Tag: mefloquine

Sweet Dreams – Shoe Guy

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember).

There were some students visiting eSwatini. They were either law students or pre-law. I wasn’t sure what they what doing around the kingdom, but that didn’t matter. I started talking to one of the guys from the group. He had really puffy cheeks. It was like he was a puffer fish that was always puffed up. Anyways, he told me that they were collecting shoes. I thought that they were collecting shoes to give away to people locally. I had some shoes with lots of life left that I didn’t use anymore, so I donated those. Fast forward a week or two. Puffy cheek guy has started selling the shoes at really, really high prices. Almost no one can afford the shoes. The rest of the students in his group are chastising him. He responds that no one told him that he couldn’t do it. “There’s no law against it”, he says. His group of fellow students abandons him. He doesn’t care. He’s selling shoes.

A few weeks later, there’s some kind of sporting event going on. I decide to wear a nice black suit to the event. There’s only one problem. I only have brown shoes. I’m looking all over for black shoes. There are none. I’m not going to go to puffy cheek guy to buy some black shoes. I decide to go to the sporting event in black sandals, and it’s okay.

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

Sweet Dreams – A Trio of Brides

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is vivid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

I was on vacation in Jamaica. There were plenty of beautiful beaches, but I opted to stay away from the beach. I spent most of my time at a playground/park at an apartment complex. I would talk to whoever came to the park. For some reason, I was more interested in hanging around the park than doing anything else. This was a daily occurrence. 

One day, at the entrance to the park, there stood three men in drag who all looked like Marilyn Manson with the hair of Peggy Bundy. Each man had on a wedding dress with hair matching the color of the wedding dress. I felt like I had seen the trio before but I wasn’t sure. One bride wore a white dress with big white hair. Another bride wore a red dress with big red hair. The other bride wore a deep purple dress with deep purple hair. 

As the trio of brides walked through the park, people started gathering. The wall turned into a processional. Then a priest appeared. The processional ended at the priest. By now, everyone from the apartment complex was in the park to see what was going on. The priest lamented about people always coming to the island to get married and not wanting to live there. He wanted more people to move to the island nation. The priest then continued with the ceremony. As the priest continued with the wedding, I noticed that the only people standing before the priest were the trio of brides. I realized that they were marrying each other and paid closer attention because this was the first wedding triad I’d ever witnessed. 

Be kind to yourself.
Onward.

Sweet Dreams – Cell Phones and Road Trips

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is vivid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

I was on a road trip with an indiscriminate number of friends. We may have been returning home. We ended up stopping by a cell phone super store. Think Wal-Mart, but only mobile phones. There was a section in the rear of the store that was dedicated to mobile phone repairs and servicing. I wandered back there and started chatting with the sales associate. She had a pleasant demeanor, but was not very helpful. 

I ended up browsing the store, including the latest mobile phones. I tried to buy a glass screen protector for my phone, but they were out of stock. We got back on the road. A few hours later, it was time to drop off one of our road tripping friends. She invited everyone in for family dinner. We started discussing mobile phones after dinner. My friend’s mother seemed to be shying away from the conversation. I asked the mother if she had a phone. She stated that she did not. She went on to say how complicated they are. My friend told me that she had tried to get her mother a phone to no avail. 

I took my friend’s iPhone and showed her mom the maps and how she could save her home location so that she could always navigate home. Her mom was excited and intrigued. I told her mom that she was less likely to get lost if she had navigation, and that if she did get lost, she could call for help. Her mother said that she would think about getting a cell phone. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Sweet Dreams – The Hair Stylist

by Kirby P., posted in Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is vivid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

I was looking for a place to get my hair done. I don’t know what I was getting done to it. A friend of a friend recommended someone. I thought, “okay cool”. The hair stylist was a young lady who lived in my city. It was a fairly large city. 

For some reason, I didn’t have a cell phone. Also, no one knew where the hair stylist lived and she was supposed to do my hair at her home. The problem was that she didn’t have a cell phone either. For almost a week, I wondered around the city looking for this hair stylist. Finally, I found a woman who said she was the hair stylist’s mother. She was going to give me clear instructions on how to get to the hair stylist apartment. 

I get to the building. It’s strange. There are no elevators and the stairs appear to be missing giant sections. To go between floors, I had to use the stairs present, and parkour my way around to the next set of stairs. It was like rock climbing meets gladiator meets random YouTube stunt video. Another problem was that I didn’t know which apartment was hers. In one of the floors, there was a man selling quick, easy finger food on a table. Think human vending machine. He had tables set up around him with chairs for people to sit. While I had stopped to see what kind of food the man had, I saw the hair stylist’s mother. She was leaving the apartment. I asked if their was an actual assortment number for her daughter. She told me 303. I was at 310. I continued to ascend looking for this apartment. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Sweet Dreams – Trees. And no borders. 

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

I was living somewhere more central in Africa. Maybe Rwanda.  I had come back from vacation in Kenya with friends when there was breaking news. There would be a stateless Africa. No more countries. No more borders. A political map of Africa would look much more like a topographical map. This wasn’t in ancient times. It was pretty modern. 

In order to make this work, there was a summit of all world leaders. It was like the United Nations, but presidents, prime ministers and monarchs sat around the table instead of ambassadors. The meeting was held in a top secret location. Hillary Clinton was there to represent the United States. She was the president. Because the meeting location was so secretive in the dense jungle, Air Force One wasn’t used. There was instead a modified sea plane that could also work on land. It was massive, and may have rivaled Air Force One in size. As we were leaving the world leader meeting, I noticed that Bill Clinton was there. He was walking just a few steps ahead of his girlfriend. It struck me as odd and admirable that Bill Clinton was carrying his own luggage. One of the other people told me about how he and Hillary had an open marriage. 

Before we were to take off, one of the plane’s staff suggested that we go for a hike to see the massive sequoia trees. Everyone agreed. The staff member leading the hike said that it was get very muddy and swampy. As we were hiking, I understood what that meant. My shoes and legs were covered in mud and other elements of Earth. The plane staff member said that it would just be a bit further and encouraged us to continue. We did. We were rewarded with the biggest tree many of us had ever seen. It was massive. Part of the inside had been cut out. The tree was part of a housing structure deep in the bush. We walked inside the housing structure and looked around. The part of the house that included the tree was the kitchen. A large part of the tree trunk was removed to add a dining room in the tree. There were even stairs in the tree that allowed you to go up in the tree trunk. 

As the Clintons and everyone else looked around, I wandered through the housing structure into a sunny room with an altar and various religious things in the wall. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Sweet Dreams – Surprise Me

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

I was living in some connected townhouses. Single story. There were several different blocks of townhouses on the compound. I’m not sure what everyone did, but we all worked for the same company. So I guess it was company housing. 

Some friends who didn’t work for the company came over to my house to celebrate. I think it was my birthday. We had a fairly large party at my house on the compound, but my house wasn’t big enough to sleep everyone who came. Apparently, this was an all weekend affair. Some of my colleagues in company housing were generous to offer their houses for my friends. 

The next day, I’m awake and walking around the housing compound in search of my friends. I find a few of the guys. We chill and talk. Later that morning, some of the girls find us. We continued chilling and talking. One of the girls says that she has a surprise for me. We get in her car and she drives around the city for a while. Eventually, we’re in a seemingly deserted part of the city. I vaguely recognize the place. We’re approaching either a US embassy or U.N. compound. There are several white cars parked around the grounds. My friend tells me that I’m going to like my surprise. I asked if it’s going to be better than my party. She said that it would be. 

Finally, we drive into a building. Think revolving door for cars where you check your car like you would check a coat. We get out of the car in the lobby. We get onto a very large, spacious freight elevator. I can tell that we are going down. We keep descending. How many underground floors does this building have? My friend tells me to close my eyes. I do, reluctantly. I don’t remember leaving the freight elevator. But, the elevator stopped moving and all of the scenery of the elevator changed. There was now a massive tv and I was sitting on some kind of couch. I asked my friend what was going on. She said that it was a surprise and that I’d just have to wait a few more moments. She turned on the tv and started playing a movie. I could tell by the music that it was in the Police Academy series. It was Police Academy 8. I was super happy and excited to watch it. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward.

Ever wonder what is Kirby doing? Follow the blog!

Sweet Dreams – Water Theme Park

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

​I was with one or two friends when we decided to visit a theme park. We were very excited to spend the day riding the rides and enjoying the water. This was mostly a water park. One of water slides was made completely of wooden boards. I’m not sure how anyone was able to slide down, but we did. 

The biggest attraction at the theme park was their really big pool. I thought it was the ocean. There were small boats and people sharing the space. My friends and I decided we would get a boat for activities. There was water skiing, tubing and other things. At some point, I think our boat is a little low in the water. I think we’re sinking. My friend who’s driving the boat says that there is nothing to worry about, so I stop worrying and continue with activities. While water skiing, I managed to fall down. At first, I was still holding on to the handle. Eventually, my grip loosened and I let go. In the midst of this, my swimming shorts came off and were nowhere to be found. I swam back to the boat, which was clearly sinking now. We managed to get back to the shore. I didn’t have any other clothes to put on, so I had to walk around naked. I decided that I should ride the wooden water slide one last time. I did. It was only slightly more painful without swimming shorts. 

As we were leaving, there were three theme park workers at the exit. They were selling college funds for babies, insurance for babies, and funeral services for babies. When I declined the college funds and insurance, one of the workers said that I really needed to look into the funeral services for babies. I told her that my wife would be mad at her for suggesting that our baby should die. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Ever wonder what is Kirby doing? Follow the blog!

Sweet Dreams – Shrimp and Cake

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

There was a seafood restaurant. They had shrimp. There was another seafood place that only had soft shell crab. But they had run out of soft shell crab. I ordered one, and they somehow managed to get it for me. I had to wait for the long bus ride home. 

A few days later, I found out that I would be moving to a house closer to the seafood places. I was excited. The house was similar to a college dorm suite with two people sharing a room on either side of an elaborate kitchen/dining room setup. I didn’t like my roommate because he walked around with a 25 liter jerry can that served as his personal urinal. We had multiple bathrooms in the house. 

Because I now lived closer to the seafood places, I would go there often. Maybe everyday. One day, I saw that they were supposed to have stuffed shrimp. Of course, they had run out by the time I got there. I had to order the regular shrimp. I went to another shop in the vicinity to order cake, but they didn’t have any red velvet cake left. I walked home slightly disappointed that I didn’t have stuffed shrimp and red velvet cake. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Ever wonder what is Kirby doing? Follow the blog!

Sweet Dreams – Waiting for POTUS

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

Somehow, the church that I grew up in was now a school as well. For some reason, I was back there. I think I was working in some capacity in the office. I was infamous for denying the students whatever they wanted. I was the “no” guy. 

There came a time when the pastor of the church/school announced that the President of the US would be visiting the church/school. There were no classes that day, but everyone still came to work because the president was coming. There was a grand entrance hall that had been cleared of everything, presumably by US Secret Service. There were two rooms, one on each side of the grand entrance hall. The church/school staff was in the room on the right. I was in that room. We were all waiting for the president to arrive. The doors to our room were open and we could see the grand entrance hall. 

All of a sudden, the Peace Corps Swaziland Safety and Security Manager comes in to advise us that the president is coming, and closes the doors as people are running up to the doors to get a glimpse of the president. Eventually, everyone makes it out into the grand entrance hall to form a receiving line. I’m on that receiving line on the right. A Secret Service agent is definitely standing beside me. My pastor, who may also be the headmaster now, comes up to me and tells me that I’m being assigned to the Secret Service as a liaison between the church/school and the president’s people. We start arguing about how that’s not what I want to do. He ends up giving me a special lapel pin and a communications radio, while I thought why don’t I get a gun like they do. 

Onward. 
Be kind to yourself. 

Ever wonder what is Kirby doing? Follow the blog!

Sweet Dreams – Grocery Store Go To Guy

by Kirby P., posted in Peace Corps Swaziland, Sweet Dreams

Because I am posted in a country where I might contract malaria, I have been given an antimalarial medication called, “Mefloquine”. One of the side effects of this medication is lucid dreaming. The following is what I dreamt last night (as best I can remember). 

​I was in a small town. It was possibly a college town. I had previously worked at a grocery store. I didn’t work there now, but still frequented the place because I knew it. 

I also was somehow affiliated with the local marching band. There had recently been a big festival or competition. I had said that it was my last one. That I wouldn’t be doing anymore after that. I wanted to focus on something else. Several of the new people in town were interested in the marching band/festival/camp. In fact, at the store, my friend Anna was the manager. She would refer people to me about their interest in the life. I think we had been to a festival together. I ended up serving as a bagger in the store just as I talked to people. I stopped coming around for a while. 

Anna was asking where I was. People had questions and I was still the guy to talk to. After some pressure from various places, I became a de facto section leader of this marching band festival camping experience. I couldn’t believe that I should be entrusted with such an honor. I still didn’t know how to read music. Eventually, I had new recruits before me. I was giving them their first pep talk. I was telling them that even simple words can be used to give powerful speeches. That they need to master the simple if they want to be great at this life. 

Be kind to yourself. 
Onward. 

Ever wonder what is Kirby doing? Follow the blog!