Dreamscape

Hawthorne Boulevard, as seen from Mt. Tabor, active cindercone

I have an incredibly active dream life...I work all kinds of things out in my dreams. My sense of place is extremely sensitive and this sense is only heightened within my dreams.  

  When I moved to Portland, Oregon three years ago, the city set itself up distinctly in my dreams.  Dream Portland was easy to identify...bridges, bikes, and green.  Real Portland felt like home immediately and Dream Portland was a place of refuge during my nightly adventures.

  Now that I live in Budapest, this city has not fully revealed itself to me in my dreamscape...Dream Budapest is a collection of exaggerated snippets from Real BP....tiny shops in which no one speaks English, art nouveau buildings of my brain's design, a circular Metro station, etc.  I actually do dream a bit in Magyar.  

  In my dreams, I am sometimes visiting Portland, which seems to be right next door to Budapest (or through some looking glass or behind some barrier).  

   The other night, after not hearing from her for weeks, I dreamt about my friend Stacey.   The week before, I had spent some time in Dream Portland looking for her, trying to call her, always missing her. I needed to see my cat, Zissou, who is staying with her while I am away, and I needed to know how she was doing.  Very frustrating, and dream frustration makes me very emotional.

  I finally received a nice, long email from her.  She described how much she missed me, how she was bonding with  Zissou, and how much comfort he gave her.  It made me feel so much better.

  That night I visited Dream Portland again, this time went straight to her house, gave her a big hug, and picked up my kitty and held him for a long time.  Oddly enough, she lived just next to Óbuda...I could see the city's pastel storefronts from outside her living room window.  From her back yard, I could see the ampitheater....but we were nonethe less squarely  in Portland.

  My two cities have become one within the infrastructure of my dreamscape....will  Dream Budapest ever secede and come to full fruition within my dreams?  I'll let you know later....I'm getting sleepy....zzzzzz  x

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Treehugger Dan's

 This evening, I walked across Margit Hid (Margit Bridge), with my buddy Debra, in my black shit-kickers, into Pest, to hang out at Treehugger Dan's Bookstore and Cafe.  Dan's sells used  books printed in English, sells his own brand of fair-trade coffee, and hosts music and art shows at his shops.

   I have been to Dan's tiny store on Csengery Ut and instantly felt at home among the piles and piles of tomes, all reeking of that heady, old book smell.  That scent, mixed with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee spiked with notes of black and herbal tea, is one of my favorites...so comforting, so absolutely right. I recently went there with Debra to check  out a small but impressive showing of colorful photos from the Middle East and came away with three old National Geographics and a new (to me) novel that I will start after I finish my current read.  One always needs a back up.

  I did not know until recently that Dan had another shop on Lazar Ut, this one much bigger, big enough to house a bar and a smallish music venue.

  Debra and I have an earnest desire to find a home, our tribe so to speak. We found it at Treehugger's Lazar location, humbly tucked into the narrow cobblestone street, amongst the expats (British, German, American, Middle Eastern, etc.) and the Hungarians who love them.  
 I had read a tiny bit about the band featured this evening, a group of three incredibly talented young men, wielding nothing but three guitars and a small gift box used for percussion, who call themselves Random Chocolates. God, I love lo-fi creativity. They performed a delightful mixture of  original and cover tunes in an intimate and vibrant setting....acoustic versions of Led Zeppelin, Smashing Pumpkins and their own gorgeous compositions.
  Deb whispered to me, a few minutes into the first set, "I think we've found our home."
  Yes, indeed.