The Dream Journal

I'm in a place like a giant Chuck-e-Cheese's, there are multiple floors of cushioned walls and nets. I am walking around and meet a dreadlocked guy I know from school. I show him a green, poorly done, tattoo on my wrist that identifies me as part of the same ninja secret society he is a part of. We climb up to a higher floor where we look down and look out for trouble, some group is doing shady stuff in the park, we have to keep an eye out.

Vaguely remember playing with a small arcade cabinet.

Go to a kiosk nearby my house to load my bus card, hear a guy welding to repair a magazine stand. The welding pistol is a screwdriver. I go up and ask if he needs help.

Fragments

I see a line for a new amusement park ride, it's a grey day. The ride looks like a shifting, neon pink floor. It shifts to the sides and people have to balance as they walk through. It looks like it would be bad for my knees. I see a creepy, middle-aged guy in the line among all the kids. Is he a predator? People swarm around him and he reluctantly walks away.

A vague memory of being told, or maybe just realizing; this is your dream character you must remember. (!)

I'm enter a bookstore in a modern shopping mall. I'm waiting for a friend to finish looking through the books by a shelf on the wall. It's as if the mob is now here and has singled out a guy I know from school claiming he stole a book, it's even a book he already owns apparently. He is angry and yells he did nothing. The gang hones in with a sense of righteous indignation. I try to pull them off, this is not the way to handle this. I'm scared of being swept up in the fury.

Suddenly outside the bookstore in the hall of the mall, the guy pulls out the book and shows he paid for it, the sales rack outside has the right price on it. People drift away shamefully. I know they blamed him only based on how he looks, very rough and tumble. A guy who was in the mob who I tired to stop awkwardly tries to start small talk by a sales shelf, says everyone's a but hungover today. I just nod and say "yeah".

Back in the bookstore, I wait for my friend again. I see a man dressed in an elaborate steampunk style. I see some old Penguin classics on sale, 3 for 1.

With another friend I walk away from the store down the halls of the mall. I mention the books I bought and I offer to give her one. She says she would rather have a 10€ gift card to somewhere. We enter an elevator and as we press the button to go to the top floor the elevator goes so fast that everything shifts and smears. The doors open and there is only an overflowing trash can with a McDonald's employee trying to empty it. The doors close and we go down a floor. The elevator opens again and we see the same scene. Immediately there is a weird sense, how can this be? We turn to each other and then turn back and see that we are on a new floor, the trash can and employee (who was looking very stern) are gone. Weirdness. We get off to try to get into the restaurant proper.