An Exhausting Night of Sleep

Is it possible to have an eight hour dream? Or is one of those weird dream consciousnes things where you think you have been dreamng for hours and hours and then wake to find out that fifteen minutes have passed during your epic story? I dreamed that I was out to dinner with my boss and Stephanie and my friend Jodie and the three of them wanted to go out afterwards but I wanted to go home. Unfortunately, we kept missing the transportation home and then learned that the subway had stopped running at 11 p.m. We tried to hitch a ride with a Fed Ex driver, but he left without us. While we were waiting around to decide what to do, one of my boss' old friends showed up. He was an actor and resembled Viggo Mortensen (sp?). He performed a few monologues for us. Jodie recalled that he had been the lead in one of her favorite movies from the 80s. I could see that a crush was developing. Unfortunately, he was also a drunk and when we finally decided to walk the rest of the way home, he had a plastic bottle of Bacardi with him. For some reason, we had to pass through a bustling Catholic middle school on the way home and one of the kids grabbed his bottle. I took the kid by the scruff of the neck as though he were a kitten and scolded him and then I poured the rest of the alcohol on the floor to the great horror of the nuns. I won't tell the rest of the dream; just know that it continued on for some time and I was getting more and more upset in the dream as the night wore on because I had to be at work in the morning. We finally arrived home at 4 a.m.--I remember I could hear the birds chirping in the bushes--and Jodie went home with the Viggio guy. I woke up and was so so so so tired, I could barely move.

I've decided that I should listen to NPR instead of WXPN as it might be more educational. I turned it on yesterday morning and heard the most boring show ever--something about how to take care of plants. Later, there was a live show that was a mixture of music and slightly funny but basically just weird vinettes featuring sound effects. One was about an old librarian who wears her glasses around her neck. I felt like I had gone back in time and should be sitting with my family of ten around a radio, giggling with my hand to my mouth every lame joke. Padhraig said I should try to write something for "This American Life." Guess I'll have to hear the show first to know what it's like.

Had my perfect Saturday; slept in, met Padhraig at Charterhouse coffee shop, avoiding speaking to an acquaintance who was also there, finished reading The Awakening, went to the consignments shops and found two dresses for the gala. I suppose this means that I will appear in the first part of the evening wearing the simple black silk slip dress and then change after dinner into the second dress, a knee length, flirty 1920s piece. And then an ill-fitting silver bikini for my comeback singing performance. But honestly, both dresses were inexpensive--one was $14 and the other was $16--and both are cute and would work for numerous events. And since I am so frequently invited out to formal affairs, it's good to have some simple elegant pieces that can be dressed up or down at a moments notice. After my fabulous purchase, I decided to stop inWhole Foods to buy coffee beans and left with two bags of groceries, less $88. How, how, how does this happen? Well, the coffee was $10 and then I also bought very special, made by monks but not tested on monkeys shampoo and conditioner for another $15 and then I also bought shrimp I will not ever eat and a bunch of prepackaged food in deference to the fact that I don't cook (remind me later to write something about this new show called Pantry Raid--a show about a cook who goes to a house and helps the poor woman--always a woman-- make a delicious and weird meal out of the meager remains from her pantry). Four fire trucks whizzed by me as I walked home down tenth street and the farther South I went, the closer I came to a billowing stream of black smoke coming out of someone's home. Everyone in South Philly was out on their doorsteps and I felt very important to be able to tell several people that there was a fire, but that they shouldn't worry b/c the entire city fire dept. was on it.

Okay, I am off to Circle Thrift in Fishtown with Liz to look at a bunch of used junk that I don't need.