I dream in technicolor

When I dream, I dream in vivid technicolor. My dreams are detailed and lengthy. Last night's dream was particularly detailed and also lengthy and I thought I'd share it with you all.

I was on a weekend trip away, by myself. I'd decided to go to Ithaca (where I lived for 2 years after college and before moving to CT). But in the dream it looked NOTHING like the Ithaca I knew. I'm not really sure what it looked like, but it was supposed to be Ithaca, of this I am quite sure. I walked around, doing some window shopping after checking into my hotel. I went into a shoe store, but all the shoes were, um, oddish looking. Like blackish purple boots with chunky rubber soles that were kind of suede and kind of leather with hot pink stitching. And I remember that was disappointing. And the right side of the shoe store sold sewing machines. (Should I mention that in addition to being detailed and lengthy my dreams are also mostly on the odd side?)

As I was looking at what I thought were going to be the last of the shoes the store kind of morphed into a book store (go figure). And the bookstore part of the shoe store was having a reception. I thought it was for a local author or something, but no, that would have been too normal for my dream. Instead I ran into a current co-worker who worked at the book store (because clearly someone I work with here in CT would also have a job 5 or so hours away at a little book/shoe/sewing machine store in another state). This co-worker told me that the reception was sort a live entertainment thing and that the entertainment was her little black dog who promptly jumped into my arms. I have no idea what kind of dog it was but it was black and fluffy and a little smaller than Maggie.

I'm not sure exactly how the next part happened, but then I ran into FMHW and her roommate (because they would clearly be in Ithaca too) and they asked if I wanted to hang out with them. I said sure since I didn't really want to go back to my hotel and just sit by myself. So we walked out to the parking lot which was really this small mostly empty field. There were four cars parked there, FMHW's being the last in the row. And it was her car, the one she drives in real life. So we got into FMHW's car and were driving away (she was driving, her roommate was in the front seat and I was in the back) when I realized there was a little boy in the back with me and also a slightly older little girl and there was a woman I didn't recognize in the front with FMHW and her roommate. But the small car was not crowded.

I remember I had my cellphone in my pocket too. My friend Jacqueline sent me a text with license plates while we were driving (Jac, Francesca and I text vanity plates we see to each other, it's something that started during our trip to Bar Harbor last year. PATSWIN or something like that was the plate Jac texted me in the dream). I distinctly remember my cellphone vibrating in my pocket when the text with the license plates came through. At some point as we were sort of talking I figured out who the woman in the front seat was (as in not just another random friend but the new girlfriend of FMHW and the two children in the back with me are the new girlfriend's children, where FMHW's kids are I don't know) and then FMHW got really antsy and upset and looked soooo ashamed. She then sort of pulled over and somehow she got the roommate to drive (car is still moving mind you) while she climbed into the back seat with me because she wanted to talk. To explain herself. But she never really did and I don't even remember her talking for that matter.

We were driving past green fields. I disticntly remember one of them had a white split rail fence around it. The road might have turned to a dirt road at some point, I'm a bit unclear about that. Meanwhile I am trying to get my cell phone to work so I can text my friend Francesca about my predicament while I'm telling them that I'll just catch a cab back to my hotel when we get to where ever we're going (I still don't know our destination by the way) because I really really really didn't want to be anywhere near them at that point. But I can't get my phone to work and when we get to where we're going I don't catch a cab. And I don't know if the new girlfriend knows who I am to FMHW or not because it didn't seem to phase her that I was there.

So, now we're at this art gallery thing. But believe me when I tell you it is like no gallery I have ever been in or seen on TV. It's more like a rambling and ramshackle and sprawling farmhouse and barn all in one. This is where the roommate comes up to me alone and I ask her about the new girl. And she tells me that she's okay, but she's not like me and that she really misses having me around and she thinks FMHW does too. She says this other woman just isn't right for her. I am still trying to get my phone to work, desperate at this point for someone to ground me in reality I think.

And then we all sit down around this round wooden table where another woman is already sitting (the kids have disappeared at this point). Then this stranger says something along the lines of "I know you" to FMHW's girlfriend and it turns out she's some singer that FMHW and her roommate had met at some show in Canada. The roommate is a musician in real life by the way, so FMHW and the roommate being at a show makes some sense. The Canada part however doesn't make much sense. And then someone breaks out a Scrabble board and we start to play. But it's not traditional scrabble with nice uniform square wooden tiles. Because again that would just be too normal for my dream. Instead the tiles are these faded purple seed like things and the letters are written in faded black ink and are barely legible on them. And in fact the letters look more like numbers than letters.

I believe that's when I woke up. Before my alarm of course and very confused by the whole dream. It's amazing that I don't wake up more tired than I was when I went to sleep after dreams like that.

In honor of this, my most recent technicolor dream, I give to you Billy Ocean's Get Out Of My Dreams Get Into My Car.

Lady driver
let me take your wheel
smooth operator
touch my bumper (bumper)
hey, lets make a deal
make it real
like a road runner
coming after you
just like a hero
outta the blue
I'll be your non-stop lover
get it while you can
your non-stop miracle
I'm your man (or woman as the case may be)

Get outta my dreams
get into my car