Eavesdropping on Dreams

So, my craft fair went well.
As did my thesis defense!
Apparently I'm done with school stuff now.
It doesn't feel like I'm done. I guess it really won't feel like I'm done until I get my diploma.
I guess by that point, the feeling will have sunk in that I'm done with school.
And it's time to move on with my life.

In the meantime, I thought it would be interesting to share an idea that I had during my Spain/Italy trip.

I may have mentioned this, but my roommate during the Spain portion of the trip snored. Very loudly. And she also talked in her sleep. And occasionally shouted in her sleep.
Now, sleep was very important to me during that trip because of jet lag, and really long days filled with walking and learning. So I wore earplugs. Which means that I didn't really get any details of what she was saying.
Except one night.
Even with my earplugs in, she was talking so loudly and clearly that I could hear it for many minutes. Maybe 20 minutes, though it was the dead of night and I was trying to drop back into sleep, so I didn't really pay that much attention to details.

It occurred to me that I was eavesdropping on her dreams. I was listening as she narrated her dream world.


I'd heard that dreams occur very fast, but she was talking at a normal pace, so I'm not sure how that links in. Unless she only narrated a small portion of the dream? I should see how that works.

After narrating one dream for a while (I can still very clearly hear some of the lines from it XP I wasn't sure if I should wake her up because she sounded really upset, and people were dying. Wow, what an intense dream) she switched gears and started talking about how you shouldn't have a dog if you can't take care of it. You should take the dog to the humane society if you can't take care of it.
So the next morning, I told her about the dog, and she said "Oh, I remember that dream!" And then she told me about the rest of it, filling in the gaps around her sleeping narration.

If it I weren't trying to sleep, it would probably be fascinating to listen to people talk in their sleep. It's like surreal storytelling.
It is pretty surreal. And kinda funny too.
As long as it doesn't keep you up all night.

Craft Fair

Up until a week ago,. I thought the craft fair was after Thanksgiving.
Then I discovered that it is this Sunday.
So, Surprise!
Luckily I have plenty of stuff to bring, but I had time to make a few more smaller things, which will probably sell better anyway.
Oh, I did make a big thing, actually. I really need to post pictures of it. I love him!

A rather packed week, with my thesis defense on Wednesday and my craft fair tomorrow.

Tomorrow afternoon, I'll feel like I can breathe again.

My talk went well!
I'm really tired, and I can't think of anything to say about it. Heh.
Just thought I'd let you know~

My thesis defense is tomorrow (Not technically a thesis defense since I'm not doing a thesis, but I'll call it that anyway).

My talk will be between 30-40 minutes.
I wrote out the entire thing. And I keep trying to memorize all of it. Which won't happen, and it doesn't need to happen since I'll have notes.
But I'm obsessive enough to try to memorize the speech. I was mumbling my lines during half of brand practice tonight.
That will help, at least.

Giving a speech doesn't really bother me.
I'm sure the talk will be fine.
I've checked every single loose end I know about, and everything seems to be in order to let me graduate.
But I'm so paranoid now. I keep expecting something crazy to happen.
Keep it together. I'm almost done.

Keep Fighting

Whoo, I need to get this blog going in a more positive direction.
I'm going to take down a couple of the older posts pretty soon. They don't need to be there.

I'm holding onto the hope that something will change before we officially have a new president. Considering that he hasn't been sworn in yet, America is already in chaos because of him. And not just America.
I can't imagine a single scenario that would ever lead me to accept him as president.
I would love to be proven wrong, because I do not want to live in the world that could come about from this.

The time we are caught in now is a turning point. For the world, and for the future. It is more important than ever that all of us fight for the things that really matter.
Such as the safety of the planet.
And love.

Make every action count.
Talk to people to help them understand how important it is to act now.
Don't fight. That will not help anything. Talk with respect, but also know when to bow out, considering plenty of people are rooted in their beliefs, no matter what the world around them says.

Act with love. That's what we really need right now. To be kind to others, to counteract the hatred that is flying around. It's far too easy to get sucked into that hatred. It's taken rot in all sides.
We can't let that happen to us. If the government isn't going to take care of us, then we need to take it upon ourselves to spread love, and to protect the planet.

I gotta say, I've never been so disgusted with America.
Especially not present-day America.

I never thought this country would be so extremely idiotic to elect a hateful, lying five-year old.
No, that's not accurate. He may have the brains and self-control of a five-year-old, but he doesn't have an ounce of innocence.

Aren't there, I don't know, qualifications for being freaking PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES?
He's going to destroy the goddamn planet.

Foretell...?

Hmm.
So, my Ashes story is what I'm using for my grad project. The disaster that takes place in the story initially starts when a human-caused earthquake (from wastewater injection related to mining) hits the oil storage facility in Cushing Oklahoma.

Today my teacher sent me an article of a human-caused earthquake (from wastewater injection related to mining) that hit near Cushing, Oklahoma, doing significant damage to the town of Cushing.

Man, I gotta be careful what I write, I guess?
If it starts to come true.

In my thesis defense in about a week, I'm going to mention the manga series Coppelion, which is about a Tokyo that has been abandoned doe to nuclear radiation contamination. That series came out a couple years before the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
I wonder if I should mention this to. They probably expect me to add it to my paper.

Best Halloween Decoration Ever

While we were driving the day after Halloween, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye, and immediately wanted to check it out.
As it was, I had to backtrack the next day on my bike.
And I'm glad I did.



Hell yes! They dressed up their Skeleton as Papyrus!

I went back the next day (yesterday). I couldn't resist. I had to stick this up next to the skeleton.


I wanted to see what they thought of it, but it would have been weird to lurk around outside their house.
Anyway, that was fun~



And I saw something really cool today!


I think it's a piebald squirrel!
So appropriate too. I was just looking at pictures of other piebald animals. They are really amazing. Especially the peacocks @_@

Scales!

Whoo! New background!
I've been wanting to do this for a while~
To continue the theme of the dragon mascot.

Enthusiasm

The Artist's Way again.

When you're working on a project, discipline is important. It keeps you focused on your work, and on track to get it done.
But discipline can only take you so far. It's still missing something.


Enthusiasm.


Enthusiasm isn't just emotion, although that can be an important part.
Enthusiasm is letting yourself get drawn into the creative process. It lets you appreciate the creativity that surrounds us.

Artists are not disciplined soldiers. Artists are releasing their inner child, and children aren't necessarily the best about discipline.
It's devotion that we really need.
For us, our work can be like our play, because we love it, and we get to unleash that inner child.