I saw Leila for the first time in several years' worth of dreams, and she looked pretty healthy and happy. She was in the middle of a "Latin American Women of Activism" meeting of about twenty women. She didn't have a chance to say hi, but she did smile largely.
I also ran into Tim S. I was with Matt. Tim asked me how I was doing and I said fine. I gave him some Postmodern Village business cards. Matt said, as Tim walked away, "you love him, don't you?" (Matt says this often jokingly--i think--in real life). As he walked away, I tried to remember what Tim looks like.
I had a phone conversation with Celeste R.'s daughter about a class I was offering called "Writing for the Web." She said, "Well, Jack's the one who will need it. He's the only one who will use it." I instantly thought that I'd have to research Unix, Linux, and Windows NT. As the girl was talking, I was also trying to listen to the radio: she was a DJ too, and her voice was on the radio at the same time we were on the phone. On the radio, she said, "You wouldn't believe what Billy Joel did . . . " I was also talking along with lines from Indiana Jones, only Luke from Phantom Menace was there.
Suddenly, I looked at the set of printers I had in my room. They were all going haywire. Some were printing out tickets for the Academy Awards. There were also bid sheets with my name written down as a bidder, but I didn't do it. Whoever did sign me up had misspelled my last name. I also found maria's Food 4 Less refund receipts printing. "Refund to _____ for a shocking $______ for product never to be used again."
There were a mountain of typos in the Center's web page, mostly because I had gotten silly with it. I put a "bid on a bimbo" page up for some reason. Stephanie pointed them out, at which point I told her it was a good thing no one looked at it. She apologized for bothering me "when you're down, but you didn't have a good web day yesterday." I asked if I left up "that bimbo thing," and she said, in her Steph way, "yeah, it's bad."
Tom and I were in a sports bar. Rachael came on the television eating an orange. He asked me why I never liked her. I said that I did like her, for a while, but that I thought she had betrayed me too many times. Then Ryan was being interviewed by someone. I told Tom that I had proof Ryan wanted to kill me. (I don't know what "proof" I had though.) I told him that we'd talk about it later.
I saw two old women (not old old, but past retirement) wandering around the Northeast Expressway. I thought about giving them a ride somewhere.
I had a dream about my grandmother Mimi (the one I did not get along with, formerly known as "the dead one." Now, unfortunately, I have no grandmothers living.). She was asking me all sorts of questions. She showed me her armpits and asked if she needed to shave before she went out for the evening. I said, "It depends on if you're coming home." She got very offended that I would imply that she'd spend the night with some man outside of the bounds of marriage, to which I retorted that she'd done it before and it didn't bother her then. Mimi then got too angry to speak and just yelled for my mother. When Mom came in, Mimi told her everything I'd said. I told Mom that my other grandmother at least never flashed me before asking for hygiene tips. Mom, of course, sided with me, and we immediately left.
I also had a dream about a different preschool program. I was in the gallery playing with computers. I think there might have been an interactive exhibit. Some guy came up and asked me what I was doing. I was reading reviews about South Park. He put his arm around my shoulder and I debated about whether it bothered me or not. I decided I wouldn't fight about it just yet. When the preschoolers began walking by, I gracefully ducked his arms and followed them to a lunchroom. There a preschool mom and I talked about Cole and what a wonderful person he is in gushing ways a bit exaggerated (not that Cole doesn't deserve it).
I take this dream to mean that I would feel too guilty to live if I missed Erika's wedding:
I can't remember that much of it, but I collapsed on Erika's shoulder and apologized for so many minutes that I didn't go to her wedding. She said it wasn't a big deal, but it was one of the most important days of her life.
I finally saw Romeo Must Die and it influenced my dreams, mostly because the dark cinematography reminded me of Summer of Sam.
I was wandering around somewhere in a dark, urban-modern-film-noir type setting. I don't know where I was or what I was doing, but I wandered around a few empty parking garages and hid in some doorways while cars rolled past me. I was thinner and dressed (possibly) in pleather. I know I wasn't in jeans and I wasn't in shorts--and what else is there?
I dreamt that I came home and found our front door ajar. I debated whether to enter or not since I knew someone had broken in.
A long one last night...
I went to a Chinese buffet with John Jones. After twenty minutes, I asked for a new Diet Coke. I kept sucking at the straw, but nothing came up. The waitress brought it back, but sat it in the seat of the chair across the table from me. I mouthed the word "bitch" and knew that it would cause me some trouble later on. She did bring us four cookies. I ate one, but there was no fortune inside. I would have had ice cream, but Nina was there and she demonstrated that it was too runny to eat. After that we came out into the lobby and Stephanie saw Jerri Blank (the character from Strangers with Candy, played by Amy Sedaris). She asked me if she should say hi; I told her to go for it.
When I left the building, I couldn't find my car. I climbed a hill to look for it. Grandma said to me: "Your butt's getting large. Does it bother anyone else?" Mom then told me I would never be happy with Tim (I corrected her and told her it was Matt. She said "whatever") because his dad yelled at me for not going to an office party three years ago. "I just think that's a sign," she said.
I watched her digital cable while she was out of the house. There were three different versions of "the Kitten Channel" (one just showed pictures of books about kittens) and an "Exploring Architecture" channel hosted by "The 3 Fat Ladies."
From that channel, I got sucked into the "Land of 1000 Masks." The entrance to the land was an archway of masks (ooh, how literal). Then I was struggling to remember "what little girl got murdered by the sea?" I kept repeating that phrase. I saw the floor plan for the house in my mind. In the abandoned nursery (a la The Haunting Julie Harris-style), Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams (playing Marcia & Greg Brady) were dancing together. Then Marcia found a letter. As she read the letter, a spirit that looked a lot like an ill Sela Ward in white makeup mouthed the words along with Marcia's voice. The letter read: "You're the same couple that danced here last week, and you are going to fondue tonight. How DARE YOU use sterno in the house of god!"
I was in some high school setting and the teacher told me to sit in a particular desk: the third one from the front. Matt was a row over and two seats back. Then Kathie Lee Gifford came up to me and told me I stole her spot. I glared at her and the teacher made her sit in the back. Except for Matt and I, no one knew anyone else. We were told we were assigned to some people to be special helpers. I was assigned to Craig McCracken (real life creator of The Powerpuff Girls and art director of Dexter's Lab). He sat right in front of me, so he turned around, grinned rather largely, and said hello. After he turned around, I whispered in his ear, "Thanks for the Powerpuff Girls...and Whoopass Stew." ("Whoopass Stew" was the original cartoon he made in art school). I don't think I've ever seen anyone smile that sheepishly. Matt looked very worried in the back. Our books were on the floor, including the old illustrated kids' encyclopedias from the sixties. Craig seemed interested in them.
The Shapiros and I went to a Hard Rock Cafe-type restaurant in Kansas City. The place was filled with people I knew in high school: they were all unemployed. I leaned over to Barb and told her that this is why I didn't go away to school like everyone else: I didn't want to see them ever again.
I saw Priya and said hello, but she consciously looked over my head away from me. I also told Barb that Priya had been my best friend since third grade, supposedly.
Jon was there, Kyle C was there, Anna A was there. I asked Anna how the job at the magazine was going: she explained that it was "so embarrasing. Mom announced it before I went for an interview. Turns out they needed a photographer, not a writer." So she didn't work there after all.
Somehow Priya had decided to talk me after all and joined me with her new girlfriend Kendra. Priya also thought I was her girlfriend too: she put her arms around Kendra and I and said, "If only I had my girls around me all time..."
I left to go somewhere and then came back to find the Shapiros and high school people gone. A loud woman with short hair and lace pants stood up and said I needed to come sit by her. I sat by her and Erika's mom. We watched a bad movie: the credits were in an awful font. I know someone got credits for "ad-libs."
We were going to enroll Dan in some classes at City Arts, but he didn't want to take any. I told him 85 people had unused gift certificates at the Center.
I accidentally wandered into Erika's wedding, where most of the girls who were supposedly "oh so nice and smart" and deceitful, petty, and snobbish, were wearing white bridal gowns too. "It's this year's theme," Ashlee said. Melissa F. sneered at me. I escaped and locked myself in a broom closet until everyone was gone.
I was flipping through a novelties catalog when I saw a picture of a glow-in-the-dark skull. I, of course, wanted to buy it. Mom found me staring at it and asked me, "How comfortable are you with the French?" I told I felt okay, I suppose. Then she told me I should wear my t-shirt OVER my sweater instead of under. I told her I would do no such thing, that it was silly and illogical. Mom then accused me of having a prejudice against the French.
I also had some weird answering machine.
Some quick flashes:
1. My bathroom was set up exactly like Charla's bathroom.
2. Dan was going to teach a class for adults in finger painting.
3. I had a new office overlooking a lake: it consisted of a table and two chairs--no computer, no files.
4. Jake gave me some pills to take: some were little wood coins with Cyrillic writing on them, others were frog figurines. Both kinds were "pills."
Jon and I agreed last night, in dreams at least, that we could do small talk. I could ask him about the weather and would not be interpreted as stalking him; he could ask me how my day was going without me retorting "you don't care anyway."
Last night I had a boring dream about setting up Randy's printer and a rather exhilerating one in which I ran 10 miles without even getting winded. I felt like Gumby looks as he skates around the toys and books.
I can only remember quick images. I fell asleep while writing down a few words too. Here's the list: I think it's a little more interesting in fragments.
Resting on Randy's shoulder
Dan and I drove through water
Westside bookkeeping
Weird smells (the Arab's room?)
Admittedly, watching TV with Kathleen would be a pretty mundane event except for the fact that she now lives a state away. I can't remember exactly what we watched, but I think it may have involved the ballet somehow. I know she was also working on her investigative report about cyberporn. She was dressed quite extravagantly as well.
Ah, a "people from high school" dream. I have these once in a while. I can't remember much about this part, but I do remember that Jon and Priya were sitting there. Actually, after I saw Jon and talked to him for a while, I said loudly, "Where's that cruel, sarcastic girl that despises me?" meaning Priya, one of my closest friends at the time, but one with whom competition was always present. She appeared in the doorway and we hugged like two European women who really hate each other, but we put on a show. All I remember about meeting with Jon is smiling, but thinking all the time, "Why is he still mean to me?"
I was invited to a special basketball game by other friends, so I guess I was vindicated.
I also dreamt that Lisa Simpson (yes, the animated character) was planting a tree in the front yard.
I saw a KISS fan on a game show.
I dreamt that AOL had screwed up someone's fonts.
I didn't sleep well, hence the snippits of dreams. I mainly went to bed to avoid throwing up from my massive headache.
It was the Student-Faculty show. I checked in at the front desk with Rosalie (the kind soul at the grant meeting). Jake was there too. I collected a brochure of ours, careful not to get the desk's coded copy. We then went in the auditorium and Jake disappeared to do lights and sound. The sound quality was very faint, but the lights came on very quickly. I stumbled on the first step. I saw Chet up in the booth laughing, but Jake was gone. I was trying to figure out why Chet was there in the first place.
I went back outside and saw Betty and "Chet's parents." I knew they were his parents because they looked just like him. I talked to Betty for a while. Phillip told me about a grant Roberta was working on to bring 535,000 kids to the Center for a month. At that point, Betty morphed into Kathleen.
Kathleen and I saw Dr. and Mrs. Wineke walking down the hallway and went into his classroom. I didn't know whose classroom it was, but I had a hunch it was his. We ducked out the back door as they walked in the front door. We then moved around to the front door and pretended it was the first time we had seen his classroom. This time I noticed he was selling posters out of his classroom. I found a Barbie high heeled boot on the hallway floor and showed it to Kathleen. She said, "I can't believe you picked that up."
We then stuck our heads in a very small shop. A jazz trio was playing, so Kathleen started to sing all loungey. I followed up with "It Had To Be You." We then went back to auditorium.
We found Dave and John, but no Chet (who Kathleen was primarily searching for). While he said, "Check it, ladies," John flashed us a Visa credit card application and we pretended to swoon. He and Dave were wearing matching shirts.
The awards ceremony was still going on, but it was hard to hear. The woman carrying out the easel to put the poster announcing "Best Tutorial - Best Fiction" almost dropped all the items.
Another damn dream with HTML tags. Grrr.
On the positive side, I did have a dream about "10 minutes with Beck." I don't remember any of the ten minutes, but I had a fine time telling Kathleen that I had 10 minutes with Beck. It sounds so sinful.
I'm sicking of dreaming about HTML. Last night I dreamt in HTML. Sigh. The transcript of my dream (I couldn't make it out really) was all HTML-ed. (By the way, HTML should also be a verb).
I also had mild nightmares about grants and preschool. I kept chanting "Vicki knows I'm casual" (referring to an art teacher from a nearby elementary school). I also dreamt that I was driving a bunch of preschoolers around. Emma McC, a four year old, claimed that she wanted to live in her preschool forever.
I was teaching the history of Internet design to eight-year-olds.
I was walking in "Lakewood," a very ornate neighborhood along a lake. The outside facades of the homes had no windows: they were carved wood exteriors reminiscent of antique headboards. I opened the door to one house and immediately entered an elevator. My choices were "boring" or "romantic." I chose "romantic" to avoid "boring." When I exited the elevator, I was in a school. Ricky Martin was teaching and asked me if I loved him. I said no, but I knew a man who loved him. Ricky got very irritated and started to chase me. To escape him, I climbed up a vending machine full of cheesecakes. I later snuck out through the men's bathroom (it was stuffed with antiques and reportedly, a few men lived in there).
Mom, Grandma and I went grocery shopping. They filled up the cart with meat and prescription medication. Then Mom and I were riding in the van, fighting over whose pills were whose.
I then was trying to get to sleep (in the dream) by watching cable. I would have left it on some softcore detective porn, which tends to put me to sleep, but the sound quality was awful: there was a constant buzzing in the background.