Luke's Diary: An Unlucky Man In A Zombie Apocalypse. Entries 957 - 1157

Entry 996: Wednesday 19th June 2019

Entry 996
Wednesday 19th June 2019

Not a bad shift at work today. I didn't see much of Natasha.

I was rather quiet during the car ride to work, despite Gary's best efforts at doing celebrity impressions and telling knock-knock jokes.

During my break I was sat in the little canteen area in the monitoring station when Gary came in, plonked himself next to me and put his arm around me. "Come on Chuckles," he grinned, "Tell me what's up. You were all quiet in the car and you're being all quiet now." "Oh, it's nothing," I said. "Now, come on, Chuckles," said Gary, "Don't give me that. Your face tells a story, and it's not a good one. You look like you've lost a tenner and found a penny. What's up?" At that moment Natasha walked into the canteen and started faffing around with something in one of the cupboards. I turned away and stayed quiet. "Don't mind me," said Natasha, "I'm just looking for a clean glass. You two carry on talking." "I think we'll wait until you leave," I bluntly said. Natasha removed a glass from the cupboard. "Suit yourself," she said, "Luke, you need to be back at work in about 28 minutes." Natasha then left and as she did, I stuck my middle finger up at her behind her back. She didn't see. "That wasn't very nice," said Gary, "Are you in a mood with Natasha or something?" "She's moved in next door to me and Nikki," I bluntly said, "I can't even escape the b*tch when I get home." "Oh, come on, Chuckles," said Gary, "She's not that bad." "You don't know her like I do," I said, "Anyway, what sort of person thinks we should care for infected instead of killing them?" "Well, yes," said Gary, "That particular brain teaser has got me stumped, but hey... What can you do? Anyway, come on. What's on your mind?" "Well having that b*tch as a next-door neighbour isn't exactly putting a smile on my face," I said, "Working here is pretty cr*p and I feel really lonely. I like living in Sandown, but I don't know anyone here. I'm annoyed about Blade giving me this sh*tty job and putting Natasha next door to me, and I'm angry that he hasn't got back to me and figured out who kidnapped Nikki, oh and then..." "Listen to me Chuckles," said Gary, interrupting me, "You've got to stop being so glass-half-empty and start being more glass-half-full. The world has gone to sh*t and you're alive. Isn't that something to put a smile on your face?" "I'm only alive because my Mum worked for ACROBAT," I said, "And she told them she wouldn't hand over her code to blow up the world until they brought me to her." "And you think that's something to be miserable about?" exclaimed Gary, "You should be thanking your lucky stars. Look for the good not the bad. You spend so much time stressing about stuff. Why? What for? Why are you always stressed?" "Well, there always seems to be something to be stressed about," I said. "And there's always something to enjoy," said Gary, "But you seem to forget about that. There's been this big apocalypse and you're still alive in a nice house by the beach with an attractive wife and lovely little boy. You're one of the lucky ones." "Yes," I said, "But..." "But nothing," said Gary, interrupting me, "Listen, Chuckles, why do you spend so much time stressing about things? Why?" "Because if I stress about stuff, I suppose it means I'm thinking about them," I said, "And if I'm thinking about them, I can do something about them." "And why do you want to do something about them?" asked Gary. "Eh?" I said. "Just answer the question," said Gary, "Why do you want to do something about your problems." "Because then I'll have no problems," I said. "And why don't you want to have any problems?" asked Gary. I felt very confused. I had no idea what he was getting at. "Well, I don't want any problems, do I?" I exclaimed, "I want to enjoy life." "Exactly," said Gary with a big smile on his face, "That's my point. You're not enjoying life, because you have problems. You're not enjoying life because you're stopping to worry so you can enjoy your life. What's the point in working so hard to deal with your problems so you can enjoy life, if you never actually stop and enjoy life?" I frowned with confusion. Gary had a point. I never thought of it like that before. "Hmmm," I said, "I suppose you have a point." "There you go, Chuckles," said Gary, "It's all about perspective. Those cuts on your old noggin still look pretty painful you know Chuckles." "I'm OK," I said, "They'll fade. Glass half full right?" "That's more like it," said Gary, "Anyway I've got another knock-knock joke for you. This'll cheer you up. Knock-knock." "Who's there?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Wooden shoe," said Gary. "Wooden shoe who?" I asked.  "Wooden shoe like to hear another joke?" said Gary. He then made a huge belly laugh. He did make me smile a bit. "God, that's cr*p," I smiled. "It made you smile though, didn't it?" said Gary, "Got another for you. Knock, knock." "Who's there?" I asked. "Amish," said Gary.  "Amish who?" I asked. "Really?" said Gary, "You don't look like a shoe to me." Again, this was followed by Gary giving a big belly laugh. My smile increased. "Don't give up your day job," I chuckled. I told Gary that Nikki and I might be having a house-warming, and that he was more than welcome to come.

I thought about what Gary said. In a weird way it was quite profound. I suppose he has a point. I am bit doom and gloom sometimes, and in the grand scheme of things I suppose I am quite lucky. I certainly don't have as much to moan about as others. Feeling a bit more positive I went home from work, gave Nikki a massive snog, told her how lucky I was to be with her and then we had mad, passionate sex on the kitchen counter.

My positive attitude and amazing sex put a smile on Nikki's face, and she agreed to a house-warming and to Mike and Sci-Fi Cyn coming along with Mum, Roz, Richard and Madeline. I'm seeing Mike and Cyn tomorrow in Cowes. Can't wait to tell them. It will be nice for a few of us to all get together.