Friday, September 16, 2005

day dreams of a sort


I have dreams of the future. Of my future. Lazy meandering daydreams forcing their way in the crevice between consciousness and sleep hoping to bleed colourful ink onto my nocturnal visions. I imagine joining the Peace Corps, spending a year stuck deep in the lurid heat of Africa. I’ll build bridges, feed babies, set up schools, I’ll shave my head to feel the sun beating down on my bare head, skin that hasn’t seen light since the day I was born. I’ll trade jewellery with tribe women and take glorious photos of gold fields dotted with elephants at sunset. And then I’ll fly back home. And here’s the part that makes me all gooey inside. The look on my family and friends faces when they see how tan and thin I am. That’s right. I don’t want to join the Peace Corps for genuine selfless, pious, socially aware reasons; I want to use the Peace Corps as a full makeover. Lose a ton of weight, turn my pale blotchy skin into a shade of golden brown, get some killer photos that will turn me into an instant photographic success and maybe get some original funky jewellery that will inspire catwalks the world over. Does that make me terribly shallow? But I love my day dreams, I’ve been escaping to that vacation-y place in my mind ever since I was a little girl, often dreaming of running away and living in a cottage where I took care of wounded woodland creatures. One of my recent day dreams that vies for space with the peace corp dream, is quite simple and reminds me of that little imaginary cottage of my childhood. The cottage still exists, only the woodland creatures have been replaced by a certain Frenchman and two specific pets. A pug named Big Daddy and a cat named Little Boo. They are best friends. I’ve imagined Big Daddy and Little Boo so often now that I bring them up frequently in conversations, as if they already exist. Stephane will allow me Little Boo once we get the “cottage” in February – so I have plenty of time to get him to change his mind on Big Daddy. My task is simply to find a pug that has a cat as a best friend and adopt them. Who could resist that?

2 comments:

Danielle said...

You must be a big Milo and Otis fan... I can see it now, what a gorgeous family you have! I wanted to do Semester at Sea in college, and come back with great worldly stories, photos, and trinkets. But instead I ended up going to LA. Definitely not the same.

What is this about getting your cottage February?

Lauren said...

yeah, I guess you're right, it must be back to milo and otis; but this is different, this is Big daddy and Little Boo.
The "cottage" is just the idea that stephane and I will move to house once our lease is up in february