It's all part of the plan

I open my eyes and look up to see a brand new day. I sit up in my bed stretch and yawn. I am not a morning person. Walking across the room I grab my robe and head downstairs. Do I want eggs or pancakes? Eggs, I definitely want some eggs for breakfast. I grab some eggs from the fridge and scramble them. I warm up some toast and pour myself some orange juice. The smell of eggs and toast in the morning is wonderful. The smell reminds me of when I was a kid and mother would cook breakfast for me.

I walk over and grab my Orange Computers jTablet and pull up the latest news. Once again Orange computers is making headlines. “Yesterday the latest technological breakthrough was announced. Orange Computer’s C.E.O. revealed the Orange Paper device called the jTablet. It is meant to replace the paper notebook. In this video you can see the C.E.O. placing the device in an envelope to show how small it is.” I smile as I realize I am watching this video on the device they are talking about. It is good to have connections.

I put down the tablet and head back upstairs to take a shower. As much as I enjoy spending time at home to clear my head, its in the shower when I have the greatest ideas. The ideas that bring about great change for my company. I turn on the shower and jump in. I love the acoustics in my shower. Maybe I should add a waterproof microphone and speakers in here. I begin to hum a tune that has no rhythm to it. Well this shower sessions is not bringing up any great ideas. I jump out of the shower and get dressed for work. No suit and tie for me, instead I wear jeans and a shirt. Working in the technology sector definitely has its perks and the biggest on is the casual dress code. I don’t think I would be happy if I had to wear a suit and tie every day.

I grab my wallet, keys, and my jTablet and walk to my car. Yes I do have a high paying job that enables me to have a nice sporty car. I drive a Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. This car is a dream to drive. The funny thing is I can’t drive directly to my company. I have to take a boat cause it is located on an island. Maybe someday I will learn to fly a helicopter and then I would be able to commute directly to work. I wonder how much a helicopter costs. I drive up to the parking lot and get out of my car and wait for the ferry. I pull out my jPhone and take a look at the time. It says 7:40 and I have a couple dozen emails waiting for me. I don’t clock in till 8:00 so technically I am not on the clock. I look out the waiting room window and see that the ferry is here.

I guess it is different and cool to commute to work on a boat. Everyone else seems to drive in heavy traffic. My house is very close to the dock so I don’t have to drive far. I really enjoy my short commute. I walk on to the ferry and head to the front of the boat. I always love sitting up front and seeing all of the water. Maybe I should buy a boat that way I don’t have to drive at all.

I sit down and look out at the water for a little while and get bored. Ok maybe watching the water isn’t all that exciting. I pull out my jTablet and pull up the New York Times. Right on the front page is a picture of Orange’s C.E.O. holding the device I hold right now. Maybe this device will change the world. I really don’t give a care. I want to do a little bit more than just change the world.

I notice I am getting looks by people on the ferry. I hear a few people whispering, “Is that it?” “It looks really thin.” “I want one.” Yea actually I really do like this device. I haven’t’ been able to put it down since I got it. Just to show off I pull up a video game and start playing. Oh yea I love to make people jealous. Worship me you little peasants.

The ferry arrives and we all depart the boat. Of course cause I am a manager I leave first with the peasants behind me. I don’t know most of their names cause the company is so large. It kind of makes me sick to actually be around these paupers. Why don’t they find a way to make really good money? We barely pay them enough to live in the area. Not one person who works here can afford a three bedroom two bath house. They are all probably in debt cause they thought a bachelor’s degree would make them good money. They are like rats stuck in a maze with no cheese.

I walk in the front double doors and give the receptionist a dirty look for not saying anything right away. “Good morning Mr. Norton.” She says in her most annoyed professional voice. It is good to be feared. I love having to power to fire anyone at any time. Working at Orange Computers can make some one's career and no one wants to risk their career.

I pull out my key as I walk up to the manager’s elevator. Sometimes I like to take the normal elevator and see if I can fire someone. I usually do that when I am in a foul mood. Which happens quite often. Right now I am hearing rumors that the government is interested in talking to us about our dominance in the MP3 player arena. If that happens then I will be taking the normal elevator more.

The elevator doors open and I step in. The elevator music is always playing something I like. It is like they hooked up my jPod to the system. The ride is short we only have a five story building. I hope that our next place will have even more floors and maybe shaped different than a normal office building. We are the trendiest electronics manufacturer, why can’t our building match our fashion sense?

I exit the elevator and see Liz at my secretary’s desk. Liz gives a huge fake smile and says, “Good morning Dave.” Liz is the best at faking her love of working here. After most people have worked here for a month they despise this workplace. I make life miserable for most. But Liz is very good at faking her emotions. I heard her talk bad about me but never in front. I like that. As long as she visibly worships me she can stay.

“Members of the board are here to talk to you about some special projects you have been working on.” “Ok thanks Liz.” As I walk in my office I see two board members Bob and Bob. “Good morning gentlemen, what can I do for you?” I will just call them Bob1 and Bob2 from now on. Bob1 says, “You have been funneling a lot more money into your special projects basement than usual. And this time your not even telling us what it is.” Bob2 says, “What is the big secret that you have been keeping down there?" I reply, "Gentlemen we have had issues with employees leaking information of new devices on the Internet. So I have to take a lot of precautions on new devices we are working on. Even members of the board have leaked information. These precautions are what keep us ahead of the competition. All will be revealed in time. Needless to say I have quite a few projects that will rock the world." Oh yea I am really good. These losers are eating out of my hand.

"Sorry to bother you Mr. Norton. We will leave you to do what you do best. We are sorry to have doubted you." With that they leave happier than when they came in. They are so gullible. I could have told them that I was laying golden eggs and they would have believed it. Now time to go to the basement and work on my real project.

I walk back out the office and have Liz tell anyone important that I am working in the lab. I close my office door with the words David Norton C.E.O. written on it. I get in the elevator and plug in my special key. I turn it counter-clockwise and a special button with the letter "B" lights up. I press the button and watch the door as the elevator descends.

The doors open up to reveal a security guard named Harvey. "Hello Mr. Norton." I don't reply and continue walking to my lair. The place is full of workers building several structures. In one area I have a bank style vault being installed to hold the precious items I acquired. I have a second office being installed with a very high tech desk with multiple monitors and special controls built into it. It also has a docking port for my jTablet. Video surveillance has been installed all around Skullcrusher island. I have stations being built with sonar and rader monitoring for the area around the island. There is a torture chamber being built on the far side. I can monitor any boat or plane that comes near my island. Currently I have special cargo being transported to this location. When my base of operations is completed I will be able to accomplish my goal of ...

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The Jungle

I get out of my car and notice how much this jungle is different from the world that I live in. I watch as the native people go about their daily lives as if I didn't matter. But I matter damn it. Why won't they pay attention to me?

I walk to their village and when I get there I realize that I am such an outsider. The natives are very active people. I on the other hand am just a geek. I don't have an active lifestyle. I am not in shape. Heck I sit in a chair eight hours a day hoping that I can leave the chair and enjoy being at home sitting on a couch. Now that I think about it I go from bed to car to work chair to car to couch to bed. I don't seem to spend much time standing up.

The environment is so foreign and different. I am really out of place. I don't want to be here but I must. I must learn the ways of these people to understand how they operate. In a way I am jealous of them. I want a simpler life. One that isn't full of complexities of being a geek. I don't want to worry about how slow my computer is and how I am not able to play the latest game. I don't want to worry about catching up on my hundreds of rss feeds that I haven't read yet. I want to be more like these native people.

They obviously spend more time in the sun than I do. I do have Hispanic heritage in my family but I am very pale for a Mexican. Most Mexicans that spend time out in the sun are considerably darker than I am. Heck I am so sensitive to the sun that I find it unpleasant to be outside.

I look at their faces and they don't seem to happy. Maybe they aren't a happy people. I might be idolizing the wrong village. Maybe being like them isn't the end all be all that I am looking for. Perhaps I need to journey to a different village and learn their ways.

I need to get changed into native clothing. I am lucky that I purchased clothing similar to the natives in a shop back in town. So maybe if I don't look like the natives at least I can dress in similar clothing as the natives. I walk to the changing hut and get dressed. Their clothing is a lot more revealing than what I am used to.

I walk up to one of the head natives and ask how do I become more like them. He responds by saying that first I must walk the trail and points over at the far end of the village. He said that the area is full of large predators and once it starts to become dark I should run the rest of the way. The sun is already starting to go down so I must hurry. This is quite a way to start my training. It's funny how my life is in danger on my first task.

I begin walking the trail. The scenery is quite bland with not much to look at. The other natives are quite breathtaking. There are a few out of shape natives but the toned and defined bodies considerably outnumber them. If I could look more like them I bet my life would be better.

One native female next to me is incredibly beautiful. I must talk to her. But I don't know if she even speaks English. I look over at her and smile. She notices and smiles back. "Hi, my name is Tom what's your name?" She looks back at me puzzled. I guess not all of the natives speak English around here. Even in a foreign land girls still reject me. Is that my curse? So I continue on my trail.

The trail has a difficult incline that is starting to burn my calves. It is starting to become hot around here. I can feel my perspiration sticking to my body now. No matter how many times I sweat I just hate it. I sweat way too much. Any time I have a little amount of stress my shirts get soaked. Just walking to the café at lunchtime will get me all hot and sweaty. I have extra shirts at work just in case I sweat too much.

The sun is starting to set. I fear that the predators will be coming out. Not like the Predator that they have in the movies. Those guys are so cool. I love how they have shoulder-mounted lasers. Even if they were talking about movie predators I would still have to run. I am not in the shape of a future governor. I would not stand a chance against one of those.

I start off on a light jog hoping that I can finish this trail sooner. But jogging is not something that I do often. So after just a few steps I already start to feel the pain. I feel like a fat cartoon character who takes a few steps running and looses his breath. I am not that bad but I sure do feel like it. Not only do my calves hurt now but my lungs are starting to hurt.

I notice that everyone around me is now gone. Where the heck did they go? It is getting really quiet around here. Ok now I am starting to get scared. I can hear some rustling coming from behind me. I think it is time to make a run for it. I pick up the pace and start to feel the burn. I look behind me but I cannot find anyone behind me. But I still have that feeling I am being followed.

Now I am in a full on run. I look back again and see a shadowy figure following me. Crap is this one of those predators. Am I gonna wind up as cat food? Ann saw a bobcat while we went camping one time. She was going potty in the woods and was literally caught with her pants down. It didn't notice her but this one noticed me. He was also gaining on me.

I am now running for my life. If I didn't have so much weight and wasn't so out of shape I could easily get out of this situation. Back in high school I was totally in shape. I was at the head of the class in running the mile and sprinting. I wasn't the fastest but I was in the top five. But high school was a long time ago and I wasn't running to save my life.

The air is warm and stuffy. I am having a difficult time breathing. I wish this foreign land had air conditioning. I can feel sweat just flowing from my body. Eventually I know I will be sweating so much that it will start getting in my eyes.
I am not excited to be stuck in this situation. Somehow I am gonna have to make it to the end of the trail. I start rung at full speed giving it my all. I don't want to die now but my body is sending me its own message. It is saying, "Give up fat boy. You know you want to go on a computer while eating chips and drinking a soda." Dang my body knows me so well. Why argue with a statement like that? I wonder if I have more Mountain Dew in the car?

Man I am out of shape. I just keep on running even though I am tired as hell. My face is now pouring sweat and its now getting in my eyes. I wipe my eyes clear and continue. My muscles are tired and sore. My lungs are burning. I struggle to inhale every breath. My whole body is working against me, its telling me that I need to stop. I fight the urge to end it. I take a look behind me and see my shadowy figure catching up to me. My journey is almost over. I have lost to a greater opponent.

Maybe if I hold out just a bit longer. "Sir I am going to have to ask you to get off the treadmill. You didn't bring a towel and your getting sweat all over the machine." Damn, I give in to my worthy opponent.

That was a good workout. I feel like I burned a lot of calories. I look on the machine and it says I only burned 20 calories. Uh that doesn't seem right, I should have burned a lot more calories. I look at the clock to see how long I have been on the machine and it says five minutes. I am totally out of shape. I need to work out a lot more. Eh screw that, I am going to Clicks and play some City of Heroes.

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About

I wanted to create this blog to help me become a better author. I seem to think up good ideas for stories but I have poor writing skills. So I will try writting stories and hopefully through practice I can improve my skills. My goal is to write a story every two weeks for the rest of the year.

These stories will be gamer and geek oriented. I will release them under the creative commons license.