I Swear I Don't Smoke Crack

Last night was Monday Night Craft night. After a filling meal, my friend Geek (Rose's husband) went on the computer and showed the kids some funny cat videos. Then he found the latest trailer for the new Star Trek movie. That got the conversation geared towards more upcoming movies, and I started thinking about the movies that I would love to see. Shortly after, I continued my knitting as they turned on "The Last Samurai" - the Tom Cruise movie.

I don't share dreams that have significant meaning to me or that I feel compelled to search out their meaning in my life. However, last night was a completely different story.

This is my dream. ***Disclaimer: I don't know any of these people in real life.

I am on a vacation with Spiderman/Peter Parker. We travel to China with some friends. All of a sudden a volcano erupts, and of course Spidey has to save everyone. At one point, he has me in one arm as he web slings me through a cave and into the center of the earth. Through one of the caverns we see Godzilla and King Kong battling. He figures that the Kong has Godzilla where he needs him, so he doesn't enter that fight.

When we emerge from the bowels of earth, we emerge into another part of the world, or another part of China (I'm not sure) where things seem to be much quieter. So we hang out with our friends. But then some samurais burst onto the scene and everyone screams in terror. So once again, Spidey springs into action.

I just hang out with my pal Mary Jane Watson. She's not into guys - if you catch my drift - so I don't have to worry about her putting any moves onto Peter. Anyway, once Spiderman gets rid of the samurais, we head to a museum. This place is the size of a small city and houses not only art but also animals.

To our amazement, the Transformers arrive. The Decepticons have managed to find a way of not only transforming into machines, but also into animals. So we don't know which animals are animals and which ones are Decepticons. At this point, Peter isn't Spiderman for some reason. He's just Peter leading me and MJ through the Museum looking for none other than Optimus Prime and his crew.

Peter finally finds our man OP, who has managed to transform himself into an 84 year-old man who shuffles through the museum and looks more like a butler than our salvation. But in his "man" image, he is a biologist who has developed a way to determine the real animals - which have all been diseased by the Decepticons and act crazy - from the fakes.

But before he can help us out, Megatron (who somehow has come back from the dead - see the Transformers movie if you need an update) attacks. MJ and I are separated from Peter and OP. We run through equipment rooms with machines coming alive in front of us. All of a sudden Jazz shows up and starts "enlivening" machines for the good guys. He gives the two of us a ride while I call Peter on his cell trying to find him.

While driving around with Decepticons on our tail, we realize that for some reason the Decepticons cannot backtrack on the same path. Meaning, if they went one way down the street, they could go in the opposite direction but couldn't go the same way on that same stretch of the street. So, we start going down streets that end in cul-de-sacs. We dispatch the info to our friends. With Decepticons all over the place, stuck like statues where their streets turned into circles, the military comes through and bombs them all. When Peter takes me into his arms, I wake up with "What the F@#%" coming out of my mouth.

At work today I told my co-workers who was involved in my dream. In unison, they asked me what I smoked last night.

My Animals Are Lazy Bums

I think it's possible that my pets love weekends more than I do. At least this is the case for Mr. Anti-social. He is a complete Momma's Boy.

During the week, when my alarm goes off and I hit the snooze, he stretches his arm and paw over me as if to say "Don't go to the place. Stay here with me." Weekends afford him extra time to stay curled up next to me.

Baby Kitty does whatever her big brother does. She's my Chatty Kathy and will follow me around the house to talk to me, even into the bathroom. But on the weekend, she just like her brother will walk me back to the bedroom or the couch, if I happen to be elsewhere in the house.

Arlo is my crazy old man who is getting senile and thinks he's two. He loves sleep so much, he could do it anywhere. He just happens to prefer my bed or the couch. He has his own bed with a blanket that he ruts into at all hours of the night. In the mornings during the week, I have to leave tray tables on the couch so he doesn't lay on it and bury into it. But this doesn't always stop him. Somedays I come home and he's so knocked out on the couch that he doesn't stir until I'm in his sleepy face. What a watch dog!

This week was especially exhausting for me. The first part of the week had me up until very late each night. The end of the week had me falling asleep with knitting needles in my hand one night, and the computer mouse in my hand the other. No surprise that I took part of the weekend to catch up on sleep - much to the delight of my pets. This is what I saw when I woke up one time.

Mr. Anti-social is on my lap, Baby Kitty is alongside my legs and Arlo is at my feet.

The real funny thing is that they didn't stir when I grabbed the camera, turned it on, took several pictures, hooked up the camera to the computer and uploaded the pictures. Things would be so much simpler if we had lives as difficult as these three.

That Sound That Once Was And May Soon Be

My car radio has been acting up since the weekend. It turns on but the stations haven't been coming through. For the first few days, it had just been static. I love music and this was just torture for me since I was at my folks' and didn't have any CDs.

Then, the radio just mysteriously cleared up, but not for long. I would hit the seek button and after cycling through about 10 times, it might catch a station.

Stranger yet was today. When I got into the car this morning, there was no station and I couldn't get one until halfway through my commute. Then, when I left work, it was perfectly fine.

I was enjoying a great song from the eighties when I heard a strange sound. It wasn't scary, it wasn't something to be worried about. I shockingly enjoyed it. It was the sound of me singing to the music. There were no choking sobbing sounds that accompany the tunes of a song that meant something to Jake and myself or reminds me of him. It was a sound that I used to hear everyday, but haven't heard since the day he left this world.

Often I've felt like it has wanted to break loose, but I haven't been able to let it go. It's like a shame that I've suppressed and today it just had to get out. I felt it in my chest. Now I feel like it has seen the light of day and doesn't want to be contained any longer.

Ties That Bind

The past few days have been interesting to say the least. Halloween was good. I had a great time passing out candy to the kids. I was also happily surprised to realize that my DVR was recording the Ghost Hunters marathon. I'm new to DVR and hadn't expected this. Unfortunately, it didn't associate Ghost Hunters Live with Ghost Hunters so I missed the first hour of the 7pm-2am special. I spent Saturday watching the episodes and knitting.

Saturday had it's share of bad news. My cousin was in a horrible car accident involving a deer and was apparently in a coma. I agreed to dog sit my parent's dog so that my dad could go with my mom. I would have gone with my mom but I know how much my cousin loves my dad and how much his ability to make her laugh could help her at this time of need. But they were told that since my cousin was still in a coma she couldn't have any visitors except immediate family.

Sunday brought better news. She had woken up and was responding more appropriately. She was moved to a unit where she could receive visitors. So I headed over to the folks so they could make the trip to see my cousin. She's in tough shape but she squeezed my dad's hand, which let him know that she was aware he was there.

Last night was Monday Night Craft Night. I actually cooked the meal for the group. This was a feat for me. I don't really cook, especially now when it's just me. But I've really never cooked for a group. I am happy to say that my Chicken Pesto Penne pasta was enough for seconds for some, and was all eaten by the time I left. Considering that I can't smell - my nose does not have this ability - my insecurities about burning food and fear that this inability also impacts my perception of taste (even though I don't really believe so) has prevented me from trying to cook for others. I believe it's ok for me to make something for myself that sucks, but a sense of paranoia grows in me when thinking about how others might hate my cooking. So I'm so relieved it turned out ok.

Another big accomplishment last night came by way of my first scarf. I came prepared to finish it off. It is a 75 inch knit/purl standard - no frills for this beginner. Like a little girl showing her straight A report card to her mom, I jumped at the chance to show my prize to my craft night buddies.

Rose is a skilled knitter who has been doing it since she was a child, and has been a great friend for the past 12 - 13 years. I beamed with pride and excitement as she showed me how to bind off and finish my scarf. Two stitches come together then one envelopes the other.

Two come together, then they become one. There is a thread that pulls us together.