Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: charm 101
Darlings, something is afoot in my dream life. The last four nights, my REM has been kept busy with some puzzling imagery.

Three nights ago, I was dreaming of ice cream when the alarm went off. Have you tried going back into a dream while you are still in the half-conscious stage? It's worked for me only a few times in a whole lifetime of busy dreaming. The fact that it has worked before, keeps alive for me the hope that it could happen again. And this is long before Inception. Spoiler alert! This movie is about dreams...I think.

I am probably dating myself but I remember some interesting dream-related movies from the '80's: Dreamquest, par example. No, that was Visionquest. Dreamscape? Dream..Dream....damn, ok, imdb it. There was also that movie with Natalie Wood (her last before her untimely death) and Christopher Walken. The Dead Zone! No, but that was also a good film about extra-sensory phenomenon. The title of this film was...was...ok, look, Miss O is currently in an interweb-free zone, so if you need instant gratification, go ahead and whip out your i-phone gadget. Remember when we had to wait to get information?

 

Gratuitous Anti-Technology Rant: People, Darlings, is it so terrible to wait to look up non-essential trivia? Listen, I understand the utility of smartphones. GPS, for example. This can be a handy tool. Unless you are riding with Miss O who knows every street and traffic pattern in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. How exactly do I have this information? Because I don't drive. But I digress.

Rant (cont): Imagine you are having a civilized lunch with a friend, as I did yesterday. The conversation turns to world politics and the Maldives are mentioned. Aren't they always? Miss O says,” The Maldives are a Spanish territory, n'est-ce pas?” My friend says, “No, I don't think so,” while reaching for his i-phone. This friend, bless his soul, is surgically attached to his device. I am convinced that this is a factor in his bachelorhood. It's pretty hard to make time with a fellow who is more interested in “interfacing” with a piece of plastic. Again, forgive the digression.

Rant (cont): I put up my hand, gently. More of a “please, I beg of you” rather than a “don't even think about it”. My mouth was occupied with a lardons-sauteed potato-goat cheese-shallot confit crepe. Welcome to France. Once I had finished chewing, I said, again gently,”Thank you for your eagerness to solve this mystery but I don't need to know right now.” He shifted uncomfortably. It had been a full 51-minutes since he had touched his gadget, and here I was telling him that I didn't need its services. The unimaginable. As a peace offering twenty minutes later, I did allow him to look up the bus schedule for me. Miss O is a generous friend if nothing else.

Darlings, I am proposing a return to civility. Yes, your i-gadget is a flashy status symbol, an “accessory” of sorts ( I am using language that I understand) but it is not necessary nor charming to consult it every 5 minutes when one is in the company of others. What could possibly be more compelling, nay fascinating, than basking in the presence of other friendly humans? Disclaimer: if you are trying to be rude (this is unfathomable to Miss O, but let's pretend) or you wish to indicate your disinterest/disdain/disrespect for someone then, by all means, whip it out. One other thing: if you are absolutely burning with curiosity, ask someone (your waiter, the person next to you on the T, someone in line at the market) or phone a friend. Then, at least, there would be some human interaction.

Oh btw, Miss O was thinking of the Canary Islands which, in fact, are a Spanish protectorate. The Maldive Islands are an independent nation in the Indian Ocean. You say Canarias, I say Maldivas. Let's call the whole thing off.

Where was I? Oh yes, dreams and related cinema. So three nights ago, the dream was about ice cream. The night before that I found myself in a dream with Queen Elizabeth I (a la Cate Blanchett). She was giving me career advice. Not the first time I have dreamed of the English royal family. The night after ice cream, I dreamed about my beloved granny. I was organizing a fashion show of my Spring line and she had created some elegant décor for the event and a sumptuous array of desserts for the v.i.p. attendees. There was a mille-feuille bigger than my head displayed on a porcelain platter with gold edging and a molten chocolate cake served in a hatbox. Yes, Miss O dreams in ridiculous visual detail. It's exhausting/exhilarating. And then last night, Henry VIII made an appearance. He was dressed, well, like a king. Pretty sure there was a banquet table, or some sort of silver tray with treats. I couldn't swear to it as I was distracted by the stitching on his velvet cloak. The velvet was forest green. The stitching was in a meander pattern.

Darlings, what to make of this? Dessert and older, regal persons of authority providing assistance with my professional projects. I going to go out on a limb and say that this portends well. I am eating a banana split as I write these words, so I think we're off to a good start!

Are you ready to start dreaming big?

 

 

p.s. If you haven't already cheated with the aid of the interweb, the film with Natalie Wood is Brainstorm. I was about to phone my friendly Mothership when the answer came to me in a flash of light. Eureka!

Don't let your smartphone replace your smarts. (This message brought to you by the Committee to Preserve Eureka! Moments.)