Dream Update: Week 37

September 23:
My mom and I were trying to get to this restaurant to get some pizza. In order to do so, we had to first walk through a labyrinth of modern art in the basement of this building. At the end  of the labyrinth, we went outside where there was a pond surrounded by red rock. Metal railings all around formed lines leading up to the edge of the pond, like lines for an amusement park ride. We were the only ones there and while we waited, we speculated about where the boat (that we somehow knew was coming) would take us, because the pond was relatively small and we didn't see a boat or restaurant anywhere nearby. Then we noticed in the middle of the pond was a sink hole of water with a neon-light pizza sign over it. Some other people got in line behind us then and the boat arrived to pick us up.

All of a sudden we were in the restaurant. It had no windows and a sort of dark arcade-like atmosphere (which makes sense I guess since this restaurant was underwater). A dad and his son were a floor below us down the stairs, taking our orders and doing a sort of comedy routine. But then the son tripped and fell. He was hurt and crying, so they ended their routine early.

Then I was trying to watch a movie with my mom, dad and brother Tyler. It was a fairy tale retelling with Anne Hathaway and also involved Lord of the Rings somehow. We couldn't get the movie to start at the first scene, though - it kept skipping ahead to the middle.

Then I dreamed I tried to make a BLT sandwich, but was somehow constantly foiled by the fact that I only had bacon, lettuce, and tomato to put on it. I'm not sure what the problem was.

I dreamed I got a letter back from a literary agent I'd sent my book to saying she'd never be able to rep a "hookless story" (weeps). The letter involved a lot of illustrations and was super snarky but also somehow in the end encouraged me to resubmit. My query letter about my book included the line "Alice: +2 strength, +1/2 midi" (I have no clue what midi is supposed to mean).

September 24:
This dream was set in the world of a D&D campaign I'm playing in. In it, I was acting as my character Viska and was talking to the Lady of the manor, trying to explain why Viska did what she'd done (broke something very precious to the Lady). I also had a peace token to give the lady (I don't recall now what it was, and I'm not sure of what her response was to my attempted apology either).

Jenna, Matt, Zack, and I went back our to old apartment to finish cleaning for the check out inspection. The apartment still had garbage and stuff all over, and the porch was half broken and falling down on one side. I was sure we wouldn't be getting our security deposit back. After cleaning up, Matt and Jenna wanted tacos, but of course we had no food and no cookware at our mostly empty, and now very clean, apartment. I said we could get cilantro rice in microwave bag and do that. They were all impressed.

Then I rode a horse bare back across a field among a herd of other horses, elk, and cows.

September 25:
I was grocery shopping and ran into my friend Will as I was leaving the store. It  was snowing outside, but they still had plants from the greenhouse out in the parking lot for some reason. Will insisted on walking me to my car, but I couldn't remember where I'd parked, so we went up and down the rows looking for it. A few times I told him to go and that I was fine, but he insisted (always the gentleman). Eventually I found my car and we parted ways.

My parents sent me a postcard while they were on vacation, but we didn't get it until they were already back home and we were in dad's truck with him. The postcard warned us about weather that was happening currently. I asked why they hadn't sent a text or called about the weather instead. Then as our conversation continued, I explained to them that if a certain politician was elected, businesses would have to have layoffs because the politician would put into effect a requirement that businesses pay for extra insurance for everyone. I crunched a bunch of numbers to prove my point that the extra insurance would cost businesses and employees more in the long run.

Then I dreamed that me and a bunch of others were kidnapped by nuns and taken away to a nun camp. I tried to call and text my parents and call 911.  The call to my parents didn't go through, but 911 answered. I started explaining what was happening as were driving through remote forest in vans toward the camp, only to realize the Sisters had detoured the call somehow and I was talking to one of them. I got in trouble with the Mother Superior, and my hands were beaten with a rod. Regardless, as soon as we were on the road again, I was looking for a way to escape. I tried to plead with our driver (a man hired by the Sisters) to release us but to no avail. Then I tried to make him to drive off the road by diving at him and yanking on the wheel, but to no avail. So we reached our destination which was this really old stone church in the middle of nowhere. I refused to participate in the services and such, but everyone else did out of fear. I wasn't given food for my disobedience.

Then in a completely separate dream, I was at DGT, my childhood church, and my mom gave an announcement during the service about pet adoptions. There were kittens everywhere. I walked outside in my socks to give a black one to my cousins Stephanie and Jamie before they drove away.

September 26:
I was in a beauty pageant where we had to participate in a footrace. Whoever won received free foundation for a year and got to meet with this fashionista chick who was apparently awesome for some reason. Me and this girl ended up tying for first, and when we went to meet Awesome Chick, the other winner was flipping out while I was sort of "whatever" about the whole thing. I just wanted to prove that I could win the race really. It wasn't so much about the prizes.

I then dreamed that a short stout woman in a black and red mini-checked suit started working at UNW, only UNW was a warehouse instead of a school.

I dreamed that I painted my face with alcohol-activated blue face paint (I was planning my blue Mystique Halloween costume at the time!) but I didn't have the special remover yet, so I was stuck with a blue face until it arrived in the mail.

September 27:
I dreamed I was at Chester Park in Duluth and a dog was swimming in/being pulled down river toward the big waterfall. The young girls who owned dog were on shore calling and freaking out, but the dog couldn't fight the current to swim upstream and escape. The girls' mom was partially downstream from the dog on the bank of the river and calling as well, but if the dog went toward her, the mom just moved a few steps closer to the falls.

I was high up above the river with Zack, Jason, Steph, Kelsey, Aaron, Adam and Liz having a picnic. I called to the dog because to come to me she'd swim with current diagonally, which is the best way to escape (see how logical I am, even in my dreams?). Eventually, this tactic got the dog to dry land in the middle of river where some rocks stuck up above the water. I noticed then that the mom was still calling to the dog, trying to get the dog off the rock and back into the water. It was then that I realized she was trying to kill the dog.

I sprinted down this long path to the river (and I was actually able to run fast in my dream...usually I get stuck in that slow motion mode). By the time I reached the edge of the waterfall though, the dog had already gone over the falls and the mom was standing on the bank nearby holding a long, bloody knife. I jumped over the waterfall to find the dog, but I couldn't find her anywhere at the bottom no matter how many times I dove down looking. I realized at this point that the dog was Debra, Zach and Rachel's dog (though the mom and girls at the top of the falls are unrelated in real life). Finally, I found her, stabbed and wet, but alive off to the edge of the river. I picked her up and carried her out of the river along with a canister with firewood and a gun in it that had been hidden underwater.

I walked through the woods to the road where a military convoy was driving by. I hailed them and they stopped. I explained my situation and then set my canister down and walked a few steps back saying there was a gun inside. They all aimed weapons at me. I waited with Debra. Eventually they let me ride with them back to safety and got Debra all stitched up.

I dreamed that Zack and I were elves at a wonderful festival with fairy lights and music and dancing in the trees. Then orcs attacked. There was a great battle and Zack pushed me down to hide me away from the orcs. We won the battle and then returned to our dancing.

Dreamed Zack, this random guy, and me were making a song. The guy had a mini keyboard and kept the beat, I "played" a zipper on a duffel bag, and Zack sang.

September 28:
I was running Dungeons and Dragons for Zack, Hunter and Carter. I had created a list of what essentially amounted to nine different quest options, each with its own narrative flavor and associated reward. I started describing each quest, but Carter got impatient and said to just list the rewards so they could pick based on that. I was annoyed at this because I'd put in so much time on the story piece of it, but I quickly told them their reward options anyway.

I was driving on the entrance ramp from Snelling onto 694 when a police car a few cars back from me turned on its lights. I pulled over to let him by but he stopped behind me. I was shocked because I had no idea what I'd done wrong. He sat behind me and after a few minutes he just pulled away, going instead to a car stopped a few feet in front of me. The car had a woman and her young daughter inside. While the police talked to the woman, I got out and kept her child company/distracted. I went to a restaurant after where I'd been heading to meet with Zack, some old co-workers from KM, and Ryan for lunch. I told them how odd the whole police event had been.

The lunch crew was then all taking this engineering class together but at the last minute our final project/presentation failed. The teacher flipped out about how little homework he'd given us just so we'd have time to do this project and how he was going to start assigning all the busywork of chapter reading and response questions from here on out since we were so irresponsible, etc. etc.

September 29:
I dreamed that Zack and I were visiting a veteran's hospital and there was a soldier there who had lost her legs. President Bush was there and thanked her for her service. Zack did too. He cried and gave her a hug. She cried too.

Then I was part of this obstacle course mystery race thing. It was sort of a free for all, but with a time limit like those "escape the room" scenarios. It was set in medieval times, and we were trying to solve the mystery of the werewolf (Real or not? Who is it? etc). There was an obstacle with floating mat across a pond. I tried to sprint over it, but fell with my head in the water and feet caught up on the mat. I couldn't get my head out of water and was sure I'd die, but I got up eventually. The next bridge we came to had people going both ways across it. I let one person from other side go and was about to cross myself when someone else from the otherwise went. Then someone else. I got angry and told them they had to take turns. They let me run across then. I hid in this wooden structure like the old play front park in Duluth, back when it was super awesome, but one of the scenario's characters found me. He gave me a clue about the wolf and then got all panicked and said, "The wolf is coming!" I hid in a cabinet like the cabinets in our old camper, but I couldn't quite pull the door closed behind me.

I dreamed I went to a movie theater in Moose Lake that was super small, shaped like an I, and had mirrors on the wall. Apparently it was in the old elementary school gym.

Then I dreamed that I was back in college and went to class only to find that the only available seat was up front directly beside the teacher, facing the rest of the class. Class started and partway through Sarah (old volleyball teammate) and her sister Liz walked in very loudly with a bunch of shopping bags, disrupting the class. They say down and class continued (we were learning about fractions). Then Liz started playing the piano super, super loud (I have no idea where the piano came from). This was this poor teacher's first ever class, and she leaned over to ask me if this was normal. I said no. So, the teacher got Liz to stop, and I confronted her and Sarah, explaining that while they may be here to goof off, I was here to learn.