#firsttimeshopper

So I saw a couple of posts and wanted to put my thoughts out for them.

1, as a person who had just left Christianity about 7 years ago, it was both troubling and difficult for me to step out and go shopping for books.  The first book I looked for was the Satanic Bible, just to rebel and to study.  I remember distinctly looking for it in Barnes and Noble, and how it took me 30 minutes to get up the courage to ask about it.  When I did, the lady was very nice, but someone had moved to the "Bibles" section of the store.  She was actually upset, because she knew several of their regulars would "be very upset by this."  But she never once even looked at me in an odd manner.  I still remember how it felt to be scared of being judged, and yet to not be judged.  

2.  I have, in the last year much more so, had dreams so real that I woke up "twice."  I woke up once in the dream to the world I was dreaming about, and then another to the real world, and have also woken up thinking it was the wrong day. I only note this because I have a pretty good internal clock.  During the school year, I'm up in plenty of time to get ready, adjust for traffic, get to work, and prep accordingly.  It takes about a week, during a vacation or the summer, to adjust back to the sleeping late and such.  So for me to wake up disoriented is extremely abnormal, just because of my mental acuity.