So I'm going to try again this year. One novel, one month to write it.
www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/234985
I'm not sure what to write about yet, as I have 5 or 6 good ideas swimming through my head at any given moment. It'll probably be about an epic magical adventure with Bruce Lee. It'll be the dumbest most awesome story ever.
Ironically enough, it's taken me about an hour to complete this blog, which doesn't say much for my ability to put out 50000 words in a month.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Restraints
Terminal cancer. As I watched the man, stomach seizing for oxygen, in the final throes of death, I wondered what was going through his head, if anything at all. The beeping of his O2 meter was erratic at best. Alarms were going off on several machines that were hooked in to him. I was distracted by his eyes, so sunken it was as if they shouldn't be there anyway. When I stepped into the room, they went wide as he stared into my very soul. What was it that he was trying to say to me as he twitched in his bed? The nurses were holding him down, but there was a pronounced motion as he tried to get to me, eyes wide with an unrecognizable emotion.
Two officers and the two nurses gathered around the bed to slip him into an orange jumpsuit. His writhing motions increased, but only briefly as the man quickly ran out of energy. His head rolled about his shoulders aimlessly in bursts. Whenever a new person walked into the room, no matter how brief their stay, his eyes would lock on, almost jumping out of the sockets, then he'd return to his nearly comatose state.
The ambulance arrived, taking an extended amount of time due to security constraints. The EMT's were soon escorted inside with their stretcher and equipment.
I approached the inmate, handcuffs in hand. As if in slow motion, the man's movement stopped, all movement, except for those glazed, yellow eyes. They slowly and surely zoned in on the handcuffs. His mouth opened in protest, all but two of his teeth missing due to past heavy meth use. He cried out with an inhuman, feral snarl, bits of mucous and vomit escaping every open orifice in his face. He tried to escape, tried to roll off of the bed, seized up, pulling his hands away from my own. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. He couldn't fight for long as fatigue would surely take over.
I grasped his clammy, cold wrist, and tightened the cuff, double locked it, and moved on to the second. Before I knew it, it was over. The nurses and EMT's placed his small, shriveled body onto the stretcher and wheeled him out.
The nurses cracked jokes.
Two officers and the two nurses gathered around the bed to slip him into an orange jumpsuit. His writhing motions increased, but only briefly as the man quickly ran out of energy. His head rolled about his shoulders aimlessly in bursts. Whenever a new person walked into the room, no matter how brief their stay, his eyes would lock on, almost jumping out of the sockets, then he'd return to his nearly comatose state.
The ambulance arrived, taking an extended amount of time due to security constraints. The EMT's were soon escorted inside with their stretcher and equipment.
I approached the inmate, handcuffs in hand. As if in slow motion, the man's movement stopped, all movement, except for those glazed, yellow eyes. They slowly and surely zoned in on the handcuffs. His mouth opened in protest, all but two of his teeth missing due to past heavy meth use. He cried out with an inhuman, feral snarl, bits of mucous and vomit escaping every open orifice in his face. He tried to escape, tried to roll off of the bed, seized up, pulling his hands away from my own. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. He couldn't fight for long as fatigue would surely take over.
I grasped his clammy, cold wrist, and tightened the cuff, double locked it, and moved on to the second. Before I knew it, it was over. The nurses and EMT's placed his small, shriveled body onto the stretcher and wheeled him out.
The nurses cracked jokes.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I significantly dislike "lol"
Not even kidding. It's a terrible phrase. Now, I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or should not do, as I am trying to shed that aspect of my nature, but seriously, stop saying lol, people.
Putting that aside, here is a poem I've been working on.
I'm not much of a poet. I find prose to suit me much better, when I actually get the motivation so sit down and write. If anyone is interested, I have a short story I'll link. Right here.
Putting that aside, here is a poem I've been working on.
Twas in the beginning
upon a mountain high
where the figure of a woman
wouldst surely lie
Ye feel the morning dew
once it falls upon your skin
thou wouldst grasp her hand
and thence begin to spin
There is but one
who wouldst stand in thy way
The Count Von Braun
the greatest, they say
Thine experience says naught
for the work thou wilt do
requests fall upon deaf ears
they do not improve the view
Fill thine pack and prepare
for your journey is ahead
time shall grant thee requests
and weigh you down with lead
Round them up and send them out
such a hasty retreat
your day starts fresh
when you arise upon your feet
To gain the treasures that are needed
you must begin anew
find the one thing that will drive you
a special someone that you knew
Of course thine choice will be
the fairest maiden you have chosen
your trials must not be done in vain
else her love for you wilt be frozen.
upon a mountain high
where the figure of a woman
wouldst surely lie
Ye feel the morning dew
once it falls upon your skin
thou wouldst grasp her hand
and thence begin to spin
There is but one
who wouldst stand in thy way
The Count Von Braun
the greatest, they say
Thine experience says naught
for the work thou wilt do
requests fall upon deaf ears
they do not improve the view
Fill thine pack and prepare
for your journey is ahead
time shall grant thee requests
and weigh you down with lead
Round them up and send them out
such a hasty retreat
your day starts fresh
when you arise upon your feet
To gain the treasures that are needed
you must begin anew
find the one thing that will drive you
a special someone that you knew
Of course thine choice will be
the fairest maiden you have chosen
your trials must not be done in vain
else her love for you wilt be frozen.
I'm not much of a poet. I find prose to suit me much better, when I actually get the motivation so sit down and write. If anyone is interested, I have a short story I'll link. Right here.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Graduation Today
I graduated from my basic training today. 200 hours, 12 credit hours, in five weeks. I'm certified to work with Segregated inmates. I'm certified to handle and use a .357 Revolver, a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, and a Mini-14 rifle. I have a cool outfit, and sometimes I get to wear a stab-vest at work.
I feel pretty awesome right now!
Except for the dang fleas. The previous tenants here had a dog or something and the carpet is infested. I sprayed flea killer all over the place but it didn't do a thing. A real exterminator is coming next week, so hopefully I don't contract any crazy flesh-eating disease before then. I've been rubbing vinegar on my legs and arms to keep the fleas off. I think it helps a little, but it doesn't fend them off for long.
I've been getting into heavy metal music a lot more than usual lately. I find DragonForce and Dethklok to be particularly awesome. Curtis and I discussed, briefly, making a metal band, albeit a rather low-key one, due to our lack of skill and instruments, using only a microphone, an acoustic guitar, and a bass guitar without an amp, all combined and modified with computer software. Could be awesome. Could be totally metal.
I feel pretty awesome right now!
Except for the dang fleas. The previous tenants here had a dog or something and the carpet is infested. I sprayed flea killer all over the place but it didn't do a thing. A real exterminator is coming next week, so hopefully I don't contract any crazy flesh-eating disease before then. I've been rubbing vinegar on my legs and arms to keep the fleas off. I think it helps a little, but it doesn't fend them off for long.
I've been getting into heavy metal music a lot more than usual lately. I find DragonForce and Dethklok to be particularly awesome. Curtis and I discussed, briefly, making a metal band, albeit a rather low-key one, due to our lack of skill and instruments, using only a microphone, an acoustic guitar, and a bass guitar without an amp, all combined and modified with computer software. Could be awesome. Could be totally metal.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
All Moved In
The move went well. Curtis and I are comfy in our little two bedroom house off the beaten path here in El Dorado. This morning I was woken by Curtis having a crazy fit because he was attacked by a spider. A huge 4" leg-span type spider.
I went to investigate and found this "spider" to be nothing more than a cricket that jumped at him. We laughed it off and got groceries since we were going hungry.
We went to the Wichita art museum and to a "Computer Liquidation Sale" today, the latter being a total waste of our time and Laurie's money. There wasn't much available for sale and not a single thing was under normal resale value. We're talking ancient laptops with 12" screens and 6 GB hard drives selling for 400 dollars. You can get a pretty nice laptop from Walmart, complete with warranty and carrying case for less than 700. We left in disgust.
Anyway, we're broke and bored, but really excited to have our own house. I hope things work out well here.
Also, there is this here TV that I got for 100 dollars because the lamp was burned out.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Insomnia - A quick post
I couldn't seem to fall asleep, so I'm going to try for 3 hours of sleep tonight like I did last night. I already have some tea ready for consumption upon waking so hopefully a steady stream of caffeine in my veins will keep me up through whatever we are learning at work today. I need to stop going to bed so late on weekends. It throws me all off.
In other news, I'll be moving to El Dorado possibly on Friday. The house is a bit of a shit-hole, but Curtis likes it and I think it'll be fun. We'll have a yard and enough space between the other houses to actually play guitars and stuff.
In other news, I'll be moving to El Dorado possibly on Friday. The house is a bit of a shit-hole, but Curtis likes it and I think it'll be fun. We'll have a yard and enough space between the other houses to actually play guitars and stuff.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Quote for the Day
Me: "Yeah, Matthew Shepard was killed in Laramie, Wyoming for hitting on some guys."
Other person: "Well it served him right! HAR HAR HAR!"
So, it looks like I work with a lot of conservative homophobes. Calling them conservative is a half-insult when I use it, because I find the conservative mindset to be quite insulting and ignorant in almost all cases. The homophobe part, yeah, that's just annoying.
I also work with lots of racists.
And total douche bags.
So, working at the prison, today I did pat-downs on some 30 inmates as they were heading to lunch. I didn't get too much guff from them. Two guys complained that I was sexually assaulting them (checking the groin area for contraband) but that was it. Another couple guys told me I had magic hands. I just laughed.
But some of the guys I work with that were also doing pat-downs were just stupid. One guy was practically hitting the people he was searching. He thinks of the inmates as animals, as robots, as a task he has to complete, rather than as humans that he has to keep safe and secure. I don't think a single inmate walked away from him in the same mood or better. Every one was upset with the way he handled them.
Then another guy was so paranoid that they would be hiding a shank that he asked if we were supposed to check their beards for PIECES OF SHARPENED STEEL! He obviously knows nothing about the resilience of facial hair. He also was checking their bare skin for shanks and razor blades. We're talking guys with short sleeve shirts on, and he would check their wrists... for shanks...
These inmates I deal with ARE HUMAN. There is something awfully strange about the mindset of some of the people that work there. I'm not sure if it's just my class or the training method we're going through, but I get the feeling that I'm the only one that really realizes that these people are just normal people who got caught. Normal people who may have had too much to drink one night. Everyone has done something worth getting in trouble for, and many of them go to prison, but that doesn't mean they are mere animals. Jeez.
I'm not saying I'm going to go and be buddy-buddy with all these guys. That's dangerous and against all kinds of policies. But they deserve basic respect.
Other person: "Well it served him right! HAR HAR HAR!"
So, it looks like I work with a lot of conservative homophobes. Calling them conservative is a half-insult when I use it, because I find the conservative mindset to be quite insulting and ignorant in almost all cases. The homophobe part, yeah, that's just annoying.
I also work with lots of racists.
And total douche bags.
So, working at the prison, today I did pat-downs on some 30 inmates as they were heading to lunch. I didn't get too much guff from them. Two guys complained that I was sexually assaulting them (checking the groin area for contraband) but that was it. Another couple guys told me I had magic hands. I just laughed.
But some of the guys I work with that were also doing pat-downs were just stupid. One guy was practically hitting the people he was searching. He thinks of the inmates as animals, as robots, as a task he has to complete, rather than as humans that he has to keep safe and secure. I don't think a single inmate walked away from him in the same mood or better. Every one was upset with the way he handled them.
Then another guy was so paranoid that they would be hiding a shank that he asked if we were supposed to check their beards for PIECES OF SHARPENED STEEL! He obviously knows nothing about the resilience of facial hair. He also was checking their bare skin for shanks and razor blades. We're talking guys with short sleeve shirts on, and he would check their wrists... for shanks...
These inmates I deal with ARE HUMAN. There is something awfully strange about the mindset of some of the people that work there. I'm not sure if it's just my class or the training method we're going through, but I get the feeling that I'm the only one that really realizes that these people are just normal people who got caught. Normal people who may have had too much to drink one night. Everyone has done something worth getting in trouble for, and many of them go to prison, but that doesn't mean they are mere animals. Jeez.
I'm not saying I'm going to go and be buddy-buddy with all these guys. That's dangerous and against all kinds of policies. But they deserve basic respect.
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