Statuette Stylus; Toys; Ear Plaster; Dice

3/6/10

I'm in a temple. Naked but unembarassed. I have a little statuette of marble that's encased in softer, crumbling clay. I use the hard statuette like a stylus to write my dreams down in the palm of my hand.

At a fair or performance--a grouchy old lady is making toys on demand. They're made of yarn, wrapped around plastic clamps like for hair curlers, and then snipped so they fluff out into balls. She has elaborate patterns so that clouds and faces appear in the fluff. They're mostly animals. She has things she can stick on them, like little leather mouse faces and costumes. I wish they weren't licensed characters from the performance.

Marianna sits me down and shows me a video of a product where you take plaster, make a mold of some part of your head, then make a prosthetic to plump it up. It looks super '80s. She puts it into my ears without my noticing. I am fake outraged and laughing.

We have to take over the toy yarn station. I've done it before. We watch a performance as we set up. There are people in animal masks and glittering robes acting out a cheesy epic story. It looks fun. The supplies are in really bad shape. The cabinets are empty except for rusting paperclips instead of plastic curler clamps, and one cabinet is full of styrofoam packing peanuts, a half-eaten soft pretzel, and two copies of my mother's book. David Ragsdale from high school is there and he takes me to a picnic bench where I sit on his lap and he holds me warmly and affectionately. A shaggy guy I know is Will Eisner's grandson gets up on the balcony of the stage, calls my name mournfully, and throws something down at me. It's one of the leather mouse faces for a toy. I'm peeved at being interrupted but it was a sweet and funny gesture.

I'm walking down the street, shopping. I get groceries and second hand boots. I start losing track of things. I lose my groceries and my old roommate calls me up to taunt me that she ended up with my ice cream. I'm sitting at an outside coffee shop when A calls, saying we should meet at 24th street, but he won't tell me the cross avenues and I realize I've lost the call. I run into the Eisner kid, who asks where the toy is. I tell him he just threw me the face and he seems embarassed.

I walk down the street and see my cousin J in a posh bar on a sofa. He's having a bright green opaque drink and playing a weird kind of card and dice game. The dice are either tiny or mutant. I think it's like role playing dice, but the sides are uneven. Some of them have more than one number per side, some have a grid in the shape of a heart. I recognize David Duchovny and tell him I saw a preview of his new movie and it's kind of awkward. I go to get a drink. I pull out a $15 bill, and a bunch of other bills--I have lots of money in my wallet. The bartender doesn't take any of it and I leave him a good tip.