Lovecraftesque Resort

My mother and I were staying at a resort among a strip of businesses and restaurants in a wooded area alongside a freshwater river. The scenery was beautiful and almost had a Japanese feel, with elaborately designed buildings connected by covered walkways, several with patio areas facing the river. Stone staircases led down the slope to walkways that paralleled the river and a shallow beach area where children swam in the clear water.

I wondered along the pathways and eventually decided to go for a swim, but there were dozens of people in the shallow area, so I swam out into deeper water away from the others. As soon as I did, however, I got the feeling that I wasn’t alone and thought to myself “This is how people wind up getting attacked by sharks.” A bit spooked, I quickly made my way to the side of the river, climbed up to the walkway and clambered up the stairs leading back to the strip. I didn’t look back to the river until I was safely under one of the covered walkways (as if something from the river could follow me out of the water) and when I did, I could faintly make out something swimming towards the area that I had just left. Looking closer, I spotted a dark gray fin protruding from the water.

I ran down the walkway towards a patio overlooking the beach, screaming “Shark in the water! Shark! Sharrrk!” At first, people looked at me like I was crazy, then a few on the beach saw the finned shadow in the water coming towards them and panic broke loose. Everyone started grabbing children and running for the buildings (they seemed to think that they had to get as far away from the water as possible). In the chaos, no one noticed that another fin had emerged right behind the first; I froze as I realized that the second fin was too closely following the first for it to be a second creature. In my horror, I watched as the shadow neared the beach and began to rise from the water, standing on hind legs! The beast appeared to be lizard-like, with webbing between its arms and legs, towering over the beach at what had to be nearly ten feet in stature.

Everyone else was in such a panic that they were no longer looking towards the water, too busy scampering about, evacuating the area. What they didn’t see were several other shadows nearing the beach, each bearing a different ghastly shape and joining the tall lizard-type creature in rising from the water and slowly moving towards land. Some of the beings were skeletal and coated in a clear slimy substance, others were scaly with claws like lizards or birds, and a couple even appeared to have bat-like wings.

I eventually broke from my trance and realized that I had to find my mother in all the madness. I turned, surprised to find that she was actually just a short distance behind me on the patio, and had apparently been recording the chaos on her camera phone. She seemed amused and almost bedazzled with the creatures. As I walked toward her, she smiled and pointed the phone toward me for a moment, and then motioned for me to follow her. We hastily made our way back to the resort and crammed onto an elevator with numerous others. I turned to her and said “No one is going to believe us!” She simply said “Check your phone.” Patting my pockets, I couldn’t find my phone, so she handed me hers, which was playing a video of the creatures arising from the water. She smiled, proud that she was able to capture proof of the encounter, then said “Oh, there’s your phone” and pointed to the floor in front of me. I picked up my phone and opened it to find two video messages from her. Opening the most recent message, I gasped as the video played of me walking towards her on the patio, with one of the creatures lurking up right behind me!

Reality Serum at the Rent-A-Mansion

Some elements in this dream are obvious reflections of real life situations:

• I’m preparing to have a gathering at my place this weekend.
• Last weekend a friend and I were going to take a tour of a mansion but found that it was too expensive.
• I stayed at a hotel with this same friend where the pool was closed due to an “incident” with a child (involving something that resembled - but was not - mud).
• I’ve recently joined the YMCA, of which two of my favorite aspects are the pool and hot tub.

[07-25-2010]

A large mansion in town is set up similar to a YMCA, where visitors can work out, swim in indoor or outdoor pools, and hang out in hot tubs of various sizes. I’m heading over to one of the indoor pools, but the room is flooded and I have to swim to the edge of the pool. Somehow, although level with the floor, the “shallow” end of the pool is less deep than the flooded water around it. I wade over to a group of teenagers and preteens, including my friend’s daughter Jasmine, playing Frisbee across the pool. I can tell that Jasmine has a crush on one of the teenage boys, but he seems to be flirting with me instead, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I swim over to one of the large hot tubs, but find that the walls are smeared with mud. Nervous that someone might think I made the mess, I quickly resort to one of the smaller hot tubs. My Mom joins me, asking if I would mind taking a survey about the “club.” [Apparently she plays the role of a staff member.] She asks me several questions, taking notes on a clipboard. I mention that I’m planning to have a party there that evening, so she takes me on a tour of the areas of the mansion that we will have access to. We’re outside arranging chairs on the patio when we notice a wedding party on the top floor getting rowdy. The bride is leaning out a large open window, as if she might fall out, laughing and obviously intoxicated. Her father is near us on the ground, but somehow he is able to reach up and gently lift her through the window (as if the building briefly shrinks down to a single level, then back up again).

Later, guests are arriving and lounging around throughout the mansion as I continue to arrange furniture and make sure everything is ready. A shy teenage girl [who I recently met at the YMCA] shocks me by insisting on access to the bedrooms upstairs, “just in case.” (Implying sexual activity.) She is relaxing in a reclining chair on the patio as it begins to rain. A leak in the patio roof pours right on her and she doesn’t seem to notice. I ask her, “Why don’t you move out from under that leak?” “Oh, you’re right!” she says, seeming surprised, as if suddenly realizing that she’s getting wet, and moves her chair over.

My friend James notices that I’m still arranging things and tells me that I need to relax. He shows me a drink that he brought and insists that I try it. “It’s called Reality Serum,” he boasts, “It’ll make you see the truth.” I eyed the liquid, which looked like some sort of magical potion in a small glass bottle, and said, “I’m not too sure about that.” He urges me on, saying that I won’t regret it, and leads me to a comfortable, black padded chair. I sigh and give in, relaxing in the chair as he pulls a dropper from the bottle. He squeezes one single drop onto my tongue and I allow my eyes to close. I feel myself relaxing deeper and deeper… then I awaken, realizing that “the truth” is that it was all a dream. ^_^

Role Reversals

First, allow me to explain a few recurring dream themes and their significance prior to appearing in this dream:

• I have “high school” dreams all the time, but I’m usually a teenager in school, not visiting as an adult.
• I have “searching for a restroom” dreams quite often, which usually end in confusion as I’m unable to find a functioning restroom or one that is not occupied.
• Occasionally, I have “lost object” dreams where I’m searching for something throughout the dream, usually to no avail.

The fact that I am an adult and help others with these situations seems to be a significant moral in this dream, and I awoke feeling confident and fulfilled.

[07-24-2010]

A group of teenagers are rehearsing a play in a high school auditorium. I’m there observing along with several other adults in the audience. The acting is terrible and several of the teens are speaking in bad foreign accents, making the production even worse. The director (a teacher at the high school) takes a break, but never returns. After a while, the teens realize that they are unsupervised and gradually start to leave in small groups, some talking about “getting wasted” as they stroll off.

Cassandra [my “BFF” from high school] has been watching beside me and asks if I know where a restroom is in the school. Assuring her that it couldn’t be too difficult to locate, I lead her inside and we find a girl’s locker room just around the corner. The front half of the room consisted of lockers and changing areas and seemed to be in decent condition. The back half of the room, however, appeared to have once been a restroom but had been utterly destroyed – toilets broken into pieces, stalls leaning on each other or laying on the floor, and excrement and menstrual blood everywhere (on broken toilets, on the floors and smeared on the walls). We carefully maneuvered around the mess, trying to find just one working stall, and eventually gave up and left.

Late that night, we’re wondering around downtown and hanging out in an abandoned building with a group of friends. We leave to see if any bars or clubs are still open and my friend Pamela says that she’s lost her umbrella. I offer to go look for it, as I need to use the restroom anyway. I go back to the abandoned building and find that there does not seem to be any way to get upstairs to the restrooms. I have a strangely pseudo-lucid moment and decide to use a large cloth bag to teleport upstairs (simply by believing it will work). Standing in the center of the bag, I lift the sides around me and over my head. I squeeze my eyes closed briefly, and then drop the bag to find that I am indeed upstairs. Happy with myself, I strut to the restroom, take a quick leak and teleport myself back downstairs through the bag. 

[Note: Using the restroom in my dreams is a major accomplishment.] 

Before I leave the building, I happen upon Pamela’s tall red umbrella and take it back to the group with me. One of our friends met up with someone who worked at a mall and managed to get everyone “after hours passes” to hang out inside. I teasingly tell Pamela that I’ll trade her umbrella for one of the passes, and she hands me one of the round white buttons, which I pin to my shirt. The dream fades into a “happily ever after” ending with us strutting off to the mall.

White That Glows in the Night

I’m driving to my mom’s house late at night to borrow her truck (for an unknown reason), although I’m afraid I may be visiting too late, as she may already be asleep. On my way through her rural neighborhood, I slow down several times thinking I see deer in the woods near the road. At first, all I see is eye shine, then a few of the deer draw closer and I see that they are covered in bright white fur that seems to glow in the moonlight. I stop to allow a few deer to cross, noticing that their fur is even brighter when they pass in front of the headlights; A dark skinned man follows after them, dressed in a suit and top hat that is the same bright white shade as the deer’s fur. He pauses in the road to smile eerily at me, holding his thumb and index finger up to his left eye in the shape of an “L.” This gives me chills, even more so when I realize there are several others just like him (along with the white deer) along the left side of the road. The men seem to be going door to door like salesmen, and as I continue towards my mom’s place, I notice several people standing in the entryways of their homes in a trance-like state, staring at a man in white.

I hurry to my mom’s, hoping that the men haven’t made it to her house, spotting other strange creatures in the woods at the end of her road; Some appeared to be large owls with huge, crooked eyes. Pulling up to my mom’s, I find that I’m unable to park in the driveway because her hot tub is on a trailer in the middle of the driveway [she doesn’t actually own one in real life]. I carefully drive around it and park in the yard, noticing that most of the lights in the house are still on. The front door is slightly ajar, so I walk in to find my mom and sister, Kim, in the kitchen cooking dozens of batches of cookies. My mom greets me happily and asks if I would like some cookies. She explains that they have several types, “Chocolate chip, macadamia nut, peanut butter, raisin… and Kimberly even made pot cookies!” Confused that my Sunday-school-teaching mother would be amused at pot cookies, I examine said cookies to find that they have balls of what appears to be fried batter cooked into them. I instead take one of the chocolate chip cookies.

[Note: "Pot Cookies" reference directly related to a conversation a friend had with her sister yesterday about pot cookies you can apparently get in California.]

I ask why the hot tub is on a trailer in the driveway and Mom says that a man is coming to pick it up later. She doesn’t mention whether or not someone bought it, which leads me to believe that the men in white have already visited, causing this strange behavior. I ask if Dad knows about this [apparently they are still married in my dream] and she calmly says, “He’s in bed sleeping.” Kim adds crossly, “With his Sensei.” I immediately recognize Dad’s “Sensei” to be his karate teacher [which he doesn’t actually have] whom he idolizes. Peaking into Mom’s bedroom, I see Dad sleeping on one side of their king size bed and a muscular guy with a shaved head sleeping on the other side. Mom asks me to get something from the bedroom floor, so I tip-toe inside, but still manage to wake up my Dad. He asks what I’m doing and I angrily ask what HE’s doing letting that man sleep in my mother’s bed. I wake before he has a chance to defend himself.

Comic Vision

A friend is working on a comic book and asks me to look over the final draft to make any organizational edits before it “goes live.” He hands me a print that has interactive pages, like a touch screen device, and I go through making minor adjustments to the layout and alignment. I hand it back to him, he looks over the changes and says “Great!” He hands the comic back to me, just as my name is materializing on the cover, to the right of the two co-creator’s names. I gasp with delight, saying “I didn't know that got me on the cover!” and wake with my heart pounding.

Celebrity Carnival

I’m at a fancy hotel on a beach with several friends, waiting for some sort of convention to begin. We aren’t guests at the hotel, so we can only hang out in “visitor’s” areas, like the pool and game room. We wonder down a hallway that branches off from the pool room end up at an unusual hot tub area; Instead of the water being enclosed in a pool, the floor slants down into the water, which fills the end of the hallway, so you can walk right in. We didn’t bring swimsuits, but I really want to get into the hot tub, so I roll up my pants legs and walk as far as I can without getting my pants wet. The water gets deeper and deeper, with which I seem to be absolutely fascinated, shouting back, “I can’t go any further, the water is so deep!”

We then head to the convention, which turns out to be a sort of celebrity carnival. It’s set up like a carnival, with clowns and a ring leader and all, but groups of random celebrities are parading through, waving and interacting with the crowd. We’re seated at the top of duel level bleachers, with large platforms to both sides of the seating area. I recognize Mike Oeming and Taki Soma and chat with them for a bit (Taki’s hands are bandaged, but she says they’re healing well). I get the feeling that David Mack and Rupa DasGupta are supposed to be attending as well, but I’m not sure if they’d be in the audience with us, or part of the carnival, so I avoid ask about them. Several other girls in the audience start talking excitedly about David Mack, acting all schoolgirlish and giddy, like he’s a movie star. I was especially annoyed by a skanky preppy girl holding a long-stemmed red rose, going on and on about how hot David is; I reminded her that he’s also a talented artist (not a piece of meat). ^_^

At one point, a stuntman is driving a motorcycle across the front of the seating area, jumping between the bleachers and platforms and back again, when some horribly obese man (that I recognize from somewhere) leaps onto the motorcycle, as if he thinks he can ride on the man’s shoulders! The stuntman and motorcycle go in opposite directions, injuring the stuntman, and the big guy crashes down on the platform so hard that his clothes burst open, leaving him naked in front of everyone. He’s immediately removed by security and the carnival continues.

After all of the commotion, we walk to the edge of the seating area to talk with some of the celebrities parading by. Several are walking on stilts so they can talk to the audience members in the top level, such as us. Bob Saget is stilting by with his wife by his side and tells me to place my hand on his head. When I do, he recites a quote that I’m unfamiliar with (and now can’t remember), but that he seems to think is hilarious. I just smile politely and his wife gives him a disgusted look and says that she’s ready to go.

Just as we're getting ready to leave, I see a guy in a hallway that looks like my old friend Brian Henry, dressed in a Spanish costume (sombrero, ponch, etc), but for some reason, I'm convinced that it isn't actually him. Another person shows up to join him in the same type of outfit, and this time I'm just sure that it's Brian; Someone says "That's not him, that's a chick" and just to prove it, goes right up and asks. Sure enough, the person takes off the hat and fake mustache to reveal that she is indeed a chick, but the first guy is Brian, and she is his girlfriend. We all hang out for a while and live happily ever after. ^_^

What the Truck

My boyfriend & I were riding in the back of his friend’s old Ford truck going down a small town highway. The truck didn’t have a tailgate and the shocks were awful, so we had to hold on to opposite sides of the truck bed to keep from falling out. I tried to adjust my grip and we hit a bump, bouncing me right out of the truck. Fortunately, I missed the road altogether and landed in grass on the side of the road. Somehow, I wasn’t hurt at all and my main concern was that the guys would have to find an exit to turn around and come back to get me.

I decided to walk through the woods so that I might be able to meet up with them on a back road. I walked under an overpass and found an expensive cell phone lying on the ground. I didn’t see anyone around, but I had a feeling that someone might be coming back to look for it, so I was hesitant to take it. I thought “Maybe it has a memory card I could use & I’ll just take that.” I opened the memory card compartment and a tiny drawer popped out with five Micro SD cards stored inside. Two were 1 GB, two were 2 GB and one was 4 GB. As I was considering taking the 4 GB card, I heard people talking nearby. I quickly closed the drawer and shoved the phone in my pocket. I nonchalantly strolled out of the woods towards the voices and found a group of people taking seats at what appeared to be some sort of waiting area. Feeling paranoid, I joined them, as if I needed to blend in for some reason.

I felt a phone ringing in my pocket, but I couldn’t tell if it was my phone or the “found” one, so I hesitated answering it. It stopped ringing and I took both phones out to find that it had been my phone ringing, but it was a number that I didn’t recognize. I figured it was one of my boyfriend’s friends trying to figure out where I was, so I called my boyfriend and managed to direct them to my location. They either parked up the road or the truck broke down, because when they got there, they were walking as well. They took a seat with me and I was telling them about the phone that I found, when suddenly we were all inside another truck, being driven through a muddy, hilly area by a Middle Eastern man, who seemed to be our “guide.” We tried to tell him that we weren’t supposed to be on his "tour", and he said we were free to get out whenever we wanted, but every time that we tried the truck was riding through high water. I said “We can’t get out here, look at all of that water!” so we just kept riding.

Eventually, we wound up getting off at some hotel, where we decided to stay, since we were lost. We were looking for a room (instead of getting one at the front desk) when I realized that I was dreaming. I told the guys that we could just go in any room, because we could do whatever we wanted. In my lucidity, I started messing with everyone around, making them do strange things with each other for my amusement, and I awoke just as a midget chick was about to do strange things to me.

MC Chris is Shy

In the dream, I’m watching an advertisement for a charity show featuring several musicians and comedians. Dane Cook & MC Chris are walking down the middle of a road and you can’t see MC Chris’ face for his cap. A friend watching the video with me jokingly says it’s because he’s shy. (When anyone who's heard his music knows he’s anything but.) The two stop to look up into the sky and the camera zooms in on MC Chris. He has the most adorable expression on his face, almost childlike. I say to my friend, “Aw, but it’s such a cute face! Why would he hide it?”

Later, I’m at an antique store and I find a kitten crawling around on one of the shelves. Instinctively, I know that it’s somehow connected to MC Chris and that the woman across the aisle is his mother. I pick up the kitten and hold it up to my face, telling it about the video where I saw MC Chris’ face (as if it was a secret), and that he shouldn’t hide such a cute face. The woman overhears and says “That’s what I try to tell him, too!” She goes on to tell me about how he hardly ever leaves the house and spends ten hours a day on the phone (like he’s a teenager and she’s concerned about his social life). Something strange is said about a girl on the stairs, who appears as a shadow on the wall… The woman says “It didn’t do her any good” and I awake trying to figure out what that means.

Kabuki Run

I read the first half of David Mack’s graphic novel Metamorphosis (Kabuki Volume 5) before going to sleep and my dream basically picks up where the story left off, with me playing the role of Kabuki. David makes an appearance as “The Artist,” who seems to have some kind of special powers (in the dream and waking life ^_^). If you haven’t read Kabuki, I would definitely recommend checking it out. I have all of the graphic novels, if anyone needs to borrow one to get started. ((^_^))

[04-25-2010]

I’m wearing my mask and I’m running, alone, through an open field. The moon is bright enough to light my way, but also bright enough to be seen if anyone is looking. I have a feeling that others are searching for me, but I’m not yet being pursued. Akemi provided directions to a specific building where I am to meet her. I pass through a thinly wooded area that opens into a dark alley. According to Akemi’s description, this is the place.

I duck inside through a back exit that has been left unlocked, as promised. The room appears to be a storage area in the back of an art gallery or studio; Art supplies are piled on tables across the room, and lockers line the far wall. The only light is in the corner, over a ramp that runs along the left hand wall, leading up to doors to another part of the building. Akemi steps out of the shadows. My heart leaps knowing that she is safe. Without hesitation, I wrap my arms around her. She returns my embrace for a moment, and then steps back to examine me. She removes my mask, and for several seconds, we just stare at each other without speaking. She hands me my mask and turns away. Handing me a change of clothes from an open locker, she says “The Artist is here. We must wait on him. He will know what happens next.” My stomach does a flip as soon as she mentions The Artist. I’ve met him once before and know that he is a powerful man; there’s no question that he will be able to help us.

As we’re changing into new clothes, a few teenage girls walk in through the back door, giggling to each other. I turn away and replace my face. The first girl says “Oh, are you here for autographs too?” Akemi replies, “Yes, I think he will be out soon.” The girls line up on the ramp, clutching comic books and prints of The Artist’s work. Akemi and I walk to the edge of the ramp, so as not to appear suspicious, and the last girl in the group says “I love your mask,” to which I take a step back into the shadows and mumble “Thanks.” After a few awkward minutes, the door at the top of the ramp finally opens and we hear a man’s voice say “Oh! Well, hello!” and the teenage girls squeal with delight.

Akemi and I stay against the wall of the ramp, out of sight, so the other girls will not see The Artist recognize us. He stands with them at the top of the ramp for several minutes, providing autographs and patient answers to all of the girls’ questions. As we stand in silence, we find ourselves gazing at each other again. For a moment, it seems that she is about to kiss me (although she’d be kissing my mask), then the girls come bouncing back down the ramp, giggling again and bidding farewell to The Artist.

Once they have left the building, we step out of the shadows. The Artist’s face instantly lights up when he sees us, “Akemi! Christy! It’s so wonderful to see you both again!” [Apparently, under Kabuki’s mask, I am myself instead of Ukiko.] I’m speechless for a moment, and Akemi tells him that we need his help. He steps closer and lifts a finger to his lips. I feel a surge of energy being near him again, and for a moment, I’m tempted to reach out and hug him [without asking this time ~_^], but I resist. He whispers, “We can’t talk here. Meet me in the lobby.” Akemi obviously knows where he is referring to; she nods, takes my hand, and leads me back out the door into the alley.

I’m apparently in such a daze that I am completely oblivious to where we are going, or how we get there. Before I know it, we’re at a small, but classy, hotel. A group of people are gathered in the lobby (which is set up as part lounge and part ballroom), as if they are waiting for something. When we enter the room, they greet us kindly and ask if we’re there for the dance. We nod and notice The Artist sitting across the room, chatting casually with others. He gives us an inconspicuous half-nod. It seems to be an unspoken rule that we can only speak with The Artist individually, on the dance floor, so we settle in to wait for the dance to begin. Akemi and I have an odd discussion about not being dressed properly for the occasion and decide to fold our shirts up halfway, which somehow still leaves us with full length shirts. Something is said about a problem with the music, and just as I’m wondering if I’m really going to get to dance with The Artist, I wake up.

AFP Lost & Found

Occasionally, I have dreams where I am not myself. Usually, I just happen to be a different person, but no one in particular. In this case, however, I play the role of singer & songwriter Amanda Palmer. Her boyfriend, Neil Gaiman (legendary comic book artist), makes a guest “appearance” as well. I guess you could say that this is one of those “moral behind the story” dreams. Although the dream itself is from a first person perspective, I prefer to narrate from third person, just because I don’t feel right saying “I” when referring to Amanda Palmer. ((^_^))

[04-04-2010]

Amanda is traveling alone by bus, casually chatting with the other passengers. Everyone is all smiles, taking turns amusing each other in various ways. After a while, she finds herself gazing out of the window peacefully and dozes off. When she wakes up, she has missed her stop by miles and apparently is in the next state. She rushes off at the next stop, realizing after the bus pulls off that she has forgotten her jacket, phone, and watch. It’s beginning to get dark, so she heads down the street, determined to find a pay phone and call for someone to pick her up.

Several shady “hoodlum” characters are hanging out in the alley way, and one comments on the skirt she is wearing, “Hey, are those pleats?” Instead of being a lewd remark, he seems to be generally interested. Amanda stops to talk with them and it turns out that they’re actually just kind old men. She explains that she has lost her cell phone, but she needs to call for transportation, and one of the men lets her borrow a cell phone. While quite grateful, she suddenly cannot remember any phone numbers. She finds a list of “work numbers” in her pocket [which is actually in MY pocket right now], and calls Don (a guy I work with) to see if he can give her Neil’s number. He doesn’t have the number, but he says he will find it and call her back. After a few minutes, he returns her call with Neil’s phone number. Amanda calls Neil, who apparently is in the town she was supposed to be traveling to, and he is swiftly off to her rescue.