Blog Chapter 2 – The Awakening
Sometimes when I sleep, I have dreams; vivid dreams which host unusual and illogical patterns of thought shrouded in a somewhat mystical facade. Sometimes I remember the dream when I awake and other times I just vaguely remember I had a dream but carry no real recollection of the event. Nothing whatsoever.
And then other times, I don’t dream at all. I wonder why that is? The experts say that you always dream in REM sleep but I dispute that fact, knowing at times that I do not dream. I just know. Call it intuition or whatever you like but when you know, you just know.
Perhaps you cannot dream inside a dream, as it is in my case, or maybe you can, right Edgar, but while Annie was gone, while I slept like a baby, I did not dream. Not one iota of grandeur, fantasy, nor despair did I conjure while sleeping yet when the door creaked and the floor moaned, I awoke feeling refreshed if only a little disheveled. I tend to feel that way after a long slumber and judging by the frayed edges of the crooked calendar, I slept approximately six months; not a record in my case but close.
Annie’s entrance engaged my awakening, which is good for you, because Chapter Two is where you will come to know the complexity of Annie Heights. Chapter Two is not only my awakening, but Annie’s as well and as we delve into her character, her malevolent motives and wicked desires start to frame her essence and we begin to see Mrs. Heights for who she truly is; a misguided dreg hidden by elitism and privilege.
Before we move forward, let me bring you up to speed on the makings of one Mrs. Annie Heights.
Annie comes from a prideful position stemming from a well-to-do coming of age. Her arrogance and ego are now bolstered by past accomplishments and entitlement complexes which warrant her attitude on almost everything is life. She sees herself holding a status she hasn’t achieved and yielding a notoriety she hasn’t earned simply based on the blessings of her youth. In adulthood, she has failed to come to grips with the reality she has created; opting instead to focus on fantasy and ignore the literalness of her life.
Annie listens to her inner voice often, talking to it even. We have all done this a time or two haven’t we? A moment of Zen we share with no one except a nameless, faceless entity deemed our inner voice. Well Annie’s is different. Annie’s manifests itself in the form of a man named Milo and Milo can’t stand me. He is the epitome of self destruction and sees me as an intruder, which ironically enough, is what I am.
As bizarre it sounds, Milo is the only one that can see me apart from Trixie, the repulsive Pug that makes funny noises and smells of liver and onions. She doesn’t growl at me but keeps a beady eyeball in my direction as if to say, “come close to me and I will chew your leg off.” What Trixie doesn’t comprehend is that in this metaphysical state, my leg is unable to be bitten. Conversely, if it is able to be bitten, her face is able to be pummeled, physically speaking that is, so at least we have a somewhat mutual feeling of contempt and standoffishness. Suffice it to say, she keeps her distance.
The resident feline has yet to acknowledge my existence and that’s fine with me. Avoiding Trixie and keeping Milo at bay allow me to concentrate on the story at hand; the dysfunction that is Annie Heights. And with that said, here is our heroine now.
Annie enters the house with a certain swagger, emitting toxicity with each footstep. Annie is that person you’d avoid in the supermarket if you crossed her path, her scowl tightly wound, her movements quick and jagged, her being fraught with disappointment and chaos, yet not completely unattractive in appearance which makes her somewhat of a siren for men who neglect to take proper appraisal and stray too near. She preys on this attribute. Do you know the type?
Renne is gone now and inside the house, there is no hint that he was ever here. Like a shadowless day yields no shadow, there is no remnant of Renne anywhere. It is kind of eerie. I guess a six month catnap can have serious repercussions on a story, even mine, something Mr. Van Winkle and I must discuss in a future meeting.
Perhaps Renne’s inner voice told him to run. Maybe it was Milo. Either way, Renne is out of the picture and Annie is all alone with her thoughts. They seemingly rain down on her like watershed after a summer storm. She is in the kitchen, smoke is emanating from the space, and her ear is trained on the television. The nightly news is running scrolls at the bottom of the screen and the anchor is recapping the day’s events.
While Annie burns dinner and over the volume of the television, Annie and Milo discuss their next move. With Renne gone, the house is on the brink of foreclosure and with pen and paper in hand, Annie bounces ideas off Milo. Under the caption “I could” begins a list that reads like this:
Move out West
Get a job at Walt Disney World
Sue Renne for Spousal Support
Move to NYC
Get Dad to pay off my house
Go back to school
Well that’s the list so far. All seem logical at this point all though some more than others. If choosing for Annie, I guess I would pick the school option since she has no job and no formal education after high school. That might put her in a position to run one of the family’s many businesses or at least look good in her father’s eyes.
Milo is balking a little on the school issue. He seems to be pushing for NYC all though the move out west isn’t entirely out of the question. Annie is waffling, another of her weaker attributes. Slowly, Disney is crossed off the list followed by spousal support (too much follow through), paying off the house (weak in the eyes of dad), back to school (too difficult), and move out west (too far). That leaves NYC. The big city. There really is nothing like it. Annie seems happy with her decision and sits aglow as she eats her burnt tuna steak; puffing intermittently on her Salem Light while sipping her Seagrams’ gin. Well at least the cigarette smoke is coving up the smell of burnt tuna.
So let’s review shall we. In chapter two, I have given you the background on Annie Heights. Sure, I was asleep for six months but all you missed was the break up of Annie and Renne and you can rest assured it was sculpted right after an episode of Cops, complete with patrol cars, yelling and screaming, befuddled neighbors, handcuffs, and jail. Just use your imagination.
The picture of Annie Heights today is one of disparity. She has come to a crossroads; the first of many which will determine the overall course of her ill-fated life. This crossroads is one of location and she has chosen the road most heavily traveled, the road leading to NYC.
I have also given you an introspective look into her “Type A” self-centered personality that is responsible for the vast majority of the decisions she makes and the reason she makes them. Of course Milo doesn’t help and Annie consorts with him almost minute by minute. His counsel is as skewed as Annie’s decisions but we will see more of that in NYC.
As Annie lights another cigarette, I think I will have one last look around. I wouldn’t want to miss any juicy Chapter Two nuggets, not that I have mind you, but nevertheless, one last peak at the unfortunate past of Annie Heights shouldn’t hurt.
Walking back into the kitchen, it is obvious Annie’s mind is set. Milo leers at me from the couch but he can do little to oppress my presence. His grimace lets me know that I am unwelcome.
Chapter Three will take me to NYC to further pursue the dysfunctional life that is Annie Heights. I’d better get packing. You will find me there when you turn the page. I will be the one in the hat.
And then other times, I don’t dream at all. I wonder why that is? The experts say that you always dream in REM sleep but I dispute that fact, knowing at times that I do not dream. I just know. Call it intuition or whatever you like but when you know, you just know.
Perhaps you cannot dream inside a dream, as it is in my case, or maybe you can, right Edgar, but while Annie was gone, while I slept like a baby, I did not dream. Not one iota of grandeur, fantasy, nor despair did I conjure while sleeping yet when the door creaked and the floor moaned, I awoke feeling refreshed if only a little disheveled. I tend to feel that way after a long slumber and judging by the frayed edges of the crooked calendar, I slept approximately six months; not a record in my case but close.
Annie’s entrance engaged my awakening, which is good for you, because Chapter Two is where you will come to know the complexity of Annie Heights. Chapter Two is not only my awakening, but Annie’s as well and as we delve into her character, her malevolent motives and wicked desires start to frame her essence and we begin to see Mrs. Heights for who she truly is; a misguided dreg hidden by elitism and privilege.
Before we move forward, let me bring you up to speed on the makings of one Mrs. Annie Heights.
Annie comes from a prideful position stemming from a well-to-do coming of age. Her arrogance and ego are now bolstered by past accomplishments and entitlement complexes which warrant her attitude on almost everything is life. She sees herself holding a status she hasn’t achieved and yielding a notoriety she hasn’t earned simply based on the blessings of her youth. In adulthood, she has failed to come to grips with the reality she has created; opting instead to focus on fantasy and ignore the literalness of her life.
Annie listens to her inner voice often, talking to it even. We have all done this a time or two haven’t we? A moment of Zen we share with no one except a nameless, faceless entity deemed our inner voice. Well Annie’s is different. Annie’s manifests itself in the form of a man named Milo and Milo can’t stand me. He is the epitome of self destruction and sees me as an intruder, which ironically enough, is what I am.
As bizarre it sounds, Milo is the only one that can see me apart from Trixie, the repulsive Pug that makes funny noises and smells of liver and onions. She doesn’t growl at me but keeps a beady eyeball in my direction as if to say, “come close to me and I will chew your leg off.” What Trixie doesn’t comprehend is that in this metaphysical state, my leg is unable to be bitten. Conversely, if it is able to be bitten, her face is able to be pummeled, physically speaking that is, so at least we have a somewhat mutual feeling of contempt and standoffishness. Suffice it to say, she keeps her distance.
The resident feline has yet to acknowledge my existence and that’s fine with me. Avoiding Trixie and keeping Milo at bay allow me to concentrate on the story at hand; the dysfunction that is Annie Heights. And with that said, here is our heroine now.
Annie enters the house with a certain swagger, emitting toxicity with each footstep. Annie is that person you’d avoid in the supermarket if you crossed her path, her scowl tightly wound, her movements quick and jagged, her being fraught with disappointment and chaos, yet not completely unattractive in appearance which makes her somewhat of a siren for men who neglect to take proper appraisal and stray too near. She preys on this attribute. Do you know the type?
Renne is gone now and inside the house, there is no hint that he was ever here. Like a shadowless day yields no shadow, there is no remnant of Renne anywhere. It is kind of eerie. I guess a six month catnap can have serious repercussions on a story, even mine, something Mr. Van Winkle and I must discuss in a future meeting.
Perhaps Renne’s inner voice told him to run. Maybe it was Milo. Either way, Renne is out of the picture and Annie is all alone with her thoughts. They seemingly rain down on her like watershed after a summer storm. She is in the kitchen, smoke is emanating from the space, and her ear is trained on the television. The nightly news is running scrolls at the bottom of the screen and the anchor is recapping the day’s events.
While Annie burns dinner and over the volume of the television, Annie and Milo discuss their next move. With Renne gone, the house is on the brink of foreclosure and with pen and paper in hand, Annie bounces ideas off Milo. Under the caption “I could” begins a list that reads like this:
Move out West
Get a job at Walt Disney World
Sue Renne for Spousal Support
Move to NYC
Get Dad to pay off my house
Go back to school
Well that’s the list so far. All seem logical at this point all though some more than others. If choosing for Annie, I guess I would pick the school option since she has no job and no formal education after high school. That might put her in a position to run one of the family’s many businesses or at least look good in her father’s eyes.
Milo is balking a little on the school issue. He seems to be pushing for NYC all though the move out west isn’t entirely out of the question. Annie is waffling, another of her weaker attributes. Slowly, Disney is crossed off the list followed by spousal support (too much follow through), paying off the house (weak in the eyes of dad), back to school (too difficult), and move out west (too far). That leaves NYC. The big city. There really is nothing like it. Annie seems happy with her decision and sits aglow as she eats her burnt tuna steak; puffing intermittently on her Salem Light while sipping her Seagrams’ gin. Well at least the cigarette smoke is coving up the smell of burnt tuna.
So let’s review shall we. In chapter two, I have given you the background on Annie Heights. Sure, I was asleep for six months but all you missed was the break up of Annie and Renne and you can rest assured it was sculpted right after an episode of Cops, complete with patrol cars, yelling and screaming, befuddled neighbors, handcuffs, and jail. Just use your imagination.
The picture of Annie Heights today is one of disparity. She has come to a crossroads; the first of many which will determine the overall course of her ill-fated life. This crossroads is one of location and she has chosen the road most heavily traveled, the road leading to NYC.
I have also given you an introspective look into her “Type A” self-centered personality that is responsible for the vast majority of the decisions she makes and the reason she makes them. Of course Milo doesn’t help and Annie consorts with him almost minute by minute. His counsel is as skewed as Annie’s decisions but we will see more of that in NYC.
As Annie lights another cigarette, I think I will have one last look around. I wouldn’t want to miss any juicy Chapter Two nuggets, not that I have mind you, but nevertheless, one last peak at the unfortunate past of Annie Heights shouldn’t hurt.
Walking back into the kitchen, it is obvious Annie’s mind is set. Milo leers at me from the couch but he can do little to oppress my presence. His grimace lets me know that I am unwelcome.
Chapter Three will take me to NYC to further pursue the dysfunctional life that is Annie Heights. I’d better get packing. You will find me there when you turn the page. I will be the one in the hat.
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