fossil of the weekend! #35

the original of, new zealand's largest complete fossil skeleton, the plesiosaur kaiwhekea. at the otago museum in dunedin.

fossil of the weekend! #4

new zealand's most complete fossil skeleton, the pleisosaur kiawhekea. the skeleton is on display at the otago museum here in dunedin.

work catastrophe... i think? (museum quest part 1)

it was looking like yet another normal day at work. not the most fun prospect in the world people of the web wide world. security guard duty is pretty dull once you've done it a few times (i'm verging on a hundred by now).

by now i felt so confident about the safety of the museum and its displays that i wander the whole museum. i means the WHOLE thing. no more of this just patrolling the lobby. sure i can see all the major entry and exit points of the place from there, but it gets real boring. especially again cause nothing happens!


i even wander down to collections. all major museums have collections of materials they don't put on display. there's only so much display floor space to put stuff. even if you somehow crammed it all into the galleries it'd overwhelm your visitors! so off into basically a storage/warehouse setup that stuff goes.

ours is in the basement, and the really far back part is spooky as...

most of the excess artifacts and specimens are stored in nice modern metal cabinets and shelving. here in the "original" collection we've got material collected and stored from as far back as the 1860's. these are in old creepy wooden crates straight out of indiana jones or something...

i've been coming down here to try and over come my fear of creepy places. considering my renewed run in with ghosts i decided i had to redouble my efforts at confronting these fears...

i'm not sure why i find it so scary. the fact that you're surrounded by these old dusty, musty, and uh crusty crates as far as the eye can see. i don't mean just the rows of collections either, but they also are piled up to the ceiling. or perhaps it's the fact that most of these haven't been open and had their contents checked since they were initially put down here over a hundred years ago. why you ask?

well any museum worth it's weight in artifact is always accumulating more and more material each year (palaeontology institutions are really bad for this cause one skeleton can take years to clean off properly). the problem is with such limited staff this is often more than can be efficiently examined and sorted many times. often it's just seen once, and unless it's an excellent item, is just recorded and than put into storage.

so yeah in theory each of these crates has its contents recorded somewhere in our records. who knows though maybe they recorded it wrong? or worse yet maybe something spooky and scary has awaken after all this time down here, and is really hungry?!?

okay see what i mean. those ghosts lights from a few months back, and that true ghost this week in the cemetery have pulled a fast one on my imagination. i'm imagining scary things jumping out at me from all over the place now!

after managing to keep myself in the old section of collections without completely chickening out for almost an hour i needed to get back on patrol. sure nothing was going to happen, but best to be sure i guess. after all i in theory had been promoted. not that ms. rhonwyn saw it fit to leave me with more exciting responsibilities to go with, what i have to admit was, a really generous pay increase.

i headed for my usual patrol spot in the lobby. from here i could not only see the whole interior of the museum, but also a nice view of outside. out there the most spectacular, and yet unusual thing was going on...

a thunderstorm... don't get me wrong i've seen plenty of lightening storms before. in the dry flat prairies of alberta we got plenty of such storms in drumheller. so it's not like i'm scarred of them (if that's where you thought i was going with this).

it's just dunedin is right on the coast, and very very very hilly. i asked a few people why we didn't get more thunderstorms (cause it rains here all the time!). they said it was the hills and the coast.

yet out there a full fledged electric light show was in full gear. it was so pretty. back to my earlier insecurity (that ghost really did a number on me i think...) i not only don't fear lightening, i really like it. even the thunder... something deep in me... my uh... well i guess dinosaur instincts... is assured by that sound. i don't know why exactly.

as i was watching mother nature put on a great storm suddenly a different noise echoed through the lobby...

my "cell" phone was ringing. the last few times i've answered this thing as of late it's been nothing but bad news... my agent peter bond confusing the peanut out of me, my cousin larry arriving, and the germ-man daring me into going to the graveyard. knowing my luck as of late it was going to be another call like these...
_
man if only i put money on that!
_
"hello?" i hesitantly asked answering the beeping device.

"traumador! thank the gods!" ms. rhonwyn said relieved. her voice turned to stressed. "why haven't you been answering your phone?!? i've been trying to reach you for almost an hour!"
_
"oh really? i had it on," i thought out loud. than it hit my tiny brain. "oh wait i was down in collections. maybe my 'cellphone' was too far down to hear your call."
_
"hear my call?" ms. rhonwyn sounded a little baffled. okay good. that means i'm not the only one who doesn't get these so-called living "cell phones". how else could they be without wires or cables if they didn't have ears built in to hear other phone's calling them?

"why were you in collections traumador?" ms. rhonwyn's voice was really grumpy. i thought i was busted for sure. i was only supposed to hit the entrance of collections for a few seconds to see that it was still locked and secure.

"uh," was all that came out of my mouth as i tried desperately to think of an excuse.

suddenly ms. rhonwyn sounded almost panicked. "did something happen in collections traum? is everything alright?"

_

"no everything's alright," i answered not sure if i was in trouble or not.

_

"good, good," ms. rhonwyn let a slight sigh of relief, but yet i could tell she wasn't calm. why?

_

"what's going on?" i asked. "why did you call?"

_

"it's about one of those special jobs i mentioned before i had to leave the country," she told me as though i knew what she was talking about. there was just one slight problem... she hadn't told me what those 'special' jobs might entail. "i think you might have to carry one out tonight."

_

"okay!" i said excited, even though based on how she was sounding maybe i shouldn't have been. "what do i have to do?"

rather than answer my question ms. rhonwyn asked me a question! "has anything weird or unusual happened since that earthquake yesterday?"

oh yeah the earthquake... well as you'll recall people of the innerweb it struck dunedin pretty hard. 7 point something on the rick-ticker scale, but it only hit dunedin. no where else in the country detected or felt it at all. which is a little weird.
_
"not that i can think of," i answered as i thought through everything since yesterday. apart from this phone call, and finding a quarter on the way home from work yesterday nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
_
"he says nothing," ms. rhonwyn said to someone on her end of the line. i had no idea who it might be.
_
than i heard an unfamiliar voice speak to her. "i'm still picking it up. its burying the needle, mame. if it hasn't hit yet its going to any minute!"

"traumador you need to look around for something out of place," her voice was as urgent as i'd ever heard it.

than almost on cue something of that nature occurred... there was a green flash throughout the lobby. out over the peninsula i could have sworn i saw a green bolt of lightening.

"uh does green lightening count?" i offered.

"truamador is there a thunderstorm going on right now?!?" ms. rhonwyn sounded terrified.

"yeah," i said echoed by extremely loud thunder from the green lightening.

from off the phone on her end came. "mame! the MC just spiked beyond any previous observed level! it's happened!"

"what's going on?" i really wanted to know. this was starting to creep me out, and almost as though the universe knew how i was feeling...

the whole place shuddered as a massive quake hit. it wasn't like yesterday's. this one was scary as. way more powerful and intense. also the thunder from outside seemed to join in with the rumble of the building. almost as though the were voicing its approval of the chaos going on in here...

as the shaking subsided. "traumador what was that?!?" ms. rhownyn sounded hysteric. that's why she's my favorite boss. she's always worried about my welfare. "traumador are you okay?!? please answer!!!"

i peeled myself off the floor, still a little jittery and disoriented. "it's okay. it was just another earthquake," i assured her.

"quick check with the geologic survey about a quake," she ordered the person on her end. "traumador i suspect we don't have much time. if what i think is happening it is imperative you listen to me very careful."

"i'm about to entrust to you, the safety and care some of new zealand's most important and vital artifacts," her voice was dead serious. "under absolutely no circumstances are you to break any of the rules you are going to be given. whether over the phone or more importantly those written down for you."

"okay," i said in anticipation. i couldn't tell you what i felt. it was mix of pure undiluted fear AND excitement at the same time! my heart pounded so furiously i thought it was going to escape my ribcage and when did i have a whole swarm of bees for breakfast?

from off phone. "that was no quake mame! every station in otago picked it up with anomalous results across the board, but they pin pointed the epicentre directly on the museum. right now the satellites are picking up massive concentrated mass of MC energy manifesting itself in the western end of the building."

i heard a really loud noise come from the stair well. based on the echo it must have come from the basement.

"i heard that," ms. rhonwyn's voice sounded like she'd heard... well a ghost! "traumador you need to get to my office NOW!"

i didn't need to be told twice. i bolted at full speed (which as a juvenile body build is pretty darn fast) up the stairs to the third floor.

_

it was here on the top floor that all the behind the scenes people's offices and work spaces are tucked away. i typically don't come in this section. only once a shift for like 30 second to make sure the area is secure.

as i unlocked this door i suddenly realized, despite the door being firmly shut, was anywhere in this place truly secure?

from behind up the stairwell came loud bangs and thumping. something big was going on downstairs!!!

had i wandered deep into the basement back into the "original" section of collections i would have been greeted by a most disturbing of sights... which is good i wasn't there as point of fact. i've been having enough trouble sleeping since my last ghost encounter thank you very much!!!

right about the moment the unknown person on ms. rhonwyn's end said that thing about "satellites are picking up massive concentrated mass of MC energy manifesting itself in the western end of the building" this was happening...

_
with loud sounds still emanating from the bowels of the building i pushed forward into the senior wing. i'd never been to ms. rhonwyn's office before! yeah i know. you'd think i'd know where my boss worked... but she's out of the country so often, and than when she is around i never know it till she basically ambushes me somewhere familiar in the place, that it sometimes feels like she doesn't actually work here or something...

"it's the last door on your left," ms. rhonwyn ordered me. "behind my desk on the chair should be a brown envelope. grab it, and get hell out of there as fast as you can traumador!"

i found the door to her office unlocked... weird... cause i'd checked all these offices yesterday, and her's was locked than...

on the chair i found the brown envelope. it even had written on it FOR TRAUMADOR THE TYRANNOSAURS EYES ONLY. also a smaller letter sized envelope was taped on the outside. on it read KEY INSTRUCTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR MISSION.

lifting up the package i was astounded by how light the whole thing was. there was something inside the big brown envelope, whatever it (or they) were the majority of the envelope was filled, but not bulging mind you, but it didn't weigh much. in fact the taped on instruction envelope weighed more than the bigger brown envelope.

i thought she said i was getting the most important artifacts in new zealand! how could they possibly fit in an envelope?

"wait what...?" i started to ask, but was interrupted.

"the phone network just spiked with MC static. we're being tracked and traced!" came the stranger's voice.

"traumador i HAVE to hang up! listen to me carefully though!" ms. rhonwyn pleaded. "do not under any circumstance try to call me or anyone else! follow the directions to the letter. do you hear me? to the letter! most important do not under any circumstance open one of them EVER!!!"

there was a slight *click*. "what are you talking about?" i inquired. "what don't i open?" hello? hello? hellllllllllooooooo?"

_

nothing. she'd hung up. i was about to redial her (okay in contradiction to her instruction i'll admit, but at the time if you'd been in my position what would you have done?), but suddenly from behind me came not just the usual sounds of destruction and mayhem. an unearthly voice screamed...

let's just say it didn't spell much hope for anything encountering the issuer of the screamer keeping their life after said encounter...

i dashed down the hall aiming for the stairs, holding my new package tightly with my puny arms (though their not weak by any stretch!). as i hit the stairs and began speedily yet carefully running down them, i hoped beyond hope whatever had been in the basement was still there!

after what seemed the longest 45 seconds in my life i'd hit the main floor. i sprinted to the front door, but when i got there realized it was looked.

behind me the noises got louder. i yelped, and started fumbling with my keys...

i dropped them... oh no. i uselessly pawned at them with my thumbless limbs. wasting precious time...

BANG CLANG... oh man they were getting closer... i'd wasted at least 30 more seconds struggling with my keys. in desperation i lunged at them with my bear trap like jaws. i was rewarded with the feeling of the ring slipping over my lower premaxillary teeth.

using the backward tossing technique we t-rexs feed with i threw the keys in the air. as they reached their maximum height, and gravity once again drew them to the ground i realised if i screwed up catching them it might well be game over! no pressure or anything!!!

despite setting myself up for failure i somehow caught them! might be the fact their on a ring the diameter of the average human arm...

success i had the door unlocked, and myself outside in less than 10 seconds. i even locked the door back up before i bolted... hey it's the rule. no guard leaves without securing the main entrance... can't let an emergancy override the rules. whole world would go to the KT in a hand basket...

as i ran i wondered what could possibly have been making that noise in the basement? i mean i'd just been down there... there wasn't anything there while i'd been... had there?!?

to be contiuned...

the month of aftermath... (the pack part 5)

it has been almost a month since my cousin larry finally left dunedin after his 2 week long visit of awful.

i'd like to claim that i'd done something amazing with the month of novemeber, and fix all the problems that larry caused with his popping by. the truth is i've been too depressed to care up until lately. i let larry tear apart my life, but i could have easily stopped him by just saying no.

so here i am. a whole month gone by, and so little to show for it...

i've been back to work for the whole month after the 2 week impromptu break caused by larry. though ms. rhonwyn gave me a promotion, she hasn't contacted me since leaving the country, and thus work hasn't been any different on a day to day basis than it was before.

security guarding used to be so thrilling and exciting, but since larry and peter have been harping on about how lowly a position it is i've lost my interest for it. now it's just paying the bills, and a very boring way to do so...

though due to the lack of danger to the displays i've had plenty of time to further my exploration and learning in the museum. watching various films on the maori i'm starting to get a feel for this very interesting and cool culture.

perhaps the coolest thing i've had time to look at and learn more about were the moas. we have more moa skeletons in the natural history gallery than anything else. they give the dinosaurs at the tyrrell a run for their money on most skeletons in one gallery...

so with what i've learned time for some info sharing.

first things first... most moas are NOT known from true fossils!

to be a true fossil you have to be more than 10 000 years old. most moa remains are from within the last 650 years. way too young to be considered true fossils.

however as there are true fossil remains of moas dating millions of years into new zealands past, and the moa went extinct before modern style documentation could record them they are from prehistory, after a fashion.

what are moas?

well moas were large flightless birds from the ratites group. this group includes most large terrestrial flightless birds such as ostriches, emus, cassowarys, and kiwis. these birds all lack proper attachments for flight muscles which explains why they all have such short weak wings, and as a group don't have any flying members.

there were 11 species of moa in modernish times (i mean modern in geologic terms), and all were herbivores. their diets consisted of plants of various sorts. Ferns, flax, leaves, fruits, berries, twigs, and seeds were eaten by on type of moa or another. moa species varied in size from the 1.5 metre Pachyornis to the 3 metre tall Dinornis giganteus.

these largest known land animal of the Cenozoic in a land dominated by not mammals, but dinosaurian ancestors the birds. indeed new zealand was not just home to large land birds, but also the largest bird of prey ever the Haast's Eagle (pictured in the nice painting i found on the innerweb above) which hunted moas.

both the moa and eagle were hunted to extinction after the arrival of the maori people to new zealand. what makes the moa's so significant was their description and reconstruction by sir richard owen. the same guy who would name and describe dinosaurs a few years later (though he got the moas pretty much right... he kinda missed the mark on us dinosaurs).

so yeah after spending a bunch of times wandering through the moa gallery this is some of the info i picked up.

linking all my knowledge i can tell you one more tidbit. moa is not the traditional name for moas. rather the maori before europeans used to call them te kura. the story goes, but i'm not sure i believe it, that when europeans became interested in these bones they'd ask for "more, more". the maori still learning english thought this meant the europeans called the birds moas... yeah i'm not too sure i believe that either, but it's the story...

anyways that's the only highlight of work.

otherwise i just sit around here "patrolling" the completely safe and boring museum... there has been no sign of ms. rhonwyn around here. no calls, letters, or even mention of her on any recent memos. so unless she suddenly reappears out of the blue my promotion is just in name only (well okay and pay... can't complain too much i guess... my salary appears to have doubled... but for what work i wonder?)

after stewing in pity for myself i decided i needed to get out more, and change my surroundings. i needed to do something that relaxed myself...

there was one thing that got me out into the beauty of the countryside and the ocean which i hadn't tried in a while...

fishing! which i have to admit calmed me down a lot. it puts you in the moment, and allows your mind to let go the outside world.

you can just take in the tranquility of reality around you. the pristine hills around you. the calm elegance of the water...

and of course trying to catch dinner!!!

which i'd like to claim i'm closer to than my first attempt fishing... how do those spinosaurs do it?

where spinosaurs catch fish... i seem to catch nothing but old discarded footwear!

seriously this isn't funny like in the cartoons!

i've only caught old shoes! i want a fish!!!

so as you can see these fishing retreats only helped with the forgetting my troubles so much.

though i will unlock the spinosaur's secret, and thus get one step closer to being a better tyrannosaur than larry (like to see a big brute like him wait patiently on a pole and line!).

after nearly a whole month of this. work and than the odd fishing outing i grew weary of how my life had become devoid of people.

craig wasn't answering my calls, emails, or even mentioned in recent memos... oh oops sorry wrong tangent... you get the idea though. he'd cut off all contact with me after i was kinda mean to him due to larry messing with my head.

there was one person i could try to patch things up with i decided last week, and after wasting most of the month pouting and stewing i decided to take life by the horns (though hopefully not ceratopsian style horns!) and try to take back some of my old life from my mistakes...

owain, my best friend in new zealand thus far, had been terrified by his encounter with larry simply from true tyrannosaurian language... larry had convinced me this was because owain didn't respect my culture. in reality larry needs to face up to facts, we t-rexs are really scary when we talk (even if you're fluent in our tongue!).

fortunately owain agreed to meet with me so i could explain. though i thought the way things had gone last month i was just getting a more satisfying conclusion to this part of my life. what did i have to lose? i might as well at least get the applogy off my chest before he never called, emailed, memoed... ah nuts!... me again...


i told owain the majority of the story. which he listened to politely. what can i say owain is a real nice guy!

"that sounds like a rough visit man," owain stated at the end of my narrating. "no wonder i haven't heard from you in a little bit."


"i'm so sorry my cousin scarred you, and i didn't contact you in such a long time, and that i'm such a miserable friend!" i blurted all at once.

owain looked at me puzzled for a second in response...

than suddenly he broke out laughing. "traum you're so funny," he chuckled. "you thought i was upset with you too?"

"yeah," i hesitantly responded.

"not to fret my friend," owain assured me. "i won't lie, i could do without seeing your cousin ever again, but i didn't hold it against you. as for your disappearance these things happen. you had some stuff to sort. happens all the time. the important part is you re-emerged!"

i felt relieved, and kinda surprised to be honest. he wasn't mad at me, and for the first time since ms. rhonwyn met larry something to do with my cousin just blew over. no drama. no epic. it was just back to normal.

owain patted me on the head. than kinda embarrassed at the unusualness of the gesture noted. "i'd gave you a shoulder slap, but you don't have very defined shoulders..."

"yeah their kinda anchored around my ribcage," i joked.

"so what are you going to do?" owain asked. "this pack sounds like it might try to muck with you again."

"i don't know," i admitted. i had simply been thinking about what i'd already lost this whole month. owain was right though. the pack could very well return. whether it was just larry or someone else from their ranks.

"well i'm here for you if you need help," owain offered. "just so long as i don't have to take on something like you cousin," he amended.

"thanks. sadly i might need it," i pointed out. "i hope not, but the way my life tends to go..."

than i thought of something owain could maybe help me with right now! "you won't happen to be able to talk to craig, and help me fix that would you?"

owain's face took on a grave look. "he's pretty mad at you, but he won't talk about it. the couple times you've come up he just changes the subject," owain reported.

"oh man," i muttered in sadness. i could only imagine the hurt i'd inflicted on my legal guardian.

not only was inflicting that kind of emotional damage bad enough, but craig had been able to confront larry and make larry back off. craig knew about the pack, and probably could help get clear of whatever schemes they might launch at me.

instead i'd effectively kicked myself out of his life, and worse still craig probably thought that i was now part of the pack.

owain sensed my sadness. "cheer up man. with all of us united down here what can those bird wannabes do to us?" he raised his hand for a high five. "to a united front."

i gave him a high two back. "to a united front," i pretended to say enthusiastically. deep down i knew we didn't stand a chance if the pack really wanted to play rough. especially when our front consisted of just me and owain...

the rest of the afternoon was awesome though, and marked the end of my miserable month of november. me and owain hung out just like before larry's visit.

in fact everything about larry's visit graduated from my present day concern to the past. his visit could do nothing more. good or bad. it just had happened.

i had to face the future, and what the consequences of larry's visit were going to mean...

the first of these arrived in an eeeeemail waiting for me when i got back home to the dell.

it was from mike the librarian . he'd completed a brief for me about the pack. included in it was this symbol... the emblem of the pack of the primordial feather !

this was the face of my possible enemy. though made of individual dinosaurs, mike and craig had both warned me that once a part of the pack you simply became a branch of the pack. meaning that this emblem represented any one of them.

in its centre a tyrannosaur skull incarnation of coelurosaur power, floating above a theropod foot print made of feathers. surrounding this were orbiting talons and feathers. i understood the composition on a... i guess instinctive level... it was the symbol of hunters. of dinosaurs who weren't afraid to do what ever it took to get what they wanted.

i only hope that i never see this emblem again...

could i be more? (the visitor part 8)

i've made it up to the halfway mark of my cousin larry's totally uninvited and unasked for visit to new zealand. 8 days of what he told me should only be 14 have gone by. (for the whole story just click this for the archive of this adventure).

i've been so preoccupied dealing with larry i'd totally forgot about my normal day to day tasks and responsibilities... the biggest of those was work!

it came as a total surprise when i got a call from my boss on this morning...

"traumador," calmly greeted ms. rhonwyn. "haven't seen you at work this week."

oh no i thought in my tiny mind! i started panic, but tried to cover up. "oh was that this week?" i feebly asked.

"yes it was traumador," she firmly answered. "now based on what i've been seeing on the TV lately though i'd say you've been legitimately distracted. in the future you need to phone these sorts of things in though. we can discuss it though this afternoon when you come in for your shift."

"uh okay," i found myself saying... though inside my head all i could think about was what was i going to do about larry?!?

i couldn't just leave my giant cousin to wander dunedin on his own. with me around he'd caused plenty of damage as was.

interrupting my attempt to scheme a solution larry wandered up from behind me. "who was that cousin?"

"work," i admitted.

"i assume they wanted you to come in at some point?" larry deduced.

"yeah. today," i reluctantly replied.

"prepare yourself then," larry ordered rudely. who went extinct and made him king again. "than we shall visit this museum of yours. i would very much like to see it."

just like that not only was i heading into work in trouble, but i was bringing even more trouble with me.

everytime i've gotten phone calls lately they've been nothing but unfun. why do i keep my "cell" phone?

after gathering the few things i needed for my security guard job, next thing i knew i was up on top of larry's back walking to the otago museum.

now don't get me wrong it is one heck of a way to get around. up on the back of a fully grown bull tyrannosaur. nothing quite gives you the same respect from motorists (especially after larry's highly publicized attack on a car).

at the same time the last time i rode around with larry proved to be a big setback in my quest to distance myself from the tyrannosaur sterotype. more to the point i was bringing this sterotype into the LAST aspect of my new new zealand life that larry hadn't yet managed to complicate with his visit.

entering the lobby my coworkers at the museum were naturally astounded. fortunately as it's only spring here in dunedin there weren't too many visitors in museum. those few that were in had a range of reactions. all i know is that their impression of the otago museum will be quite a definitive one (the tyrrell has the same effect on people).

it was here that the moment i dreaded came. i was going to have to go and find ms. rhonwyn, and i really really REALLY didn't want larry to meet her at all (considering everyone else's reactions to larry thus far...).

"i'm going to have to go and work larry," i tried to gently ditch him.

"understood," larry dismissively said. "do what you must. i wish to examine this place that you've settled to work in."

well so much for a complicated ditching of larry. at the same time did he have to be so rude about my choice of workplace? than again it is larry... he is a JERK!

larry headed off to check out the museum... how he was going to get around such a tightly packed building was beyond me, but i sort of resigned to the fact that these days i couldn't stop him from causing trouble no matter where i took him...

all i know is that the paint he's scrapping off the roof isn't coming out of my pay!

i found ms. rhonwyn in the museum's lecture room (not our most impressive room... why i never mentioned it before) waiting for me.

"hello ms. rhonwyn," i tried to be all formal to try and avoid getting my punishment in the first sentence.

she simply walked up to me and whispered, "we're adapting a more culturally sensitive approach here from now on." suddenly she pressed her nose into my snout?!?

"what are you doing?" i ask confused after a moment.

"this is a maori greeting called a hongi," she replied calmly, and than back away...

"now traumador. you missed every shift we had you scheduled for this week," ms. rhonwyn stated gravely.

"i can explain," i interrupted.

"now this is something of a serious issue," she cut me back off. "for the first day that left the museum unguarded for two whole hours! i've had to hire another guard due to your unreliability."

a funny feeling erupted in my stomach hearing this. larry really should moonlight as a life destroyer!

"you didn't phone in," she went on. "not one phone call! upper management was furious. they were calling for your being fired immediately. which is a shame because i was noticing your hard work and effort these last few months."

why did i have to hear this?

"that is not taking into account you're dinosaur heritage," her voice suddenly lightened up. "i was able to convince them cell phones and schedules probably weren't a big part of traditional life 65 million years ago."

i had no idea what she was talking about now. "so uh is this where i go clear out my things? cause i'll level with you i haven't really used my locker."

ms. rhonwyn's face lite up with a smile. "oh you silly little dinosaur. you're not fired. i was able to use this new cultural tolerance and integration policy the museum is adapting to save you. just next time call in please. it makes it easier for me."

"why aren't you firing me?" i still couldn't believe my ears.

"it doesn't take a curator to make the connection between the timing of your disappearance and the large t-rex rampaging around on the news," ms. rhonwyn's face betrayed excitement. "what or sorry... who is it?"

"my cousin," i answered still not sure if i was in trouble with work or not?

"you know it than ha!" she got real excited. "i bet tracy in collections that you knew it, and that this wasn't just another random tyrannosaur wandering into town."

"seriously," ms. rhonwyn sounded a little giddy. "you actually know that other tyrannosaur? a full grown tyrannosaur, and you know it?"

"yeah," i replied matter of factly. i was trying not to take it personally. that's partially why i moved here to new zealand is that their not used to us dinosaurs... i'd spent my whole childhood growing up around all kinds of dinosaurs till i moved down here though!

"is there any chance i can meet it?" her eyes pleaded with me...

"uh," i hesitated. "are you sure mame? he doesn't exactly get along with people that well."

"traumador i'm not people," she grinned. "i work at a museum. i've heard stories about working with dinosaurs many times. i just haven't had the opportunity to until this year. part of why i hired you."

"i've always really wanted get to see some dinosaurs up close. now i've seen a miniature t-rex, but i'd love to see a fully grown one!" ms. rhonwyn explained.

"well he's in the building right now," i offered.

"really?" she sounded disappointed for some reason. "of all the luck... i have a meeting i have to goto.

"he'll probably be around for my whole shift," i try and facilitate.

"no good my meetings up in christchurch, and i won't be back till tomorrow," ms. rhonwyn counters. a meeting in christchurch? why does ms. rhonwyn have so many meetings out of town? "how about i come visit you guys in the garden when i get back. i'd love to see tyrannosaurs in 'the wild'. "

"okay," i answer half heartedly. i don't think it'd be a good idea to have her meet larry. everyone else in dunedin whose met him hasn't exactly been filled with pro tyrannosaur sentiment afterwards... ms. rhonwyn senses my hesitation.

"promise to call me, and i'll give you the rest of your cousin's visit off work," she entices me

"deal," i agree much more excitedly. that way i don't have to bring him here, and i can actively keep him away from people.

"well i should be off," ms. rhonwyn concludes looking at her watch. "i look forward to seeing you a little later in the week."

like that she heads off. i sit in the lecture room embracing the silence for a couple of minutes. it's been over a week since i've had time alone with my thoughts (as simple as they might be).

i reluctantly set out into the museum to find larry. granted as he is 14 metres long he's not exactly hard to spot. especially since he has to duck and crouch he's way through the human sized galleries of the otago. meaning that there is usually a part of him sticking out somewhere making him easy to spot even from the lobby.

as i approach him larry states rather condescendingly. "a most mediocre institution."

"larry," i grumble. like i haven't had to put up with enough the last week than more of larry's usual egotistical JERK! personality.

"what do you know about museums?" i challenge. larry only spent his hatchling year growing up in the tyrrell. once he was a year and half old he set off for a theme park where he was discovered by hollywood casting agents. not exactly a musume expert compared to someone who has spent the majority of his life in a museum (even after the tyrrell fired me i've had on and off jobs at the devil's coulee musuem, the vancouver eco-centre, and here at the otago).

"i know that this museum has no justification for making you a lowly security guard!" larry declared.

"what?" i ask not seeing that explanation coming...

"i've visited our various ceolorasaur relatives throughout the world in all manner of museums. this one though a nice new building compared to older museums, has one of the most pathetic collections of prehistoric creatures i've ever seen. a few marine reptiles and than some modern birds {i think larry was referring to the moas}," larry stated. "yet when a prime new extinct specimen, a tyrannosaurus rex no less, walks in through their front door offering to work for them they delegate him to a mere security guard."

"yeah but," i start thinking the museum had its reasons for doing so. i stall though unable to think of why.

"you're beginning to see cousin," larry says satisfied. "despite you're being a pygmy, in this you are nothing short of remarkable."

"anywhere else in the world would be begging you to be their star exhibit," larry went on. "this place forces you to be a mere security guard. that is my problem with this museum cousin."

though the otago museum had been treating me well (at least compared to the dinosaur crammed tyrrell) i was beginning to feel unfulfilled as just a security guard. i was hoping to work my way up to be something like a curator or a field collector...

though to be honest unlike what larry was getting at i didn't want to be an exhibit again. it's not much fun standing around all day while people come just to look at you, and you get in trouble if you break the illusion by trying to tell visitors more about yourself (rather than making them read all the signs... stupid sign makers union argument that talking exhibits would put musuem sign makers out of jobs! so sign makers lose their employment security what about us exhibit's rights?!? besides maybe if they had to compete a bit more than sign makers would put more effort into the displays!)

somehow larry had given me something to think about. i spent the whole rest of my shift wondering what life would be like if i could get one of my dream museum jobs...

larry meanwhile finished his tour of the museum just in time for quitting time. as we wandered the upper balcony of the museum i turned to him.

"do you seriously think i could be more than a security guard?" i asked larry. picturing myself as a respected and important part of a museum team.

"if i had my way you would," larry answered. "i learned of your being fired from the tyrrell too late to stop it."

i stop dead in my tracks. "what do you mean you could have stopped the tyrrell from firing me? you don't work for them."

larry's eyes took on an almost sinister glint. "we ceolurosaurs' have a lot more influence throughout the prehistoric influence than you might realize."

"you mean tyrannosaurs right?" i corrected. larry didn't responded. "you know cause we're the tyrannical king lizard's?"

"partially," larry responded. "that is why we have always ruled over the pack."

"pack?" i questioned.

"all in good time cousin," larry seemed to have regretted mentioning that in front of me. he quickly tried to change subject. "as for the tyrrell. they were fools for letting you go. i have rectified their hiring policies in the future so that no more ceolurosaurs are ever removed from their staff..."

i couldn't quite believe my ears. larry had actually answered one of my questions! more than that though... this was yet another mention of larry's to his having been at the tyrrell since my departure from drumheller... but since when had larry had any say over the tyrrell's policies?

"could you tell me about the tyrrell?" i asked hoping that larry's openness would continue.

larry seemed to sense that he had regained my full attention. "of course cousin, but first tell me more of this museum as we walk home. i have an idea, but i need more information on this place."

"okay," i answered. i wasn't sure why he needed to know about the otago, but if it made him happy than maybe he'd finally tell me about home!

we started to walk home, and i told larry many things about the behind the scenes working of the otago. he seemed very interested in their fossil collections and management.

little did either of us realize that waiting down the road a trap was being set. one we were about to walk into...

to be continued...

the stablity destabilizes

as you probably know things had been fairly stable in my life, people of the web wide world. today something occurred that might signal an end to that trend.

as you know people of the innerweb i've been working as a security guard at the otago museum for a couple months now. as per the normal practise i've been diligently watching the whole place from the central lobby... due to my being able to see all the entrances to the museum galleries (just like in this nice pic).


up till recent i've been able to do my own thing at work cause my boss has been off doing... uh i don't know bossy type stuff at other museums around the world... she didn't mention what it was when she left...


well that changed today. without warning this morning ms. rhonwyn showed back up here in dunedin...


fortunately i had managed to get around to the main task she'd asked me to do last week... phew that was a close one!

now the one thing i don't have to worry about when the boss shows up unannounced is being caught NOT working! when ms. rhonwyn snuck behind me i was ever vigilantly patrolling the whole museum as usual (from one spot i'll point out... not to bad for a guy with a brain the size of a peanut!)... and come to think of it she didn't technically sneak up on me... cause hey as a guard at the museum that would make it sound like i didn't see her... which is preposterous!... i uh let her sneak up on me... yeah a test of sorts...

and as part of that test i might have let out a bit of a startled yipe of surprise when ms. rhonwyn was right beside me and said hello... it was JUST a test mind you... i'm not a coward or anything...

it was real exciting to she her again cause thus far she's been the nicest boss i've ever had.

that's not to say my bosses at other places i've worked were mean or anything. it's just in the 3 months i've worked here ms. rhonwyn has only been here in dunedin for one of them... which is kinda odd to be honest... i just haven't had to deal with her to draw a comparison is all...

"how have things been here while i was gone?" she asked, though ms. rhonwyn sounded like she was expecting a bad answer with her voice. was i in trouble or something?

"fine... i think," i replied hesitantly.

"oh good," ms. rhonwyn seemed to relax a bit. just a bit mind you...

"how was your trip?" i asked eagerly.

"it was... productive," she seemed as hesitant answering my question as i was with hers.

"what were you doing?" i was excited to hear tales of all the exotic museums she'd been to. man i love museums!

"just checking in with old friends," she said quickly. before i could try to ask her about her friends, ms. rhonwyn changed the subject. "so tell me about your shifts this last month."

that was a pretty exciting subject causing me to forget my line of questioning... for the moment anyway.

i told her all about my cool discoveries and findings in the various halls of the museum.

i could tell this made ms. rhonwyn happy with me just from the big smile she got.

"good on you traumador! that's what i like to hear. you're getting right into the thick of things here at the museum," she praised. "that way if trouble strikes you'll be able to deal with it, and know the in's and outs like the back of your hand."

something about how she talked about this "trouble" made my stomach churn a bit.

"are you expecting something bad to happen here?" i gasped in worry.

ms. rhonwyn stared at me for a moment, and then she got an uncomfortable smile... now i normally don't read human expression very well. being a tyrannosaur and all. instinctively i look for way different indicators of emotion (like exposing of massive t-rex teeth)... but i've seen dan put on "fake" smiles lots of times when i was living with him in drumheller.

"of course not," she stated with ingenue smile and all. suddenly ms. rhonwyn turned around and walked to the closest bench.

not sure what was going on i followed her. this was beginning to remind me of the weird way ben the gardener had been acting last time i talked to him about the scary maze he was talking about...

ms. rhonwyn was starting to slide down my list of favorite bosses... she was kinda scaring me... i liked my job, but if there was something she wasn't telling me about it i didn't really want it...

"what aren't you telling me ms. rhonwyn?" i asked surprisingly confrontationally... for me anyway... i'm normally a big chicken when it comes to these things. "this is the second time you've talked weird about this security job."

last time she had mentioned "interesting" stuff happening while on the job... i hadn't thought much about it then, but this was all new and exciting, and let's face it i was kinda desperate at the time!

now i had a somewhat stable life in the mix, and not to mention my nice scaly self.

her face took a slightly more serious expression, but not ominous or threatening mind you. "i'd never with hold any information from you or any of my other staff that you need to know traumador. i was talking 'figuratively'."

i have no idea what figuratively means people of the web wide world... does it have something to do with action figures? i like action figures!

"what?" was of course my reply... but ms. rhonwyn must have thought that i was being pushy or something.

"look traumador, you're misunderstanding me," she paused and clearly had something on her mind... she was just deciding whether to tell me or not. "my trip to those various museums around the world it was because they've been having some unfortunate things happen to them as of late. frankly i don't want to see any of it happen here."

what did she mean by "unfortunate things"? why wasn't she giving me straight answers.

it was like ms. rhonwyn could read my mind (as small as it is and everything!)...

"i'll show you what i mean," she tried to assure me.

we walked to the nearby maori gallery.

"you see this waka," she referred to the beautiful war canoe in the entrance... a waka need to remember that fun factoid... "an absolute treasure, and a key part of new zealand's heritage."

it sure was a nice exhibit piece...

she smiled. "i'm just a bit of a worry wart sometimes is all. i worry that somebody or something outside this building, or inside come to think of it, might try and do something that would remove this or another piece of new zealand forever. your job traumador is to make sure that doesn't happen."

well that kinda explained it all... i guess?

"as it is my job to make sure you do your job that's why i might make things sound a little dire," she concluded.

i couldn't quite relax though. i've worked at museums before. the royal tyrrell and devil's coulee to name some... none of my bosses at those places were worried about "somebody or something" "removing" any of our specimens...

come to think of it my bosses certainly never travelled around the world checking out other museums for trouble... what sort of troubles?

before i could ask any of these questions ms. rhonwyn stated. "you should get back to work traumador."

well there was no point in arguing it. i headed back to the lobby to resume my watch... what did watch mean though? was i just watching over or was i watching OUT for something?

so much for that stretch of nice calm stability people of the innerweb...