Idol Dream
Ok, maybe I've been too obsessed with American Idol lately, because last night I had a dream that I was ON American Idol. Yep.

You know how you dream something, and it resembles that something, but it's a little weird and dream-funked? That was the general feel of my dream. I played the role of myself. Somehow I managed to be a contestant in the final six or so. I couldn't tell exactly how many of our gang were still there, but I was part of the group.

For awhile, I was in the front row of the audience, watching someone perform. Not sure who it was. I noticed the couch was sitting out there on stage, with the not-currently-singing contestants hanging out there til it was their turn. This all seemed like normal show protocol to everyone.

Then suddenly I was supposed to go on next, and apparently I wasn't supposed to be sitting in the audience, because I wasn't ready to go on stage. I needed to go to the bathroom first. Some stage manager guy yelled at me, so I ran around the side of the stage, looking for the bathroom. But the stage manager said I didn't have time, so I had to sneak backstage and wait. I thought I was heading over to the stage couch to join my Idol friends, but they handed me a microphone and told me to sit backstage because I was on next.

Well, my perch on the stage behind the curtain happened to be right behind Trenyce, who was performing while sitting on a stool. I must have made a noise because she turned around to look at me, lost her balance, and fell backwards off the stool. Now that I'm awake, I'm sad this part was just a dream. Back to the dream, I just watched her topple off. She laughed and kept on singing. Apparently that was no big deal. She suavely incorporated it into her act. I guess because she's Super Suave Trenyce or something.

She finished her song, and suddenly it was my turn. I wandered out on stage with bright lights pointed right at me. I saw the judges looking at me from the front. No deal on figuring out who the mystery celebrity judge might have been in my Idol Dream. The crew on the couch was sitting and waiting for me to begin. Their faces were a blur, so I'm sorry, I can't consider my dream a premonition of who may be left after next week.

Then I realized I have no idea what song I'm supposed to sing. I decided to use Trenyce's stool, like it's part of my performance. So I dramatically sit and wait for the music to begin. I look into the audience and I see Kimberly Caldwell a few rows back, sitting all by herself, smiling hugely and frantically waving at me like I'm her best friend. I assure you I am not her best friend. That part of the dream was the weirdest part.

The first few notes play, and still, no idea what the song is. So I just start making up words, singing at the top of my lungs, with my eyes closed. So it looks passionate, I guess. If I remember correctly, in my dream-like state, the words I kept singing were, 'Why me? Whyyy-eeee-yyyyy meeeeeeee?' I know that sounds dumb, but it made total sense in my dream. It was a ballad.

A short ballad, apparently. I got through about two choruses of Why Me, and the song was over. I looked over at the Couch Crew, somewhat stunned that my thirteen seconds of fame was already over. They applauded like it was the best thing they'd ever heard. The judges were on their feet. I kept seeing Randy's face, so maybe he was the only judge that showed for the night.

Then the alarm went off this morning. Dream over.

The best part was that Carmen was nowhere to be found.

So, that's what I remembered as my dream. But the weird thing is that I received a call this morning from American Idol. Apparently I won the competition. My new single, Why Me, will be in stores in about a week.

C.T.