Tuesday, June 29th, 2004

I’m in a lab with my boss (who reminds me of Anthony Hopkins). He tells me that another employee has a problem with me but he can’t tell me what it’s about. I get very frustrated because I really need to know why. I stand in silence for a moment trying to think of what to do. I yell, “I quit!” and storm out the room.

I run into another lab/classroom and start throwing things off the counter. There are several electric stovetops plugged in and cooking stuff. I overturn one that has bacon cooking. I run past the counter, throwing other things about. I run into a smaller room on the side of the classroom and get my things. I take me keys, wallet and sunglasses from a Ziploc bag and continue to overturn appliances. I see a couple pots bubbling with onions and bacon. I take the time to turn them off so they don’t boil over. I realize I’m taking too long and take off running to get out of the building.

As I run down the stairs, I’m spotted by several police officers in the corridor. I run out the building and straight into another officer. I pull out a gun and take him hostage. I look around for a car and see someone sitting in a parked golf cart. I make my way over there and push the officer away and grab a woman about to feed her baby. I force them into the golf cart to try to make my getaway.

Saturday, June 26th, 2004

I’m at the store when Lara Fieldbinder comes in to tell me that “her” tenant next door is leaving soon. I ask her if she’s my new landlord and she tells me she just bought the place from my old landlord. I ask her what she knows about next door and she’s not too sure.

Thursday, June 24th, 2004

I’m traveling with a group of superhero adventurers. As we make our way through Chinatown, our travels are depicted in comic book panels. Several of the panels seem to be drawn by the same artist and I stop and appreciate the artistry. Among our group is an African tribal warrior and a character who only exists as an image in a mirror.

As I enjoy the imagery inside a Chinatown shop, an old Japanese woman talks with the female shopkeeper. She asks to see some trinket. As our group leaves, one of my companions noted that the shopkeeper is very nice. I tell the group that she knows my mother but didn’t recognize me until I told her who I was.

We walk by the entrance of a basement store. I look down to see workers stacking boxes of product onto a conveyor belt. I also see occasional customers peeking up the conveyor belt to see if there are any products of interest.

Curious, I slide down the spiral conveyor belt to get to the basement quickly. To my surprise and concern, it just keeps going. Another conveyor belt above me keeps sending products (including eggs) up while the slide I’m on never seems to end. I start looking for some sort of emergency button or lever to get myself out. Panicked and claustrophobic, I wake myself up.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2004

I’m leaving a grocery store and trying to find my car in the parking lot. I wander around for a bit and can’t seem to find it anywhere. I get out my keys and keep pressing the “unlock” button to hope to hear my car unlocking.

I walk over to a gravel lot a little farther from the store and open up a car door. A dead black man in his 40s falls out of the seat. I get panicked and try to cover his body with leaves, trying not to leave any fingerprints on his body. A group of teenagers walk by and I get scared they’ll see me.

Later…

I’m in a car with a woman I know (let’s call her Renee) when our car and many cars around us start speeding backwards on the road. Several of them collide but don’t cause any injuries. As all the cars stop, the people get start getting out, dazed and afraid. We get out and try to figure out what happened. We suspect some greater force at work. A few skeptics think we’re crazy. Renee says, “Then how come all the cars conveniently didn’t cause any injuries?”

The scene changes to indoors and we walk into a banquet hall. All the people are still confused and trying to figure out what happened. There’s something happening outside and Renee and I, along with a few brave others, head to the windows to see. We say to ourselves, “If there’s something special to meet, better we do it than these ignorant masses.”

I hop up on a table and onto the large windowsills to see out the window. We’re in a high-rise building and I look down to see an incredible scene. There are lots of people loading giant candles onto a huge flatbed truck. Others are covering the flatbed with wax and connecting all the candles with a giant wick. I yell for Renee, “You’ve GOT to come see this!” She and others run for the windows. “They’re making you a birthday display!” I tell her.

Someone asks, “Why don’t they show themselves?” I theorize, “Because they don’t want to reveal themselves. I mean, you could try to explain these events away. It could be that Renee has a group of great friends we don’t know about, creative friends. Maybe the Society for Creative Anachronism or something.”

We’re now outside on the roof. I look to the horizon and see twin moons. Suddenly they start showing cartoons. I nudge Renee, “Look, we have a change of programming.” The images flick with cartoons and kids’ shows, including something that looks like Strawberry Shortcake. I look back at Renee and she’s turned into a cartoon character herself, watching the images in the sky.

The shows begin to fade and something silent asks her for more information. I see a small stream of numbers leave Renee’s face and scroll towards the moons. The images continue, this time with programming geared towards a young teenager girl.

I see Renee’s exposed back being covered one by one with large plastic leaves (as she ages into an adult).

Monday, June 21st, 2004

I’m an attractive young white woman at a party. I spot a handsome young white man and am instantly smitten with him.

This part of the story is told in comic book panels:

We’re standing in front of a mirror in the bathroom getting dressed to go home after the party. We don’t say anything to each other as we share the mirror. Voiceover narration (or a caption) says, “The worst part of the evening was going home to my husband.”

The scene flashes back to the party. A dancing game is commencing. The handsome man is given a flashlight or baton to hold and has to stand near the center of the dining room table as the rest of the partiers dance a line around him. The baton will be continually handed off as people leave the dance line. Narration: “I tried my hardest to be the next one out so I could stand next to him. It was my only chance.” The panel shows him standing by the table holding the baton and being a very good sport.

Flash forward to after the party. We’re trying to make plans to meet again, maybe at a cafe. He says, “Well Bank Street crosses the canal, right? And there’s really no reason to go south of (something area). So we can meet at (somewhere) and explore those great cafes there.” I do say anything but smile and fall in love with the idea of beginning this affair.

Thursday, June 17th, 2004

I’m in a large and crowded school cafeteria. I’m trying to find a seat for Bart Simpson. I come across a table where the rest of the Simpson family (live action versions, not animated) are sitting and leave Bart there.

They ask me why I don’t sit down also and I tell them I have to make the rounds.

As I walk around greeting people at the tables, I run into Mandy Moore. She asks me something and I put my hand to the small of her back and reply, “Because you’re so cute.” I give her a quick kiss on the lips and she seems pleasantly surprised.

I look down the hall and see the Baldwin brothers coming my way. They get into a fight with a teacher or school official.

Tuesday, June 15th, 2004

We’ve taken over a restaurant/bar for a private party. Susannah’s on the main floor singing a “Wind Beneath My Wings”-type song. The party is a thank-you party from Susannah to me and some of our friends. At the end, we’re presented with a gift pack, including a movie gift certificate for $22.70. As we’re leaving, I ask the waitress if we can get change from this ticket. She takes them and tells me she’ll find out.

Later…

I’m a cowboy with some companions. We’ve been waylaid and held up by some bandits. One young bandit asks me whose pigs these are. I tell him they’re ours. He says, “No, I think they’re mine. I raised them, I fed them, I’m gonna slaughter them.”

As they continue to menace us, I pull out my pistol and put it on one of them. There is a tense standoff. I pull my other pistol and put it on another bandit. One of the Mexican bandits starts talking to another Mexican bandit in Spanish. The gringo bandit leader is agitated. The Mexicans try to run and a shootout erupts.

It’s utter chaos as everyone shoots at everyone else.

Friday, June 11th, 2004

Susannah and I (and Oliver) are at a party. As we start to mingle, Susannah tells me that she and Oliver are going to drive around for a while. I get really pissed off that she’s leaving me at this party alone. I grab the keys and storm outside. Realizing they’re the wrong keys, I throw them down and stomp out barefoot onto the gravel parking lot.

Saturday, June 5th, 2004

I’m in a TV truck riding behind a small UN tank. An American soldier is taking shots with an AK-47 while an African soldier is firing off bursts with a mounted machine gun at snipers inside the surrounding buildings. I look around and see the barrels of sniper rifles inside almost every building. I tell this to the nervous soldiers.

Later, we are on foot as we make our way through the city. We are next to a parking structure and I peek up to see several enemy soldiers. I tell my companion that I’ll take out the man at the very top while he sprays the rest with his AK. We pop up and take them out. We continue this assault but I find my sniper rifle a bit stiff and the bolt action too hard to quickly reload.

Tuesday, June 1st, 2004

I’m in a basement office with an attractive young woman. She’s naked standing at the top of the stairs and I’m trying to do something near her. I tell her I’m very attracted to her but I’m afraid to do anything about it. She tells me she feels the same way. We lock the doors and go downstairs to the bedroom. I start clearing the paperwork from the bed and she gets under the covers. I tell her that we’ll be ok in here even if someone else shows up.

Later…

I’m at a gas station with an Asian woman and her white husband. At the register, the clerk asks for her phone number. When she punches it in, the clerk says that the woman is under arrest for murder. A manager comes over to verify this. In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out how to help her make a run for it.

Later, we’re replaying the same scene. This time, the Asian woman gives a different phone number to avoid being identified. Somehow her info comes up again and the clerks know. We make a dash for her car outside and speed off.

Later, I’m in a Chinese restaurant looking for the woman. I find her in the kitchen and ask if this is where her sister works. She says yes and that it’s safe to hide here for a while. She suggests going to a different restaurant, one where she won’t be noticed as much.

Sunday, May 30th, 2004

It’s early in the morning and we’re waiting for some people to arrive to help install something electronic. I’m looking out the window. Instead of a boat as I’d been expecting, a car pulls up. I yell upstairs for Susannah to get up.

The car pulls up and about 10 people get out, all Chinese, many of them teenagers. I greet the guy who’s helping install for us. Many of the teenagers go inside, expecting to be fed. I tell the guy that we weren’t expecting so many and had already eaten a few hours ago. He says some of the people are Canadian and came with him. Some of the others he doesn’t know and didn’t even talk to him during the trip.

I tell the guy that all the extra people can order a pizza. He laughs at the idea. I ask him if he’s hungry and tell him I could eat again.

I see my dad and notice something in his ear. I realize it’s an oddly placed hearing aid.