My brother and I were at some kind of event, which was in an unfamiliar town. The person driving us was acting impatient, in a way which I took to be non-serious. It turned out to be totally serious: when my brother got out of the car to get something forgotten (like a cell phone or cell phone charger), he started the car and left. I thought at first he was still joking and would turn around, but when I figured out that he wouldn't, I got out of the car. I was a good distance away from the starting point already, and had to walk back through the unfamiliar city (including walking on some roadways not intended for pedestrians, because I needed to retrace the route taken by the car to avoid getting lost).
I also remember another part of the dream, which had to do with getting food in a greatly distorted version of my hometown school. (Too distorted to identify as middle school / high school / elementary school.) I think this was the event we were going to (despite the unfamiliar town). There were people there who had gone to school near when I did, but different enough that they were several grades below me and I had never heard of them while in school.
There was a detail about a kid who was universally shunned by the people in his grade while in school.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Meet Joe Black + Police Training
I watched the movie Meet Joe Black last night, and it had a large influence on my dreaming. However, I also combined it with the following movie premise:
"Imagine a family so skilled in the art of disguise that it's normal to question which relative you're really talking to."
(In the dream, this was a much more dramatic speech describing the situation... I couldn't replicate it properly.)
So, the family in Meet Joe Black was involved in a number of double-twists involving removal of masks and finding out who people really were.
The father (Bill Parrish) mentioned now and again some life work which he had kept secret. In the most important scene of the dream, Susan (who is the favorite daughter in the movie) convinces him to hand it over to her. (The implication seems to be that previously, he did not think she was up to the task.) Mr. Parrish removes some dusty papers in a binder, from an old box of toys left over from before the children grew. He gives these to Susan. She takes off her mask and it turns out that she is really the mother, who everyone thought to be dead for many years.
In the dream, I had joined the police force as a side job to make spending money while finishing school. There was a scene at the firing range, learning to use a gun. The chief demonstrated several types of guns, showing us that with the most expensive gun, it was much easier to hit bullseye every time; he lamented the fact that the police department didn't have the budget to buy that gun for everyone, saying that it would save lives.
It seems that I was taking a city bus every day in this life, between two very different parts of the city. I would regularly be in the neighborhood of Bill Parrish and his family during part of the day.
There was a scene where our rights as police were explained to us. We were told that we had no right to violate the law, and so in many situations we were dependent on the compliance of the criminals we were trying to catch. There was a scene illustrating this, with one of my fellow police-in-training talking to an uncooperative youngster who looked like he may be trying to break into a house, but had not yet violated any law, and was waiting for the policeman to be on his way.
"Imagine a family so skilled in the art of disguise that it's normal to question which relative you're really talking to."
(In the dream, this was a much more dramatic speech describing the situation... I couldn't replicate it properly.)
So, the family in Meet Joe Black was involved in a number of double-twists involving removal of masks and finding out who people really were.
The father (Bill Parrish) mentioned now and again some life work which he had kept secret. In the most important scene of the dream, Susan (who is the favorite daughter in the movie) convinces him to hand it over to her. (The implication seems to be that previously, he did not think she was up to the task.) Mr. Parrish removes some dusty papers in a binder, from an old box of toys left over from before the children grew. He gives these to Susan. She takes off her mask and it turns out that she is really the mother, who everyone thought to be dead for many years.
In the dream, I had joined the police force as a side job to make spending money while finishing school. There was a scene at the firing range, learning to use a gun. The chief demonstrated several types of guns, showing us that with the most expensive gun, it was much easier to hit bullseye every time; he lamented the fact that the police department didn't have the budget to buy that gun for everyone, saying that it would save lives.
It seems that I was taking a city bus every day in this life, between two very different parts of the city. I would regularly be in the neighborhood of Bill Parrish and his family during part of the day.
There was a scene where our rights as police were explained to us. We were told that we had no right to violate the law, and so in many situations we were dependent on the compliance of the criminals we were trying to catch. There was a scene illustrating this, with one of my fellow police-in-training talking to an uncooperative youngster who looked like he may be trying to break into a house, but had not yet violated any law, and was waiting for the policeman to be on his way.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Hopping Trucks with Justin
Justin (friend at work) was teaching me the unlikely art of travelling around by hopping in the back of trucks (without the owner's permission). We weren't trying to get anywhere, just doing it for it. My brother and some other people (unclear) were at a school, after-hours, which also seemed to be a "sneak in" kind of situation; but this was home base, which Justin and I would come from and try to return to via ill-gotten truck rides.
A couple of times, I thought that I lost my cell phone or wallet in one of the vehicles. I would eventually find them. This is surprising, since often in dreams you can never find what you're looking for. There was a scene where I was outside the classroom where everyone else was, after Justin and I returning from a truck-hopping journey, and I was looking for my cell phone in several pairs of pants I had. I found my old cell phone first, which confused me; it had the new cover that my brother put on it. (In hindsight, this makes perfect sense, since my brother was there.) A person then wandered by while I was changing pants, which surprised me. It turned out that this person had just come from another group using classrooms after hours; a music remix club. They came and met our group, and we discussed remixing (displaying our ignorance).
A couple of times, I thought that I lost my cell phone or wallet in one of the vehicles. I would eventually find them. This is surprising, since often in dreams you can never find what you're looking for. There was a scene where I was outside the classroom where everyone else was, after Justin and I returning from a truck-hopping journey, and I was looking for my cell phone in several pairs of pants I had. I found my old cell phone first, which confused me; it had the new cover that my brother put on it. (In hindsight, this makes perfect sense, since my brother was there.) A person then wandered by while I was changing pants, which surprised me. It turned out that this person had just come from another group using classrooms after hours; a music remix club. They came and met our group, and we discussed remixing (displaying our ignorance).
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Alien Invasion
I was at some kind of summer camp. I don't remember all the details of the early part of the dream, but at some point a yellow liquid started to become important. The liquid came in with a supply truck, and people were treating it like it was a new novelty drink or something like that. It eventually became clear that the yellow liquid was an alien being who would replace parts of your brain if you drank it. It could even gain some control over you if a droplet got in your eye, or otherwise got into your body somehow. People who were infected by the yellow liquid would try to get other people infected, either by enthusiasm (acting like the drink is really good, or failing that, playing with the liquid and splashing each other) or by force when necessary. When I figured this out, I started avoiding people. I eventually decided to run, but by this point they had become suspicious and someone followed me. There was a swampy lake to the back of the camp, which I swam in to escape. The other person continued to come after me, but I eventually lost them and gained the other shore.
There was a field there, which I'm familiar with from other dreams. Actually, it was two fields, one slightly lower than the other, and with a somewhat sheltered path between. I thought at first that I could stay there, but then I decided that they would most likely come after me in larger numbers by morning. I kept walking. I quickly arrived at what seemed like a miniature golf course. I walked through this and arrived at some roads with a few houses and a view of a larger city in the distance. The reality of the dream was starting to fall apart. I was thinking about how I was wrong to run away; to people in the city, I would at best be a crazy homeless person talking about alien invasion. More likely, the city would already be infected with the yellow liquid. Running was pointless in a planetary invasion. I arrived at the city, but by this point there was no reality left in the dream. There were a few fractured images of buildings which I wasn't able to hold together as I woke up.
There was a field there, which I'm familiar with from other dreams. Actually, it was two fields, one slightly lower than the other, and with a somewhat sheltered path between. I thought at first that I could stay there, but then I decided that they would most likely come after me in larger numbers by morning. I kept walking. I quickly arrived at what seemed like a miniature golf course. I walked through this and arrived at some roads with a few houses and a view of a larger city in the distance. The reality of the dream was starting to fall apart. I was thinking about how I was wrong to run away; to people in the city, I would at best be a crazy homeless person talking about alien invasion. More likely, the city would already be infected with the yellow liquid. Running was pointless in a planetary invasion. I arrived at the city, but by this point there was no reality left in the dream. There were a few fractured images of buildings which I wasn't able to hold together as I woke up.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Taking Out Tanks
What I remember of the dream begins with an epic convergence of souls. I believe I followed at least one of the characters before this point, but I cannot recall. The sense of the dream was this: a story involving many characters acting independently, yet mystically coordinated in some way to accomplish a larger plan. The idea was that the observer (me) would never understand the whole plan; the actions of some characters in the story would never make sense. Yet, a coherent part of the action was to be revealed.
At the point in the dream where my memory begins, many characters had been acting independently for some time. The development of the plan was now at a point where, just this once, a specific subset of the characters would be brought together in mystic space (mentally sharing the same experiences while their bodies remain far apart). Before this and after this, each would be acting independently with no knowledge of what the others are doing. However, these specific people had the unique opportunity of knowing that there was a larger plan, and knowing some of their fellow workers in the plan.
The shared mystical experience was confusing, though, and did not answer many questions. (It more or less revealed just what I've described above.) At the end, the characters still did not know exactly what was expected of them.
Once the vision was over, two people (one younger girl, the other inspecific) found themselves in an abandoned building on the top of a hill. Further exploration revealed that many small cannons were in the building, along with everything needed to make cannonballs from metal. Outside, the hill was populated with apple trees. It seemed clear that the plan had provided the apples for food, and intended the two of them to make cannonballs for the cannons. They used the furnace to cook an apple while they were getting used to their surroundings and planning.
Soon (the next morning?), a company of tanks started to pass by on a path below them in the hills. (The hills they were on were overlooking an ocean, and the path was roughly halfway between them and the ocean.) They recognized the tanks as enemies, and saw that they were in an abandoned fortress which was concealed from the tanks by trees and height. They saw that they were supposed to shoot at the tanks with the cannons. Unfortunately, they had only made a single cannon ball so far. They were not prepared. They started attacking the tanks anyway, firing their single shot and trying to make more in a hurry.
The single shot was enough to alert the tanks to their presence, and they were soon under direct attack. The two resorted to some negotiation and trickery with their enemies. I remember the young lady putting on a dress with a lit bomb in the back of it, and getting the captors to panic about extinguishing the bomb (it was not intended as a suicide attack, but rather a ploy). This somehow worked to their advantage such that they were accepted into the company of strangers. (I also remember some business with switching the lit fuse on the bomb with a lit thread from the dress, somehow further tricking the enemy, but I don't think it made any sense.)
The dream ended with the sense that we cannot know whether the mysterious plan was still working, or whether they had failed in what they were supposed to accomplish.
At the point in the dream where my memory begins, many characters had been acting independently for some time. The development of the plan was now at a point where, just this once, a specific subset of the characters would be brought together in mystic space (mentally sharing the same experiences while their bodies remain far apart). Before this and after this, each would be acting independently with no knowledge of what the others are doing. However, these specific people had the unique opportunity of knowing that there was a larger plan, and knowing some of their fellow workers in the plan.
The shared mystical experience was confusing, though, and did not answer many questions. (It more or less revealed just what I've described above.) At the end, the characters still did not know exactly what was expected of them.
Once the vision was over, two people (one younger girl, the other inspecific) found themselves in an abandoned building on the top of a hill. Further exploration revealed that many small cannons were in the building, along with everything needed to make cannonballs from metal. Outside, the hill was populated with apple trees. It seemed clear that the plan had provided the apples for food, and intended the two of them to make cannonballs for the cannons. They used the furnace to cook an apple while they were getting used to their surroundings and planning.
Soon (the next morning?), a company of tanks started to pass by on a path below them in the hills. (The hills they were on were overlooking an ocean, and the path was roughly halfway between them and the ocean.) They recognized the tanks as enemies, and saw that they were in an abandoned fortress which was concealed from the tanks by trees and height. They saw that they were supposed to shoot at the tanks with the cannons. Unfortunately, they had only made a single cannon ball so far. They were not prepared. They started attacking the tanks anyway, firing their single shot and trying to make more in a hurry.
The single shot was enough to alert the tanks to their presence, and they were soon under direct attack. The two resorted to some negotiation and trickery with their enemies. I remember the young lady putting on a dress with a lit bomb in the back of it, and getting the captors to panic about extinguishing the bomb (it was not intended as a suicide attack, but rather a ploy). This somehow worked to their advantage such that they were accepted into the company of strangers. (I also remember some business with switching the lit fuse on the bomb with a lit thread from the dress, somehow further tricking the enemy, but I don't think it made any sense.)
The dream ended with the sense that we cannot know whether the mysterious plan was still working, or whether they had failed in what they were supposed to accomplish.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
The Weapon
A scientist died, and left plans to a dangerous weapon to me.
This was quite a long dream, with many elements which were not relevant to the central plot at all... I remember wandering around in a city, a dinner party... and I'm rapidly forgetting. I'll try to write as much as I can, but I will focus on the plot and then try to get the other stuff (which is basically dishonest, since the dream world doesn't care quite as much about plot as we do, although it cares more about plot than the real world does).
The desire of the scientist was to keep the weapon plans as safe as possible, but without destroying them. He thought that the world was not ready for his weapon, and would use it for evil, but perhaps one day would be ready. I was to formulate a plan for keeping the weapon out of human hands for an extended period of time.
I cut the weapon plans into pieces (or perhaps the scientist had already done this), and buried these pieces in containers along a muddy dirt road. I then created some codes which were supposed to roughly indicate the locations, but not precisely, and distributed them between 18 people. These people would act as guardians, and eventually hunt for the containers and re-assemble the plans. Things were designed so that it would be OK if some of these people did not persevere.
At one point, I remember despairing that this was a stupid plan and would not work. However, I eventually launched the project, giving the 18 people their codes and a pep talk. The pep talk was given by me filling in (in real time) word balloons on a comic-format explanation which I had made. (I was very happy with how the drawing turned out.) For some reason, I was typing from the dirt road, using an archaic keyboard which was capable of sending characters but whose main function was more specialized; I spent a decent amount of time trying to figure out the unusual button configuration (so, for example, some letters required key combinations). It seemed to me I was talking to the 18 on an irc channel (though I was also talking through the comic I had drawn). I was heartened by the enthusiasm of the 18, and came to believe that the plan would really work.
Soon after this, I was being transferred to a different school. Someone asked me why I would move to that particular area. I responded that I was being sent there by ____, who was my old-wizard character in the dream (dumbledorf/gandalf). I didn't know what I was getting into, but I assumed that there was a good reason. This discussion took place on a hill at the end of the stretch of road where I had buried the pieces of the weapon plan. It seemed as if there was a send-off party.
There as another party, earlier in the dream, in the city setting. I think this was a part of the dream where I was still trying to figure out what the plot would be. I remember wandering around the city looking for something... coffee, or a place to sleep, or a place to hide the plans. I remember coming into a large empty garage-type room, in which someone told me I could find refuge. Separately, I remember a pot-luck style party where I might have been explaining the inheritance of the weapon.
This was quite a long dream, with many elements which were not relevant to the central plot at all... I remember wandering around in a city, a dinner party... and I'm rapidly forgetting. I'll try to write as much as I can, but I will focus on the plot and then try to get the other stuff (which is basically dishonest, since the dream world doesn't care quite as much about plot as we do, although it cares more about plot than the real world does).
The desire of the scientist was to keep the weapon plans as safe as possible, but without destroying them. He thought that the world was not ready for his weapon, and would use it for evil, but perhaps one day would be ready. I was to formulate a plan for keeping the weapon out of human hands for an extended period of time.
I cut the weapon plans into pieces (or perhaps the scientist had already done this), and buried these pieces in containers along a muddy dirt road. I then created some codes which were supposed to roughly indicate the locations, but not precisely, and distributed them between 18 people. These people would act as guardians, and eventually hunt for the containers and re-assemble the plans. Things were designed so that it would be OK if some of these people did not persevere.
At one point, I remember despairing that this was a stupid plan and would not work. However, I eventually launched the project, giving the 18 people their codes and a pep talk. The pep talk was given by me filling in (in real time) word balloons on a comic-format explanation which I had made. (I was very happy with how the drawing turned out.) For some reason, I was typing from the dirt road, using an archaic keyboard which was capable of sending characters but whose main function was more specialized; I spent a decent amount of time trying to figure out the unusual button configuration (so, for example, some letters required key combinations). It seemed to me I was talking to the 18 on an irc channel (though I was also talking through the comic I had drawn). I was heartened by the enthusiasm of the 18, and came to believe that the plan would really work.
Soon after this, I was being transferred to a different school. Someone asked me why I would move to that particular area. I responded that I was being sent there by ____, who was my old-wizard character in the dream (dumbledorf/gandalf). I didn't know what I was getting into, but I assumed that there was a good reason. This discussion took place on a hill at the end of the stretch of road where I had buried the pieces of the weapon plan. It seemed as if there was a send-off party.
There as another party, earlier in the dream, in the city setting. I think this was a part of the dream where I was still trying to figure out what the plot would be. I remember wandering around the city looking for something... coffee, or a place to sleep, or a place to hide the plans. I remember coming into a large empty garage-type room, in which someone told me I could find refuge. Separately, I remember a pot-luck style party where I might have been explaining the inheritance of the weapon.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Winter
I had found, I thought, the perfect girl. We were in love, and thinking about marriage. However, some of our family was against it... mainly because of the "our" part in that last phrase. We were relatives by marriage: my father and her mother were recently married (or vice versa; it wasn't specific in the dream). They would have preferred us to think of each other as brother and sister. One of them told us (in a threatening tone) to look up the laws on incest. (These characters had no resemblance to my real parents.)
I remember the setting of the dream included two apartments which were close to each other, in the same building. Perhaps one was ours and one was theirs. I could give some detail about the layout, but just imagine that nothing is flat: no rooms or hallways are on the exact same level as everything else; all the floors are broken by stairways or ramps, and even single rooms will typically be divided into parts, such as a raised stage. The ground floor of this building seemed to be a school.
Deep winter outside. I was helping out with a class, but for some reason, we needed to call a temporary break and go to get something. I have the sense that my brother was part of "we" in this section, but there was also a teacher. The children were left unsupervised. I was somewhat unsettled by this, but apparently it was normal; they were considered capable of taking care of themselves. We went out.
It seems we had made this same journey many times. There was another character who we met along the way; we made the comment that we always seem to meet him on these trips. There were many people out today, but we made the observation that we had walked this path on days when almost no one went out, for the cold.
I don't remember much else.
I remember the setting of the dream included two apartments which were close to each other, in the same building. Perhaps one was ours and one was theirs. I could give some detail about the layout, but just imagine that nothing is flat: no rooms or hallways are on the exact same level as everything else; all the floors are broken by stairways or ramps, and even single rooms will typically be divided into parts, such as a raised stage. The ground floor of this building seemed to be a school.
Deep winter outside. I was helping out with a class, but for some reason, we needed to call a temporary break and go to get something. I have the sense that my brother was part of "we" in this section, but there was also a teacher. The children were left unsupervised. I was somewhat unsettled by this, but apparently it was normal; they were considered capable of taking care of themselves. We went out.
It seems we had made this same journey many times. There was another character who we met along the way; we made the comment that we always seem to meet him on these trips. There were many people out today, but we made the observation that we had walked this path on days when almost no one went out, for the cold.
I don't remember much else.
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