Free No Hope for Gomez! by Graham Parke

unlucky. The latter wouldn’t surprise me. I’d noticed this before; things often tended to go the opposite of ‘my way’ (away from me?)
     
    Blog entry: Had a shower. Went to bed. Read one page of Warren’s new manuscript and passed out.

17.
     
     
     
    Blog note: Gravity has a slightly stronger hold on me than it does on other people. I’m sure of it. It pulls on me a little harder during the day, and really tugs away at me first thing in the morning. It’s freaky.
         I watched a motivational speaker on YouTube who mentioned that many people believe they consistently experience disadvantages. They’re convinced it’s harder for them to succeed than it is for others. He went on to explain that this kind of negative thinking is used as an excuse for not achieving goals.
    I realized he was right. About most people. They’re sissies for complaining when they don’t even have the extra gravity to deal with. They aren’t cursed with this curious streak of bad luck that I apparently attracted at birth. Most people definitely use negative thinking as an excuse, but not me. I’m merely facing reality here. After all, the better I understand my peculiar situation, the better I can anticipate and evade my problems.
    I’ll have to seriously examine and quantify my bad luck, though, if I want to start doing better at life.
    Time for an experiment!
     
    Blog entry: Dug up a die and threw it 72 times. Aimed to get as high a total as possible. Tallied the throws knowing I should end up with a number close to 252 (on average the throws should distribute evenly over all six faces, hitting each face about twelve times). Instead of 252, though, I came up with 166. A much lower number, which made my average throw just over 2, instead of the expected 3.5.
    I was clearly beating the odds, in a bad way.
    I couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried this before.
    Blog entry: Wasn’t done yet. Wanted to perform a double blind test in order to negate any innate abilities I had for throwing low numbers (which could be considered a kind of luck if used right). Repeated the experiment with a new die, and this time aimed for a minimum total. Threw another 72 times and tallied again. Should end up with a number close to 252 (on average the throws should distribute evenly over all six faces, hitting each face about twelve times). A total of 72 would be the lowest possible number and thus the number to aim for.
I didn’t get 72. I didn’t expect to, that would’ve been statistically improbable. But I didn’t get 166 or 252 either. What I got, in fact, was 365! My new average throw had increased to 4.9!
    There was no more doubt, I’d just proven my point: No Hope for Gomez!
    Instead of feeling triumphant, I felt worried. Scared. It was exceedingly spooky to have actual proof staring me in the face. It was like suddenly getting a glimpse of a giant invisible hand turning the world. You were not supposed to see those kinds of things. You were not supposed to notice the machinery at work!
    Quickly pocketed the dice and hurried to work. For some reason, I didn’t feel like being alone.
     
    Blog entry: Arrived at the store early. Waited for Hicks to show. We opened the store together.
     
    Blog entry: Slow day. Sold nothing. Browsed the net trying to take my mind off my eerie bad luck. I stumbled onto a site selling infrared cameras and binoculars. They were extremely cool, but expensive. Decided not to buy anything just yet. I did bookmark the page; I could return if it turned out infrared equipment was necessary for my stalker-stalker duties.
     
    Blog entry: At the end of the day I called Detective Norton again. No answer. I was starting to get worried. Was he angry? Busy? Had something happened to him? I left another message asking him to contact me regarding the coroner’s report on Joseph Miller.
     
    Blog entry: Visited the clinic. After taking my pills and answering Dr. Hargrove’s questions, I asked her if the experimental drugs