I've just had a very odd week - full of lots of good and bad things that I didn't feel I could blog about (which is rare). I'm posting now because my parents are calling every day (not that I mind) - they do that when I don't blog.

Anyway, the oddest net result is that my depression has subsided markedly. I actually feel pretty good.

I can however mention one bad thing - I sprained my ankle on Sunday night, after a great dinner with friends. I spent 6 bucks on cab fare to go a quarter mile (and got hit on by a cabbie from Calcutta who was looking for a wife) - but it's cool that cabs are available in Waikiki! I felt special. I spent Monday at an urgent care clinic getting xrays. It wasn't fractured, but I got a nice brace that's helped a lot (much better than an ACE bandage). Compared to June, when I sprained my other ankle, the cost was so much cheaper. With my awesome Kaiser Permanente insurance, I paid a mere $80, compared to $1200 in June. Honestly, I think Kaiser's system should be the model for care. It's super efficient, everything is in-house, and you don't need to choose a primary care physician (and if you do, you can change your mind at anytime without penalty). Everything is computerized and posted online, so I know exactly what is in my files, what my test results are, what my prescriptions are, and when my appointments are.

I also wanted to mention an odd dream I had on Sunday (I get the oddest dreams when my life becomes more chaotic). I dreamed that I was trying to get to church in downtown Honolulu (on Fort St. for some reason). I was accompanied by a young boy who was in an odd dream I had a few weeks ago (I was desperately trying to get him registered at a school in Texas, but we were being hounded by nasty students). Anyway, I came across a snake in the road (Hotel St.) and I was compelled to kill it - I squashed it with my foot, but it didn't quite die. I had my foot on it, and realized it might take awhile so I told the boy to continue to the church without me, but he lingered in the area, watching me. Then an old homeless woman in a tie-dyed shirt came up to me and began pulling the snake from under my foot, chastising me for killing an innocent animal (oddly, I got angry when I saw the scene in "Passion of the Christ" where Jesus crushes a snake (representing Satan) with his foot - I thought, that's an innocent animal! and hoped that no actual animal was harmed in the filming). I kept yelling at the woman "You have to kill snakes in Hawaii, it's the law!" This went on for awhile, passersby looked at us with disdain, and we got into a bit of a slapfest. Then I woke up. It's funny to me, because I can see the symbolism relates directly to the very odd week I had. However, I don't know what role the imaginary boy plays (though I seem to be his guardian), why he is a recurring character, or why I've suddenly been dreaming about him. It's unusual for me to have such a repeat character, not based on someone famous or someone I know. I have recurring scenes and settings, but not totally imaginary characters (save one, who I call the 'Magician', but that's more of an shadowing character - a nemesis).

Anyway, you probably think I'm a little nuts for writing about my dreams so often, but I think dreams are great for 1) sorting out the tumultuous crap that happens in our head and 2) make neat story fodder.