:: Musings, Thoughts, Quirks, and Cats ::

:: Sunday, September 30, 2001 ::

Hey, I woke up this morning, as usual. Stumbled into the bathroom, as usual. Brushed my teeth, as usual. Had a shower, as usual. I wiped down the mirror and saw my reflection. And I don't know whether it was because I had gotten up earlier than usual, whether I was going to see Jess today, or whether I had been dreaming something weird, but I dissociated myself.

When I say dissociated, I mean I cleared my mind of my normal paradigms for a moment, and saw things as if for the first time. I can do it sometimes if I concentrate, but this time I didn't even mean to do it. And what I saw scared me.

I saw a man. I saw a man with a moustache, some early chest hair, intense eyes, tanned skin, broad shoulders, enlarged biceps, messed and damp hair, and skin that was already beginning to develop callouses at frequented pressure points. I saw my dad standing there, but no this image was younger with different hair and longer lashes. I figured I might as well continue this "discover" and speak to myself. And yes, my voice, MY voice, was deep and thoughtful.

God, when did I grow up? When did I become an adult? I still see things and feel things as I did when I was 12. They're just...refined, I suppose. I almost expected to see an 11 year old boy in the mirror, still gingerly touching his newest bruise on his cheek from where the kids hit him at school.

And I'm glad I've grown up now. If I could go back in time, and take my younger self's place, things would have changed. But, there's no use dwelling in the past. It's behind me. I buckled down. I didn't want people to hurt me again. And they haven't since.

So I restored my paradigms, my ordinary way of looking at the world, and recognized me. And I knew there was no going back.

"We're such experts at stalling, we have lost the plot."
:: Steve Ferguson 10:55 PM [+] ::
...

Yeah, you know, everyone seems to be depressed except for me.

Danielle's got this whole situation with Robert being a jerk. She's gotten so depressed, she has trouble eating. So she's over here right now, and I'm helping her keep her mind off of Robert. The rabbit is helping immensely.

Robert's depressed because Danielle's mad at him. And he doesn't know why. Fool.

Doug's not really depressed, but he feels like he's being used by Andrew to pick up girls. That always puts a crimp on someone's attitude.

Meghan's depressed because she thinks she's fat and ugly again. It seems to be a reoccuring thing with her. But mind you, I used to do it too. Before Jessica that is. But she hasn't told me this, she said so in her own Blogger. She thinks I'll just tell her I'm silly. Which I wasn't, but still.

Meanwhile, I'm great! But I think I should help my friends feel better too.

"I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kind of life."
:: Steve Ferguson 5:09 PM [+] ::
...

I saw Enterprise last night, and it was really good. I had read the script previously and thought it fairly decent, and the show was well done. Scott Bakula makes an excellent captain, although at first, I kept expecting him to say:

"Al, get Gushi to hurry up and fix Ziggy, so I'll know why I'm here."

But no, Bakula did a very convincing job, and I say his performance was A-1. Then there's the Vulcan chick, T-Pau or something. Her character was rather interesting, but you know, that scene in the decom chamber was bordering on soft-porn. How cold was it in that room anyway??

The ship looked a bit too much like an Akira-class ship, introduced in Star Trek: First Contact, a good 200 years in the future of Enterprise. But there are reasons. Firstly, the ship is basically designed as a submarine. And secondly, it's all the hull plating. There's no shields; they haven't been invented yet. So I'll let them off on that. Still, something about the nacelles bug me...

The Klingons were wrong too.

But yeah, the worst part was the starting sequence. The guy singing about how we can accomplish our dreams? Come on dude. You know what it sounds like, with all the guitar and mellow jello? A family drama, like 7th Heaven, or My Hometown, or other crap like that.

So, I've got a bit of a mixed review. Overall though, pretty good.

Next on my review list: Transformers: Robots In Disguise

I watched 5 minutes of that disgrace. Good God!! What did they do?? Beast Machines was better, if only for the fact that it ran with TF continuity! Not RID, nope. It's the Autobots versus the Predicons folks. That's right. And you know what the worst part is?? THEY'VE DIGIVOLVED IT. It's freaking American Anime now. And there's all those Anime characters with their futuristic tech in the modern day, and they're all ninjas and .... oh God spare us this infamy. Let's look at a sample conversation from the show:

Fire Truck Optimus Prime: "What's going on?"
Little Anime Lady Dork with Stupid Helmet: "The computer's reading a massive discharge of energy!"
OP: "Mega-Tron..."
LAL: "The energy's being drained from a volcano!"
OP: "Alert the other Autobots and tell them to meet me on the road. If Mega-Tron gets that energy, he'll destroy us!"

Oh NO!! *gasp* Mega-Tron's got energy!! And from a volcano? What ARE we going TO do?? FOX deserves to die and rot in the fiery pits. Go get him, Inferno.

"And baby I'm not that strong, and I'm walking wounded"
:: Steve Ferguson 10:35 AM [+] ::
...

Hmmm....I've created a monster it seems. Sandra called last night and asked if I would watch Ricky today with my younger brothers. See, I don't have school on Mondays, and today is Nelson's Pro-D Day. So I agreed, after all, money talks. I thought a great way to pass the time was to play Monopoly.
Now, I have been teaching Daniel, showing him how to plan ahead, showing him how to play people's minds to get the property you want, etc. But I've never actually played him before. I mean, the kid's 7. I thought I would whip the pants off of him.

Ha.

I played against Ricky, Nate, and Dan. Dan creamed us all. The kid was devious and absolutely underhanded. Things always seemed to stack in his favor and he constantly cheated Nate and Ricky out of important property, without them thinking it was too important to give up. I went down fighting, but by that point he had most of the board. The kid knew how to balance money extremely well, so well it's embarrassing. So I've vowed to stop teaching him my little tricks, and to develop some more on my own.

He'll make one hell of a banker.

"Money Money Money, must be funny, in a rich man's world"
:: Steve Ferguson 2:52 PM [+] ::
...

I spent most of the afternoon with Jess, and wow... It was amazing. I've never kissed a girl before, much less make out with one for an hour or so. It felt like...well like my emotion was releasing itself. I'm very glad to have met her, I know for a fact I'm falling for her. I've never met anyone like her before. I didn't want today to end. And when it did, I felt disappointed. I had to make dinner so I had to leave earlier than I would have liked.

I got home, and BAM Liz was on the phone wanting details. Liz envied me. Her first kiss was in a bowling alley and was just a peck. But mine was so intense...time didn't freeze as I wanted it to, it ran by FAST.

Robert and Andrew tailed Doug home from the Comic Emporium. While coming home on the Skytrain, they were caught *insert dramatic music* by the TransLink Staff with invalid Transfers! Ha ha! Somehow Doug got away, but both Rob and Andrew have to pay $46. Andrew is now worried about a criminal record, and Robert thinks that TransLink can't trace him. Both are talking about going BACK downtown tomorrow and picking up fake id's. How about picking up some valid transfers instead? Fools.

Still thinking about Jess. It's addicting...who needs drugs when you have a great girl?

"Does the body you conceal need the touch of a human hand?"
:: Steve Ferguson 8:09 PM [+] ::
...

I feel disappointed. Elena and I chatted a couple nights ago over AIM. For those of you who don't know, Elena lives in New Jersey. Her name is Bounce on Bottalk, and she contacted me because...well because she has a crush on me. This is something I actually find unsettling. I mean, she sounds like a great person, but a) she doesn't really know me and b) I'm going out with Jess.
So, she was not too pleased when I told her my relationship with Jess. Elena told me it was just another thing that had gone wrong in her life. She went on about how her parents sent her across the country to a school she doesn't like, how her friends actually hate her, how her learning disability holds her back, etc. Well, she told me things will be okay once she joins that cult, and I got really worried. She started on about suicide and how all the pain will go away.

Now, ordinarily, people will talk about suicide but never actually do it. Speaking with Elena, it dawned on me she might actually do it. Just the desperation, and her attitude in general, I began to get worried.

I told her to stay off the internet. I mean, it was clear to me that she has a SERIOUS internet problem. She told me how she wants to defend people from getting flammed on Bottalk, and I told her "It's just a Transformers Forum, they don't need your protection." But she got so adamant that it's scary. She badly wants their acceptance too. And I told her she doesn't need their acceptance.

The conversation didn't turn out well. In fact, when I got off at 1:00 am, I was feeling very emotional, worried she might do something terrible. So I tried to get Bottalk to show support for her. I started a topic explaining that Elena needed support. And what do they do? Laugh, and say how stupid it is that she's coming to a TF forum for comfort. This from the same people who were pouring out sympathy at the WTC disaster. Hypocrites...I give them the chance to help someone in suffering and they sneer.
I mean, I know she shouldn't need to go to a TF forum, but she needs help, and a little comfort would be nice.

Arg, anyway. I'm going to Port Moody on Saturday, just to be with Jess. I've been so wanting to see her again so much I really must admit that I'm falling for her badly. I hope for a beautiful day on Saturday, that would be perfect.

"Your eyes make a circle, I see you when I go in there."
:: Steve Ferguson 11:27 PM [+] ::
...

Well, what a bizarre turn of events. Ken sent me an e-mail apologizing profusely, explaining how he realized he was being "hypocritical". You see, one of Ken's good friends is going through some tremendous heartbreak because of a girl he had been seeing who was, YOU GUESSED IT, three years younger than him. Ken, in his judgement, immediately assumed the same would happen to me unless I backed out immediately. Of course I refused, Ken got angry, I got angry back, yaddy yaddy yadda.
So he's apologized, and hopes to put this behind us and restore a sense of normal life. I agreed, but I have the feeling things will be tense for a while. Anyway, on a different note, I've formulated a new theory:

Leopard's Theory Of Jaw Motion In Young Females

If you have ever been out with a girl (or a really lame guy) in some kind of social excursion, you will most likely hear the following phrase: "Do you have any gum?" Now, I normally don't carry gum unless I've been eating a lot of Italian food. Whenever my cousin Jessica (different Jessica) went with Doug and I to Youth or whatever, that was always what she asked us. "Hey Steve, do you have any gum?"
And I would always tell her the EXACT same thing. "No, I don't carry gum."
And she would always ask me this question every time we went out. And naturally I thought Why? Why must she chew flavoured plaster?
And it wasn't just my cousin. I noticed girls in the school (or really lame guys) would always ask for gum, gum, and more gum! At first I thought the school was giving some away for free, but it soon spread to the malls, the parks, and even that lady in 7-11. And it wasn't long ago where chewing gum in church was disrespectful. Well not anymore!
Anyway, I've decided I've solved this mystery.

Girls talk too much. Notice this? Blah blah blah. It's really quite depressing sometimes. Especially when a girl you hate has approached you and decided to outline to you EVERY SINGLE reason WHY she hates you. All a guy would do is pass you and say "You suck. F*ck you." and that would be it. Now, so what does this have to do with gum?

I think some guy out there got tired of hearing a girl (or really lame guy) jabber on about nothing. So he stuck a wad of gum in her mouth. Then this girl (or really lame guy) noticed that even though no sound was coming out, she was still moving her jaw!! Yes!! This was the greatest thing to happen. So this new fad started moving like a rampant brushfire.

So here's the back bone of my theory: Girls (and lame guys) need a very delicate balance in their body. If you know how their hormones work, you WILL agree with me. An average girl will be somewhat intelligent, and somewhat of a chatterbox. Now let's say we take away some of the intelligence. Now you are left with another breed of girl, commonly referred to as "blond". These girls talk endless in the hopes of balancing their lack of brainpower. And so gum has spread to stop the jabber, but keep the infidels happy.

"She's going to change the world, but she can't change me."
:: Steve Ferguson 6:15 PM [+] ::
...

Mates before dates, mates before dates. Ordinarily, this rule is rule of thumb. But this is one of the only exceptions. Ken. He sent me another insulting e-mail. This time stating how much of a terrible person I am, and how the only reason I go out with Jessica is because she's "impressed" with how old I am, but I can't find anyone my own age because I'm "VERY unattractive". So I've cut all ties with Ken. It's one thing to disagree with your friend, it's another to downright insult them.

The more under fire I came from Ken, the more I realized that I do want to be with Jessica. And it's really proved to me how stupid judgemental people look. I've been thinking about her a lot lately. I always want to know how she's doing, even though technically I know she's fine. hehe, Strange really.

Jess and I went out to see The Musketeer with her friend Jessica (2), Liz, Danielle, and Doug. We wanted Doug and Jessica (2) to get to know each other, but not like a blind date. Danielle and Jess had a bit of tension, but nothing I wasn't expecting. I tried to include everyone together, not ignoring anyone. I **hope** I succeeded. Liz said I did an okay job, and she liked Jess.

So I'm playing life as it comes. That's the best I can do.

Robert told Danielle America was going to war with Afghanistan. He then told her he was in the Canadian Reserves and going to fight in the war, and might not ever see her again. Danielle became VERY upset. We talked and I told her Robert was full of crap. Robert, you see, is 17. He can join the Reserves, but until he's 18 he can NOT see Active Service. Not to mention America is NOT in war with Afghanistan. There is an ultimatium (hand over bin Laden in three days or we attack), but that's THREE DAYS. What is Robert trying to do, scaring Danielle like that?

What a week.

"What would you do, what would do if I followed you?"
:: Steve Ferguson 4:45 PM [+] ::
...

I've been feeling really down as of late. And I shouldn't be. I'm really happy to be with Jessica, but some other people disagree entirely with my going out with her. Most of them decide to stay out of it though, because it is my decision, and they're glad to see me happy. Ken, however, sent me this e-mail:

i don't care!
it's like illegal! dude, it's seriously messed up! i
have nothin against you having a girlfriend(strange as
it sounds), andi don't even care that much if you
steal her from Doug, but it's god damned cradle
robbing!
no matter which way you look at it it's wrong! it's
like 10 year olds getting married. JUST WRONG!!! i
don't care how attacted to each other you are, if it's
really that big a deal, you can wait till she's at
least of legal age! Christ! have you no decency?!
Steve, i have lost respect for you, and i don't think
i ever will respect you, and definitely not while you
see this girl (and btw, she IS a girl).

Now this REALLY pissed me off. I mean, who is he to judge me?! I replied rather briskly.

All right.
#1. It is NOT illegal. Legal age of consent is 14, and it's not like I'm going to have sex with her, and that's not why I'm going out with her. I'm celebate, remember?
#2. This happens to be someone I really care about, and that's the reason I'm going out with her, because we care about each other. This relationship is based on mutual respect as well.
#3. You are giving me your opinion on dating?? Ha! Come on Ken, don't you think you need to worry about your own love life than someone else's? I mean come on, no matter what you do for Katrina she's always angry at you for something, and not only is that depressing to see, but it makes you look like a moron when you critize other people on dating.
#4. I am not some freak of nature. Two friends of mine, who are my age, also have girlfriends the same age as Jessica. And you know what? Their relationships are normal.
#5. I do NOT need to explain my actions to you.
#6. I did NOT ask for your approval.
#7. I did NOT ask for your opinion.
Clear this time?

Jess and I have talked about this for a bit, and we both agreed that other people's opinions don't really matter, and most of my friends don't see it as an issue. Ken and I have often disagreed about things, but this time he has come right out and attacked me, which I view as cowardly. I was actually tempted to tell Ken that he has bad taste in women himself, but I figure just telling him the truth is good enough. I mean, I sat with Ken and his girlfriend through a whole year of writing class, and she was always pissed off at him for some reason. And it really wore down on him AND me. So I don't know where he gets off pulling off this stunt. I wasn't even planning on telling Ken anyway, because of how opinionated he is. But Doug told him....
Ah there's a story in itself.

All right I feel better now. And you know what? I've dealt with it, it's over and done with, and I'm not going to let it affect me anymore. There we go.

"Step by step, oh little by little (move a little closer to me)."
:: Steve Ferguson 10:20 AM [+] ::
...

So I went in to A&B Sound yesterday, after dropping my mom at work. I go up to the Cashier.
"Yeah, I called a couple days ago concerning these headphones I bought a few days previously, and the lady on the phone told me to bring them in..."
The Cashier pointed to the Hardware counter. "Take it to the Hardware."
I walk over to the Hardware, and a guy (whom I'll call Dude) who must have been only a few years older than me was behind the desk. "Hey." he said.
"Hi, I bought these headphones a few days ago, and noticed this tremendous distortion through the left earpiece," I bring out the headphones, invoice, reciept, and package. "So I called in here, and the lady on the phone told me to bring them in."
"Okay, well the Technical Supervisor is on his way up, so we can work something out. Now did you want a refund, or an exchange, or an upgrade...?"
Oh crap, think quick. "Uh, well I'd really like some more headphones..."
"Sure, what brand are they?" he asked.
I read the ladel. "Maxell T-200's."
The Dude looks behind him to all the headphones. When he can't find the same brand, he looks at my invoice, and yes I bought them here. He scratched his head and I decide to help him out. "I bought them from the display stand at the front."
"Oh." he said. He types into his computer. "Right, we only have a few of them left. They're pretty junky, I don't know why we still sell them." He reaches up and pulls down a different brand. "There are only a dollar more, they include ear buds, and they're better quality."
"Oh okay." I say, glad this silly endeavor is coming to an end.
The Dude types in his computer a bit, but then just stares at the screen. It's then I realize he's lost and confused about something. "Uh...um...uh..."
Now I'm starting to feel kind of bad, making this guy uncomfortable. How new was this Dude??
Lucky for him, the Tech Supervisor comes up behind him, and DOES HE EVER look like Keanu Reeves. I did a double take. "What's the problem?" 'Keanu' asks.
The Dude sees him, and relief cascades over his face. "His headphones are busted after only four days and he wants an exchange."
'Keanu' nods. "That's okay. Maxell...ouch. Terrible brand of headphones."
The Dude plugs my headphones into a discman and plays a song. He scrunches his face and unplugs them. "Yeah, they're shot to hell. Four days you said?" he asks me.
"About that." I say. "Well, those other ones you showed me, I'll take them if they're better quality."
'Keanu' shakes his head. "No, they're not that much better. In fact, they're about the same." The Dude looks even more uncomfortable with that statement. I don't blame him.
"What do you recommend?" I ask 'Keanu'.
"Well," he says matter-of-factly. "If you want good headphones, you're going to have to pay more. That's really how it works. It's better than constantly buying cheap crap." He pulls down a pair of Sony headphones. "These are about $20, which is pretty reasonable." I nod, because I have seen headphones that cost $40. "Now, we'll fill this out and upgrade you."
Dude looks at the computer sheepishly. 'Keanu' hums and haws at the screen and gives Dude a lesson on Making The Customer Happy. "Okay, fill out the serial number of the invoice here and here. Now, he also bought batteries, but he's keeping those, so put the batteries up here, but subtract them from here."
"What about this?" Dude asks.
"No, that's a cd and that's not included." 'Keanu' tells him. "Now put this here, and calculate his deduction. So, add tax here and then subtract the total with the new total."
Dude brings out a calculator and starts going crazy on it. "Uh...yeah...um....14.97?"
'Keanu' sighs. "No."
Dude looks shamed. "Oh..."
'Keanu' takes the calculator. "Here, watch. Tax, subtotal, total, deduction, tax on deduction. See?"
"Yeah...." Dude stammers. I don't think he sees.
I finally speak up when 'Keanu' produces a new invoice for me. "I didn't know it was such a complicated procedure!"
'Keanu' sighs. "Yeah, we need to keep proper inventory through our database, as well as customer response to certain products, and company reports."
I take the invoice and headphones and start to head to the cashier. "Thanks a lot guys." I say sincerely.
Dude watches me go. "Hope you enjoy them, and I hope you don't come back with these ones busted."
I laugh and thank him too. After all, I just made his life a living hell, least I can do is thank him for it. So I pay for the headphones and leave.

On another briefer note, I've been keeping tabs on the news this morning. I feel a deep sense of loss at the World Trade Center, completely destroyed by planes hijacked by terrorists. They say the probable death count is in the tens of thousands. It's certainly an effective weapon, an aircraft, but devastating. It's all over the news, and I wonder what else is to come.

"Have you come here for forgiveness, have you come to raise the dead?"
:: Steve Ferguson 12:13 PM [+] ::
...

My headphones are busted! There is so much distortion from the left one...grrr...they are brand new too!! I phoned A&B Sound, and they said "Bring 'em in!" So I will on Sunday (which I think is technically today...I really should stop posting so late at night).

And in the tradition of "Idiots Caught On Film", it's "Idiot Girls Making An Ass Of Themselves Online"!! Yes, there have been a few 13 year old girls online who think it's hilarious if they refer to the size of my, and forgive my direct quote, "cock" and how much "cum" they want. I mean, come on girls, with an attitude like that, you're not going to get any for a LONG time.
Correction, you will get some within the week from an equally slutty guy. I wasn't impressed by this girl's vocabulary and her rudeness, I was offended. She even signed my guestbook with all her remarks!! So then I got really pissed off and deleted it. Derek had to remind me I was above their level and not to get so easily offended. So I chilled a little. Everyone else found it hilarious though...

"People try to put us down (talking 'bout my generation!), just because we get around (talking 'bout my generation!)
:: Steve Ferguson 12:09 AM [+] ::
...

Boy, English 151: Studies in Drama was boring. I had to buy five plays, and I get to listen to my instructor talk about them for THREE HOURS.

Not quite what I was expecting, but the plays I had to buy were pretty good. "The Crucible", "Fences", "Blood Relations" to name a few.

Anyway, yesterday I received a letter from BC Housing saying the confirmation of registration wasn't good enough and they needed something far more certififed than my receipt. Grumbling, I had to go BACK to the Registrar's office to get some new piece of paper that has EVERYTHING about me that's school-related on it. My number, courses, eligibility, dates, transferability, credit listings, the whole whamboozle. Then the secretary stamped it three times with three different stamps that somehow proved that the paper was from Douglas. Anyway, I'm taking that in to BC Housing today and parade it around their office.
I also got my student card yesterday, although I look like I'm angry. The lady said "Stand on the orange line. Look at the camera. You're done." all in one breath. I didn't even get a chance to smile, or make the goofy look on my face I was hoping to do. I shrugged and got the TransLink sticker on it as well.

I also got Delerium's Poem, as well as some headphones and batteries, to go with my new discman. It's not new, it's rather old. Danielle told me it was broken and I could have it if I fixed it. I put some batteries in, and it worked. Hmmm... oh well, mine now. Free discman!
Delerium, that's good stuff there. A step away from techno really, but excellent nonetheless. We should have more bands out there that can play their instruments as well.

"I suppose it's the price for falling in love..."
:: Steve Ferguson 12:00 PM [+] ::
...

Went to the College today. I was interested to find out that Sandi G, whom I've known for a couple years, is in two of my classes. What a bizarre twist of fate.
Anyway, the first class was Student Success. Some lady brought in a TON of food at the beginning of class and set it down. Then the instuctor, Amy Muldahr, came around and explained the course. She also went on about "what makes a successful student" and all that. Meanwhile, I kept thinking:

"Is that iced tea? God, I would kill for some iced tea!"

She then gave us a survey to go around to the other students in the class and get to know them with such questions as:
Who has children?
Who's going to SFU?
Who doesn't know what their career will be?
Good God, I thought we did the last of those in Grade 9. Oh well, at least I got to eat some cheese. She then gave us our booklist and dismissed us. So I ran home, grabbed my VanCity card, then came back. Too late to buy any books, but oh well. I then went to Humanities 101: Frontiers Of Thought.
Dr. Doug Simak came into the room and stared at us for 10 minutes. We stared back at him, dead silent. After this sussing out period, he broke out a disarming smile, and we all relaxed.
He went through course expectations, and explained the course in great detail. We would have 14 classes in total, with 12 guest speakers on each day. The speakers would cover a wide range of topics that all relate to paradigms (boundaries of thoughts and human expectations).
It sounds all rather interesting, and we even watched a half hour movie on paradigms. Then, he let us out early.

So I came home, and watched Doug's interesting conversation with Jessica and Meghan. And no, I wasn't really crying. But I'm rather impressed with Jessica's Latin. It may be beginner, but I've always wondered how to insult people in other languages, particularly dead ones. =B-)

"There is nothing More Than This..."
:: Steve Ferguson 11:59 PM [+] ::
...

I seem to have lost all sense of time. I stare at the sky with it's rapidly deminishing sunlight, and wonder "What the hell happened to summer?" God, I go to school tomorrow. School! Douglas College, where I can learn about my native language for two hours straight instead of one. Well, it's not quite like school. Number one, I get to sleep in for this semester. My earliest class starts at 4:00. Second, I have classes for only three days out of the week. Four day weekend! So, this isn't quite a hassle. I know I'll be able to pay more attention in class, because sleep won't really be an issue this time around (famous last words). I once had a conversation with my Physics teacher Mr. Lock about this:

Me: "You know, I think I solved the unemployment problem of this country."
ML: "How?"
Me: "Simple actually. Start classes after lunch. None of this morning class crap, just afternoon."
ML: "And this solves unemployment how?"
Me: "Well, teenagers need 10 hours of sleep every night as opposed to adults needing 8. There are some kids here who need to get up at 6:00 in the morning to get to school on time. Well, if there were no morning classes, this wouldn't be an issue. Kids could sleep in, eat lunch and go to school. Their marks would go up because they wouldn't have to fight sleep as much and would be able to concentrate more. Less kids would fail or drop out of school. More would graduate. More would have high enough marks to get into a post secondary institution. More would get an agreeable social status and a good job instead of squirting mayo at MacDonald's."
ML: "Submit that to the School Board, please. I want to sleep in too."

"M.E. I eat dust, and we're all surrounded."
:: Steve Ferguson 5:13 PM [+] ::
...

I dreamed a dream...

It must have been a mall of some kind. I was looking at some videos, and came across Batman Forever. That's when two people approached me. One guy was a stranger, a big buff black guy with rippling muscles, and the other was Mandy Roberts, a girl who had lived in my complex whom I never really got along with. They both challenged me to a fight.

"Tell you what, let's plug into the Simulator."
"The what?" Mandy asked.
"It's something I invented called the Simulator."

The Simulator was a machine that took the form of a large room, kind of like a Holodeck off of Star Trek. The people using the Simulator move to one wall, which has people sized cubicles in it. The people plug themselves in, and virtual versions of themselves, kind of like holograms appear which they control and experience things through. These SimGrams can go anywhere, they aren't confined to the Simulator. It's just that the Simulator gives them an environment they can design to their liking.

We plugged in Batman Forever into the Simulator. I chose the form of Robin, Mandy was the Riddler, and the other bloke was some other henchman like character. He could of been Two-Face, but I guess he was just an idiot. The Simulator formed a giant circular arena, and I mean massive. The roof was at least two kilometers high, and the arena itself was five kilometers in diameter. We strapped into these jet boosters with large wings, and added an arsenal of weapons to our arms.

"The rules are: no rules." I told them. "You will experience pain, but I turned down the settings so it's more of a mild buzz. But you'll know you're hit. Nothing bad will happen to you. If there's an emergency--"
"Shut up and ride!" Mandy crowed. She and her droog took off into the air.
"Fine..." I shook my head and took off after them.

There was a limit on ammo, of course. But I had more scattered through out the arena. I set my left arm on pulse blaster, and my right arm on a large scimitar. I flew up and up, just to get a sense of where they were. Suddenly something slammed into me from beneath me. It was the big guy. He continued to push at me all the way up to the roof, and we were going pretty fast.

"Not today." I muttered in his ear, and stabbed my sword through his stomach. He swore and backed away, still hovering. He turned to fly off, just what I wanted. Taking aim, I fired my pulse blaster at his jet pack. It exploded on his back and he spiralled to the ground below, where, if he was quick enough, he could find another jet pack and join back in. I noticed a harpoon gun floating nearby and grabbed it, just in case.

Mandy came stealing towards me firing laser bolts at me. I flew straight up to avoid them, and tossed a air-depth charge in her direction. It exploded, knocking her off balance. There was a catwalk like structure ahead, and she grabbed it as she flew past. She turned off her pack and stood on the catwalk staring at me floating far enough away. I scratched my head, wondering what she was doing. A thud hit my back and I went tossing towards the catwalk. The big guy must have been back. But so soon? My jet pack was damaged, so I glided towards the catwalk where Mandy was waiting for me. First though, I turned briefly around and fired the harpoon gun at him. The harpoon went straight through his chest and imbedded itself there. He gargled a bit, then vanished.

"Player Three Eliminated." the Simulator chimed. The big guy would now be down on the ground, able to watch the rest of the game, but unable to influence it.

I landed on the catwalk opposite Mandy and she lunged at me. I parried but she continued her ruthless assault. She stuck a knife into my shin and I groaned. I punched her face and she toppled off the side. If she landed on her head or neck, she would be eliminated. However she grabbed the handle of her knife, still in my shin, and we both went down. We tossed about in midair, falling faster and faster, before we both hit the ground. I landed in a roll, absorbing most of the impact, as did she. We both stood up quickly and fought some more. She pulled the knife out of my shin, and pressed it against my throat.

"Now you die!" she screamed at me.
"Sorry, but not today." I told her. There was a metal bar beside my head. I picked it up and bashed her head in.

"Player Two Eliminated." The arena vanished, and Mandy was on the floor craddling her head.
"It hurts..." she moaned.
"It shouldn't hurt that much. The settings are low." I told her.
Tears streaked down her (actually the Riddler's) face. "It hurts so much.."
I came to the conclusion that the big guy had exited the game, and adjusted the pain settings. Why? I had no idea.
Gord Demchuck, an older fellow I know, ran up to her. "Are you all right?" he asked. (Becauase Gord wasn't plugged in, he couldn't see the characters or settings. Only SimGrams of our true forms)
"She's fine." I told Gord. "She's just a simulation."
Gord scowled at me. "Look what you did to her!"
"How did you get in here??" I pressed him. "There was a 'Do Not Disturb' sign up!"
"I thought you were up to no-good, so I came to see. And I was right!" Gord shouted. Then he caught sight of the big guy lying some ways off on the ground dead (simulated, of course. If he had left the game, his character would be dead) "Oh my God! You've killed him."
"It's a simulation!!" I told him. "He's fine!"
Gord pulled out a cell phone and pressed a button. "Yes, get me a warrant for Steven Ferguson's arrest. The charges being murder and assault."
"Gord, look, he's alive and she's fine!" I yelled.
Gord took the big guy's pulse. "He's stone cold and there's no pulse."
I really began to get pissed now. "Look, SimGrams don't give off body heat, and don't have pulses!"
Gord went outside and I followed him (still in my sim form). A group of police in black clothes ran into the Simulator past me. Gord was rip roaring mad. "How could you do this??"
"What don't you understand?? Look, watch." I told him. "Simulator, close all simulationsssssss......" My SimGram vanished as the final word was being spoken.
I opened my eyes in my cubicle and immediately charged out of the Simulator again, and into Gord. Now, he was talking to some investigator. "Look Gord, see? I was a SimGram, and now I'm not. And those other two are fine!"
Gord fixed me with a steel gaze. "The girl is still in pain."
I sighed. "That's the Lasting Effect. It wears off in a minute. Same thing happens if you dream you're being hit in the ribs and you wake up, you can still feel it to a degree. The exact same." I couldn't believe I had to put up with this.
Gord ground his jaw. "The other guy is still dead!"
I felt the blood drain from my face. "That's impossible. It's physically impossible. You can't die from pain, and the settings were low while he was still in the game."
The police grabbed my arms and bound them in an electric bind of some kind. An inspector began to read me my rights.
That's when it hit me. "No, he messed with the settings! The body, it's still a SimGram!! It's still a simulation! Cut the power to the Simulator!" The police began to drag me away, despite my trying to get to the Simulator power controls. "Cut the power!! They're trying to frame me!! Cut the power...!!!"

And I woke up. I suddenly remembered I hadn't actually invented anything, and I had just been to a wedding last night/this morning. Wendy Tarling, a secondcounsin of mine, had married. All three Tarlings had married this summer, which I found quite humourous.
And I must thank the DJ profusely for playing "Desire" for Doug and I before we had to leave. I can't wait until Gramma gets the photos developed of everyone watching Doug, Dad, and I dance to "Desire", by ourselves on the dance floor. But we didn't care.

"And the fever when I'm beside her, desire, desire, baby."
:: Steve Ferguson 1:15 PM [+] ::
...