I'm singing with new friends--a band that's adopted me. Fun! But eventually the band draws the cops' attention--though I can't see why. Not too loud--done nothing illegal I can see. I suspect they're aliens and the cops are really the Men In Black.

My best friend among them, a chunky guy, gets surrounded on a third floor. He gives up his cover--summons alien help. A bright red helicopter comes and lands, scattering cops, or Men In Black... The chopper extrudes a robot arm and pries at a strange car... it pops open at last and my friend, in his true form, reluctantly emerges--a roly poly Michelin Man. Off he goes...

The cops disperse. I talk & snuggle up with the band's cute singer. She's alien too, but I don't care. I admit "My attraction to you is partly my body liking your body" which she chose just to pass as human on Earth; it may not resemble her real one much (though Michelin's did!)... "but partly I just like YOU." Playful, sunny, and loves to sing with me. What's NOT to like?

But later, as I walk around looking for my car in the Eichler Highlands where I spent my teens, the cops follow me. Unclear why, but definitely hounding me. One says "Your car has a ticket on it", but he won't tell me where my car is! I can't find it--look up and down the block.

Strange--the house across from ours where our best friends the Lees lived, has been painted black, and the blinds are all shut and blankets pinned up to trap more light--as if a wartime blackout.

I force my way in. Find what I expected. Another alien band. This one's led by a hot skinny blonde--it's Envy! Scott Pilgrim's childhood friend, then girlfriend, now a popstar... elegant lean selfish & mean. Instantly I know--she drew the cops' attention to me, swiped my car and parked it where it'd get a ticket. Envy always was a saboteur.

I unplug her mic, halt their rehearsal. Scold her and demand the keys to my car and payment for the ticket. "If you don't, I'm gonna hurt you." And mean it. Quite angry. As sexy as the other alien girl, but what a contrast in character. "Not that I need to shut you down; you'll do that to yourself!"

True. The cops are sniffing round the Highlands looking for her, not just because she left a trail of alienness for the Men In Black, but because her bandmates blocked the light but not the noise. They're a loud, loud band; pissed off all the neighbors! The cops have been slow to knock here because it looks like no one's home, they're looking for an obvious party... but it's inevitable.

Envy's sabotaged herself.

• Fat character gets fatter:
  1. Today I saw the Michelin Man on a billboard. Bulgy-eyed, bulgy-bellied...
  2. Later, at a party, I noticed a friend had gained weight. Not a Michelin bulge, but...
• Alien girl #1: She looked like my sister Miriel's old enemy Gretchen, who slandered her for two-three years. Trouble! And Gretchen was cute, with a sunny, attractive aura--because she was absolutely guiltless, felt entitled no matter who she hurt. Fooled me, and others, by fooling herself. I think the dream's warning me I read mood well, but character not so well. I can mistake happy for good. They're not the same!
• Alien girl #2: is from the Bryan Lee O'Malley Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. 'Envy' (her initials are N.V.) is Scott's ex. She has a decent side, but at core she's a pessimist; life's a zero-sum competition, I win you lose. She wants success and chose to be ruthless. Scott's wishy-washy, but he does seek win/win, happiness for all in his life. Just... ineptly. He's both nicer AND less mature! His task in the books is to face others honestly without overdoing the toughness like Envy.
• The ambiguity in both: suggests ending my own self-sabotage will take judgment and moderation. Clear, simple rules, I can enact; but subtlety's not my forte!
• Band, noise: today I practiced my songs for first time in days. When housemates came home, I instantly hushed. Dared not risk bothering them! I think my inner Envy, dedicated to greatness at any cost, got furious at my squeamishness.
• ACTION: Get loud! My new year's resolution was to sing daily NO MATTER WHO'S HOME--to get over this inhibition! And so far, I've mostly failed. Dream-Envy has a valid point! Meanness has pitfalls, but so does niceness. If I think my music's worth taking the space I need, take it. Don't just give Scott Pilgrim his due; Envy too.

  A little ruthlessness, please! And you, Dear Reader, may need to do the same.

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