Prompt #5: My Dreams

I've given up on going by "days" for the prompt and will just stick with my own schedule for posting when I remember am not lazy have time.

This prompt could be interpreted a few ways, but I'll go literal and ramble about my nightly subconscious adventures. My dreams are extremely fickle. They tend to be extremely realistic and vivid and include all five senses. Most of the time I don't realize I'm dreaming until I wake up extremely confused and disoriented. Sometimes I know what's going on couldn't possible be real (or is extremely unlikely) but take it for granted as being real anyway. Other times I realize I'm dreaming and try to control the events with varying levels of success. I believe this is called "lucid dreaming," although I've heard different definitions of the term.

Only once have I had definite control over a dream: the first time I was clearly aware that I was dreaming I was standing in front of a row of doors, perhaps at a motel or apartment complex. I remember the stucco wall was a harsh shade of coral or salmon and the doors were all teal with gold numbers. I remember being under the impression I was in the desert, and I think I remember thorny plants (perhaps strangled-looking roses?) along portions of the wall. Considering the door directly in front of me, wondering what I should want to be on the other side, I said to myself "when I open this I will wake up." And I did so, immediately and fully. I have never had that level of control again. Even when I am aware I am dreaming and have tried to control elements, they obey only grudgingly or not at all.

Something I find odd about my dreams is that many times I'll dream about a location or a person that I have never seen before in my waking life but I find it familiar (sometimes vaguely, sometimes extremely), as though I have been there or met them many times before. Perhaps I dreamed about them before but didn't remember upon waking? Or while dreaming a dream I will have the feeling I've dreamt it before and make guesses at what happens next. Whether or not I am actually recalling the dream or am shaping how it plays out I don't know.

When I was young I would have very frequent recurring dreams located at my old church/elementary school. (They were located at the same complex for my kindergarten and first grade years.) It was around Christmas time: we were all sitting at the lunch tables doing Christmas crafts in the evening just after sundown. We realize the jingle bell sounds we hear aren't from our crafts, but from something far away and drawing closer... Something bright is approaching us in the sky. Could it actually be Santa Claus coming to visit us? But something is wrong. It feels suddenly very dark and sinister. We try to take shelter under the canvas canopy above the tables but realize it offers no protection at all, and so run indoors to the nearest classroom. But it isn't a classroom at all: it's my living room and kitchen! I run into the kitchen and duck down to hide behind the breakfast bar, but as sometimes happens in dreams, something doesn't make sense: I am clearly behind the solid barrier of the bar but can still see through it to what is happening on the other side. Suddenly the roof smashes in and a rocket (much like the one pictured) descends into the room.

That's where I always woke up. I never could make sense of it. Then again I regard my years at that school (small private Lutheran school, kindergarten through eighth grade) as largely an ordeal I came out of with tougher skin and a jaded outlook on life; when I dream about that place (roughly five or six times a year) they are rarely pleasant dreams. Rarely are they outright nightmares... except the one time I dreamed deadly pizzas spiraled out of the sky and chased us off the playground trying to slice our heads off. Try and tackle THAT one, dream interpreters.

Well Butter My Buns!

There's no particular reason for that title, I just think it's rather silly.

Updates in my life! I have two (count 'em, TWO) jobs now, which is amazing considering the economy and the five-month job search previous. This also means I am extremely busy most of the time and rarely have a true day off -- if I'm not working at one place, I'm working at the other.

Day Job is data entry and updating product information for an electronic components company. ("Components" meaning the itty bitty pieces that larger electronics companies buy to create their products that we the consumers buy.) I get to sit in from of a computer all day and translate part numbers, edit and/or create spec pages, and overhaul product listings and information for the corporation's website. It gets tedious but the office ambience is extremely laid back and fun. Plus they like to remind me to take lots of breaks. ;)

Night Job is at a popular fabric and craft store. Team members do everything there: cashiering, cut counter, go-backs and recovery, typical retail stuff. Being surrounded by crafty and creative supplies for hours at a time is extremely dangerous for me... I constantly want to turn right back around and put my entire paycheck right back into the store! This one is just a seasonal position for the holidays but there is always a possibility they may ask me to stay on after the new year. To be honest I haven't decided what I will do if that turns out to be the case, because Day Job pays better and will [probably] have more long-term options for me.

In other news, I had my first real car accident on late October. No one was hurt and the damage was relatively minor, but my poor little car was sans driver's side mirror for a little while. Driving on California freeways is an ordeal in and of itself, but lacking a mirror makes it ten times more terrifying. Little Blue actually just came back from the body shop two days ago, and while I can honestly say that while I am glad to have her back in nearly good-as-new shape (minus a few previous minor bumps and bruises), I miss the rental. A Chrysler Sebring is just a different class of car than what I drive, though it drove extremely touchy and took a little getting used to. As of tomorrow I won't be missing satellite radio though: after hearing me rave about it for a week, it's going to be a Christmas present from my folks!

We called the police right away, and they found the guy who hit me at fault for the accident. I thought that would make things simple: police report states he's at fault, his insurance is forced to accept liability and pay for everything, badda bing badda boom my car gets fixed and I get a rental with no out-of-pocket expenses. BOY was I wrong! He decided to claim the accident was equally as much my fault as his (which is baloney) and so his insurance won't cover our expenses. Luckily I just had to pay the deductible for the repairs and the rental was cheap; both our insurance companies have my statement and the police report now anyway, and my insurance is going to kick his insurance's ass and make them reimburse us.

Neither here nor there: As of late September, I am the proud new owner of my first smart phone. Being a Verizon customer, I chose the DroidX and absolutely looove it. The (compared to my previous plan/phone) astronomical bill is a little daunting, but with two jobs I at least don't have to worry about affording it.

That's about all I can think of right now, so I'll catch you cats later. Hopefully I'll remember to start up the prompt thing again at well. Stay cool!