So yes, I am a tad bit proud of what I've done so far and for what it's worth, I'm a little ahead of the curve right about now which is a very good thing. Still, it's hard trying to juggle work, play and Nanowrimo at the same time. It amazes me every time to see people writing more than twice I have achieved in a single week, let alone those that have already finished 50k words within the first week alone. I just have to remind myself that I was born and trained as a scientist rather than as a writer. The fact that creative works flow out of me at all is good enough. The fact that they flow out enough to complete my set daily word count could be considered a damn miracle.

So without further ado, I present to you excerpts of my latest chapter, which was originally supposed to be the second half of chapter 3 but ended up too long for my liking so I gave it a chapter of its own. As per usual, comments, feedback and encouragements are most welcome. Hope you like it.

Another action packed scene!

Emma stood over the spread out carcass, with no hint of squeamishness for what she was about to do. She began to skin the deer with the machete. Slowly peeling and rolling back the fur, Emma amazingly made short work of it. Even though it would have been easier to do it while the animal was still warm, she knew what she was doing. Once a long time ago, during happier times, Emma had followed her uncles hunting. Even though they never showed her how to use a gun, she was taught how to skin the game that they caught. She was no stranger to butchering flesh.

Then Emma stopped dead in her tracks. The cavalier mood of the moment suddenly replaced by a hightened sense of awareness. She had heard something go snap in trees didn't she? Emma held her breath, waiting to hear something again, but she heard nothing, nothing at all. Not a bird chirping, not even sound of insects. It was as if sound had been switched off and for a moment, Emma wondered if she had temporarily gone deaf. She didn't. She heard the sound of a breaking twig again, this time coming from the trees on her left.

With the machete in her hand, Emma slowly advanced to where she heard the sound. When she got to where it was, she saw nothing there, but Emma couldn't have been dreaming. The deathly silence of the woods was starting to scare her. Then without warning, Emma heard a moan coming from the trees to the right, she turned to find a zombie advancing towards her in an slow limping gait. Because they were on a mountain, the terrain was slightly uneven with sparse foilage around. The zombie had trouble trying to get to her. It looked like it was trying harder to keep its balance than it was to try and rend her flesh from bone.

It was that moment that Emma would remember as the defining point in the zombie apocalypse. The zombies weren't scary at all. Their rotting, ashen grey and bloodied faces might shock you if they suddenly pop out in the middle of the night. Yet right here and now, alone in the day, faced with a zombie that was tripping over sloping ground and some leafy vines, Emma had the urge to laugh at the sight of it. It was just a walking carcass, no different from the deer she had skinned a few minutes before. Sure it was willing to kill and eat you, or worse, turn you into one of them, but at the most primal level, it was just a hunk of flesh that shouldn't be up in the first place, like a game that had been shot but not killed, still struggling with its fight or flight response. So Emma did the best thing she was taught to as a child.

She stepped to the side, aimed for the base of the neck, swung as hard as she could and lobbed off the poor zombie's head.

I took a dare out from the Nanowrimo threads. Considering I am writing about vampires, it gave me great pleasure to poke fun out of Twilight.

Emma's lightly tanned skin was not the product of sunbathing, she was born with it. It was possible that she had Latin American or Mediterranean blood in her. Trevor didn't know. Like Emma, he never asked about her past. For Trevor at least it was always about the present and the future. What laid in the past, stayed in the past. People would think that such hidden details would turn people into strangers and put pressure on a relationship, but people are such sticklers for things that don't matter. You can tell more about a person from the things they do right here and now, than you can from the past that eventually defined them as the people they are today.

Trevor traced his finger over Emma's skin. She closed her eyes and let him explore her body, savouring his every touch. She could feel his desire on him as he circled around her like a shark. He was still hungry and not just for blood and Emma could feel it. Then Trevor pulled her into his arms, lightly kissing her forehead.

"You're alright."

"Yes. I did tell you that." Emma said a little irritated. It wasn't the reaction she was going for.

Trevor pulled back from their embrace, his red eyes still intense with concern and curiosity. "What happened?"

Emma told him. She felt that he was more amazed than surprised, somehow that irritated her a bit more. "I have to grow up one day you know. If you're going to need some rest, I can't be the helpless victim all the time. Someone's got to make sure your sparkly lil ass doesn't combust during the day remember? Or have you taken that part out of my job description?"

It was Trevor's turn to be irritated. It was true. When he found Emma, she had been the victim. She had always played the victim for most of her life. When he decided to take her away from the city to be his servant, he did it in part because he wanted to fix her up. Like a wounded hatcling that had fallen down from a tree. He would nurse her back to health. The only problem with wounded hatchlings were that there was a chance that the mother would never accept them back.

That was what Emma's life was now that she was with Trevor. She could never return back to a normal human life and they both knew it. For as long as she would be with him, her light would be forever changed. He hoped that along the way, she might eventually realise that she could be as strong as Trevor knew she was. It saddened him a little to realise that they day had finally come, but he was proud to know that she wasn't being a victim anymore. As his servant, she was perfectly capable of taking care of all the daylight chores before, there was nothing wrong with her picking up new skills that were dictated by the turn of events. Killing zombies was just as important as picking up the groceries or paying the bills, it was just a different set of circumstances. Still, Trevor was irritated so he told her the first thing that came to mind.

"My ass does not sparkle."

For the second time that day, Emma laughed her heart out.

2 Comments

• At November 9, 2009, Naoko wrote:

  *ded of laughter*

• At November 12, 2009, Rhiannon(new comment) wrote:

  I'm really liking it a lot, kudos to you as I've tried writing and gave up on the way, I don't have that much dedication in me.

  The only thing I would suggest is to flesh out the characters of Emma and Trevor, I feel like I don't know enough about them. Admittedly I know that you are only showing a few scenes, and I know it's early days in the story, so maybe I'm fussing over nothing. I'm really looking forward to the rest though =)

  Loving the Twilight fun poking btw, made me laugh a lot

---
Here are some more related posts for your reading pleasure:

• Let’s Drink To The Irish
• Still Sick And Out…
• Excerpts From The Bloody Long Walk II
• Excerpts From The Bloody Long Walk III
• Strong Winds And Roast Chicken…

Still, the fact that I have been able to keep the daily quota is a remarkable feat in itself. More so since this being my first Nanowrimo, I should expect everything. I only expect that I see this to the end regardless of what happens. After all, I'm a competitive bastard with OCD, so losing on your first try isn't an option I handle very well.

In any case, I've completed the first scene of chapter 3, though in retrospect it may very be the second half of the second chapter or a stand alone chapter on its own. Either way, I can fix that later, but for now, excerpts! And again, please do comment or give some feedback. You never know when you might give me a good idea.

Here is the opening scene.

Wisps of smoke began to rise from Trevor's skin. Emma was scared. She had never seen Trevor in the sun before. She would have thought that it would have been a beautiful thing, to have seen her salvation in the daylight at least once. Instead, it was a nightmare unfolding.

Parts of Trevor's face began to slowly crack and peel, as if the very moisture underneath his flesh had already evaporated off and all that was left was just crumbling flakes of skin. The bits that fell off blacken and turned into ash right before Emma's eyes. She panicked and grabbed Trevor's body, bringing it down to her lap. Unfortunately, Trevor was still hitting the accelerator pretty hard. The truck swirved wildly to the side, almost tipping over before careening into the field by the side of the road. Miraculously, they did not tip over, but they must have collided with something when the truck came to an abrupt and painful stop.

Trevor lay across Emma's lap. He could "hear" her heartbeat pounding a million beats a minute, just another useful skill vampires had when hunting their prey. In this case though it was cue for him to try and reassure Emma. Trevor started to get up.

"Don't you dare!" Emma held firm over Trevor's head and body. "You are are idiot Trevor. An idiot! I don't care if you're my vampire master or whatever! You're still a bloody idiot for pulling off a stunt like that! Why didn't you just pull over and let me drive?! It wouldn't have taken us a minute to switch! I told you! Don't you dare die on me and I mean every word I said!"

"I was only trying to…"

Emma cut in. Her rage seemingly increasing with each choked word she forced out. "Trying to what? Be the hero of this story? A martyr to a cause so that you can stick a thumb to faces of your other stuck up kind? Well I am telling you right now Trevor Emerson, you're as stuck up as the rest of them. It doesn't make a difference if you leave me to save yourself or you burn up to save me. It's all about you and your kind's damn pride."

Trevor was speechless, not to mention helpless against the full force of Emma's ferocity.

"You think you're better than us because you're stronger, faster and can do things that no human being can do. But you can't do everything we can do either. You can't enjoy a delicious cooked meal ever again. You can't hold your own child in your arms. And you can't damn well feel the warmth of the sunlight on your skin and live to tell about it!"

Trevor's shame and guilt was rising with every verbal blow. While he may have struggled to think of a response, he couldn't deny whatever Emma said. He knew for the most part that whatever she was true and he hated it, until he felt Emma's head rest against his own and the slick wetness of her face. She had been crying.

"I told you I'd be lost without you." Emma whispered. All traces of her rage seemingly vanished with the intensity of her voice. "Please Trevor, if you meant what you said about me meaning that much to you, don't die for my sake. Live for it. Promise me Trevor, live for me."

All Trevor could do was to bring his hand up to Emma's face and whisper one word.

"Yes."

Here is a tiny prelude to some bit of action if you don't like it being too emotional.

Trevor needed to buy Emma more time, but he needed to make sure that their position was safe as well. If only he could have a better view of the surrounding. That's when he turned around, looked at the truck and cursed again for not realising it sooner.

He made his way up to the hood and eventually onto the roof of the truck. In other circumstances, Trevor would have just done the classic Hollywood thing and helped himself to the roof in one jump, but the sunlight was making him feel weak, sick and nauseous. By the time he climbed onto the roof, he felt like he was going to faint, as if being closer to the sun was making things worse. Trevor actually had to kneel down to prevent himself from falling down.

At least he was on the roof and despite his physical handicap, he could see the surrouding area much more clearly. He was worried for leaving Emma down below at the mercy of the zombies, but it wouldn't do her much good either if he couldn't see where they were coming from. Trevor counted an additional 6 more zombies coming from all sides tallying the total count to 12 flesh eating monsters. Trevor had to make sure that he picked them off with a single shot so he didn't waste bullets and attracted other zombies and he really hoped that they could be killed by putting a bullet to their heads like what was written in zombie lores.

The first few zombies were probably 300 metres out when Trevor let loose the first shot. It should be said that this was the first time Trevor was handling a gun like this. That coupled with the the gas mask over his head and the sunlight bearing down on him, Trevor had trouble aiming for a headshot, but what was left of his vampiric agility still compensated enough that he handled the assault rifle with the ease of a well trained marksman. If there was a time to want to be a blood drinking vampire, an attack from a zombie horde would probably be one of those times.

---
Here are some more related posts for your reading pleasure:

• Let’s Drink To The Irish
• The Darkest Moments III
• Still Sick And Out…
• Excerpts From The Bloody Long Walk II
• Strong Winds And Roast Chicken…

As long as I'm bordering tipsy, the words flow out with relative ease and comprehension. While there might be more than a handful of spelling errors in a system that has no automated spellchecks, I don't seem to mind it at all. Editing my work does come in December and all we need for the month of November is to put it all down into one coherent whole. The result of which is a 6250+ word count and the completion of chapter 2 at the end of the third day of Nanowrimo. Hope you like some of the excerpts I'm putting up. Please do comment/encourage/suggest. I would really appreciate some constructive feedback.

Emma's eyes snapped open as she was awakened by Trevor's gentle shake. Even in the dim light, she could see that his eyes reflecting a deep worry, his mind on the other hand was resounding with a fear she had never felt before.

"What's wrong?" Emma's voice shook with the intensity of Trevor's hidden emotions.

"It's time to go. They are coming"

Emma suddenly bolted upwards, nearly knocking Trevor over. Her face now wide eyed in sheer terror and her heart probably going a million beats a minute.

"Whoa whoa, easy there Em. They are coming, but they aren't here yet. In fact, it'll be a while before they even reach this part of town."

"Then…then how do you know?" her voice still quivering with fear. Trevor sat beside Emma, putting his arms around her.

"Is your brain still asleep or haven't you figure out after all this time?" Trevor spoke slowly and calmly like a parent teaching a particularly slow child "I'm a hunter of the night remember? I sense things that human beings probably lost the abilty to sense a million years ago."

Emma leaned against Trevor burying herself in his cold, dead scent. It always felt warm to her.

"It's in the air. The smell of blood, death and beans. It's very faint, but it's growing more and more intense with each passing minute. That's why we have to go. Now."

"Beans?"

"Yeah for some reason, whatever is coming has this smell that reminds me of beans and Sleepy Haven doesn't grow beans. Don't ask me how or why. It's the first zombie outbreak I've ever faced."

"Seriously. Beans?" Emma didn't know whether to scream at Trevor or laugh till tears came out and her stomach hurt.

"Alright, if you can be pedantic and amused about my sense of smell, you can bloody well get ready." Trevor lifted Emma upright and put her down on the floor. "I don't know how far away they are, but we have to leave this moment."

Emma looked at the time and then turned back to Trevor with renewed hysteria. "But it's almost daybreak! You can't stay up! You'll be weak! You might burn. I don't want you to burn!"

Trevor put his fingers on Emma's lips. "Shhh. It's alright. We knew this might happen remember? Why did you think I bought all that stuff that's sitting in the truck? I'm going to be fine. We're going to survive this." His voice slipped to an almost hypnotic melody. "Now go, companion of mine. We need to be ready. I have left your outfit in the bathroom."

Emma closed her eyes, took a deep breath, nooded then walked to the bathroom to get ready. A vampire's suggestive words may not work on their human servants, but like the odd sources of comforts Emma got from Trevor's unnatural state, he knew she felt more at ease when he did something relatively inhuman. Emma was more than odd, she was broken inside and no matter how much people would have tried to put her back together again, they could never return her to the normal person whe once was.

In some odd way, Trevor felt a kind of connection to Emma's state. Even though he accepted a long time ago what he had become, there was some part of Trevor that still clung on to the remnants of his human self. Emma was the closest thing to a bridge between both worlds. Not a monster, but not quite human either. Trevor would never let go of the one good thing in his existence. Not even until the end of the world. Little did he know that his conviction was about to be put to the test.

This is another scene after they have made their way out of the house. It's incomplete because the original scene was too long to just put in.

His thoughts were suddenly inturrupted when he turned a corner and almost hit a girl that was running across the street. Her face was drenched in blood, her hair tangled mess of what looked like bits and pieces of…something stuck to it. She was screaming. Her face turned towards whatever it was she was trying to run away from. Emma jerked back in surprise, gasping at the sight of it.

The girl saw the truck and immedietly ran towards Trevor and Emma. She slammed herself against the driver's door. Trevor barely making out her blood stained features against the barred windows and the dim light.

"LET ME IN! OH GOD! LET ME IN! THEY ARE COMING! DON'T LET THEM EAT ME! OH GOD! DON'T LET THEM EAT MEEE!" Cried the girl in panicked hysteria, banging repeatedly against the bars.

Emma suddenly recognised the girl's voice. She was Justine Headly, daughter of one of the regular customers that came into the store. Recently, Justine had been coming into the store to buy groceries because her mother had not been feeling well. She was a good customer and a good daughter. Bright and bubbly too, she wanted to be a journalist. Now she was covered in blood and gore, begging for her life.

Emma instinctively reached to open the door, but Trevor had locked it shut.

"Trevor, what are you doing? Open the door!"

Trevor could only glance at Emma. Shaking his head. Justine was over at his end banging on the window so Emma couldn't see what Trevor saw. There was a vicious, bloody bite mark on Justine's arm. If she wasn't torn apart and fed upon by the zombies, she would eventually expire and rise up as a ravenous walking unlife herself. Fat lot of good an armoured truck would do if you invited the zombies in. Trevour wouldn't have that. So he did the next best thing in a situation like this.

He hit the gas, and left Justine behind.

3 Comments

• At November 4, 2009, Naoko wrote:

  Nicely done. Hard to believe that you're doing this for the first time. :D

  The switch from comedy to seriousness was a bit abrupt, but completely understandable. Just wanted to ask if it is supposed to jump from the room to the truck, unless there are words written there that you didn't copy. The change of scene was too abrupt.

  Other than that... good work! You're well on your way. Alcohol and all. :P

• At November 4, 2009, pelf wrote:

  Hmm.. If I was reading that in a Word editor, I would have made those corrections for you, but I wasn't (plus, I shouldn't even have thought about that!). But apart from that, the excerpt was good, really good. You were right, it was better than Part 1. And thanks for sharing a few more paras (after the begging part), also thanks for making me ask for more. LOL.

• At November 4, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  Naoko: Yeah. It's two different scenes altogether. The second one is not even the full scene. They after all are just excerpts. Hopefully that's enough to make you want to yell out "MOOOOOOORE!"

  Pelf: If I was using Word editor, I woulc have made those corrections myself. Hehe. Well, glad to know you're my second alpha reader. Sometimes I get stuck with certain points. It helps to get prodded along nicely.

---
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• What The %^&$$#…!!!

At first, they were calling it a new form of rabies. Then eventually news networks all around the world called it for what human beings all over had only seen on TV and the big screen, a zombie epidemic. Half the world thought it was a joke. Some of it thought that it was the end of the world. The rest could only hear the impending moans and the screams of people being torn to pieces and eaten alive while praying to whatever Gods they worshiped.

Trevor on the other hand belonged to the group that knew this was it for humanity. That it was the big one that could end it all. He knew that if there was ever a time for the world to end, he would forever remember this moment as the time when he was having dinner. Not that it did anything to impede his voracious appetite.

While Trevor unwavering attention was centered on the TV as live news reports filtered in on cities besieged by the walking undead, there he was, he arms wrapped tight around a young blond girl he had went out on a date with earlier in the night. His sharp extended canine teeth now piercing the veins on her neck, engorging himself on the blood that bled from the wound. It doesn't take a genius to realise that Trevor himself was just another form of the walking undead. The irony was not lost on him.

Trevor looked up and chuckled, even though his mind was racing to deal with the situation at hand.

He looked down on his meal. Her eyes closed. Her face echoing with an orgasmic ecstasy that she had just experience. She was a pretty young thing who knew how to flaunt her beauty. It's too bad that she would probably be dead soon.

Trevor laid her down gently on the couch, tucking her in with a blanket he'd found in her room. It would have been a small mercy to drain her dry on the spot, with bliss on her face and the last memory of a pleasant date, but it was a habit that Trevor wasn't about to break. Never again. While she would forget the last few hours of her night out, accounting it to having "too much to drink", thanks to a little gift that Trevor posessed, it wouldn't have helped in any way against the inevitable bloodshed that would soon follow.

In a matter of moments, the young blond was alone in a silent house. She would not find a trace of ever inviting her date inside come the morning after.

_____

Even though it was 2 in the morning, Emma was wide awake working on the bills for the house when Trevor appeared to her out from nowhere. She wasn't at all surprised, let alone startled. She could feel him approaching miles away. Just as she could feel his hunger satiate as he fed upon the helpless girl. Just as she felt his anxiousness and alertness as he was coming home from his date. The anxiousness worried her a little.

"You're home early." Emma's voice echoed no trace of what she felt.

"Turn on the news" Trevor was always straight to the point.

Emma took a deep breath in as she watched the grisly events unfold before her on the news. People were dying horribly, but that wasn't what fazed her. It was the fact that the dead were rising to claim bloodied victims of their own that sent chills down her spine. She knew there were things in this world that can't be explained, but it was one thing to know about it and quite another to witness it happening right in front of you.

Trevor sensed her discomfort.

"You alright?"

"It…it seems so surreal." Emma whispered with a quiver in her voice.

"Any less surreal when you first met me?" Trevor's teased with amusement, but Emma was still too shocked to take the bait.

"This…this is something else entirely. I don't even know how I should react to this. It's like a part of my brain just can't accept this to be real."

Trevor slowly draped his arms around Emma from behind. A comforting hug. It felt warm despite Trevor's lack of body heat. Emma rested her head against Trevor's face, giving herself to the comforts of his embrace.

"Well…I'm pretty real to you right now and you accepted me all the same. This is no different."

Emma tilted her head up with the cynical glare she was known for.

"Ok. So it's a little more different than our usual everyday lifestyle, but it doesn't mean that you can't handle it the same way you've been handling it all for past 5 years."

Emma turned around and wrapped her arms around Trevor's body, holding him tight. "With one day at a time?" Her voice still shaky.

"Yes my dear human companion. With one day at a time." His voice reverberating with a hypnotic calm. Yet Emma knew better. His feelings as clear as sunlight shown through a polished crystal. Underneath all that poised confidence and warm tones. For the first time in decades since he was born a vampire.

Trevor was scared shitless.

It should also be noted that when I wrote this opening scene to the story, I was also drunk and it took me a little less than a hour. I can only surmise that being inebriated makes me care less about trying to find the right words and just lets me express it the way it should be. So of course there is a moral to this part of the story. It's that I should drink more. But hey, I know I can live with that. I'm just not sure my wallet can.

2 Comments

• At November 2, 2009, pelf wrote:

  WOW. That was good! Though I'm not very much into vampires and zombies and blood, I have a feeling this is going to be a page turner. Seriously!

  Well done!

• At November 4, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  The blood hasn't really started yet at this point. Next excerpt on the other hand hints just that.

---
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• Strong Winds And Roast Chicken…

Because I really do, and being a geek, you should too.

Boom de yada.

2 Comments

• At October 26, 2009, WTJ wrote:

  i love them too!!!

• At October 26, 2009, Anand Srinivasan wrote:

  XKCD is making me cry today...I will miss Geocities all my life.. :(

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Of course, the bottom line is that work should never be about trying to make sure you don't end up a destitute hobo. Work should always be about being paid for the things that you love doing to begin with. The only other alternative is being trapped in your own little hell, unable to get out because you still want food in your belly and a roof over your head.

Why shouldn't I love my work anyway? I have a job that keeps having me learn something new everyday. A job that challenges me to figure out what's medically wrong with people regardless of whether or not its your stardard quality assurance programs or something urgent happening in the wards outside. A job which most of the time deals with people in the form of test tube samples and specimen jars. A job gives me free swine flu vaccinations. A job that lets me unleash the mad scientist in me. A job where you get to see the most unexpected things on your regular rounds around the hospital. Things like this:

I know 6 months is too early a time to proclaim I have the best job in the world. I probably don't. But I will say that if I have to work in something for the rest of my life, I want to have the same kind of childish curiosity and excitement as I have right now. It is something to think about when you've been doing it for so long. The fun and games doesn't have to end just because you're a responsible, working adult. It just means we have to redefine what being an adult means for us. Hopefully that isn't just wishful thinking.

2 Comments

• At October 22, 2009, Chibster wrote:

  Sounds like me when I first started working in Gan, Ho & Razlan Hadri. LOL.

  Yay to working in the professions that we love!

• At October 24, 2009, Justin Marlow wrote:

  I wouldn't say its wishful thinking. Do what you love and love what you do. I think its very important to have fun "at work" and enjoy what you do. Ultimately, that will allow you to be the best you can be at your job! :)

---
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"You know, with all the cycling you've been doing, I would have expected you to be a little fitter by now." Rei sat down on the bed beside him, her words echoing his own thoughts. They always did.

"Or I could just get a license and buy a car." Ed mused.

"Would you want to add more things on your plate than you have right now?"

"No, but…"

"Then there isn't any point now is there?"

Rei tends to be right on the money. She was Ed's more practical conscience. "Well let me give you a little more food for thought then while you're sitting there musing to yourself." Ed turned to Rei with thoughtful look, her grinning visage hiding an otherwise cold, ruthless practicality that Ed had grown accustomed to over the months.

"By the time you're done, she'll want to run her hands all over that lean muscle of a body you'll soon have." Rei was always to the point.

"I suppose that's something to look forward to." Ed could only smile at the thought of it. No doubt, Rei would also enjoy that moment just as much.

"Exactly. Now do me one favour while you're ahead." Rei said, suddenly in a serious tone.

Startled, Ed gave her his full attention. "Whatcha need?"

"Could you pleased take a shower? I don't know what germs you brought back from the lab, but I sure as hell don't want it on me with you sitting there all sweaty."

Ed chuckled and begin to strip off his work clothes as he got up. After all, when Rei demanded. It was always best to never disobey her every command.

---
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So far, escapism has the upper hand.

For the time being at least, my mind is focused on two things. My recent advancement in responsibilities at my workplace and the impending NaNoWriMo which I have never done in my life. Both equally monumental in what is required to accomplish them and both equally important for very different reasons.

I know it is easy to say that, by concentrating on them hard enough, everything else would just become background noise that I can easily ignore. If I had that kinda of ability to begin with, I wouldn't be known for carrying a lot of emotional baggage over my back. But for now, I will at least try and see it through. After all, If I can be so adamant in my own melancholy, there is no reason the same stubbornness can't be used in telling you that I am trying to do something more productive.

The only thing I wish I didn't have to feel right now is uninspired.

Escapism does after all take its toll in so many ways.

1 Comments

• At October 7, 2009, pelf wrote:

  I just realized I haven't congratulated you on your promotion. Congratulations! You totally deserve it :)

---
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1. After years of bad timing, barring another crisis that just happens to crop up at a most inconvenient time, I'll be joining in on this year's NaNoWriMo. Not only do I have a story that I've been meaning to write, but for once in my life, I think the story does have an ending to it, rather than another one of my more imaginative fanfics-in-my head that never go anywhere.
2. That new toy that I have? Yeah you remember, the ebook reader? After one week and several books being read on it, it's battery bar only dropped one, out of four. I say it again, best gadget investment ever.
3. I went to a party. I dressed up. I mingled with new people. I danced. Despite what I consider to be way out of my usual comfort zone, I enjoyed having fun with people. This picture should explain all:
   
4. Six months after I started work, I've received a promotion. To which comes the joy that I'm actually recognised for my ability to do the job well with the perks that come with it. Also with it comes the apprehension with the realisation that there are a lot of responsibilities I'm not sure I'm ready for within the next 2 weeks.
5. "Love because it is a luxury, not because it is an excuse." is a wisdom I have since long treasured. Even in the darkest of moments, even the tiniest fragment of that luxury can tip the scales between redemption and damnation. And sometimes, just sometimes, that alone is enough to give you a fighting chance of hope.

Come to think of it, given my luck, now that I've said all the good things, I expect to be jinxed at any moment now and have my world crashing down on me. I guess, when it comes down to it, at least I said it, and in this silence, maybe that's all that matters.

Doing a "Chickybabe" refers to doing a list of random thoughts and is named in honour of ChickyBabe who awed me with her style of writing, especially when she did her set of random thoughts which this is named after.

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• A ChickyBabe For Tuesday
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If only there was a way to take your books on the road without all the physical annoyances or lack of mobility via battery life. Oh wait, there is, and it's called an ebook reader.

Over the years there have been a few ebook readers to take to the market, the most famous of which is the Amazon Kindle. Over the past few months however, there have been more than a fair share of ebook readers being developed and released to the public market. I just happen to get my hands on one of them, the Sony PRS-300, and as the title so clearly states, this is my full, hands on review of it.

The PRS-300 is the successor to the surprisingly popular PRS-505 and the painfully slow PRS-700 ebook readers. Released at the same time as the PRS-600 "touchscreen" reader. This "pocket edition" is a bare bones ebook reader. It is also at this point, the cheapest ebook reader on the market that costs $199 USD or in my case $290 AUD not inclusive of delivery costs. It is about 6.2 x 4.2 inches and 0.5 inches in depth and sports a 5 inch 600×800 resolution e-ink screen which only displays various levels of greyscale. Although that might seem small, the PRS-300 is only slightly smaller than a normal paperback which means you can hold it snugly in your hands. Weighing in at about 220 grams (which is roughly the same weight as a thick novel) and encased in brushed metal with plastic sides, it's not going to feel like a cheap toy either. It feels solid in your hands which personally I prefer more than something that feels like it's going to float away or worse, break.

The PRS-300 can read a variety of ebook formats such as EPUB, BBeB, PDF, RTF, Word and text files, so you'll have no problems accessing your favourite ebooks. Unfortunately though because this is a "bare bones" reader, the only jpg files it'll display are the covers of the books you put in (that's just as well anyway because it'll all be in greyscale rather than colour to begin with). Unlike the more well known Kindle, the PRS-300 does not have wireless access which means you won't get the nifty wireless uploads of books, but that means it's no different than just uploading music from your computer to your reader. All you have to do is plug the reader in via a standard USB cable (which is included in the box and doubles as a charger) and upload all your books into its 512mb memory space. While that might not sound like much space, most ebooks are between 200kb and 1mb big, so that's a lot of books in one reader.

There are no CD's provided to install Sony's ebook Library. All the software is contained within the reader itself. The moment you plug the reader in, you'll get an option if you want to run the install program for it. It's pretty slick that way. The program is just as slick too. All you have to do is add your various ebooks into the library (again, it's much like you do with songs on your media player), once that's done, you can sync your library with your reader and that's all it takes.

However, while running the sync, for some reason, my books kept getting duplicated on my reader. I'm not sure if it was just me, but in the end I opted for a third party program which has more functions that Sony's ebook Library including an ebook format converter that's not included in the original program. At this point, I'm happy with it that way, but you might find it easier to stick with the enclosed software instead.

Now, because this technology is relatively new to the common public, most people aren't aware of what e-ink actually is. Long story short, e-ink is a low powered solution to the whole LCD screen problem. The screen resembles the sort of stuff that you see display cellphones have as texts on its screen. It looks like real paper until you realise that words can appear on the screen and then you still think it's somehow magic paper. But it isn't magic paper, it's e-ink. It doesn't have the glare of LCD screens, which means you can use this under a bright sunlight or a dim room like a normal book and you won't have to strain your eyes at all like a normal book.

Best of all, because e-ink uses less power than an LCD screen, the battery life is supposedly clocked at about 2 weeks or roughly 7500 flipped pages. While I don't have it long enough to actually test that theory out with the PRS-300, but I've gone through a more than book in a day and the battery level still reads as full. Not the same kind of thing you can boast with a smartphone or a PDA.

Now buying ebooks is relatively easy. Using Sony's ebook Library software, you can access Sony's ebook store (which has over 100 thousand books), Google books and if your local library supports it, you can even checkout library ebooks. Although, comparable to what Amazon offers for its ebooks, a lot of the books that Sony offers is a little more pricier. However the upside is that unlike Amazon which is tied into the Kindle, you don't have to be in US only to get the books. If you choose to use Sony's ebook store, you can easily authorise and deauthorise up to 5 computers and ebook devices to store your purchased ebooks. By doing so, if ever your system or reader gets wiped out, you can easily redownload all your purchased books again for free.

The downside to the PRS-300 is also everything that makes it decent. Because it is relatively cheap, its "bare bones" form means that unlike other ebook readers or even its more pricier sister – the PRS-600, all it does is just read books. It does not have wireless, you cannot surf the net with it, there are no expansion slots for additional memory cards, you cannot take down notes or annotations and it does not have touch screen. Personally, I don't really see this as a problem, because even if I read paperback novels anyway, it's unlikely I will start scribbling down notes on the book nor going wireless with a book to begin with, so while it's a nice luxury to have, it's not a must have in my case.

What really bugs me after a while is its size. While I am amazed and happy that I have no problems when it comes to reading books on the PRS-300, it is when I hold it in one hand for long periods of time that begins to annoy me a little. The button placement I feel could have been a little better. Rather than have the omnidirectional scroll button at the bottom, they could have moved it to the side, allowing an easier grip on the reader rather than an eventual cramped hand holding the reader at the bottom.

Again, it's not really a problem if you hold it with both hands like you do a normal book, but as I said, it's a nice luxury to have, and this is one I'm much more used to. However, when you think about the size and what it was meant for, the PRS-300 Pocket Edition does make a lot of sense, especially when you can do this with it.

So in conclusion, is the PRS-300 a worthwhile buy? Well, for a person who has never really owned an ebook reader before and would like to see what the fuss is all about, I would say that it is an extremely good buy, especially since it's got a pretty decent price tag attached to it. If you think you can live without all the extra details that its much more expensive brethren has, again, it is also a worthwhile buy. However, if you happen to be looking for a reader that can read wirelessly read RSS feeds or if you're a student that tends to add notes to all the book reports and academic PDF files you have, then you'd be better off getting the more expensive and larger sized ebook readers.

While purists may not see the point in replacing their page-turning paperback books with a metallic device that reads digital books, this device is more than just catering for the more technologically open minded individuals. It's also for the student that doesn't have all the shelf space to store all the books they want. Most of all, it is for a whole new generation of literary geeks that still loves to take time for a good read whenever, wherever. If ebooks are the future, then everyone's got to start the transition somewhere and the Sony PRS-300 does just that.

8 Comments

• At September 24, 2009, pelf wrote:

  As much as I like having a new toy or a new, sleek digital device to play with, I still prefer holding a book in my hand and flipping the pages while reading it. I know, I'm old school like that. Plus, I pass all my books to my sister (who will take forever to read them) so I really don't have what you called the "limited shelf space" (though she may have it, LOL).

  Thanks, Ed, for the review. Now I know what an e-book reader is :)

• At September 24, 2009, Tine wrote:

  I'd love to give ebook readers a go if I could only check them out here first. Oh well, at the end of the day, I'll probably just stick to the ol' paperback. I'm too clumsy to not drop this :P

  Plus the smell of books turn me on :P

• At September 25, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  @Pelf: Glad to be of service. I live on my own and the only person I share books with is with Mel, even so, there are a few kinds of novels in between that we share in common. Having this at least gives me the freedom to have as many books as I want and at the same time being able to selectively buy all the paperback books I want to collect.

  @Tine: That's the hardest part I thought off before buying this. I couldn't really try it out because it might have been a hit or miss thing. The best I could do is watch all the video reviews and previews about it beforehand. Then I took the plunge. It's more for people who are open minded with the progression of technology and geeks who understand the practicality of the thing. It's not meant to replace the old school charm though, just complement it.

• At September 26, 2009, Photonomikon wrote:

  Thanks for the great review. I'm really in the market for an e-book reader and the new Sony models (300 & 600) fit the bill. Initially I was dead set on the 600 but I was worried about the reflectiveness of the display. Several reviewers mentioned that it might be a problem in certain lighting conditions. I overlooked the 300 because it doesn't even have external storage, much less a touch screen or a bigger screen. It even has a slower processor.

  Lately I've been paying closer attention to the 300 and I realized that this is probably what I need. Key points:

  - cheapest reader out there but very good Sony quality

  - clear screen (on par with the excellent 505?? I hope so) and no reflections

  - 5" should be enough, just a tad smaller than 6"

  - internal storage is more than enough if I think about it, I don't see a reason why I would keep books that I've read on the reader

  - lack of annotations, touch screen and dictionary shouldn't be a problem, after all, regular books don't have those features either

  - slower processor shouldn't be a problem. I mean it adds, what, half a second to a page turn?

  So yeah, thanks for confirming the general idea I already had about the 300.

• At September 26, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  Photonomikon: Usually I'd avoid Sony products because I feel that they are overpriced, but this is one of the cheapest ebook readers out there and for its price, you're getting pretty solid build quality.

  I've never tried the 505, but I should mention that the matte display doesn't have any sort of reflections at all. It's comparable to a matte photo paper which unless you shine intense light directly at it, won't have glare at all.

  Also, page turning really isn't a problem. It does take half a second to flip a page but that doesn't really bother me. It's just as fast as you flip a page on a book from scratch.

• At September 26, 2009, Photonomikon wrote:

  Yeah I avoid Sony too due to most of their stuff being overpriced but somehow they did the right thing with these ebook readers. I'm really impressed and wouldn't have expected that of Sony. As for the Kindle, I will never buy one. I don't need a wireless connection and I surely don't need the Thought Police to steal my stuff remotely.

• At October 1, 2009, Teoism wrote:

  Hey, nice review. I'm too lazy to write a comprehensive review on my own blog for the PRS-300. Figures there's enough reviews over the web ;). Gah, but I like your blue version better than my silver. Mine looks so plain haha

• At October 16, 2009, Jon Walker wrote:

  I too opted for the PRS300 as a very inexpensive and highly mobile reader for "juvenile" novels to be read to my grandchildren. Basically, I use it as a platform for the prototyping of custom 5/6-inch display PDF files created from public domain material downloaded from internet to include embedded TOC and bookmarks compatible with both Adobe/Preview PDF software and the current line of Sony readers.

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• The New Toy
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• Upcoming Book Review
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The new toy has arrived. Review soon to follow. Although in a nutshell I can tell you one thing, I'm never going to read books on an LCD screen ever again because this is a whole new level of wow. So stay tuned.

3 Comments

• At September 22, 2009, Lisalicious wrote:

  Can't wait to read your review :)

• At September 22, 2009, pelf wrote:

  Yeah, and also post some pictures of yourself reading something with the reader!

• At September 22, 2009, Tine wrote:

  Can't wait for the review!! Just from the box alone I can tell it's going to be one sweet hot thang ;)

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That's because regardless of how hard it is to make a relationship work in life, the bottom line for love and relationships are that they are never complicated. They are always simple and straightforward. They always give is options and paths that we need to walk. If anything, the whole deal with love is that it is like lifting an engine block out of a car.

The mechanics of it is simple enough, you need a winch strong enough to take the weight of the engine. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out how to operate the winch or attach it to the engine. It is simple and straighforward enough. However, to commit to actually lifting the engine out of the car is a different story. You might not have enough strength to pull up the engine. You might not be able to reach around to chain the winch around the engine block. It's not an easy thing to do if you have limited experience, but it's still pretty straightforward.

So much like being in a relationship.

What's there to be complicated about love to begin with? You accept and embrace the person you love for who they are, for better and for worse. You complement their actions, or at least work on complementing the facades in which they run their daily lives with you. To which you should be able to find security and comfort in a relationship, your fears and doubt washed away in the words and actions that your partner offers in your weakest moments.

That's what relationships between two people in love should be about. You don't have to wrack your brains to figure out what's what. It's simple enough to understand what exactly to do when you're in one.

Of course, whether you're willing to make those choices and some sacrifices, whether you have the strength to see through the hardest of moments; or whether you are willing to spend the rest of your life with a person who probably has the same kind of doubts and fears about the relationship as you do, all of it, is another story altogether. And in those hard choices to make in love, not everyone has the wisdom or experience to see it as it really is, let alone to see it until the end.

Ultimately, love is a simple thing in life. You give and you take. You share and you embrace. You live with it and you live through it. It has never been complicated and I doubt it ever will. That at least is something to keep in mind through the hardest parts of it all. Take that wisdom from me at least. You'll feel better about the choices you're about to make with your own relationships and that's a whole lot better than the alternative.

You know it's true.

2 Comments

• At September 16, 2009, kenwooi wrote:

  love is simple, yes.. but sometimes it gets out of hand.. some couples don't give and take, that's when it gets complicated.. or maybe one is taking things for granted.. =)

• At September 18, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  That's not out of hand, that's just making things hard for yourself. People often turn uncomplicated things into events that bears more weight than it should.

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Doing a "Chickybabe" refers to doing a list of random thoughts and is named in honour of ChickyBabe who awed me with her style of writing, especially when she did her set of random thoughts which this is named after.

2 Comments

• At September 10, 2009, Jeff wrote:

  I really like the second one. I keep trying to remind myself of that over and over again.

• At September 14, 2009, Edrei wrote:

  It's one of those things that people overlook the most, especially in Asian cultures where status is always decided on how prestigious and high paying your job is, and rarely on how good you are or whether you love it or not.

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"And where do you stand in my life?"

"I am the warm morning sun to your cool night air."

"So we can't exist without the other?"

"No. It means this is why I wake up early in the morning and you sleep so damn late at night."

Sometimes even the most complex of opposites can defy its own logic. After all, when you share a world together in such a way, sometimes and just sometimes you make more sense of it together than you could ever make alone. That's all the reason in the world to keep being the person you have always been, no matter what people say about you in any way.

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