Just one shorter dream from last night....
The dream: The earliest part of this dream I remember is being on the coast in what I would later find out was Japan and looking out to a turbulent sea. As is often the case in my dreams, the waves on the ocean seemed impossibly big and violent. I soon left the beach and went into a nearby beach house where I was staying with some friends.
In the house, we were watching the news of a massive earthquake off the coast. Suddenly, I could see underwater where the earthquake had happened and witness the catastrophic damage to the undersea landscape: giant chunks of rock broke from from their base and crashed to the sea bed. The scene flashed back to our beach house, and I knew we had scant moments before a tsunami. Sure enough, as I shouted my warning to my friends, through the window we could see a giant wave of water heading toward the coastline. I told everyone to brace for impact as I dashed from the window and dove onto the couch (which would help, apparently).
However, when the wave finally hit our house, it had subsided considerably: water flooded about a foot of the floor of our house and quickly washed out, doing little damage. We walked outside to see the aftermath.
The landscape was eerily calm. In the distance, the ocean had mysteriously receded far beyond the coastline; we could see a great amount of uncovered sea floor now in the open air. Of the nearby beach area, we saw wreckage scattered about the beach and floating out in the water: broken houses, capsized boats, etc. We also saw another unfortunate result of the tsunami: strange alien creatures were now floating around in the water and the air about the damaged area. Somehow I knew they were some sort of water monsters. While I don't remember much of the details after this, we set about killing them before I woke up.
My thoughts: I've had dreams about tsunamis or other flooding disasters before, but I guess the significance of this one being in Japan is evident. Why I had it last night, however, I'm not sure. And it's just not one my dreams if monsters or some other weird things don't show up.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
September 05: Outside the Turkey Shop
I had an incredibly vivid and rapidly-changing dream last night; unfortunately, even though I immediately woke up and began writing it down in my bedside journal, the details quickly slipped through my memory. I'll try to share what I remember:
The dream: I remember being in a parking lot and getting in a car with some of the faculty from my graduate program. As we piled in, some vagrants came up and started cleaning the car in hopes of getting some money for their unwanted attention. My advisor, who was driving, started the car up and attempted to put the car in reverse to leave, but I realized that one of the homeless fellows had a hold of our front bumper; our car backing out would result in it being torn off (apparently). I told the driver to wait; I rolled down the window and politely declined their services; the men reluctantly let go and moved away. We were free to drive away, through a small town that I didn't recognize.
Eventually, I was dropped me off just down the street from a small shopping area, and my advisor and teachers drove off. For a moment I could see myself as if looking in a mirror: I was wearing a ridiculous outfit that was a combination of traditional Japanese samurai and Hot Topic goth (complete with combat boots). I was also carrying a second pair of boots for some reason. Feeling ridiculous, I walked up the street to a small shopping plaza.
Reaching the plaza, I walked into the nearest store: a "turkey shop," which was some sort of fast food restaurant, apparently. Inside, the manager was challenging his employees -- a cadre of bored and sarcastic teenagers -- to a trivia game related to the company's history. While I don't remember the details of the quiz, I do remember something about heavy artillery, accompanied by a slideshow of pictures of different types of large artillery batteries. Needless to say, the employees were both clueless and disinterested throughout the oblivious shop owner's attempt at engaging his lackluster employees. I left shortly thereafter.
This part of the dream is where I wish I could remember the details: what I do remember is that it involved five young women (two were brunette and one was blonde if that helps!). Each of the women had to complete a specific and unique challenge. All I can recall of the challenges is that they were slapstick, frustrating, and/or humiliating to the participant and yet humorous to the observer (me) - perhaps along the lines of those Japanese punishment game shows (which have in turn spawned American equivalents). Apparently these were so funny and interesting that as I realized I was dreaming and about to wake up, I knew I needed to quickly write the details down. However, I didn't actually wake up; instead, the dream changed slightly.
In this dream, I enlisted the help of five girls (the same girls?) to reenact the hilarious antics from before so that I could record it all properly. However, I don't even remember the reenactments, other than the end. The girls ran off into the back room of a store we were in, and an extremely awkward young man got on the store intercom to announce the end of the show. The customers in the store started clapping, and soon after, I woke up.
My thoughts: It is so frustrating to remember having such a detailed dream and yet, upon waking up, feel those details float away, even though I am actively concentrating on retaining them. I'm not sure what causes that sometimes, while other times I can remember the dream clearly hours or days later.
And I don't know what artillery has to do with turkey, but they were integral to this company's history, apparently.
The dream: I remember being in a parking lot and getting in a car with some of the faculty from my graduate program. As we piled in, some vagrants came up and started cleaning the car in hopes of getting some money for their unwanted attention. My advisor, who was driving, started the car up and attempted to put the car in reverse to leave, but I realized that one of the homeless fellows had a hold of our front bumper; our car backing out would result in it being torn off (apparently). I told the driver to wait; I rolled down the window and politely declined their services; the men reluctantly let go and moved away. We were free to drive away, through a small town that I didn't recognize.
Eventually, I was dropped me off just down the street from a small shopping area, and my advisor and teachers drove off. For a moment I could see myself as if looking in a mirror: I was wearing a ridiculous outfit that was a combination of traditional Japanese samurai and Hot Topic goth (complete with combat boots). I was also carrying a second pair of boots for some reason. Feeling ridiculous, I walked up the street to a small shopping plaza.
Reaching the plaza, I walked into the nearest store: a "turkey shop," which was some sort of fast food restaurant, apparently. Inside, the manager was challenging his employees -- a cadre of bored and sarcastic teenagers -- to a trivia game related to the company's history. While I don't remember the details of the quiz, I do remember something about heavy artillery, accompanied by a slideshow of pictures of different types of large artillery batteries. Needless to say, the employees were both clueless and disinterested throughout the oblivious shop owner's attempt at engaging his lackluster employees. I left shortly thereafter.
This part of the dream is where I wish I could remember the details: what I do remember is that it involved five young women (two were brunette and one was blonde if that helps!). Each of the women had to complete a specific and unique challenge. All I can recall of the challenges is that they were slapstick, frustrating, and/or humiliating to the participant and yet humorous to the observer (me) - perhaps along the lines of those Japanese punishment game shows (which have in turn spawned American equivalents). Apparently these were so funny and interesting that as I realized I was dreaming and about to wake up, I knew I needed to quickly write the details down. However, I didn't actually wake up; instead, the dream changed slightly.
In this dream, I enlisted the help of five girls (the same girls?) to reenact the hilarious antics from before so that I could record it all properly. However, I don't even remember the reenactments, other than the end. The girls ran off into the back room of a store we were in, and an extremely awkward young man got on the store intercom to announce the end of the show. The customers in the store started clapping, and soon after, I woke up.
My thoughts: It is so frustrating to remember having such a detailed dream and yet, upon waking up, feel those details float away, even though I am actively concentrating on retaining them. I'm not sure what causes that sometimes, while other times I can remember the dream clearly hours or days later.
And I don't know what artillery has to do with turkey, but they were integral to this company's history, apparently.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
September 04: Star Trek Teachers and a Disturbing Dream
The dreams: In the first dream, I was in a classroom that was empty except for me and the teacher, who happened to be William Shatner. Class had just ended, and I stayed after to ask Mr. Shatner for some creative writing advice (whether he was a Writing teacher, I'm not sure). We were chatting for a while when (of course) Leonard Nimoy came in. I woke from this dream shortly thereafter.
In the next dream, I was in my old neighborhood again, sitting in the grass of the front yard of my old house. I was holding a revolver in my hands and getting ready to load the cylinder. For some unknown reason, I intended to use the tips of my fingers as bullets, and so I had cut them off after the last knuckle. I knew this would ultimately be okay, because they would grow back (??); sure enough, they had healed completely by the time I was loading the gun. However, as I was trying to load my fingertips into the gun, I realized I had way too many "bullets"; in fact, one of them was actually an entire finger (which clearly couldn't fit in the revolver). Then I realized that I had somehow also acquired someone else's fingers in addition to my own. I dropped the excess fingers and moved away. Later, I saw a man picking up one of the fingers and licking the cut-off end. I'm just hoping it was his....
When it was time to test out my gun and its interesting ammo, a woman approached me and asked if she could shoot it. I agreed, and gave her the gun. She suggested that I be the target; I acquiesced, only slightly concerned and hesitant. As I took my position standing against a wall, I started having stronger misgivings -- after all, what if she shot me in the head? That would hurt, even if the bullets were my own fingers. I shrugged my concerns off, and closed my eyes and waited. I heard the telltale boom, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, only to see the woman laying on the ground, completely obscured and covered from head to toe by her own blood to the point that at first I didn't even recognize her as the same person. I reasoned that the gun had backfired and injured her. I, and several other bystanders, ran to help. I don't remember much after this; I eventually woke up.
***
My thoughts: Yeah, we're not going to talk about the first dream; there's not much to say there. Star Trek guys. Got it.
What the HELL is with the second dream? I pride myself on understanding the meaning behind most of my dreams, and if they get a little weird -- hey, it happens, and I usually realize it's a dream soon after. This one was just plain disturbing. It's not just that it was twisted and somewhat gory: the nonchalance of everything makes it doubly disturbing. And at no point did I have a problem with any of it, save the slight concern of getting shot in the head "because it might hurt." Shot in the head by my own fingers, which were being used as bullets! But the guy picking up a random finger and licking it takes the cake.
Where did this come from? I don't watch gory movies. I don't have violent or disturbing thoughts like this while awake. Who knows....
In the next dream, I was in my old neighborhood again, sitting in the grass of the front yard of my old house. I was holding a revolver in my hands and getting ready to load the cylinder. For some unknown reason, I intended to use the tips of my fingers as bullets, and so I had cut them off after the last knuckle. I knew this would ultimately be okay, because they would grow back (??); sure enough, they had healed completely by the time I was loading the gun. However, as I was trying to load my fingertips into the gun, I realized I had way too many "bullets"; in fact, one of them was actually an entire finger (which clearly couldn't fit in the revolver). Then I realized that I had somehow also acquired someone else's fingers in addition to my own. I dropped the excess fingers and moved away. Later, I saw a man picking up one of the fingers and licking the cut-off end. I'm just hoping it was his....
When it was time to test out my gun and its interesting ammo, a woman approached me and asked if she could shoot it. I agreed, and gave her the gun. She suggested that I be the target; I acquiesced, only slightly concerned and hesitant. As I took my position standing against a wall, I started having stronger misgivings -- after all, what if she shot me in the head? That would hurt, even if the bullets were my own fingers. I shrugged my concerns off, and closed my eyes and waited. I heard the telltale boom, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, only to see the woman laying on the ground, completely obscured and covered from head to toe by her own blood to the point that at first I didn't even recognize her as the same person. I reasoned that the gun had backfired and injured her. I, and several other bystanders, ran to help. I don't remember much after this; I eventually woke up.
***
My thoughts: Yeah, we're not going to talk about the first dream; there's not much to say there. Star Trek guys. Got it.
What the HELL is with the second dream? I pride myself on understanding the meaning behind most of my dreams, and if they get a little weird -- hey, it happens, and I usually realize it's a dream soon after. This one was just plain disturbing. It's not just that it was twisted and somewhat gory: the nonchalance of everything makes it doubly disturbing. And at no point did I have a problem with any of it, save the slight concern of getting shot in the head "because it might hurt." Shot in the head by my own fingers, which were being used as bullets! But the guy picking up a random finger and licking it takes the cake.
Where did this come from? I don't watch gory movies. I don't have violent or disturbing thoughts like this while awake. Who knows....
Saturday, September 3, 2011
September 03: A Magical, Angry, Water Bottle-Powered Flight
Just one dream to journal from last night...
The dream: I don't remember much of the events leading up to this part of the dream, but where it became clear is when I was at a church with a large group of people. For some reason I was livid, lashing out at everyone and acting extremely hostile and angry. It became evident that I was part of a production of a play, but I wasn't suited to the role to which I was cast. So I decided to leave. My cousin was there, so I said goodbye, and walked outside into the church parking lot. Once outside, I decided that I needed to fly to New York - and "fly" in my dreams rarely means via airplane, as this dream would prove. My means of flight in this dream? Two liter-sized water bottles. Yes, by putting one half-filled water bottle under each arm, I was somehow able to fly (the water bottles providing buoyancy on the air, apparently?).
So off I went, flying up out of the church parking lot into the evening sky. I looked around me to get my bearings, and started heading west - "toward Seattle," I thought to myself (the completely wrong way, I apparently didn't think to myself). From here on out, the dream was a rather long flight over hills, fields, and towns. After a while, I realized that I was dreaming (how I didn't realize beforehand is beyond me), and so I got bored of flying and decided to land and explore a small town I had flown over. Outside of a house, I saw some writing on the wall... but I can't quite remember what it said, and I woke up.
My thoughts: I'd like to say that this is the weirdest method of travel I've experienced in a dream, but no: I'd say that honor goes to the dream wherein I was driving on a freeway by sitting length-wise in a large duffel bag -- feet pushing against one end, back up against the other -- and holding on to the straps to "steer" my "vehicle." Somehow the duffel bag could just... go... down the road at highway speeds as I wove in and out of traffic: no means of propulsion, no means of avoiding friction from the asphalt - no, just the thin canvas between my rear end and the road at 75 miles per hour. Makes perfect sense.
The dream: I don't remember much of the events leading up to this part of the dream, but where it became clear is when I was at a church with a large group of people. For some reason I was livid, lashing out at everyone and acting extremely hostile and angry. It became evident that I was part of a production of a play, but I wasn't suited to the role to which I was cast. So I decided to leave. My cousin was there, so I said goodbye, and walked outside into the church parking lot. Once outside, I decided that I needed to fly to New York - and "fly" in my dreams rarely means via airplane, as this dream would prove. My means of flight in this dream? Two liter-sized water bottles. Yes, by putting one half-filled water bottle under each arm, I was somehow able to fly (the water bottles providing buoyancy on the air, apparently?).
So off I went, flying up out of the church parking lot into the evening sky. I looked around me to get my bearings, and started heading west - "toward Seattle," I thought to myself (the completely wrong way, I apparently didn't think to myself). From here on out, the dream was a rather long flight over hills, fields, and towns. After a while, I realized that I was dreaming (how I didn't realize beforehand is beyond me), and so I got bored of flying and decided to land and explore a small town I had flown over. Outside of a house, I saw some writing on the wall... but I can't quite remember what it said, and I woke up.
My thoughts: I'd like to say that this is the weirdest method of travel I've experienced in a dream, but no: I'd say that honor goes to the dream wherein I was driving on a freeway by sitting length-wise in a large duffel bag -- feet pushing against one end, back up against the other -- and holding on to the straps to "steer" my "vehicle." Somehow the duffel bag could just... go... down the road at highway speeds as I wove in and out of traffic: no means of propulsion, no means of avoiding friction from the asphalt - no, just the thin canvas between my rear end and the road at 75 miles per hour. Makes perfect sense.
Friday, September 2, 2011
September 02: Three Short Dreams
I had a few shorter dreams early this morning since I kept getting woken up by construction outside. Here goes:
The dreams: In the first one I remember, I was staying the night at a friend's house - only he and his family weren't aware of this, apparently. I was sleeping in the middle of their kitchen floor unbeknownst to everyone there. Early in the morning my friend stumbled into the kitchen and was very surprised to see me laying there on the floor, covered in blankets. I don't remember exactly why I was there or how I explained the situation to him - all I remember is how awkward it was. Either way, after a while I heard his mom yelling from her room, asking what was going on down there. I soon woke up from this dream.
The next dream I remember was really short, but a nostalgic one. I was talking with a Japanese friend of mine on Skype; the next thing I know, I was in Japan, hanging out with her. We were driving around Tokyo in a van, enjoying the evening. That's about it for that one.
The final dream was a bit longer than the other two. In this dream, I was watching a completely new Three Stooges episode. At first I was unsure, but I soon realized that they had either gotten the original actors to reprise their roles or uncanny doubles to fill their shoes. Either way, the episode embodied the classic slapstick humor of the original. In this episode, the Stooges were at a large restaurant, partaking in a buffet. After a while, as with any of my dreams that involve movies or similar media, I ended up in this locale and participating. By this point it wasn't really a Three Stooges episode anymore so much as just me choosing food from the buffet and then eating. The last thing I remember is eating a big piece of fish and picking out the bones. And this is about where I bored myself awake.
***
My thoughts: I'm again having dreams about sleeping in weird places. I wonder what that means....
The second dream was interesting, simply because I rarely dream about this friend, and yet today I got an email from her, saying she would be in the states and visiting my area in a few weeks. A premonition?
And the final dream I understand completely: I've been watching a lot of classic Stooges and fretting over the rumors of a Three Stooges remake in the works (which will be terrible as these things usually are, and yet more so because there's no need to ruin the Three Stooges).
The dreams: In the first one I remember, I was staying the night at a friend's house - only he and his family weren't aware of this, apparently. I was sleeping in the middle of their kitchen floor unbeknownst to everyone there. Early in the morning my friend stumbled into the kitchen and was very surprised to see me laying there on the floor, covered in blankets. I don't remember exactly why I was there or how I explained the situation to him - all I remember is how awkward it was. Either way, after a while I heard his mom yelling from her room, asking what was going on down there. I soon woke up from this dream.
The next dream I remember was really short, but a nostalgic one. I was talking with a Japanese friend of mine on Skype; the next thing I know, I was in Japan, hanging out with her. We were driving around Tokyo in a van, enjoying the evening. That's about it for that one.
The final dream was a bit longer than the other two. In this dream, I was watching a completely new Three Stooges episode. At first I was unsure, but I soon realized that they had either gotten the original actors to reprise their roles or uncanny doubles to fill their shoes. Either way, the episode embodied the classic slapstick humor of the original. In this episode, the Stooges were at a large restaurant, partaking in a buffet. After a while, as with any of my dreams that involve movies or similar media, I ended up in this locale and participating. By this point it wasn't really a Three Stooges episode anymore so much as just me choosing food from the buffet and then eating. The last thing I remember is eating a big piece of fish and picking out the bones. And this is about where I bored myself awake.
***
My thoughts: I'm again having dreams about sleeping in weird places. I wonder what that means....
The second dream was interesting, simply because I rarely dream about this friend, and yet today I got an email from her, saying she would be in the states and visiting my area in a few weeks. A premonition?
And the final dream I understand completely: I've been watching a lot of classic Stooges and fretting over the rumors of a Three Stooges remake in the works (which will be terrible as these things usually are, and yet more so because there's no need to ruin the Three Stooges).
Thursday, September 1, 2011
September 01: Jungle Horse
Just two short dreams to record for today:
The dreams: The first dream was pretty short. I was in an elementary school serving as a classroom assistant. My class a celebrity guest who was performing and entertaining as a special treat for the students (I'm not sure who exactly the celebrity was, but he vaguely resembled Robin Williams). The celebrity was a master at impersonations; he also had a large bird that assisted in his performance. The show began when the bird gave out a cry that perfectly mimicked the school alarm bell. I was outside of the classroom, and initially thought it was the real bell until I walked in and saw that it was the bird making the noise. This evidently signaled the beginning of the act, much to the excitement and delight of the children watching; the class quickly settled down to enjoy the show.
The celebrity entertainer introduced his act by asking the children to identify which animal he was impersonating based on the sound he made. He then began to roar and growl very dramatically, to me sounding like a lion or other large cat; however, the children weren't so quick to pick up on the animal, and began shouting out numerous incorrect guesses. The actor continued to pantomime the animal as the shouted guesses became more and more sporadic, until one young boy shouted out "jungle horse!" This suggestion so greatly caught the entertainer off guard as to cause him to lose his train of thought and drop the act completely; he stared, perplexed, at the young boy, and all pretense of the animal act was replaced by a silent stunned confusion. I'm sure his thoughts mirrored my own: I pondered what in the world a "jungle horse" could be.... Either way, it was such a funny scenario that I actually woke up laughing from it.
The next dream was also quite short. In it, I was working at my previous job in the digital print lab at the art school I was employed at in California a few years ago. As is often the case in dreams, the location was a strange construction of my subconscious, but the people were familiar coworkers and friends. I was attempting to do some test prints on one of the fancy new printers that had been acquired in my absence, but I was unable to find suitable paper on which to print. The majority of the dream was spent with me looking for decent printer paper while talking with my coworkers about various things. After a while, I woke up.
***
My thoughts: The first dream is one of those dreams where I wake up laughing from something funny in my dream, usually a strange word or phrase. If I'm quick enough, I'll write it down before I forget. While I'm not completely sure that the child's animal of choice was "jungle horse," that's the closest I can remember to whatever crazy animal he came up with.
The second is a fairly common dream type: it seems like whenever I leave from somewhere such as my home town, previous school, or place of employment, I'll dream about it after a while.
The dreams: The first dream was pretty short. I was in an elementary school serving as a classroom assistant. My class a celebrity guest who was performing and entertaining as a special treat for the students (I'm not sure who exactly the celebrity was, but he vaguely resembled Robin Williams). The celebrity was a master at impersonations; he also had a large bird that assisted in his performance. The show began when the bird gave out a cry that perfectly mimicked the school alarm bell. I was outside of the classroom, and initially thought it was the real bell until I walked in and saw that it was the bird making the noise. This evidently signaled the beginning of the act, much to the excitement and delight of the children watching; the class quickly settled down to enjoy the show.
The celebrity entertainer introduced his act by asking the children to identify which animal he was impersonating based on the sound he made. He then began to roar and growl very dramatically, to me sounding like a lion or other large cat; however, the children weren't so quick to pick up on the animal, and began shouting out numerous incorrect guesses. The actor continued to pantomime the animal as the shouted guesses became more and more sporadic, until one young boy shouted out "jungle horse!" This suggestion so greatly caught the entertainer off guard as to cause him to lose his train of thought and drop the act completely; he stared, perplexed, at the young boy, and all pretense of the animal act was replaced by a silent stunned confusion. I'm sure his thoughts mirrored my own: I pondered what in the world a "jungle horse" could be.... Either way, it was such a funny scenario that I actually woke up laughing from it.
The next dream was also quite short. In it, I was working at my previous job in the digital print lab at the art school I was employed at in California a few years ago. As is often the case in dreams, the location was a strange construction of my subconscious, but the people were familiar coworkers and friends. I was attempting to do some test prints on one of the fancy new printers that had been acquired in my absence, but I was unable to find suitable paper on which to print. The majority of the dream was spent with me looking for decent printer paper while talking with my coworkers about various things. After a while, I woke up.
***
My thoughts: The first dream is one of those dreams where I wake up laughing from something funny in my dream, usually a strange word or phrase. If I'm quick enough, I'll write it down before I forget. While I'm not completely sure that the child's animal of choice was "jungle horse," that's the closest I can remember to whatever crazy animal he came up with.
The second is a fairly common dream type: it seems like whenever I leave from somewhere such as my home town, previous school, or place of employment, I'll dream about it after a while.
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