Tuesday, July 15, 2008

parallel lives


i have this feeling that i have a whole 'nother life going on in my dreams. like a parallel life to this one, featuring many of the same cast of characters, but in another setting completely. i say this because that setting is so often the same. and i'm often doing things that i do in my waking life as well. for example, i seem to spend a lot of time on airplanes in both places, tho' in my waking life the wings aren't sheared off as often as they are in my dreams.

there is especially one recurring location (other than an airplane) in my dream universe. and i hate to say it, but it's an enormous mall. and the parking structure of this mall, which is massive, has many stories and is very catacomb-like, figures rather heavily as well.

i realize it no doubt says a lot about me that my dream life takes place in a mall. (and that what it says may not be good.) but despite this, there is surprisingly little shopping going on there. there are, however, quite a lot of restaurants at this mall. maybe i go to bed hungry. or i eat dinner too late at night.

but the catacomb-like parking structure is very often the scene of the action. i'm either trying to find someone or someone is chasing me. the chasing thing hasn't happened much lately, so i must be more at ease in my waking life. there also used to be a lot more falling elevators than there is now.

many parts of the mall are totally deserted and dimly lit by a sort of mysterious blue lighting. they are always familiar to me and i can always find my way through these abandoned passages. often, i'm showing someone else the way through them. once in awhile in those otherwise abandoned areas, there's a still-open store full of quirky gifts--like spencer gifts in the US or that gadget store that used to be on Michigan Ave. close to (or maybe even part of) the Tribune building, but which i cannot for the life of me remember the name of at the moment (something with a german-sounding name?). 

in my dream life, i can fly, which is why i don't worry that much when the wings are sheared off the plane on approach for landing. the worst that happens is that my knees get scraped when some of the side of the plane is scraped back. and once, as i crawled out the hole left in the plane by an especially rough landing, i was rather surprised to discover that i was wearing roller blades. luckily, it all happened near that wonderful old-fashioned-style diner along I-80 before you get to the Quad Cities, so we could go get a coffee and a milkshake.

but now, it's late at night and my dream life awaits.


5 comments:

Phyllis Hunt McGowan said...

It's strange how dreams can be beautiful even when we don't understand them.
I'm glad that it doesn't appear to frighten you, or at least that you aren't being chased anymore.
I do think dreams are always a message of some sort and it's no wonder that you repeat the dream: if you aren't responding to the message it just keeps being sent, like a persistent letter-sender :)
Dreams have always been a fascinating subject to me, but fortunately or unfortunately, depending how you see it, I haven't dreamed much and so don't have a lot of evidence of my own to discuss.


In regards to your dream taking place in a mall, maybe it does have something to do with your love of buying curious and interesting things, but it's not a bad thing :) I love how you share your latest gadget/shopping expedition with us on your blog. I always say that if somebody has enthusiasm about something then it can't be wrong to buy things.
I don't have that enthusiasm, for some reason, but I wholly appreciate it in people who do :)
Perhaps I live vicariously through you- I read your writing for artistic inspiration and it's also like virtual shopping at times.
Happiness is so important in whatever you do.
And on a last note, you didn't suspect that Spouse and I are this close to buying a large flat screen television :| we look at them when we go shopping, and we're beginning to justify. So one never knows ;)

tangobaby said...

Okay, this post is really making me smile with a sense of recognition. I thought I was the only one who has these mall dreams.

Your mall and mine sound very familiar, except in mine there are certain clothing and accessories stores that I frequent (I even know what floors they are on) where all items are $3 and $5. I go on sprees, only very sadly to wake up and realize that I cannot wear my new outfits to work, because they only exist in my dreams.

Perhaps I'll see you at the mall next time! I will try to keep you safe in the parking lot.

julochka said...

elementary, if you need more reasons on the flat screen, just let me know, we're working on convincing ourselves as well. and have even gone so far as to look at them. phillips wins clearest picture, hands down. :-)

tangobaby, you've got a deal, see you later at the mall! :-) i'll show you all the latest stuff in hammacher schlemmer (NOW it comes to me) and you can show me all that cool stuff for $3-$5, which is, when i convert it to kroner, like totally FREE! :-)

tangobaby said...

Just so you know, the shops where I "buy" this great stuff at the mall has shopping carts so I can really load up. And they always have my size and everything is cute and/or designer labels.

What is wrong with me!?! As I write this out I realize I sound insane.

See you at the dream mall.

d smith kaich jones said...

I've been thinking of writing a post about dreams, or at least some of them. SOME I've saving for paintings.

I love this post.

Debi