MORNING OF DECEMBER 28, 2009
For some reason my boss at work told me to order some movie series so we could take footage from it and use for something (legal issues never came to mind in the dream). The movie series in question was fictional, but was supposed to be one of those corny slasher movie franchises.
I remember receiving the movies in the mail. There were about five slipcases, each filled with several of the movies. Upon closer inspection, I realized that each slipcase actually contained books, not DVDs (apparently the books the movies had been based on)!
For some reason all of this was taking place inside some random house, late at night. There were hardly any lights on in the place, so it was dark, but there was a bonfire in the middle of the living room.
For some reason someone gave me a plush Joker doll. It was based on the version of the Joker from the 90's "Batman" animated series. The doll was about two feet tall and recited several phrases in the Joker's voice. After hearing one particular phrase, I yelled at it like Batman, punched it, and threw it into the bonfire in the living room.
I watched it burn up, wondering why I had done that. Then I began to visually examine other items on the bonfire, which I could see in great detail, but can't remember all of them now.
I noticed a small child, just a toddler, was sleeping near the fire and was alarmed.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Holding Cell
MORNING OF DECEMBER 27, 2009
I remember there was a large room with some sort of large, freestanding cage or holding cell in the center of it. Apart from that, the room was fairly drab and empty. I remember leading a small group of people into the cage and locking them in.
Remaining in the same room, I had to take a couple of pills. I think they were vitamins. After putting them in my mouth I realized I had no liquid to wash them down with, and I couldn't swallow them dry. They were beginning to dissolve and I could taste the nasty flavor. I think I began asking the prisoners if they had any water.
There was some other, different dream in which I was a fan of a particular, fictional Flash cartoon on the internet. It was very much like the actual Homestar Runner site. I was out in a park of some sort one day and saw a little statue of one of the characters from the fictional cartoon. I wanted to contact the creator and ask him how he'd had that made.
I remember there was a large room with some sort of large, freestanding cage or holding cell in the center of it. Apart from that, the room was fairly drab and empty. I remember leading a small group of people into the cage and locking them in.
Remaining in the same room, I had to take a couple of pills. I think they were vitamins. After putting them in my mouth I realized I had no liquid to wash them down with, and I couldn't swallow them dry. They were beginning to dissolve and I could taste the nasty flavor. I think I began asking the prisoners if they had any water.
There was some other, different dream in which I was a fan of a particular, fictional Flash cartoon on the internet. It was very much like the actual Homestar Runner site. I was out in a park of some sort one day and saw a little statue of one of the characters from the fictional cartoon. I wanted to contact the creator and ask him how he'd had that made.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Empty Locker
MORNING OF DECEMBER 25, 2009
I was in school again, and it looked more or less like high school. I was in the hall talking to friends or something (I don't have really clear memories of the first portion of the dream), and then it the bell rang and I had to rush to get to class on time.
When I arrived in the classroom, just in the nick of time, I realized I hadn't brought any books with me. The teacher wasn't in the room yet, so I thought maybe I still had time. I ran down the hall to my locker, only to find it empty of any books whatsoever! The only items populating the locker were a pencil case, and old notebook of some kind, and a fake plastic cell phone filled with candy (it looked like an iPhone).
Beside the lockers, there was a convenient stash of "extra" text books of all kinds. I grabbed an extra English book, the one I needed, and ran back to the class, which had by now already begun session.
The teacher, who looked like one of my high school math teachers, reprimanded me for being late and for not having my own book on hand. Somewhere around this point I begin to lose memory.
I was in school again, and it looked more or less like high school. I was in the hall talking to friends or something (I don't have really clear memories of the first portion of the dream), and then it the bell rang and I had to rush to get to class on time.
When I arrived in the classroom, just in the nick of time, I realized I hadn't brought any books with me. The teacher wasn't in the room yet, so I thought maybe I still had time. I ran down the hall to my locker, only to find it empty of any books whatsoever! The only items populating the locker were a pencil case, and old notebook of some kind, and a fake plastic cell phone filled with candy (it looked like an iPhone).
Beside the lockers, there was a convenient stash of "extra" text books of all kinds. I grabbed an extra English book, the one I needed, and ran back to the class, which had by now already begun session.
The teacher, who looked like one of my high school math teachers, reprimanded me for being late and for not having my own book on hand. Somewhere around this point I begin to lose memory.
The Big, Black Dog
MORNING OF DECEMBER 18, 2009
Rather than a full-fledged dream, this was one of those "visions" you have when floating in that area between waking and falling asleep:
I was walking on a piece of property, a huge lawn, near a church. There was a busy highway to the side. On the shoulder of that road, a large, black dog was rooting through some trash. I was terrified that the dog would be hit by one of the many passing cars, so I got its attention and called it over to me.
The dog ambled over, amiably enough. I began to pet it. Suddenly, some small breed of little "yip-yip" dog came running up out of nowhere. I braced myself, not knowing how the two dogs would interact.
When I reached down to pet the newly arrived dog, the big dog suddenly bit my hand, waking me.
Rather than a full-fledged dream, this was one of those "visions" you have when floating in that area between waking and falling asleep:
I was walking on a piece of property, a huge lawn, near a church. There was a busy highway to the side. On the shoulder of that road, a large, black dog was rooting through some trash. I was terrified that the dog would be hit by one of the many passing cars, so I got its attention and called it over to me.
The dog ambled over, amiably enough. I began to pet it. Suddenly, some small breed of little "yip-yip" dog came running up out of nowhere. I braced myself, not knowing how the two dogs would interact.
When I reached down to pet the newly arrived dog, the big dog suddenly bit my hand, waking me.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Counterfeit Songwriting
MORNING OF DECEMBER 14, 2009
I can't remember the full "story" of the dream (though I know there was one), but the one part I do remember fairly vividly is that I was writing a song. I have no musical gifting whatsoever in reality, but in the dream I had written a full song by myself. There were lyrics, melody--everything. I could clearly hear in my head how the finished product was meant to sound as I wrote the words on the paper. I was trying to explain how it would all sound to my friend Eric, who actually is musical.
Upon waking I could no longer remember what the words were, or exactly what the tune was. Chances are the lyrics were gobbledygook, and the music was probably lifted from some actual preexisting song in my subconscious. But it still felt weird to dream so vividly of doing something I have no actual inkling for.
I can't remember the full "story" of the dream (though I know there was one), but the one part I do remember fairly vividly is that I was writing a song. I have no musical gifting whatsoever in reality, but in the dream I had written a full song by myself. There were lyrics, melody--everything. I could clearly hear in my head how the finished product was meant to sound as I wrote the words on the paper. I was trying to explain how it would all sound to my friend Eric, who actually is musical.
Upon waking I could no longer remember what the words were, or exactly what the tune was. Chances are the lyrics were gobbledygook, and the music was probably lifted from some actual preexisting song in my subconscious. But it still felt weird to dream so vividly of doing something I have no actual inkling for.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Love Gone Wrong on Escalators
MORNING OF DECEMBER 10, 2009
I was in the studio at work and we were preparing to film something, only I was mostly with friends and fictional people as opposed to coworkers. In the center of the studio were two sets of escalator stairs, one going up and the other coming down. They were both freestanding, with no actual destination at the top. Just props.
There was a random series of music playing in the background. All of the songs were about breakups, or love gone wrong, etc. I'm sure most of the songs were just the fictional garble of dreams, but one of them was most definitely "Twisting" by They Might Be Giants. I remember hearing the opening music and some of the lyrics of it.
As these breakup songs played, the working escalators were covered in bouquets of beautiful roses and other flower arrangements. The escalator going up had fresh arrangements, while the escalator coming down had wilted and dead arrangements. I actually found this to be an excellent visual for the love-gone-wrong stuff.
Then I was sitting with a group of people somewhere else in the room while the music played. Some presumably fictional song was playing, and this guy told me that he'd actually seen the girl who sang the song play in concert years ago when she was popular. He said the concert had actually been at the artists' own pool at her home. But he explained that in was an indoor pool, in the middle of a huge restroom facility. Not only that, but food was also being served there.
One girl in our group proclaimed how gross it was that they were serving food in a place that was also used as a restroom. I announced that it must have been a "rest-urant". The girl actually laughed at this horrible, horrible attempt at a pun, and I woke up.
I was in the studio at work and we were preparing to film something, only I was mostly with friends and fictional people as opposed to coworkers. In the center of the studio were two sets of escalator stairs, one going up and the other coming down. They were both freestanding, with no actual destination at the top. Just props.
There was a random series of music playing in the background. All of the songs were about breakups, or love gone wrong, etc. I'm sure most of the songs were just the fictional garble of dreams, but one of them was most definitely "Twisting" by They Might Be Giants. I remember hearing the opening music and some of the lyrics of it.
As these breakup songs played, the working escalators were covered in bouquets of beautiful roses and other flower arrangements. The escalator going up had fresh arrangements, while the escalator coming down had wilted and dead arrangements. I actually found this to be an excellent visual for the love-gone-wrong stuff.
Then I was sitting with a group of people somewhere else in the room while the music played. Some presumably fictional song was playing, and this guy told me that he'd actually seen the girl who sang the song play in concert years ago when she was popular. He said the concert had actually been at the artists' own pool at her home. But he explained that in was an indoor pool, in the middle of a huge restroom facility. Not only that, but food was also being served there.
One girl in our group proclaimed how gross it was that they were serving food in a place that was also used as a restroom. I announced that it must have been a "rest-urant". The girl actually laughed at this horrible, horrible attempt at a pun, and I woke up.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
That Other World with the Photo Albums
MORNING OF DECEMBER 8, 2009
This is the second of two dreams from this morning. The first is contained in a separate post...
Within my dream, I had a dream or a vision of standing in a darkened forest. Suddenly, in the night sky, I saw a hail of meteors (or some type of flaming, heavenly projectile) falling towards the earth. The began striking the ground and the trees all around me. I ran through the resulting fire and debris, narrowly missing being struck and every turn.
Then suddenly I was in what looked like the living room at my grandmother's house. Among several people gathered there were my friends Courtney and Brandon. They were showing me some art books they'd recently obtained. Some of them had production art from various anime. One of them had production art from some sort of Tim Burton movie.
My mom was also among the people gathered here. She began telling me about a dream or vision she remembered having years ago. As she told about it, I could see it depicted clearly, like a movie...
She said she'd been standing on a big empty road where many vehicles, from cars to eighteen wheelers, were parked at a standstill. Suddenly the earth began to shake and the various automobiles began to flip wildly in the air, spinning and turning before crashing back down to earth. It was a terrifying scene as I witnessed it in my mind.
After she told her story, I told her of the vivid meteor vision I'd had. Suddenly, we somehow figured out that these "dreams" were so vivid because they were glimpses into another reality, and there was a way to get there, through random portals that would appear in our world (probably this part of the dream came about because I'd been watching the SyFy Network's original, Alice movie, retelling Alice in Wonderland stories with a sci-fi twist, before bed).
The next thing I know, I was walking down a city street. The city looked like a big, major metropolis, though the streets in the area I was in were fairly sparsely populated. Suddenly I became aware that one of the portals to this other world had opened up. It looked like a spot of clear, rippling water in the middle of the air.
My friend Melissa was nearby, and I got her attention to tell her about the portal that I was so excited to have found. Without thinking, the two of us jumped through it. I briefly rememeber a sensation of "falling" through a blur of rushing winds.
Then the two of us were seated in a very small and very cluttered room. Stacks and stacks of books and papers were everywhere, some on shelves and others just piled up in the floor. Only now did we stop to realize that once you entered one of these portals, you might never be able to return to the "real" world. We began to discuss all the many people and things were were going to miss, but we were oddly calm.
Among all the books and papers in the room were some small photo albums. They were the little kind; the sort that holds only one picture per page, and every page was empty.
Somehow we understood that, in this alternate world, if you touched one of the pages and focused on memories, a photograph of such would appear on the page. We decided that we should start creating photographs of our loved ones back home now while they were still fresh on our minds, so at least we'd have their pictures if we never returned.
I took a page in my hands and thought hard. I was trying to start with my parents, but suddenly the page materialzed with a picture of me with my cousins Stephen and Matt. It looked to be from several years back. We were standing outside my grandmother's house and for some reason we were wearing fake beards. I actually "remembered" this fictional scene when I saw it in the dream and felt very nostalgic.
I flipped the page and tried again to create a picture with my parents. Closing my eyes, I began to recall a family portrait of us...I could feel power going through my hands into the page of the photo album. As the power generated, I suddenly became short of breath. It felt like jumping chest-deep into cold water. Opening my eyes, I could see crude shapes forming on the photo-page, but it seemed to be taking so much power...
I actually work myself up with the short-of-breath feeling.
This is the second of two dreams from this morning. The first is contained in a separate post...
Within my dream, I had a dream or a vision of standing in a darkened forest. Suddenly, in the night sky, I saw a hail of meteors (or some type of flaming, heavenly projectile) falling towards the earth. The began striking the ground and the trees all around me. I ran through the resulting fire and debris, narrowly missing being struck and every turn.
Then suddenly I was in what looked like the living room at my grandmother's house. Among several people gathered there were my friends Courtney and Brandon. They were showing me some art books they'd recently obtained. Some of them had production art from various anime. One of them had production art from some sort of Tim Burton movie.
My mom was also among the people gathered here. She began telling me about a dream or vision she remembered having years ago. As she told about it, I could see it depicted clearly, like a movie...
She said she'd been standing on a big empty road where many vehicles, from cars to eighteen wheelers, were parked at a standstill. Suddenly the earth began to shake and the various automobiles began to flip wildly in the air, spinning and turning before crashing back down to earth. It was a terrifying scene as I witnessed it in my mind.
After she told her story, I told her of the vivid meteor vision I'd had. Suddenly, we somehow figured out that these "dreams" were so vivid because they were glimpses into another reality, and there was a way to get there, through random portals that would appear in our world (probably this part of the dream came about because I'd been watching the SyFy Network's original, Alice movie, retelling Alice in Wonderland stories with a sci-fi twist, before bed).
The next thing I know, I was walking down a city street. The city looked like a big, major metropolis, though the streets in the area I was in were fairly sparsely populated. Suddenly I became aware that one of the portals to this other world had opened up. It looked like a spot of clear, rippling water in the middle of the air.
My friend Melissa was nearby, and I got her attention to tell her about the portal that I was so excited to have found. Without thinking, the two of us jumped through it. I briefly rememeber a sensation of "falling" through a blur of rushing winds.
Then the two of us were seated in a very small and very cluttered room. Stacks and stacks of books and papers were everywhere, some on shelves and others just piled up in the floor. Only now did we stop to realize that once you entered one of these portals, you might never be able to return to the "real" world. We began to discuss all the many people and things were were going to miss, but we were oddly calm.
Among all the books and papers in the room were some small photo albums. They were the little kind; the sort that holds only one picture per page, and every page was empty.
Somehow we understood that, in this alternate world, if you touched one of the pages and focused on memories, a photograph of such would appear on the page. We decided that we should start creating photographs of our loved ones back home now while they were still fresh on our minds, so at least we'd have their pictures if we never returned.
I took a page in my hands and thought hard. I was trying to start with my parents, but suddenly the page materialzed with a picture of me with my cousins Stephen and Matt. It looked to be from several years back. We were standing outside my grandmother's house and for some reason we were wearing fake beards. I actually "remembered" this fictional scene when I saw it in the dream and felt very nostalgic.
I flipped the page and tried again to create a picture with my parents. Closing my eyes, I began to recall a family portrait of us...I could feel power going through my hands into the page of the photo album. As the power generated, I suddenly became short of breath. It felt like jumping chest-deep into cold water. Opening my eyes, I could see crude shapes forming on the photo-page, but it seemed to be taking so much power...
I actually work myself up with the short-of-breath feeling.
A Foul Concoction
MORNING OF DECEMBER 8, 2009
This is the first of two dreams I remember from this night. The second is posted separately...
My first memory is that I was at what looked to be some sort of beach side cafe with outdoor dining. It was a beautiful day and I somehow ended up talking to a young couple about my age. I didn't much care for them, getting the vibe that they were sort of the shallow and superficial sort--at least they looked and acted the part.
There was a drink bar and somehow the three of us ended up seated at it. The couple ordered drinks, including one for me. I tried to tell them that I don't drink, but they ordered something anyway. The bartender was a cute girl, and she handed me the beverage, which looked like a clear, waxy substance with all sorts of colored herbs or something in it. Not very appetizing, to say the least.
The bar girl silently and covertly signaled to me that I shouldn't drink the drink. I didn't intend to drink it anyway, but was curious as to what this girl knew that made her feel like she should caution me. My curiosity finally made me take a tiny sip of the drink, and it was nasty. It tasted like cough syrup laced with jalapeno sauce. Even the tiny taste I'd taken made me want to vomit. When I was certain the couple who ordered it for me weren't looking, I poured it all out.
Then, suddenly, it's as if I'm watching this all as a movie, and the whole scene I'd just "experienced" was actually just a memory of this man in the movie. He was now middle-aged and was talking to his wife about the event. He lamented openly to his wife that he didn't ever ask out the cute girl at the bar who'd warned him of the drink. I think he was played by Seth Rogen, even though this character was middle aged.
This is the first of two dreams I remember from this night. The second is posted separately...
My first memory is that I was at what looked to be some sort of beach side cafe with outdoor dining. It was a beautiful day and I somehow ended up talking to a young couple about my age. I didn't much care for them, getting the vibe that they were sort of the shallow and superficial sort--at least they looked and acted the part.
There was a drink bar and somehow the three of us ended up seated at it. The couple ordered drinks, including one for me. I tried to tell them that I don't drink, but they ordered something anyway. The bartender was a cute girl, and she handed me the beverage, which looked like a clear, waxy substance with all sorts of colored herbs or something in it. Not very appetizing, to say the least.
The bar girl silently and covertly signaled to me that I shouldn't drink the drink. I didn't intend to drink it anyway, but was curious as to what this girl knew that made her feel like she should caution me. My curiosity finally made me take a tiny sip of the drink, and it was nasty. It tasted like cough syrup laced with jalapeno sauce. Even the tiny taste I'd taken made me want to vomit. When I was certain the couple who ordered it for me weren't looking, I poured it all out.
Then, suddenly, it's as if I'm watching this all as a movie, and the whole scene I'd just "experienced" was actually just a memory of this man in the movie. He was now middle-aged and was talking to his wife about the event. He lamented openly to his wife that he didn't ever ask out the cute girl at the bar who'd warned him of the drink. I think he was played by Seth Rogen, even though this character was middle aged.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Mario Game Becomes Reality
MORNING OF DECEMBER 4, 2009
A small group of friends and I were staying together in a large house. Basically it felt as though we were on some sort of vacation, and were rooming here as opposed to a hotel or something. Some of us were playing a "Mario" video game of some sort (I imagine it was fictional, though probably inspired in my head by recent commercials and such for the new Super Mario Bros. game on the Wii).
I departed the room where the games were being played and walked into one of the bedrooms. A girl was standing beside one of the beds, folding items from a load of laundry that was piled up on top of it. The girl looked to me sort of like a real life version of Princess Peach, but in normal clothes as opposed to the fluffy princess garb.
Never ceasing her laundry folding, "Peach" proceeded to explain to me how this whole house was the real version of the Mario game they were playing on the TV in the other room. She told me there were "sides", and I could choose my friends side or I could choose her side. If I did not choose her side, I'd have to fight her right now, but if I did, she'd help me fight my friends, assuring me she had the power to guarantee her victory in either case. (This all had a very non-threatening feel to it--I knew it was just part of a game somehow).
I was tempted to join forces with "Peach", but I got the vibe that her side was the wrong side, so I refused. She got angry, the clothes she was wearing all turned black, and the whole bedroom began to change in appearance as to indicate that I had entered some video game level in which we were about to do combat.
Dreams like this are especially odd when one considers how very seldom I play actual video games. I guess I'm just that thoroughly steeped in nerd culture. Or have some untapped need to play more video games.
A small group of friends and I were staying together in a large house. Basically it felt as though we were on some sort of vacation, and were rooming here as opposed to a hotel or something. Some of us were playing a "Mario" video game of some sort (I imagine it was fictional, though probably inspired in my head by recent commercials and such for the new Super Mario Bros. game on the Wii).
I departed the room where the games were being played and walked into one of the bedrooms. A girl was standing beside one of the beds, folding items from a load of laundry that was piled up on top of it. The girl looked to me sort of like a real life version of Princess Peach, but in normal clothes as opposed to the fluffy princess garb.
Never ceasing her laundry folding, "Peach" proceeded to explain to me how this whole house was the real version of the Mario game they were playing on the TV in the other room. She told me there were "sides", and I could choose my friends side or I could choose her side. If I did not choose her side, I'd have to fight her right now, but if I did, she'd help me fight my friends, assuring me she had the power to guarantee her victory in either case. (This all had a very non-threatening feel to it--I knew it was just part of a game somehow).
I was tempted to join forces with "Peach", but I got the vibe that her side was the wrong side, so I refused. She got angry, the clothes she was wearing all turned black, and the whole bedroom began to change in appearance as to indicate that I had entered some video game level in which we were about to do combat.
Dreams like this are especially odd when one considers how very seldom I play actual video games. I guess I'm just that thoroughly steeped in nerd culture. Or have some untapped need to play more video games.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
A Fool's Errand
MORNING OF DECEMBER 1, 2009
A group of friends and I had gone to see the touring Broadway show, Avenue Q. Though I've seen the show in real life with friends, the friends in my dream were mostly ones who haven't actually seen the show yet. I vaguely remember watching a portion of the show, and then it stopped for intermission.
I got a call on my cell phone and realized I had to go take care of something (I don't recall what). I can remember explaining to my friends what was happening as we stood out in the parking lot of the auditorium. For some reason my vehicle in the dream was a pickup truck, which I used to drive "all the way back home", which, in the dream, I pictured as being about the same length drive as my daily commute to work (a half hour or so).
I was back in my apartment, sitting in the kitchen floor, compiling some sort of papers or something, which I guess is the task I had been called to do during intermission. Somehow I ended up sweeping up a pile of scraps and trash that were in the floor, trying to shape them into a sculpture, and photographing it.
Suddenly it occurred to me that the intermission to the show would only have been about 10 or 15 minutes, so I had totally missed the rest of it. I even consciously realized in the dream that the "thirty minute" drive I had made to get home was in itself too long for me to have logically attempted it to begin with. I began to wish I had postponed this errand until after the event.
A group of friends and I had gone to see the touring Broadway show, Avenue Q. Though I've seen the show in real life with friends, the friends in my dream were mostly ones who haven't actually seen the show yet. I vaguely remember watching a portion of the show, and then it stopped for intermission.
I got a call on my cell phone and realized I had to go take care of something (I don't recall what). I can remember explaining to my friends what was happening as we stood out in the parking lot of the auditorium. For some reason my vehicle in the dream was a pickup truck, which I used to drive "all the way back home", which, in the dream, I pictured as being about the same length drive as my daily commute to work (a half hour or so).
I was back in my apartment, sitting in the kitchen floor, compiling some sort of papers or something, which I guess is the task I had been called to do during intermission. Somehow I ended up sweeping up a pile of scraps and trash that were in the floor, trying to shape them into a sculpture, and photographing it.
Suddenly it occurred to me that the intermission to the show would only have been about 10 or 15 minutes, so I had totally missed the rest of it. I even consciously realized in the dream that the "thirty minute" drive I had made to get home was in itself too long for me to have logically attempted it to begin with. I began to wish I had postponed this errand until after the event.
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Leftover Pizza
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 28, 2009
First I remember there was a local morning newscast, and actress Amy Adams was one o the anchors (I actually think she may have been the meteorologist, but I'm not certain). I became a huge fan of this newscast, and tried to never miss one.
Then I recall leaving work one day and I was carrying some leftover slices of pizza with me. The pizza needed to be refrigerated, but I had to make a quick stop by the mall before I could go home and take care of that.
Instead of going to the actual mall, I went to the the nature/walking trail located just behind the mall. I sometimes go here in real life for walks, and I guess that's what I did in the dream, though my memories are vague. I do know that, while in this area, I briefly talked with some fairly goth looking girl. She was friendly and cute, but I wrote her off as too young.
Upon leaving the walking trail, I saw my friends Richard and Jessica in the mall parking lot. They said they were going to see a movie, and asked me to join them. I decided I would. Sitting inside the darkened theater, I realized my leftover pizza was going to ruin sitting out in my car all this time. Then it occured to me to ask Richard and Jessica who they got to babysit their daughter, Cailey, while they were out, and the explained that no one was watching her; they'd just left her locked in the car!
In the wonder of dream logic, we then went out to the car and it was as if we'd been in the theater for the length of an entire movie. Cailey was screaming and hysterical in the backseat (forget the fact that she's five and should have no problem getting herself out of a locked car). I remember Jessica trying to comfort her.
I left Richard and Jessica and passed by that goth-ish girl from before. I spoke to her and this time she ingnored me and was very rude, which was a disappointing about-face from her previously gregarious behavior.
First I remember there was a local morning newscast, and actress Amy Adams was one o the anchors (I actually think she may have been the meteorologist, but I'm not certain). I became a huge fan of this newscast, and tried to never miss one.
Then I recall leaving work one day and I was carrying some leftover slices of pizza with me. The pizza needed to be refrigerated, but I had to make a quick stop by the mall before I could go home and take care of that.
Instead of going to the actual mall, I went to the the nature/walking trail located just behind the mall. I sometimes go here in real life for walks, and I guess that's what I did in the dream, though my memories are vague. I do know that, while in this area, I briefly talked with some fairly goth looking girl. She was friendly and cute, but I wrote her off as too young.
Upon leaving the walking trail, I saw my friends Richard and Jessica in the mall parking lot. They said they were going to see a movie, and asked me to join them. I decided I would. Sitting inside the darkened theater, I realized my leftover pizza was going to ruin sitting out in my car all this time. Then it occured to me to ask Richard and Jessica who they got to babysit their daughter, Cailey, while they were out, and the explained that no one was watching her; they'd just left her locked in the car!
In the wonder of dream logic, we then went out to the car and it was as if we'd been in the theater for the length of an entire movie. Cailey was screaming and hysterical in the backseat (forget the fact that she's five and should have no problem getting herself out of a locked car). I remember Jessica trying to comfort her.
I left Richard and Jessica and passed by that goth-ish girl from before. I spoke to her and this time she ingnored me and was very rude, which was a disappointing about-face from her previously gregarious behavior.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tombstones and Flamingos
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 27, 2009
I was in a car with Richard and we drove through an old, historic cemetery. We got out of the car and walked around a bit. It was an eerily beautiful place. Scores of ornate, timeworn tombstones and statues as far as you could see. As an added touch of ambiance, it happened to be a foggy day. I commented to Richard that I wished I had my camera, as this place would doubtless provide some great pictures. He chided me for being "too morbid".
Next I remember visiting an old country church. It was very small and quaint. They had set up a projector in the sanctuary and showed a movie. It was a computer animated movie that was supposedly based on a Japanese young adult novel I read earlier this year, Brave Story (what I was seeing in the dream actually had nothing to do with the book). I remember one of the main characters in the movie was a pink flamingo.
After the movie I went through the front foyer in order to exit the church, and was surprised that they were handing out calendars featuring pin-up art from the 40's and 50's. I recognized some Elvgrens among the selection.
Then I saw a girl I supposedly knew, though she was actually fictional. The two of us decided to go to a nearby place where they were filming a scene from the movie we'd just watched (the fact that the movie was animated and had apparently already been produced never factored into the equation here).
There was an old wooden boardwalk extending from the church into some darkened woods. This is the path we took to find our location. At one point the boardwalk stretched over a body of water, and it was here that we came upon a little shack built on a pier. It looked like a cafeteria and they were serving tacos and hot dogs.
My last memory is there was a young girl, maybe nine or ten years of age, and several people, myself included, were simultaneously spraying her with silly string.
I was in a car with Richard and we drove through an old, historic cemetery. We got out of the car and walked around a bit. It was an eerily beautiful place. Scores of ornate, timeworn tombstones and statues as far as you could see. As an added touch of ambiance, it happened to be a foggy day. I commented to Richard that I wished I had my camera, as this place would doubtless provide some great pictures. He chided me for being "too morbid".
Next I remember visiting an old country church. It was very small and quaint. They had set up a projector in the sanctuary and showed a movie. It was a computer animated movie that was supposedly based on a Japanese young adult novel I read earlier this year, Brave Story (what I was seeing in the dream actually had nothing to do with the book). I remember one of the main characters in the movie was a pink flamingo.
After the movie I went through the front foyer in order to exit the church, and was surprised that they were handing out calendars featuring pin-up art from the 40's and 50's. I recognized some Elvgrens among the selection.
Then I saw a girl I supposedly knew, though she was actually fictional. The two of us decided to go to a nearby place where they were filming a scene from the movie we'd just watched (the fact that the movie was animated and had apparently already been produced never factored into the equation here).
There was an old wooden boardwalk extending from the church into some darkened woods. This is the path we took to find our location. At one point the boardwalk stretched over a body of water, and it was here that we came upon a little shack built on a pier. It looked like a cafeteria and they were serving tacos and hot dogs.
My last memory is there was a young girl, maybe nine or ten years of age, and several people, myself included, were simultaneously spraying her with silly string.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Earth in the Sky
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 25, 2009
I had just arrived home from somewhere, though I lived in a fictional apartment complex. It was late afternoon, just heading into evening. Standing in the parking lot, I could see the dim outline of the moon already showing in the pale blue sky. Then I noticed that, a little beyond the moon, you could also see the earth in the sky!
I could not fathom how you could see the earth from the earth! It was a freaky sight, if not quite as reality-altering and mind-blowing as such a sight would really be. I immediately dug my camera out of my car to take pictures. About this same time, a neighbor, who happened to be Ellen DeGeneres, approached me, and I pointed the earth out to her.
We stood and discussed the oddity of it as I took pictures. She swore she'd seen such phenomena before. Even as I was snapping photos, the earth seemed to grow larger. While it had started out about equal with the moon in appearance, it was now several times larger in the sky. You could see all of the details of it, just like in the real life pictures from space. It was incredibly surreal.
There was one other part of a dream where I knew I was supposed to meet some friends for dinner, and I was trying to decide which T-shirt to put on. I hit a large stash of tees in my closet that I had "forgotten" that I had (but that were, of course, fictional). There was an Optimus Prime shirt from the 80's Transformers cartoon. There were several Batman-related shirts, including two different purple ones with the Joker on them. I selected a red T-shirt with a 60's-style Batman and Robin on it, and can't really remember exactly what happened next.
I had just arrived home from somewhere, though I lived in a fictional apartment complex. It was late afternoon, just heading into evening. Standing in the parking lot, I could see the dim outline of the moon already showing in the pale blue sky. Then I noticed that, a little beyond the moon, you could also see the earth in the sky!
I could not fathom how you could see the earth from the earth! It was a freaky sight, if not quite as reality-altering and mind-blowing as such a sight would really be. I immediately dug my camera out of my car to take pictures. About this same time, a neighbor, who happened to be Ellen DeGeneres, approached me, and I pointed the earth out to her.
We stood and discussed the oddity of it as I took pictures. She swore she'd seen such phenomena before. Even as I was snapping photos, the earth seemed to grow larger. While it had started out about equal with the moon in appearance, it was now several times larger in the sky. You could see all of the details of it, just like in the real life pictures from space. It was incredibly surreal.
There was one other part of a dream where I knew I was supposed to meet some friends for dinner, and I was trying to decide which T-shirt to put on. I hit a large stash of tees in my closet that I had "forgotten" that I had (but that were, of course, fictional). There was an Optimus Prime shirt from the 80's Transformers cartoon. There were several Batman-related shirts, including two different purple ones with the Joker on them. I selected a red T-shirt with a 60's-style Batman and Robin on it, and can't really remember exactly what happened next.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Bottoms, Bedrooms and Balloons.
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 21, 2009
First I remember going out with a girl, presumably on a date. She was a fictional dream character and was a particularly unattractive girl. One detracting feature, however, stood out above all others Her butt was rather large--not in a positive, "Sir Mix-A-Lot" kind of way, but in a laws-of-physics-defying kind of way. The girl was short and of a fairly average weight, but when she stood upright, her bottom literally jutted out about a foot-and-a-half from her body. Gravity seemed to have no effect, as it just stood firmly, parallel to the ground, like some sort of fleshy diving board. It was an unsettling site, to say the least.
Next, I dreamed that I woke up. I was lying in a canopy bed, complete with curtains (though those were drawn back). The early morning light was filling the room, which had a theme of entirely yellow. Even the bedding was all shades of yellow. While lying in this bed, I received a call from my great grandmother. In reality she passed away a couple of years ago, right around this time of year, though that didn't occur to me in the dream. The only part of the brief and awkward phone conversation I recall clearly is her saying I needed to come visit her soon, and I felt guilty.
Finally, in the last bit of dream memories from the evening/morning, is watching some sort of nighttime concert. The stage was fairly small, and the seating was comprised of a fairly small section of stadium-style seats directly in front of the stage. A band was performing, possibly They Might Be Giants. I seemed to be viewing the event from the outside, almost as if watching it on TV, rather than being there in attendance.
Suddenly there was an intermission, and two guys who were were supposed to be the British comedy duo, The Mighty Boosh, appeared. They were in some sort of outlandish costumes that rendered them unrecognizable beneath. They were towing in some sort of large cannon, only it looked incredibly phallic (moreso than the average cannon).
They aimed the cannon at the audience, and at this time several balloons began floating down the aisles between the seats. The balloons each looked sort of like a ghost--indeed they looked a lot like the "Boo" character from various ones of Nintendo's "Mario" games.
The Mighty Boosh began firing the cannon at the balloons, which launched some sort of projectile that popped each one. Their aim was spot on in every case, and watching the destruction of the balloons is my final memory.
First I remember going out with a girl, presumably on a date. She was a fictional dream character and was a particularly unattractive girl. One detracting feature, however, stood out above all others Her butt was rather large--not in a positive, "Sir Mix-A-Lot" kind of way, but in a laws-of-physics-defying kind of way. The girl was short and of a fairly average weight, but when she stood upright, her bottom literally jutted out about a foot-and-a-half from her body. Gravity seemed to have no effect, as it just stood firmly, parallel to the ground, like some sort of fleshy diving board. It was an unsettling site, to say the least.
Next, I dreamed that I woke up. I was lying in a canopy bed, complete with curtains (though those were drawn back). The early morning light was filling the room, which had a theme of entirely yellow. Even the bedding was all shades of yellow. While lying in this bed, I received a call from my great grandmother. In reality she passed away a couple of years ago, right around this time of year, though that didn't occur to me in the dream. The only part of the brief and awkward phone conversation I recall clearly is her saying I needed to come visit her soon, and I felt guilty.
Finally, in the last bit of dream memories from the evening/morning, is watching some sort of nighttime concert. The stage was fairly small, and the seating was comprised of a fairly small section of stadium-style seats directly in front of the stage. A band was performing, possibly They Might Be Giants. I seemed to be viewing the event from the outside, almost as if watching it on TV, rather than being there in attendance.
Suddenly there was an intermission, and two guys who were were supposed to be the British comedy duo, The Mighty Boosh, appeared. They were in some sort of outlandish costumes that rendered them unrecognizable beneath. They were towing in some sort of large cannon, only it looked incredibly phallic (moreso than the average cannon).
They aimed the cannon at the audience, and at this time several balloons began floating down the aisles between the seats. The balloons each looked sort of like a ghost--indeed they looked a lot like the "Boo" character from various ones of Nintendo's "Mario" games.
The Mighty Boosh began firing the cannon at the balloons, which launched some sort of projectile that popped each one. Their aim was spot on in every case, and watching the destruction of the balloons is my final memory.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Where's the Fire?
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 20, 2009
I was at home (which seemed to be located in a fictional neighborhood in the dream). Looking down the road I saw smoke coming from one of the distant houses, and thought I caught a glimpse of an actual fire in the carport. At that same time, my phone rang. It was my mom, telling me to call the fire department so they could put out the fire in the house before it spread. They way she talked, it seemed more like she was referring to the house I was in, but I saw no signs of it being on fire, so I assumed she did mean the one I saw down the street.
I kept trying to dial 9-1-1 and for some reason kept having problems. During this process, I somehow accidentally dialed my dad's cell. He was really horse and sounded like he'd been sick, but immediately upon answering he told me how glad he was that I'd called on his birthday (it's nowhere near his birthday in real life). I didn't want to be rude and just hang up on him, but I knew I needed to call 9-1-1 very soon.
In the world of stupid dream logic, I kept on the phone with him for way too long without explaining why I needed to call the other number. Suddenly, as I was talking to him, it looked like I was walking through a department store or a mall. I came out the front doors and was standing on a sidewalk in a huge city--it actually looked like New York at Christmas time.
Down the city street I could still see that burning house, and now firetrucks were beginning to arrive. So someone else had called. Good! The next thing I remember is hearing the story about the fire on the news, and apparently the house belonged to some kind of bikers, and they were plotting revenge against whoever set the fire.
My last memory is riding on a public bus. It was very crowded and at one point I remember a girl came on looking for a seat. She was rather beautiful, and was wearing an unusual fleece dress--basically looked like an oversize sweater with pastel stripes of blue and pink and yellow. In the dream I was pretty sure I recognized her...and that's because she was Zooey Deschanel, though I didn't consciously realize it yet. She tried to sit on the seats in front of me, but those guys wouldn't share with her. I promptly offered her a seat with me, and she sat down in my lap. We were immediately getting along really well.
Then, for some reason, I remember walking back to the rear of the bus. Due to some series of events, I stood up and balanced myself on the back of one of the seats (all of them with people seated in them). Naturally, I had to bend forward while balancing in order not to bump my head against the roof of the vehicle.
The backs of certain seats were marked with a specific type of label. I began leaping from seat to seat, taking great care to skip the ones on which the label was absent. It was extremely difficult to maintain balance and not kick people's heads while doing this, but in the world of dream logic, I was pulling it off. I somehow knew that if you successfully jumped on each labeled seat without hitting any of the others, you won a prize. As I jumped, I remember thinking of Mario.
Finally, I was with Zooey Deschanel again. Though she'd been her normal, pretty self before, I now suddenly realized she was just jarringly skinny. Emaciated, in fact--not in a manner of being sick, but in that oft repeated Hollywood attempt at sexiness. I was so disappointed to find out that another attractive one had been lost to the overly-skinny cult.
I was at home (which seemed to be located in a fictional neighborhood in the dream). Looking down the road I saw smoke coming from one of the distant houses, and thought I caught a glimpse of an actual fire in the carport. At that same time, my phone rang. It was my mom, telling me to call the fire department so they could put out the fire in the house before it spread. They way she talked, it seemed more like she was referring to the house I was in, but I saw no signs of it being on fire, so I assumed she did mean the one I saw down the street.
I kept trying to dial 9-1-1 and for some reason kept having problems. During this process, I somehow accidentally dialed my dad's cell. He was really horse and sounded like he'd been sick, but immediately upon answering he told me how glad he was that I'd called on his birthday (it's nowhere near his birthday in real life). I didn't want to be rude and just hang up on him, but I knew I needed to call 9-1-1 very soon.
In the world of stupid dream logic, I kept on the phone with him for way too long without explaining why I needed to call the other number. Suddenly, as I was talking to him, it looked like I was walking through a department store or a mall. I came out the front doors and was standing on a sidewalk in a huge city--it actually looked like New York at Christmas time.
Down the city street I could still see that burning house, and now firetrucks were beginning to arrive. So someone else had called. Good! The next thing I remember is hearing the story about the fire on the news, and apparently the house belonged to some kind of bikers, and they were plotting revenge against whoever set the fire.
My last memory is riding on a public bus. It was very crowded and at one point I remember a girl came on looking for a seat. She was rather beautiful, and was wearing an unusual fleece dress--basically looked like an oversize sweater with pastel stripes of blue and pink and yellow. In the dream I was pretty sure I recognized her...and that's because she was Zooey Deschanel, though I didn't consciously realize it yet. She tried to sit on the seats in front of me, but those guys wouldn't share with her. I promptly offered her a seat with me, and she sat down in my lap. We were immediately getting along really well.
Then, for some reason, I remember walking back to the rear of the bus. Due to some series of events, I stood up and balanced myself on the back of one of the seats (all of them with people seated in them). Naturally, I had to bend forward while balancing in order not to bump my head against the roof of the vehicle.
The backs of certain seats were marked with a specific type of label. I began leaping from seat to seat, taking great care to skip the ones on which the label was absent. It was extremely difficult to maintain balance and not kick people's heads while doing this, but in the world of dream logic, I was pulling it off. I somehow knew that if you successfully jumped on each labeled seat without hitting any of the others, you won a prize. As I jumped, I remember thinking of Mario.
Finally, I was with Zooey Deschanel again. Though she'd been her normal, pretty self before, I now suddenly realized she was just jarringly skinny. Emaciated, in fact--not in a manner of being sick, but in that oft repeated Hollywood attempt at sexiness. I was so disappointed to find out that another attractive one had been lost to the overly-skinny cult.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Bouncing Apparition
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 14, 2009
I was with friends and we were going through some sort of "haunted house" attraction. It was more low-tech than a ride at a major amusement park would be, but was more high tech than your typical amateur haunted house that you might find during the Halloween season.
My only clear memory is walking through a large, single-level building that looked more or less like an empty department store or something. At every turn, different characters would come out and attempt to scare you.
It was mostly all just funny, but there was one "creature" that was actually a bit unsettling. It was a flaming green aura of a ghost with a terrifying screaming face. The ghost's aura was somehow attached to crossed sticks like a scarecrow, and it would come bouncing along on the sticks, chasing you and screaming endlessly. It seemed way, way too realistic compared to the other things in the attraction. I didn't see how it could be faked.
Finally, I remember leaving the building and walking with my friends (and the other patrons of the event) down a gravel road through the woods. We were supposed to be on our way back to our cars now, the events of the day over. I was talking to Lisa specifically and suddenly we heard the screaming, and that bounding apparition appeared again! It was legitimately scary.
Later, I vaguely remember a different dream I had in which I stopped in a grocery store late at night to pick up a few items. The dream was pretty mundane, as I was literally just walking through a grocery store. The one "remarkable" part is that, though it was a fictional store I've never been in, I very vividly remember different aisles and they way the were laid out, and what food items were on them, etc. I remember the produce section had an individual kiosk for every individual type of fruit or vegetable. For example, there was a corn kiosk that had everything from fresh-picked corn, to canned corn, to frozen corn, all in one location. It was sort of like the dream grocery store for anyone with OCD.
I was with friends and we were going through some sort of "haunted house" attraction. It was more low-tech than a ride at a major amusement park would be, but was more high tech than your typical amateur haunted house that you might find during the Halloween season.
My only clear memory is walking through a large, single-level building that looked more or less like an empty department store or something. At every turn, different characters would come out and attempt to scare you.
It was mostly all just funny, but there was one "creature" that was actually a bit unsettling. It was a flaming green aura of a ghost with a terrifying screaming face. The ghost's aura was somehow attached to crossed sticks like a scarecrow, and it would come bouncing along on the sticks, chasing you and screaming endlessly. It seemed way, way too realistic compared to the other things in the attraction. I didn't see how it could be faked.
Finally, I remember leaving the building and walking with my friends (and the other patrons of the event) down a gravel road through the woods. We were supposed to be on our way back to our cars now, the events of the day over. I was talking to Lisa specifically and suddenly we heard the screaming, and that bounding apparition appeared again! It was legitimately scary.
Later, I vaguely remember a different dream I had in which I stopped in a grocery store late at night to pick up a few items. The dream was pretty mundane, as I was literally just walking through a grocery store. The one "remarkable" part is that, though it was a fictional store I've never been in, I very vividly remember different aisles and they way the were laid out, and what food items were on them, etc. I remember the produce section had an individual kiosk for every individual type of fruit or vegetable. For example, there was a corn kiosk that had everything from fresh-picked corn, to canned corn, to frozen corn, all in one location. It was sort of like the dream grocery store for anyone with OCD.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Late Night Drive
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 13, 2009
The only memory from this dream is that I was in my car driving late at night. I think I was supposed to be en route to Birmingham, which is about an hour from me in reality, but the locations I recall were fictional in appearance.
Whether because of the late hour, or some other reason now forgotten to the dream, there was no traffic at all on the road with me. The empty Interstate created an almost eerie stillness as I drove along.
I remember at one point trying to figure out what music I wanted to hear while I drove. I could see the skyline of the city in the distance as I approached it. There was a pinkish haze in the sky, so perhaps it was almost dawn.
The only memory from this dream is that I was in my car driving late at night. I think I was supposed to be en route to Birmingham, which is about an hour from me in reality, but the locations I recall were fictional in appearance.
Whether because of the late hour, or some other reason now forgotten to the dream, there was no traffic at all on the road with me. The empty Interstate created an almost eerie stillness as I drove along.
I remember at one point trying to figure out what music I wanted to hear while I drove. I could see the skyline of the city in the distance as I approached it. There was a pinkish haze in the sky, so perhaps it was almost dawn.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
The Creepy Couple and the Canorous Cutie
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 12, 2009
Somehow I met this couple who were supposed to be the pastors of an area megachurch. They expected me to film them for something relating to work. In the dream I recognized them, apparently from TV, and already knew I didn't care much for them.
They couple was fairly youthful, probably in their thirties, and full of energy. But they were very obviously stuck on themselves. They wanted to get their church services on TV, and you could tell it was really all about them getting on TV. They thought they were going to be the next big thing and kept telling me (boasting to me) about all these ideas and programs they had that were just going to revolutionize everything. Since I was meeting with them for my job, I had to be polite, but I just wanted to roll my eyes.
I remember at one point they explained to me that one of their "helpful exercises" was that each of them would go off separately every morning and write down a list of positive and a list of negative traits that each felt they saw in the other. Somehow, they claimed, this kept their marriage healthy. I remember them taking time to write their respective lists and then handing them to me and telling me to keep them.
I couldn't resist skimming over the lists once they were in my possession, and it soon became clear that they consisted almost entirely of negatives. In fact, was obvious that this couple pretty much hated each other. It was about this time that the couple got in their car and left. I decided to throw away all their papers and material, as I did not care about them. Suddenly the husband showed up again by himself. He wanted his wife's papers, so he could see what she'd been writing about him. I told him I'd thrown them away already, and he was upset, exclaiming that I was supposed to keep them!
Next I remember I was supposed to be going on a blind date. I walked into some room that looked like a coffee shop or something similar, though it was laid out like one of my fifth grade classrooms! I happened to enter the busy-but-not-crowded place of business just behind a girl. Somehow I just knew she was my date, so I introduced myself, and it turns out I was correct.
The girl was fairly pretty, with dark blonde hair, wearing a dress with a black and white pattern. We went over to a nearby counter and stood and made small talk. Things seemed to be going nicely, and eventually we made our way into an adjoining room that looked like is was someone's home kitchen.
We sad down at the kitchen table and continue to talk. Something I said reminded her of a song, and I told her I wasn't sure I was familiar with the song she was referencing. She proceeded to casually sing the song to me, and she had a very nice voice. She didn't stop with just a snippet of the song, but continued the whole thing. At one point she stood up and began to meander around the kitchen as she sang. It wasn't like some Broadway thing where someone breaks into song--she was just singing the song as nonchalantly as if she were alone in her own home.
As she was singing the last part of the song she laid down with her head in my lap. I was pretty certain I was beginning to fall for her. At point she walked over to the refrigerator and took out a wadded-up piece of tin-foil which contained some leftovers. She sat down at the table and began picking away at them.
I asked, almost sarcastically, if she was hungry, and she said she was, but this was all she had to eat. Incredulous, I explained to her, "You know we can go out and get actual food, right? I'll take you wherever you'd like to go." She seemed a little surprised, almost like she didn't believe me. But the next and final thing I remember is the two of us in my car, presumably heading to a restaurant.
Somehow I met this couple who were supposed to be the pastors of an area megachurch. They expected me to film them for something relating to work. In the dream I recognized them, apparently from TV, and already knew I didn't care much for them.
They couple was fairly youthful, probably in their thirties, and full of energy. But they were very obviously stuck on themselves. They wanted to get their church services on TV, and you could tell it was really all about them getting on TV. They thought they were going to be the next big thing and kept telling me (boasting to me) about all these ideas and programs they had that were just going to revolutionize everything. Since I was meeting with them for my job, I had to be polite, but I just wanted to roll my eyes.
I remember at one point they explained to me that one of their "helpful exercises" was that each of them would go off separately every morning and write down a list of positive and a list of negative traits that each felt they saw in the other. Somehow, they claimed, this kept their marriage healthy. I remember them taking time to write their respective lists and then handing them to me and telling me to keep them.
I couldn't resist skimming over the lists once they were in my possession, and it soon became clear that they consisted almost entirely of negatives. In fact, was obvious that this couple pretty much hated each other. It was about this time that the couple got in their car and left. I decided to throw away all their papers and material, as I did not care about them. Suddenly the husband showed up again by himself. He wanted his wife's papers, so he could see what she'd been writing about him. I told him I'd thrown them away already, and he was upset, exclaiming that I was supposed to keep them!
Next I remember I was supposed to be going on a blind date. I walked into some room that looked like a coffee shop or something similar, though it was laid out like one of my fifth grade classrooms! I happened to enter the busy-but-not-crowded place of business just behind a girl. Somehow I just knew she was my date, so I introduced myself, and it turns out I was correct.
The girl was fairly pretty, with dark blonde hair, wearing a dress with a black and white pattern. We went over to a nearby counter and stood and made small talk. Things seemed to be going nicely, and eventually we made our way into an adjoining room that looked like is was someone's home kitchen.
We sad down at the kitchen table and continue to talk. Something I said reminded her of a song, and I told her I wasn't sure I was familiar with the song she was referencing. She proceeded to casually sing the song to me, and she had a very nice voice. She didn't stop with just a snippet of the song, but continued the whole thing. At one point she stood up and began to meander around the kitchen as she sang. It wasn't like some Broadway thing where someone breaks into song--she was just singing the song as nonchalantly as if she were alone in her own home.
As she was singing the last part of the song she laid down with her head in my lap. I was pretty certain I was beginning to fall for her. At point she walked over to the refrigerator and took out a wadded-up piece of tin-foil which contained some leftovers. She sat down at the table and began picking away at them.
I asked, almost sarcastically, if she was hungry, and she said she was, but this was all she had to eat. Incredulous, I explained to her, "You know we can go out and get actual food, right? I'll take you wherever you'd like to go." She seemed a little surprised, almost like she didn't believe me. But the next and final thing I remember is the two of us in my car, presumably heading to a restaurant.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Time Change Merchandise and the Fitness Chick
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 11, 2009
I was in some type of gas station convenience store browsing around. There was a man, apparently a trucker, off to one side looking at a display of novelty lapel pins. I overheard him proudly exclaiming to the clerk that he'd just found a pin that said something about "the time change" on it (I assume in reference to Daylight Savings Time). He went on to explain that when his wife found out he would be "passing through one of the states that had the time change" she wanted a souvenir to commemorate such. He assumed this pin was just the item.
My next clear memory is being in yet another store of a similar sort. I overheard another gentleman asking the clerk if they had any souvenirs pertinent to "the time change". They went looking through random items, but weren't having much luck. I even joined them looking through some novelty lapel pins for a bit. I saw one pin that looked like a little root beer mug, and for some reason I thought the guy would like it, but he only wanted "time change" stuff.
Finally, I told the man there was another store a few blocks away in which a guy had found just such a pin "earlier this morning", and so he went on his way to find that store. The manager of the store we were currently in, a portly middle aged fellow with a graying beard, went on to ramble to me about how difficult that "time change" merchandise was to keep.
Next I remember being at my grandmother's along with a few other family members, sort of like a holiday get-together or something. I was in the living room and I suddenly heard a song coming from the TV in the other room. The song was vaguely familiar, but, maddeningly, I couldn't place it. Suddenly my cousin, Stephen, came into the room and asked me if I could name the song emanating from TV. I explained to him how I was having trouble bringing it to mind.
So we walked into the room where the TV was and I saw there was an old Looney Tunes cartoon in which Bugs Bunny was singing a song. I think it was supposed to be the Chuck Jones classic, "What's Opera, Doc?", though it was very distorted in the dream. So that's where I "knew" the song from.
Then I remember talking to a very attractive blonde girl. She was very tan and very fit, like some sort of athelete. We were really hitting it off, which is odd, because, while pretty, she wasn't what would typically be my "type", and I'm certain I wouldn't typically be hers.
We ened up going upstairs to what looked like the bedroom from my teenage years. She plopped down on my bed, claiming to be exhausted. I lay down beside her. She soon nuzzled up next to me, her eyes closed, murmuring something about how nice it felt to just be there. I agreed, it was nice indeed! I can honestly say I wasn't even really concerned with the obvious potential progression one would assume was likely from this point--I just relished the feel of having someone lying next to me again.
I closed my eyes for a moment and suddenly could feel that she was gone. I don't meant that I felt her extract herself from my arms and leave, but her mass just suddenly ceased to be there. I opened my eyes and was unable to find her anywhere in the room.
I went downstairs, which now looked like one of the stores from earlier in the dream. I asked someone if they'd seen the girl, and they told me she'd decided to take a job in California as a fitness instructor where one of her girlfriends worked. To confirm their point, they showed me a line of fitness-related merchandise in the store which featured the girl and her friend posing on the box.
I was in some type of gas station convenience store browsing around. There was a man, apparently a trucker, off to one side looking at a display of novelty lapel pins. I overheard him proudly exclaiming to the clerk that he'd just found a pin that said something about "the time change" on it (I assume in reference to Daylight Savings Time). He went on to explain that when his wife found out he would be "passing through one of the states that had the time change" she wanted a souvenir to commemorate such. He assumed this pin was just the item.
My next clear memory is being in yet another store of a similar sort. I overheard another gentleman asking the clerk if they had any souvenirs pertinent to "the time change". They went looking through random items, but weren't having much luck. I even joined them looking through some novelty lapel pins for a bit. I saw one pin that looked like a little root beer mug, and for some reason I thought the guy would like it, but he only wanted "time change" stuff.
Finally, I told the man there was another store a few blocks away in which a guy had found just such a pin "earlier this morning", and so he went on his way to find that store. The manager of the store we were currently in, a portly middle aged fellow with a graying beard, went on to ramble to me about how difficult that "time change" merchandise was to keep.
Next I remember being at my grandmother's along with a few other family members, sort of like a holiday get-together or something. I was in the living room and I suddenly heard a song coming from the TV in the other room. The song was vaguely familiar, but, maddeningly, I couldn't place it. Suddenly my cousin, Stephen, came into the room and asked me if I could name the song emanating from TV. I explained to him how I was having trouble bringing it to mind.
So we walked into the room where the TV was and I saw there was an old Looney Tunes cartoon in which Bugs Bunny was singing a song. I think it was supposed to be the Chuck Jones classic, "What's Opera, Doc?", though it was very distorted in the dream. So that's where I "knew" the song from.
Then I remember talking to a very attractive blonde girl. She was very tan and very fit, like some sort of athelete. We were really hitting it off, which is odd, because, while pretty, she wasn't what would typically be my "type", and I'm certain I wouldn't typically be hers.
We ened up going upstairs to what looked like the bedroom from my teenage years. She plopped down on my bed, claiming to be exhausted. I lay down beside her. She soon nuzzled up next to me, her eyes closed, murmuring something about how nice it felt to just be there. I agreed, it was nice indeed! I can honestly say I wasn't even really concerned with the obvious potential progression one would assume was likely from this point--I just relished the feel of having someone lying next to me again.
I closed my eyes for a moment and suddenly could feel that she was gone. I don't meant that I felt her extract herself from my arms and leave, but her mass just suddenly ceased to be there. I opened my eyes and was unable to find her anywhere in the room.
I went downstairs, which now looked like one of the stores from earlier in the dream. I asked someone if they'd seen the girl, and they told me she'd decided to take a job in California as a fitness instructor where one of her girlfriends worked. To confirm their point, they showed me a line of fitness-related merchandise in the store which featured the girl and her friend posing on the box.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Bright Yellow with Pizza
MORNING OF OCTOBER 7, 2009
This is the second bit of dreams I remember from this night/morning. The first is found in the previous post.
It was early evening and I walked into a church building. It looked similar to the one I attended as a kid, though it was mostly just fictional. I walked into the sanctuary prior to the service beginning and a few people, most of them seeming to be elderly, were already seated.
I sat down in a pew to myself, but after a few moments of silent waiting I got antsy and decided to get up and leave. As I was walking out of the room, I heard one of the old ladies saying to her friend--obviously being deliberately loud enough for me to hear--something to the effect of, "Well, I'm not surprised! He never comes to church anymore!"
I walked down some stairs into the basement area of the church, which was furnished with a food court and several stores--essentially a mall of sorts. I passed a pizza place which may have specifically been a Domino's. One of the employees got my attention, saying he knew that I loved pizza, so why didn't I stop to order anything?
I tried to explain that I wasn't hungry and didn't intend to eat right now, but then another employee stepped up to the counter and told me that they'd give me a special deal. I could have any kind of pizza I wanted, with any kind of toppings, etc., for only five dollars. I promptly ordered a pizza.
While I waited for my pizza to be prepared, I went into one of the nearby stores to kill some time. The first store I went into was a clothing store. While there, for some reason I tried on a bright yellow sweater and a bright yellow hoodie, wearing them at the same time. I walked out of the store (apparently without actually purchasing the brightly hued items I was currently wearing).
Now some of my friends were standing outside the store and they asked me what in the world I was doing in those clothes.
This is the second bit of dreams I remember from this night/morning. The first is found in the previous post.
It was early evening and I walked into a church building. It looked similar to the one I attended as a kid, though it was mostly just fictional. I walked into the sanctuary prior to the service beginning and a few people, most of them seeming to be elderly, were already seated.
I sat down in a pew to myself, but after a few moments of silent waiting I got antsy and decided to get up and leave. As I was walking out of the room, I heard one of the old ladies saying to her friend--obviously being deliberately loud enough for me to hear--something to the effect of, "Well, I'm not surprised! He never comes to church anymore!"
I walked down some stairs into the basement area of the church, which was furnished with a food court and several stores--essentially a mall of sorts. I passed a pizza place which may have specifically been a Domino's. One of the employees got my attention, saying he knew that I loved pizza, so why didn't I stop to order anything?
I tried to explain that I wasn't hungry and didn't intend to eat right now, but then another employee stepped up to the counter and told me that they'd give me a special deal. I could have any kind of pizza I wanted, with any kind of toppings, etc., for only five dollars. I promptly ordered a pizza.
While I waited for my pizza to be prepared, I went into one of the nearby stores to kill some time. The first store I went into was a clothing store. While there, for some reason I tried on a bright yellow sweater and a bright yellow hoodie, wearing them at the same time. I walked out of the store (apparently without actually purchasing the brightly hued items I was currently wearing).
Now some of my friends were standing outside the store and they asked me what in the world I was doing in those clothes.
School, Sculptures and Cereal
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 7, 2009
This is the first of two different dreams this night. The second can be found in the next post.
I remember the first part of the dream involved me some of my friends and I (I specifically remember Eric and Brandon) being back in school. It was high school, though it was like we were repeating high school in modern times as opposed to attending for the first time. I have some vague recollection of a math class and a science class being part of our schedule.
Though I can't recall any specifics, I know that we skipped most of our classes and spent most of our time goofing off. When they released report cards, I was afraid to look at mine because that was the first time I stopped to realize just how much class I'd skipped. I knew I had to have failed, and was worried that I would have to "repeat the ninth grade" while everyone else went on to tenth! (And no, I never had to actually repeat classes in my actual school history).
My next memory, possibly from an entirely different dream, is that Eric and Brandon and I joined Courtney and Melissa and possibly some other friends for dinner at a restaurant. They were having some kind of trivia night, and I won one of the rounds. My prize was a very lame sculpture twisted out of fuzzy pipe cleaners. It looked like nothing at all, but the person running the trivia claimed it was a sculpture of a fetus!!
Back at the table, my friends and I got a lot of laughs about my "fetus sculpture". I also remember that the paper place mats on our table had kids' activities on the reverse side. Some of them had silly quizzes that we were all taking. It was sort of like the ridiculous time-wasting quizzes you can take on Facebook, only somehow they were in print form here.
The night/morning I had these dreams I was spending the night at my parents' house, and I actually dreamed that it was morning and I was waking up at my parents' house. I don't own a robe, but for some reason I put on a robe before I went downstairs.
There was a variety pack of cereal in the kitchen, and I chose a box of Apple Jacks that included real fruit bits, such as raisins and dates. For some reason that sounded so good to me that I couldn't wait to try it. As I was sitting down with my cereal, Brandon came into the room and it's the first time I was aware that he'd apparently spent the night here too.
This is the first of two different dreams this night. The second can be found in the next post.
I remember the first part of the dream involved me some of my friends and I (I specifically remember Eric and Brandon) being back in school. It was high school, though it was like we were repeating high school in modern times as opposed to attending for the first time. I have some vague recollection of a math class and a science class being part of our schedule.
Though I can't recall any specifics, I know that we skipped most of our classes and spent most of our time goofing off. When they released report cards, I was afraid to look at mine because that was the first time I stopped to realize just how much class I'd skipped. I knew I had to have failed, and was worried that I would have to "repeat the ninth grade" while everyone else went on to tenth! (And no, I never had to actually repeat classes in my actual school history).
My next memory, possibly from an entirely different dream, is that Eric and Brandon and I joined Courtney and Melissa and possibly some other friends for dinner at a restaurant. They were having some kind of trivia night, and I won one of the rounds. My prize was a very lame sculpture twisted out of fuzzy pipe cleaners. It looked like nothing at all, but the person running the trivia claimed it was a sculpture of a fetus!!
Back at the table, my friends and I got a lot of laughs about my "fetus sculpture". I also remember that the paper place mats on our table had kids' activities on the reverse side. Some of them had silly quizzes that we were all taking. It was sort of like the ridiculous time-wasting quizzes you can take on Facebook, only somehow they were in print form here.
The night/morning I had these dreams I was spending the night at my parents' house, and I actually dreamed that it was morning and I was waking up at my parents' house. I don't own a robe, but for some reason I put on a robe before I went downstairs.
There was a variety pack of cereal in the kitchen, and I chose a box of Apple Jacks that included real fruit bits, such as raisins and dates. For some reason that sounded so good to me that I couldn't wait to try it. As I was sitting down with my cereal, Brandon came into the room and it's the first time I was aware that he'd apparently spent the night here too.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Cereal Prize Card
MORNING OF NOVEMBER 2, 2009
I only remember the last portion of this dream clearly, in spite of knowing there was a lot of "story" before this point. A few friends and I, along with other people, were gathered in a little shop in a strip mall of some sort. There was a feeling as though we were on vacation, or at least visiting somewhere out of town.
Everyone in this store seemed to be just sitting or standing around waiting for something. I was sitting in the floor, and I eventually started going through my wallet, just out of boredom. In real life my wallet's not terribly unkempt, but in my dream it was just full of all kinds of useless, accumulated junk.
One pocket contained a bunch of plastic novelty cards. They were the size of typical business or credit cards, but had various sayings or art printed on them instead. Some of the cards I "recognized" as things my parents had supposedly given me during childhood. They had various verses and sayings printed on them. A couple featured just cartoon art of some kind.
One of the cards had kid-friendly artwork of a farm with children and animals playing on it. I "remembered" that this one had been a free prize in a box of cereal! In fact, it was still in its plastic wrapper, and the wrapper still had some of the "dust" from the cereal crumbs on it. I wondered how long this had been in my wallet, and I found a copyright on the card, "©1999". I was surprised that it was only 10 years old, as I could swear I remembered it from my early childhood.
My old friend, D., whom I havent' seen in years, was sitting in the floor near me. I gave him the cereal prize card for some reason.
I only remember the last portion of this dream clearly, in spite of knowing there was a lot of "story" before this point. A few friends and I, along with other people, were gathered in a little shop in a strip mall of some sort. There was a feeling as though we were on vacation, or at least visiting somewhere out of town.
Everyone in this store seemed to be just sitting or standing around waiting for something. I was sitting in the floor, and I eventually started going through my wallet, just out of boredom. In real life my wallet's not terribly unkempt, but in my dream it was just full of all kinds of useless, accumulated junk.
One pocket contained a bunch of plastic novelty cards. They were the size of typical business or credit cards, but had various sayings or art printed on them instead. Some of the cards I "recognized" as things my parents had supposedly given me during childhood. They had various verses and sayings printed on them. A couple featured just cartoon art of some kind.
One of the cards had kid-friendly artwork of a farm with children and animals playing on it. I "remembered" that this one had been a free prize in a box of cereal! In fact, it was still in its plastic wrapper, and the wrapper still had some of the "dust" from the cereal crumbs on it. I wondered how long this had been in my wallet, and I found a copyright on the card, "©1999". I was surprised that it was only 10 years old, as I could swear I remembered it from my early childhood.
My old friend, D., whom I havent' seen in years, was sitting in the floor near me. I gave him the cereal prize card for some reason.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Writing in the Field
MORNING OF OCTOBER 31, 2009
The actual context: Several friends and I spent the night at another friend's home following her Halloween party.
I only vaguely recall the dream, but all of us were outside on an overcast and mildly chilly October afternoon. We were mostly wearing the costumes we had actually worn at the Halloween party. Everyone was sitting and standing around in what was more or less a large lawn or open field of some kind without many landmarks save perhaps a few trees.
I was carrying a notebook around trying to write something down (like perhaps a sudden idea). It seems like someone or something would always disturb me before I could ever concentrate on it. Melissa seemed to disappear and reappear from the rest of us, wearing a different costume each time (likely because she'd had so much trouble finding a decent last minute costume in real life).
The dream seemed to continue on in this fashion for a while, and I'm sure there was more going on, but this is about the extent I can remember. Exciting, huh?
The actual context: Several friends and I spent the night at another friend's home following her Halloween party.
I only vaguely recall the dream, but all of us were outside on an overcast and mildly chilly October afternoon. We were mostly wearing the costumes we had actually worn at the Halloween party. Everyone was sitting and standing around in what was more or less a large lawn or open field of some kind without many landmarks save perhaps a few trees.
I was carrying a notebook around trying to write something down (like perhaps a sudden idea). It seems like someone or something would always disturb me before I could ever concentrate on it. Melissa seemed to disappear and reappear from the rest of us, wearing a different costume each time (likely because she'd had so much trouble finding a decent last minute costume in real life).
The dream seemed to continue on in this fashion for a while, and I'm sure there was more going on, but this is about the extent I can remember. Exciting, huh?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Parking Lot Antics
MORNING OF OCTOBER 27, 2009
I was in a parking lot late at night with characters from The Office TV show. The lot was pretty well empty except for two or three cars. Michael Scott had somehow accidentally smashed the windows out of someone else's car, and he was trying to enlist Jim, Oscar and I to help him cover it up. We couldn't believe his stupidity (because apparently the way he'd broken the windows was by some specifically moronic action, as opposed to simple accident).
As we stood in the darkened parking lot, I looked over at this huge mountain range on the horizon. The sun was beginning to rise, and there was a beautiful, picturesque scene. I ran to my car to get my camera, but by the time I had it ready, some clouds had some in an obscured the sunrise back into mostly darkness. I watched for a few more minutes to see if the sun would reemerge.
Then I noticed on one of the mountaintops what looked like a tribe of American Indians gathered around a fire. I don't know how I could see it so clearly given how far away the mountains really were, but I could. It was sort of an eerie image, that campfire glowing out in the otherwise darkness.
I was in a parking lot late at night with characters from The Office TV show. The lot was pretty well empty except for two or three cars. Michael Scott had somehow accidentally smashed the windows out of someone else's car, and he was trying to enlist Jim, Oscar and I to help him cover it up. We couldn't believe his stupidity (because apparently the way he'd broken the windows was by some specifically moronic action, as opposed to simple accident).
As we stood in the darkened parking lot, I looked over at this huge mountain range on the horizon. The sun was beginning to rise, and there was a beautiful, picturesque scene. I ran to my car to get my camera, but by the time I had it ready, some clouds had some in an obscured the sunrise back into mostly darkness. I watched for a few more minutes to see if the sun would reemerge.
Then I noticed on one of the mountaintops what looked like a tribe of American Indians gathered around a fire. I don't know how I could see it so clearly given how far away the mountains really were, but I could. It was sort of an eerie image, that campfire glowing out in the otherwise darkness.
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Shocking Experiecne
MORNING OF OCTOBER 23, 2009
I cannot for the life of me remember exactly how the first part of this dream played out. There was something to do with a man, a vicious murderer, who was sentenced to die, but he was running around free. Some friends and I were tasked with catching him and carrying out his sentence. We were following him around trying to catch up to him, but it somehow felt like more of a game than anything really serious. Like we were just trying to "win" by catching him.
I recall one scene in which three or four of us caught up to the guy on someone's front porch. Right then and there we hooked electrodes to him, almost like jumping a car, and began trying to electrocute him to death. We kept hooking it up wrong so that it wasn't fatal but only hurt him badly. After several tries I almost began to feel sorry for him, even though I knew he was guilty of unspeakable acts.
Then I remember being gathered in a room with the same friends and Z. came in holding a portable game system of some sort. He showed us a new game he was playing, and the game featured monkeys. The monkey characters would chase people down and shock them, and I realized what he had all been doing before was simply playing this game.
I cannot for the life of me remember exactly how the first part of this dream played out. There was something to do with a man, a vicious murderer, who was sentenced to die, but he was running around free. Some friends and I were tasked with catching him and carrying out his sentence. We were following him around trying to catch up to him, but it somehow felt like more of a game than anything really serious. Like we were just trying to "win" by catching him.
I recall one scene in which three or four of us caught up to the guy on someone's front porch. Right then and there we hooked electrodes to him, almost like jumping a car, and began trying to electrocute him to death. We kept hooking it up wrong so that it wasn't fatal but only hurt him badly. After several tries I almost began to feel sorry for him, even though I knew he was guilty of unspeakable acts.
Then I remember being gathered in a room with the same friends and Z. came in holding a portable game system of some sort. He showed us a new game he was playing, and the game featured monkeys. The monkey characters would chase people down and shock them, and I realized what he had all been doing before was simply playing this game.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Rescue 911
MORNING OF OCTOBER 21, 2009
I was driving out of my apartment complex and I saw that an ex-girlfriend was driving in front of me. After going down a couple of roads we were suddenly driving through the neighborhood I lived in as a teenager. We came to a four-way stop, and while waiting there I noticed her slump over in her seat and her car coasted across the intersection and ended up stopped on the shoulder of the opposite road.
Feeling sort of panicked and uncertain, I pulled my car over and dialed 911 without ever going to her car to check on her. I vaguely remember speaking to the operator about what had just happened, and trying to explain to her where we were. I kept telling her the names of the intersecting streets were were at, but for some reason she was having trouble comprehending me.
Finally, it was fairly late at night and I was back at my apartment complex. I was standing out in the parking area, dressed in my casual around-the-house T-shirt and such. A young man who had been sent by 911was there, asking me more questions about my call. I was baffled as to why it was such a big deal, and why they couldn't just send help to where you were when you first called.
The man had me fill out a bunch of papers on a clipboard, after which I tried to get him to just leave. He proved difficult to get rid of, but finally he seemed satisfied enough to go on his way. I went back into my apartment. The TV was on in the background, and it was playing some really strange movie with Jim Carrey in it. I remember thinking his hairstyle in the movie looked like the hair of John Linnell from They Might Be Giants.
I was driving out of my apartment complex and I saw that an ex-girlfriend was driving in front of me. After going down a couple of roads we were suddenly driving through the neighborhood I lived in as a teenager. We came to a four-way stop, and while waiting there I noticed her slump over in her seat and her car coasted across the intersection and ended up stopped on the shoulder of the opposite road.
Feeling sort of panicked and uncertain, I pulled my car over and dialed 911 without ever going to her car to check on her. I vaguely remember speaking to the operator about what had just happened, and trying to explain to her where we were. I kept telling her the names of the intersecting streets were were at, but for some reason she was having trouble comprehending me.
Finally, it was fairly late at night and I was back at my apartment complex. I was standing out in the parking area, dressed in my casual around-the-house T-shirt and such. A young man who had been sent by 911was there, asking me more questions about my call. I was baffled as to why it was such a big deal, and why they couldn't just send help to where you were when you first called.
The man had me fill out a bunch of papers on a clipboard, after which I tried to get him to just leave. He proved difficult to get rid of, but finally he seemed satisfied enough to go on his way. I went back into my apartment. The TV was on in the background, and it was playing some really strange movie with Jim Carrey in it. I remember thinking his hairstyle in the movie looked like the hair of John Linnell from They Might Be Giants.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Mysterious and Poorly Written Letter
MORNING OF OCTOBER 18, 2009
I dreamed that I was waking up early this morning and one of the first things I did was to go check my e-mail. One of the messages was from a client for whom I used to do regular freelance art for a kids' magazine. In real life it's been roughly a year since my last gig for that client, but the e-mail in the dream informed that they needed another comic. At first I was excited, until I began to look more closely.
As soon as I opened the e-mail, I was holding a physical, handwritten letter instead. The handwriting was very poorly scrawled in pencil. It was difficult to read, but seemed to be asking me do draw something for them, though it offered very little specifics except to see the rough sketches they'd included as examples. There was an attached piece of paper with some hideously vague scribbles that were completely unintelligible. I think they were supposed to be of dinosaurs. I had no idea what these people wanted me to draw.
Then I noticed another handwritten note explaining that said the guy who had written the letter would take 30% of what I was paid for the job because he took the time to draw those example sketches! By now, obviously, this whole thing was beginning to smell of a scam to me.
I think it was around this time that the alarm went off and I hit snooze. Drifting immediately back to sleep, I had a brief dream that seemed to stem from the previous scenario, though it started off more like some kind of movie scene:
There was an attractive girl being kept in some sort of institution. The main doctor taking care of her, a balding middle-aged man, was obviously the villain. He knew she wasn't really crazy, but he had convinced everyone else she was. She was trying to convince the other doctors that her claims were accurate. It had a very "Sarah Connor" feel to it, though I don't think it was supposed to be Terminator related.
At one point the woman showed the "good" doctors papers that looked similar to the hand-scrawled note I'd held earlier in the dream. The bad doctor had supposedly written this, and it somehow proved his evil intent. The bad doctor found out, and locked the woman back in her room, this time heavily strapped down to her bed so she could do no more harm.
The last scene I remember is a large military plane coming in for a landing. It opened its back hatch, and all sorts of items began just rolling out. One of them was that woman's bed, with her still strapped to it. Another was a skateboard covered in art--the art being the scribbled doodles from the mail in the previous dream.
Then the girl broke free from her bead and physically confronted the bad doctor in what looked like someone's driveway.
I dreamed that I was waking up early this morning and one of the first things I did was to go check my e-mail. One of the messages was from a client for whom I used to do regular freelance art for a kids' magazine. In real life it's been roughly a year since my last gig for that client, but the e-mail in the dream informed that they needed another comic. At first I was excited, until I began to look more closely.
As soon as I opened the e-mail, I was holding a physical, handwritten letter instead. The handwriting was very poorly scrawled in pencil. It was difficult to read, but seemed to be asking me do draw something for them, though it offered very little specifics except to see the rough sketches they'd included as examples. There was an attached piece of paper with some hideously vague scribbles that were completely unintelligible. I think they were supposed to be of dinosaurs. I had no idea what these people wanted me to draw.
Then I noticed another handwritten note explaining that said the guy who had written the letter would take 30% of what I was paid for the job because he took the time to draw those example sketches! By now, obviously, this whole thing was beginning to smell of a scam to me.
I think it was around this time that the alarm went off and I hit snooze. Drifting immediately back to sleep, I had a brief dream that seemed to stem from the previous scenario, though it started off more like some kind of movie scene:
There was an attractive girl being kept in some sort of institution. The main doctor taking care of her, a balding middle-aged man, was obviously the villain. He knew she wasn't really crazy, but he had convinced everyone else she was. She was trying to convince the other doctors that her claims were accurate. It had a very "Sarah Connor" feel to it, though I don't think it was supposed to be Terminator related.
At one point the woman showed the "good" doctors papers that looked similar to the hand-scrawled note I'd held earlier in the dream. The bad doctor had supposedly written this, and it somehow proved his evil intent. The bad doctor found out, and locked the woman back in her room, this time heavily strapped down to her bed so she could do no more harm.
The last scene I remember is a large military plane coming in for a landing. It opened its back hatch, and all sorts of items began just rolling out. One of them was that woman's bed, with her still strapped to it. Another was a skateboard covered in art--the art being the scribbled doodles from the mail in the previous dream.
Then the girl broke free from her bead and physically confronted the bad doctor in what looked like someone's driveway.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The New Costume Designs
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
My real life trip to Disney World was just a couple of days away when I had this dream, so its subject matter is kind of understandable. I really can only remember one scene, which took place in a very small room. The room was poorly lit and sort of dirty and decrepit in appearance. You could see through the dirty window in the back that it was a clear night outside.
The room had several rusty metal folding chairs lined up in about four rows facing toward an area with a podium (or something serving as a podium). A handful of the seats were filled with the costumed Disney characters, such as inhabit Disney World. I know there were Mickey, Donald and Goofy, and I think Minnie and maybe one other (Pluto?).
But the costumes looked different in a weird and borderline creepy way. They were form-fitting lycra bodysuits. The bodysuit just had the corresponding character's colors and outfit printed onto it. Similarly, instead wearing the sculpted head masks, they sported lycra hoods over their heads with the character's faces printed on. Mickey's head didn't even have actual ears sticking out!
I don't know where I fit into this scene, as I only seemed to be observing the whole thing. These oddly-dressed characters were just sitting in these folding chairs, as though waiting to be addressed by someone (or perhaps they already were being addressed and I just can't remember it).
My real life trip to Disney World was just a couple of days away when I had this dream, so its subject matter is kind of understandable. I really can only remember one scene, which took place in a very small room. The room was poorly lit and sort of dirty and decrepit in appearance. You could see through the dirty window in the back that it was a clear night outside.
The room had several rusty metal folding chairs lined up in about four rows facing toward an area with a podium (or something serving as a podium). A handful of the seats were filled with the costumed Disney characters, such as inhabit Disney World. I know there were Mickey, Donald and Goofy, and I think Minnie and maybe one other (Pluto?).
But the costumes looked different in a weird and borderline creepy way. They were form-fitting lycra bodysuits. The bodysuit just had the corresponding character's colors and outfit printed onto it. Similarly, instead wearing the sculpted head masks, they sported lycra hoods over their heads with the character's faces printed on. Mickey's head didn't even have actual ears sticking out!
I don't know where I fit into this scene, as I only seemed to be observing the whole thing. These oddly-dressed characters were just sitting in these folding chairs, as though waiting to be addressed by someone (or perhaps they already were being addressed and I just can't remember it).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Feral Boy
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
I was at my parent's house, but it was the house we all lived in during my teenage years. We were talking about pets. Looking through the window, my mom pointed out to be a large birdcage sitting in the front yard. It was golden in color and probably around four feet in height with the door left open.
There was a brightly hued bird, predominately red, perched on top of the cage. It would occasionally hop down through the open door into the cage to partake of some food that laid out on the floor, then fly back up to the top of the cage.
My mom was explaining how she left that cage outside and now that bird would come regularly and eat the food and spend some time in the cage. It was acting like a tamed pet ,even though it was still technically wild. Or at least I assumed she was talking about the bird. She just kept saying "he"...
That's when a little boy about five or six years of age came walking into the yard. He was disheveled and looked vaguely feral but strangely calm. He approached the bird cage, scared away the bird, and began eating from the food inside. My mom now further explained that she was talking about this wild little boy the whole time!
At this point she told me she had to go somewhere and she left the house, waving goodbye to the feral boy as she got in her car and left. Then the feral boy ran up to the house and began knocking in the door. I felt a little wary of him and didn't open it.
There was also some other dream I vaguely recall about messing up my contact lenses. I just started the last pair in my current batch of them this week in real life and I dreamed I ruined one of them while trying to put them in.**
**Two mornings after this dream, I really did rip the last lens while putting them on in the morning. Probably only the second time I've ever ripped a lens in all the years I've worn contacts! Oops!
I was at my parent's house, but it was the house we all lived in during my teenage years. We were talking about pets. Looking through the window, my mom pointed out to be a large birdcage sitting in the front yard. It was golden in color and probably around four feet in height with the door left open.
There was a brightly hued bird, predominately red, perched on top of the cage. It would occasionally hop down through the open door into the cage to partake of some food that laid out on the floor, then fly back up to the top of the cage.
My mom was explaining how she left that cage outside and now that bird would come regularly and eat the food and spend some time in the cage. It was acting like a tamed pet ,even though it was still technically wild. Or at least I assumed she was talking about the bird. She just kept saying "he"...
That's when a little boy about five or six years of age came walking into the yard. He was disheveled and looked vaguely feral but strangely calm. He approached the bird cage, scared away the bird, and began eating from the food inside. My mom now further explained that she was talking about this wild little boy the whole time!
At this point she told me she had to go somewhere and she left the house, waving goodbye to the feral boy as she got in her car and left. Then the feral boy ran up to the house and began knocking in the door. I felt a little wary of him and didn't open it.
There was also some other dream I vaguely recall about messing up my contact lenses. I just started the last pair in my current batch of them this week in real life and I dreamed I ruined one of them while trying to put them in.**
**Two mornings after this dream, I really did rip the last lens while putting them on in the morning. Probably only the second time I've ever ripped a lens in all the years I've worn contacts! Oops!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Weird Movies and Wild Drivers
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
I went to a theater with a couple for friends. What we ended up seeing was some sort of bizarre, live satellite broadcast on the theater screen. I don't remember much about it, except there were girls, and I know it seemed shocking and lewd to the point of making me a bit uncomfortable.
Then, there seemed to be an interlude in which there were a couple of speakers who addressed us from within the audience. When they were finished, another show started, but it was more like a community theater type of play that was being broadcast in the theater.
Eventually I remember leaving. I was parked on a higher level in a parking garage, and for some reason my vehicle was a massive pickup truck (I've never driven one of those in real life). As I approached the truck, I saw there were several teenage hoodlums hanging around it, which made me uneasy.
When I tried to get in my car, they very sarcastically made way for me, but were still harassing me a bit. The car parked on my driver's side was parked very close to me, making it hard to squeeze into my door without banging it into the side of their car. One of the teenage hoodlums grabbed my door and pushed it hard into the other car so that it made a scratch and laughed. I was very mad, but just got in my truck and left.
As I drove down the road on my way home, I was driving up a hill were there was no visibility as to what might be coming in the other direction. Suddenly, a convertible sports car with the top down came launching over the crest of the hill, literally lifting into the air like in a movie. I was just able to swerve out of the way, over the curb on the side of the road and into someone's lawn. If I hadn't done this, the other car would have landed on me and that would have been the end.
I looked in my rear-view mirror to see the car hit the pavement and lose control, flipping over and over and over in a horrible wreck. I felt sick and panicked as I watched--and woke up.
I went to a theater with a couple for friends. What we ended up seeing was some sort of bizarre, live satellite broadcast on the theater screen. I don't remember much about it, except there were girls, and I know it seemed shocking and lewd to the point of making me a bit uncomfortable.
Then, there seemed to be an interlude in which there were a couple of speakers who addressed us from within the audience. When they were finished, another show started, but it was more like a community theater type of play that was being broadcast in the theater.
Eventually I remember leaving. I was parked on a higher level in a parking garage, and for some reason my vehicle was a massive pickup truck (I've never driven one of those in real life). As I approached the truck, I saw there were several teenage hoodlums hanging around it, which made me uneasy.
When I tried to get in my car, they very sarcastically made way for me, but were still harassing me a bit. The car parked on my driver's side was parked very close to me, making it hard to squeeze into my door without banging it into the side of their car. One of the teenage hoodlums grabbed my door and pushed it hard into the other car so that it made a scratch and laughed. I was very mad, but just got in my truck and left.
As I drove down the road on my way home, I was driving up a hill were there was no visibility as to what might be coming in the other direction. Suddenly, a convertible sports car with the top down came launching over the crest of the hill, literally lifting into the air like in a movie. I was just able to swerve out of the way, over the curb on the side of the road and into someone's lawn. If I hadn't done this, the other car would have landed on me and that would have been the end.
I looked in my rear-view mirror to see the car hit the pavement and lose control, flipping over and over and over in a horrible wreck. I felt sick and panicked as I watched--and woke up.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Topless
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2009
I was with Eric and Richard and Jessica in someone's house. There were other people there, too. We were standing in the living room, and I noticed an ex girlfriend from a few years ago was standing in the foyer near the front door. She was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and looking good. She had one arm stretched out in front of her with something in her hand, and was balancing on one leg. There was no discernible reason for this behavior.
Eric had apparently been out of the room because at this point he rejoined the rest of us and snapped me out of my distraction. Richard suggested we all go take a walk, and everyone agreed. It was fairly, but not ridiculously, late at night. We went to take our walk on some sort of winding, wooden boardwalk that was built over a body of water. There were plenty of lights around the place so you could see, and there were plenty of people there just hanging out. There was a bar/restaurant on the premises as well.
Suddenly I realized I wasn't wearing a shirt! I could only assume this meant I'd not been wearing one all evening, and I wondered why in the world no one had pointed this out to me! I thought back to my topless ex from before and wondered if going shirtless were some sort of theme of the evening.
Even though we weren't at their house, Jessica announced I could just borrow one of Richard's shirts and disappeared somewhere to retrieve one. While we were standing around waiting, a guy who attends a "movie meetup group" I take part in in real life approached us. He was very enthusiastically explaining to us that there was a club he loved to go to and we all just had to go with him. He was very emphatic about it, but none of us really wanted to go.
I was with Eric and Richard and Jessica in someone's house. There were other people there, too. We were standing in the living room, and I noticed an ex girlfriend from a few years ago was standing in the foyer near the front door. She was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and looking good. She had one arm stretched out in front of her with something in her hand, and was balancing on one leg. There was no discernible reason for this behavior.
Eric had apparently been out of the room because at this point he rejoined the rest of us and snapped me out of my distraction. Richard suggested we all go take a walk, and everyone agreed. It was fairly, but not ridiculously, late at night. We went to take our walk on some sort of winding, wooden boardwalk that was built over a body of water. There were plenty of lights around the place so you could see, and there were plenty of people there just hanging out. There was a bar/restaurant on the premises as well.
Suddenly I realized I wasn't wearing a shirt! I could only assume this meant I'd not been wearing one all evening, and I wondered why in the world no one had pointed this out to me! I thought back to my topless ex from before and wondered if going shirtless were some sort of theme of the evening.
Even though we weren't at their house, Jessica announced I could just borrow one of Richard's shirts and disappeared somewhere to retrieve one. While we were standing around waiting, a guy who attends a "movie meetup group" I take part in in real life approached us. He was very enthusiastically explaining to us that there was a club he loved to go to and we all just had to go with him. He was very emphatic about it, but none of us really wanted to go.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ghosts in the Parlor
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
This turned out to be one of my favorite dreams in a while.
My friend Eric explained to me how he and his band had been tapped to record an original song for a web site. The site apparently got unsigned and under-the-radar bands to pick a Christmas song, record their own interpretation of it, and then they posted them in a gallery online.
Eric's band had chosen "Here Comes Santa Claus". They had done it as entirely instrumental, with ambient and electronic sounds. It was pretty cool. Then he showed me there was a video for it, which consisted of the band members sitting on a large, dirty old couch in a small dark room as they played their instruments.
The next thing I remember is Eric and I were riding around with Melissa. We passed a building that I think was a school, and I saw that big old couch from the music video just sitting in a ditch in front of the building. I asked Eric if that wasn't the same couch and he confirmed it was, going on to explain that they'd gotten the idea for the video when they found that couch in that ditch. They brought it in to the studio to record, but no one wanted to keep it, so they returned it to the ditch afterwords.
Somehow Eric and Melissa and I ended up inside some building that looked really vintage, like from the turn of the previous century or so. Parts of the building had been restored for modern use, but parts were still in ancient disrepair. I can't remember the specific turn of events that led up to it, but Eric and I became convinced that one of the decrepit rooms--it looked like it may have once been a parlor room--was haunted!
We kept trying to convince Melissa that this place--at least this room--was haunted. She didn't believe us at all, which is weird, because in real life if any of the three of us were likely to believe something was haunted, she would be the one! We took her into the room and were trying to show her why we thought it was haunted.
She still didn't believe us until at one point I said her name, and it echoed loudly throughout the room. Nothing else I said echoed--only her name. I tried it again, and again her name was the only word that echoed. She tried it. She said my name...nothing. Eric's name...nothing. She said her own name and it echoed as though she'd shouted into a ravine. By now we were all fairly creeped out. "See?!" I told her, "The ghosts are trying to prove to you they're here!"
At this point the room instantly transformed into what it probably had looked like in its heyday. Then it was filled with uppity socialites, men and women, dressed in their finest period garments. We knew we were seeing the ghosts, and we observed them as they conversed and laughed and carried on.
I specifically remember one fat gentleman with a walrus mustache. Someone offered him a smoke, and he declined, saying he was giving up smoking because it was, after all, what had killed him in the end. The other ghosts gave a hearty "Here, here!" At this point, I went around and collected the cigarettes from each of the individuals who had them and threw them away. It was my only actual interaction with the spirits.
I think this is about the point that the surreal nature of the experience woke me up.
I vaguely remember some dream I had later in which I was watching a movie from the early 80's. I noticed that everything in the city--every building, every billboard, etc., had some sort of Pac Man decoration. Just the little yellow Pac Man shape, everywhere. An arial shot showed that even the roofs of some tall buildings had Pac-Man-shaped air conditioning units and Pac-Man-adorned water towers. But this hadn't been created for the movie; I somehow knew it was real footage of what cities looked like in the early eighties!
This turned out to be one of my favorite dreams in a while.
My friend Eric explained to me how he and his band had been tapped to record an original song for a web site. The site apparently got unsigned and under-the-radar bands to pick a Christmas song, record their own interpretation of it, and then they posted them in a gallery online.
Eric's band had chosen "Here Comes Santa Claus". They had done it as entirely instrumental, with ambient and electronic sounds. It was pretty cool. Then he showed me there was a video for it, which consisted of the band members sitting on a large, dirty old couch in a small dark room as they played their instruments.
The next thing I remember is Eric and I were riding around with Melissa. We passed a building that I think was a school, and I saw that big old couch from the music video just sitting in a ditch in front of the building. I asked Eric if that wasn't the same couch and he confirmed it was, going on to explain that they'd gotten the idea for the video when they found that couch in that ditch. They brought it in to the studio to record, but no one wanted to keep it, so they returned it to the ditch afterwords.
Somehow Eric and Melissa and I ended up inside some building that looked really vintage, like from the turn of the previous century or so. Parts of the building had been restored for modern use, but parts were still in ancient disrepair. I can't remember the specific turn of events that led up to it, but Eric and I became convinced that one of the decrepit rooms--it looked like it may have once been a parlor room--was haunted!
We kept trying to convince Melissa that this place--at least this room--was haunted. She didn't believe us at all, which is weird, because in real life if any of the three of us were likely to believe something was haunted, she would be the one! We took her into the room and were trying to show her why we thought it was haunted.
She still didn't believe us until at one point I said her name, and it echoed loudly throughout the room. Nothing else I said echoed--only her name. I tried it again, and again her name was the only word that echoed. She tried it. She said my name...nothing. Eric's name...nothing. She said her own name and it echoed as though she'd shouted into a ravine. By now we were all fairly creeped out. "See?!" I told her, "The ghosts are trying to prove to you they're here!"
At this point the room instantly transformed into what it probably had looked like in its heyday. Then it was filled with uppity socialites, men and women, dressed in their finest period garments. We knew we were seeing the ghosts, and we observed them as they conversed and laughed and carried on.
I specifically remember one fat gentleman with a walrus mustache. Someone offered him a smoke, and he declined, saying he was giving up smoking because it was, after all, what had killed him in the end. The other ghosts gave a hearty "Here, here!" At this point, I went around and collected the cigarettes from each of the individuals who had them and threw them away. It was my only actual interaction with the spirits.
I think this is about the point that the surreal nature of the experience woke me up.
I vaguely remember some dream I had later in which I was watching a movie from the early 80's. I noticed that everything in the city--every building, every billboard, etc., had some sort of Pac Man decoration. Just the little yellow Pac Man shape, everywhere. An arial shot showed that even the roofs of some tall buildings had Pac-Man-shaped air conditioning units and Pac-Man-adorned water towers. But this hadn't been created for the movie; I somehow knew it was real footage of what cities looked like in the early eighties!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Gotta Go Vampire Dreamer
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2009
I had to use the bathroom really badly. I was walking through the woods looking for a place to go, because I knew I couldn't make it back to where an actual restroom was. The problem was, this was a public trail through the woods, and, though the area was not crowded, there were enough people coming and going to make it impossible to do this discreetly.
I ended up meeting a cute, friendly girl and this apparently successfully distracted me from my previous dilemma. We talked and generally got a long really well. We went back to my apartment (no, it wasn't like that--we just ended up there to continue talking). She excused herself to go to the bathroom and I was reminded of my previous need!
Yet I was distracted again when I noticed a folded piece of paper on the seat where the girl had been. I picked it up to discover it was a note she'd written to me. It was expressing concern that all she dreamed about anymore was vampires, and she was asking me what this meant and if I knew any ways to make it stop.
I had to use the bathroom really badly. I was walking through the woods looking for a place to go, because I knew I couldn't make it back to where an actual restroom was. The problem was, this was a public trail through the woods, and, though the area was not crowded, there were enough people coming and going to make it impossible to do this discreetly.
I ended up meeting a cute, friendly girl and this apparently successfully distracted me from my previous dilemma. We talked and generally got a long really well. We went back to my apartment (no, it wasn't like that--we just ended up there to continue talking). She excused herself to go to the bathroom and I was reminded of my previous need!
Yet I was distracted again when I noticed a folded piece of paper on the seat where the girl had been. I picked it up to discover it was a note she'd written to me. It was expressing concern that all she dreamed about anymore was vampires, and she was asking me what this meant and if I knew any ways to make it stop.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Orlando Plush
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2009
I've got a short trip to Disney World coming up soon in real life, and in this dream I was already there. Only in the dream, it was Eric who had gone with me, even though he's not attending in real life. We were in our hotel and he explained to me that it was apparently common knowledge that every hotel in Orlando sold special collector's plush animals. It was common for visitors to try to collect one of each animal over the course of all their visits. Each hotel was represented by a different animal, and ours happened to sell plush chimps.
Though I have no real-life collection of plush things, I decided I might as well go in for the tradition and went down to the gift shop. The plush chimps were very small, cheap little beanie things. They came in different shades, but they were all shades of brown! I was looking for any potentially more interesting colors when I saw some that were different shades of green. Upon closer inspection, the green ones were actually plush Godzillas! Then I noticed a couple of plush, green Spider-Man villains (Electro and the Scorpion).
I've got a short trip to Disney World coming up soon in real life, and in this dream I was already there. Only in the dream, it was Eric who had gone with me, even though he's not attending in real life. We were in our hotel and he explained to me that it was apparently common knowledge that every hotel in Orlando sold special collector's plush animals. It was common for visitors to try to collect one of each animal over the course of all their visits. Each hotel was represented by a different animal, and ours happened to sell plush chimps.
Though I have no real-life collection of plush things, I decided I might as well go in for the tradition and went down to the gift shop. The plush chimps were very small, cheap little beanie things. They came in different shades, but they were all shades of brown! I was looking for any potentially more interesting colors when I saw some that were different shades of green. Upon closer inspection, the green ones were actually plush Godzillas! Then I noticed a couple of plush, green Spider-Man villains (Electro and the Scorpion).
Friday, September 11, 2009
The Lost Bus
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
Another dream blatantly inspired by the recent marathon of the Lost on DVD (I finished season 3 last night).
I was riding in bus full of people, some of whom were characters from Lost (and I recognized them as such, though it seemed normal). We were being transported to some place on an island. I somehow knew in my mind that the bus was supposed to crash and strand us there, and kept anticipating it.
The bus driver, a middle-aged woman, seemed kind of creepy, and I assumed she was one of "the others". At any rate, the bus didn't actually crash. We just ended up arriving at a certain place on the island from which the bust driver said we'd have to walk. I remember traipsing up a long, severe hill and speaking to Jack. We were trying to theorize what was going on.
Finally we arrived at some houses. I remember several of us were gathered in the living room of one of the houses at night. We were watching TV, and some game show was on. The game show was all in French and featured a spinning wheel kind of like on Wheel of Fortune. The lady by the wheel, however, was a Muppet-like puppet (the host and all other members of the show were regular people).
I thought I "remembered" this as some kind of old classic game show that they used to show reruns of when I was a kid. For some reason it seemed wrong to me that they were showing it here--like it was a clue to something bad that was going on. I felt I needed to warn everyone, if I could only figure out what it was that was giving me this feeling.
My last memory is that someone dragged John Locke's dead body into the room (I don't remember/know how he'd been killed). We were all wrapping it up and preparing it for burial. Some random teenage girl among us commented "Ew! He's missing one of his toes!"
Another dream blatantly inspired by the recent marathon of the Lost on DVD (I finished season 3 last night).
I was riding in bus full of people, some of whom were characters from Lost (and I recognized them as such, though it seemed normal). We were being transported to some place on an island. I somehow knew in my mind that the bus was supposed to crash and strand us there, and kept anticipating it.
The bus driver, a middle-aged woman, seemed kind of creepy, and I assumed she was one of "the others". At any rate, the bus didn't actually crash. We just ended up arriving at a certain place on the island from which the bust driver said we'd have to walk. I remember traipsing up a long, severe hill and speaking to Jack. We were trying to theorize what was going on.
Finally we arrived at some houses. I remember several of us were gathered in the living room of one of the houses at night. We were watching TV, and some game show was on. The game show was all in French and featured a spinning wheel kind of like on Wheel of Fortune. The lady by the wheel, however, was a Muppet-like puppet (the host and all other members of the show were regular people).
I thought I "remembered" this as some kind of old classic game show that they used to show reruns of when I was a kid. For some reason it seemed wrong to me that they were showing it here--like it was a clue to something bad that was going on. I felt I needed to warn everyone, if I could only figure out what it was that was giving me this feeling.
My last memory is that someone dragged John Locke's dead body into the room (I don't remember/know how he'd been killed). We were all wrapping it up and preparing it for burial. Some random teenage girl among us commented "Ew! He's missing one of his toes!"
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Weight Gain and Naps
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
First I remember going to some event where I ran into Richard. In real life Richard has lost tons of weight, gotten into shape, and become quite the health nut in the past couple of years. When I saw him in the dream, he has started go gain a good bit of weight back.
He told me it was 30-something pounds he'd gained. He was obviously really concerned about it, and yet kept making excuses for why he'd let it happen. I was really sad that he'd fallen off the wagon after being so happy in his new lifestyle.
Then I remember being at my grandmother's house. I don't remember my grandmother being there, but my mom and I seemed to be staying there. It was very early in the morning and I was getting ready to go somewhere--possibly to work, I assume.
I went outside where my car was parked in the driveway, and all of the sudden Richard (the somewhat overweight version from before) and a girl I went to high school with but have not seen since (except for the Facebook universe) walked up.
The three of us sat inside my parked car, talking for a while. Richard and the girl kept complaining of being tired and sleepy, and finally both fell asleep right there in their seats. I went back inside to finish getting ready. I took some kind of pastry or something from the cabinet and was eating it when I suddenly "remembered" that Einstein, the geriatric family dog that lives with my parents, was here and needed to bed fed before I left!
I only had a few minutes before I had to be gone, so I started trying to rush Einstein's things together to take out to him. But then my next recollection is being back in the driveway and realizing I'd need to wake up Richard and the girl and get them out of my car so I could leave. My last memory is, vaguely, of rousing them.
First I remember going to some event where I ran into Richard. In real life Richard has lost tons of weight, gotten into shape, and become quite the health nut in the past couple of years. When I saw him in the dream, he has started go gain a good bit of weight back.
He told me it was 30-something pounds he'd gained. He was obviously really concerned about it, and yet kept making excuses for why he'd let it happen. I was really sad that he'd fallen off the wagon after being so happy in his new lifestyle.
Then I remember being at my grandmother's house. I don't remember my grandmother being there, but my mom and I seemed to be staying there. It was very early in the morning and I was getting ready to go somewhere--possibly to work, I assume.
I went outside where my car was parked in the driveway, and all of the sudden Richard (the somewhat overweight version from before) and a girl I went to high school with but have not seen since (except for the Facebook universe) walked up.
The three of us sat inside my parked car, talking for a while. Richard and the girl kept complaining of being tired and sleepy, and finally both fell asleep right there in their seats. I went back inside to finish getting ready. I took some kind of pastry or something from the cabinet and was eating it when I suddenly "remembered" that Einstein, the geriatric family dog that lives with my parents, was here and needed to bed fed before I left!
I only had a few minutes before I had to be gone, so I started trying to rush Einstein's things together to take out to him. But then my next recollection is being back in the driveway and realizing I'd need to wake up Richard and the girl and get them out of my car so I could leave. My last memory is, vaguely, of rousing them.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Kitchen, the Author and the Tapping.
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2009
Recently a friend has gotten me hooked on the series, Lost. I've been working my way through the existing seasons (currently only halfway through season 3, so no spoilers, please, all you scores of people who comment here and are likely to leave spoilers). Anyway, as I've been marathoning the DVDs of late, it's infected my dreams here and there (including ones that have already been posted here)...but none more obviously than this one:
I was with Locke and Desmond in some facility that looked a lot like the first hatch discovered on the island. There was a large kitchen that looked like what one might find in a really nice restaurant. Inside this kitchen was a large, metal door that we could not open. A good portion of the dream consisted of us trying to figure out how we might open it.
Eventually I hooked up some dynamite we had and was about to blow it open. I thought better of it at the last minute, afraid it would end up blowing everything else to bits.
My next memory is that Locke was showing me a sales brochure where you could order books. He pointed out a new book by supposedly his favorite author and told me he couldn't wait to order and receive it. I looked in the brochure and saw a list of the author's other works, and though all the titles were clear in the dream I now can only remember a couple of them. One had something to do with "The so-and-so-something Abortion". Another was "Aliens", which was explained to be the novel the movie of the same name was based on.
At this point I gradually became conscious (in real life) due to a light tapping noise in my bedroom. It turned out to be the little stick that opens and closes the venetian blinds on the windows gently blowing in the breeze from my fan and tapping the blinds. I was awake only long enough to register this and ponder the dream I'd been having for a moment.
In my next dream I was still in my bedroom hearing the tapping noise. Claire (also from Lost) was there and pointed out to me that it was the fan blowing the mirror on my dresser. So we pulled the dresser out from the wall together and were tightening the bolts that hold the mirror to it, so it wouldn't sway and tap anymore.
Now, suddenly and without notice, it was no longer Claire buy my cousin Stephen and his wife. As they finished tightening screws, I looked into a box that was lying nearby. There were old throw pillows and some hand-knit blankets and doilies and such that I recognized as being from my grandmother's house (only the pillows actually resembled anything she's ever really had).
I laid all of these items out in a row. For some reason my room was now lit with a black light. I pointed out to Stephen how these old items looked as they "glowed" in the black light. We were beginning to reminisce about the items as I gradually began to notice we were up in bleachers in some kind of large auditorium. People were filing in as though some type of concert or similar event were about to take place.
Recently a friend has gotten me hooked on the series, Lost. I've been working my way through the existing seasons (currently only halfway through season 3, so no spoilers, please, all you scores of people who comment here and are likely to leave spoilers). Anyway, as I've been marathoning the DVDs of late, it's infected my dreams here and there (including ones that have already been posted here)...but none more obviously than this one:
I was with Locke and Desmond in some facility that looked a lot like the first hatch discovered on the island. There was a large kitchen that looked like what one might find in a really nice restaurant. Inside this kitchen was a large, metal door that we could not open. A good portion of the dream consisted of us trying to figure out how we might open it.
Eventually I hooked up some dynamite we had and was about to blow it open. I thought better of it at the last minute, afraid it would end up blowing everything else to bits.
My next memory is that Locke was showing me a sales brochure where you could order books. He pointed out a new book by supposedly his favorite author and told me he couldn't wait to order and receive it. I looked in the brochure and saw a list of the author's other works, and though all the titles were clear in the dream I now can only remember a couple of them. One had something to do with "The so-and-so-something Abortion". Another was "Aliens", which was explained to be the novel the movie of the same name was based on.
At this point I gradually became conscious (in real life) due to a light tapping noise in my bedroom. It turned out to be the little stick that opens and closes the venetian blinds on the windows gently blowing in the breeze from my fan and tapping the blinds. I was awake only long enough to register this and ponder the dream I'd been having for a moment.
In my next dream I was still in my bedroom hearing the tapping noise. Claire (also from Lost) was there and pointed out to me that it was the fan blowing the mirror on my dresser. So we pulled the dresser out from the wall together and were tightening the bolts that hold the mirror to it, so it wouldn't sway and tap anymore.
Now, suddenly and without notice, it was no longer Claire buy my cousin Stephen and his wife. As they finished tightening screws, I looked into a box that was lying nearby. There were old throw pillows and some hand-knit blankets and doilies and such that I recognized as being from my grandmother's house (only the pillows actually resembled anything she's ever really had).
I laid all of these items out in a row. For some reason my room was now lit with a black light. I pointed out to Stephen how these old items looked as they "glowed" in the black light. We were beginning to reminisce about the items as I gradually began to notice we were up in bleachers in some kind of large auditorium. People were filing in as though some type of concert or similar event were about to take place.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Knock, Knock
MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 5, 2009
I was watching something on TV. Two guys, obviously friends, were hanging out together when one of them tried to tell the other one a "Knock Knock" joke.
"Knock, knock!" the first one said. His friend ignored him.
"Knock, knock!" he said again.
"I'm not playing 'Knock Knock' jokes, man." replied his buddy.
"Knock, knock!" said the original friend, more earnestly, barely able to contain his grin.
This little exchange went back and forth for a few moments until, finally, the one friend gave in and responded to the "Knock Knock" joke...
"Knock, knock!"
"Who's there?"
"It's Mike Tyson, bitch!" and the guy just sucker-punched his friend square in the face! The friend fell to the ground while the other guy just laughed like he'd told the funniest joke ever!
And while watching this on the TV in the dream, I laughed too! I laughed so hard I woke myself up.
I was watching something on TV. Two guys, obviously friends, were hanging out together when one of them tried to tell the other one a "Knock Knock" joke.
"Knock, knock!" the first one said. His friend ignored him.
"Knock, knock!" he said again.
"I'm not playing 'Knock Knock' jokes, man." replied his buddy.
"Knock, knock!" said the original friend, more earnestly, barely able to contain his grin.
This little exchange went back and forth for a few moments until, finally, the one friend gave in and responded to the "Knock Knock" joke...
"Knock, knock!"
"Who's there?"
"It's Mike Tyson, bitch!" and the guy just sucker-punched his friend square in the face! The friend fell to the ground while the other guy just laughed like he'd told the funniest joke ever!
And while watching this on the TV in the dream, I laughed too! I laughed so hard I woke myself up.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Warped Watches
MORNING OF AUGUST 31, 2009
I was supposed to go out and eat with my parents and a family friend to celebrate my birthday (which actually happens in February). I met my parents at their house and were were going to leave from there.
For some reason I was wearing a watch that I used to wear several years ago--I haven't worn or even seen this particular watch in a long time. I looked at it in the dream and noticed that the glass that covered the face of the watch looked all warped and wrinkled. I wasn't sure how this could happen to the glass on a watch just because it hadn't been worn in ages. I wondered if maybe it was one of those little protective plastic films they place on top of glass and other easily scratched items when they're new, but it didn't seem to be that.
I became curious and began to check out several other old watches that I haven't worn in a long time (neither of the couple of watches that I usually rotate between in modern times were among them). Each one seemed to have some kind of distortion of the glass on the face.
Then my parents and I drove to the restaurant for dinner. It was a Wendy's! I don't do a whole lot of fast food anymore, and I can't remember the last time I was at a Wendy's, but here we were. Only this one looked like some hold-in-the-wall greasy spoon. And it was supposed to be my birthday dinner! Humph!
We had arrived early, and were waiting in the car in the parking lot for our family friend to arrive. I noticed a bank was nearby. This made me think about the fact that this month (or September, which is almost this month anyway) is my final car payment (that's a fact from real life). My papers say to contact the bank upon final payment, so I decided I could just walk over to this bank and handle the final payment right then and there.
The man I spoke to in the bank was the man who ran the comic store I used to go to back when I collected comics on a regular basis.
I was supposed to go out and eat with my parents and a family friend to celebrate my birthday (which actually happens in February). I met my parents at their house and were were going to leave from there.
For some reason I was wearing a watch that I used to wear several years ago--I haven't worn or even seen this particular watch in a long time. I looked at it in the dream and noticed that the glass that covered the face of the watch looked all warped and wrinkled. I wasn't sure how this could happen to the glass on a watch just because it hadn't been worn in ages. I wondered if maybe it was one of those little protective plastic films they place on top of glass and other easily scratched items when they're new, but it didn't seem to be that.
I became curious and began to check out several other old watches that I haven't worn in a long time (neither of the couple of watches that I usually rotate between in modern times were among them). Each one seemed to have some kind of distortion of the glass on the face.
Then my parents and I drove to the restaurant for dinner. It was a Wendy's! I don't do a whole lot of fast food anymore, and I can't remember the last time I was at a Wendy's, but here we were. Only this one looked like some hold-in-the-wall greasy spoon. And it was supposed to be my birthday dinner! Humph!
We had arrived early, and were waiting in the car in the parking lot for our family friend to arrive. I noticed a bank was nearby. This made me think about the fact that this month (or September, which is almost this month anyway) is my final car payment (that's a fact from real life). My papers say to contact the bank upon final payment, so I decided I could just walk over to this bank and handle the final payment right then and there.
The man I spoke to in the bank was the man who ran the comic store I used to go to back when I collected comics on a regular basis.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Taking Aim
MORNING OF AUGUST 30, 2009
Be forewarned. This dream has a bit of a bathroom topic. But it's so incredibly odd that I have to journal it anyway.
I was riding on a bus late at night with several other people. Apparently we were on some sort of lengthy journey. Richard and Jessica and Cailey were among the other passengers.
At one point the bust stopped at an old, run town truck stop. Richard said it was a bathroom break. At this point I realize I really needed to go myself, so I followed along the with others who had to. The restrooms in this facility were a series of stainless steel structures that looked sort of like glorified outhouses. There were also all kinds of posters covering each one that seemed to advertise carnival attractions and such.
I waited in line for my turn, and finally entered my stall. Suddenly all these animated signs and flashing lights began to go off around me! The signs were explaining that you could win prizes by hitting the target. Then, amidst the whirring of old machinery, random targets in various shapes (the traditional circular stripes, animals, etc.) began to rise and fall quickly in various locations within the stall. You were obviously supposed to...well, aim for them...in hopes of "winning" if you hit any/enough of them!
I played the game and woke up during the process...obviously having to go very badly.
I had another dream after going back to sleep in which I was staying with my parents in this very cool, but completely fictional, old house. It had sort of a 70's decor (including shag carpet and panel walls), and was rather large. I remember something about getting ready for bed and being at the computer typing something. I went downstairs at one point and resumed typing on a different computer.
Be forewarned. This dream has a bit of a bathroom topic. But it's so incredibly odd that I have to journal it anyway.
I was riding on a bus late at night with several other people. Apparently we were on some sort of lengthy journey. Richard and Jessica and Cailey were among the other passengers.
At one point the bust stopped at an old, run town truck stop. Richard said it was a bathroom break. At this point I realize I really needed to go myself, so I followed along the with others who had to. The restrooms in this facility were a series of stainless steel structures that looked sort of like glorified outhouses. There were also all kinds of posters covering each one that seemed to advertise carnival attractions and such.
I waited in line for my turn, and finally entered my stall. Suddenly all these animated signs and flashing lights began to go off around me! The signs were explaining that you could win prizes by hitting the target. Then, amidst the whirring of old machinery, random targets in various shapes (the traditional circular stripes, animals, etc.) began to rise and fall quickly in various locations within the stall. You were obviously supposed to...well, aim for them...in hopes of "winning" if you hit any/enough of them!
I played the game and woke up during the process...obviously having to go very badly.
I had another dream after going back to sleep in which I was staying with my parents in this very cool, but completely fictional, old house. It had sort of a 70's decor (including shag carpet and panel walls), and was rather large. I remember something about getting ready for bed and being at the computer typing something. I went downstairs at one point and resumed typing on a different computer.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Old Man and the Henson
MORNING OF AUGUST 29, 2009
I had met some kindly old man and we'd apparently become friendly acquaintances. He was apparently an optometrist by trade, because my first clear memory is being in his office as he was performing an eye exam on me. I remember talking about my contacts, etc.
After the exam, he took me into a room in the back that looked like a huge bookstore, or perhaps it was even more specifically a comic store. It vaguely resembled a place I went to in Nashville, TN a few years ago called "The Great Escape". The old man was showing me around the place, pointing out different art books and such.
It turns out he was a famous cartoonist back in his heyday, and he was trying to encourage me and give me advice with my own cartooning. He reminded me of Charles Schulz, but I don't know whether or not he was necessarily supposed to be Charles Schulz.
Finally, I was in a back room of the store talking to my parents. They were thumbing through boxes of old record albums. My mom pulled out a Muppets album that had Jim Henson and Kermit on the cover. Upon seeing it, my dad casually mentioned that Jim Henson was scheduled to do a signing at this store in a couple of days.
I freaked out! The fact that he's dead didn't occur to me, I just thought it was great that Jim Henson was actually coming to the store, and I couldn't wait to go. My dad laughed, finding it ridiculous and for some reason surprising that I was so excited about meeting Jim Henson.
I had met some kindly old man and we'd apparently become friendly acquaintances. He was apparently an optometrist by trade, because my first clear memory is being in his office as he was performing an eye exam on me. I remember talking about my contacts, etc.
After the exam, he took me into a room in the back that looked like a huge bookstore, or perhaps it was even more specifically a comic store. It vaguely resembled a place I went to in Nashville, TN a few years ago called "The Great Escape". The old man was showing me around the place, pointing out different art books and such.
It turns out he was a famous cartoonist back in his heyday, and he was trying to encourage me and give me advice with my own cartooning. He reminded me of Charles Schulz, but I don't know whether or not he was necessarily supposed to be Charles Schulz.
Finally, I was in a back room of the store talking to my parents. They were thumbing through boxes of old record albums. My mom pulled out a Muppets album that had Jim Henson and Kermit on the cover. Upon seeing it, my dad casually mentioned that Jim Henson was scheduled to do a signing at this store in a couple of days.
I freaked out! The fact that he's dead didn't occur to me, I just thought it was great that Jim Henson was actually coming to the store, and I couldn't wait to go. My dad laughed, finding it ridiculous and for some reason surprising that I was so excited about meeting Jim Henson.
The Poorly Timed Storm
MORNING OF AUGUST 28, 2009
I was having this dream on a Friday morning. In the dream it was late Friday afternoon/early evening. Almost time to end my shift at work. However, a bad storm was coming. The rain hadn't yet begun, but the sky was incredibly dark and the wind was very violent. It was obvious that we were in for some severe weather.
Two coworkers and I were standing near the front entrance watching things develop. I was asking--half jokingly, half seriously--why the storm had to wait until it was finally time for me to go home to show up? Why couldn't it have come earlier in the day or later in the evening? Why did it have to trap me at work for longer?
Then I woke up. It's probably telling about my level of job satisfaction that my first emotion upon waking was not relief that there really was no tornado weather, but disappointment that it wasn't actually time to clock out and I still had the whole shift ahead of me.
I was having this dream on a Friday morning. In the dream it was late Friday afternoon/early evening. Almost time to end my shift at work. However, a bad storm was coming. The rain hadn't yet begun, but the sky was incredibly dark and the wind was very violent. It was obvious that we were in for some severe weather.
Two coworkers and I were standing near the front entrance watching things develop. I was asking--half jokingly, half seriously--why the storm had to wait until it was finally time for me to go home to show up? Why couldn't it have come earlier in the day or later in the evening? Why did it have to trap me at work for longer?
Then I woke up. It's probably telling about my level of job satisfaction that my first emotion upon waking was not relief that there really was no tornado weather, but disappointment that it wasn't actually time to clock out and I still had the whole shift ahead of me.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A Dirty Hostage Situation
MORNING OF AUGUST 26, 2009
I was watching an episode of the Discovery Channel show, Dirty Jobs. Host Mike Rowe was in some secretive-looking, windowless facility with apparently only one man operating it. It soon became apparent that this man was holding Mike hostage in this place, though it all continued to play out like a regular episode. I couldn't figure out if it was real or scripted.
Most of the jobs that Mike had to perform in the strange facility were really more just tedious than dirty. He still cracked wise and joked all throughout, even though the other guy was obviously a little bit loopy and dangerous.
And that's about it.
I was watching an episode of the Discovery Channel show, Dirty Jobs. Host Mike Rowe was in some secretive-looking, windowless facility with apparently only one man operating it. It soon became apparent that this man was holding Mike hostage in this place, though it all continued to play out like a regular episode. I couldn't figure out if it was real or scripted.
Most of the jobs that Mike had to perform in the strange facility were really more just tedious than dirty. He still cracked wise and joked all throughout, even though the other guy was obviously a little bit loopy and dangerous.
And that's about it.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Black Rabbit
MORNING OF AUGUST 25, 2009
I was with a friend (I can't remember which one) and we were walking around someone's yard in the early evening. The property looked somewhat like my grandmother's house. A dark little blur of an animal darted past us, going around the side of the house.
I went to get a better look and found, huddled under a bush, a fairly large black rabbit. It was behaving as though it were tame, so I began to pet it and found it behaved more or less like a friendly cat. It rubbed against me affectionately, clearly enjoying the attention.
When I walked back to the front of the house to rejoin my friend, the rabbit followed closely and I tried to show it to them. This is pretty much the last thing I remember.
I was with a friend (I can't remember which one) and we were walking around someone's yard in the early evening. The property looked somewhat like my grandmother's house. A dark little blur of an animal darted past us, going around the side of the house.
I went to get a better look and found, huddled under a bush, a fairly large black rabbit. It was behaving as though it were tame, so I began to pet it and found it behaved more or less like a friendly cat. It rubbed against me affectionately, clearly enjoying the attention.
When I walked back to the front of the house to rejoin my friend, the rabbit followed closely and I tried to show it to them. This is pretty much the last thing I remember.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Comic Store, the Motorbike and the Disney Mall
MORNING OF AUGUST 23, 2009
I was with Richard in a comic book store. True to real life, he was giving me a hard time about the fact that I no longer collect monthly comics (haven't in ages now). I vaguely remember the one employee at this comic store was particularly rude (imagine that). There was one area with a lot of fine art prints from various cartoonists. Many of these caught my eye, though they were, I thought, quite overpriced.
There was a rack of clothes and Richard looked at a pair of jogging shorts. He told me he could wear these when he went to the hospital. I asked him why he had to go to the hospital, and he explained that it wasn't for himself, but to visit someone he knew. Apparently some girl he worked with (an entirely fictional character) was having a sex change, and he was going to stay by her side as she recovered.
Next we sat at a table in the comic store and ordered food. A waitress came out and served us, and the next thing I can remember we were already getting our checks. Richard couldn't find his wallet and realized he must have left it in his car, so he went out to look for it. The waitress saw him leaving the store and ran after him, angrily screaming! She thought he was trying to dine-and-dash!
Next I remember leaving the store and getting on a motorbike to ride home (I don't ride motorcycles/motorbikes in real life, so I have no idea what this was doing in the dream.) The weather was extremely overcast, and I was in a hurry to get home as quickly as possible, before the rain.
Apparently the comic store had been located at the intersection nearest to my apartment complex, because that's where I was. In the dream I knew of a shortcut that would get me home even more quickly than the main road, and I chose to take it to increase my chances of beating the rain. I quickly realized, however, that I had forgotten the way on the shortcut and I got lost. I remember what felt like several minutes of riding the bike around trails in the woods, trying to find my way back to the main road.
I finally did make it back to the main road, but somehow ended up going to a mall instead of going home. The inside of the mall was basically an indoor Disney World. I met Richard, along with Jessica and Cailey. Conan O'Brien was taping a show in the main area of the Disney World Mall, and I stopped and watched a few minutes of it before walking on to check out other things.
At one point I saw a girl who was dressed like Jasmine from Aladdin and we made eye contact. Assuming she was one of the characters roaming the park, I snapped a picture of her as she walked by. Then I walked on a bit, and suddenly this box-shaped white robot, about waist high, rolled up to me and kept bumping into my legs and repeating some unintelligible phrase over and over. I assumed it was some obscure character from WALL-E that I simply didn't remember.
After a few moments of the leg-bumping and garbled mumbling by this robot, I began to feel unsettled--I couldn't get away from it! Then I noticed there was a baby sitting in a seat in top of the robot, and the unintelligible phrase was coming from the baby. Then an eastern Indian woman in traditional garb ran up and made the baby's robo-chair stop "attacking" me.
The lady explained to me, in broken English, that the robo-chair was a special stroller they had rented from the Disney park for the day. I looked beside the mother and saw "Jasmine" from earlier standing there. Then I realized it was the woman's daughter and not a girl playing Jasmine at Disney! This made me feel really embarrassed that I'd so freely taken the picture before.
After this I rejoined Richard and Jessica. We walked into a store that looked like just a regular store in a mall. There was a kitchen table displayed at the front of the store, draped in a fancy tablecloth. A loose thread from the cloth stuck to Jessica's clothes as she passed. I tried to let her know, but before I could she'd already gotten terribly tangled in it (to an impossible degree) and damaged the cloth in the process.
Finally, I remember looking back out the entrance of the store and saw a display of the Hill Valley clock tower from Back to the Future. There was a robotic Marty McFly hanging from the hands of the clock, yelling for help. In the dream I just naturally accepted this as a representation of the scene from the movie where Doc is hanging on the clock tower.
Suddenly the Marty McFly robot fell from the clock and broke apart as it hit the floor. Conan O'Brien, still taping for his show, ran forward and picked up some of the parts. He explained, "Well, first they closed Back to the Future: The Ride (referring to the real-life closing of the Universal Studios BTTF ride a couple of years ago), and now this breaks! I guess that's the end of the Back to the Future exhibit for good!" He was laughing and making jokes about it, but I felt sad.
I was with Richard in a comic book store. True to real life, he was giving me a hard time about the fact that I no longer collect monthly comics (haven't in ages now). I vaguely remember the one employee at this comic store was particularly rude (imagine that). There was one area with a lot of fine art prints from various cartoonists. Many of these caught my eye, though they were, I thought, quite overpriced.
There was a rack of clothes and Richard looked at a pair of jogging shorts. He told me he could wear these when he went to the hospital. I asked him why he had to go to the hospital, and he explained that it wasn't for himself, but to visit someone he knew. Apparently some girl he worked with (an entirely fictional character) was having a sex change, and he was going to stay by her side as she recovered.
Next we sat at a table in the comic store and ordered food. A waitress came out and served us, and the next thing I can remember we were already getting our checks. Richard couldn't find his wallet and realized he must have left it in his car, so he went out to look for it. The waitress saw him leaving the store and ran after him, angrily screaming! She thought he was trying to dine-and-dash!
Next I remember leaving the store and getting on a motorbike to ride home (I don't ride motorcycles/motorbikes in real life, so I have no idea what this was doing in the dream.) The weather was extremely overcast, and I was in a hurry to get home as quickly as possible, before the rain.
Apparently the comic store had been located at the intersection nearest to my apartment complex, because that's where I was. In the dream I knew of a shortcut that would get me home even more quickly than the main road, and I chose to take it to increase my chances of beating the rain. I quickly realized, however, that I had forgotten the way on the shortcut and I got lost. I remember what felt like several minutes of riding the bike around trails in the woods, trying to find my way back to the main road.
I finally did make it back to the main road, but somehow ended up going to a mall instead of going home. The inside of the mall was basically an indoor Disney World. I met Richard, along with Jessica and Cailey. Conan O'Brien was taping a show in the main area of the Disney World Mall, and I stopped and watched a few minutes of it before walking on to check out other things.
At one point I saw a girl who was dressed like Jasmine from Aladdin and we made eye contact. Assuming she was one of the characters roaming the park, I snapped a picture of her as she walked by. Then I walked on a bit, and suddenly this box-shaped white robot, about waist high, rolled up to me and kept bumping into my legs and repeating some unintelligible phrase over and over. I assumed it was some obscure character from WALL-E that I simply didn't remember.
After a few moments of the leg-bumping and garbled mumbling by this robot, I began to feel unsettled--I couldn't get away from it! Then I noticed there was a baby sitting in a seat in top of the robot, and the unintelligible phrase was coming from the baby. Then an eastern Indian woman in traditional garb ran up and made the baby's robo-chair stop "attacking" me.
The lady explained to me, in broken English, that the robo-chair was a special stroller they had rented from the Disney park for the day. I looked beside the mother and saw "Jasmine" from earlier standing there. Then I realized it was the woman's daughter and not a girl playing Jasmine at Disney! This made me feel really embarrassed that I'd so freely taken the picture before.
After this I rejoined Richard and Jessica. We walked into a store that looked like just a regular store in a mall. There was a kitchen table displayed at the front of the store, draped in a fancy tablecloth. A loose thread from the cloth stuck to Jessica's clothes as she passed. I tried to let her know, but before I could she'd already gotten terribly tangled in it (to an impossible degree) and damaged the cloth in the process.
Finally, I remember looking back out the entrance of the store and saw a display of the Hill Valley clock tower from Back to the Future. There was a robotic Marty McFly hanging from the hands of the clock, yelling for help. In the dream I just naturally accepted this as a representation of the scene from the movie where Doc is hanging on the clock tower.
Suddenly the Marty McFly robot fell from the clock and broke apart as it hit the floor. Conan O'Brien, still taping for his show, ran forward and picked up some of the parts. He explained, "Well, first they closed Back to the Future: The Ride (referring to the real-life closing of the Universal Studios BTTF ride a couple of years ago), and now this breaks! I guess that's the end of the Back to the Future exhibit for good!" He was laughing and making jokes about it, but I felt sad.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Apparantly Coveted Boat
MORNING OF AUGUST 17, 2009
This is the second of two dreams remembered this morning. The first is posted previously...
(This dream has a boating theme. I pretty much never boat, and do very little in the water, period, so I'm not sure where it comes from, although I can tell from the end that there was definitely some inspiration from the Miyazaki animated film, Ponyo, which I saw this weekend.)
I was on the shore of a river late a night. A very few other people were around here and there. One particular motor boat kept passing near the shore. It was distinct even in the dark because there was a large, circular green light glowing brightly on the front part of it. That light shone just brightly enough to make out that the boat was mostly pink in color.
Somehow I ended up in the water in a motorless boat of my own. I was searching for the person(s) in that other boat, waiting patiently for them to pass near me. I soon found them temporarily docked near the shore. It turns out the persons on board was a middle aged couple. I approached and boarded their boat unbidden. I seemed to have an urgent purpose in mind, though I honestly have no memory or idea of what it was.
Naturally the couple were shocked at my sudden arrival, but, thinking on my feet, I told them not to worry--I was just here to get the loaf of bread I had left on the boat. Conveniently, there was a brand new loaf of bread on the floor behind the seat the woman was in. She calmed down and exclaimed, "Oh, I don't blame you for coming back for it. That brand is very expensive."
Then, somehow I just took control of their boat and stole it from them entirely. I remember steering up onto the sandy shore and then running into a house. I was now holding this pink boat with its green light in my hand--it was only a toy. I heard the couple entering the house, running after me. I threw the now-toy boat into a bedroom and then ran into the front to confront the people who wanted it back. That's about all I remember.
This is the second of two dreams remembered this morning. The first is posted previously...
(This dream has a boating theme. I pretty much never boat, and do very little in the water, period, so I'm not sure where it comes from, although I can tell from the end that there was definitely some inspiration from the Miyazaki animated film, Ponyo, which I saw this weekend.)
I was on the shore of a river late a night. A very few other people were around here and there. One particular motor boat kept passing near the shore. It was distinct even in the dark because there was a large, circular green light glowing brightly on the front part of it. That light shone just brightly enough to make out that the boat was mostly pink in color.
Somehow I ended up in the water in a motorless boat of my own. I was searching for the person(s) in that other boat, waiting patiently for them to pass near me. I soon found them temporarily docked near the shore. It turns out the persons on board was a middle aged couple. I approached and boarded their boat unbidden. I seemed to have an urgent purpose in mind, though I honestly have no memory or idea of what it was.
Naturally the couple were shocked at my sudden arrival, but, thinking on my feet, I told them not to worry--I was just here to get the loaf of bread I had left on the boat. Conveniently, there was a brand new loaf of bread on the floor behind the seat the woman was in. She calmed down and exclaimed, "Oh, I don't blame you for coming back for it. That brand is very expensive."
Then, somehow I just took control of their boat and stole it from them entirely. I remember steering up onto the sandy shore and then running into a house. I was now holding this pink boat with its green light in my hand--it was only a toy. I heard the couple entering the house, running after me. I threw the now-toy boat into a bedroom and then ran into the front to confront the people who wanted it back. That's about all I remember.
Scheduling the Mysterious Man
MORNING OF AUGUST 17, 2009
This is the first of two dreams from this night. The other is posted separately, just above this one....
I was at work and was supposed to schedule a shoot with some new personality in town who was putting on programs in schools for kids. Rather than set up an appointment by phone, I drove to the location to set things up in person.
I arrived at what looked like a small little store in the downtown area. Upon walking up to the entrance, I could see in the windows that the "store" actually contained one small classroom of children, with small groups of them sitting around a series of circular tables. A man of middle eastern descent was in the middle of the room, seated on a child-sized chair of his own, speaking to them.
There was a desk at the front entrance where you had to sign in. I spoke to the lady at the desk and told her I was there to schedule a shoot with whatever-the-speakers-name-was (the middle eastern guy). As I said his name, I saw him glance over in my direction even as he was still speaking to the kids.
The lady at the desk seemed confused that I was only trying to schedule an appointment and that I didn't want to actually film the man right now. She was adamant that I could not film anything, until she finally realized that I only wanted to schedule it for later. And then she seemed to think it was weird that I had driven out instead of just calling them (which it indeed was). At any rate, I got a really weird vibe from this place, not the least of all because the people running it seemed so wary of me.
I can't remember if I successfully made an appointment or not. Afterward, my mom called me while I was in the car and reminded me that I should stop and pick up some flowers for my grandmother while I was out. The upcoming weekend was supposed to be either Mother's Day or her birthday (and either of those events have already passed for the year in real life anyway).
It's weird that the layout of the town in the dream was entirely fictional, but I knew exactly where I was going on my way to the store that sold flowers. It's like I'd been there before. I remember driving very deliberately and pulling up there. It was in an old residential area. One of the old houses was the store in question. It had been slightly remodeled, so for a brief moment I thought I'd come to the wrong place, but I hadn't.
The flower/plant selection in the place was pitiful. Almost the only thing they had was little potted cacti. There were other random odds and ends in the store. On a magazine rack I saw some material about that man I'd been trying to schedule a meeting with before. It seems like a few more things happened, but from here on out it's more or less a blur.
This is the first of two dreams from this night. The other is posted separately, just above this one....
I was at work and was supposed to schedule a shoot with some new personality in town who was putting on programs in schools for kids. Rather than set up an appointment by phone, I drove to the location to set things up in person.
I arrived at what looked like a small little store in the downtown area. Upon walking up to the entrance, I could see in the windows that the "store" actually contained one small classroom of children, with small groups of them sitting around a series of circular tables. A man of middle eastern descent was in the middle of the room, seated on a child-sized chair of his own, speaking to them.
There was a desk at the front entrance where you had to sign in. I spoke to the lady at the desk and told her I was there to schedule a shoot with whatever-the-speakers-name-was (the middle eastern guy). As I said his name, I saw him glance over in my direction even as he was still speaking to the kids.
The lady at the desk seemed confused that I was only trying to schedule an appointment and that I didn't want to actually film the man right now. She was adamant that I could not film anything, until she finally realized that I only wanted to schedule it for later. And then she seemed to think it was weird that I had driven out instead of just calling them (which it indeed was). At any rate, I got a really weird vibe from this place, not the least of all because the people running it seemed so wary of me.
I can't remember if I successfully made an appointment or not. Afterward, my mom called me while I was in the car and reminded me that I should stop and pick up some flowers for my grandmother while I was out. The upcoming weekend was supposed to be either Mother's Day or her birthday (and either of those events have already passed for the year in real life anyway).
It's weird that the layout of the town in the dream was entirely fictional, but I knew exactly where I was going on my way to the store that sold flowers. It's like I'd been there before. I remember driving very deliberately and pulling up there. It was in an old residential area. One of the old houses was the store in question. It had been slightly remodeled, so for a brief moment I thought I'd come to the wrong place, but I hadn't.
The flower/plant selection in the place was pitiful. Almost the only thing they had was little potted cacti. There were other random odds and ends in the store. On a magazine rack I saw some material about that man I'd been trying to schedule a meeting with before. It seems like a few more things happened, but from here on out it's more or less a blur.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Movies and Space Travel
MORNING OF AUGUST 15, 2009
Several of my friends and I (I specifically remember Eric and Richard being there) were preparing to watch a movie, but we were setting up our own little "theater" in some kind of storefront (it looked like perhaps a comic book store). We had my TV and surround sound set up at the front of the store, and I recall trying to arrange chairs and to generally decorate the place in a cool, theater-y motif.
It was almost time for the movie to start and we were in a rush because other people were showing up to watch the movie here, expecting it to start at a certain time. We did start the movie on time, but we weren't quite through preparing the place, so we kept working.
I remember one wall of the store was decorated with "Peanuts" stuff, and another with "Disney" memorabilia, etc. Eric and I at one point were standing in the back of the store discussing the layout and we decided things were finally done. By now we'd missed the first several minutes of the movie, and we didn't really want to join it in progress because we'd never seen it.
The two of us decided to leave the store and we'd watch the movie on our own time later on. We walked down to another "store" and went inside. This place had an interior that looked like the insides of one of the old Apollo spacecraft.
Once Eric and I were inside the spacecraft store, the reality of the dream became that we actually were orbiting in space. There was a huge control panel in the center of the room which we were using to communicate with earth, and it suddenly lost power and stopped working.
We began to panic when we lost communication, but then we remembered our cell phones. We could contact earth with our cell phones! We quickly learned, however, that we were out of range and had no signal. My last memory is just trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get out of this one...
Several of my friends and I (I specifically remember Eric and Richard being there) were preparing to watch a movie, but we were setting up our own little "theater" in some kind of storefront (it looked like perhaps a comic book store). We had my TV and surround sound set up at the front of the store, and I recall trying to arrange chairs and to generally decorate the place in a cool, theater-y motif.
It was almost time for the movie to start and we were in a rush because other people were showing up to watch the movie here, expecting it to start at a certain time. We did start the movie on time, but we weren't quite through preparing the place, so we kept working.
I remember one wall of the store was decorated with "Peanuts" stuff, and another with "Disney" memorabilia, etc. Eric and I at one point were standing in the back of the store discussing the layout and we decided things were finally done. By now we'd missed the first several minutes of the movie, and we didn't really want to join it in progress because we'd never seen it.
The two of us decided to leave the store and we'd watch the movie on our own time later on. We walked down to another "store" and went inside. This place had an interior that looked like the insides of one of the old Apollo spacecraft.
Once Eric and I were inside the spacecraft store, the reality of the dream became that we actually were orbiting in space. There was a huge control panel in the center of the room which we were using to communicate with earth, and it suddenly lost power and stopped working.
We began to panic when we lost communication, but then we remembered our cell phones. We could contact earth with our cell phones! We quickly learned, however, that we were out of range and had no signal. My last memory is just trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get out of this one...
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