Deepayan/Uberhero/Confidence Man/Cleo/Eric/other personalities to be added later
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Transit quotes
On my way home today, I had the (mis)fortune of sitting within hearing distance of two ditzes on the Mississauga Transit bus. While most of their conversation revolved around who liked who and (I suspect, because this was never said explicitly) who's banging who. There was, however, this little nugget ensconced in their conversation.
Ditz 1: You know, Singapore's a lot like Canada
Ditz 2: What's a Singapore?
Me (thinking): You cannot be serious
Ditz 1 (oblivious of friend's question): You know, they're all the way in the east and stuff, but they've got skyscrapers and everything
Ditz 2: Oh, it's a country?
Ditz 1 (continuing to barrel on): I expected that it'd be, like, people going lalalala and it'd be sandy, like that movie
Ditz 2: Aladdin
Ditz 1: Yeah, like Aladdin. But it wasn't like that; they're got skyscrapers and everything. They're almost like Canada.
Me: mentally banging head against hard wall
¶ 7:28 PM 2 Comments
Ditz 1: You know, Singapore's a lot like Canada
Ditz 2: What's a Singapore?
Me (thinking): You cannot be serious
Ditz 1 (oblivious of friend's question): You know, they're all the way in the east and stuff, but they've got skyscrapers and everything
Ditz 2: Oh, it's a country?
Ditz 1 (continuing to barrel on): I expected that it'd be, like, people going lalalala and it'd be sandy, like that movie
Ditz 2: Aladdin
Ditz 1: Yeah, like Aladdin. But it wasn't like that; they're got skyscrapers and everything. They're almost like Canada.
Me: mentally banging head against hard wall
¶ 7:28 PM 2 Comments
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Uberhero Exclusive Sneak peek
And now, a passage from Deepayan the Uberhero's unreleased new story, Survival.
Suddenly, there was a thump on the roof. Silence fell on the group fast, in a way that only fear could facilitate.
"We-werewolves?" Stan stammered
"Has to be," Bruce growled in a low voice, "the roof's wood. Wood stops vampires."
The thumping was getting more insistent at this point, accompanied by snarling. The roof, while supported with thick beams, would not hold for much longer. While the thumping seemed random, Bruce had fought enough of these creatures to know that what they were actually looking for was the weak spot in the roof. Until the thumping concentrated onto one spot, Bruce knew he had time. "Harpoons," He hissed at Stan, "get my harpoons."
"What good are they" Stan began
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO QUESTION, DAMMIT!" Bruce roared, and immediately regretted. The werewolves had definitely heard, because they paused their thumping for a minute. All was quiet; then a paw broke through the roof near Bruce's head as one werewolf used his claws to splinter through the wood.
Shit, Bruce thought, these wolves aren't out to convert. They're out to feed.
"Go" He hissed at Stan, and stan silently scampered to the storeroom were everyone had kept their weapons. The group's argument of the evening now seemed dangerously petty, for it was the verbal attacks that had made Bruce decide to take all the weapons in the first place.
No time for that now. Gotta kill some wolves.
Bruce grabbed his left thigh and pulled away as the werewolves worked the hole, getting it bigger. Stan returned with the harpoons, his face drained of all color. Wordlessly, Deborah reached out and grabbed one of them. The others followed suit.
Bruce continued to stare upwards, his hand grabbing his left thigh. The hole was big enough now for him to get a good look at the lead wolf; another couple of solid hits and the room would be werewolf-infested.
Crack. Another piece of wood came flying down. Bruce gripped his thigh more tightly. The lead wolf, impatient with his crew's speed, snarled down the hole, coiling himself for a jump.
Bruce tensed himself, feeling the first jolts of adrenaline starting to enter his system. He waited for the werewolf to commit to the jump.
The wolf launched himself.
At the same instant, Bruce pulled his hand away, still gripping his thigh. There was a tearing sound as velcro gave way, and suddenly a gun materialized in his hand. Bruce dove right, both his hands gripping the gun, pumping bullets into the wolf as they both dove to the ground.
The other wolves followed their leader down the hole.
And another battle began.
Let me know what you think
¶ 7:25 PM 0 Comments
"We-werewolves?" Stan stammered
"Has to be," Bruce growled in a low voice, "the roof's wood. Wood stops vampires."
The thumping was getting more insistent at this point, accompanied by snarling. The roof, while supported with thick beams, would not hold for much longer. While the thumping seemed random, Bruce had fought enough of these creatures to know that what they were actually looking for was the weak spot in the roof. Until the thumping concentrated onto one spot, Bruce knew he had time. "Harpoons," He hissed at Stan, "get my harpoons."
"What good are they" Stan began
"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO QUESTION, DAMMIT!" Bruce roared, and immediately regretted. The werewolves had definitely heard, because they paused their thumping for a minute. All was quiet; then a paw broke through the roof near Bruce's head as one werewolf used his claws to splinter through the wood.
Shit, Bruce thought, these wolves aren't out to convert. They're out to feed.
"Go" He hissed at Stan, and stan silently scampered to the storeroom were everyone had kept their weapons. The group's argument of the evening now seemed dangerously petty, for it was the verbal attacks that had made Bruce decide to take all the weapons in the first place.
No time for that now. Gotta kill some wolves.
Bruce grabbed his left thigh and pulled away as the werewolves worked the hole, getting it bigger. Stan returned with the harpoons, his face drained of all color. Wordlessly, Deborah reached out and grabbed one of them. The others followed suit.
Bruce continued to stare upwards, his hand grabbing his left thigh. The hole was big enough now for him to get a good look at the lead wolf; another couple of solid hits and the room would be werewolf-infested.
Crack. Another piece of wood came flying down. Bruce gripped his thigh more tightly. The lead wolf, impatient with his crew's speed, snarled down the hole, coiling himself for a jump.
Bruce tensed himself, feeling the first jolts of adrenaline starting to enter his system. He waited for the werewolf to commit to the jump.
The wolf launched himself.
At the same instant, Bruce pulled his hand away, still gripping his thigh. There was a tearing sound as velcro gave way, and suddenly a gun materialized in his hand. Bruce dove right, both his hands gripping the gun, pumping bullets into the wolf as they both dove to the ground.
The other wolves followed their leader down the hole.
And another battle began.
Let me know what you think
Thursday, June 07, 2007
On being 21
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you feel
All this you can leave behind
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you feel
All this you can leave behind
- Walk On, U2
¶ 5:21 PM 0 Comments
Wow. I haven't written a blog entry in a long time. Well, what better occasion to break the drought than my birthday? Well, belated at this point; I turned the mythical 21 three days ago, ushering in a new year of my life by sneezing and sniffling, visiting my doctor and running family errands. Yes, I'm a maniac. No, I don't know how I'm going to sustain this crazy lifestyle when I get older.
It is a bit of a personal milestone to have reached 21; there were times during my dark days when I thought it was destiny that I'd be dead before now.(based on a statistic my Grade 10 business teacher told us, that before you turned 21, someone you knew in high school would be dead; a statistic I have had the good sense to question, eventually, but not before I thought I would be one of the dead) But in the end, I didn't have the guts to act on that thought process; or I had the guts to not act on it, however you look at it.
I'm not really sure why, though; I've not really achieved anything, not in the traditional sense, at least. Academically, I'm pretty clsoe to a wreck, with no real idea how to apply anything I've learned into making some money. Athletically, I continue to be a klutz; I haven't even played a sport for more than a year now (Wow; that's something I hadn't even realized until now). Socially, where I'm arguably the most successful (thanks to the internet, really), is nothing ground-breaking. I've got a lot of friends who are good people, but I wouldn't expect any of them to take a bullet for me.
But despite all that, I'm not exactly dissapointed with my life. I mean, I'm not quite proud with the way my life has turned out, but I'm satisfied, in a sense. I have done my level best to treat everyone with respect, I try not to piss people off (maybe unsuccessfully sometimes, but it's the thought that counts, right? Besides, who wants to be loved by everybody; I'm just aiming for ambivalent). I've learnt not to cling to things beyond their expiration date (recognizing the expiration date is another matter) and that you have to choose your battles, but not shy away from them. Most of all, I've learnt that I don't know everything, and never really will; it's tough enough remembering what I do know now. So while I may have gotten not much done in strict societal measurements, I think I have made some progress towards being...mature? grown-up? It would be one of those, I think. I suppose what I'm trying to say is I'm not the same person I was a few years ago, and that, to me, is progress. That regardless of where I am, I'm in a different position than I was before which, really, I think is the greatest achievement anyone can accomplish; change.
Of course, that and a buck 50 will get you a coffee at Tim Hortons, but societal markers of success don't work so hot for me, as I outlined above. I think I'm at a point where I can understand that the white picket fence future may not be in the cards for me (Which, while being a dull, soul-sucking existence, is also the most secure, and security is a good thing to have); hell, I don't even know at this point if my genes are going to get passed on. But what I do know is that there's something up ahead for me. I hope, in a year, that the blog entry I write will be from a completely different place mentally than I am now; that will be the only thing I will really measure for change between now and then. Life has made it a bit of a habit of tossing spinners {cricket} and curveballs {baseball} at me every so often, and I hope my mental change can help in dealing with one of those the next time I face them, but as long as it's not regression, I'll consider it progress. And I look forward to the day I can say I'm proud of the life I've lived; that is what I ultimately strive for.
I'll close this blog entry with another quote, this one from American Beauty, a 1999 movie with Kevin Spacey. The movie's always had a special place in my heart, mostly because it shows that you can find happiness and beauty around you if you look hard enough, but also because of these closing lines to the movie. I understand better now what he's talking about than I did the first time I saw the movie three years ago, but I hope to one day understand it fully (before ending up, you know, like the main character) Enjoy, and thank you for making it this far.
It is a bit of a personal milestone to have reached 21; there were times during my dark days when I thought it was destiny that I'd be dead before now.(based on a statistic my Grade 10 business teacher told us, that before you turned 21, someone you knew in high school would be dead; a statistic I have had the good sense to question, eventually, but not before I thought I would be one of the dead) But in the end, I didn't have the guts to act on that thought process; or I had the guts to not act on it, however you look at it.
I'm not really sure why, though; I've not really achieved anything, not in the traditional sense, at least. Academically, I'm pretty clsoe to a wreck, with no real idea how to apply anything I've learned into making some money. Athletically, I continue to be a klutz; I haven't even played a sport for more than a year now (Wow; that's something I hadn't even realized until now). Socially, where I'm arguably the most successful (thanks to the internet, really), is nothing ground-breaking. I've got a lot of friends who are good people, but I wouldn't expect any of them to take a bullet for me.
But despite all that, I'm not exactly dissapointed with my life. I mean, I'm not quite proud with the way my life has turned out, but I'm satisfied, in a sense. I have done my level best to treat everyone with respect, I try not to piss people off (maybe unsuccessfully sometimes, but it's the thought that counts, right? Besides, who wants to be loved by everybody; I'm just aiming for ambivalent). I've learnt not to cling to things beyond their expiration date (recognizing the expiration date is another matter) and that you have to choose your battles, but not shy away from them. Most of all, I've learnt that I don't know everything, and never really will; it's tough enough remembering what I do know now. So while I may have gotten not much done in strict societal measurements, I think I have made some progress towards being...mature? grown-up? It would be one of those, I think. I suppose what I'm trying to say is I'm not the same person I was a few years ago, and that, to me, is progress. That regardless of where I am, I'm in a different position than I was before which, really, I think is the greatest achievement anyone can accomplish; change.
Of course, that and a buck 50 will get you a coffee at Tim Hortons, but societal markers of success don't work so hot for me, as I outlined above. I think I'm at a point where I can understand that the white picket fence future may not be in the cards for me (Which, while being a dull, soul-sucking existence, is also the most secure, and security is a good thing to have); hell, I don't even know at this point if my genes are going to get passed on. But what I do know is that there's something up ahead for me. I hope, in a year, that the blog entry I write will be from a completely different place mentally than I am now; that will be the only thing I will really measure for change between now and then. Life has made it a bit of a habit of tossing spinners {cricket} and curveballs {baseball} at me every so often, and I hope my mental change can help in dealing with one of those the next time I face them, but as long as it's not regression, I'll consider it progress. And I look forward to the day I can say I'm proud of the life I've lived; that is what I ultimately strive for.
I'll close this blog entry with another quote, this one from American Beauty, a 1999 movie with Kevin Spacey. The movie's always had a special place in my heart, mostly because it shows that you can find happiness and beauty around you if you look hard enough, but also because of these closing lines to the movie. I understand better now what he's talking about than I did the first time I saw the movie three years ago, but I hope to one day understand it fully (before ending up, you know, like the main character) Enjoy, and thank you for making it this far.
I guess I could be really pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.
