I had this bizarre dream. Ok, I was dreaming that I was going back to school, except the school was really weird looking. So I was walking through the halls, which were purple for some reason, and I saw Andrew (who was, in my dream, wearing a grey shirt and khakis.) And Andrew was being sarcastic and snarky and said, "You gained weight." I was really pissed off at him. So I looked down at myself and for some reason I was still in my pajamas with frilly shorts, and I thought, well, you can't really blame him for making fun of me because I look so damn stupid. So I continued walking, and I walked into a room with a bed, and drawers and stuff, and I realized that it was my bedroom, except purple. And I thought, "Why is my bedroom at school?" It seemed that since I was in my bedroom I really ought to go to sleep, but I knew I shouldn't be sleeping.. in my pajamas... at school... so I left. Then I went outside and walked down the stairs at the front of the school's main entrance (I know there aren't stairs, but this would be like the old Blair's entrance) to this expansive grassland with hills and shnitz, and Nick was walking with me.

And I was like, "Hey, Nick! You know what! I'm dreaming right now! I'm doing that Lucid Dreaming crap!" (It was difficult to say because for some reason in the dream I had a really hard time getting words out of my mouth. It took a lot of effort for me to speak).

And Nick looked around and was like, "No way! How can this not be real?"

So I said, "Well, it's my dream, so I should be able to change the outcome. Watch."

There was this blue stone statue of a cherub or something as an ornament on the stair banister, and I tried to turn it red with the force of my mind. But it stayed blue. Nick was noticing that nothing was happening, so he was being smug about it.

But I wasn't about to give up, so I said, "Think about it... why am I at school if it weren't a dream?? It's... probably only August 8th or something.." (I didn't know the precise date but I knew that it was August.)*

And Nick was like, "Nooo... It's September 2nd."

And I'm like, "Wait, huh? What happened between August 8 and now?" Also, it seemed sort of weird to me that it was the first day of school on September 2nd, because we go back to school on August 27.

And Nick's like, "Remember? We went to the science fair and you were stirring this blue chemical in a beaker and it exploded, and you were unconscious for several weeks." And come to think of it, I did remember. Now, by this time I found it so hard to talk so that I was just thinking things, but Nick was still able to hear me. I thought, Gee, Nick, if this isn't a dream then how come you're telepathic? but he didn't hear that. So he won his argument that my dream was actually real.

Then we went onto the grass, and Rachel was sitting in the grass under a tree. And she was playing with some New Age jewelry she had on, which was two necklaces with an amber or copper wire (it was that color) heart pendant on each one, and she held them up for us to see. And she said something profound that was similar in meaning to Poe's quote, "All we hear or see or seem is but a dream within a dream." Except she was talking about hearts and miracles or something mystic, but she was making the same point. And I was like, "That's a good quote," because it was, and she seemed happy with my approval.

And then I woke up, thinking, "Ha, Nick! It was a Lucid Dream!"

*I was really wary of school dreams, because I'd already had a similar dream before, except it was a nightmare because it was full of Ms. Martin. On the school bus in the earlier dream, I'd asked the same question. Why am I going to school in July.. and the reply was that they'd pushed the first day of school earlier, without me knowing. I'd been trying to pinch myself on the bus to make sure I wasn't dreaming, but of course when you pinch yourself in dreams without actually pinching yourself, it doesn't actually wake you up. It bloody hurt though. So I was resigned to the fact that I was going back to school in late July.. but then I woke up. So I was pretty sure my brain was playing tricks with me again during this new, Nick-infested dream.

Apparently, my sore throat isn't strep, but I've got to gargle salt water. Shnitz.

Royal Stag of Buckkeep, Royal Stag of Baratheon. Now, is it just me, or is it kinda weird that two different authors could nominate the lowly deer as the heraldic device for the royal family? I mean, what's so regal about deer?

Does royalty have ticks and a tendency to stand in the middle of roads and get run over?

I'm reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin right now because people repeatedly says it's good. I'm a bit wary though because it's the first book in a series- I hope it's stand-alone. It's good, but it's sort of cheesy... it's very similar in tone to the Farseer Trilogy. You know, gritty "Fantasy Realism" (I invented that term, but now that it's been invented I'll use it a lot), Sex and Violence, a Nameless Evil, People Bickering Over the Succession, the Seven Kingdoms (like the Six Duchies except, LOOKIE! There's another one for Ye Olde Discount Prices!) and of course, Lots of Bastards.

(National Bastard Day- where you show your appreciation for all those bastards who Saved The World.)

Went out to dinner for my sister (Stella, not Maggie)'s birthday at Tokyo Tapei cafe, basically just across the street from That's Amore. Really good sushi there and Chinese food. But it sort of sucked because my brother-in-law wasn't talking to her, because she had accidentally shrunken his favorite pants in the wash. I think this is really stupid.. for God's sake, it's your wife's birthday dinner, with her family.. please get over the pants that she ruined accidentally. They were really good silk pants though.

Would you do this if they were your pants?

Also, I have a sore throat for some reason. I got presents... it's sort of funny- it was Stella's birthday and I gave her a present, but because I'm the youngest one I get presents on every occassion anyhow. Hmm, I got a bracelet with little turtle-shaped beads that my she brought back from her and Jonathan (mr. I'm-not-talking-to-you-cuz-you-insulted-the-honor-of-my-pants)'s anniversary trip to Mexico, and a frog doll and some chocolate from Maggie.