I had a really disturbing dream last night. Somehow I (and a whole bunch of people I know) had been transported to another planet by some unknown means. It was a very Earth-like place, except it was strange because we’d arrived in autumn and the ground was brown and wet and trees were leafless, but over to the right in the distance it was lush and green so I knew they were experiencing summer there. Anyhow, this group and I started exploring the area (there were probably 50 0f us) and we eventually came upon this building that looked sort of like a cabin. We looked in the windows and saw a bunch of figures in hooded robes around some central area. We watched them for awhile, and it seemed like they were doing some sort of ritual or ceremony. One of them heard us and turned around to face us. He looked completely human, except I knew right away he wasn’t from Earth. I could tell he wouldn’t be able to understand us or what we were doing there. He hissed and alerted the rest of his group, of which there appeared to be maybe 175 or 200, all dressed in the same robes as he. They lunged for the exits much in the way the guys in Resident Evil 4 do, sort of blindly and in an unrefined, primative way. They started after us but seemed too “possessed” or distracted by what they’d been doing to be able to organize a strategy. Some of my companions began talking about tactics and the guy who’d seen us first started repeating what he said so I whispered fiercely “They can figure out English! Don’t speak!” One guy in our group started making hand motions which I eventually figured out meant “mine” and he pulled a mine out of his bag and tossed it into a group of the robed guys. After a few seconds it exploded, leaving the hooded figures in great confusion. My companions and I made a break for it and rushed away in every direction. One guy who I didn’t know stuck with me and we ran off towards this area that looked like a dried up salt plain/desert. There was a line of trees between this salt plain and the cabin, and we could see some of the robed figures meandering about confusedly outside, so we crept along carefully as not to alert them. I started talking to this guy a bit since I knew nothing about him and he seemed like something of a pansy and he wanted me to protect him somehow even though he was big, chubby, and about 3 times my size. Just then one of the guys noticed us through the trees and hissed/growled and alerted his buddies so the chubby guy and I ran off as quickly as possible.

The next thing I remember is being back on Earth in my middle school. I was in painting class and the assignment was to take a historical painting and do a to-scale reproduction of it. I’d gotten stuck with a portrait of some guy who looked like a thin Winston Churchill in a library. It was sort of a panoramic view of the library, resulting in an extremely long canvas. Behind and to the figure’s right was a man on a ladder, climbing to reach a book on the top shelf. When you looked at it from afar, it looked like this guy was looking directly at you in a menacing way but when you studied the detail, his eyes were on the book. That really creeped me out. Also, there was a window in between the shelves and there was a blonde man with a big bushy beard looking in. The painting was detailed enough that you could read the titles of all the books, and a few were a bit more prominent than others, so I decided I’d research those and see what this guy was all about. That’s when I noticed that the layout of the library was identical to that of the school library. Hmm. The colors in the painting were very dark and drab (it was mostly darkness or near-darkness,) and that upset me a lot so I tried reasoning with my professor about changing the color scheme but leaving the size and composition. He wouldn’t hear of it. I was quite upset by that, given the painting was about 15 feet long and 8 feet high. (Massive!) I started complaining to my friends about it, (including one friend I hadn’t seen in years) while we were on a bus, and somehow the professor was in the seat behind me and told me to stop my whining.

The next thing I knew, I was being told to collect my things because it was time to move away. The aliens from the planet we’d been on were now invading our world, but doing it in a sort of peaceful and non-agressive way. They were simply moving into our homes and sleeping on the floors in groups, wearing our clothes, just making themselves comfortable. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to take my things with me, and I realized that the things I’d left behind already were things I wasn’t totally attached to (I had already moved my important things home for the summer) so I grabbed a few things and went to find my brother. The aliens had already taken over his room and when I told him that, he shrugged and said “Nothing we can do anyhow.” I was completely distressed over the fact that no one else really seemed bothered by the fact that aliens were invading our homes. Everyone seemed to think they were lazy and passive since all they did was take our clothes and blankets and sleep on the floor, but I knew better. They were recovering their health and they were just biding their time.

I spent the last two nights hanging out with Jon, and it’s been great. Thursday night we went shopping in Appleton and then watched most of the first season of Scrubs while drinking a bottle of wine and eating what Will calls a “Medieval Meal” (ie, cheese, crackers, summer sausage etc.) Jon really got into the show and made me take it home with me so he wouldn’t keep watching instead of sleeping.

I spent most of the afternoon watching the first half of Haibane-Renmei, looking for similarities between that and Murakami’s Hard-Boiled Wonderland, which Jules told me was one of the works that inspired the series’ creator. There are some very obvious nods to that book, which made me smile a lot. I love the subdued earthy color scheme to the show.

Tonight after he was done with work, Jon came to get me and we met up with Russ, then went out to dinner. The first three places we chose were either closed or too busy but we ended up at Callahan’s which is a nice place anyhow. I had grilled salmon, cajun style (YUM) with rice pilaf and a couple glasses of Leinie’s Honey Weiss (which I can’t get in Seattle.)

We went to the only “real” coffeeshop in Oshkosh, The New Moon, to see Russ’s photography show and have some coffee. By happenstance a folk singer from Milwaukee was performing live music in the front. He had a very strong Midwest accent. I don’t know if I can stress this enough, but I really don’t like the Midwest accent at all and I really wish I didn’t have one. I guess mine is a lot more subtle than most, but still. Since I’ve been away and returned I’ve noticed the accent so much more than ever before.

There was a lot of really wet, slippery snow on the ground and still falling tonight which made driving really frightening. I think Jon is a little bolder than he should be in that car but he still handled it well anyhow. I hate driving in snow. Oh, Seattle, how I miss you so.

Afterwards we went to Russ’s place to watch the Dr. Who Christmas special and Jon and I had a good time playing with Russ’s kitty. That thing likes to lick…a lot. We putzed around a bit then went back to Jon’s where we played some We Love Katamari. Jon had left his memory cards in California so we had to start over again. I’m sure by the end of tomorrow night we’ll have opened up the rose level. XD

Speaking of which, it looks to be a really great time. I’m really excited to see people again since it’s been ages. I miss Peter and Melissa a lot.

I forgot to mention that I went to see King Kong with Dave last Friday and I quite enjoyed it. Sure, it was long, but that didn’t really bother me. There was double the Andy Serkis action, which pleased me a great deal. Jack Black did a remarkable job in his role. It was much better than I expected.

I shouldn’t have taken a nap this afternoon because I’m not tired now. I don’t suppose that coffee helped me any either. Oh well.

Dave and I drove down to Milwaukee to pick up Jon from the airport, he in his vehicle and me in Jon’s. A combination of wet roads and downtown traffic plus insane road construction made getting to the airport an absolute nightmare. His flight had been delayed so we ended up waiting quite awhile for his luggage but eventually it came through and we went off to have dinner. After some food we ended up back at Dave’s apartment, which I’d never seen before. We tossed in Adaptation (which I rather enjoyed!) and at one point went off to buy some milk so we could do coffee…which is the reason I’m sitting awake at 3 AM. I really should not have had that cup, huu.

Anyhow, it’s good to have Jon back again. The last week was pretty boring. My family doesn’t do much around Christmas so it was a whole lot of sleeping late and sitting around. I managed to read all of The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Streiber and most of the first Harry Potter book. I applied for about 25 jobs the last couple days and only got a few responses. Chad’s temp agency wants to interview me when I get back to Seattle, so at least that’s something to look forward to.

Of course, I couldn’t afford gifts this year but people were quite understanding about the whole thing and gave me things anyhow, which was quite nice. I ended up with a few DVDs, gift cards, and t-shirts amongst a couple misc things.

I decided to give away anything that I haven’t missed in the last 6 months since I’ve been gone. This includes my entire collection of X-Files books, of which there are about 30. I decided to donate them all to the public library since my mom works there and it’s easy enough to do. They aren’t worth anything anymore and it’d be tough to get rid of them otherwise. Maybe someone in Oshkosh is still interested…

Even moreso than before I’m disliking the idea of owning things. Just looking around my room at the stuff cluttering it up makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel like packing light. I have so much stuff that’s nice and that I loved a lot in the past, but now just sits there (ie, those books.) I had an entire bookcase full of books I knew I’d never get around to reading but was reluctant to give away. What’s the point of keeping them around? If I *really* want to read them I’ll re-buy them or better yet, just borrow them from the library. It’s not really much of a sacrifice when I look at it that way. I was only holding onto the X-Files books because they were part of my collection…if I wanted to locate any of the information in them I just checked online anyhow, as it’s quicker and far more efficient. There was a time they were useful but that time has passed.

I’m still not quite sure what to do with my Mulder and Scully busts (and other resin figures) though. I mean…truly, they aren’t worth much anymore, and they are nice to have, but they’re not on display and I don’t know how to transport them safely and cheaply to Seattle. I’ve considered just leaving them here until I come back for my paintings. One day I plan on renting a U-Haul van and driving my paintings to Seattle (hopefully Jules will be with me by this time since I don’t exactly want to make that drive by myself again.) We’ll see.

Jules started his new job on Wednesday. It seems like it’ll be incomparably better than his last one, so that’s good news. They are laid back enough that he thinks he’ll be able to grow his hair out again. (Even better news.)

That’s really about all…I think about updating this more often but then I realize nothing has happened worth talking about. I really hope something comes along to give my daily life more structure (ie, a JOB) so I don’t feel like I’m just floating through the days.

I’m back in Wisconsin again after a long night of traveling. I took the redeye, which turned out pretty well as the airports weren’t too crowded. I’m pretty tired now, though, since I only got about an hour of sleep on the plane. More later when I’m a bit more rested.

After much deliberation:

1) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
2) The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
3) Lemon Jelly - ‘64-’95
4) System of a Down - Mezmerize
5) Foo Fighters - In Your Honor
6) Royksopp - The Understanding

Digital Camera Resource Page Review

Digital Photography Review

This is the camera I’m considering getting to replace my much-loved but bulky Sony Cybershot DSC-S75. I’ve been researching a lot of different digicams with the intent of finding one with the same set of features my current camera has but in a smaller body. This is no easy task as with the size reduction on cameras comes the sacrifice of features. I have been unable to find one that has everything I want on it.

The following things are important to me in a digicam: full manual control, ability to transfer photos to a computer using a single cable rather than a dock, excellent battery life, and solid construction. I really would like a camera that can charge its battery simply by plugging a cord into the camera itself, but I’ve realized that’s not as vital as I’ve thought. It is handy, though. This particular one has rechargeable NiMH AA batteries which charge externally, but that leaves open the option of using regular AA if I’m in a pinch. I’ve always considered that a down point, but I guess it really does offer more flexibility than a proprietary battery type.

This camera has a few additional things that are really desirable to me: large LCD screen, MPEG movie mode limited only by size of memory card, ability to use Sony Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or Memory Stick Duo, input for external flash, threaded lens housing allowing for additional lenses or filters, old-style viewfinder, built-in lenscap, quick startup time, small but not *too* small size. It appears to have a very solidly built body made mostly of aluminum, making it light but durable. Plus, it’s a Sony, and I have great brand loyalty towards them because I have been delighted by every Sony product I’ve ever bought. (Plus, I have a Sony credit card that gives me points for buying Sony products that I can later use towards free Sony merchandise.) I absolutely adore the camera I have now and it has suited my needs very well for as long as I’ve had it. The only real issue I have with it is size. As always, I carry my camera everywhere I go, so having one that’s a little bit more transportable has become a very attractive idea to me.

The major flaw this camera has is that its manual settings are very limited, as there are only two aperture sizes you can choose from, and there are no aperture-priority or shutter-speed-priority modes. For point-and-shoot photography, this is no big deal (and granted, this is what I do most of the time) but there are times where I’ve needed to have very precise control over what I was photographing and the manual settings have come in handy. I plan to one day buy a really nice, professional digicam so perhaps this is worth the sacrifice for now. Also, the camera is a bit bulkier than a lot of the new thin cameras (like Will’s Casio Exilim), but I don’t have an issue with that. I want it to feel sturdy in my hand.

Obviously there is no way I can come close to affording this right now (it appears to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $325 in most places) but I’ve talked about possibly selling my old camera so I can put that money towards the new one. I guess I’ll have to see how it goes.

Woo, I’m really tall.