Most people I meet over the course of my life are either gradually forgotten, or pushed into the back of my memory. The kind where you meet them two years later, and scratch your head, go 'Hmm, oh yes, I remember you now, youre that guy from the thing... yeah?' But there are a very few that I never forget, the kind of person you recognise in a crowd of strangers, even after 5 or 6 years. There was this girl, Skye, and I knew her in highschool. She went to my school for only about a month, and we were friends for only about 2 weeks. She was in my cadet unit, and we were both instructors, as well as four others, instructing the new cadets. We'd have little useless meetings, where we'd pretty much just chat amongst ourselves. Thats where I noticed her the first time. She had blonde hair down to just above her shoulders, and really blue eyes. It looked almost like they had their own light source, they were beautiful. she was a little shorter than me, and about 7 months younger. She looked great in the cadets uniform and beret. Her mother was a lesbian, and was very strict and femmenist. Skye lived with her mother and her mother's girlfriend, even though she didn't like either of them. She never really mentioned her dad, except to tell me once or twice that she missed him. I don't think she'd seen him for a long time. She used to tell me stories about stuff that she'd done, or people she'd known, and they seemed to contradict each other occasionally. I figured she was making alot of them up, but still,they were all pretty interesting. Some were kinda creepy. Some were very creepy. She was very witty, and she was always smiling and joking and being sarcastic. She was a bit of a tomboy too, once when I was playfully teasing her about something, she attacked me and easily overpowered me, twisting my arm and kneeling on my back. I think she was stronger than me. Her mother probably taught her that. She was very impulsive too. Even though we seemed like complete opposite personalities, we got along great. Sometimes we'd even hang out after school, at the park near her place, if she was allowed. We weren't dating or anything, just good friends. I think. I never was too good at figuring that kind of thing out. One friday, we had just wrapped up drill practice, and she was in a hurry, she grabbed her backpack and rushed over to me, told me she had to go do something, then before I can even say anything, grabs my shirt and pulls me down and gives me a big sloppy kiss (not my first, but probably the best) and then she was off down the hall. On Monday she wasn't at school, Tuesday either, then the whole week went by and she wasn't there. The next week I was pretty concerned. If I'd known she was never coming back, I'd probably have said something more intelligent or sweet than 'see you later'. That friday afternoon was the last time I ever saw her. Other friends and girlfriends came and went, some I've probably forgotten about, but for some reason I can't forget Skye. Maybe it's because I want to know what happened to her, where she went, I don't know. Like I said, I only knew her for about four weeks, but I still remember her six years later. Every now and then I see some blonde haired girl in a crowd, or walking by on the street that will remind me of her. For some reason she's been on my mind alot these last few days, and I don't know why. I figured I'd write a bit about her and see if that helps. Thanks for reading it if you did.
This morning, I went to the beach, about 7am for a swim. I found a brand new mobile phone in the sand, called a number on it, found out the adress of the owner, and drove over to give it back. It was some teenage girl that owned it, and obviously a very important thing for her. She told me thanks, and I left. Good deed done. Today at the doctor's, I was told that I had strained some tendon in my hip, and I'm having problems with my hernia too. I ran over a kerb on the way home, and got a flat tyre. Then when I went to get some money from the ATM, I was halfway cross the carpark before I realized it was extremely hot, and burned both feet very badly, I can hardly walk due to the blisters. My boss is pissed at be because I haven't been in all week, and don't have any sick days left. Nothing good at all happened to me today. ;_; Then again, I guess its not right to expect good things, but I could've done without all the crap. Oh well, tomorrow's annother day. [/complaining]
I have an operation on Friday 26th to fix my damn Inguinal Hernia. I'm not really worried about it, because its a pretty simple thing, and the surgeon doing it is pretty good at his job. It's day surgery so I won't even have to sleep in the hospital. I'd like to deal with it by just not thinking about it, getting it fixed, and concerntrating on getting back on my feet. But mum, as mums do, keeps calling me and talking about it. She's called to 'confirm which hospital it is' three times this week, and along with it comes the flood of questions: 'oh, are you nervous? Does it hurt now? Are you sure about x, y and z?'. Hmm, yea mum, just like last time you called. It puts me on a bit of a downer about it, but these things happen, and I love her for caring so much. Dad, on the other hand, is busy travelling around Australia. His reaction was 'Surgery huh? Bummer. We were at Bathurst for the supercars last weekend, it was awesome!' No lie, that's what he said. Anyway, I'll be happy to get it over and done with. On a semi-related note, all this time off is giving me plenty of time to write. In the last week, I've been averaging around 3000 words/12 hours a day, and for once I actually like what I've written. I'll update my blog with the results of the surgery on the weekend probably. If I don't, send your condolences to 122 Belvedere rd, Perth WA... Just kidding
The work I do is directly connected to both the mining industry in Western Australia, and the housing boom. It's good because it pays well and has great incentives, but the work is brutally hard, I'm required to work a minimum of 12 hours a day, and in summer they send me into the desert to work on a minesite for three months. A while ago I noticed a funny pain in my stomach/groin. I ignored it for a bit but it just got worse. I went to the doctor, who referred me to a better doctor, who told me I have a Hernia. Now I'm worried. It's a month til my operation, and annother month for recovery. The op doesn't bother me too much, but I have to tell my boss that I'll be off for 2 months without pay. In this industry, that's an eternity. I was expecting a grim handshake and marching orders (fired). But as I tell the production manager the situation, he scratches his chin, and asks me what I can do. I tell him, virtually nothing. I could work in the office, but the office is full of people, no work for me. Then he surprises me. He tells me that I can have 2 months off, without pay. He asks me if I have money to cover my expenses in that time, which I don't. He asks me how much I need. I say at least 250 a week. He tells me that he'll put $2300 in my bank account, I can have the time off, and my job will be safe. When I get back to work, they will recover the $2300 by taking $100 out of my pay per week, no intrest to be paid. Of course, I ask him if he's pulling my leg. After all, they are in no way obliged to keep me on or help me out with money. It's good to know that a huge international corporation can still be so generous. Now I have 2 months off, to sit at home and work on my various writings, projects and whatever else I can find to amuse me. Not such a bad deal I'd say! (I'm looking forward to getting back to work though, when I can! I do give it a bad rap, but I still like to do it.)