The Book of Ashes

Stuff 11:30AM

The potential futures are starting to unravel and events are being instigated as they fling outwards. Flash back to Friday...

Work was work. It finished and I came home. I prepared for our poker night. Just four guys, Crispy the Kid, Doc Holiday, Wyatt Erp & Red. I, Wyatt Erp the banker, sat down with my (chocolate) cigar and began counting out the money. It turned out this years earnings had been good, I accounted for 660 5 cent pieces all up, a record year. I divied this up into 4 piles as Red arrived. He was soon followed by Doc Holiday and his missus Kelly Le Blanc and playing partner Jo. Not too long after Crispy the Kid and his missus Tammy turned up. They were not to happy to see that the Doc had brought along a female to play as the rules had been no females. Anyway we got down to business and began the games. The Doc lived up to his name. He turned up drunk, got drunker and won many hands of poker. He ended up leaving with Jo and a good deal of credit (up 49 5s). The rest of us, verteran players all of us, continued to play into the early hours of the morning. I, not drinking, ended up winning towards the end and came out up 50 5s. Then we parted ways. It had been a good night, everyone had been dressed up a little and played hard. It was a shame I couldn't drink. I have been 3 weeks without drinking now, a record for me since who knows how long. I talked to Char that night. She had just been told she was employee of the month and won a trip up to Auckland with the chance to win a trip to Singapore. She was real happy and just a little drunk.

Next morning though I experienced a diversion of a potential future. Kelly gave me a call telling me that she was breaking up with Damian and wanted to move out. So I went and had a coffee with her (lucky I hadn't been drinking or I would have been hungover) and then we went round the chemists looking for detox kits - I wanted to try cleanse my body out while I wasn't drinking, I thought it couldn't hurt. She just needed a bit of company but today she gave me a call and said she is trying to sort things out with Damian. This was probably to be expected. So Saturday was quite a nice day. I went for a blade, quite hard out, and for a walk up Mt Vic later on. I sat in the sun for a while and read my book and went out for a meal with Gerry to a friend of Gerry's who was house sitting. She cooked up a great pasta and it was all good except everyone was drinking wine and I was drinking juice. You don't realise quite how often you drink until you stop, then its a pain in the butt not to. I have discovered the best chocolates though. They are Guy Lilian (I think thats how you spell it) and they rocked my world. I will have to find this kind again. Anyway got home and watched a bit of tv I think and went to bed

Second 11:43AM

Sunday was also a beautiful day. I got up quite early and went out for a blade which was cool. I gave Bev & then Dan and then Bev a call again and sorted out that we are all (Bev & Jo, Dan, me) going to stay in some place in Wanaka that Di has sussed out for us thats real close to the wedding. Di is our exflatmate from Dunedin who is getting married. Dan & Bev are also exflatmates. I am going to stay Saturday night then go to Queenstown to stay with Dan one night. Should rock. Dan is the one I'm racing up the hill, hope you're training hard dude. So Gerry decided to go for a bike ride so I said go round Oriental Parade and I'll blade with you, but I was talking on the yuppy phone so she took off cause I was too slow. So after my second blade for the day went home and cooked some lunch. Char came over and brought me back the Dune - Messiah book so I gave her another one. Its Jack the Bodiless by Julian May and Dan you have to read that one, it is cool shit, you would change your name to Marc Remillard after reading that one. Anyway since we are totally lacking deck-like structures on our flat we went up and borrowed some of Char's sun. We sat and read and talked for about 3 hours and it was real nice but a little cold at times, roll on summer I say. I then went home and did some house work and Gerry prepared her roast duck meal as she had some friends coming round. They were quite cool and we had some good conversation. I went out for a while to organise some stuff with my sister and get some food. Came back later then went for a jog up the hill. I had to stop and walk 4 times but was doing a fair sprint for uphill inbetween. I made it in 13 mins. I came back down and had just opened the door when I heard my name being yelled out. It was Amy my neighbour who had returned from a weeks skiing holiday. So I went over and talked to her and of course found out that she had started smoking again. Well I am still not drinking. Will wait at least another week and maybe more. I know I can't last too much longer though as I have two 21st's and a 25th coming up at the end of this month. Fi and Char weren't home so I hung round with Amy till they came back. Amy was quite excited from her trip which made me want to go skiing. Damn I wish I had more free time and more money in life. Actually I have just found my instruction manual for life. It reads, and I quote...

""Live life for the here and now, forget about your worries for the future cause they only hinder you...""

I wish I had read that one a little earlier. I have too many books to read and not enough eyes. Hehehe. I should probably put wav files up here so you can actually hear me laugh, that would be cool. Anyway gotta prepare for tomorrow by sleeping. One cool thing though, Dan is considering moving to Wellington as an option - the plot thickens. And so I leave you with this...

If you throw all the right ingredients together does it make something good ? We shall find out..