Slow Computers, Sams Club and Lions

day lily
Originally uploaded by mygothlaundry

Work is heating up again - god, I can't believe they expect me to earn my meager salary - and I've been running around like crazy. This is not helped by the fact that the work computers have decided that now is a good time to take things easy and work at roughly the same pace as an arthritic hamster in a creaky, rusted wheel. I still have made time, though, to go to Sam's Club yesterday, which was the adventure it always is. Giant food! For giants! Unfortunately, my son is now too cool to accompany me to Sam's Club. He used to adore it, what with the vibrating arm chairs and the ladies handing out samples of frozen reconstituted deep fried and sugared things and then the huge bags of delicious snacky snacks - ah, Sam's Club. It worked as a field trip as well as a shopping expedition.

My brother is in town from Albuquerque. We are going, not to Phish, but to the Grey Eagle tonight to see a band he knows, which should be fun, although I have already warned him that I may not make it through the whole thing. One of these days I have to get some sleep and wake up early and take the dogs for a walk again. For they grow fat, as do I. And they look at me reproachfully, especially Django, and I feel guilty. Sure, springer spaniels always look a little reproachful but hey, life with dogs without anthropomorphization would be no fun at all.

I had a nightmare last night; the classic kind where you wake up with your heart racing, freaked out as all hell. As far as I can remember, I was walking through the house (the dream house, not my real house, which doesn't actually feature four floors and zoo enclosures you can look into) and found my son peering into a window at some animals. At first glance I thought it was lions playing with a baby bear. Then I realized that it was a group of lions, mostly babies, but a mother as well, playing with a couple of springer spaniel puppies and that this was just not, you know, going to end well.
"God damn it!" I said, "I told her no more lions! Even if they are rescue lions!"
In dream logic, I had a roommate, associated somehow with a coworker of mine from years ago, who was stashing her lions at my house.
"Come on," I said to my son, "We have to get those puppies out of there."
And we ran to the door of the room where the lions were, as my son told me that some of the lions were digging their way out through the walls and into the neighborhood. This was not good news. Then we got to the door and I realized that either Miles or I would have to go inside with the angry lions to rescue the puppies and that would be the point where I woke up sweating.

The best thing about nightmares, though, is when you realize that they are not real. At least as of this morning (haven't been home since 9) my house was blessedly lion free and, almost equally blessedly, free of all but one springer spaniel. Phew.