Author: john wick

Someone asked me to post all the stories I’ve written so far for Neopets. While I can’t quite do that (they’re not all up yet), I can post the ones that have gone live. Here they are:

Trickster Llugh: http://www.neopets.com/neopedia.phtml?neopedia_id=176
Ghoul Chasers: http://www.neopets.com/neopedia.phtml?neopedia_id=174
Petpet Rescue: http://www.neopets.com/neopedia.phtml?neopedia_id=175
Niten Hiroru: http://www.neopets.com/neopedia.phtml?neopedia_id=181

(Just had a very long lunch/conversation and I. AM. FULL. But there’s still room for Pink’s!)

PS: There’s a prize for the first person to find all the “Wickisms” in the stories. There’s a few of them… 😉

http://www.neopets.com/neopedia.phtml?neopedia_id=181

Go check him out.

Listening to Radio Margaritaville and heard this line:

“I am what I am ’cause I ain’t what I used to be.”

Just thought I’d share that.

I think the worst thing about a divorce is that it never goes away.

Walking through the video store, I see something I know she’d like. The reflex is: pick it up and buy it. Then, you remember. All in the span of a heartbeat, you get the elation of being in love and married, the heartbreak of remembering the break-up, the despair of being alone, and the anger that comes with it — no matter how much you both believe it isn’t anybody’s fault. It’s like a quick fix emotional rollercoaster.

I tell myself I’ve been here before. That I’ve dealt with this before. That I’ll get over it. The emotions are raw now, but they’ll fade.

Then again, I never promised someone I’d never love anybody but them before.

Before I met her, I believed love was a short-term thing. It’s like everything else: it’s born, it lives, it dies. Then, I met Jenny, and I changed my mind about everything. Was willing to give up everything to be with her.

I did. Gave up everything. And it wasn’t enough. And she told me, “Love is like everything else. It’s born, it lives, it dies.”

Now I know. But, do I go into another relationship knowing it won’t work, that it’s doomed from the start? There’s a very romantic aura about that notion. I’m still not sure if it’s true.

One cold night in December, I had this on my iTunes, set for repeat. I do that a lot. Listened to it over and over and over again. I wasn’t exactly sure about the cryptic lyrics, but it seemed like the right thing to be listening to.

Just recently, I found http://audio.msk.ru/waits/main.html. Bootlegs. So, I listen to each one until I stumble across a live version of the song. In the intro, he says, “It’s a song about suicide.”

All those emotions rush back to my head, and I have to head out of the office for a second. All those crypic lyrics suddenly come clear. Takes me a minute to recover, but I’m all right.

It never got that bad — but it was bad. Funny how I found that song out of all of them. Over and over and over again. Four months ago, there was no chance. That song made me weep, and I couldn’t even tell you why. So, I made it mine. Memorized it. Learned to sing it. In a funny way, I guess I knew what it was about, and faced it, conquered it, and wore its skin. Now, I can sing it and smile while I do.

Anyway, you can never trust what Mr. Waits says about his songs. After all, he lies about his past.

Tango ‘Til They’re Sore

Well you play that tarantella all the hounds will start to roar
The boys all go to hell and then the Cubans hit the floor
They drive along the pipeline, they tango ’til they’re sore
They take apart their nightmares and they leave them by the door
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I’ll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
And send me off to bed for evermore

Make sure they play my theme song, I guess daisies will have to do
Just get me to New Orleans and paint shadows on the pews
Turn the spit on that pig and kick the drum and let me down
Put my clarinet beneath your bed ’til I get back in town
Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I’ll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
So send me off to bed for evermore

Just make sure she’s all in calico and the color of a doll
Wave the flag on Cadillac day, and a skillet on the wall
Cut me a switch or hold your breath ’til the sun goes down
Write my name on the hood, send me off to another town, and just
And just let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
Tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
Will you send me off to bed for evermore

Fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or Better on a blanket by the stairs
I’ll tell you all my secrets, but I lie about my past
Send me off to bed for evermore, send me off to bed for evermore

So, it’s Mr. Walker’s turn to come out to play tomorrow, and he’s got a few new tricks up his sleeve. He’s been saving up that XP for two very cool thingies, one I had to get permission to use.

Hopefully, it’ll come in handy tomorrow. I don’t expect any violence, but you never can tell when some pack of Elders is lurking outside the game, looking to knock off a Neonate or two. Now, if I can just convince the ST that Acute Senses: Sight is worth two bonus Traits when Walker fires that gun of his, I’ll be hunky dory, bidding… let’s see… oh, just a whole ton of Traits. Just enough to protect my friends. One in particular.

I can’t wait!