let's talk about this tree outside my work window i'd like to take a picture of. it's bare from the top down to the middle, the leaves are golden and the sun, when it peeks out from behind the grey clouds surrounding the tree, lights the leaves in such a way that the light looks diffused, magical. it's gorgeous.

now that we've talked about that, let's talk about dreamstuffs.

in the past two nights i have had dreams with classic recurring themes of mine.

last night, before bed, i was talking about driving or something, and sat straight up, remembering my dream from the night before.

i don't remember all of it, just the serious part. i know i was dreaming about my dad a lot that night. we were somewhere, and i took a car that was his, a combination between the pickup truck and the fairlane. i was driving in between lanes, nearly slamming into semis; it was foggy, hard to steer, the windshield wasn't clear and i was starting to panic. i couldn't control the car and realised i was going down a hill. i smashed through a brick wall and realised there was nothing i could do. the car catapulted into the water, one of my biggest fears.

the car was sinking underwater and i with it. i was trying to unroll windows and swim out the window but i had to repeat this part, almost like i got sucked back into the car. again, i took a deep breath as the car hit the bottom. i kicked out the window. i swam to the top. i broke through the surface to search lights and people shouting for rescue.

the difference in this dream is that in former underwater dreams, i am fighting to find the surface and eventually have to learn to breathe underwater. no more of that i suppose.

so after remembering that dream, suddenly, and late in the day, i, of course had a zombie dream last night. for those that pay attention, i don't think i've had any of those since the time i assembled the mob, went a-zombie huntin' and couldn't find any.

so what happens last night? i'm in my grandmother's bathroom. i can't remember what i was doing there, i think kevin was there.. now that i think about it, it was the dunedin bathroom, in my grandmother's house. irrelevant. anyway.

suddenly, uhoh, there are zombies outside the window. one of them is reaching through the slats jalousie window. i don't remember if he wanted brains or some other object, but he was very polite about it. i either said 'no you can't have my brains' or handed him what he wanted.. now i'm thinking he wanted music, yes, that was it. i said, please please don't tell any of them we're in here.

he didn't, but they found us anyway and were soon all reaching through the windows. we hid behind the shower curtain until they disappeared. it seemed fishy, but we kicked out the jalousie and jumped out the window, stopping at the big tree.

this must be some kind of trap we said, and we talked about the trap as some kind of classic strategy i can't remember the name of, but we came to realise the tree must be bugged and they were listening to us.

off we went a-runnin' to the end of the yard and i started to pull to the right. no, kevin said. to the left. i stopped and thought for a minute. to the left is into the neighborhood. surely there will be more zombies that a-way. to the right is to the road and to freedom... but last time we went that way it was unsuccessful.. to the left then!

who knows what last time i was speaking of, but that is, of course, how my dreamland works. anyway.

so we went to the left and there was a car! do you think it'll be unlocked? he said.

of course it will! AND the keys will be there, i said as i opened the door. if you want to know the secret, they were there because i put them there.

into the car we jumped and off we went to safety.

not so fast! at the intersection of bellair and 19, the zombies we're directing traffic.

uh? i said, and zoomed south. near what was the gasoline alley, we were stopped by a zombie dressed as a traffic cop.

what in the devil is going on here!? i wondered to the zombie cop.

he proceeded to tell me that they were looking for equality and just wanted to be accepted by the rest of the non-brain eating community.

???

i told him perhaps they should get some kind of inhibitor drug that would prevent them from wanting to eat people's brains.

he said it would be fine, they had learned to control their cravings and could handle themselves around some brains without trying to eat them on impulse.

i said yes, sure, i understand, but do you understand how that could be uncomfortable for someone with brains? maybe they're hanging out with a zombie and they say something the zombie doesn't like. maybe the zombie hauls off and takes a bite out of the skull. you see how that could make a person a little wary?

he didn't agree with me. he shook his head and took us to the zombie mall where there were a few brave souls were window shopping. i bought a nice hat from a zombie running a hat store, and i admit, i was a little leery, but he was a kind gentleman and it was a nice hat.

after that i believe we left that and went onto another dream that demonstrated the most tender place in my heart is for strangers.

on the subject of the zombie dream: once upon a time we used to be enemies and we would have great wars until i gathered an army and took them out. then the dream i previously mentioned when they decided not to show. i don't think there has been a zombie dream until this one and if this is how they are going to conduct themselves i think we'll get along just fine.

now that i've written the zombies out i can see a little more meaning than just nonsense, coordinating with the different outcome of the classic drowning dream. i can draw conclusions and interpretations that i will keep to myself, but let's just say that the most basic physics of dreamworld have changed, so you can in only imagine how much i've changed in this life.

in other news, mercury may not be fully functional but it is definitely out of retrograde: i was taking a payment from a lady who then asked me if i liked candles and would i like to purchase some from her candle company website. if i were interested i could invest 100 dollars and become a candle seller myself. ground level opportunity.

what!? huh!? funny wednesday.

[edit to add: and after i woke up and went back to sleep i had another dream i returned the stolen car, and went to see my grandmother who had long hair she'd dyed auburn piled atop her head and said to me, yes, i figured that's where the car was.

also to add: pressing the random button after re-reading this entry and deciding not to fix any of the typos, i came another one about dreams. love it]