Vista of Dreams

Last night I had a dream I went to Ohayocon.

I believe this was spurred on by, well, Ohayocon taking place this weekend and my undoubted excitement; but, it wasn’t the Ohayocon at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, it was this strange store across the street from my local Wal-Mart back in Lewis Center, right off of 23. Right across the parking lot there was a makeshift building (how it was “makeshift,” I’m not too sure. It’s not like you can make a building for a weekend.) but I just knew it was a temporary structure for the sole purpose of the convention.

It had the atmosphere of a Sam’s Club department store, with the high ceilings and the large steel fans dotting the cement beams. I assume this was the “dealer’s room” of the convention, since this is where I gained a form of consciousness within the dream. I found this especially strange since one of my worries was my acquiring of a pass for the convention, and normally they ask for a pass before you enter the dealer’s room (which is really the only time they check.) Perhaps this was a foreshadowing to relieve my stress, since I didn’t obtain a preregistration pass like I should have. Again.

The first stop I made inside this store was of the Anime Palace dealer, who I’ve seen plenty throughout living in Columbus. The only difference being he was the only one there with a selection of anime and manga. The entire rest of the convention was just merchandise or clothing. This could be a reflection of my desire for some new series to find, since I was on a hunt for some show. I can’t remember. I think it was.. agh. Some boxset with the Escaflowne movie and — it’s escaping me. Some other 80s anime that I didn’t really care for, but since it was only 20$, why not? And hey, it came with a pretty good movie.
EDIT: I just remembered it was Yu-Yu Hakusho and.. Real Bout High School maybe? Some other obscure show I like.

My friend Drew and my father were there roaming around, but mostly it was me exploring this department store full of a lame selection. Eventually I made my way out of the store to the parking lot outside, where the sun was shining incredibly bright. On one chair was the guy that was supposed to check our passes when we went in, so I had to get past him at some point to get in, but I don’t remember. Dreams take place at the weirdest times.

My sister was waiting outside with my mother, who was bored as usual with all of this “Japanimation nonsense” my father and I love so much. He took my sister in a shopping cart and went across the parking lot to Wal-Mart while my mother sat in the shade outside the convention building, so I decided to follow them, as did Drew.

We entered in the pharmacy section of the store and made our way through the cosmetics while my dad and sister went to the bathroom. I think that’s probably why they went there in the first place. I guess the convention didn’t have any bathrooms..? Regardless, this was one of the moments that shocked me the most. I’m not sure why, but the layout of this bathroom was so strange. I’ll just have to give you a picture.

It was so cramped, and there were doors for the urinals..?

I wasn’t too sure what I was supposed to do at there, because it was wide open to everyone walking down the aisles if I took the urinal in the center. It was strange, to say the least. But why this stood out to me more than anything is what I can’t pick. Maybe it’s a manifestation of discomfort..? Or maybe my brain was controlling my bladder at the same time in my dream. I got no clue.

After a stop to the bathroom, Drew and I continued to the toy section where we found the Lego department. Yea, a department solely for Legos. There was a basket full of unassembled pieces, but on top of it was a fully constructed X-Wing fighter. That means some kid took the time to assemble that entire thing. Somehow this didn’t surprise me so much during the dream, since it seemed like a child’s paradise in this section with plenty of kids just running around looking at all the constructed marvels. Looking back on it, Wal-Mart is probably the worst place to let your kid run around without supervision.

Another thing that stood out was a remote-controlled Darth Vader figure that cost $97.79 (again, just a weird detail that I recall) and had some crazy number of articulation. This was also hanging up on the back wall as some almost mantle-piece for the entire section. “Hey kids! Check out this out!”

After I saw the Darth Vader things get a little hazy, but we walked around Wal-Mart a bit more doing some shopping, for groceries. I think that’s when I woke up. I can’t shake a feeling I’m forgetting one detail, though. Trying to recall it has all of these past dreams melding together, so I’ll let it go for now, and maybe it’ll come back to me later.

That is a salient point though. All of my dreams seem to be somehow connected in one plane of existence that’s manifested only in my dreams. I can see locales dreams of mine took place in when I was three years old all the way up to last week. It’s like an intertwined world where everything I think of takes place. I’m also an avid lucid dreamer, so most of it turns into my playground once I realize I’m dreaming and start to do whatever I want. I might post some tips on lucid dreaming for those looking to try it out for themselves.