Perchance to Mess with Reality

"If I don't fall and kill myself, I'll post some pictures before the weekend."

That was the last anyone in the blogosphere heard of me, and yet, more than a week later, no one seems worried that I haven't posted anything since venturing off to try ice-skating for the first time in a bajillion years. Just sayin'.

As you can see, I didn't succumb to the ice. I even managed not to fall the entire time. There was some minor wobbling -- but it was like a 2.1 earthquake (in that it doesn't really count). Is that bad karma? I feel like I just insulted 2.1 earthquakes everywhere and now they're going to put out a hit on me for thinking them weak and ineffective. Headlines next week will read: Man in U.S. felled by freak 2.1 earthquake which localized under his Ohio home -- a place not known for earthquakes. You'd think for a former jouralism student I could create a snappier headline than that, but that'll do for now.

Actually decided to post something because last night I had a dream. And no, it wasn't that kind of dream (whichever kind you're thinking of, it wasn't one of those -- unless you dreamt that I was in Hawaii with my friends, then it was exactly that kind of dream).

Dreams are weird. A simple but accurate statement. Then again, perhaps my dreams are fairly normal in comparison to some out there. As the hours pass by on any given day, the memory of the dreams that preceded it fade quickly from my thoughts. Glimpses, at this point, are the standard remnants of once powerful illusions so vivid that I'm often surprised to find myself lying awake in my bed come morning.

Last night, from what I remember, was an odd dreamscape. I was in Hawaii. Mind you, I've never been to Hawaii; but my brain concocted a rather impressive recreation judging from photos of the place. It was night, and I was determined to wade barefoot in the surf. Some of my friends were there, looking for me. I was irritated with someone, I recall that. But I also remember it not being a rational reaction -- nothing had warranted irritation and yet, I was. So I was convinced I needed to wade in the surf... something that if you've never done, I recommend.

And then there was a car --- but it was more like one of those old Ford pick-up trucks from the 1950s. It was beige, maybe white in the dark, and it ran off the road and almost hit me, swirving only at the last second. And I remember watching it come at me and thinking that it was actually a premonition within the dream and that if I'm ever in Hawaii at night and thinking about wading in the surf, I should do so far away from roads where old trucks may suddenly lose control.

Upon waking and thinking about it, the truck was probably pulled from memory as early yesterday there was a huge truck on the other side of a highway barrier and it looked for a second like it was coming over or through that concrete cushion. But runaway trucks or looking for the symbolism in such things isn't the purpose of today's post.

I was just thinking of the irritation in the dream. Honestly, it irritated me that I was irritated at one of my friends in the dream world when there's absolutely no reason for it in this one. Subconscious manafestation? Maybe. I just thought it weird. I don't put much stock into analyzing dreams. They are normally odd and usually forgetten. And those that I do recall were so real or so exciting/traumatizing that forgetting them isn't an option. Plus, some make for great story ideas.

So riddle me this: am I actually upset with my friend or was it just an odd dream? And that makes me wonder about how we all interact with people and how we feel about them on a day to day basis. What makes us like or dislike someone or their actions? Is it simply a though process... a brain-wave pattern telling us we're irritated? I ask this because, once I'd awoken, I logically rationalized that there was nothing irritating going on -- it was all in my head.

So when I get flustered or upset with people in real life, isn't that all in my head too? Now sure, someone could walk up and punch me or steal my phone and, yes, I would be mad and, no, that wouldn't be all in my head --- but the little things... bad drivers (or "rivers" as I just typed, because those turbulent streams can be a bitch)... slow lines at the bank... less than stellar service at a restaurant... or anything you can think of that upsets you for no reason... maybe when one of those things causes me ire, I'll remember my dreams and realize there's no reason to be upset.

I should probably warn people about my new attempt to be calm and cool in all situations... and actually, I'm fairly calm about most things -- it's just traffic that gets to me. Otherwise when I'm cruising down the highway and the whole thing comes to a standstill and I don't yell or complain or even toss out a sarcastic barb at the idiot car in front of me, Lucidity will be certain that pod people have taken me just I suspected them of replacing her when she one day up and announced that she was giving up coffee.

You'll be happy to know that Lucidity was not, in fact, replaced by a pod person and as of now I'm fairly certain the same can be said of me.

I have a ton more to catch up on here at Thwarting Complacency, but for now I must bid thee adieu. There shall be much merriment soon enough as I recount the events of Labor Day Weekend and more merriment (and embarassment) when I post the photos. Yes. Photographs.

And to warn those who might have been at OCTA... dancing, rolling around, licking other people... you know, the usual things one does at a theatre conference... the pictures... they're not of me.

Until then, gentle reader.