Open Hand, Closed Fist

The Dream Cycle, 2011.1

2011-01-04T08:30:00.002-05:00

First dream of the New Year!

Spiders in the Abscess

In the dream, I had a large abscess on the big toe of my left foot. Hundreds of tiny spiders were pouring out of the abscess in waves. Which promptly woke me up since I thought that was nasty.

The Dream Cycle, 2010.5

2010-11-05T08:49:00.002-04:00

Wow, this year has been slooooow for remembering dreams. :/

Head Hats
In this dream, people were decapitating other people and wearing their heads as hats as if it was some kind of grotesque fashion statement. No. I don't know why. This dream may have been influenced by the movie 'The Corpse Bride' which had a 'living' head carried around by cockroaches in the movie.

Later in the dream, I ran into Mel Gibson who cut off his own head and wore it as a hat on his shoulders. Mel, you so crazy.

The Dream Cycle, 2010.4

2010-09-02T08:44:00.003-04:00

Ink in the Veins
I was looking in the mirror at my right eye because it felt like there was something in it. I had broken a blood vessel and the 'blood' was slowly seeping out through my eye... except it wasn't blood. It was pure black, like ink. It spread from the upper right area of my eye through the iris and pupil down towards the lower left.

Lions of the Old West
For whatever reason, I was in an old west type town. I was hiding in a room on the second floor of a hotel. Looking out the window of the room, I could see a lion and two lionesses stalking through the town. Every so often the animals would work together to attack a tethered horse or chase after a person. I had a six shooter and would take pot shots at the lions to distract them. There were reports of people being eaten by the lions, but I only ever saw the lions catch tethered horses.

The Dream Cycle, 2010.3

2010-07-02T08:33:00.002-04:00

Two for one!

Galaxy Brains
I was looking in the mirror at my left eye since it was bothering me. I saw a strange empty blackness in the corner of my eye and began pushing my eye into and towards the side of my head. I could now stare into my head and I saw a galaxy slowly spinning around, a million points of light all twinkling.

Rising Waters
I was standing on the beach (I think it was Ocean City, MD) staring out at the water. I noticed movement far to my right and strained to see what it was. Far far down the beach, the water was slowly rising like the waves were coming in at an angle to the shore and were inundating the area. I began moving up the beach.

The Dream Cycle, 2010.2

2010-03-02T08:52:00.004-05:00

Blue Shark

I had a large (about 30' long) wooden skiff with dual levels. Topside was regular, it had steering, mast, sails, and rigging. Below was a little more strange, near the front of the hull was a large 6' square trap door (hull door?) that led directly to the water. Normally, a boat would sink if the hull had a hole in it... but mine didn't! I would lower crab traps through the hull door and sometimes drop a fishing line down. For whatever reason, this is how I made my living.

At one point in the dream, I opened the hull door and there was a huge pink and purple jellyfish (man-o-war maybe?) at the opening. I let it pass and proceeded to pull up a trap. By chance I had pulled up a baby blue shark that was on top of the trap. It didn't look too happy and was thrashing around and crying like an infant. I noticed on the top of it's head it had a small wound so I fetched some gauze, anti-bacterial cream, and some waterproof tape and attempted to treat the hurt little shark. It worked! After that the shark was looking at me with big blue eyes.

And that's all I remember...

The Dream Cycle, 2010.1

2010-01-18T13:12:00.003-05:00

First remembered dream for 2010. Too bad I don't remember alot of it though.

Hunting Dillinger

I dreamt I was part of a federal agency tasked with tracking down John Dillinger. He's a 30's gangster who robbed multiple banks and was pretty notorious. Most of the dream is hazy, I remember talking to different people about Dillinger's whereabouts.

My team finally cornered him in the upper level of a bar/tavern where he seemed like he wanted to fight his way past us. I was trying to talk him into surrendering peacefully instead of opening up an imminent bloodbath.

What actually happened, I don't know... I woke up.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.13

2009-12-21T10:13:00.001-05:00

Wave after wave

I was in an second floor apartment at the beach in Ocean City, MD. It was sunny and I could see the myriad of people playing at the shoreline. Suddenly, I saw on the horizon, a massive wave beginning to emerge. I began yelling about the wave but went unheeded. I stood in a doorway, watching the wave race towards the shore and braced myself for the impact.

People then realized what was coming and started screaming, but it was too late. The wave hit hard and the water came up to my knees on the second floor. The sound was massive, a strong rushing sound. I felt the apartment building bend and shift back from the onslaught of the wave, but it held fast. Eventually the wave receded and there was debris everywhere.

I remembered reading that the waves usually happen multiple times so I got down from the apartment - climbed down really since the wood steps were demolished. Then proceded running inland. Other survivors were also moving inland and a few of us grouped up to try to find shelter.

We came upon a large concrete and steel tower (broadcast tower?) where some other people had climbed to the top. We were debating whether to go up there when they started yelling that another wave was coming fast. We began climbing but didn't quite get high enough before the wave hit. I was holding on to steel piping and bars when the force of the wave slammed into my back. I felt hands grab me and haul me out of the top of the second wave as it rushed through the town. After a few minutes, the tower began began creaking and shifting then bent to about a 45 degree angle from the ground. We held on for dear life and the water finally began calming and receding.

We got down from the bent tower and began moving farther inland again. We crossed coastal highway - debris, crushed cars, and bodies everywhere. We passed the demolished ruins of a firehouse as we made our way farther and then stopped. We found the edge of the bay. There was no more running, there was no where to go. We heard the familiar dreadful roar of a third wave and frantically began searching for another way to survive this wave.

We found a boat, tethered and somehow undamaged from the last two waves. There was enough room for the group and we climbed in and shoved off. The 20 ft. wave was bearing down on us as we got the motor started.

And I woke up...

The Dream Cycle, 2009.12

2009-12-16T09:10:00.002-05:00

Hey, another dream! Who'da thunk it!?

Escaping the Army, Escaping the Giant

In this dream I was a medieval longbowman. I must have been doing scout work in a lowland area since I was alone. There were grasslands and farmlands around along with some wooded areas. Old-style hovels dotted the landscape. Eventually I came across an enemy patrol, they noticed me and attacked. I ran circles around them, plinking them with arrows every chance that I got. More and more enemy showed on the scene - the patrol was actually a flanking side of an army! I weaved through the soldiers hitting them with my bow while avoiding sword and axe swings and made my way into a corn field to hide.

The army gave up pursuit and when I emerged from the other side of the corn field, there was a giant waiting for me. He was about 20 feet tall and looked very similar to Andre the Giant. I would run around him, sending arrows into him while he tried to punch and swipe at me. I remember one manuever of running up his back and hitting him in the head with my bow before jump-spiraling off to run around again. I don't know how this battle ended since I woke up before it was over.

Action packed!

The Dream Cycle, 2009.11

2009-11-18T09:14:00.004-05:00

It's been a slow year for remembering my dreams, well at least here's another to add to the blog.

Frozen in Time

A cold, shadowy landscape with the moon shining down. There were patches of snow and ice, everything was still and frozen over. I was running through a field trying to escape the inevitable doom that was following me. Each footstep crunched with shattering of frozen grass. A curved wall of ice and frost crystals was racing across the landscape behind me. It kept cracking, breaking, and reforming in a melody that sounded like breaking icicles and crystal chimes.

I tripped and fell, the wall of ice soon overtook me. It covered me, almost like a cocoon, the crystals grew around me locking me in to where I fell. I suddenly could see my own face, see the ice crystals growing and piercing through my skin. I saw my glassy green eyes fade to milky white as they froze over. My breath came out in a cloud of mist froze and fell. I became one with the ice.

The Conversation

2009-10-02T12:32:00.008-04:00

Time for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop again! The prompt is:

A series of conversations between this couple:

Conversation #1: (in the spirit of Halloween)
"I swear Helen, there was a zombie right here!"
"I'm sure there was, Harold."

Conversation #2:
"Good God, woman! If you don't stop griping I'm going to feed my hands to these little 'V's on the ground here!"

Conversation #3:
"Harold, it doesn't matter how much you stretch, your arms will never be as long as a gorilla's."

Conversation #4:
"Hut... hut... hi..."
"I'm not playing football with you, Harold."

Conversation #5:
"Casting a hex on the ground is not going to make the little 'V's go away, Harold."

I don't know why, but they look like a Helen and Harold to me.

Writer's Workshop: Ragnarok 2

2009-09-10T12:50:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'm continuing the 'first day' prompt of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop since she offered it again :). The first part can be found here, it's about a mortal witnessing the first day of Ragnarok (The Norse 'end of the world' scenario).

The First Day of Ragnarok, Part 2.

The snow falls in blinding torrents, a blizzard of epic proportions. This must be the infamous Fimbulvetr, the final winter, said to last three winters long. Does that mean three seasons or three years? It doesn't really matter. Those damned teeth are drawing nearer.

Far to the South the sky is aglow in amber oranges and crimson reds. Something massive advances there. From the North the cold wind shrieks, banshees in maelstroms, I'll freeze if I don't find shelter. Houses, trees, ground, buildings, streets, they all explode in violent fury towards the West. The teeth tearing through them, devouring everything, I have to run, must get away.

My rout is to no avail, the earth buckles and heaves under my feet as the ground tears from its foundation. Flung high into the air, I smash into objects, fleash tearing and bones snapping. Bludgeoned and bleeding I fall into the maw of the Great Wolf, it's burning eyes scarring the skies. Darkness surrounds me for a minute, than everything grows crystal clear. I float above the wolf, transparent.

Soul ripped from the body, still I'll stay and watch this terrible spectacle. I am no Einherjar and no Valkyrie will come to collect me. I'll not travel to Valhalla and the road to Hel is congested with throngs of frantic souls. I'll remain an earth-bound spirit for now, observing and remembering.

The wolf howls in furious rage, a challenge has been issued. An armored man on an eight-legged steed stands for the wolf. Spear in hand, he smiles grimly and charges. A fierce battle cry echoes throughout the worlds, the All-Father has come to join the fray. The battle rages but Old One Eye falls, swallowed whole by the wolf. Yet, revenge will have its day, the son avenges the father. Vidarr steps on the lower jaw of the wolf while grasping and tearing the upper jaw up to the heavens. Here is where the wolf dies, but its brother rises.

The oceans heave and roll, coastal towns and cities inundated, the great World Serpent has begun its ascent from the depths. Sinewy and twisting, the serpent Jorgmundr slithers onto land. It thrashes and lunges attacking all in its path, spewing poison as it kills. Another challenge sounds, cracks of thunder and arcs of lightning rip through the sky. A warrior with a great hammer stands upon a cloud. The two circle and strike. Fangs pierce flesh and hammer smites scales. Soon they both lie upon broken earth, lifeless.

The entirety of the Earth shudders as terrible battles commence everywhere. Gods, Man and animals perish, the sky groans and winds stand still. In a final gasp, all land masses sink below the sea, all save the forested land called Hoddmimir. In that thick glade is where the cycle begins anew.

After time, a new sun burns through the clouded skies and the myriad pinpoints of stars show again. Sol birthed a daughter and now she continues the lighted path. New landmasses rise from quiet seas and life begins to take root again. From the depths of Hoddmimir's Holt, step Lif and Lifthrasir into the new sunlight, healthy from feeding on the morning dew. These two in peace, the cycle of humanity continues.

Writer's Workshop: Ragnarok

2009-09-03T12:04:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'm tagging the 'first day' prompt of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today. I'm going a little fictitous with this story. I've been reading alot of Norse Mythology lately and decided to write about a mortal witnessing the first day of Ragnarok (The Norse 'end of the world' scenario).

The First Day of Ragnarok.

Woken from my sleep by a eerie ghostly howl of a hound. I don't hear it so much as I feel it, it reverberates through every inch of my flesh making my bones ache in terrible foreboding. The house shakes with this baying, cabinets open on their own with plates shattering on the floor. Out the window, the trees look to cringe in their place, leaves shaking from their branches in fear. Almost like a quake, the earth shudders to the crescendo of the howl and then silence. Stillness reigns over all, nothing moves, no bird sings, no wind blows; uneasy expectation dominates all.

Suddenly, the tearing sound of leather, chain, and steel. The sounds of a thousand fetters rending apart. A triumphant roar rattles all of existence. A booming declaration of infernal intention, my blood feels like it's freezing in its veins. The windows shatter with a rush of wind, the walls creak from some unseen strain, a gale has descended upon us. Out into the day I push but the light seems to falter.

I don't understand this. It's the middle of August yet only twenty degrees outside. The sky roars like a lion, its breath a bone-chilling wind. And the Sun! Our glorious Life-Bringer fights for its own life! Shadows of fangs cut into the solar disc, the light is slowly dimming. Yet at the same time, the moon cracks apart! Chunks of Luna disappearing from the Heavens as if they're being devoured by a monstrous celestial maw. The luminous twins fall to their unseen assailants. Darkness engulfs everything.

Still I can see, random fires illuminate this informal night. On the horizon, something... horrifying. Great teeth, like a canine or lupine, thousands of feet high. A mouth that reaches from earth to sky, slavering over morsels of life, devouring everything in its path. Above the mouth and barely seen, those eyes, those burning eyes. Pinpoints of hateful fire, straining with madness and hunger.

There's no point in running, there's no place to run to. It's begun to snow?

Writer's Workshop: The Break

2009-08-27T08:48:00.002-04:00

Ok, I'm tagging the 'break' prompt of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today. Mama Kat wrote about her collar bone fracture, I figured I would share mine. There's a bit of a fun story in it. :)

How did you break it?

Back in my younger days, I was really into the punk/thrash/metal scene. I loved hitting shows, jumping into the pit, and letting the steam out, so to speak. I was around 18 (half a lifetime ago!) at the time and went with a bunch of friends to a local concert. There weren't many people there, so it was a relatively open floor. The band was jamming out, and we were doing the usual - moshing. At some point I caught air and landed square on my upper back... that's when the fun began.

When I hit the ground, I hit hard. I heard this sickening wet crunch and the worst feeling (not pain) ran through my body. It was something akin to nausea and dread - I'll call it drasuea for now. I remember I got all clammy from it too, almost like I was in shock from that horrible sound. Oddly enough I wasn't hurting at all, well until my buddy Dave came up, put his hands under my shoulder and proceeded to lift me up. The ***PAIN***. The wrenching of the bones in my shoulder told me that I broke something. So I got a lift to the hospital.

Of course, hospitals are always fun. Do you note the sarcasm? Sitting in a waiting room for three hours. Kudos to my friends though, they hung out with me the whole time. Finally, I got x-rayed and got to see the break. My left clavicle broken clean in two... neat and nasty at the same time. The docs splinted and slung me, gave me a prescription for percoset (whooohooo!) and sent me on my way.

Over the next few weeks I healed pretty slowly. That damn splint was the biggest pain in the ass. It wrapped around both my shoulders, under the armpits and met in the center of my back in an 'X' - that's where it hooked. It was very difficult to work with one armed; I usually needed help to remove and put on the splint. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if it was a splint, but that's what I'm calling it. Ok, so maybe it wasn't completely the splints problem that I healed slowly... I kept trying to play my guitar with a broken shoulder. Hey! I'm a man of music, dammit!

The percoset were very very fun. They only lasted about 2 weeks... and I don't remember those two weeks, but I know nothing hurt. Actually there was only one time where the pain floored me after the inital break - I got hit by a vertigo spell (I've suffered from vertigo for as long as I can remember) and fell shoulder first into a wall. I let out a scream something akin to a banshee's wail.

The only really good thing to come out of breaking my collar bone was the attention. A bunch of the girls I was friends with back then felt so bad that I had broken a bone. They would bring me cookies, help with the splint, make dinner, etc. for a good bit of time. Yeah, I milked it for all it was worth. :D

Heh, the collar bone never healed right. I have a triangular bump sticking a little bit out of my shoulder now. The halves of the bone actually healed one on top of the other. Makes my left arm weak unfortunately - can't put pressure on it. Go figure.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.10

2009-08-06T08:27:00.003-04:00

I feel like this year was slow in my dream cycle - not remembering much of what I dreamt. Oddly enough, these last three nights I've dreamt and rememered bits and pieces. So today comes a small conglomerate of dreams.

Grandmother

I was meeting with my family for some kind of gathering. At some point in my travels to reach them, I found my grandmum. (My grandmum - my sisters and I call her Nanny - passed away in '91 - the day I graduated high school :/ ) She was wandering around, not lost per se but more like exploring wherever she felt like going. I convinced her to come see the family with me and we went to the party.

I remember arriving at the place and walking in saying "Look who I found!" and pointing at the doorway. She comes walking in and everyone goes crazy greeting her and seeing how she is. The only other part I remember is that she was listening to everyone in turn, getting updates on everyone's lives.

Yellow Spiders

Yes, another spider dream. I'm not sure where I was but I remember seeing a two foot round yellow and black spider holding another dead yellow-black spider in its mandibles. The spider kept circling me, looking like it wanted to attack me but would not release the other spider. I don't know if it killed the other spider or I did... maybe that spider was its companion? Maybe an enemy?

That's all I remember, I know there was a third dream but it's too fuzzy to write about. I'm not sure why I remembered these two... I need to find a way to remember my dreams more often.

Writer's Workshop: Giddiness

2009-07-23T10:08:00.005-04:00

Ok, I'm tagging the 'giddiness' prompt of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today. It got my brain juices flowing. :)

What are you giddy about?

I'm giddy about the new show "Warehouse 13" on the Sci-Fi channel. It's about two top FBI agents who get drafted into a secret program that has them scouring the country for artifacts that mess with peoples lives. So far there has been mind-control through eclectic music, subconscious release of desires via a psycho-analysts mojo-infused chair, bleeding stone idols that make person murderers, and a renaissance comb created by alchemy that contains the 'spirit' of a hateful woman in the mix. The actors and actresses have a great sense of chemistry and humor that makes for a fun presentation to the story. The warehouse itself is remniscent of the warehouse at the end of the Indiana Jones Raiders movie. It's full of artifacts that are still very active.

I'm NOT giddy that the Sci-Fi channel changed their name/logo to Syfy. Lame.

I'm giddy that my skill in brush-painting is improving. I'm incorporating scenes into my knowledge beside stand-alone studies. I'm also getting a better feel for using color in my paintings (I prefer using ink and wash (black, grey, and white) but I don't want to limit myself). And I'm sloooooooowly getting better with blending colors and shades of gray in the wet-on-wet technique. Maybe I should take a straight watercolor class (Western/modern-style) to get a bit more tutelage on that aspect of the art?

I'm giddy from the coffee I'm drinking. It's Irish Cream flavored. Tasty.

I'm giddy that every day passing is a day closer to no more college. So. Sick. Of. School.

Three Methods To My Madness

2009-07-16T12:46:00.004-04:00

I haven't written in a while. So here's something for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

What are three things we would love to know about you!

1 - I freaking love art. Traditional, digital, oils, watercolor, 2D, 3D, photography, acting, music, etc. My main focus is ink and wash painting based upon Chinese and Japanese traditions. And my blog name is from the style - Ink and Stone also known as Sumi and Suzuri. I messed with oils years ago, used to paint scenes out of a magazine called Realm. It's a travel magazine that deals with Britain and has some of the most beautiful scenery photos I've ever scene. Excellent photographers there. Of course, there's music too... I've composed and produced electronic and traditional-based music through a few different genres. I did that more as a form of personal therapy than anything else. While I haven't composed anything in a long time, I still contemplate it. I can hear the midi-controller, stratocaster, samplers, and synthesizers all calling me. :) Acting? Well, ok, role-playing games really. It's a form of acting and provides a brief respite from the doldrums of reality. But true acting? No thank you - I'm not comfortable in front of crowds, I prefer not to be the center of attention.

2 - I think I found my philosophy in Taoism. Just kind of a 'go with the flow' mentality. Avoid conflict and don't look for conflict. Ignore the extreme highs and crushing lows, just be content with existence. Respect Nature and respect each other. Distance from those who only want trouble. Improve oneself. (I'm not a Taoist, just someone who's learning it.)

3 - I sing my ass off in my car when I'm alone driving where ever. Put on a good song, press that accelerator down and go! Considering I like aggressive music, sometimes I wind up hurting my throat. :) And if it's an instrumental - I'll still sing it, 'choraling' so-to-speak with the harmony of the song.

So there's three methods to my madness.

The Old Pine

2009-06-06T16:50:00.002-04:00

My version of Qing Gaozong's Old Pine:

The Old Pine
Ink on Shuen Rice Paper.
The little brown sliver on the left of the image is part of the wood block holding the paper down.

Painting the twisting nature of the pine was interesting, it was a simple lesson in remembering not to cross certain lines. I tried to take extra care with the needles - trying to keep larger needle strokes near the center of the bunches and smaller needle strokes on the outside.

I started the painting with very light ink and then added darker inks in layers. The final layer was black ink with a wet brush for the tree's edges. The bark texture is a mix of black ink - dry brush and light grey ink - wet brush.

Writer's Workshop - 06-03-09

2009-06-04T14:26:00.003-04:00

Here's an interesting writing idea from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop: write your own obituary. Sounds fun so I'll give it a whirl.

Ink's Obituary
With solemn words, we regret to inform the public of the passing of Ink at 183 years of age. He was in the National Aquarium in Baltimore where he was shot by an old friend who was angered by his 'The Rolling Stones suck' comment, subsequentlly falling into the mako shark tank and while being devoured the building was hit by a meteor. Twice.

Ink led an interesting full of wonder and mischief. As everyone is aware of he made some startling discoveries in the areas of Science, Technology, and Art. His anti-aging pill helped to eliminate the ravages of old age while simultaneously increasing the 'mad scientist' gene in all who imbibed it. His invention of flying cars that runs on weasel-power (a renewable energy resource) helped to lead the way to cleaner and weaselier future.

At one point in his life he began experimenting with the gravitational constant of mass and found how to create black holes around grains of sand. Unfortunately, this technology was banned when an experiment conducted by many people affected by his anti-aging pill went awry and half of France was obliterated... the bad half. (sorry France!) Oddly enough, at that time croissant sandwich stock went through the roof making many people rich.

His love of painting shone by many thousands of paintings that he painted. With paint. He also contributed to quite a few charities such as Defenders of Wildlife, St. Jude's Childrens Hospital, NRDC, Mad Scientists of America, Weasel Weekly, and Fringe Science for Fun and Profit. He also helped to found the financial magazine, Croissanting: Investing Wisely in Pastry Futures.

He is survived by many pissed-off weasels.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.6

2009-05-28T09:15:00.003-04:00

Boa Constrictors and Flamethrowers
I was in a large house with a few other people. I feel it was part of a military unit, but I'm not quite sure. Someone gave me a flamethrower (score!) to use in battle. It turns out that the house was invaded by a huge boa constrictor and that we had to take it out.

We started out in the basement (I don't know how we got there) and began moving towards the stairs up. At the bottom of the stairs was a 4 foot by 3 foot platform. This platform was covered by scarab beetles. The sarge (looked like he was from WW2) told me to light those buggers up. So I did. It was kind of odd though, when I attacked with the flamethrower, the flames shot out in a 'square cone' if that makes any sense. I commenced with incinerating those Egyptian beetles. For some odd reason, the house didn't catch fire.

So the unit makes it's way up the stairs. We get into the living room area and a guy in the unit called 'Windows' (he was wearing glasses) tells everyone to hold and listen. We hear a faint hissing and know the boa is near. We're holding still waiting and watching, but the python is not moving either. It lasted like that for what felt an hour....

then I woke up.

I'm pretty sure I know where the different elements of the dream come from this time. The snake theme comes from watching 'Life After People' - the episode was talking about boas becoming the dominant predator in florida swamps. Flamethrowers? Ok I got nothing. 'Windows' was a character in the movie 'The Thing' which I watched again (for the 50 millionth time - love that movie!) over the weekend. The scarab beetles are probably inspired by some stories from Egyptian mythology that I was reading yesterday. And the whole WW2 unit... well I play alot of WW2 games like Call of Duty: World at War.

Writer's Workshop - 05-21-09

2009-05-21T12:39:00.003-04:00

Here we go again! Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop - Dig it!

Share a love letter.
It's not what you think. Or maybe it is, I dunno.

To the world and existence:
You constantly surprise me with your ups and downs. I love the roar of the ocean waves and the remote majesty of the mountains, the flowing rivers that connect us together and the expansive fields that keep us apart, the violent storms that energize my soul and the sunny days that keep my blues in check, the howling beasts of the field and the beautiful flowers that inspire paintings, the catastrophes that end civilizations and the golden ages that show our resourcefulness, the introverted secret journeys and the wide-spread pack mentality, the blood steaming off the pavement and the tears of side-splitting laughter, the corpse that decays in holy ground and the innocent smile of a newborn, the faint light of a myriad of stars and the overwhelming presence of our Sun, the smallest grain of sand and the largest boulder on the hill, the chill of the whispering wind and the warmth of a Summer breeze, the cycle of everything and the meaning of nothing.

Now that's a run-on sentence. :)

The Dream Cycle, 2009.5

2009-05-06T08:51:00.005-04:00

Attacked by a Giant Alien Turtle
I was on the rooftop of a building in a city with a bunch of other people. We were having a party and chilling out. This city had a bay, suddenly something large went streaking across the sky and crashed into the bay. I was expecting a large wave to come hit the city but it never came.

After the mist cleared out in the bay, I saw a gain turtle that looked similar to Gamera.

Except that this turtle looked more like a snapping turtle and it's shell plates rose into large wedged spikes. It began moving towards the city.

I sat and watched transfixed as utter chaos engulfed the city. The monster was rampaging, destroying everything in its path. Building were crumbling under the onslaught; droves of people fleeing in all directions; cars and busses crushed. I stayed on the roof top watching. And I woke up.

It was neat to have my own monster feature in a dream. Now I have to figure out a way to draw it! Career in Kaiju, here I come!

The Dream Cycle, 2009.4

2009-05-04T08:58:00.002-04:00

In Class
I was in an art class and for some reason I was wearing an old medieval-style cloak. Maybe it was the dreaded holocaust cloak? :) I remember I was painting different things and talking to this girl who was sitting next to me and painting also. There were three major pigments we were using, ground from stones. These were azurite, malachite, and amethyst (blue, green, and purple respectively). All of these colors in their different hues and values made for a great landscape painting.

And there was more do the dream... but I don't remember it. :(

Writer's Worshop, 4-23-09

2009-04-23T08:49:00.002-04:00

Sure I haven't written anything in a while and my dreams (that are worth recording) don't seem to be happening. Yet Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop usually has a good prompt or two to get the creative juices flowing. I'm running with two prompts this week to make up for my slacker-ness.

Book Review: Scottish Ghosts

I've been reading a conglomeration of stories about Scottish ghosts recently. It's a well composed book, full of interesting stories written by Elliot O'Donnell (I think that's the authors name, I dont have the book in front of me right now.) The book contains different 'genres' of ghost stories, all historical accounts. Castles, battles, regular residences, holy places, and devil sightings are all covered within. It covers all kinds of ghosts too; the longing lost, jilted lovers, benevolent spirits, mad lords, and more malevolent spirits. It's definitely worth a read if you like good ghost stories based on historical accounts.

I'll never forget...

I'll never forget...
My late Grandmother's spirit
Her strength and her life

Now she lends her spirit
Across the island of Oahu
Scattered to Diamondhead

I'll never forget...
Someone who used to be close
How this world damaged you

Love that was once so bright
Shining like the burning sun
Only shadow remains

I'll never forget...
The animals of my childhood
Every dog, cat, and bird

Jingles, Buttons, Bear,
Sid Whiffle, Duchess, Reagan,
Poogy the Cheesepuff!

I'll never forget...
My life out in Pittsburgh
Wandering streets at 4 am

An empty city
These hollow concrete spires
Covered in ice, surreal

I'll never forget...
The roots of my existence
Where I have come from

And where I may go
Will always be tempered
By memory and experience

I'll never forget...
My desire to create
And move people's souls

Open their eyes
To ever-present possibilities
That life is more than consuming

Writer's Workshop, 4-2-09

2009-04-02T10:09:00.005-04:00

So I haven't written anything for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for a while now. Sometimes I don't feel inspired to write, sometimes I'm just plain lazy. Either or, I'm back at the keys now. The prompt below tweaked my interest, so here we go.

Describe a moment when you felt afraid.

Pittsburgh. June of '98. Tornado.
I was living in Pittsburgh while going to college out there. (Art Institute of Pittsburgh, aw right!) I remember I had just gotten back from classes, took the Incline up Mt. Washington and walked back to my apartment. I had made a bowl of rigatoni and just sat down to eat when it got really, REALLY loud outside.

I went over to the window and peaked outside. I saw on the street below (apt. was on the second floor) a pick-up truck stopped at a stop sign, then a f@#$ing roof FELL on the pickup truck! He backed up quick and took off and I went ruinning into the center of the building downstairs. It sounded like there was a freight train everywhere. All around was this roaring sound. It scared nine shades of grey out of me.

Eventually the wind died down. My apt. building took minor damage. The chimney collapsed and some siding was ripped off. Just down the street, though, was a different story. The photo to the right is only a half a block away from where I lived. The tornado was a F1, "little" compared to other tornados. Still enough to rip the third floor off a couple homes though.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.3

2009-03-19T08:38:00.003-04:00

Barbequeing Tips From Lucifer

So in my dream I was at a barbeque. There were tons of people and I remember being responsible for tending to some of the grills. At one point during the festivities, Lucifer (who was at the barbeque for some reason) came over to talk to me. Now Lucifer looked like the Lucifer from the movie Constantine, in a nice suit and tar all over his feet. He told me that I was his son (whatever) and then started giving me tips on how to properly barbeque chicken and burgers. Yes, this is the extent of my dark humor... He who is responsible for roasting millions of souls giving me barbequeing tips.

At some point, me and someone else (I don't remember who) decide to jet from the barbeque. The barbeque was on top of this really large hill - flat at the top, more like a plateau I guess - with a road that leads down to a main road. The main road was all backed up in one direction, so I decided to drive the other direction. I found that there were air conditioning units scattered on the road every 100 feet or so... figured that was the cause of the backup, even though the units were in my lane.

And that's the dream. o.O

The Dream Cycle, 2009.2

2009-03-09T08:52:00.003-04:00

House Fire

Once again, I was in my old neighborhood. Standing outside my house, I heard this strange screeching/thrumming sound and saw what I guess was a falling star smash into the roof of my neighbor's house. The object was maybe only the size of a golfball.

Where the object crashed was slightly concealed by a gable on the roof of the house. I could see the flickering glow slowly growing and knew that the house had caught fire. I was transfixed. I saw the fire spread across the rooftop of the house. Yet, I could not move or call for help. It was odd.

And the fire burned...

The Mayo Incident

2009-02-19T08:15:00.006-05:00

This is for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. A nice little blog, go over there and check it out.

The prompt:
Write about something mean you did to a sibling growing up.

Well, I was actually the baby of the family, I have two older sisters so I never really got to do much of anything mean to them. Not to mention that I really don't like confrontation and causing bad mojo so I try to stay on the down low.

My sisters, on the other hand, used to torture the shit out of me when I was little. This is the record of one such incident.

I used to love yogurt. It was one of my favorite treats, never mind that it was pretty healthy (compared to some of the other crap I like. :) My favorite kind is the fruit-at-the-bottom kind. Peach, strawberry, blueberry, banana, pineapple, and so on - I love almost all of the flavors.

Well, one day I went rooting through the 'fridge looking for something to munch on. I spied with my wandering eye a yogurt cup on the 'fridge door and decided 'Hey! Munchy!' When I picked up the cup, I noticed that the lid to it was loose... that should have been a warning sign... but I'm naive. Go figure. I thought that someone had opened it to eat it and then decided not to. Yes. Naive.

That little voice inside my head said 'It's a trap!'
I stabbed that voice with a Q-tip.

I spooned a nice big heap of 'yogurt' into my mouth and then something strange happened. My autonomic nervous functions failed for what felt like an eternity. Let me explain... I was expecting a delightfully yogurty-fruity taste explosion... what I got was the horrible taste of mayonaisse. Or to more accurately describe it... 'the flavor of a thousand rotting kitten corpses'. I've never been a big fan of mayo. I only like it in chicken or shrimp salad, and that's it. Mayonaisse in its pure, unadulterated form is the antithesis of everything holy in the world.

That moment, that eternity, became a world of pure revulsion.
I shit you not.

A second later, I spit out that awful mass and gagged and gagged and gagged. Now, I don't remember (unfortunately) if either of my sisters were there. I seem to remember hysterical laughter - but there's been so many times where I've endured their hysterical laughter that its all blurred together to me now. I could have just imagined it, but I don't think so. Nor do I know which of my sisters actually pulled that prank.

There's actually been quite a few different 'incidents'. From the Red Hots Incident to waking me up early on a Saturday morning telling me, "You're late for school!" The horrors, I tell you, the horrors!

But it's ok though, baby brother got them back many times over now. :) My inane ramblings drive them crazy - just how I like it - and I don't plan to ever stop.

Five Favorite Things

2009-02-12T13:52:00.010-05:00

An assignment from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop:

List your five most recent favorite things.

In no particular order, here we go.

Chinese Art
It's quickly becoming my lifeblood. I find that I get 'fevers' if you will where I need to paint. Almost like a madness, the desire to express and create.

Tea
Mmmm, Tea... ...and Numi makes some excellent tea.

Left 4 Dead
Zombie killing at its best! This game is great! Get three friends to join in and survive through four different boards of zombie apocalypse OR get seven friends to play together and have zombies versus humans matches! Fun for the whole family!

Lost
So much weird crap and storylines that twist about and around on themselves. It's a dizzying array of entertainment and one of my favorite shows.

Anime/Manga
Bad ass, I tell you! There are a ton of good stories and animations out there in the anime world. The image above is one such anime called Hellsing.

Writer's Workshop

2009-02-05T20:16:00.006-05:00

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop? I'm taking the 'write' out of Writer's Workshop and replacing it with 'paint'. :) Pictures speak louder than words on this one, though I think the photos don't do them justice - still getting used to this new Olympus camera. (Yeah, I suck at photography.)

Describe a talent you have - Chinese Brush Painting.

The following paintings are currently mounted on drawing board as they dry during the backing process.

Bamboo and Leaves.
Shuen paper with a rice paper backing. Painted in ink.

Gallery One.
This is a reproduction I did of a painting by my teacher, Jiang Zhe Zhou. I used watercolor and ink. Once again it's shuen paper with a rice paper backing.

Bamboo in Moonlight.
I experimented with paint droplets and a lack of ink to create a moon effect. The bamboo is in ink and paint. This is Japanese rice paper backed on more Japanese rice paper.

The Dream Cycle, 2009.1

2009-02-03T08:56:00.002-05:00

Defending The House Against Zombies

I was in a 3-story house with a few other people. The house was relatively modern, but had no power and the windows were boarded up. For whatever reason, zombies were on a rampage outside and we were trying to stay quiet and undetected. The zombies were of the fast 28 Days Later style.

At some point, some zombies started bashing on the front door of the house - near where where I was. One actually punched a hole in the door and I could see its rotting face growling and looking inside. So I pulled out a pistol I had and shot it in the face. With that one dying, the other zombies went nuts and starting ripping the faceless one apart and eating it. Yes, the zombies even eat their own.

The door began to crack and splinter as I fired off a few more shots at the zombies. We retreated to the second floor and then the third floor to make our last stand against the zombies. And then I woke up...

'cause I felt like I was being watched.

Writer's Workshop, 01-16-2009

2009-01-16T08:47:00.004-05:00

Still, I haven't remembered any of my dreams lately. I find that disturbing. Oh well, it's time for Mama Kat's writer's workshop again. The prompt below seems like a really interesting idea, so I'll try it. The line is from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poetic style seems to be in six syllables per line which makes me think he Coleridge was writing in the Alexandrine style (6 syllables per 2 lines) but it doesnt match it exactly. Eh, I'll just run with it. :) Ok, so I went with 6 and 7 syllable lines - in no particular order.

Choose a poem you like. Take the last line and use it as the first line of your own poem.

He rose the morrow morn,
Still within the fatigue,
The journey pushed his limits,
As he crossed the many leagues.

Cleaning up the bedroll,
And after the breakfast meal,
The tent now packed away,
He begins the new ordeal.

No time to entertain,
The aches of a body tired,
The journey must continue,
Tempered by inner fire.

Like a leaf aloft and free,
He travels as fate guides,
His companion is the Sun,
And his house the endless sky.

Scanning the timeless horizon,
His destination unfolds,
The centuries to wander,
Still searching for his soul.

Writer's Workshop, 01-08-2009

2009-01-08T10:05:00.005-05:00

Here we go with Mama Kat's writer's workshop again. My first time with writing in the New Year... besides haikus, that is.

So I asked each of my sisters to write 6 descriptive words about me. Of course Donna gave me 7. (Poor girl can't count... j/k!) And here they are:

6 descriptive words about me from a family member... or two in this case.

From Michelle:
1. Sensitive
2. Humorous
3. Thoughtful
4. Caring
5. Intelligent
6. Philosophical

From Donna:
1. Sensitive
2. Loyal
3. Trustworthy
4. Funny
5. Shy
6. Smart
7. Stubborn

Pretty much on the money I think. Interesting that sensitive was at the top of the list on each. Stubborn, though? It's not that I'm stubborn, I just know when I'm right! ;-P

[EDIT - Wow my grammar SUCKS today. :/]

Writer's Workshop

2008-12-11T08:48:00.005-05:00

Mama Kat's writer's workshop is on the up and up again and there were many interesting choices to choose from. Though there was one that really appealed to my sense of creativity and imagination...

Describe a favorite Winter memory.

Walking in late evening after a newly fallen snow. The atmosphere is both silent and still, it was probably the most peaceful feeling I've ever felt in my life. The power had gone out due to the heavy-ish snow and the only light was from the luminescent glow of the moon that sporadically peaked through the empty clouds in the sky.

I walked between pine trees to a shed in the backyard and sat in the snow with my back against a pile of firewood and listened. There was nothing. Not the rustling of branches in a slow wind, no scurrying of animals, or the chirping of birds. There was no traffic on the streets, no low roar of engines on the highway, no sound of people about their business.

I felt I was witnessing something holy. The quiet resignation of life to nature. A sleeping hiatus that swept over the entire town; such a sense of tranquility that was both inspiring and overpowering.

On a completely different note, my sister and I have lost our minds via a series of email conversations:

My Sister:
The squirrel set the alarm off breaking the tranquility of the cybersporic abomination the weebles had struggled so hard to keep under the sandwich wrapper.

Me:
It’s like eating cement that atrophied in the stomach of a Dyson Sphere after the show ‘House’ was canceled due to megalomaniacal lepers who fused with bleach detergent called to arms the forces of diabolic chicken-weasels that could only sing in alto ‘Carmina Burana’ while smearing molasses on some salt-flavored monkey wrenches that incessantly called for wax figurines of the Knights Templar in triplicate.

My Sister:
While I agree with the diplomatic diplodocus theorem on diverting the duodenum contents into the tube-like structure of the alfalfa sprouted intestines pre-empted by the docile dictionarium disciple, small, the matter regarding the salt-flavored monkey wrenches is abhorrently in error as the taste of monkey is more aptly comparable to the delightful cuisine deluxo of mashed taters with a hint of garlic butter.

Me:
Ah, but the resonating differential of the diplodocus theorem is really just a theory of like-produces-like which entirely depends on the non-entity of the like which completely predates the use of alfalfa sprouted intestines. If this differential remains in perpetual juju, then the monkey solution holds more water than a sponge in any of the finger lakes since finger lakes are nothing more than finger sandwiches used in creating the mass exploratory of pancake logic without the boysenberry sauce. So, if that remains the constant in the quadratic equation of inequality than the supposed ‘cuisine deluxo’ is really nothing more than a cuisine ‘simplistico’ made of fruits, nuts, berries, tiny rocks, string, carburetors, paper airplanes, and the occasional semi-quixotic monkey wrench.

Hossanah!

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-11-21T11:08:00.006-05:00

So yeah, guess what I dreamed about!

Zombies!

I've been playing Left 4 Dead way too much since its release on Tuesday. For those of you who don't know, Left 4 Dead is a PC/XBox game that pits you (and 3 other players) as survivors in a city infested with zombies. You have to escape. It's hard. Very hard. :) Which makes it fun. There are times when you get attacked by hordes of zombies. It's great! I am preparing for the inevitable apocalypse.

Braaaaaaaaaaiiins...

Writer's Workshop

2008-11-19T15:12:00.001-05:00

Mama Kat has put up the next set of prompts over at her blog for the writer's workshop. Think I'll write about something a little more personal this week.

Write about something that bothered you this week.

This past Monday my mother was in the hospital to get her pacemaker replaced. The old pacemaker was running out of juice which in turn meant her ticker was running out of juice. She even mentioned that she could feel the pacemaker was losing energy since she would get tired more easily from moderate exercise. That is a scary thought to know that your heart is slowing down. I was worried for my makuahine!

It was outpatient surgery and she went through it just fine. Luckily, my sister works at the hospital where my mom was getting the operation done. This afforded me the play-by-play of what was happening. Here are some of my sister's text messages, paraphrased: "Mom arrived at the hospital", "She's now in pre-op and on hold", "The op is starting later than planned now", "She's gone in!", "Mom came through with flying colors!", "I'm taking the rest of the day off now".

Both of my sisters and I worry ourselves sick whenever either Mom or Dad need to go into the hospital. Though I figure most families have that same mindset. No sleeping, no eating, just worry worry worry. The bad thing is we have these kind of worries even for the little things. "Dad's going in for a checkup?? What's wrong? What kind of checkup? Do you need me there to drive? Is it his thyroid again? Its just a regular checkup? No such thing!" Yeah, we're freaks. :)

And I personally despise hospitals. I don't see them as places of healing. I see them as cold, clinical, breeding grounds for germs. Never mind the fact that hospitals contain monolithic potential for zombie infestation that is absolutely staggering. (Yes, I've been playing Left 4 Dead. ;P )

Writer's Workshop

2008-11-13T08:30:00.005-05:00

So Mama Kat has put up the next set of prompts over at her blog for the writer's workshop. This time around I'm going to tackle three of these prompts.

1.) Write a haiku about what you see out the window.

Structured mass of glass
Building rises to the sky
A reflective skin

Concrete vein stretches
Traffic is the highway's blood
Extending outward

Incidentally, I have a blog dedicated to nothing but haikus.
If you're interested, take a look: The Daily Haiku.

2.) Begin with "I thought I saw..."

Considering the main purpose of this OHCF blog is to record my dreams, I thought this second prompt could fit well with it.

I thought I saw, in a dream, a great nuclear cloud rising above the city. I was in the bedroom of my apartment and looked out the window towards Philadelphia. The sight that greeted me was both horrendous and terrifying. The cloud was an ominous mixture of orange, red, and black. I stumbled back from the window aghast, eyes wide with fear...

... and promptly woke up, sweating and slightly shaking. I usually don't wake from nightmares, but this scared the crap out of me. I am glad it was only a dream and pray that it never happens to any city on this planet.

3.) If I could live in any era of history, what would it be -- list 10 reasons why.

I'm mixing a few different eras into the list since listing ten reasons for any one era would be a bit difficult. :)

Ancient Greece.
I would have loved to experience this era. Some of the greatest leaps in scientific advancement came from it.

Also, I would have liked to live in Ancient Greece to experience a fully polytheistic society.

And Ancient Greece's dashing manner of fashion! Toga! Toga! Toga! (OK, so I'm kidding on this one. ;)

China during the Song Dynasty
Some of the greatest brush painters have come from this era. I find so much inspiration in their paintings and I try to learn from them as I create my own paintings.

The Viking Times
Ok, so this is my heritage talking here. Granted they were big on pillaging and plundering, but were also big on exploration. I would have loved to have been on one of the longships that discovered Iceland, Greenland, or Nova Scotia.

OK, it's not ten, but that's what I got!

Writing time...

2008-11-05T15:46:00.005-05:00

It's that time again! More literary strangeness for the writer's workshop by Mama's Losin' It. This bit is a flight of fancy (a somewhat foreboding flight of fancy, that is) of a slightly surreal situation. It's somewhat written in broken thoughts - the way I think, the way I imagine, the way I visualize. :)

You awaken with amnesia in what looks to be an igloo. You have $4 and a rock in one pocket, and a toothbrush in the other. Someone is staring at you. Write this scene.

Blackness... ow... my head hurts. Feels like somebody embedded a gutter nail into my right temple. I put my hand to the right side of my face and head; crust flakes away from the skin. Dried blood - caked on my face and in my hair. Wonderful. What the hell happened to me? My head pulses in short little stabs of pain, but other than that, I feel fine. I can feel a large gash above my right ear... and stitches?

I bolt upward, sitting forward as the blanket falls from my face and chest. The light assaults my senses. As my eyes adjust, I see musty white with a hint of cyan everywhere. Ice? Holy crap, it's cold. Where the hell is my shirt? Wow, there's dried blood all over my chest and right shoulder and arm too. I pull the blanket around me as I slowly begin to discern my surroundings. One opening in the wall, a table with a picture frame upon it, this bed, a gas heater, the walls curve inward as they go upward. Is this a freaking igloo?

I stand from the bed and begin looking around. In a box by the bed, I find a shirt, coat, gloves, hat, and shoes. I guess it's time to get dressed. Now properly attired for this chilly environment, I decide to explore the igloo a little more. What first catches my eye is the picture frame on the table. It contains the photo of a little Beagle staring soulfully at me. I slide the photo from its frame and look at the back, "C.J. Rufus, 3 years old." Ah, a pup named C.J. Rufus?! That feels familiar to me. Come to think of it, I have no idea who I am. The wound on my head must have done more damage than I thought. There's nothing else in here worth examining so I might as well take a look outside.

Walking through the entrance of the little ice hut, I take a step outside. Nothing. An empty, vast, expanse of nothing. White ground and blue sky as far as my eyes can see. Well, at least the skies are clear and the sun is at my back. There is nothing here, just a glacial wasteland that looks to stretch for miles in all directions. Wait, I think I see mountains on the horizon behind the igloo's entrance. Damn, I can't even tell which way is North.

There are no tracks here, no signs of life. So I slide my hands into the coat's pockets feeling a bit defeated and demoralized. Hello, what is this? From the right pocket I pull out four American dollars and a rock. A lot of good four dollars will do me in the middle of a frozen forsaken wasteland. Well, at least I can use this money as tinder in case I need to start a fire. I can also use the rock as a weapon, if needed. In my left pocket, I find a toothbrush! Hmmm... well at least I dont have to worry much about my oral hygiene. Yet it seems I'm just finding more questions and no answers.

Who am I? Why am I in the middle of a arctic wasteland? What happened to my head? Was that puppy mine? Where do I go from here?

The Dream Cycle, 2008.19

2008-11-03T08:35:00.002-05:00

Pale Spiders

I remember being in a house and noticing that there are many bright flashes outside in the sky (it's night). Looking upwards out through a window, I see thousands upon thousands of little parachutes slowly descending from the heavens. I waited until one of the parachutes came closer to the window and I snatched it out of the air.

The parachute is white and attached to is is a little plastic skull about the size of a plum. In the mouth of the skull is a little piece of candy. I found this to be very very odd and also noticed there was more room in skull's mouth, but nothing was there.

So I went into the living room, sat down on a recliner and ate the piece of candy. Don't remember if it tastes good. Just by accident I looked up at the the skylight in the ceiling and saw thousand of small pale spiders pouring in through a long crack at the edge of the skylight.

I panicked and abruptly woke up!

Can we say 'halloween influenced dream'? I thought you could!

Why do I write?

2008-10-29T09:45:00.003-04:00

More writer's workshop for Mama's Losin' It. I particularly like the choice of prompts this time around. Enjoy!

So why do I write?

It's an expression for my demensia, a catharsis for my inner demons. This word-smithing is a way to craft stories and tales from the multiple twisting tracks that run rampant through my mind.

Hopes and dreams and disappointments and angers. All archetypes of the emotional construct and all want their words to be heard first. It's to share knowledges and experiences, viewpoints and opinions on the world-at-large and the world-at-small. This microcosm tries to make sense of the macrocosm while not necessarily trying to reflect the chaotic turbulence that I seem to always witness. As above, so below... I think not.

It's a way to sort through the memories and the experiences to try to reach an understanding of position in this life and in this world. That ever-present search for purpose and peace that haunts me like a baobhan sidhe hunting in the evening hours.

And of course it's to record my sleeping dreams. Because my sleeping dreams can get freaking weird.

Yay for run-on sentences! ;-P

I'd walk a mile...

2008-10-23T09:29:00.004-04:00

More writer's workshop for Mama's Losin' It. Enjoy!

Complete the sentence "I'd walk a mile for a ________." and continue writing about it.

I'd walk a mile for a Matsumoto's Shaved Ice. Actually, I would walk much much farther than a mile for a Matsumoto's. Let's take a little journey back in time.

I'm twelve years old. My family takes a trip to Hawai'i to visit my Grandmother, Grandfather, and Uncle who live in Mililanitown on the island of Oahu. It was a nice little vacation. Many points of it it stick out in my mind. Swimming in Hanuama Bay (were they planaria swimming below me?), watching the Blow Hole (shut up, Los), experiencing a Lu'au (hope I spelled that correctly) are a few of the things I remember.

But there are two incidents that forever colored my view of Hawai'i - in a good way, that is. My family decided to climb Diamondhead, an extinct volcano on Oahu. After that, we stopped at a shaved ice place called Matsumoto's. This place served all kinds of tasty flavors of shaved ice and the shaved ice itself was smooth and refreshing! While I don't remember the flavors that I got on my shaved ice (hey, it was 23 years ago! sheeesh!), I DO remember that I absolutely loved it.

I have had many snow cones, water ices, and 'shaved ices' from other vendors since then; but NONE of them compare to Matsumoto's! So yes, I would walk a mile or ten for a Matsumoto's Shaved Ice.

Oooo! They have a web presence!

The Dream Cycle, 2008.18

2008-10-23T09:09:00.002-04:00

Attacked by a Werewolf

It must be getting near Halloween to have a dream like this. :)

I was with an sherriff and his deputy; we were approaching an old house to investigate a disturbance there. It was night time and the house was dark - no lights and now power - only a little moonlight shined through the clouds. We came up to the door and noticed a large triangular tear around where the door handle used to be. Obviously, the door was open so we entered the house. Both the sherriff and the deputy had their guns and flashlights drawn.

The sherriff ordered me to stay and guard the door as they searched through the house. Yeah. Leave the unarmed guy alone. Wonderful. So I stayed at the door and a little while after the went deeper into the house, I heard growling from outside the door. I turned and looked through the tear and saw the head of a wolf staring back at me. Its jaws were stained red and it looked almost rabid. I yelled for the sherriff and the wolf busted through the door. That's when I noticed that the wolf was humanoid (human body / wolf head) - it must have been crouching at the door.

Here is where the persepective changes. My viewpoint came to be like a camera above the sherriff's head. Him and the deputy came rushing into the living room (where the front door lead too). Here they saw an 8 foot grey werewolf, its jaws and chest stained red with blood, holding me off the ground. It's right hand was around my throat. I couldn't tell if I was alive or dead - but it didnt matter. The cops opened up on the werewolf - not worrying about shooting me in the process. Rotten cops.

And that's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.17

2008-10-13T08:20:00.002-04:00

A Deal With An Alien Pilot

In the dream, I was in a house that I owned (though I don't own a house). An alien ship about 8 feet long by 4 feet wide by 3 feet tall came crashing in through the roof of the house and into the living room. It looked kind of like a cross between a Star Destroyer from Star Wars and a Battlestar from Battlestar Galactica. The ship had a brassy-copper color to it.

The ship kept flying around the living room, smashing into things. It seems that the ship was having navigation/flight problems and couldn't keep a steady altitude or course. (And this whole time I didn't care that my house was getting demolished) Eventually, the ship crash landed and sat in eerie silence for a while.

I went over to the ship and said something along the line of "Hey, come on out, maybe I can help with your messed-up ship!" Yeah, like I know anything about FTL drives and space travel. Nonetheless, a little 'person' emerged from the ship. It was humanoid in shape, wearing a silver flight suit and what looked like a mason jar as a helmet. And the little critter was about 1 foot tall. (By the way, don't ever call aliens 'critters', they hate that.) The alien looked at me with these big black bulbous eyes (once again - looked like a Grey) and asked how I could help fix its ship. I replied I don't know how I know but I could.

I didn't feel like being completly altruistic though and told the alien if it gives me trip through the solar system, then I'll fix its ship. The alien agreed. So I put my right hand on the ship and 'magically' started working - lights around the ship lit up with a bright neon green glow. (holy carp, I must be the Fonz!) The alien seemed pretty amazed and thanked me, then told me to prepare for the trip.

That's when I woke up.

Holiday Memory

2008-10-09T08:18:00.002-04:00

Yay! More creative writing for Mama's Losin' It. I was going to go with the poetic option as my subject but decided on the holiday memory instead. Why? Because I have a headache, that's why! Creativity is tough to come by when you want to shove an ice-pick in your leg to make the pain in your head seem pale by comparison. But enough whining... ;-)

Write about a memory related to a holiday.

There was a christmas years ago when I was a wee little Ink that particularly stands out in my mind. It was the day that we got a new member to my family - a little Yorkshire Terrier that we appropriately named Jingles. (I called him Jing for short)
Jing was this happy-go-lucky little frenetic ball of energy. He was friendly to everyone and everything.

My parents had tried to keep him quiet and surprise my sisters and I when we woke up. But that didn't work. The little pup would have nothing of it. For one, we already had a dog named Buttons (she was a Border Collie, I think). Jing was quite vocal with Buttons when my parents brought Jing into the house. (It was around 4 or 5 in the morning and my neighbors had been keeping the pup overnight to help with the surprise) Then the pup decides to go rampaging through the house and jumps on one of my sister's beds. She freaked. And we were all up then. :) And I got a new best friend! :D

I miss that little pup. I remember when any of my family were out and we would come back, Jing would run around the living room in circles very very fast. What's more, he would curl his body sideways while he was running. I have no idea how he kept from tumbling over, but it was hilarious to watch.

Puppies are one of the best gifts a little kid could ever receive. It's a matter of showing unconditional love, respect, and devotion.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.16

2008-10-06T10:08:00.001-04:00

A Swarm of Hungry 'X's

This one was a bit odd, though I'm glad I remembered a dream finally.

I don't remember alot of it by I remember lying in my bed and staring above me I could see a swarm of little black 'X's moving and twisting above me in strange little patterns. (Think of how a swarm of bees looks when they're flying around and it was simlar to that).

The 'X's were black and flat yet slightly shiny. Each 'leg' of the X had a small, teeth-filled mouth at the end of it. (Yes, I've been reading way too much H.P. Lovecraft again... go figure.) I was lying very still hoping the swarm would not notice me.

And that's it.

10 Things Worth Saving...

2008-10-02T09:20:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a week and no dreams have stuck in my memory. Once again, we're back to the writing assignment for Mama's Losin' It. Though I don't think I like the term 'assignment' (not her word - mine), let's go with creative endeavour. :)

List 10 things worth saving then choose one of those things and write about it.

1. Art in our Schools (keep the creativity flowing)
2. Little Baby Seals (awwwwwww)
3. Our Environment (well, duh)
4. Money (economy's hurting)
5. Endangered Pets (I'm a member of the SPCA)
6. Wildlife (both animals AND parties ;))
7. Hackey Sacks (should be an olympic sport!)
8. Our Government (down with the Corportocracy!!)
9. Hawai'i (I don't think it's in danger, but I love the place!)
10. Los's Hair (*snerk* HAHAHAHA)

Actually, finding ten things worth saving was kind of difficult. But what does that say about me? That I don't feel there is a lot worth saving or that we're in a good position so there isn't a lot that needs saving? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

My choice to write about:

How could anybody not want to save a baby seal! Look at how cute that little guy is! The fuzzy little face! Those big round eyes! It's like the little guy is saying 'Protect me, Mr. Human!' to me.

If I could take tomorrow off work I'd...

2008-09-25T09:04:00.008-04:00

This is for the Mama's Losin It blog which offers little writing assignments every so often. Usually I confine this blog to the dreams that I remember from my sleeping state, but a little variety doesn't hurt every now and then. :)

If I could take tomorrow off work I'd...

One thing come to mind: painting.

I've recently re-ignited my passion of Japanese and Chinese Brushpainting. I reach points in the painting where I can spend hours ink to the paper, creating the serenity that I seek.

I started a class last week in Chinese Painting at Burlington Community College with the venerable instructor Zhe Zhou Jiang. His enthusiasm for the art is infectious. I feel that I can finally 'reach that next level' so to speak in my art style. I believe it's just a matter of time, patience, and practice now.

So, yes, I would paint for as much of the day as I could. I would practice the Four Gentlmen strokes (Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, Plum Blossom, and Orchid). I would experiment with different 'colors' of black ink. Black Ink with water added creates shades of grey which are considered to be colors in their own right in this type of painting.

I am relatively decent with flora and still life as the subjects of my painting. Though I think I would focus on trying landscapes since it seems the next logical step in painting. Know the pieces before attempting the whole.

There we have it. I would let the madness that is my love of painting consume my whole day. Though I would have to remember to take a break to get something to eat. :) Hopefully, I'll have some paintings to post up to here soon.

EDIT:
An example from a few years ago:
Chinese Magnolia Watercolor on Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper.

How long could you survive?

2008-09-17T10:18:00.001-04:00

57 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

The Dream Cycle, 2008.15

2008-09-03T15:02:00.002-04:00

Meteoric Ocean

I was at the shore enjoying a beautiful day at the beach when I noticed a dark object in the sky. It was sphereical, maybe 20 degrees above the horizon out towards the ocean. It was about as big as the moon (from this perspective) and there looked to be sparks flying off of it. Then, I noticed that there were much smaller objects all around this big object and they were moving/growing. One of the smaller objects streaked down out of the sky and smashed into the ocean many miles out. Many people were startled at this impact but didn't seem to frightened.

Skip ahead a little bit and I'm in an seafront apartment. I happened to look out a window at the ocean and saw a massive tsunami approaching the city. The water was churning, chaotic, and very dark. After a few seconds the wave slammed into the city, the water level was just below my the window I was looking out. This apartment was up a few stories, around eight or nine. I remember making sure the window was tightly secured to keep the water out! (LOL) At that point I could see the water level rising slowly and eventually covering the window. It was strange, I knew there was no escape from it.

And that's all I remember.
(Four dreams in three days?? I'm a dreaming machine!)

The Dream Cycle, 2008.14

2008-09-03T14:59:00.002-04:00

Lava Fields

Me and a few guys from work were going somewhere when the earth started spewing lava all over the place. We were doing everything we could to get away from the molten rock but there wasn't really anywhere to go. I remember seeing the ground bulge up in large mounds with it cracking in areas which glowed orangish-red from the lava below. Eventually we came to a mountainous park and went up to the highest area to get away from the destruction.

That's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle 2008.13

2008-09-02T10:50:00.002-04:00

Godzilla in the Marina
I was down at the shore in a bayfront neighborhood where the canals run adjacent to the streets and snake between the houses every so often. I saw Godzilla rise up out of the bay and begin making his way towards the neighborhood. He wasn't as large as normal, maybe 40 feet tall. He came crashing onto the neighborhood and I went running from house to house to keep out of his sight but to also follow him. I wanted to see his purpose, find out where he was going.

I remember something about an army too, but I'm unclear on it, it's fuzzy.

The Dream Cycle 2008.12

2008-09-02T10:41:00.003-04:00

Poisonous Fields of the Wolf Pack
I was standing in a field of flowers but as pretty as they were, I knew they were poisonous. What's more everything had a strange greyness to it, which created a very ominous feeling... foreboding.

In this field I came to realize I was being stalked by a pack of wolves, they were large - bigger than any wolf I've seen on TV. They were colored in different shades of muted purple and they looked... not right. Like there was something unclean or unholy about them.

I was circled by them, yet I tried to run, to get away. That is when they closed in, driven by the predator instinct. They tore me to pieces, I could feel my flesh, tendons, and bones separate. Different pieces of me dragged to different areas of the field and I still had consciousness in every piece of rent flesh. I had thought that it was the poison in the flower's pollen that kept my consciousness in my body. I could feel the teeth of the wolves gouging chunks of meat. I could feel the ground, grass, and flowers scraping against me as I dragged to the different areas of the field. And for a second, I had a bird's eye view of the grizzly scene... red adding to the grey and muted purple.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.11

2008-08-25T08:26:00.003-04:00

The Fall of Hulk Hogan

I was on a bridge with a film crew. The crew was there to film Hulk Hogan who was enacting a fight scene on the bridge for some show. I don't know why I was there, I don't think I was part of the film crew... maybe I was just a bystander. But anyway, as the fight scene commences, Hogan is battling some guy and they both wind up near the edge of the bridge and eventually go over the edge. I was standing at the edge since I wanted to watch the fall. Hogan pulls on a ripcord to a parachute (he does his own stunts?) but nothing happens. Also, the other guy is nowhere to be seen. So Hogan bounces off a few rocks then hits some more and comes to rest unconscious on the rocks below.

Some paramedics were on the site and they go down and retrieve Hogan (who's still alive!), put him on a stretcher, and bring him back up to the bridge. Looking at Hogan, I noticed that he didn't have any bruises, bleeding, or broken bones at all. No injuries... the guy's resilient. At this point, two girls take over the stretcher duty and begin wheeling him onto a cliff next to the bridge - there's an ambulance over there. I'm guessing they were his daughters but I have no idea. They were wheeling him kind of close to the edge of the cliff so I yell to them to move back a little. Sure enough, they lose control of the stretcher, it tips and Hogan goes bouncing down the side of the cliff and into the water below. (Where'd the water come from?) The girls are screaming frantically so I slide down the cliff and jump in the water after Hogan. He's still unconscious and we don't want him drowning, after all. I pulled him to the bank of the river(?) and the paramedics came down to check on him.

That's all I remember.

Know idea where this dream came from, I don't watch wrestling, I don't watch Hogan's reality show. The only time that I've recently seen him on tv was some court case thing and I only brushed over that. Weird.

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-08-06T17:53:00.003-04:00

I was sitting in a chair with my hands gripping the arm rests. A LARGE German Shepard was sitting to my left and being a pretty good dog. We were both watching something far in front of us when I noticed the dog began chewing/gnawing on the knuckles of my left hand. I could feel the biting but felt no pain. I even felt the teeth of the dog scraping against the bones in my hand and fingers. I wasn't freaked out or terrified in any way... more just ponderous as to why the dog suddenly decided to eat my left hand.

Something Different...

2008-07-19T12:58:00.006-04:00

Picture story!

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-07-08T08:29:00.003-04:00

My brother-in-law and I were driving down Mountain road in Fallston, MD. We were looking for a place to hole up for the night. For some reason, every neighborhood we passed was barricaded off from the main road. I remember noticing there was no electricity anywhere. Some house that were not part of neighborhoods looked like large chunks had been taken out of them. Imagine looking at a house and then imagine a large area of it was bitten off. That's what it kind of looked like.

And that's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.10

2008-06-27T08:31:00.004-04:00

Fleeing the Invasion of Humanesque Aliens Who Fly In Rust Red MIGs... ?

I was driving down the road to visit my mom and pop when I started hearing explosions and gunfire overhead. Looking out the window I saw Air Force jets in combat with what looked like rust red Russian MIGs. The invasion had begun! Somehow I knew an invasion was imminent... o.O Anyway, I also knew that these were not MIGs just illusions or holograms to make the Air Force think they were fighting regular jets. The "MIGs" used lasers as weapons. MIGs... right.

So I'm driving like a bat out of hell down the road because I want to get to my parents and sisters and try to get them to safety. Every so often I would see a jet come barreling down out of the sky and smash into a hillside or an alien MIG com careening down hitting something and exploding (go Air Force!).

Finally, I get my parents and sisters and we high tail it out of the area into a wilderness still driving very fast. All the while the battle is raging in the skies overhead. At one point we stopped at a house out in the middle of no where, I think to sleep for the night.

After we get settled in, there comes knocks on the door of the house and I open it to find four of these MIG pilots standing there. They were slightly taller than the average human and had a grey complexion to their skin. There were three guys and one girl. (She was blond and hot. :) All of them were also covered with a strange grey viscous liquid. (Remember ID4 where Will Smith goes to the alien craft and the alien pilot is still inside? I imagined that's what there ships looked like inside - hence the liquid.) They're seeking shelter since their "planes" were shot down. My sisters and parents are like "No! no!" but I let them in to stay with us for the night.

And the dream ends there.
Did we survive the alien encounter? Did Earth survive the invasion? Did I get it on with the hot blond alien chick? (Eat your heart out Shatner!) Will I ever have a truly normal dream? The world may never know...

The Dream Cycle, 2008.9

2008-06-18T15:44:00.002-04:00

Following the Dog

So I was walking through my old neighborhood with my old pup Jingles. He was a purebred Yorkshire Terrier - coolest little pup, very friendly and not too yappy. We're walking down the street and he goes tearing off towards a neighbor's house. Jing jumps through an open window going inside of the house. I follow the dog wondering how the hell he jumped that high.

I enter the house, slightly worried that I'd get nailed for breaking and entering, but he's my pup so I'm going to get him back. I go searching through the house and find that Jing went into one of the bathrooms and into the tub. Somehow he turned on the water and was standing and shaking under the bath faucet. I remember wondering how the hell did he turn on the water, but then decided while I'm here I might as well give him a bath. So I washed and rinsed the pup and then....

Woke up.

Not exactly an exciting dream, they're not all gems; but I'll still write 'em down.

You Know What I Enjoy?

2008-06-12T08:36:00.002-04:00

The sound of rain on a quiet night.

Sleeping soundly which never really happens anymore.

Almost all kinds of dogs! Never really big into Rotties or Pitbulls, but Shepards, Hounds, Terriers, and Retrievers are awesome.

You Know What I Despise?

2008-06-06T08:22:00.002-04:00

Skipped last week's rant...

You know what I despise? The f'd up weather cycle that is affecting the world. Seriously and there are still people who think nothing is wrong with the planet. Hurricanes, cyclones, mass tornados, floods, drought... the world is reacting, kids.

I'd say the fuel situation... but we all despise that.

People who are so set in their ways that they won't even entertain the possibility that something may be different than they think it is. Keeping an open mind is a good thing, ya know.

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-06-01T22:10:00.002-04:00

I had a dream that I received a package in the mail.
Inside I found a large collection of Iron Maiden and Misfits CDs.
Also there were old video tapes of the bands in concert.

Rock on!

The Dream Cycle, 2008.8

2008-05-11T23:07:00.003-04:00

Parasite

I dreamt I was looking in a mirror and I could feel something in my sinusses and throat. Looking in the mirror with my mouth open as wide I could, I could see something thin and black hanging down my throat. It was about as wide as a regular pencil but flat and segmented similar to a tape worm. I reached into my mouth and pulled out the thing so it was sticking out of my mouth. When I pulled on it, I could feel a tug on the back of my sinus cavity. Whatever this thing was, it was buried into my sinuses.

It got even more strange as I could suddenly "see" inside of my sinusses. The pinkish fleshy mucous covered skin and this black marble-sized thing embedded half-way in the flesh. It had hooks sticking into my flesh. This must be the thing's head with its body trailing down into my throat.

I couldn't remove it. I think it may have been trying to bore its way up to my brain.

You Know What I Despise?

2008-05-08T10:30:00.002-04:00

Drivers who freak out when we get a little bad weather. Calm down! It's just a little rain.

My landlord company. I call them in the middle of the day and no one answers. Shady little bastards.

Mosquitos. And people-mosquitos... instead of sucking blood, they suck out your energy.

You Know What I Despise?

2008-05-01T08:45:00.002-04:00

The "plane-getting-ready-to-take-off" sound of the XBox360 fan. Seriously, does that thing really need to be that loud?

Companies that poison the environment. Poor little duckies. These companies should be completely eradicated. No mercy. No "try-to-fix-it" second chances. If they don't have enough sense to protect the environment in the first place, then screw 'em.

"My-way-is-the-only-way" religions. Intolerant much?

You Know What I Despise?

2008-04-24T10:06:00.003-04:00

The vertigo I suffer from the cyst in my head. Though the constant lack of balance is quite amusing.

My addiction to soda. Really, I would love to stop drinking this crap; but my self-discipline sucks.

Traffic. 'nuff said.

Bad analogies. On the show "The Universe", they tried to compare the gravitational pull of Jupiter that sling-shots asteroids to a person throwing a frisbee. No. Just no.

The Dream Cycle. 2008.7

2008-04-23T08:12:00.002-04:00

The Good Samaritan Moment

My sister and I were in South East Philly walking around enjoying the day. Oddly enough, it was very rural looking - mainly just streets and trees. A bunch of other people were also walking around and we said 'hi' to this guy who looked like the guy from "Super Size Me" except with darker hair and a handle-bar mustache. (I remember thinking to myself "is this guy from the 1800's? What kind of mustache is that?")

So we continued walking and a few blocks away, I found someone's ID on the ground. Looking at it, I realized it belonged to the handle-bar mustache guy. Oddly, I found his name was "Mooloooose". Yes, that's the name printed on the ID. I'm surprised I could actually read something in a dream. So I went looking for this guy to give him his ID but never found him and then woke up.

You Know What I Despise?

2008-04-18T08:39:00.002-04:00

So I think I have a new semi-reoccuring discussion... "You Know What I Despise?" will chronicle all the things that piss me off in the world.

So... You Know What I Despise?

Selfish assholes who think their screwed-up lives give them a right to treat other people like dirt.

(This one's for Los) People who don't use their turn signals.

People who think Coors and Budweiser are good beer.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.6

2008-04-11T08:42:00.002-04:00

The Rat

Back in Fallston at the old house.
I'm walking down the driveway to cross the street to the house on the other side, for some reason my parents are living in that house and they're having a little party out behind the house near the woods.

As I reach the road I hear animals screaming and fighting from behind my parent's house and decide to head back to my house to get a gun and shield. (No, I don't know why a shield)

I walk into the garage and as I look around for a gun, I hear animal screams outside the garage doorway. A very VERY large rat (2 feet from nose to base of tail - about 3.5 feet with the tail) comes tearing into the garage. I get really pissed off and kick the rat straight in its face. It rears up and hisses at me.

I. Wake. Up. Dammit.
I wanted to fight a giant rat.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.5

2008-03-06T15:19:00.004-05:00

Forced Off Of A Bridge

I was driving and came up to a toll booth at the base of a large bridge. This bridge was huge, with six or eight different lanes all weaving and intertwining high up into the air. The booth contained about six different lanes and each lane led to a different part of the bridge. Some of the lane's construction looked to be never completed and had warning 'bridge out' signs posted where the road ended.

After I payed the toll, I began driving towards the bridge. I noticed that the lane I was driving in was one that hadn't been finished. I stopped maybe twenty feet from the edge, threw my car into reverse and began going back to get into a new lane. At this time, a sky blue pickup truck came barrelling through the toll booth into my lane. It drove up and smashed into the back of my car, pushing both of us through the 'bridge out' warning sign and over the edge. I remember seeing the raging waters of a large river or bay below as I fell towards it.

My Interpretation:
There is something I don't want to face but I will be forced to face it anyway.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.4

2008-02-21T17:35:00.002-05:00

Rust Red Wolf

Running quickly and silently through the forest; leave no tracks. Nose to the wind I can smell mossy scent of the earth, ferns growing all around me, a million smells of wildflowers - they are everywhere. I stop on a rocky outcropping and sniff again. Now I smell it, the scent of the wounded. Prey, running feverishly, trying to survive our Wild Hunt.

A ghostly howl rises up from the trees in the front and to the right of me. Another howl answers much more distant to the left of me. More howls rise up to challenge the winds and I add my own howl to the chorus. It's a war song. A battle song. A dirge for the fallen. An ode to the prey.

At once we all break into a full run through the primeval forest. At a full gait, panting yet exhilirated. The fur on my paws is a rusty red color, I'm sure that is the color of my soul. The stag comes into view, it's flanks torn by our previous attempt to drop the meal. It darts to and fro through the trees, hoping to lose the pursuit. It's of no use, wounded and terrified. We are hunters.

The Dream Cycle, 2008.3

2008-02-09T23:47:00.000-05:00

Through the reservoir of ice lies an apartment in the past

Myself and another person were riding in a car across a dam. On the right side of the dam was a reservoir and on the left was a small trickle of water no larger than a very small river that flowed down a valley. The reservoir side was frozen over with ice that interstingly looked of spiderwebs and black ice. (Think of black ice on asphalt and spider webs over top of it and that is what it looked like).

I remember as we drove over the dam and I looked at the ice, I thought to myself that it was very weird that the water was frozen. It was clear sky and relatively warm from what I remember. When we reached the end of the dam, I was suddenly in an apartment back in Pittsburgh.

The apartment was two levels, with two rooms on the lower floor connected by a hallway. In the hallway, nearer to the second room, was a door that led to the upper area of the apartment. It also contained two roomes that abutted one another. Weirdly though, I never lived in an apartment like that. But I remember living in an apartment like that, almost like a fake memory or deja vu. I remember looking at the door to the second floor and being araid to open it and go up there. I felt something was up there that I did not want to see.

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-01-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

I remember a little bit of a dream I had last night...

Parking at the Wharf
I parked my car at a wharf, and got ticketed because cars are not allowed to park at wharfs. They sink.
I took the ticket and ripped it up. It didn’t even look like a real ticket.. it looked like a food shopping list!
So I got in my car, which didn’t sink, and drove away!

A Point of Contention

2008-01-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

To Whomever Broke Into My Apartment:
Pray I never find out who you are cause I will track you down...

(Do I actually expect the thief to read this?? Nope. But it's still good to get my anger off of my chest.)

The Dream Cycle, 2008.2

2008-01-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

Remote-Control Jets That I Don't Fly Very Well

I was at work yet work was in my old neighborhood in Fallston, MD. There were four jets - F-14s, I think - parked out in front of the building. I was talking to Brian and Rob about why those jets were out there when I suddenly realized I was holding one of the fancy remote-controls with all sorts of knobs, switches, and levers.

I began to mess with the remote control and the ignition started on the planes. I realized that the remote would control the planes. So I promptly kicked up their speed from where they were parked and flew them in a wide arc above the neighborhood and then promptly crashed them. The crashes sounds like bassy explosions of thunder.

After crashing them I started freaking out, grabbed Rob by the shirt, and started screaming, "Were there pilots in there? Were there?" Rob responded that there were pilots in those planes, so I freaked out worse and went running out of the building into a wooded swamp. I stayed in the swamp because I knew that the authorities would be after me for wrecking four jets and killing four pilots.

Strange, no?

Glimpse of the Dream Cycle

2008-01-07T08:17:00.001-05:00

Something about mutant grey squirrels that could run as fast as cheetahs and had really sharp pointy teeth...

The Dream Cycle, 2008.1

2008-01-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

First dream of the new year and a very cool one at that...

At The Edge Of The Solar System

Myself and another person were astronauts. We travelled to the edge of the solar system without a ship and without spacesuits. We were just there. At the edge of the solar system is an area called the Oort Cloud.

While the real Oort Cloud is sphere that surrounds the solar system at the edge of the Sun's influence; the cloud in my dream was actually similar to a shoreline. Ever look at pebbles, stones, and shells on a beach at the very edge of the waterline? This is how the cloud looked - except that there was no sand and no water. Just billions and billions of little stones in a myriad of colors that circled the entire system. I remember walking through them wondering how they came to sit in that shoreline style and also wondered why they weren't drifting around. I remember seeing that there was black emptiness above and below these stones, but the emptiness was somehow shiny.

At this point I remember hearing voices and people clapping, and realized they were clapping for me. So I followed the soounds beyond the Oort Cloud into deeper space where I found a balcony and entranceway below it. Yes, it was drifting in deep space and pointing towards our solar system.

I went into the structure and immediately noticed that place was built of a very deep red type of brick. I followed a starcase up to the balcony and noticed a bronzish plaque over a doorway that led to the balcony. Written on the plaque was: "Sol Viewing Booth - Focus on the third planet." In the balcony area were chairs like one would find in any theater.

At this point the dream gets a little hazy, but I remember talking to someone on the balcony (looked human!) and they mentioned that they were observing our solar system. They also mentioned that once humanity contacted them, we would be invited to join them. I responded that they should install a beach umbrella above the balcony to shield their eyes from the harsh rays of the Sun; which they thought was an excellent idea. (Never mind that the Sun was, at this distance, slightly larger than every other star in the sky). So the "alien" gave me a requistion form to fill out to order an umbrella for them. Yes, the first act of humanity joining the other space-faring civilizations was to buy them an umbrella!!

I also remember a slightly squidish looking alien in the balcony too. Looked somewhat like Admiral Ackbar but with tentacles coming out of his cheeks.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.26

2007-12-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

Not a good dream to have, not at all...

Assault

It started out that I was at work. Though it was the same place, the building was very different, bigger with larger parking lots. For whatever reason, I was in the men's bathroom washing the floor with a mop. People were asking me why I was doing that since I'm not a janitor, but I said the place was disgusting. The bathrooms were like a maze, too, many rows of stalls.

Cut to the next part, I'm out in back of the building at the loading area. Except that the loading area now has a full parking lot. It's a nice day, people are outside enjoying it (it was lunchtime), and I'm sitting there reading a book. This guy who looked like a skinny, lanky version of Anderson Cooper wearing a grey suit comes walking into the parking lot with a pistol. He starts opening fire and hits a person. Then a biker comes right towards him and the gunmen raises his arm and caps the bunker. He begins walking towards me, I bolt up and start running...

Then I woke up. My heart was racing a million beats a minute, pounding in my chest. That dream was actually scary.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.25

2007-12-13T08:08:00.000-05:00

I was hoping to have at least one dream in December... I had two last night! Both really weird...

Bug in the Ear
In this dream, my left ear was hurting quite a lot. Looking in a bathroom mirror, I saw what looked like a skin tag in my ear canal. I decided to see if I could remove it (like a zit). What's weird here is that my ear canal was bigger than my head, I could easily fit both of my hands in my ear! So anyway, I begin squeezing on the skin around the tag and I can see something black showing at the top of the tag. (Yes, even though my head was facing sideways from the mirror, I could still see my ear in the mirror. Physics don't apply in my dreams.) I kept squeezing and a beetle or roach fell out of the tag. That's where, in the dream, I started freaking out since some disgusting bug was building a nest in the skin of my ear. So I grabbed some peroxide and rubbing alcohol and began dousing the opened tag which looked really nasty. And that's all I remember.

School for Orcs
This dream starts out that I'm on a bus with a bunch of Green Orcs. These Orcs were my friends for whatever reason, even though I was human. We arrived at the school and went into class. Our teacher lady, who is human, was invisible! Well, her body was invisible but her clothes were not. She was wearing a maroon corduroy outfit. Weird. So class starts and suddenly one of the Orcs pulls out a whip, lashes out, and wraps it around the neck of the bus driver (also human) who followed us in. The Orc is yelling "We were being lied to!" So I walk over to the bus driver and put my hand about 2 inches from covering her eyes and a crimson light begins to flow out from the palm of my hand. I begin reading her mind and discovering that we were lied to. But about what, I have no idea. And I woke up.

Yes, I watch too many movies and play too many video games; and I don't care! :)
The bug is dream is actually one of the few things that actually creeps me out. Bugs making nests in people's bodies. Ever seen Creep Show? The part with the roaches? Vomit.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.24

2007-11-05T12:54:00.000-05:00

Nightmare: The Heat Of The Pyre

I was tied to a stake on what looked like a cold winter morning. I couldn't feel the cold, though. Bundles of wood were place at the bottom of the stake around my feet and set on fire. The fire started slowly burning as it lit up and then suddenly jumped up and engulfed me. The reds, yellows, and oranges of the flame were all that I could see for a while, and I could smell the odor of burning clothes, skin, and hair; but I felt no pain. I found it very odd that I could feel the heat of the flames covering me, then I lost my sense of smell.

Looking out through the licking flames I could see the faces of the people watching me, burning me. Their faces were uncaring and contorted, twisted and vague. They watched my death with sickening satisfaction; screaming curses at me every so often but I could not hear them, everything was silent.

Then, I felt my eyes pop and I was greeted by darkness with the silence. There was no sound, no sight, no smell; only sensation. I could feel my skin charring and cracking from the tremendous heat of the pyre. And through it all, I felt heat. Heat everywhere. Into my mouth and my chest, passing through my lungs and into my organs. Burning. My consciousness was on fire, I could still feel those people watching me and their hateful gazes felt like scorching iron brands.

I really wanted to wake up at the beginning of this nightmare, but the nightmare wouldn't let me.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.23

2007-11-01T08:19:00.000-04:00

Finding Religion or How To Become An Avenging Angel In One Easy Step

I had a dream last night that I was in a cafe/bookstore combo with a bunch of my friends. We were discussing religion and the existence or absence of God, any God. Suddenly, I announced that I had found God, the Christian version, and began spouting passages from the Bible. I kept saying things like, "I am the sword of God and I shall lay waste to His enemies" and "The righteous fury of divinity burns within my soul and it shall cleanse this world of transgressors". My buddy Karl was one of the guys at this place and his eyes were wide with amazement. He exclaimed his surprise that I had found God. See, I am an Agnostic, a person who sees no proof in the presence or absence of Divinity, so I don't worry about it. My announcement threw everyone for a loop, including myself upon waking.

Mind you, I still haven't found god. :)
I'm Agnostic. :)

The Dream Cycle, 2007.22

2007-10-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

Finally! A dream stayed in my memory upon waking...

The War Game
I was standing on the top part of a dual-level playing field. The top area of the field was a good 50 feet above the lower area of the field. The area in between was around an 80 degree slope - something like a rock cliff. This field was enclosed on all sides by concrete walls and was about as large as a playing field. There were a few trees on both areas of the field, but they were mostly dead masses of splinters. The ground was scorched everywhere, and they were large chunks of the surrounding walls gouged out.

I was holding a rocket launcher, waiting for my opponent to arrive on-field. The launcher was about three and a half feet long, and launched 2 foot long white rockets. The rockets looked amazingingly similar to Germany's V2 rockets of World War II. After checking my weapon and waiting for a good 15 minutes, I heard rumbling from down below on the lower field.

My opponent had arrived. A large battle tank, which looked like a hybrid between a Sherman and a Tiger was positioning itself. The tank, of course, had a long cannon; but it also had a missile launcher mounted where the upper machine gun normally would be on a Sherman. After rotating around its field, I guess to take in its surroundings, the turret came to bear on my field and fired... game on!

An explosive blast hit a good 60 feet away from me and I dove behind the trunk of a dead tree. I don't think the tank had seen me since I had a serious height advantage. Peeking around the side of the tree, I let a rocket fly. It hit maybe 10 feet away from the tank. The tank's turret began turning towards me, so I went running back from the tree and a few seconds later the tree exploded. I felt a searing pain in my leg and saw a four inch by one inch piece of wood 'shrapnel' sticking out of my calf. That bastard drew first blood!

I hobbled up to near center front of my field, hid behind a ruined stone wall with a basketball-sized gap in it and launched a rocket. This time the rocket hit the tank squarely! And then I also noticed the faint trail of smoke the rocket left behind. Sonofabitch! Time to run again... er, hobble. I went hobbling toward the back and right side of my field when the damn wall exploded. Luckily, I didn't catch any shrapnel this time.

Now, I crawled up to the edge of the field overlooking my opponent. I trained my launcher on the tank as its turret was rotating towards me. Bastard must have guessed where I would be. So I fired the rocket and it streaked down towards that tank. The tank exploded in a satisfying and deafening explosive roar, but not before it could get one more shot off at me. The shell sailed high over me hitting the ceiling of this arena, odd that I didn't notice the ceiling before. Large chunks of concrete began raining down on my position. I rolled out of the way just in time as a medium-sized boulder came smashing down. I survived, I won the game.

And the dream ended.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.21

2007-09-14T08:02:00.000-04:00

Volcanic

In this dream, a volcano built up relatively near Bristol. For whatever reason, I wasn't in Bristol at the time, but when I went back to try to collect my stuff, I waas stopped by some police saying, "You don't want to go on there, everything's in cinders."

So I went in anyway, at least partially. I got to a point where the ground was all scorched, all the trees were charred stumps, and there were fires all over the place. The fire was very strange looking though, it was clear. Yet, I could still see the air "rippling" around the fire and it was still kicking up sparks.

Then I met, of all people, President Bush in the charred zone. He was by himself, and said he was planning on giving a support speech from the ruined area. Eventually we found his camera crew, and he started preparing to give his speech akin to a reporter reporting on the destruction. Weird.

I decided it would be too dangerous to go any farther and decided to go down to Delaware to get away from the volcano.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.20

2007-08-15T10:26:00.000-04:00

The Sickle Sword

In this dream, I had recently bought a 'sickle sword' that was in the shape of the image below:

This sword was of a highly polished metal with gems embedded both in the blade and the handle.
I remember seeing Dan and Cliff in the dream, we were outside in some park. I was showing Cliff the sickle sword, and he kept saying something like, "That's crap! It wouldn't stand up to a good katana!" So then I sliced an oak tree in half with it, and he changed his mind.

That's where the dream ended.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.19

2007-08-10T11:06:00.000-04:00

A short little write-up of a dream here:

Cotton Candy Ear
In this dream, which I remember very little of, I was looking in a mirror at my left ear. My left ear had an odd feeling to it, like it was clogged. So looking at it, I saw what looked like light blue cotton stuffed in the ear canal. So with a pai of tweezers, I began pulling out the cotton only to find that it was cotton candy! So I continued pulling cotton candy out of my ear until I had an amount about the size of my head.

I didn't eat it though. After all, it did come out of my ear!

The Dream Cycle 2007.18

2007-07-11T08:51:00.000-04:00

Godzilla vs. The Ultra-Sonic Monster

I was in a city and this large, 50 foot high, gecko-looking lizard was stomping around through the streets. The lizard looked ALOT like the Geico Gecko, though the colors were a bit off... this one was more olive looking. I would watch the creature stomping through the city, and it would give out a strange roar, very similar to the sounds heard in this odd movie trailer. Except the sound of the roar was visible, it went out as a shockwave from the creature, gaining speed until it broke the sound barrier. Whatever was around the shockwave when it broke the sound barrier was destroyed - obliterated. This is how the creature was destroying the city.

At some point in the dream, Godzilla came onto the scene, he came up behind the gecko and put a full nelson on him, all the while roaring his classic roar! The gecko broke out of the hold and the two creatures began battling in earnest. This is where I decided I was too close to the action and started making my way away from the monster battle royal.

And I woke up...

The Dream Cycle, 2007.16 and 17

2007-07-09T09:16:00.000-04:00

A Saddening Dream
I had a dream that my grandmother was telling me she was still alive and wanted to come over to the coast and see me.

I think my sanity has unhinged a little further.

Transformers Slapstick
In a third-person sort of view... or bird's eye view, kind of a mix.
I was watching some guy, a mayorly sort - dressed in a black suit and monacle. White hair and balding. Walking with a Transformer chick through what looked like some sort of Transformers/Human embassy. (I have no idea if the Transformers ever had femalesque robots - but this one was pink and chrome - very cool looking actually.) They eventually came to what I can only describe as an adult jungle-jim, that the Mayor climbed up so he could be eye-to-eye with this Transformer as he conducted negotiations with her. He said something offensive and she stormed off. Before she left, though, he asked how he was to get down from the 'jungle-jim' and she pointed to an exit which was a slide. He went through the slide face first and wound up sticking into the ground face first.
Hence the 'slapstick' title!

The Dream Cycle, 2007.15

2007-06-29T08:22:00.000-04:00

Interrogation by the Nazis

I was a member of a British squad in World War 2 located somewhere on the Western Front. My squad was pulling out of a town since a large column of German troops were heading towards the town. For some reason, I staid behind.

Eventually, a squad of German soldiers found me in the cellar of one of the buildings and their Captain came down to interrogate me. The Captain was a woman in her late 20's (did the Nazis even let women in the army?). She had a nasty scar on the left side of her face, and had a hairstyle (blond) that was prevalent at that time. Come to think of it, she kinda of looked similar to the main woman from 'Indian Jones and the Last Crusade'. Obviously, she was wearing a black German Officer's uniform. Very SS looking.

She began to interrogate me in German, though I heard it in GermEnglish.
"Ve vould like to know about troop movementz along ze Rhine!"
I would answer something like I am not priveledged to know that information, ma'am.
"Ve have vays of making you talk!" (Ah, the classic, cheesy line!)
'But ma'am, I am talking now! I can't answer about things that I don't know about!"
She kept asking me about troop movements, armor columns, and so on. Luckily, it never got violent, torture is not a pretty thing.

And that's it.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.14

2007-06-28T08:50:00.001-04:00

Been having trouble remembering my dreams for the last couple of days.

Though I do remember last night's a little. I had a house, and in this house I had a cat. (Which is beyond weird since I'm allergic to cats.) This cat was none-other than Garfield! He looked similar to the 'live-action' movie version. we were arguing about something, but I have no idea what.

I used to collect Garfield comic books when I was a kid. I had a bunch of them too. It was one of my favorites back in the day. Maybe that's where the dream spawned from, since I've never seen the movies (only previews for it).

The Dream Cycle, 2007.13

2007-06-15T10:07:00.000-04:00

Fields of Travel

My car broke down in some rural area a ways north of Baltimore. I kind of new the area, so I began walking across a large cornfield and came to another road. So I started walking along this road for a good ways, and then crossed into another field. I don't know what kind of plants were being grown but it was like trying to walk through three feet of snow. The plants were clumped so thick that every step was strenuous.

Eventually I got through this field and came to an intersection. This intersection was of Weber Road and some other road, and had an inn called the Baltimore Inn on one corner. I remember the inn was a light blue with white window shutters and a gray roof.

Some guy was kind of wandering around outside the inn and I asked him if Weber Road led to another road that I was looking for. He said yeah and said he was walking in that direction. So we started hoofing and he got on his cellphone and made a quiet call while slightly looking back at me with shifty eyes. I started getting a bad feeling about this guy...

And my alarm went off and I woke up.

:(

2007-06-08T15:12:00.001-04:00

Helen Shock
1919 - 2007

I'll miss you, Meemaw.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.12

2007-05-23T08:44:00.000-04:00

Kung Fu Master

I was running through a forest of bamboo, followed by soldiers of some warlord. I was dressed in some sort of Chinese black and green outfit, the soldiers war blue and white. We eventually reached a small clearing in the forest and began to battle - it was just like a class kung fu flick - high acrobatics and over-the-top fighting styles! I vanquished my foes and continued running onward.

I reached a field of golden grain where I was approached by either more soldiers or bandits. Once again we began battling - a punch here, a flurry of kicks there. As we fought we moved into a wooded area - and when I 'defeated' one of my opponents he turned into a weird centipede-dragon creature and flew up into the trees. Strange indeed.

That's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.11

2007-05-03T11:03:00.000-04:00

The Caves of Ice... and Jellyfish?

I was in a cave of ice hunting some sort of abominable snowman type of creature. I was chasing one of the snowman through icy corridors and into another cave, when I was confronted by different look abominable snowmen. Oddly enough, -B- was there too and told me that I need to answer some trivia questions about jellyfish if I want to escape from these two snowmen. I remember sitting down on a frozen throne-type chair and looking at pictures of jellyfish - recognizing one as a man-o-war.

And that's where the dream ended.
(Was -B- some sort of evil genius controlling the snowmen?? The world may never know...)

Save Internet Radio!

2007-04-30T08:30:00.001-04:00

The Dream Cycle, 2007.10

2007-04-09T12:38:00.000-04:00

The Warehouse

In this dream, I owned some sort of business. I was in the warehouse that contained all the merchandise for the business, though I don't remember what the merchandise was nor what the business sold.

I was at the front (north) of the warehouse, where there was a lobby. Some people started calling for help, saying they got lost within the rows upon rows of merchandise. So I went into the rows and found one row blocked by a lifter that some merch on pallettes. So I moved that lifter and continued looking for these people.

Eventually, I reached a door in the west side of the warehouse which lead into a lounge. In the lounge were Los, BT, Reverse, JoeP, Scraps, and a few other people. I remembered that they were all partners in this business. They were hanging about the lounge, some were watching a big screen TV, some were sitting at a bar having a few drinks, and some were playing darts. It was a very cozy lounge. I asked the guys if they heard the people calling for help and if they would help me find them. The guys answered that they haven't heard them and that they didn't feel like searching for the lost people. Lazy bastards.

So anyway, I went deeper into the warehouse searching for these lost people. I remember the lighting getting darker and darker the the farther in I searched.

And that's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.9

2007-04-03T08:18:00.000-04:00

Fighting Against Hell

Could it be a dream?? Why yes! I think it is! I remember this dream partially, but the wierdness of it warrants a posting. :)

In the dream, it was me and about five other people. Unfortunately, I don't remember who they were. I had just recently made a deal with the Devil to save the life of one of these people. This group of people and I are sitting in a beautifully ornamented dining room eating a lavish dinner. When, suddenly, both me and the person I saved disappear from our seats.

*skip forward*

Me and the other person are each trapped ina vial that is wrapped around a giant demon's neck who was sleeping. Each vial is partially filled with a reddish liquid which both tastes and smells foul. Oddly enough, we can breathe in the liquid, though. I remember seeing little people crawling on the skin of this giant demon (they looked no bigger than fleas). They were stabbing the skin with knives trying to get the demon to release us.

That's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.8

2007-03-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

This is actually an old re-occuring dream I had when I was a kid...

Flying

I would be in a field with rows of little sapling trees, each about 5 feet tall. I would be running inbetween these saplings, back and forth, grabbing the tree as I passed and swinging around to the other side grabbing the next tree and swinging back. Eventually, I would just 'pick up my legs' and I would continue to go back and forth between the trees, but now I'm flying. This would go on for a while, then I would let myself lift off the ground about 15 feet. I'd make a wide arc and slam into the second story of my neighbor's house.

I would also have other flying / levitating dreams, too. I remember one where I would walk outside of my house. Lift my arms up from my sides, and while concentrating I would slowly levitate up and over my house. Eventually I would light down upon the roof and I'd stay up there for awhile watching the different happenings in my neighborhood. (This dream always felt so real)

The Dream Cycle, 2007.7

2007-03-14T08:24:00.000-04:00

Girlie Mummies
or
Good Gauze! Look at the wrappings on her!

Dream #1:
In this dream, I'm in a labyrinthe of rooms and I'm exploring them. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all beige and tan colored. I remember paintings on the walls, but I don't remember what they were. So I'd wonder through this complex and every so often I would pass a girl wrapped in gauze - your stereotypical mummy. They didn't seem to notice me or were preoccupied with whatever, they just kept walking around.

Eventually, this mummy chick comes up to me and says, "Come with me. I need to show you something." So she takes my arm and leads to this room with a huge stone 'altar' in the center of it covered with hieroglyphs. (BTW, I could see her face and hair - she wasn't rotted or anything... I half way think these girls weren't mummies, just a cult that like to dress as mummies... LOL, like that's any better) She asks me to lie on the altar, which I do, then she covers me with a shroud which is covered in hieroglyphs.

Next thing I remember is that gauze wrappings began to snake their way across my body, slowly covering me. I was becoming a mummy!

And that's where it ended....

Plumber Man with Green Hair

Dream #2:
I woke up in my apartment in the dream, went walking out into the living room and a maintenance man was sitting on the couch, eating a hoagie. The guy had green hair which he dyed for St. Patty's Day. He told me he was there to replace some piping in the sink - which he was doing for all apartments - but he didn't want to wake me up with all the noise so he was waiting for me to wake up.

He noticed that I had left some anime on the TV and told me about this kick ass anime that he's been watching. He went and got a DVD and put the anime on my TV for me to watch. Though I don't remember what it was.

Then he went to work on fixing the sink and I woke up.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.6

2007-02-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

Gangs of Punishment

In this dream, I was in a gang and for some reason or another, I shot one of my own gang members. Some time later, I was walking with two other members (each carrying bats) and we stopped on some street. Multiple cars and trucks pulled up and a ton of other gang members got out, some with bats some not.

They told me they were going to beat the crap out of me for shooting one our own. I told them I don't know why I shot him, but I wouldn't do that without provocation. There was screaming and yelling from them and me, with me continually stating I don't remember the shooting, though I knew that I did it. I just didn't know WHY I did it. The arguments and threats went on for awhile...

and I woke up.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.5

2007-02-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

This is another dream made of snippets... I only remember pieces.

The Modular House, Preston and Steve, and Rae

I remember talking to an old friend, Rae. Unfortunately, I forget what we were talking about but she was jabbing up a storm.

Then, I remember meeting Preston, Steve, and Kathy? in their studio. I followed two other people (I think one of those peeps was you, -B-) and they were offering the trio something they were looking for from a scavenger hunt - don't remember what. Then I said to them, 'You guys rock!' and the half-heartedly said thanks. Bastards.

Then I remember being in the living room of a house, I walked to the door to go into the dining room and there is a square open field with walls to the left, before, and behind me; and a very large stream to the right of me. To the right of the door I exited is what looks like pigeon cages, but they're filled with ears of corn that have already been shucked. So I go into the dining room and out the door that leads to the bedroom and I'm in another field. This time I'm at the shore of the stream with a bridge that crosses over it and that bridge leads to the door of the bedroom.
Diagram below:

And that's all I remember.

The Dream Cycle, 2007.4

2007-02-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

Ah, the weirdness...

My Neighbor's Model Cars

Once again, I'm back in the old neighborhood. For whatever reason, I was in my neighbor's carport and found some model cars that my neighbor (who's a little kid) hadn't put together. So I began putting them together, removing the pieces from their plastic trappings, one by one. Oddly enough, they weren't plastic - they were very thin glass.

Also, I was lugging around stereo equipment with me and I was listening to White Zombie's version of 'Boogieman' as I was putting these models together. I remember thinking that the bass frequencies were too loud, so I disconnected the subwoofer wires from the amp. Then I decided that sounded like crap and reconnected them. :)

My neighbor also had a babysitter who was quite concerned about me sitting in the carport, building models. She was quite a bit scared and felt like I shouldn't be there. But that didn't faze me, I continued building those cars... which looked similar to old Novas I might add.

That's all I remember.

Condemned, pt. 2

2007-02-19T08:03:00.000-05:00

So after working for quite a few hours on Saturday, I go riding home around 3:30 pm or so. Nope, still can't get in... they're still working away. So I go hang out at the local Wal-Mart for the next two hours (I felt like such a vagrant). Around 5:30 pm, I try heading back to the complex again... Yay! Signs removed, happiness ensues. I have heat and hot water now.... and when I say hot water, I mean burn your face off - be careful how you turn it, it'll cook you like a crab. So, I'm back in my apt. and everything is hunky freakin' dory.

For a little while there, I knew what a person who loses their house felt like. It's a very desperate feeling, especially to those of us who need our own space to recharge after a long day of dealing with people. My sympathy to all of you who have ever experienced this.

Mmmmm... crabs.