Thursday, November 23, 2006

Writing and stuff

I came up with a few plots for some short stories and Sarah suggested I run with the one with which I least want to run.

I also know Sarah reads this blog so I'm just going to be my usual self when I announce that particular story is underway, but I'm adding one or two twists to it which will render the typically female penchant for the slightly mystical as a non-issue. And rather than make it some sort of short epic tale of romantic heroism, I'm going to turn it into a farcical comedy without changing the overall plot. I also want to avoid having it come across as a cheap version of As Good As It Gets or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

But like I said wherever I said it, it'll be a cold day in hell before I write a romance.

I'm promising myself to write a minimum of 500 words per day on it so it should be done in about 3 or 4 weeks.

Whilst I was ego surfing google, much to my horror, I encountered something which I should have seen coming, but decided to ignore anyway, which is the modicum of care I took to keep the MSN side of my net activities separate from everything else has seemingly backfired and my nick now appears under the headings of almost every kid I've met on the other side over the last 13 months. They've all added me to their lists of friends.

Anton called me a creep today, as usual, but that's ok. I almost pissed myself laughing during the conversation I had with him. Such a sharp lad. I say one thing, just one thing - even if it's a mis-spelled word that doesn't ring the right bell with him and he checks it out. Today the word was "Font" as in "font of knowledge". He checked that word out to make sure I wasn't sneaking a spelling error in under his radar. He came back and told me I could have said "fount" and thereby not caused him that particular bit of discomfiture. How could I not love that guy? Who else could possibly be so contemptuous yet somehow remain inoffensive at the same time.

Even Dayle had to agree that he's a funny guy and she barely knows him.

I revisited something I did on Amazon about 5 years ago too. It still makes me laugh, and though I know it's sorta sad to say that, it just happens to be true.

http://www.amazon.com/ChatRat-s-blatt/lm/3SK3V1LMP9054

I've also been thinking it's high time I put out another Swamp but I just think I've moved on a bit since then, especially since I barely even keep in contact with anyone who still subscribes to it. God only knows how many bounces I'd get if I put one out now and my preference these days is for blogging anyway. One I put out earlier is really rather good. No wonder I'm in such a good mood. All I need right now is someone to annoy and my day would be so fulfilled. :)

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Bored

I did actually let on to the kids on the other side about that deal with the cops, I just didn't feel like going into all the details. Although they're all fantastically decent kids, I just get half an inkling they're not as enthused about cops in the same way I am. Oh well, no matter.

I have so much to do and I'm verily lacking any motivation to do any of it right now. One of the kids sent me an email asking me to check out something he's put up on the internet, apparently at the behest of one of the other kids he encountered through me. I love networks! But I haven't, as yet, checked out the link despite knowing of its existence these past 3 days. I feel bad about that too.

This computer gives me the shits something fierce now. Every day, something else decides it no longer thinks it's necessary to obey my commands. I've actually downloaded Crazybrowser again in an effort to at least get my browsing to behave the way I want it to behave - that is, until this fucked up and unstable as the Balkans version of Windows Xtra Pox goes and furgles that as well.

Dell are continuing to throw deals and bargains at my inbox like there's no tomorrow and I swear, those deals are looking more attractive every time I arc up this godforsaken bit of rubbish.

I actually considered using the first notebook that ever made its way through the front door here, an 8 year old machine running Windows 3.0. It's so arcane it's quite funny, but at least its word processor works, and last night, a word processor was all I needed. I felt like putting a comedic twist to a hocus pocus crime short story because without such a twist, or any twist come to think of it, the story itself would be so ho-hum it would scarcely be anything more than a vanity piece or a Mills and Boon story without the love affair. It'll be a cold day in hell before I write a romance, that's for sure.

I got a phone call from the mob offering the Cert IV in Training and Assessment which would be the most handy pre-qual in the country to have and would open every sort of door which I would really like to have open. But they're being pushy and I don't like pushiness. Bloody Queenslanders and bloody bloody money-grubbing Queenslanders. A week or so ago, I was giving serious consideration to moving up there to get away from nit-picking nose pokers down here, but that episode at the station with the gang had me tossing that idea in very short order. That's right, blame the kids again. :)

If they were shitty kids, it wouldn't have made an impact, but they're terrific kids and if I can do something positive for them, their mates and all the other great misunderstood and downtrodden youngsters in the area then I'll never be short of motivation again.

Which reminds me of that stroppy cow I met at that seminar early this year, the one who was mortified at the thought of giving the world's teenagers a voice. To the outsider, the impression of teenagers is that they're scatty, disorganised, bad tempered, impossible to reason with and impossible to organise. The teenagers I've seen over the years who are no different from teenagers today are all bursting at the seams to prove themselves and hungry for opportunities to do so.

Sure they speak a different language from that of deadhearts, they're alive and they speak their minds, not this p.c. meaningless mumbo jumbo, I-can-manipulate-you-with-carefully-chosen-wordiness fucking bullshit of which they are rightly sick to the eyeballs. They say what they mean and they mean what they say and that's what I like most about them. No bullshitting or backstabbing. If they're not happy, they'll let you know, but they'll also give you every chance in the world to fix things. They are, no matter how you look at it, better people in every respect. That fat pog at the seminar has the same bullshit lameness disability as every other misbegotten scrote in her profession - she doesn't listen. She tells you what she wants you to hear, and she lives in her own little world where discovering new ways to manipulate people is the main order of business. Fucking troll.

Meh. I'll get what I want one way or another. And somewhere along the line, I'll also get that fucking website going - even if it kills me. I've kept those other marvellous kids waiting for that one for far too long.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Officially teasing

Update 3 of 3 for tonight.

God only knows how many bloody blogs I have now, but this is my 3rd update for tonight and not only could I not be bothered updating the other ones, I've scarcely got any idea where they bloody well are. Does frappr even exist anymore?

Anyway, there are things going on which I put in some blogs and don't put in others which, when I read over them makes all of them sound a teeny weeny bit hollow. The reason I put stuff in some blogs and not in others is because of the prejudices of the various people reading them.

The kids don't want to know about my history with the police which has resulted in one of the longest and most valuable offline friendships I've ever had. I also don't make mention of the kids I met offline over the other side because I don't want those kids feeling like there's competition. There isn't, they're just in two totally different worlds.

I don't feel like responding to questions about the kids from the other side in the other blog so I don't mention them very often there and more people read that one than either of the other two.

But for my own sanity and in some sort of probably misguided effort to put the whole shebang into perspective, the first blog I ever had, this one, shall hereby be the beneficiary of what's what in the goings on in my world right now.

A few months ago, a kid approached me at a train station late at night to ask for change for a phone call. I gave him change. Coincidentally, we got off the train at the same stop and that kid then asked me for a cig when he saw me rolling one for myself. I obliged and after a brief conversation, he asked for my phone number and I gave it to him.

A few weeks later, he rang me up and we met up at the station again.

We've met up quite a few times since then and together with one of his friends, we've spent a lot of very relaxed time together. Through this association, I've also met half a dozen of his other friends and meeting up at the station has become a regular occurence. I draw the line at meeting at my place because, like with all of my friends, when I'm at home, I don't mind going out but home is where I go to get away from everything and everyone and I need that space to remain one where I can be sure I won't have people invading - no matter how much I enjoy their company. The unspoken law, therefore, is my place is off limits to everyone. I won't be happy if someone lobs on my doorstep unannounced and odds on I'd pretend to not be home anyway.

Tom is 17, his constant sidekick, Ahmed, is 16. The others range in ages from 17 to 20 and I enjoy being around all of them singularly or in the group. We just all get along so well and it's always just so relaxed, easy and comfortable - sitting under the trees at the station.

I'll just note here that all these kids are well known to the local constabulary for all the wrong reasons. So they're not what the deadhearts would call "nice kids". They're not "nice", they're fairly wild, tough and wilful - and they look it - and I adore them.

I recruited Tom and Ahmed one night a couple of months ago to engage in a spot of judicious burglary and theft which they did with admirable professionalism. They stole everything I said they could steal and didn't touch anything else. They also made a very tidy profit out of it. And no, it wasn't any sort of insurance or any other kind of scam either. It was a sitting duck waiting to be knocked off by someone and I just made sure we were first. Hey, I never said I was an angel. I can be bad to the bone when the mood suits me.

Moving right along, a month or so ago, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and as a result, I got pulled in by some city cops with a few other people who were also in the wrong place at the wrong time. We all got searched and my wallet just happened to contain a credit card belonging to a friend of mine so I came in for some special attention. Before I was able to prove that I hadn't stolen George's credit card, I was being treated by these cops as a lying thief. Two of the cops stayed in the background, one behaved like a shithead, but the acting sergeant was a decent bloke so I made a point of getting his details and after a couple of days, I got in touch with him to point him in the direction of some crew of which I'm aware who would be something of a challenge to wrap up.

Gently testing the waters, it's pretty clear if this cop is going to have a hand in wrapping up this crew, they're going to need a contact to do the legwork because referrals from peripheral contacts like me won't get anywhere. I know one minor member of this gang and that's not enough even for me to be introduced to any other member. I have no chance of introducing anyone else to anyone at all.

Now, because this is heavy stuff, I have a need to cover my own arse, therefore I got in touch with my old cop mate from years ago who was only too pleased to see me. Mick was the one who set me up in a hotel with a recording device strapped to my body in order to catch a serial pedophile - way back in 1998. Mick knows me and he knows how touchy I am about having my name splashed all around police headquarters and he knows which groups I trust and those I don't. I gave him the name and unit of the acting sergeant to whom I gave the info on that crew from up north but Mick sees no reason to get in touch and asked me explicitly to keep a low profile as far as contact with police is concerned because he has some things in mind for which he will be glad to have my help. Of course, everything I do with the other cop, he will be kept up to date as and when anything happens. The other cop knows I have a contact and is just going to have to content himself with the fact I won't drop Mick's name to him.

Mick is also particularly useful in that if Tom or his mates get into trouble with the cops and I get to hear of it, there's a reasonable chance I can get them off with a caution - depending on what it is.

Shoot forward to today, or more correctly, yesterday; I bumped into the guys yesterday at the station as I was coming home from work and after the others left, Tom and I discussed this notion I had of using my contacts and local knowledge to get a job as an employment consultant in one of the employment agencies established for the benefit of those on welfare. Tom liked the idea when I told him earlier in the week, and yesterday he liked it even more. I'm likely to get a temporary gig leading up to Christmas but after Christmas when demand for employment consultants goes up sharply, that's what I want to do.

So now, I'm waiting for the city cop to let me know whether or not his crew is going to have a go at wrapping up the gang up north whereupon I'll update Mick on the progress of that venture. I'm waiting to see if I get this gig up to Christmas, thereafter to launch into a long term career which I can conceivably use to launch the professional lives of a bunch of great young people whom I can see getting nowhere without the sort of help I'd be only too keen to give them. (Criminal records don't look good on anyone's resume, but referees with industry contacts can overcome many a major stumbling block.)

I'm also waiting for Mick to get in touch as he said he would after this G20 fiasco in the city this week.

There is much to do and I hate waiting. But at least I've tied these three blogs together so that's something I can say I've done.

My graffiti.net email addy gets emails from two MSN groups updating me on the latest activity in the groups. I can't get that addy out of the groups because I can't log in to groups using chatrat@graffiti.net and since I'm not a member of P&A with any other addy, I can't see what's going on in there any more because I can't log in. I did note with a wry smile, however, that my last entry in P&A, the Can't Fucking Stand it Any More thread, is still active. I wonder if it has become the battle ground for those who can still see a ChatRat nick in the member list who use that to convince themselves and others what a dreadful liar I am versus those who don't think any such thing, if it has become a battleground over whether or not Bong should be allowed to keep doing what he's doing which bugged the living shit out of me and was the reason I quit Philochat as well - or if it has just become yet one more dumping ground for that demented fuckwit and his youtube links...

Whatever is going on with that thread though, I know one thing for sure: no matter who says what, the whole sodding mess of a thing just would not interest anyone of the calibre of any one of those kids I know either in rl or on the other side. The whole thing would just be beneath all of them and that is yet one more reason in a very long list of reasons why I so much prefer interaction with them than with the likes of those legally defined as adult fucking retarded jackasses.

I'm sick to the back teeth of having to watch my back, side with anyone, be careful of double entendres and innuendo which is usually taken the wrong way, misunderstandings which invariably leads to unbelievably inane mud slinging or just general manipulation and dodging - and all the other concommitant bullshit that goes with groups of people who just cannot accept differences of opinion as anything other than personal confrontations.

If I disagree with the kids or they disagree with me, we have a laugh and talk about something else. If it were a contest between the kids and the deadhearts for my time, it'd be the shortest contest in the history of contests.

So, with a head full of steam and my generally impatient disposition, I find myself awaiting the new year in keen anticipation of making a real difference to as many youngsters as it may be within my power to make. And without MSN Groups to hold me back, I also intend to build more contacts with people on the internet with whom I share common interests without competition or distraction. With any luck, I'll have more (and more interesting) things to share with my readership of 2.5 here at blogger.

(Waves to the ladies...)

Enjoy your week, mine's shaping up to be huge. :)

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Must do more.

This week has been pretty good as far as I'm concerned.

I mentioned last month how I'd caught up with a couple of people I met at a train station way back earlier in the year and I've spent a couple of days with them this week. I was also introduced to a few of their mates on Friday night and it was all just brilliant.

I got inspired.

Rather than plod around as I have been doing for the last 8 months or so, I've decided as of Friday night, that I'm going to go after an office job where I can be a real help and influence to people who have none. I have to get a certificate, then I'm going to bully my way into the state run job network, hopefully with the Salvation Army, and get jobs for these people, jobs they can actually do instead of just setting them up to fail.

By "jobs they can actually do" I mean jobs of which they're not just physically capable of doing, I mean jobs around which they can wrap their heads and their hearts and jobs in which they can stay.

I have contacts and I intend to make the best of those contacts.

Years ago, I wrote an article declaiming the value of talk and decrying the top-down mentality of fuckwits in ivory towers thinking they can run businesses and people from their gilded little plastic box offices. In January of this year, I attended a seminar on communication wherein I outlined my plan to build Infoburger, a resource and outlet for schoolies. I still haven't done that - my machine has been cactus as far as apps go for about 3 months now - but there's a renewed sense of urgency now.

All this isn't just because I've spent a couple of days this week adding up to about 9 hours in the company of teenagers, but last night I was reading a book about the entrenched corruption in the New South Wales police service between 1997 and 2003 and one of the catalysts for a state government cabinet shake-up and the removal of the Commissioner of Police - was a 17 year old junkie heroin dealer from Cabramatta, the heroin capital of Australia.

It further cemented my already pretty rock solid belief in the capacity of young people to make a massive difference to everyone if they only have the support and guidance of decent people. I just don't have the words to convey how fundamentally essential young people are to the health and well being of society and reiterate here for the umpteenth time that old fucks ignore young people at their own peril and to the ultimate detriment of everyone.

I sat around at the train station with half a dozen teenagers on Friday night til about 10pm and we all swapped stories of police behaviour towards them. I knew full well that if a roving cop car happened to pass our group just sitting there talking, they'd have questioned all of us and I'd have been fucked.

They all have convictions for property crimes and crimes of violence so they're all well known to the cops, but I tell you straight from the heart that I felt so in my element, so relaxed and comfortable just sitting there talking and laughing with these kids, and if old fucks just shut up and listened to them, they couldn't help but feel the same way as I did about those kids on Friday night.

Then reading that book on police corruption yesterday put the icing on the cake. I'm not just going to convince anonymous web dwellers of the inordinate value of these kids, I'm going to convince employers of their value and I'm going to have those kids prove to themselves their own intrinsic worth and hopefully, in the process, send as big a "FUCK YOU" to the hoards of deadhearts who put their heads down and scowl when they see groups of young people congregating at train stations late at night.

They each have one talent. Everyone has one special talent, mine's communication with anyone who is honest with themselves and with others. I can't handle manipulative sons of bitches who point score with bullshit and innuendo. (Just getting off topic there for a moment...) But these kids all have one talent as well. I have to find out from them what that talent is so they can put it to better use than just talking about it in places where they're likely to upset the deadhearts and the law.

My blood is up something fierce just now and I have to run off to catch up with my cop mate who needs to know what I'm doing, what I intend and how I intend to go about it. That, and we're cooking up a good bust as well - but that's another story for another day.