"Hope? In those deep, dark waters?"

          I dreamed that I met with five or six others in the dead of night, but the only face I can remember is Laura's. We were out in the suburbs, creeping about and looking for some entertainment. The only light came from a skyful of stars and the occasional buzzing streetlight. At some point, I was separated from the rest of the group and found myself walking down a dark, narrow alley. I hesitated here, then went to the second door on the right and groped for the handle in the blackness. The door was unlocked and I went inside with no fear. Julia and her brother who does not exist were waiting there for me, and we moved from room to room as quietly as possible, still searching. The last I remember, she was shushing me while I gazed at the most colorful quilt I have ever seen.
          I woke up feeling very sick, but dragged myself out of bed to get ready for Eric and Meredith. When everyone had arrived, we decided to play a team game of Revolution: Sean/Michelle, Eric/Meredith, Iris/??? (possibly playing alone?), and, of course, the dream team: Alaric and me. Throughout the game, we passed notes and strategized in notebooks. Through brilliant foresight, mind games, skillful use of the Apothecary and a heavy dose of luck, we stole the game in the closing round. Another W for me, and I retain my title as the winningest Revolution player in the apartment. After this, Eric, Alaric and I retired for a meeting of the joint chiefs of staff, though I maintained observer status; the others then played Kittens In a Blender and Settlers of Catan while I napped to regain my strength. Eric and Meredith cooked up a magnificent lasagna for us, and Alaric ate an inhuman amount of it.
          Later, I went to Rod Dee 2 with Iris and Sean. This is a small Thai place near El Pelon with shabby decor (the orange water cooler, for instance) and very tasty, relatively inexpensive food. I drank a can of thick, puree-like mango juice and was left jonesing for more by the time we left. Once we got home, Ariel, Matt T, and Alaric joined us for a Ghost In the Shell drinking game, which we had heavily rewritten by the time the credits rolled. A few people left and we moved on to The Animatrix, which is as beautiful and even more terrifying than I remember. The first time I watched it (them?), it was on Adult Swim and I was probably about 13 years old; I was staying over at the house across the street and my erstwhile friend had fallen asleep. Each episode is striking in its own way, but I will never forget one scene from one of the "historical" ones: during the war between the machines and humans, a soldier is torn out of his armor and essentially drawn and quartered by mechanical tentacles, screaming piteously. That was burned into my brain permanently. Others sneak up on you as you get older: see the scene where machines are being destroyed by rioters before the war. "I'm a real person!" Or even my least favorite among them, the one about the "haunted house"/glitch in the Matrix, with its thematic loss of innocence. In terms of a favorite, I'm torn between the hyper-stylized Program (the samurai episode) and the gloomy Detective Story. If you at least moderately enjoyed The Matrix, The Animatrix is a perfectly executed addition to its universe and an enjoyable work in its own right.
          Quote of the day:
"Yeah, we brick squad." - Eric