Sunday, August 29, 2004

Sunday, August 29th, 2004

I’m in a casino or card club with Herb (or Frank). There’s a poker tournament going on nearby but we’re playing something else. We both decide that maybe we want to play in the tournament and check the time. It’s now 7:51 and the tournament started at 7. We rush to register since we can still buy in before 8. Merrill is in charge of the game and registers us. She seems cranky about something.

Friday, August 27, 2004

Friday, August 27th, 2004

Susannah & I are driving around San Francisco. We’re only there for the night and want to eat at Grand Sichuan. We drive past it in Chinatown and see a sign that says it’s moved down the street. I direct Susannah to go around the block and come up Lo Ching Street. As we circle around, I realize it’s one block back. I tell her to circle around again. One on second try, we’re unable to turn the way we want to and end up being diverted to a subdivision.

Irritated, Susannah pulls over & gets out of the car. I switch seats with her and drive down to the Marina. We stop and try to decide where to eat. I try to remember what restaurants are in this area. I suggest we go down Geary to Jang Soo.

Later…

I’m driving a jet ski with an older man next to me. I ask him if we can tow anything with it. He tells me only people on skis. As we travel across the water, I turn to notice that two women on skis have attached themselves to us. We’re both annoyed. I ask him if we can be held responsible if something happened. We decided we needed to ditch them. He tells me to hit the brakes and “dive.” I hit the brakes and we down into the water. As I sink, I struggle and flail in the water. I’m at the surface very quickly and struggle ashore. We go into the beach manager’s office to file a complaint. The office is crowded with people and I get annoyed.

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Tuesday, August 24th, 2004

I’m in a backyard of a trailer park looking for someone. A man comes out to accost me. I go into his house to see Merrill. Some of her relatives are in the room, sitting with their backs to me. I tell her I’m here to collect the money she owes me. She disputes the amount because I’d visited her previously at a party but didn’t collect it then. She wants to me to calculate the interest only up until that party, not up to now. I tried to explain to her that I didn’t collect from her then because it was a party and I wasn’t about to talk business in front of her friends & family. I’m very irritated with her but don’t want to fight her. I tell it’s fine just so I can get paid. She gives me a wad of twenties. I tried to figure out if the amount is right.

Later…

I’m in a police station with a few women. Through peepholes in the doors/walls, we’re watching a guy walk his dog. We wonder if he’s the burglar/assailant we’re looking for.

Later, in the same place, I hear several police officers outside. They get on the radio and ask if we called them. I’m with several police officers and I motion for them all to hit the ground. Prone on the floor, I radio them back to say I did not call them. We all lay still and try to see what’s going on outside.

Suddenly a man bursts in through the glass door, spraying the room with a submachine gun. We’re getting hit but all return fire. I’m hitting him in the torso and legs with my small submachine gun. I’m cursing my weak rounds not being able to put him down.

A woman and another man also storm in with weapons. As the gun battle blazes, I sneak out the back and run into the street. It’s night and there are a few police cars around. I run to them frantically, yelling for police and SWAT backup, saying that we need firepower and armor. The response is slow but eventually we reenter the station.

The situation is now contained and the one surviving assailant is being handed presents. The officers are drawing numbers to see who gives the assailant presents in what order. I tell the officers new on the scene that this “mahjong-something” is our way of dealing out his punishment.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Saturday, August 21st, 2004

I’m in Chinatown walking to Soho to meet Tara Wardle for dinner. It starts to run very hard and I make a run for it. With no umbrella, I duck into a Chinese restaurant. Inside, I see Wei Ming and April finishing dinner. I’m very surprised and happy to see them and bend down to hug Wei Ming. She can’t hug me back because she’s on the phone with someone.

I head over to the bathroom. A young girl is coming out of the bathroom. As she walks by, a waitress greets her and slaps her on the ass. I enter the extremely cramped bathroom. I have to hold the seat up as I take a long pee.

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Wednesday, August 18th, 2004

I’m in a car with Susannah’s dad (or some other older man) trying to get home. I’m following traffic and looking for my street. We end up on a narrow street heading back downtown. We both notice the street is so narrow the buildings on either side are practically leaning on each other. I reach up and push one building back so the tops aren’t touching.

We reach an even narrower area and encounter a couple of long dinner tables where snooty people are having desert. We rush them through it so we can get through.

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Tuesday, August 17th, 2004

It’s nighttime and I’m standing by the window inside my high-rise apartment. I look through the window with a magnifying scope to see if there’s any sex, violence or other drama inside any of the buildings nearby.

Later, I get up out of bed and go to the front hall mirror. I discover that I have numerous white hairs. I wonder what kind of stress I’ve encountered lately that would’ve caused that. I look for my phone to call Susannah and tell her. I also consider waiting until she gets home to surprise her.

Monday, August 16, 2004

Monday, August 16th, 2004

I’m in a house talking to some other Asian Americans. I’m upset and sad about something. I say to a guy next to me, “Not to be cocky, but what I need is a protégé. Someone I can teach and help improve their writing.”

Later…

I’m in a big house that resembles my parents’ old place. Our child (or a friend’s child) has gone missing. People are tearing up the place looking for him/her. There’s even a tractor in the backyard digging up the dirt.

I look out the front window into the yard and see that part of the lawn has been replaced by a koi pond. I splash the water a bit to scater the fish and notice that many of them are dead and floating on the surface. There’s also a colorful sign posted above the pond about how the water stains the newspaper.

I go sit down at a table where some older family friends are sitting. I reach out for one of their hands and start crying. My mouth is full of watermelon and I spit seeds and pieces out as I cry.

Sunday, August 15, 2004

Sunday, August 15th, 2004

I’m in a store/gallery with Michelle, Susannah and other people I know. There are people with their kids. I see Esme and pick her up. She’s been passed around from person to person and turn to see who I am. Recognizing me, she smiles. I ask her how she is and she replies with the voice of a world-weary & serious 10 year old, “Actually, I’m looking for (some movie). I put her down and follow her into another room.

She walks into the adjoining bar/restaurant and walks behind the bar. I look for Michelle to tell her about Esme’s advanced speech. No one I know is around so I leave.

I walk out into a warehouse-like space and begin taking a long flight of stairs down. A man in a trench coat (decorated with lapels and medals) enters the stairwell area and I hold a door for him. As he follows me down the stairs, I get paranoid and speed up. I run recklessly fast down the stairs, taking 3 or 4 steps at a time to outdistance him. The stairs are familiar to me so the pace isn’t too risky.

As I speed down, the stairs get extremely narrow and hard to get through. Eventually, the guy goes down a parallel path. I get stuck in a wooden stairwell and begin kicking the structure apart in order to continue. He yells for me not to do it as it may destabilize the whole thing. I kick my way through a part of it and jump to a bricked ledge.

Friday, August 13, 2004

Friday, August 13th, 2004

I’m wandering through a huge grocery store. As I walk through a thinly stocked produce section, an employee tells me they’re closing.

Later…

I’m taking an older person through a Chinese restaurant/store. We look at baskets full of dim sum. I pick up a piece and tell him about it. I tell him how the tofu skin is deep-fried and then wrapped around the filling and steamed. I ask if he wants to eat here or just get some to take home. He’s indifferent. I call Susannah to see if she wants to join us.

Thursday, August 12, 2004

Thursday, August 12th, 2004

I’m looking into the backyard and see Salty scurrying up a tree. I call a friend to the window to show him this amazing feat.

Later, I’m on the sidewalk outside a house/business. A woman walks by with her dog. The dog runs into the house and I tell the woman to watch the dog because my rabbit is inside. We go in to look for the dog. The house is in the middle of renovations. I look on the floor and see lots of little brown baby bunnies. I gasp and wonder if this is why Salty’s been feeling ill. Then I notice a hole in the ground with more babies and a brown mother bunny. We continue into another room, trying to avoid stepping on the babies. We find the dog and the woman pulls it aside. I find Salty hiding in a corner. She has a few scratches on her nose and back. I yell at the woman for not watching her dog.

Thursday, August 05, 2004

Thursday, August 5th, 2004

I’m at our high school reunion with Sarah Durant. We’re sitting together in a hall with lots of other people waiting for something to get underway. We talk as we watch old classmates come in and sit down. We both spot Josh Endicott come in. Sarah gets nervous and wants to leave. As we talk, she calms down a little. Then, we see Bill Nguyen. I get annoyed with myself that I didn’t learn any Vietnamese so I could say something to him. I say to Sarah, “Funny how after all these years, seeing these people can still make us nervous. It’s like the years never past.”

Later, I’m in a mall trying to get back to the reunion. I’m on an up escalator when I want to go down. I hop over the rail and head back but stop when I notice that I cannot. I run through the mall, trying to remember how to get out.

Later, Susannah and I are exiting an airport or train station. Several cars, most of them large SUVs pull up to pick us up. We have our pick of them but I want to see if Sarah’s here. As we spot her small car, one of the SUVs backs up into her, crushing part of her hood. We rush over and apologize for causing the accident. She doesn’t seem worried.

We unload our stuff from another car and try to get it into hers. We’re also trying to get a bike to fit into her trunk.

As we drive off, we talk about plans for the week. I remember that Susannah has to go see someone during the day and am glad that I can spend some time to catch up with Sarah.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004

I arrive at a big function for the Democratic party. As I rush into the main hall, there are lots or people trying to figure out where to go. I see a line of them picking up books and papers that are placed on every table & chair. I rush in and grab a set. The book is a large encyclopedia-sized book of political cartoons by Michael Moore (though they look like Bloom County). Irritated by the conformist vibe of the place and start yelling, “Everybody better get your books while they’re hot!”

Later…

I’m on a bus or train traveling over an industrial part of town. We pass a stop where I could have transferred to the 71 bus. We pass it, I realize that was my stop. I get off at the next station and try to figure out how to go back a stop. I wander around on the bridge-like structure, trying to get to the opposite platform.

Later…

I’m trying to find my way out of a hospital and back to a poker club not too far away. I wander around the halls looking for a reception desk. Finally, I come across a few women at a desk and ask them for a car service number. I pick up the handset of a telephone attached to my bag but the ladies call the car service for me. I ask them how long it usually takes for the car to get here and she told me not too long. I sit and wait as I try to remember where exactly the club is. I root through the bag (which belongs to someone else) for clues.

Monday, August 02, 2004

Monday, August 2nd, 2004

We’re throwing a party of some kind outside out house. As people arrive, the caterers bring out a few plates of dim sum. As people pick out what they want, the caterers go back downstairs to prepare more. Suddenly over a dozen more people show up. I get a little antsy about having enough food. I also wonder how people will split the bill since the food’s not paid for.

John’s daughter is there and I talk with her about something.

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Sunday, August 1, 2004

Susannah & I are taking a road trip to a campsite or festival in Georgia. We drive a short ways down to the New Jersey coastline and get on a small raft. As we float out to sea, we let the tide take us down the coast. Susannah says she doesn’t like the idea of not being able to control the raft. I tell her it’s the only way because we don’t have enough fuel to get all the way down there.

As we travel, we float past some small islands dotted with electronic equipment. One of them controls the lights and functions of the Statue of Liberty. We’re both very fascinated.

We begin discussing what to do once we get into Georgia since we won’t have a car. Susannah suggests going back and driving down to Georgia in the car while I continue in the boat. I tell her it defeats the purpose of a road trip if we spend the bulk of it apart.

We get out our AAA roadmap and try to see what route to take. We decide we just need to stick close to the coastline so we don’t get swept out to sea. We turn to some of the pages of specific states to see where exactly we are.

Lucy is now with us helping determine our mileage. I notice lots of inlets of rivers that could take us into Georgia and suggest that we avoid the coastal route. Lucy tells us that we can’t do that for some reason. She’s measuring some of the routes with a ruler.