I had a dream this morning. As I've said before, it's pretty uncommon for me to remember my dreams. I don't think I've remembered one since the last one. Okay, THAT made sense. Since the last one I blogged about, back in freaking I dunno, lemme look it up. November. Maybe it's because I don't normally go to bed until I'm actually tired. Or maybe it's because my definition of "tired" is "if I don't go to bed NAO Pattie's gonna find me passed out at my computer or on the crapper. Again." Maybe I need to look at that. And maybe I'm rambling.

The dream. That's right. For whatever reason I dreamed I was back at Bluffton. Trigger and Hoch were there, even though it was my senior year. Found my room and started talking to the new roomies and the people popping in and out, none of whom I recognized. The thing I found remarkable was how easily I was talking to everybody, that's never been my strong suit. So why this dream now? Some possibilities:

* I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Bluffton. Who wouldn't want to dream about it?

* As of February 15, my student loans were paid in full. OH GOD YES. Now I can think about Bluffton without also thinking "Jeez, I'm STILL paying them?"

* My mom's getting ready to redo some rooms at her house, which means I'm going to be cleaning my old room out (and probably cleaning out stuff here, since I'm sure I'll find stuff there I want to bring here). Preparation for a waking trip down memory lane?

* Long nights of pushing a dust mop and cleaning crappers allow for copious amounts of introspection, and occasionally the topic turns to where my life has been -- and why -- and where I want it to go. One of the things I've realized is that I need to readjust how much it matters what certain people think, say and do. Let it reflect on what kind of person they are, then let it go. Easier said than done, maybe, but hey. Maybe a reaction to introspection?

* I've also realized that I really want to reconnect with Jon, one of my friends from Bluffton and one of the few I've spoken to since. (His wedding was where I met Pattie.) He's far from perfect, sure, but show me someone who isn't.

* Speaking of weddings, Rachael's is in a few weeks. The last time I was at a non-family wedding where I was the one who first knew the couple was, in fact, back when I was at Bluffton. Maybe that one's a stretch, but hey, my major was chemistry, not dream analysis.

First off, let it be known that I'm a rat bastard. My best friend always shows me what's on his blog/journal, and I keep forgetting to tell him I even have one. Sorry, hope you don't decide to rip my skin off and rub rock salt in my muscles.

Road trip today, what was gonna be a trip to the Van Wert Festival of Flight turned into a trip to the Ft. Wayne mall. What a dissappointment, I loves festivals. </sarcasm> Highlights of the trip include:

Hanging out with Mike and Patty, obviously. What fun is shopping -- especially window-shopping -- without someone to remind you that the girl you're ogling is probably 13? Seriously, when I was 13 the girls in my class sure didn't look like that. Where was I? Oh, right. Without Mike, I'd go shopping even less than I already do, meaning I'd probably forget what the stores were even called.

Eating at Applebee's I mean, Ruby Tuesday no no, Chili's for the first time. Good food, but seriously, how many restaurants can follow the same formula and remain afloat? Then again, I suppose it parallels the uniformity among fast-food chains -- if it works, why make waves?

Chocolate-covered expresso beans. If you've never had these, you simply must try them. I'm not even much of a coffee drinker (largely because most places don't offer molasses to put in it), but these are great.

The ubiquitous trip to Hot Topic. I hate that store. I like the merchandise, I don't dislike the largely-transparent staff, and I couldn't care less about the other customers. They just always feel so cramped. I'm not sure why their corporate overlords insist on stores the size of a large bedroom, but having to walk through aisles sideways when you're the only person in the aisle is not condusive to shopping. At all.

A bunch of flags at half-mast. I'm going to pretend this was done in honor of the victims of hurricane Katrina, so I don't have to launch into a diatribe about picking at old wounds.

First time in a Circuit City. Take the Sears electronics department, add a splash of FYE and EB, and give it the sales staff of Office Depot. Yeah.

But despite all my back-biting, or maybe because of it, I really did have a good time. Which is why I always agree to go.