I dreamt I found myself in Cuba. I had no clue how I got there but there I was! The day was coming to an end and I was terribly hungry and tired. Ahead of me was a little hut and I knocked at the door. No one was home so I let myself in. I immediately noticed a stack of letters and I had an uncontrollable urge to open them up. Once they were open, I realized that I had done a bad thing. Whoever lived in this hut would know someone had been here. I then went into the bathroom and as I washed my hands I knocked a container into the sink spilling its contents. OH NO! It was contact lenses! I scrambled trying to find the lenses and put them back into the container. Suddenly I heard footsteps and I knew it was Fidel Castro coming and it was only a matter of time before he knew I read his mail and spilled his contacts. My heart raced and as I tried to escape, I woke up.

My dream just came back to me! I dreamt the Donna Villa had an inside pool that hid under the living room. At night I would push a button and the pool would reveal itself. Living in the pool was a dolphin and a mini-humpback whale. Audra stopped by with her new boyfriend. He looked exactly like the father from Family Matters. I suddenly realized that somehow we were actually living in the TV show 21 Jump Street. Instead of trying to understand how that was even remotely possible or where Peter Deluise could be, I offered to make everyone an eggroll and scrambled eggs.

I dreamt that for some ungodly reason, I was required to take a gym course. The class I chose was “Tanning,” mainly because it sounded so very easy. When I arrived at the classroom there were a ton of girls from my old high school. Each of them had a fishing pole. Apparently this was a new sport that had nothing to do with the sun. The aim was to hook the ceiling and then with the help of a harness, pull yourself up so you were seemingly floating. Then with all the girls also hovering, proceed with a synchronized dance routine.

Around 4 in the morning, little Bobo started crying. Japanese Chins don’t really bark but rather yodel. Bobo is no exception. So at 4 am I am awakened by a high-pitched yodel. I figured it was just an isolated cry and he would go back to sleep. Next thing I hear is him trying to break down the child’s gate that keeps him in the kitchen. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen. “Bobo, please stop crying, please stop! Daddy has to get her beauty rest!”
I then realized that Lisa’s light was on and he probably thought she was up and wanted to go and sleep with her. I ran up to her loft and shut off her lights. Then I went back to the kitchen and turned off the night light. Somehow this worked because he immediately went back to bed and I was able to get another hour’s sleep.

I dreamt I boarded a rocket ship and blasted off to space. Looking out the porthole, I thought I would see the earth as a blue marble but instead it looked more like a ping pong ball. We landed on a planet in which the ground was red jello. Rather than explore the planet, we played softball. I was amazed at how far I could throw the ball.

Here is a recipe for the most yummy rice pudding I ever ate!
Alton Brown’s Indian Rice Pudding

1 cup cooked long grain or basmati rice
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 1/2 ounces golden raisins, approximately 1/3 cup
1 1/2 ounces chopped unsalted pistachios, approximately 1/3 cup

In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium, add the heavy cream, coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Use a whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the raisins and pistachios. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Another night filled with tossing and turning. I slept, just only in spurts. This is so unlike me. Sure I usually wake up a couple of times during the night, it was just never to this degree. The one thing about frequent breaks in sleeping is that I am remembering almost all my crazy dreams. Last night I dreamt I was in an animal rescue hospital and there were tons of animals walking around. There was a man there I quite liked. He came over and put his arm around me and as I snuggled in I realized he shape shifted into an old bully of mine from grade school. It was horrible.
Now I need to get ready and pack my bags. I am leaving in a few hours for Chicago. (Wasn’t this incessant traveling supposed to end already?)

Today I am going to Kohl’s because they are having mucho sales! I love bargains! Then I am going home to visit my mom and dad. We have to get a plan around Thanksgiving. At 4:00 Lisa and I have an appointment to visit a breeder who has two little Maltese dogs for sale. Last night I dreamt about a little white dog. She was such a cutey except her eyes were black sponges. Who knows? Before the day is through we may own a dog. Yesterday Lisa asked me to list all the names that I liked for a dog.

Here is my list:
Mookie
Schatzie
Lobo
Cariboo
Lupe
Cookie
Mini
Jpeg
Laptop
Okie Dokie
Hündchen
Liebchen
Hündie
Dingo
Moxie
Lulu
Toro
Chai
Asta
Twinkie

It’s raining and I really hope it clears up. I have a hot pink suede jacket I was hoping to wear ON MY DATE tonight. Gosh, that looks so strange flowing from my fingers. Don’t worry guys, I am staying calm. All will be fine! You’ll have a report shortly!

What a GREAT evening I had last night! Lisa and I finally saw Audra’s new apartment and it was beautiful! Then we drove to the Colonial Theater. Lisa didn’t want to run in her strappy sandals and so she stayed on the sidelines and took pictures. Audra and I walked into the Colonial and took a seat. At 10:00 exactly, everyone got up out of their seats and ran out of the theater in controlled hysteria! It was excellent. I can’t wait to get the film developed. I really need a good digital camera. I also need a new laptop. Being in Chicago so much, I just don’t have time to shop. At any rate, after the reenactment we went to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Jenkintown Baderwood Theater. It left me feeling rather dirty. During the Sweet Transvestite number, Audra leaned over to me and asked, “How old would you say Dr. Furter is?” My response: “15.” The entire movie seemed like an excuse to get naked and dry hump your neighbor. It wasn’t my thing.
Last night I dreamt of Heiko. He sent me an email in my dream telling me his sister was kicked in the gut by a cow. Isn’t it funny how this man is still lurking in my subconscious? Since we broke up, I have not had any contact with him. I imagine he is married and maybe even has a child. Truth is I have no idea. I’d like to think he is still living in the same shit apartment and struggling to find a life partner. Who knows? Who cares? Not me. I would prefer to dream of Charles Bronson or Steve McQueen. Vanilla Sky is playing in the background. I am paying 85% attention to it. The other 15% I have been using to clean my room. I figure I won’t bother cleaning the house since I spend zero time here. Lisa can clean it up. I think I drank too much wine with my Lean Cuisine Salsbury Steak, carrots and greenbeans and mashed potatoes meal. My face feels a bit tingly. Tomorrow I leave for Chicago. Ugh. Should be interesting though. I have to present a PowerPoint on the new department I am heading up. Blech.

I am surviving the meetings. Somehow. All day meetings. Process reengineering. FUN!

Last night I fell asleep and dreamt I was working. People kept calling me for reports and my computer wouldn’t process. My alarm woke me and I felt as if I worked all night and hadn’t slept one bit.

I took one of my out of town colleagues to the Hancock Building’s Signature Lounge after dinner last night We watched the sun set on Chicago. It was beautiful.

Tomorrow I am meeting my cousin Sharon and we are going to the Taste of Chicago festival. Should be fun.

Donnaville is crawling back– my humble little Web site was down and out for the last week. My hosting provider upgraded their server (or something) which somehow angered Movable Type and corrupted my Berkeley database. Thankfully Kathy from BlogMoxie swooped in and got me back to blogging. My archives and old comments are no longer in Movable Type but at least I have them in html. Let me give all of you a tip– do not use my hosting provider, 2MHost. They are complete jerks who were unwilling to help and went out of their way to jerk me around. For a laugh I should post all the emails I sent them with their responses– let me tell you, I have never been so discouraged. Kathy, on the other hand, was wonderful! She was kind and obliging and very, very helpful. Thanks, Kathy! If I had any friends, I would recommend they use you to set up their Web sites. This is also a good time to say: BACK UP YOUR FILES! I really wish I had done it.

And now the blog entry to end all blog entries… I continued to write (type, may be more exact) even after I was unable to log into Movable Type– I just used Notepad. So here it is– everything I would have blogged about had my site not gone belly up:

1. Last night I dreamt I went to my Senior Prom. My date was Rob, an old classmate of mine who now works with my mother. She recently told me that he just had gastric bypass surgery. In the dream, he arrived at my house looking quite dapper and almost slim in a tuxedo. A team of surgons were right behind him. I invited him into the living room where he took a seat on the couch.
“I am afraid my skin is getting too big and I asked my doctors to make a house call, I hope you don’t mind, especially because this will cost me $40.00 rather than the usual $14.00.”
“Go right ahead” I told him.
The head surgon took out a pizza cutter and sliced a hole into his chest. He scooped out some fat and started to cut away extra skin. As he was about to sew Rob back up, the doctor pulled a great big pickle from Rob’s chest. The surgon shook his head and scolded Rob, “You aren’t supposed to eat solid food!”

2. I am saddened to hear that Dave Blood from The Dead Milkmen committed suicide. If I ever want to find a person’s age without outright asking them, all I need to do is start singing Punk Rock Girl and if the person in question can sing along– CONTEMPORARY! One Saturday I took a walk to Zipperhead/ I met a girl there/ And she almost knocked me dead…

3. Living on my own is wonderful. I am truly enjoying myself. I am a little agravated because Lisa decided she needs cable to exist; whereas I am enjoying not having a TV (or at least one that has reception). The cable man comes today. Will I be able to read or knit, or do crossword puzzles when I know there are 900 channels beckoning me to watch? I think the real reason I didn’t fight is that La Femme Nikita is back on Oxygen and I must get my fix.

4. I am knitting a Mike Nesmith hat for a (seemingly) nice singer/songwriter in England (he contacted me). The hat is coming along well except last night I dropped a stitch and didn’t realize it until 4 rows and now I don’t want to rip out and lose all that work. I am consoling myself that it will be hidden by the brim. Lisa became angry when she saw me knitting the hat because I still haven’t finished her poncho. She said I was making excuses when I told her that this hat is more challenging because it is K1 P1 rather than the poncho which is K all.

5. The cable guy arrived, looked around the house and immediately announced that the only room that was set up for cable is my office.
“That is not possible”, I said, “The cable is to go up in Lisa’s loft.”
Apparently the only way he could do that is run the cable outside along the siding. The homeowner’s association would not look upon this solution too kindly so Mr. Cable Guy left leaving us without cable. Hooray?

6. The Mike Nesmith hat is finished. It turned out okay. If I was to make it again, I would make it shorter. I knitted to 11 inches and I think 9 or 10 inches would have been better. I hope the singer/songwriter in England likes it. Maybe I will try to make another one that more resembles a beanie than a hat.

How to Make a Mike Nesmith Wool Hat

1. Get some dark green yarn.
2. Cast on stitches to equal the size of the head who will be sporting this masterpiece. Make sure the number of stitches is divisible by 2.
I doubled my yarn to make it a little bulkier and I casted on 68 stitches.
3. K1 P1 rib for 9 or 10 inches, depending on head size. SPUTNIK!
4. Last row K2tog
5. Thread the yarn through the last row of stitches tightly and knot.
6. Seam together.
7. Make a pompom and secure to the top of the hat.
8. Grab a guitar and sing Love is only Sleeping.

7. Lisa and I have spent the last few weeks shopping for a kitchen table. The other day I found one I liked on Sears.com. Buying furniture online seemed like a huge risk so I continued my hunt at stores I could physically enter. The few things I found didn’t compare to the Sears retro 50’s formica dinette so last night I ordered it. In 10 days it should arrive and I will know if I made a mistake or not. Quality is hard to tell in a picture.

8. My hosting provider is driving me crazy. They don’t seem to understand that even if the index page loads, there may still be issues with the site. I have asked them to upgrade my databases and all they say is– your index page loads fine. I am beginning to question their ability to speak English.

9. It snowed. The weather seemed to be warming up. I could feel my spirits starting to rise. Excitement began to flow through my veins– Spring is almost here! But then I wake up, walk to the kitchen and through the window I see SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! Snow is great in November, It is fine in December, January, and February. But March?!? NO! I want warmth. I want sunshine. I want to walk outside and feel the sun on my SPF-protected face. Please? Pretty please with cherries on top?

10. My frustrations running high because Donnaville was down, this made me feel so much better!