Games & dreams & rats: OH MY!
Yesterday (Sunday) was the monthly Game Day in the townhouse complex's clubhouse. My friend, neighbor and fellow Bingo Belle Lisa M. and I are the organizers. This month was not nearly as well-attended as March, which I blogged about here, nor did I play as many games.
But it was still fun! :) And I got to enjoy Scrabble, Snakes & Ladders and Scattergories. I won the latter two games, even though Snakes & Ladders is 100% luck, and there were four of us, so I only had a 1 in 4 chance. Despite not being a competitive person, I generally do well in Scattergories because I'm a writer, editor and die-hard "word nerd"! *giggle* *blush* That's also why I do well in Scrabble, but for that game, we didn't keep score, because it consisted of two adults and one child (Lisa's younger son), so scoring wouldn't be fair.
Has anyone been having WEIRD DREAMS lately, or is it just me? I've been meaning to write down (well, type) the highlights of some lately, but I keep forgetting to do so. Fortunately, I haven't forgotten the dreams themselves, even though they're no longer as sharp in my mind as they were the morning I awakened from them. But that's my own darn absent-minded fault! :(
Before I get into the dreams, however, I wanted to give a humble reminder about these squeeful photos of my rats that I posted this weekend for World Rat Day. I know it's silly of me to get so happy/excited when folks comment on my rat photo entries, but I do! *blush* So, because sometimes folks tell me they miss some of my updates when viewed on their Friends Page (yet another reason I dislike that distracting, messy thing), I thought I'd provide another link to my latest images of Blueberry and Jellybean. :) :) I hope you'll take a peek!!
And now:
One of the most vivid dreams I've had lately involved a UFO/alien invasion. I don't know if it was only happening in California, or the United States, or maybe the whole world! *shudder* In the dream, I think I first heard about a bunch of UFO sightings on the news. Then somehow I learned that a swarm of UFOs was "predicted" to be flying over a certain part of a certain city at a certain day or time. I've NO idea how I learned this. So I went there with a lot of other people -- fools that we were! I brought my camera with me, but it was not my digital camera, which was odd. Instead, it was my 35mm Ricoh ShotMaster Zoom, a film camera that I used for picture-taking from 1990 (when my Kodak Disc broke down) to 2003, when I got my Kodak digital, which is part of the large EasyShare series. I've used the Ricoh on occasion, but not much. My dad also has an awesome Canon SLR 35mm that I've used, but also not recently.
Anyhoo, back to the dream. At the predicted time, a group of UFOs flew rather erratically and quickly over the city, and not just overhead, but also in/through some of the spaces between the buildings! I think it was a typical "downtown" with many tall buildings, but also some open areas. I actually remember looking through the viewfinder of my camera and getting excited that I was catching some UFOs in the pictures! (What a shutterbug geek I am! *giggle*) I remember I was also taking some of the photos while I was running, because a bunch of us decided we'd better run for shelter rather than just standing around like deer in the headlights, taking photos or gawking or whatever.
The next thing I remember is that a bunch of us were living in some type of "tent city". I don't know why, and I don't know what, if anything, happened to our homes. Several people shared each tent. I remember I was not giddy with my camera anymore, but was feeling kind of scared and/or depressed about the whole idea of a possible alien invasion. One of the people in my tent was Natalie Portman, who happens to be one of my fave actresses. In my dream, she was either a relative of mine, or a good friend. She was upset because she couldn't find her boyfriend in all the turmoil. We hung around for a while, talking, and I tried to make her feel better.
In another part of the dream, I discovered that some rather common household chemical was a major deterrant to the aliens. It was something really mundane like paint or nail polish or glue. I seem to think I discovered this fact because I came across a little alien (really small, like mouse-size maybe) and I put some of the chemical near it and it shrank away in fear and loathing. heh This gave me a feeling of empowerment and relief!
In another part of the dream, I was part of a small group (I think it was a group?) of people who were either on the aliens' planet, or on board one of their spaceships. We were in negotiations to see what the aliens wanted and how we could get them to leave everyone alone. I remember that the aforementioned mundane household chemical was a significant part of the negotiations. *cheer* I think some of the aliens looked sort of like the typical Greys, but not really (less scary -- Greys freak me out terribly!). And some of the aliens did not look like them. The "leader" alien was fairly nice, all things considered, and willing to talk/negotiate. I don't recall how that turned out, though.
In another part of the dream, I was with some people who were trying to get to an old-fashioned, open-car steam train that was going to take us to our homes. We were all hanging around on an area of stairs and ramps and levels and stuff, between some buildings and I think with water beneath us, kind of like some touristy places near the ocean. Two people set off on the wrong path, and got "stuck" somehow and couldn't turn around. I don't really know what happened to them, though. I decided on a different way to go, and some people came with me. Actually I think I was leading the people. I didn't know if it was the "right" way to go, but soon it lead us to a rural area that looked like the countryside, which is odd since we were just at the coast, supposedly! I think there was a covered bridge or a barn nearby. Then suddenly I remember that we were on the train, and I was so happy about that! :)
Unfortunately, then I realized that I didn't have my cellphone. OH WAIT! Back up a second! I just remembered that in the part of the dream with the tent city, I lost my cellphone! I tried to find it for a while, and I think Natalie helped me, but I had to give up for whatever reason. OK, back to the train ride. I was very upset that I didn't have my cellphone, because I wanted to call my folks and make sure they were still safe at home, and also to let them know I was STILL ALIVE! :) I'm not sure if I still had my camera, but it wasn't on my mind at this point. Anyhoo, suddenly I felt something vibrating on my belt loop, the way my cellphone does when I clip it there and it's in vibrate mode. Except it wasn't my cellphone, but rather my Ete Swatch watch, which is one of the Swatches I own in real life, and which is my fave. Click the link and see how gorgeous it is!!
So, the Swatch was vibrating and ringing like a cellphone, so I "answered" it. LOL! It turned out to be someone from Normandin Chrysler Plymouth Jeep, a dealership located less than a mile from my home in real life. No one in my family has ever bought a car there, though, but it's been a fixture on the Capitol Expressway Auto Mall since before there was even an Auto Mall, and the Normandin family have been in the area a long time. In fact, when I was pre-school age, one of my best friends was a boy named Stephen Z. whose mom Christine (or dad Peter, but I think it was Christine) was related to the Normandins!
Anyhoo, I've NO idea why someone was calling me from Normandin, but I was excited because as I said, the dealership is less than a mile from my house! :) I think I spoke with someone named Linda, but I'm not sure. We had a nice chat, and she told me that our area was okay with no UFO damage, apparently. I asked her if she would call or visit my house and tell my parents that I was okay and on my way home. (I was VERY anxious and eager for them to know I was okay; I don't even know how many days I'd been away!) I think she said she would do it. However, the next thing I know, the train has arrived in San Jose, and somehow I knew that in a very short amount of time, I'd be back home again! I'm not sure how I was going to get there, though. But what's interesting is that this dream had a distinct CONCLUSION to it, which is something that's LACKING in most of my dreams. Then again, most of my dreams are not "mini epics" like this one was, so I guess it makes sense for it to have some sort of resolution, just like an epic novel or movie. *chuckle* What do you all think?
And since this ONE dream took so loooong to type about, I won't go into the other ones now. LOL!
But it was still fun! :) And I got to enjoy Scrabble, Snakes & Ladders and Scattergories. I won the latter two games, even though Snakes & Ladders is 100% luck, and there were four of us, so I only had a 1 in 4 chance. Despite not being a competitive person, I generally do well in Scattergories because I'm a writer, editor and die-hard "word nerd"! *giggle* *blush* That's also why I do well in Scrabble, but for that game, we didn't keep score, because it consisted of two adults and one child (Lisa's younger son), so scoring wouldn't be fair.
Has anyone been having WEIRD DREAMS lately, or is it just me? I've been meaning to write down (well, type) the highlights of some lately, but I keep forgetting to do so. Fortunately, I haven't forgotten the dreams themselves, even though they're no longer as sharp in my mind as they were the morning I awakened from them. But that's my own darn absent-minded fault! :(
Before I get into the dreams, however, I wanted to give a humble reminder about these squeeful photos of my rats that I posted this weekend for World Rat Day. I know it's silly of me to get so happy/excited when folks comment on my rat photo entries, but I do! *blush* So, because sometimes folks tell me they miss some of my updates when viewed on their Friends Page (yet another reason I dislike that distracting, messy thing), I thought I'd provide another link to my latest images of Blueberry and Jellybean. :) :) I hope you'll take a peek!!
And now:
One of the most vivid dreams I've had lately involved a UFO/alien invasion. I don't know if it was only happening in California, or the United States, or maybe the whole world! *shudder* In the dream, I think I first heard about a bunch of UFO sightings on the news. Then somehow I learned that a swarm of UFOs was "predicted" to be flying over a certain part of a certain city at a certain day or time. I've NO idea how I learned this. So I went there with a lot of other people -- fools that we were! I brought my camera with me, but it was not my digital camera, which was odd. Instead, it was my 35mm Ricoh ShotMaster Zoom, a film camera that I used for picture-taking from 1990 (when my Kodak Disc broke down) to 2003, when I got my Kodak digital, which is part of the large EasyShare series. I've used the Ricoh on occasion, but not much. My dad also has an awesome Canon SLR 35mm that I've used, but also not recently.
Anyhoo, back to the dream. At the predicted time, a group of UFOs flew rather erratically and quickly over the city, and not just overhead, but also in/through some of the spaces between the buildings! I think it was a typical "downtown" with many tall buildings, but also some open areas. I actually remember looking through the viewfinder of my camera and getting excited that I was catching some UFOs in the pictures! (What a shutterbug geek I am! *giggle*) I remember I was also taking some of the photos while I was running, because a bunch of us decided we'd better run for shelter rather than just standing around like deer in the headlights, taking photos or gawking or whatever.
The next thing I remember is that a bunch of us were living in some type of "tent city". I don't know why, and I don't know what, if anything, happened to our homes. Several people shared each tent. I remember I was not giddy with my camera anymore, but was feeling kind of scared and/or depressed about the whole idea of a possible alien invasion. One of the people in my tent was Natalie Portman, who happens to be one of my fave actresses. In my dream, she was either a relative of mine, or a good friend. She was upset because she couldn't find her boyfriend in all the turmoil. We hung around for a while, talking, and I tried to make her feel better.
In another part of the dream, I discovered that some rather common household chemical was a major deterrant to the aliens. It was something really mundane like paint or nail polish or glue. I seem to think I discovered this fact because I came across a little alien (really small, like mouse-size maybe) and I put some of the chemical near it and it shrank away in fear and loathing. heh This gave me a feeling of empowerment and relief!
In another part of the dream, I was part of a small group (I think it was a group?) of people who were either on the aliens' planet, or on board one of their spaceships. We were in negotiations to see what the aliens wanted and how we could get them to leave everyone alone. I remember that the aforementioned mundane household chemical was a significant part of the negotiations. *cheer* I think some of the aliens looked sort of like the typical Greys, but not really (less scary -- Greys freak me out terribly!). And some of the aliens did not look like them. The "leader" alien was fairly nice, all things considered, and willing to talk/negotiate. I don't recall how that turned out, though.
In another part of the dream, I was with some people who were trying to get to an old-fashioned, open-car steam train that was going to take us to our homes. We were all hanging around on an area of stairs and ramps and levels and stuff, between some buildings and I think with water beneath us, kind of like some touristy places near the ocean. Two people set off on the wrong path, and got "stuck" somehow and couldn't turn around. I don't really know what happened to them, though. I decided on a different way to go, and some people came with me. Actually I think I was leading the people. I didn't know if it was the "right" way to go, but soon it lead us to a rural area that looked like the countryside, which is odd since we were just at the coast, supposedly! I think there was a covered bridge or a barn nearby. Then suddenly I remember that we were on the train, and I was so happy about that! :)
Unfortunately, then I realized that I didn't have my cellphone. OH WAIT! Back up a second! I just remembered that in the part of the dream with the tent city, I lost my cellphone! I tried to find it for a while, and I think Natalie helped me, but I had to give up for whatever reason. OK, back to the train ride. I was very upset that I didn't have my cellphone, because I wanted to call my folks and make sure they were still safe at home, and also to let them know I was STILL ALIVE! :) I'm not sure if I still had my camera, but it wasn't on my mind at this point. Anyhoo, suddenly I felt something vibrating on my belt loop, the way my cellphone does when I clip it there and it's in vibrate mode. Except it wasn't my cellphone, but rather my Ete Swatch watch, which is one of the Swatches I own in real life, and which is my fave. Click the link and see how gorgeous it is!!
So, the Swatch was vibrating and ringing like a cellphone, so I "answered" it. LOL! It turned out to be someone from Normandin Chrysler Plymouth Jeep, a dealership located less than a mile from my home in real life. No one in my family has ever bought a car there, though, but it's been a fixture on the Capitol Expressway Auto Mall since before there was even an Auto Mall, and the Normandin family have been in the area a long time. In fact, when I was pre-school age, one of my best friends was a boy named Stephen Z. whose mom Christine (or dad Peter, but I think it was Christine) was related to the Normandins!
Anyhoo, I've NO idea why someone was calling me from Normandin, but I was excited because as I said, the dealership is less than a mile from my house! :) I think I spoke with someone named Linda, but I'm not sure. We had a nice chat, and she told me that our area was okay with no UFO damage, apparently. I asked her if she would call or visit my house and tell my parents that I was okay and on my way home. (I was VERY anxious and eager for them to know I was okay; I don't even know how many days I'd been away!) I think she said she would do it. However, the next thing I know, the train has arrived in San Jose, and somehow I knew that in a very short amount of time, I'd be back home again! I'm not sure how I was going to get there, though. But what's interesting is that this dream had a distinct CONCLUSION to it, which is something that's LACKING in most of my dreams. Then again, most of my dreams are not "mini epics" like this one was, so I guess it makes sense for it to have some sort of resolution, just like an epic novel or movie. *chuckle* What do you all think?
And since this ONE dream took so loooong to type about, I won't go into the other ones now. LOL!