Clink, clink, clink....Warriors.....come out and play-ay....

On the nights I get my herr did, at the fabulous Bouffant Daddy salon in Maplewood, I stop by Kakao for a bit of extra dark chocolate w/sea salt.

So late last night, while winding down and catching up on some Tivo’d shows, I broke out the chocolate and had a tiny bit.

Let it be known that if I eat anything past 7:00 pm it usually leads to vivid dreams.

Last night was no exception.

My first dream took me back to college, and my ex bf/future husband was there, as was Maggie, the dog we adopted together. She’s since passed on, and it was very bittersweet to see her. And somewhat bittersweet to see the ex….those were good times.

Then I woke up about 1:30, laid there, tossed and turned, and finally fell back asleep.

My second dream was very detailed. I was in the movie The Warriors, and I was an extra Lizzie. The Lizzies were a girl gang, all fros and tough-sexy. So the dream consisted of me running around with the girl gang, chasing the Warriors among the dark  and dirty NYC streets. There was steam sifting up from manholes and streetlights and it was damp and a little chilly. I was wearing this pink, satin rollerskating jacket I used to have back in gradeschool, jeans and boots. My hair was frizzed out, and I had a bandana around my neck.

Too vivid, I’m telling ya.

It was a fun dream – I feel like I ran the entire time.

I’m wondering what effect dark chocolate w/pepper would have…might try it soon.

Here is a clip of the Lizzies vs Warriors, so you can visualize me in the scene:

Below is my FAVORITE clip of all time....super creepy, classic:

So.

I keep stumbling across things from my deep past which remind me of a time when I was very happy.

Things like Sandlewood incense. Ani DiFranco albums. Journaling. Birks & wool socks. My old guitar playbook. Pastels & charcoal.

Was I happy simply because of these things? Partly - they were comfortable, they were mine, and I discovered each one during a certain time in my life that's connected with a really good memory.

And yeah, I've made new memories since then, but the collective of these memories is like a connection to an old, dear friend.

It was a time when I didn't know my future, felt like I had all the time in the world, and wasn't so digitally connected that I couldn't take time to let the "here and now" sink in.

I think it might be time for an experiment.

Infuse these items that invoke warm memories of the past into my digitally-enhanced present. See what happens.

This weekend is as good a time as any to start.

Who doesn't love comics?

I have always been a comic fan.

My first comics were from the train depot my grandpa managed in Dickinson ND. They were Archie and Caspar The Friendly Ghost.

Growing up, my mom would buy my brother and I the Archie Double Digests whenever we went to the grocery store, and we would read them at the dinner table or take them to church. I know, such blashphemy.

When I moved to St. Louis to attend university, my first full-time job during college was at a place called World Color Art. I was hired to edit comic books starting on 3rd shift.

Dream come true.

So there I was, editing Archie and the Fantastic Four, Superman and Sonic, and many other titles from Marvel, DC, Darkhorse and Disney.

We had a motley crew, ages ranging from 20's to 50's. We each brought something unique to team - I was a music fiend and would often pick the brain of my supervisor Gaylan for new music suggestions. Jim was an avid fisherman and would try, unsuccessfully, to teach me how to tie my own flies - I'm lucky I walked away with all of my fingertips intact. And Sandy - oh, Sandy. She was a crazy gal, poppin enormous quantities of NoDoze to the point where she was eventually escorted via stretcher to the local hospital for fear of a heart attack.

What made it even better was that, during those wee hours of the morning, somewhere between 2:00 - 4:00 am, I discovered the BBC and found my poetic voice.

Some of the poetry I wrote during those days is my best ever. I've thought often about publishing it. Maybe I will someday.

I came across this deal on Amazon, which is the inspiration for this post.

I will be purchasing this tome today. In homage of my former formative and formidable years.

Oh, hello - funny meeting you here

One thing I really like about Facebook is the opportunity it presents to reconnect with otherwise long-lost former-life peeps.

I have renewed faith in humanity when I become FB friends with someone I wasn't really friends with in high school or college, but who makes the effort to reach out and get a dialogue going.

And then I have fleeting thoughts of wanting to hop into go back in time using Dr. Who's big, purple time machine and be their friend THEN because I'm pretty sure my life would be the better for it NOW.

Facebook also helps to renew my faith because bullies I have known throughout my life are pounded by karma (rightly so) and have been reduced to slovenly, relationship-challenged slackers who can't get from here to there without a life map, some dice and a bottle of Jack.

I recently started chatting it up with someone from my college days. Some of those days are very hazy, and what I recall is that this guy was, to quote Miley Cyrus, "prrrretty cool". I hung out in that circle for a couple years, didn't really get to know him well aside from a fringe-kinda-way.

Turns out he hasn't changed much. Still prrrretty cool. 80/20 cool/dork ratio, kinda like me.

And I wouldn't have this knowledge now if Facebook weren't around.

BTW, the photo is of Sibley Hall, the oldest building on campus and the haunted dorm I lived in for a school year and a summer.

Spooky stuff went down in there. Real spooky. For instance, there were many suicides in that building over the years. Stories of people being pushed. I've got a few of my own stories as well. Scary experiences.

But that's for another time, in another post....