Sunday, September 8, 2013

Death Ride

They say that if you die in your dream, you die in real life.  I don't know who "they" are, but they sure as f*ck don't know shit!  I've died many many times in my sleep and have woken up each and every single time.

There was a point when I was younger that I died a different way in every dream I had over the course of about a week.  One involved riding a rickety old roller coaster that jumped a high sharp turn.  I had one where I'd jumped on a grenade.  There was one that involved another amusement park ride, where the arms spun round-and-round, as well as up and down, the little pod at the end, of which I was riding, went up and kept going up into a cascading arch, before plummeting into a nearby parking lot.  There were a couple of dreams where I was trapped in a vehicle sinking underwater.  Those ones I've never been very fond of, having a healthy respect for the water.

Nope!  I'd say who ever the scholastic "they" are, they don't know shit about dreams.  Or if their synopsis is correct, then I'm an exception to the rule, perhaps.  Whatever the case, I've died a great many times and I've awoken every time.  The reason I'm addressing this, here, is I had another one just the other night.  Only this one was exceptionally strange.  In all preceding death-related dreams.  My death would come in the natural pace that it would.  The roller coaster car making contact with the ground, then I'd calmly wake up.  The grenade explodes under my torso and after a brief pause in my head, I'd open my eyes and be safely within the four walls of my bedroom.  As for the sinking vehicles, I was surprisingly calm before waking up safe and dry.  This dream the other night, though...  Troubling.

I'm unable to remember the events leading up to my tragic end, the other night.  I can only recall driving my pick-up to a location just outside a city that I've never been to before.  After sometime at this place, I was dispatched to drive back into the city to visit another locale, only they people gave me a car to drive back.  It was a nice car, if I remember correctly.  A sleek black sedan with bright LED and Xenon lights on the front that were bluish in colour.  It may have been a BMW, but that's not an important factor in this story.

I set out on my mission, the night quickly approaching and the world growing more and more dark.  I headed north, I think, on towards the amber glow of the nearby metropolis.  The roads that took me there weren't paved, thick with gravel that made driving a little more challenging in the sedan that it had been in my truck.  I was close, though, and soon found myself gliding along smooth concrete surfaces.  This mysterious place definitely was not in Saskatchewan, as I've never traveled such gloriously smooth highways anywhere in  my home province of Saskatchewan.

The GPS, that had been programmed by my hosts, directed me to cross an overpass that dissected a train yard.  There was no traffic on the roads so I never bothered to slow down at the flashing amber light.  I signaled left and sped up the brightly lit roadway that lead straight into the darkened sky.  The speedometer needle continued to climb up the dial, even after I found my wheels had left the safety of the roadway.  It became all to apparent that the overpass was still under construction, after I glanced to my left and realized there was nothing there, but a few straggling re-bar.  My attention returned to the view in front of me as the nose of the car began to bow towards the ground.  I braced for impact, like that was going to help reduce the pain for falling a couple hundred feet.

It never happened in slow motion, although the events that followed did seem to move at a slower pace.  I remember making out the grey stones that made up much of the ground in this train yard.  I remember the front of this luxury sedan folding up like a cheap suit, the moment it made contact with the ground.  I remember being jarred in my seat and a sharp pain zipping up the right side of my spine, like a shock of electricity.  Then I remember quiet.  Absolute silence, interrupted a few seconds later by the sounds of steam and the car settling into it's new resting place.

I sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to comprehend just what the f*ck happened.  Conjuring up the memories of what lead me to this moment in time.  I hadn't seen any traffic signs indicating that the road was closed due to construction.  I couldn't move.  I was pinned behind the wheel of the car.  Light from the flickering GPS made shadows dance across my face and the cabin of the car.  I reached up and turned the key off, despite the engine being quite dead.

A few more moments passed, but they seemed like hours.  I now found myself outside the car.  Standing across from the bright headlamps that were still operational, I assessed the damage.  I looked up to see a gathering of people looking over the edge of the defunct overpass.  To my right, I saw rescuers making their way down the embankment, with flashlights in hand.  I tried to approach them, but was unable to move.  I was confused, but more so once the people made it to the car.  They began trying to open the driver door, all the while reaching in and screaming at me.  "SIR!  SIR!  CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

They were obviously calling out to me, but their attention was directed inside the car.  In fact nobody bothered to look my way at all.  I called out to them, but no one responded to my pleas.  Finally I was able to make my way to the front of the smoldering car and take note of myself unconscious behind the wheel and the rescuers checking my vital signs.  "It's too late..." I overheard one of them mutter to another.

I continued to stand there watching, confused by what I was witnessing unfold, but completely calm.  Aside from their incessant chatter, I could clearly hear my own breaths.  Deep inhales followed by heavy sighs.  I felt at peace.  One thought did cross my mind that didn't involve the happenings unfolding before me.  "What's going to become of my sweet little boy [cat], Monkey?"  On that single thought, I heard the alarm on my cell phone going off.  I turned away from the car and found myself awake and hitting snooze.

Once more, after being killed in my dreams, I awoke to live out my dream life.  Working a job that doesn't appreciate me and living with my sweet cat, Monkey, who does appreciate me.

Friday, September 6, 2013

It Matters


"That's not fair!" he said accusingly.  He was in utter disbelief that his request was being denied.  "You're being racist!!"

Yesterday, after work, I stopped by my bank to pay a portion of what's currently owed on my credit card.  Month-by-month, I've been paying what I can to whittle it down to a more reasonable amount.  For a change, I was in and out of the bank in a speedy fashion.  Only on this occasion, I was accosted by an individual just outside the doors of the mall.

He was a tall kid with a very dark skin tone.  I'd noticed him on my way into the bank, as he stood joking with his friend who was inhaling a cigarette deeply.  The sight of anyone smoking a cigarette, generally disgusts me.  The smell, itself, makes me ill, and the practice itself, boggles my mind.  I can't say for sure if I made a face as I passed by.  I may have, but it's difficult to conclude that I did for sure, but it may have lead to what happened after.

As I was leaving the bank and heading to my truck, this tall dark lanky fellow ran up and stopped me just as I was going to cross the road to where I was parked. "Hey man!" he said with a thick accent.  I stopped and looked at him.  "Give me some money!"

Taken aback, I did a double-take out of confusion.  "Excuse me?"

"Give me some money!" he repeated, holding out his open hand.

"What do you mean, 'give you some money'..?" I asked.

"Give.  Me.  Some.  MONEY!" he said, again.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter who I am... Give-"

"EXACTLY!!!" I said, cutting him off mid sentence, "It doesn't matter who you are, so get the f*ck outta my face, you piece of shit!"  I turned and attempted to walk past him.

"Piece of shit?!?" he responded.  He couldn't believe that he'd just been spoken to in this manner.  "Piece of shit?!?  Who are you to speak to ME that way?"

"Who the f*ck are YOU to demand I give you money.  I don't know who the f*ck you are!  You're just some lazy piece of shit trying to steal money from me!!"  I said, with some induced heat behind my words.

"That's not fair!" he said accusingly.  He was in utter disbelief that his request was being denied.  "You're being racist!!" 

I couldn't believe my ears.  I was being accused of being a racist.  Me, the person who hates everyone equally, being called a racist.

"I'm a racist?!?"  I exclaimed.  "You're some foreigner who's come here from wherever the f*ck, and instead of getting a job and earning your own money, you're standing here outside the mall, demanding that I give you money, and I'm being racist...  Go f*ck yourself!!!"

I then pushed past him and never looked back.  I don't know what occurred following this experience, but who cares.  I hope no one else fell for his bullied demands and authorities got involved.

I work very hard for what I have, which isn't a lot, but to have some punk-ass bitch think he's going to bully me, of all people, into handing over my money.  That's a f*ckin' slap in the face!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Living the Dream

I stood quietly, overwhelmed in the moment.  Staring across the sea of magazine stands and book shelves at the terminal that would soon determine my fate.  This was a motion that I'd repeated many many times beforehand, but this time it felt different.  Like anything was possible.  People passed me by, never once paying any attention.  They didn't care and why should they?

The day started as any other work day would.  A groggy stammered start to a shortened work week.  The long weekend had just come to an end, but my long weekend was just too short.  I'd spent most of my Saturday at the Veterinarian College, where I took my sick cat in for some much needed tests.  So despite having the extra day off, I still felt completely spent.

Feeling much better after his stressful ordeal, my cat came to see me off, as he often does in the mornings.  It makes me feel better seeing his fuzzy face lurking out the front window as I pull out of the driveway.  This morning he was extra attentive, almost as if he were trying to talk me out of leaving.  "Believe me," I said to him, "If I could afford not to work anymore, I'd gladly spend my days at home with you.  Maybe I'll check my lottery ticket on the way home.  You never know...."

The thought never entered my mind again until I overheard someone talking about the lottery at work.  "Someone in the city, here, won the $14 million." he said.  After that, it was all I could think about.  Usually, when something like this occurs, where it's known that a local resident has won a substantial win fall, I pay no mind.  Reality, of course, sets in and I know in my bones that I never won the jackpot, and the proof is in the pudding, as I still work a nine-to-five job, rather than gallivanting across the globe.  However, this day felt different.

In the past, I've mentioned something I refer to as "Jeffy's Law".  It's similar to Murphy's Law, only Jeffy's Law is: Anything of equal of greater value will happen to me.  For instance, I received a $900 tax return many many years ago, then had my car breakdown to the tune of a $1200 repair.  For every good, something much worse will occur.  So naturally, I thought given all the bad shit I've had to endure this year, that perhaps something good would come of it.

So all day long, I thought about the financial freedoms that might come upon me.  What I'd do with this...  What I'd do about that....  I thought about the television program that I'd develop and sell to TLC.  (I figured if they gave a show to that idiot Honey Boo Boo, whoever the f*ck that is, that they'd have to give me a show.  My show is pure genius!!)

So all the thoughts and warm regards of my day culminated to that one moment.  The fleeting few seconds that found me standing in the drug store, looking across the field of magazines and hard cover books, to the lottery number verifier terminal.  In a few moments I'd find out if I was a winner or not...

I held my breath as I placed the unfolded ticket under the scanner.  Then it happened.  BEEP!!

Wednesday morning began like any other workday.  I was groggy and stammering to put my work shoes on.  My cat, saw me off and I waved as I drove away.  Needless to say, I didn't win f*ck all.  Not even a free play.  I'm the same loser I was before, working a nine-to-five job and livin' the dream!