THE DAILY DIVERSION

STICKY SHEETS! YUCK!! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!

Ah yes! Another Monday! It looks like it's going to be a nasty one too. When I woke up this morning it was already in the 70's with high humidity. I could tell because I was stuck to my sheets and already sweating. What do you expect from Memphis though? I immediately flip on the local weather channel to see what the day will behold for me, weather wise. Well, somehow the high for the day will only reach 69, but it's already 73, so that helps a lot. We've already got Thunderstorms all around us, and we're supposed to get more. Damn you Arkansas!!! You always give us your crappy weather!

Anyway, I had an interesting dream last night, and a completely different song, style wise, in my head this morning. So, on to the good stuff...

My dream: Well, I don't know if I had 2 dreams and they just mixed up together, or if it was all one and correlate somehow? Anyway, the first part of the dream I'm walking on the beach with a male friend of mine. I don't know which friend, but I know it's a guy. We're strolling down the beach and checking out some of the ladies, like guys always do. I don't think I'd do that with my fiancee or any other female acquantence? We try to walk like we're cool, but both of us are overweight, and not all that sexy. Anyway, we get to the end of the beach and there's just a gravel road, leading into a field. There is some new construction (looks like apartments, and crappy ones at that). My buddy and I stop on the gravel road and look around. The only thing I remember saying is "Wow, can you imagine how many girls have lost their virginity here?" Segue into the next part...

I'm in a casino, playing Blackjack, I thought. However, I keep putting $5 (5 $1 chips) into this tray with the number 12 on it, and I keep winning. The dealer is dealing cards like Blackjack, and I keep winning those hands, so I double my $5 in chips every time. I'm sitting there playing by myself, with only the dealer, which I never do. It's just not smart gambling. Anyway, I decided to step outside for a second. There's a door directly behind the table that I can go onto a patio and relax. I put my $5 in the number 12 tray again, and just before I head out the door one of my friends walks up. I know this friend and he's always been a little crazy, but he says he'll keep an eye on my "stuff" while I'm outside. I go out the door, and I'm back on the gravel road, but alone this time. This gives me an eerie feeling after a few, short seconds, so I go back inside to the table. To my surprise there are a huge stack of $50 chips where I was sitting. My boy, Clue, starts shouting "You're number hit while you were outside!!!" Well, obviously, dumbass!

I sit down and try to start counting my loot. I look up from the table to see if my fiancee is anywhere to be found, and I see her wandering around looking for me. The table I'm at is off in a far corner where she'd probably never look, so I send Clue after her (and I think she's got a friend with her, but I don't know who). I put my black $50 chips in 5 stacks of 10 chips. For some reason, I couldn't do the math while I'm sitting there. My Mom and Miss Jayne stroll up and ask me how I did. I tell them, "I think I'm up about 2 grand." Finally, my fiancee, her friend, and Clue make it to the table. I'm standing there talking to them, when I look down and one of my stacks of chips is missing. I saw a woman venturing over by the table, and she was gone quickly, so I assumed she stole them. I run over to the security spot and ask them to check the video to see if she did. They look into it while I walk back over to my crew at the table. By now the dealer has left and the table is closed down. I'm kind of looking around at the the table and I realized that I had a ton of quarters there too, but they're now gone also. My brain starts some furious thought processes, "Did I change them in and just forgot? Hmm... Maybe I gave them all to the dealer? Crap!! I forgot to tip the dealer!! She helped me get paid and I completely forgot to tip her! Man, I'm an asshole!"

Then the security guard yells over at me "Hey, you put the chips in your pocket!" "Huh?" I think to myself. I don't remember putting them in my pocket. The only thing in my pocket is my keys, right? I reach in and, sure enough, 10 $50 chips are perfectly in a roll. Man, what a dumbass. I win a little money and I completely lose it? I then have some incoherent conversation with my fiancee. It had something to do with the money, but I can't remember it. Then I wake up.

What it means? Again, so many symbols, so where do I start? Well, I think I'll start at the beginning with where I am... the beach.
Beach: To see the beach in your dream, symbolizes the meeting between your two states of mind. The sand is symbolic of the rational and mental processes while the water signifies the irrational, unsteady, and emotional aspects of yourself. It is a place of transition between the physical/material and the spiritual.

To dream that you are on the beach and looking out toward the ocean, indicates unknown and major changes that are occurring in your life. Consider the state of the ocean, whether it is calm, pleasant, forbidding, etc.

Well, lucky for me the water was very, very calm. It was barely even rolling up to the shore. So, pleasant changes? That works for me. I'm getting ready to move into a bigger apartment, so hopefully that transition will be nice and easy!

Now, why did I end up on a gravel road? The place was really kind of a dump, and not a place that I liked to be, thus me not wanting to be there when I left the casino. Here's what you get when you look up road:
Road: To see a road in your dream, indicates your sense of direction and pursuit of your goals. To see a winding and bumpy road in your dream, signifies that will find many obstacles and setbacks toward your goals. You may be met with unexpected difficulties. If the road is dark, then it reflects the darker or more frightening choices which you have made or are making.
Well, my road was gravel, so what the hell does that mean? The pursuit of my goals is broken up has no definite direction? I certainly hope not!!

Next I thought that my comment to my buddy might mean something, so I looked up what virgin might be:
Virgin: To dream that you are a virgin, symbolizes purity and potential.
Well, I think my comment has something to do with my view of the world right now... i.e. lacking purity and potential. I'm a little upset about some "goings on" from last night, and I think it leaked into my subconscious. I'll make another post about that later on though.

Onto the casino... The place wasn't as bad as some casino's. It was pretty nice actually. There wasn't a ton of smoke and the people were friendly, almost like they weren't their gambling away their paycheck trying to "get over". It was a good atmosphere.
Casino: To dream that you are in a casino, signifies the risk-taker within you. If you are a reserved or passive person, then the dream suggests that you should take a chance. If you are not, then it implies that you need to make a more informed decision instead of relying on fate.
Well, I'm not reserved or passive, so what's that tell you? I know I have a tendency to be impulsive, so I can see where this is going. I'm also a big believer in "fate". Man, that part sucks!!

Now, onto the biggest symbol in my dream. The number 12. Numbers always have a tremendous meaning in dreams, thus you usually don't remember them. I specifically remember this one, because my favorite number is 14, and I was told to stay away from it and go with 12. Pull the handle and what do we have?
Twelve: Twelve denotes spiritual strength and divine perfection.
C'mon!! Two spiritual symbols in the same dream? I don't know what exactly to make of these references. I'm not a spiritual person, nor religious. I make ammends with myself and try to be the best person I can possibly be, hoping that when I leave this life there is something better for me on the other side, wherever that is. Since I specifically saw the number 14, and was told to forget it, here's what it means:
Fourteen: The number fourteen signifies the unexpected and your need to adapt to ever-changing circumstances. It is also symbolic of overindulgence and giving into your desires. You need to be more committed and maintain focus on your goals.
What the...? I need to forget all of those things? Forget the unexpected? Forget adaptation? Okay!! Forget overindulgence? I wish I could! Then I could lose a little weight and look good for the wedding and honeymoon! Forget giving into my desires? Umm... maybe not! Forget about being more committed and maintaining focus on my goals? Man, funk that!!

Again, I have another dream where I keep forgetting things. As we covered before, forgetting is the subconscious letting me know I've forgot an appointment or something. I realize that I forgot to call my Grandma, who is going into surgery this morning. I've also forgot to call the priest we're supposed to meet with soon over the weekend. What else have I forgot?

Last symbol... My family and friends around me are happy. I think it's a good omen, and hopefully not spiritual!! Just kidding! Here's what ye' ol' dream dictionary says...
Family: To see your own family in high spirits in your dream, symbolizes harmony and happiness.
Yes!! Good close to the dream. Harmony and happiness to start my week.

Man, how do I wrap all of the symbols into one thought? Hmm... Well, I think both my states of mind are descending upon me. I'm not really happy with something that's happened lately, but everything is "cooler than a fan, man" on many aspect of my life, namely moving, transitioning into the wedding, etc. I need to stop forgetting things, like I didn't know that already. Lastly, I need to be a little introspective and search out some spirituality, just to see where I stand.

Yeah, that should take care of it for today! On to music...

Song of the Day: "It Never Rains in Southern California" by Toni! Tony! Tone! from The Revival

Really strange song to be in my head, but we've had a couple of rainy days here, followed by plenty of sunshine. Maybe I'm hoping for more sunshine, or I need to be a weather prognosticator, because my song told me it was going to rain. This song sucks because I don't have it on my Ipod, thus I can't hear it and get it out of my head. I used to have a dub of it on tape, but like I have a tape player now!!