In Other News

Why yes I am procrastinating despite the post I just put up saying I was going to get back to work. Why do you ask? ;)

In other news, I've completely given up trying to understand my dreams anymore. They've gone to a place I just don't get. It's not like they're crazier than normal, they're just so out of my realm of understanding or dissecting for meaning. Something I'm usually pretty good at.

I've had a variation of one dream, hmmm, I'm gonna say 3, maybe 4 times now in the past couple of years (this makes it a theme dream, I have many, some themes stay for decades, some come and go) that I do not get. It's always very vivid, no matter how mind bendingly bizarre it gets, and each time I have it I wake up a little confused for a moment as too what world and which rules I'm on and operating under.

The dream always involves world hopping and hidden gates to other places and frequently has a sort of nexus point, mini world, in-between place with a huge concentration of gates (frequently guarded by hostiles that are usually not even remotely human, frequently bug-like). There's also usually a lot of running and hiding and dodging violent search parties, and oppositional forces who are much better equipped and basically have control of everything (multiple worlds, the nexus point etc.)

This particular time, there wasn't an in-between world that I was aware of, but there were multiple worlds, all looking pretty similar to this one. However, and I don't remember exactly how or who was causing it, but people were getting thrown into worlds that weren't theirs. Mostly all in this one particular worlds (with the prettiest ocean you've ever seen). The catch? None of us could understand anyone else. Not the people on the world we were in, not the people thrown in from other worlds (though we did somehow know that none of us belonged in this particular world) .

To make it harder, we had to somehow traverse the world we were in to the gate that would send us to our respective worlds without being able to communicate with anyone. At all. Imagine trying to work together and navigate an entire fucking world when you can't read, write or speak the language of anyone else, including the people you're trying to navigate this with, while trying not to let on to the natives that you're not one of them. I tell you, it involved a lot of hand gestures with my fellow off-worlders.

I don't remember if we were being chased or hunted this time (pretty typical of this dream-theme scenario)...

Also, I'm not sure what it is with the creepy-ass underground Egyptian-like tomb dreams (with the dead ends and downer endings), but they can stop any fucking time now thanks. Dear dreams, your grandiose, sweeping architecture is amazing, but I'd appreciate it even more if I wasn't busy trying not to die painfully. Kthanks.

The serial killer loose in poorly lit hospital with tons of graphically mutilated corpses dreams can stop as well. That shit is fucking frightening.

I Want To Suck Your Blood... And Possibly Commit Seppuku, Which, Isn't Nearly As Permanent When You're The Undead.

Two nights ago one of my dreams had something to do with feudal Japan and vampire samurai clans. One of the clans was waging a wipe-out* war on another clan. I was a human warrior in the losing clan.

The dream was all but forgotten until early that evening when Most Beloved and I were driving. Part of it suddenly popped into my mind. I jokingly told him I'd had a dream about vampire samurai in a feudal Japan-like place. We chuckled over it and I figured that was the end of it. I was wrong. The damn thing continued to nag at me most insistently. Finally I turned to Most Beloved as we were driving and said, "Would you like to hear this story idea I have. It won't leave me alone. "

"Ok." Most beloved replied.

"Ok, but you can't laugh." which he promptly did because who doesn't laugh as soon as you go all puppy dog eyes on them and tell them they can't. :) "No I'm serious, it's super fledgling and it's from a dream so it probably sucks worse than a four dollar whore. If it does suck ass just clear your throat and suggest maybe my energy would be spent on other things."

"I promise." He said.

So I proceeded to tell him my idea while we drove to the bulk Barn (which is an amazing, wonderful, delectable place full of much goodness and thank God they have them in this God foresaken, hell hole of a province. Edmonton is truly shitsville.) We parked and I continued to talk while he continued to listen and not laugh. And talked. And talked.

"That is really cool. You made it sound silly earlier, but that's not silly at all." (Most Beloved is kinda awesome like that.)

Then hunger overtook us and we were forced to go in and get our baking foodstuffs before we both grabbed the nearest arm not attached to either of us and proceeded to gnaw.

Then I went home, scarfed some food down and proceeded to type out almost 7,000 words in less than 6 hours. I think I went to bed around 4. I'm kinda tired today, but happy. Really, really happy. It's a good idea and, without trying to sound like an arrogant ass, it's super cool.

Both the world building and intricate social structure are insanely complex, but they've been flowing out of me onto the page. I have the first 1/3rd or so completely mapped out. The middle and ending require a clever surprise I can't remember now so they'll have to wait til either I can remember or come up with something new, but I could see (once that happens) the rest mapping out pretty quickly and easily. I don't know that I'll be able to write it anytime soon, got my hands full all ready with my other story. But I think I have enough down that I'll be able to re-immerse myself in it once the time comes.

On a somewhat related note, I've pretty clearly found one of my "writer themes." You know, those things each writer feels compelled to explore. Frequently more than once and in more than one way. One of mine (loosely explained) has to do with the idea of "the Other." The definition of Other kept deliberately vague because the notion of the other really is as fluid as that. Oh, sure, common definings of what constitutes "the other" exist in every culture, but I find that individual and small collective definings can further range from "Other as anyone different from you" (colour, culture, race, sexual orientation) to "that part of ourselves every person either fears, hates or hides." Jung's concept of the Shadow and all that being one such example. Again, these are loose definitions and I'm sure there are many more of them kicking around.

I like looking at that. I don't just like looking at it, I like strapping supernatural booties on it and forcing it to go run around the block for me a few times. And could it please, since it's up and all anyways, maybe go hangout in the 360 degree mirror Stacey and Clinton like to trot out so much? Just for a bit.

Goddamn that got serious eh? No worries, tomorrow will be all about my trials and tribulations with making beef jerky with our new DEHYDRATOR!

*Nothing to do with surfing, but this is me so thinking it might is perfectly reasonable and therefore requiring the clarifications. Ok 1 clarification. Except now it is 2 because I just clarified the clarification. You're welcome.

Flying is Hard Work

In my dream I'm batman, except I can fly by flapping my arms like a bird. Which I am doing, vigorously, as I try to gain enough altitude to clear the building in front of me.

Here is my internal monologue while doing so: Batman would catch more criminals if he didn't have to flap his damn arms so much. Flying is fatiguing.

Oh that's right, I'm supposed to be finishing the new look

Oh my sweet jesus I get to sleep in tomorrow! Perhaps it is a dream?

No, it can't be a dream I'm not:

Staring at my own eyes, which happen to be completely black, and lookin' kinda cool if I say so myself,

Trying to understand the doctor with the terrific-ly bad mumbling problem whose supposed to be looking after me,

Wandering a hospital trying to find a bathroom that doesn't contain visible evidence of someone else's disease all over it,

Lost in the hospital now and unable to find my doctor,

In a scary haunted house with some sort of ultra creepy, demonic witch-woman thing and a bunch of to-stupid-to-live canon fodder

Dreams

So I had this dream the other night. It was amazing and I can't remember it now, but I may have decked a bear. Just sayin' y'all.

In My Dream

In my dream, I'm in a... bank? Maybe? There's an elevator in it that leads to some sort of museum. And definitely two, possibly three, security guards. At one point I'm standing there in shorts (I almost never wear shorts for real) and the two (or three) security guards are talking about my weight like I'm not even there. And my unshaven legs. I look down (in the dream) and yes, indeed, my legs haven't been shaved. How embarrassing, which also begs the questions; why the fuck am I wearing shorts?

In my dream, I'm trying to balance a trained squirrel sideways on my head (One of the security guards had the little guy on his head as we walked into the museum. ) before heading off to take a tour of the museum. It's not going so well.

I'm just going to say that again so it can sink in.

I'm my dream, I'm trying to balance a trained squirrel on my head. Sideways.

Yea...

It Is Done

My final short story is done. 19 pages. 6,500 word or so. Not bad, not bad at all. And might I even be so brazen as to suggest it is a pleasant read?

I am actually proud of it, something I can't say happens as often as it probably should. I dug deep and hit a new level of editing on it, which I am also happy and proud of.

Is it perfect? Hardly so, but it is as good as I can make it currently and that is better than anything else I've produced to date, so I will take my hard-earned victory and enjoy it.

Now, if only I can make my final script and major research essay (among others) as snazzy, I will surely end this semester exhausted, but pleased.

Totally unrelated note (or maybe it is, who knows! I should probably monitor these things more closely) my dreams have been awesome lately.