Naught but a dream

Note: This was originally written on Wednesday, September 10, 2008. I was sorting through my documents and found it. Just a couple minor edits and here it is. Even though it is sort of embarrassing, I find it worth sharing mostly because it is a rare occurrence when I recall my dreams, specially the good ones.

Last night I had this most delightful dream. I got up in the morning feeling quite good, but at the same time I was grumpy because it was over.

That’s how you mess up your mind’s simulator, by waking up. Before it has a chance to transfer all the data to your subconscious, where it will be used to make faster calculations in the future, you regain consciousness, cluttering your system with useless data that is still being shuffled around. The data will be eventually sorted out, and eventually you forget the dream, being awake just slows down the process. Like defragmenting your hard drive while you’re using the computer. Besides that minor glitch is quite a splendid system. If you ever find yourself completely naked in front of an audience, you will know exactly how to react, or at least you will double check you are decent before stepping outside.

In my dream I was back in what felt like the early nineties. I must have been in about 8th to 10th grade. I was feeling a lot more confident than I did back in the day, and even though I couldn’t see myself in the dream, I knew I looked better, I felt healthier, like I feel now (back in ‘08 after losing about 30 pounds and gaining the ability to do pushups). Yeah, most probably my teenage years would have been better if I had laid off the videogames. It was dark outside, and there were a couple drops of water on the windows, like it had rained before. I was sitting in the back seat of a brand new SUV (back in the day SUVs were the bomb), right behind the driver. At the wheel there was a nice looking middle-aged man (upper-middle class, judging by the ride), to his side a female of the same demographic. They never looked back, as if they trusted me. I could feel they liked me, but they were not my parents, they were the parents of the lovely girl by my side. She was also in her early teens, athletic build, long, straight black hair, and a great smile. Yes, she was smiling, but that’s all I remember, that and that she was pretty, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how.

This is just the setting. It was like me and the girl were on some kind of date and her parents had come to pick us up and were on their way to take me home. What puzzles me is why my mind would place me in such a situation. Whatever I learned from this simulation has little or no strategic value. Maybe the lesson was that I should keep an eye on the rear-view mirror whenever I pick up my daughters from a date? Nah, that would be absurd, my daughters will not go on dates until they’re at least 30.

Now here’s what happened. We were riding along, and everyone was quiet. My right hand was lying on my knee, and with her index finger she scribbled something on the back of my hand. It felt like she was being shy about it, like she didn’t want me to notice. She wasn’t even looking at me. I was actually looking so I followed the movement of the finger and actually made out what she wrote. And just like my narration paused, the dream itself paused for a moment (I’m pretty sure my brain must have taken hours just to figure what to do next). So I put my other hand on top of hers. I held her hand and stared blankly out the window. I was holding my breath trying not to sigh, or to giggle. Like I didn’t notice, but kinda like maybe I did. I was sitting there thinking how my life was so great… then I woke up. 10 seconds of action, yet it felt like hours.

So today I was lying in bed about to fall asleep, when it all came rushing back. I thought I’d write it down before my brain finished defragmenting.

Will I ever be in a situation in which teenage romance will save my life? I highly doubt so. Still I am glad I had this dream. I had a very depressing adolescence, and this is certainly what I would have wanted it to be like. It’s something I never had and never will have, and it felt like I was really there, like I was really 15 years younger and things were going my way. It felt really nice, and I don’t want to forget that, even if it never happened.

Well, that was random. I gotta go back to bed.

TMI? Probably.

Twenty Ten

Say it out loud: "Twen-ty-ten"

Sexy, huh? I haven't met a soul who's not glad the whole "Two thousand and..." decade is finished. It even looks like 201D! The question now is, what shall we call this defunct decade when making cultural references? The Two-thousands? The 2Ks? The double-Ohs? My proposal is we skip the decade altogether, let's talk about the eighties, the nineties, then the tens.

Anyways, I want to start this decade wishing my readers an epic 2010, full of win and awesome. I've also redesigned the blog (or rather un-designed it, as I've moved from a hand-made template to one of the simplest defaults) and added Facebook functionality (see sidebar) in hopes people will read it. There will be new stuff to read as well, so tell your friends and don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed or become a fan in Facebook (you can also set this blog as your homepage if you REALLY like it) and stay tuned for more Undeniable Logic.

Testing?

Oh, hi there! I'm testing the new Facebook functionality. Happy holidays by the way!

Insider tip

I work in customer service. I've worked for banks, cell phone companies, Internet service providers, insurance... you name it. I'm not going to mention where I work now but I will give you a great tip.

Normally you only call customer care when something's wrong, we're used to dealing with irate people. It's reasonable you are in a bad mood, though 98% of the time you're just pissed about a fee that you KNOW applies according to your terms of service, but still you think its unfair.

Well. Here's the insider tip to help you get the most out of your call. DON'T BE A JERK! Before you grab the phone, punch a wall a few times until the blind rage fades, then call. Trust me on this one, a humble attitude will get you out of the nastiest screw-ups. Like nothing ever happened "we know it's not your fault, sir". On the other hand acting like the world is against you will get you a NO. You will ask for a supervisor and he will give you a NO. He will mail you a copy of your contract where you agreed to whatever just happened. The funniest thing is, it's probably not even a real supervisor, just another operator with a bit more experience.

The root of all evil: Corruption

So the other day I was watching a talk show in Univision. Only because it was on a TV in a waiting room. And it was pretty much about this dude who can't "find work", just like every other talk show in a Spanish network. The guy happens to be an illegal immigrant who left his country because there was no "work" there, and now is having problems at the US because of "the economy".

So I ponder out loud: "Is it that in (random country) nothing pops up after you plant a seed?"I mean if it were a desert country I could understand people jumping the border, but whats up with these people? Both countries are made of the same kind of dirt, have the same kind of air and water. Both have the same resources at their disposal. What is wrong then?

The answer came swift. "It's the corruption" said my wife.

Of course! I mean there is rampant corruption over here, but I guess it's not as bad. In most of these countries the rich people run the show. And you're either filthy rich or poor. The big fish will eat the small fish. There is no middle class because of this. Most people own nothing, they can't even plant a seed to feed themselves, because they don't own any dirt! They have to work for the man, just like feudal times.

The most common definition of corruption is the abuse of power. Like the case before in which those with wealth will exploit the poor. Another example is when those in a position of leadership abuse this authority. The interesting thing is that you may notice most of these cases, the corrupt entity obtains it's power from the masses in a non-forceful manner.

So to stop corruption all one has to do is deny these entities this power, be it wealth or authority. In an extreme circumstance one could take it away, but I'm no big fan of violence, so lets just consider denial. To stop giving.

Denial of wealth: Most probably you've read or at least know something about The Wal-Mart Effect (a long and tedious book about the effects of said stores in the world, not just the economy). Well, I'm not saying read it and follow it like a bible, but knowing that kinda stuff will make you think twice where do you spend your money, and it's not about Wal-Mart at all. The dilemma is similar to that of buying stolen goods, you get the stuff for cheap (It's a steal!) but you are actually paying a person to steal! Think about where your money is going. Here's a hint: the dollar is going to where that immigrant I mentioned before is going, to where the factories are!

Denial of authority: Ah, if you're among the lucky that l.ive in a democracy, this one's a piece of cake! When your turn comes to vote. Think about who you're voting for. Whow much did they spend in a campaigh? Why are they selling themselves like a can of pepsi? Who is paying for this advertisement and what will they ask for in return? (read: Denial of wealth) Think about where your vote is going, and ask yourself why aren't there more options.

Yeah. That's pretty much it.