Tossing and turning to the left and to the right, first I’m hot and soon after I’m cold. My mind works 100 mph, but I can’t record any of it on paper for obvious reasons. I can’t turn he light one every few minutes and write down every ridiculous thing that comes into my head because I won’t fall asleep for hours. And in the morning, who can remember all those stupidities that my overly active imagination produced last night?

Do you ever dream you’re flying? This is one of my often reoccurring dreams, but in different contexts. I wouldn’t call it just average flying. I always fly to get out of impossible or dangerous situations (once I was hunted by a mad dog, then an enraged mass of people…). If I do fly, this flying of mine is nothing like that of Superman, with one or both outstretched arms, it’s more like swimming.

Flying would be one of the wishes I’d have if I ever came across a goldfish. This would be the answer to all my problems, one in particular... the tram crowds (haven’t mentioned those in a while!). I believe all of you also occasionally think about what it is you would wish for if you found that goldfish, or a ginie in a bottle, or some other fictional wish-fullfiller... What to wish for? Something for yourself, something for the world?

When you wish for something, can you elaborate on it or does it get fullfilled just as you said it?

For example: I wnt o be able to play every musical instrument! Does thi mean I’d also know how to read notes, or would I know every musical piece by heart, or do I need a second wish fr that? I could have worded this wish like this: I want to be able to play every piece of music on any instrument ever made... Enough with that wish. Now I find myself in a dilemma, or een a trilemma. Of course, we would all probably use one wish to insure some financial certainty for ourselves. Mine would go something like this... I wish that, whenever I need money, I can just stick my hand into my pocket and just pull out the neccessary amount. However, after a certain period, I’m sure I would cause inflation. Addition to wish: ...but not to cause inflation in the process (by crazed spending!).

As for the third wish: Whenever I touch a book, its content stays in my head; in order not to confuse the gold fish I’ll say I want to remember what’s written in the book. I would go into a library, spread my arms between the sheves and walk around. When I think about this some more, I realize it would be much easier to simply wish for all the knowledge in the world and problem solved. Still, something bothers me. Although it’s a natural human impulse to know as much as possible, I’m not sure I would want to know everything. That would mean nothing could surprise me (except perhaps gettig hit by a car or crashing into towers in an airplane), noone could argue with me. People would become very boring very quickly, and numerous institutions would fight over me to get me to come and solve their problems. With all that knowledge in only one person’s head some facts would surely be refuted and there would be some revolutionary discoveries. 

Anyways, back to my three wishes. By wishing for world knowledge, I don’t really need the other two mentioned wishes. I don’t need money, because I would be the winner of any quiz show, and there are numerous other ways to cash in my knowledge. Playing instruments is also part of world knowledge.

Let’s summarize: I can fly, I have the knowledge of the world and that leaves the third wish. What to wish for, you may wonder? Well, here are some ideas: breathing under water without any tools (but without growing gills); traveling to another planet, i.e. meeting an alien; time travel; a lead in a movie opposite Angelina Jolie; Angelina Jolie herself; ability of telekinesis… I forget  those unselfish wishes: world peace, end of hunger and various diseases…

I don’t really think about the goldfish so much, I know it can’t make your wishes come true… do you?

And at the very end… my Minesweeper record, expert level, is 185 seconds and I get better every day… You don’t play Minesweeper? Well, that’s your loss!