My First Road Adventure Driving Standard

Ah! I have bug bites on my toes. They itch. Bug bites must be the most satisfying things to scratch next to chicken pox. To be itchy... such a strange feeling. I know I shouldn't scratch, but I do anyway. To irritate it by scratching is actually remedying my discomfort. No, I don't like getting bitten by these pests of summer, nor do I like the itching sensation associated with them. But if I'm gonna get bit and itchy, I might as well use a "cure for the itch". (Yeah, that's the title to a Linkin Park song.) Anyways...

I slept in this morning, until about 11:20. In all that time I was sleeping, I was dreaming as well. It amazes me how many different dreams I can have in one night, only to remember a select few. And even the ones I remember fade almost as soon as I wake.

One dream left me stranded in Rocky Hill, or so I thought it was Rocky Hill. I think I was at a party on one side of town, while Adam's house was on the other side. I didn't know where I was or where Adam was, but for some reason I had his car. As I crossed the parking lot- which looked like that of a gas station- and left the brick building where the party had been, I came to Adam's little silver Civic. I knew I couldn't stay and that I had to find my way back to his house, but I was scared. I couldn't call him for some reason. So I mustered up what courage I had and started the car.

[Adam drives a standard in real life and that is what it was in the dream. I do not know how to drive standard except for what Adam has taught me so far: how to start the car, how to start moving (which is the hardest part) in first gear, and how to shift into second and third. By no means am I ready to drive on the roads in real life.]

Back to the dream. I started the car, backed out of the parking space, and prepared to move forward. Everything seemed to go smoothly in the dream. No jerking or stalling, but I had trouble shifting because I couldn't see the shift stick. So I had to rely on my knowledge of where each gear was and feel what I was doing. I got out onto the road where the lanes were abnormally wide. It was night time so there wasn't too much traffic, but still enough to make me nervous.

I didn't shift into second until part way down the road when I realized I had forgotten. The RPM gauge was on the five by the time I shifted to second. Everything went smoothly. It didn't even feel like I had to switch between gas and clutch like Indiana Jones (inside metaphor used by me and Adam). Each transition was quick and easy. But when it came to shifting into third gear, I had trouble because I couldn't see if I was pushing the stick over too much or to little. By the time I got it figured out, I was coming to a red light and had to slow to a stop anyways.

I pushed in the clutch, breaked, and shifted back to first gear. I was almost completely stopped, but the light turned green and I was moving again. Back into second gear. I decided to turn onto some side roads, waiting for something to look familiar. Nothing did. I managed to get up some small hills in second gear. I don't really know what that means or if it's possible. I have yet to learn what gears to use in certain situations. Well, as lost as I was in the dream, I felt quite good about my first road adventure driving standard.

Eventually, I was back on the main street, driving in one of the many lanes. There were mostly green lights all the way down. Then for some reason, one of my youth leaders, Pastor Chris, was walking around in the middle of the street in shorts, a t-shirt, and bare feet. He was smiling contently as I slowed down to see what he was doing. I was suddenly outside the car, talking to him, but I couldn't make out anything he was saying. Then it kind of ended. The dream, I mean.

The funny thing, though, is that during that dream there was another completely different dream going on. So there were two dreams sort of interlaced. I don't really remember what the other dream was about, something with my friends at a party I think. Anyways, the way it worked was that I would be in one dream for a little while, then randomly switch to the other and pick up exactly where I left off. Kind of like a movie or show where you get to see what's going on in two differnt places at the same time. Kind of a two-in-one dream.

The dream following those took place in my room. My friend, Wayne, came to visit me. He came to see how I was doing because we haven't reallly hung out all summer. He also came to get a CD that I had borrowed from his dad, which reminded me that he still had a CD and a book of mine. So I gave him back was was his, and we went out to his car to get what was mine. Then we went back to my room. I went to sit on my bed but somehow miscalcutated where the edge was and fell on the floor. We both laughed and laughed and laughed, until the dream ended soon after. I woke up thinking it was 3PM, but it was only eleven something. I was reminded by the dream that I have to call Wayne because he actually does have my stuff.

Dreams are wierd.