we will make some decisions on where I go next.

[Alex]

So back home again. Got work tomorrow and I really don't feel up to it tonight, but by tomorrow I'll be all fine and good.

s. Kristi had wanted to go see my mum before we went back up, but Ash was already shattered and after a week of a disrupted sleep schedule just needed to be home and back in his bed. We've asked too much from him and although he has done really well we need to let him recuperate.

We got back in the house, picked up a few things, sorted out some stuff around the house and then settled down to rest for the rest of the night. Heard that they've removed the drain from my mum. She was sleeping off the effects of the meds when the family was up seeing her. I'll try giving her a phone tomorrow night when I finish work, check she is doing fine.

Watching IT at the moment. When IT is over (heh, see what I did there? :P) I'll go have a shave, iron some uniform and be all prepped for Monday.

I wrote some more of my diary of surviving an apocalypse story while bouncing around on trains the past week. Decided to add a prequel chapter covering the day before which also means some changes to what was the first chapter. I'll upload what I've done at some point.

[Alex]

Fair warning. This post contains nipples. Well, a nipple.

The last few nights we've been trying to get Ash back onto his sleep schedule. Still trying. It's not his fault though, we threw it off with all the travelling we did last week and as much as we've taught him to be flexible on his bedtime, we really pushed him a bit too far.

Such is life though.

Someone (Pete) from another section came into our office today and asked "How many people work in here?"

He got a chorus on "No-one."

"I mean how many people are in here?"

"Six, including you."

"I can see this is going to be more difficult than I thought. How many people should you have in here?"

This led to about 10 to 15 minutes of debate. I finally took pity on Pete and said: "Do you mean how many people would we have in here if we were fully staffed?"

Turned out that was the info he was actually looking for. Having gotten that much out of us you'd have thought he'd have cut his losses and ran away, but he then wanted us split down by rank and trade, which took us back to the debate stage as everyone argued about whose job was what. Figured that Pete could dig himself out of that damn hole all by himself this time.

Been meaning to put up a picture of my new tattoo.





Not sure why my side looks as if it's been bruised, but there you go. Took that picture just after I had it done. I had been thinking of using a font that was a bit more... handwritten looking, but I decided that might be a bit illegible so went with Copperplate instead. I am now wondering if I should go get Ash's handprints etc done too.

Of course, that would mean getting him to stay still long enough to take his hand and feet prints. Yeah, I don't see that one happening. Took three adults to hold him still so we could get an X-Ray done of his hand.

[Alex]

The weekend has finally arrived after a working week that always feels overly long. Going to take some time to relax, chill out and just enjoy being with my family. I always like to kick back when I have a chance to with them and bask in just being with them.

Nothing better than spending time with the people you love, and who love you back.

Neither of us felt much like cooking tonight, so we saw to Ash and then just ordered out for ourselves. Felt hungry when we ordered the food and although it tasted good after a couple of bites neither of us felt hungry. Put Ash to bed and then decided to have some fun just the pair of us...

Decided we fancied mindless entertainment afterwards, so we are watching Hobbs & Shaw (finally). Seems to be filled with the same silly stunts as the rest of the series. Going to sort out some more of my X-Wing ships, upgrading them to 2nd ed. Hopefully, after that I'll get some time to get back to painting my WW2 figures.

It is a wild night outside, wet and windy. I love leaving the windows open on nights like this and cuddling up to Kristi in our bed, keeping each other warm. Sometimes I think the main drive to partner up with someone isn't for procreation, its to hold each other when it gets dark outside.

[ER]

Sometimes I think the main drive to partner up with someone isn't for procreation, its to hold each other when it gets dark outside.

Awwwwwww! 

[Alex]

Since it is the weekend I got up with Ash when he woke up at 4 am. He was pretty shattered yesterday and I did have high hopes that he'd sleep until a decent time today.

I once made a post asking who'd be up for just dropping everything, stealing a ship and taking to the high seas for the life of a pirate. Quite a lot of people replied along the lines of 'Hell yes!', but what did surprise me wasn't that I got enough people to crew a ship. It was that everyone who agreed was female.

Trying to think why I am not sailing the oceans of the world with my all-women crew. Or bloodthirsty wenches if you prefer.

Oh yeah. None of them actually had any nautical experience. Still wandering around lost until we ran out of food and water could have been interesting too. I have sailed a few single man boats and a six-man (or woman) craft but that is the limit of my experience. Figured I was there to lead as the captain, not actually do work. 

Think I'll grab something to eat. Fortunately, I still have much of last nights dinner left thus negating the requirement to make any effort in order to satisfy my hunger.

I need to try and work out ways of putting antidisestablismentarianism into regular daily usage.

[Alex]

Another glorious and peaceful day. Shame the weather is a tad damp to be enjoyable outside.

Still, life is in so many ways great and I am loving it.

I have personal things to do, sort out this, do that but I appear to be in full-on procrastination mode. I need to level up my cleric for tomorrow afternoon's D&D session. I need to put away my Shadowrun books (still sitting in our bedroom since the great mancave reorganisation), I need to write more of my own D&D campaign, I need to finish either of the two stories I am working on. I also need to find out how a short movie I've been watching ends.

But instead, I am browsing the internet and typing here.

Is it better to pretend to be nice to someone you don't like, or let them know upfront how you feel? Being nice to them feels a bit like an intellectual pity f**k, while just because you don't like them doesn't mean they aren't a decent person. Guess that is the important part though, what kind of person are they. Some people just don't deserve the time of day, while others well you can at least be civil to them.

May all the people you encounter this weekend be at least the latter or better and not those whose mere presence feels like it is polluting you spiritually.

[Alex]

Yet another fine day. Long may they continue.

Went into Elgin this morning for our monthly D&D game. My cleric managed to stay alive and not let any of the party die, although he did encourage the barbarian to engage in some torture in order to interrogate the survivor of a fight against us. When he didn't answer my question I asked the barbarian to rip a toe off.

I then had to explain to the barbarian that I'd wanted him to rip a toe off the guy I was questioning, not one of the dead bodies.

Phoned mum tonight. She isn't getting out of hospital tomorrow like we'd hoped, but she is at least getting up and able to walk around as much as she wants.

Playing Kristi's game just now. Young teenage me would be in heaven, two games of D&D in one day lol. 

We are still working on getting Ash back on his sleeping schedule. He is currently managing to stay up later, wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or two and then sleep late in the morning.

Hmm, didn't think they hit the teenage years this early.

He has been lying through his room for an hour singing now. Any second now he will drop off to sleep.

[Alex]

Feeling glad that I am on nights this week. Its been a good weekend and I have no wish for it to end.

Felt tired early last night and crashed out before 21:00. Of course, that meant I woke up early, but it was nice just lying in bed cuddling up to Kristi. Ash slept until after 9:00 this morning so its been a peaceful and quiet morning.

Been nice and peaceful here too. It won't last, these things never do but it does serve to remind us to enjoy these times while you have them.

Got a start on the neverending tide that is housework, hoovered the floor, fed Ash when we woke up and whatnot. He is back down for a sleep right now.

Politics wise Boris threw a minor strop over being forced into requesting yet another brexit extension. He didn't sign the letter he sent requesting an extension and then sent a second letter (which he did sign) asking them not to grant the extension he had asked for. I am sure that will solve all his problems. His government keeps saying now is the time to start healing the country, come together and vote for his deal.

Yeah, thats what his predecessor said and he voted against that. The deal he is offering is substantially the same one she put on the table with a few small differences, just he wanted to be the man in power when the deal was voted through. Thats the problem the leave side have though. In order to get into power they've manipulated people and situations to put themselves at the top and now that they've got there they can't control the swell of opinion they've created. They can't even agree on how to leave. If they did unite they'd overpower the remain side easily and they apparantly are unable to see this.

Oh well, not my problem.

[Alex]

Amazing how much nicer it has been logging in here the past few days. The difference just one person can make. I doubt we have entirely heard the last of him though.

After all, this is a bad movie site and we all know the villain has to come back for a sequel.

Unless its Halloween III and we all know how that one went down.

Our little community (the village where I live) has suddenly become an eventful place. There were two assaults and a murder. All the victims were in their 70's or 80's. We also have some gangs from the north of England using school kids in this region to sell drugs for them and apparently have two kids at the local high school. From what I am told (and this is gossip rather than any hard facts), everyone knows who the two kids are (well, except me apparently), and it has been reported to the school headmaster who thus far has been disinclined to take action. I've said if this is all true then take it either to the police or the local newspaper. Pretty sure seeing something on the front page of the local rag would lead to something been done sharpish.

No idea how long it's been since the last time Lossie made the news this way, but I don't recall anything else while I've been here like this so I am not worried. Everywhere has bad things happen now and again.

Watching '3 From Hell'. I enjoyed the other two Firefly movies but this one doesn't seem to be doing anything for me. Still, the movie isn't over yet and maybe it will have a killer ending that saves the whole thing.

[Alex]

Someone has been arrested for the assaults and murder. Not heard the who or why yet. Finished watching season 5 of Killjoys. Not thinking they are planning on a season 6 from that ending, but maybe they'll be nice and schedule a few more. I prefered it when they were just bounty hunting over the overarching plotline.

Colt Seavers never needed no metaplot.

I thought it was at its best when it was just a fun, silly sci-fi show with the odd, occasional bit of deeper meaning, like the original Star Trek. As good as some of the other shows were, none of the other Star Trek shows seemed to match that even if some of them were much better written.

Last shift before a long weekend. We've got to take Ash to hospital in Aberdeen come Monday. Bit of a pain getting up there early for the appointment, but at least I don't have to worry about paying for it I guess (the treatment that is, I've got to pay for getting up there). Breaks my heart when I see people trying to fund raise for medical treatment. You'd have thought by now the human race would have learned to take care of itself. Alas as a species we appear to be on a different trajectory.

[ER]

Humans improving? I don't know. Sometimes I think we have learned a few good lessons over the millennia and just as often I don't see we've changed more than outwardly since the earliest ages of man.

I get caught up in pondering the theory that our innate aggression is an engine that fueled our evolutionary rise, that humans needed aggression to prosper in a hostile world and cannot easily shed it, though it is less vital now, and by that reasoning it seems likely that devoid instinctive restraints, that same inborn aggression will likely trigger our destruction.

No one ever went broke betting on human stupidity.

[Alex]

I remember as a kid watching shows on TV (the aforementioned Star Trek being a prime example), where humanity had matured and become something better. Then as I got older I realised this would never happen and what we should be doing is trying to make the best of what we have, not aiming for some never going to happen fantasy, be that Star Trek, or even the new man so beloved of Che Guevara. No matter how far we reach we will always have that monster in our Id waiting to surface.

Just ask the Krell.

Imagine if we could somehow harness the energy and effort that goes into warfare and harness it for some other, grander pursuit? What could we achieve then? It is a nice fiction, but something I doubt we will ever do.

Watching the grand political stage playing out across the world and the rise of men with silly hairdo's who walk over the established laws of their country (or attempt to). We seem to be entering an era of the strong man leader, who vary tremendously in competence.

Hmm, my spell checker is telling me that the last two words of the previous sentence should be one word. Might have something there.

Not sure how many countries around the world have stepped into this but Russia, China, the UK, USA and North Korea certainly all have. Possibly Brazil? Too many countries across the world to track fully though, Hmm, that is also a goodly chunk of the UN Security Council right there. Some of those leaders have managed to completely subvert their nations laws allowing them to remain in power much longer than they should have (looking at you Russia and especially China), others are floundering a bit, but still trying to force their particular agenda with greater or lesser success.

There are a lot of parallels with the 1920's and 1930's there. Then again, you go looking at any period in history and you'll find similarities. Care must be taken not to draw too many conclusions, but I do worry about just where the world is going. Nations appear to have forgotten lessons that should have been learned many decades ago.

[Alex]

Played a game of First Edition Blood Bowl (think American Football, but with spikes, Goblin, Ogres and chainsaws although the first edition lacked the chainsaws, they didn't come until 2nd ed). Won it of course, mostly by breaking more bones in Kristi's team than she broke in mine. The early editions of that game suffered from it being more or less batter your way through the opposition. By 3rd, it had picked up a bit more finesse and you could pass the ball more, or kick it and get to victory that way. Anyway, it was interesting to see how the first version played and the 3rd should be turning up mid-week. I've not even looked at 4th edition (the newest) so I have no idea how that one was on the tabletop.

[Alex]

Going to be a long day tomorrow, travelling to Aberdeen and back. I wanted to go up today and stay overnight while Kristi wanted to get up early tomorrow morning and take the bus in. The clocks changed today, would have been handier had it been tomorrow and then we could have given Ash a longer sleep in the morning.

Watching a film about one of the last pagan outposts in Europe trying to hold out against the church attempting to force their conversion by the sword. I know how the story ends though. Fire, blood and destruction. Always thought that holy books should come printed on red paper for all the blood split in their god's names. I do not believe religion causes war, but the people who follow them ofttimes do.

Playing Kristi's D&D game. My raging Half-Orc Barbarian just added were rat onto his list of things he can do.

That is going to be interesting. If I remember correctly my alignment will slowly change to match the racial for the were-creature. Pretty sure that is chaotic evil.