Dreams

[Artemis]

I had a dream about Doctor Strange.  I kept showing up wherever he was, purely by coincidence, and he kept trying to get away from me, lol.  He thought I was doing it on purpose at first, and he was annoyed to no end.  Eventually, after I got a chance to explain myself a few times, he believed me and started wondering if it might be more than coincidence.  We were about to start searching for a reason why it might be happening, when I woke up.

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 12/16/2020 at 7:27 AM, Artemis said:

I had a dream about Doctor Strange.  I kept showing up wherever he was, purely by coincidence, and he kept trying to get away from me, lol.  He thought I was doing it on purpose at first, and he was annoyed to no end.  Eventually, after I got a chance to explain myself a few times, he believed me and started wondering if it might be more than coincidence.  We were about to start searching for a reason why it might be happening, when I woke up.

 

Hate it when the dream is a cliff-hanger. If I have time, I normally like to try to 'continue' my dream. It works, but influenced by me trying to steer it to favourable direction. Speaking of cliffhanger..

 

Couple of weeks ago I dreamt I was brushing my teeth, and apparently I was in a zoo enclosure, Panda to be exact. I know they are dangerous, eventhough they are cute, they are bears. So I frantically tried to climb the wall and managed to get to the top (where the roof is so I couldn't go any higher. This could be some back of the house facility. There were some kind of grill windows on the top, and I hung to it, lifting my lower part of the body as high as possible.

The frigging pandas, unlike their stereotype, one of it was bloody dang athletic, he jumped and tried to grab me, I could feel his paw catching up to me although it's not painfully sharp like it should, but he hung on to me and I could feel the window grill getting shaky with his weight clinging to mine. I shouted for help, and threw my toothbrush to the ground as the attempt to distract the panda (why on earth I was holding on to that while climbing??) but they ignored it.

My ex-colleague from long long time ago, a curator (I worked in zoo before) came and tried to help.... not by doing something useful, but THIS is his logic, he was trying to bait and entice the other panda to grab on the panda that hung on to me, so that the weight of the second panda would pull the first panda down. The thing is, my poor hands and the poor window have to support three of us now! I was pissed but it felt funny too. At this time, I woke up and there was no more spare time to continue my dream.

Anyway, it's a coincidence, I don't always dream being chased by dangerous animals. I dream about everything and anything, but some are so ridiculous I make effort to remember it and (maybe look for that particular ex-coworker for answer to his logic!!)

[Artemis]

I dreamt I lived in a near-future post-apocalyptic world where these predatory shadow beings had come to Earth from another dimension.  They killed and ate people, but they could only get you when you were in the shadows, so everyone had to stay in the sunlight as much as possible.  Most towns became ghost towns, but the remaining few populated centers had to be lit at all times, and some people went insane from the constant light exposure.  Scientists in the largest surviving city were working on a detection system for the shadow beings.  Aptly nicknamed "stretchers", they were essentially formless and could grow or shrink to fit any shadow; but their growth capacity was determined by their kill count.  The more people one ate, the longer its shadow could stretch.  And when it stretched, from behind you could vaguely make out the outlines of the people it killed (its most recent kill at the forefront).  But only the legs showed (i.e., you could just barely tell if someone was wearing jeans or something when they died); and only in the dark.  Outside, in daylight or moonlight, they were indistinguishable from the shadows, especially when still and lying in wait.  You might catch a wisp of movement if you looked really hard.  But in dark places where there was no light, they grew darker than dark as they grew in size, and almost oily in appearance, like hot tar.  The smaller they were, the faster they moved.  At one point on a sunny day I was being chased by one the size of a skipping stone, shifting from shadow to shadow insanely fast.

I had started out with a small group of travelling survivors, but we got separated as the shadows started hunting us.  We were looking for something, trying to get somewhere, but I can't remember what or where (the big city, perhaps?).  Every now and then I would come upon a wall map, like in a video game, and I would follow it hoping it would lead me to one of my lost companions or the destination I was trying to reach.  Most of the maps I needed were in dark and dangerous places, like an underground tunnel or subway system, so I was exploring and getting chased a lot, hoping my lantern wouldn't go out.  But even outside in broad daylight I had a hard time staying out of the shadows of trees and buildings and hillsides.

Anyway it was a creepy dream.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

16 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

So I frantically tried to climb the wall and managed to get to the top (where the roof is so I couldn't go any higher. This could be some back of the house facility. There were some kind of grill windows on the top, and I hung to it, lifting my lower part of the body as high as possible.

Our house has a few windows that needed some extra protection, so I searched the internet for "security grills" but couldn't find any such thing.  But we knew a fellow who had a metal-working shop, so he made what we needed, though they're kinda clunky.  Then later on I saw an ad for such things, pre-made, and realized that they are spelled "grilles" rather than "grills."

Apparently a "security grill" would be a hibachi with a burglar alarm so no one can steal your hamburgers.  Good ol' English strikes again!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Woah @Artemis, that seems good enough for movie plot, and one that I might want to catch. Not in current situation though, I will stay clear from cinema for a longggg time.

3 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Then later on I saw an ad for such things, pre-made, and realized that they are spelled "grilles" rather than "grills."

My most pressing question is, are the ones you saw good enough to hold the weight of two adult pandas, and me? Let's count that as three pandas, shall we?

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I will stay clear from cinema for a longggg time.

These days, I find it hard to understand why I was ever willing to sit for two or three hours in the middle of a room packed elbow-to-elbow with strangers of dubious health.  I figure DVDs are nature's way of saying we don't have to do that anymore.

1 hour ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

are the ones you saw good enough to hold the weight of two adult pandas, and me? Let's count that as three pandas, shall we?

I seriously doubt it (ditto our custom-made ones).  But the windows in question are all close enough to the ground that it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Artemis]

I’ll go back to the theater as soon as it reopens without a mask requirement.  I love the ambience of the theater, which is something I can’t get at home.  Plus it’s one of the few things that gives me a reason to be out of the house and something to look forward to.  I don’t usually go when I know it’s going to be crowded anyway, so I rarely end up elbow-to-elbow.  Actually I would love if they kept up the “every other seat empty” socially-distanced seating arrangement.  They won’t of course, but it’d be nice, lol.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Artemis said:

 I don’t usually go when I know it’s going to be crowded anyway, so I rarely end up elbow-to-elbow.  Actually I would love if they kept up the “every other seat empty” socially-distanced seating arrangement.  They won’t of course, but it’d be nice, lol.

Yeah, we like matinees, partly because they're generally cheaper, and partly because (especially if we avoid the first week) there's rarely more than a handful of other people there.  Are they even doing matinees right now, though?

 

[Artemis]

44 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

Yeah, we like matinees, partly because they're generally cheaper, and partly because (especially if we avoid the first week) there's rarely more than a handful of other people there.  Are they even doing matinees right now, though?

It probably varies by state.  Theaters in my state are entirely shut down.  But they had reopened for a few months in late summer/early fall, and they weren't doing matinees then.  So I'd doubt it.

I'd like to do matinees, but the matinee times at my local theaters keep getting pushed back earlier and earlier in the day.  If I go on a day I'm not working that's okay, but I find I actually prefer to go at night on Mondays or Sundays.  On Monday nights especially there are even fewer people there than during a matinee.  Sometimes I only share a theater room with one or two other people.  Tuesday used to be a great night for that too, but then they started offering "$5 Ticket Tuesday" and Tuesday nights became one of the most crowded times to go.  Wednesdays are hit-or-miss.  But in any case, early week is a good time to avoid crowds at a movie if you don't feel weird about seeing a movie on a work night.

And like you said, it always helps to wait a week or two after the release date to go see a movie.  I rarely go the first week.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

2 hours ago, Artemis said:

I'd like to do matinees, but the matinee times at my local theaters keep getting pushed back earlier and earlier in the day.  If I go on a day I'm not working that's okay, but I find I actually prefer to go at night on Mondays or Sundays.  On Monday nights especially there are even fewer people there than during a matinee. 

Thanks,  that would never have occurred to me, and I'll keep it in mind.  I believe we qualify for the senior discount now, which basically means matinee prices at any showing.

[Van Buren Supernova]

Oh I love cinema!

And watching movie alone in cinema has become my favorite thing to do, but I'm afraid it will take a looong time before I go back.

I suspect I will retain my Covid habit long after it's gone. Stayed in affected place during Sars and I still retain some of hygiene paranoid ritual until now. This will mess me up.

I don't mind the facemask forever I think, somehow I enjoy the extra anonymity. I wouldn't mind social distancing to continue forever as well, especially in public place. No handshake and hug, of course!! If only this thing is not so annoying, destructive and deadly.

[Carol the Dabbler]

16 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I don't mind the facemask forever

Facemasks were already considered perfectly normal (on an optional basis) in Japan and perhaps some other places, long before Covid.  And people are so used to them now that I can't imagine anyone would give it a second thought if you kept wearing yours even A.C. (though you might want to avoid wearing it into a bank at that point).

16 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Stayed in affected place during Sars and I still retain some of hygiene paranoid ritual until now.

That explains a lot.  

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 1/15/2021 at 6:49 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

And people are so used to them now that I can't imagine anyone would give it a second thought if you kept wearing yours even A.C.

Promise??

Please promise that handshakes and stranger's hug are things from the past too.

[Carol the Dabbler]

24 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Please promise that handshakes and stranger's hug are things from the past too.

Sorry.  I don't understand people who hug strangers.

Handshakes may remain optional, however.  If you see someone revving up for one, just position yourself for an elbow bump instead.

 

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 1/18/2021 at 2:38 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

 

Handshakes may remain optional, however.  If you see someone revving up for one, just position yourself for an elbow bump instead.

I think for current situation, we reserve a right to push them away hard with ten-foot pole or turn around and run away, no?

[Carol the Dabbler]

23 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I think for current situation, we reserve a right to push them away hard with ten-foot pole or turn around and run away, no?

Sounds like a waste of energy to me, considering that if someone attempts to initiate a handshake these days, one is allowed to simply fix them with an icy stare.  Not sure I'd care to lug around a ten-foot pole all the time either.  But hey -- whatever works for you!

 

[Van Buren Supernova]

Whenever I go to some market, there are vendors who still try to get my attention by nudging or poking me. I hate that with passion even before Covid BC was born. Icy stare doesn't work. Many times I have to actually be rude. Habits die hard I guess, theirs and mine.

But you are right, the silver lining is, not wanting to shake hand doesn't look impolite anymore.

[Artemis]

 

[Artemis]

I had an intense nightmare last night.  I was imprisoned in a facility where they were experimenting on people using mental torture.  I won't disturb you with too many details.  I was there for many months.  I befriended the person in the cell next to me.  We would talk, as long as the guards weren't too near, and we grew very close.  Then one day, they were removed, and never returned.  Months later, I was brought to a sterile room.  It was large and circular, shiny black floor and white walls, lights overhead, nothing in it but a large table in the middle.  On the table was something long and narrow.  They uncovered it, revealing a tight glass box, with my friend's half rotten corpse inside.  Next to the box was a second box.  Connected to it, actually.  It was empty.  They forced me inside and sealed it shut.  It was so tight that I couldn't move my arms or legs at all.  I couldn't help but look at my friend's corpse.  They told me that if I managed to get out of that box, they would let me out of the facility.  Then they left me alone in the room.  I was crying and struggling to get free, trying to bang my head against the glass, as my neck was the only thing I could move a little; but I couldn't get enough leverage in the confined space.  I woke up screaming.

Lovely way to start a day.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

I hope you won't be offended that I skipped most of that!     I'm headed off to bed shortly.  

[Artemis]

Not in the least.  Sweet dreams!   

 

[Artemis]

I was watching "X-Men: First Class" the other day, and I had a passing thought that Beast resembled a blue Grinch.

So apparently my brain took that and ran with it, lol.  Last night I dreamt that the Grinch found out he was a mutant, and he was running around wreaking havoc in Xavier's school: playing pranks, boasting about his super strength, and challenging people who didn't like him to competitions, lol.

And he doesn't even really have super strength; he was just imbued with it that one time because of adrenaline.  But that didn't stop him from bragging about his heroic feat and embellishing the story like a tale-telling old fisherman at a small-town bar, lol.

 

[Artemis]

I was looking through some of my old journal entries today, and I came across this strange dream I wrote about over a decade ago.  Thought I would post it here for your amusement.

 

Quote

The Bridesmaid Dress of DOOM
(8/12/2010)

It has been a night for odd dreams, apparently.  The first one I don't remember, but it must have been pretty wild because I woke up lying in a totally opposite position from which I'd started, with pillows strewn about me (even the big one I'd had my head on!), my blanket twisted around me, my heart rate shot and my skin tingling from fear.  Ay.

Dream number two was like a very bad Lord of the Rings remake, lol.  Except there was no Frodo yet or fellowship, just a young Bilbo.  He and I were apparently long-time friends, and lived in the same... building... together?  That doesn't sound very hobbitish!  Lol.  I'm not sure what it was, actually.  It was like part apartment building, part dormitory, part hotel, and fancy like Hogwarts or something, but not at all magical.  In any case, there was a big, wide staircase outside my door and across the hall, a community bathroom to the left, and Bilbo's place to the right and across the hall.  The closest door of his to mine was actually a walk-in closet, which for some reason he kept unlocked for me to go back and forth between our rooms at will.  Once inside I'd just knock on the other closet door which opened to his room, and he'd let me in.  Why this makes sense I have no idea, but hey, dreams rarely do.  Not mine, anyway.

So I'm in my room, trying on bridesmaid dresses (??!?) and of course hating every one.  I had just put on a shimmery white-gray one, a size too small.  Frustrated with how I looked, I decided to give up for awhile, lay down and rest my eyes (without taking it off first??), when someone opened the door to my room.  I didn't bother to move at first, figuring it was Bilbo who was accustomed to making my home his home.  But when the person didn't come in, I glanced over just as the door was closing again and thought I saw Gandalf's beard and billowy robes exiting.  I got excited for a minute because Gandalf (still The Grey at this point) was my friend too, and I didn't get to see him very often and hey, everyone loves Gandalf, right?!  Figuring he'd assumed I was sleeping and went to Bilbo's, I started to go after him, but then decided that my eyes were probably playing tricks on me because I actually was tired, and I should stop being lazy and try on more dresses.  I took the white one off and put on deep red one with a silver and pastel green sheer accent overlay, which was actually very beautiful but looked like something out of the Renaissance Fair.  Which I wouldn't have minded at all, but I knew the bride (whoever she was) wouldn't like it in her wedding.

I was about to take it off when I thought I heard Gandalf's voice humming softly in the community bathroom.  I ran out of my apartment and slewed left just as he was coming out of the bathroom, and I ended up bumping smack into him.  Looking irritated and worried at the same time, he grabbed my arm before I could say anything and pulled me into Bilbo's closet.  I must still be really tired because this is making me giggle.  He told me to stay there, and then went through the other door into Bilbo's room where I heard them talking in urgent, muffled voices.  When he came back he told me that the Ringwraiths had learned that Bilbo had the Ring and were already on their way after him.  Apparently we'd discussed it before, because I knew what both of those things were and didn't need any explanation.  He said that Bilbo was packing, and let me hurry to pack some things too.

Not sure why I was coming with, except that Bilbo and I were such close friends that it was just a given.  Not to mention, Gandalf didn't want me there when the Ringwraiths showed up either.  Not only did the Ring attract the Ringwraiths, but anything that touched the Ring also attracted them, as if it left a scent behind like pheromones (because in dreamworld, scent travels by touch and that just makes sense).  Meaning, in other words, that I was already "tainted" and vulnerable, and they'd probably kill me if they smelled it on me but caught me without it, like those Velociraptors' eggs in Jurassic Park 3.

So I bounded ungracefully but as stealthily as I could in a big rustly dress back across the hall to my apartment, while Gandalf rolled his eyes behind me and then returned to tend Bilbo.  I turned my lights off to give my place an empty and innocuous look (as if the Ringwraiths would come by and say "Oh well, she already left" and continue on their merry way, or could even see in the first place).  But I left the front door open so I could keep an eye on any intruders, and escape quickly with as little noise as possible.

A bit flustered and on a fight-or-flight high, I almost grabbed my black cloak first before anything else (YAY I HAD A CLOAK) but then smacked myself in the head because it would be smarter to grab that on the way out (duh).  Willing more blood to my brain, I went to my sock drawer to get underwear first, which surprises me because making sure I have clean underwear on a trip is usually more of an afterthought with me.  I was torn over which underwear to bring, but hurriedly decided on my bigger briefs because they'd probably be more comfortable for physical activity, and tromping around the forest, and who knows what else.

I stuffed those into my bag, along with a few other random clothes that I didn't even look at, at which point I realized that I didn't have any underwear on underneath my dress this whole time (for some very odd reason, no doubt), and that I should probably change because I might not have enough time to finish packing anyway.  So I stripped (very relieved to be free of my dress) and pulled on a pair of green underwear (in such a rush that I fell over a couple of times, awkward me).  I had just pulled my black shirt over my head, when I glanced towards the door and saw the shadows of nine Ringwraiths coming silently down the staircase outside my door.

Cursing myself for not going faster and wondering how embarrassing it would be to die half naked, I moved out of the doorway light and tried to decide what to do.  I settled on the idea of trying to ninja my way out the door on the other side of the apartment.  I was unsuccessful, because as soon as I moved, my feet ran into the rustly dress lying on the floor.  Stupid bridesmaid dresses, getting me into trouble.  I'll never be a bridesmaid again, I swears.  Eight of the Ringwraiths continued on to Bilbo's, but one of them heard and stayed behind to check out my apartment.  Though I've never been a quick thinker under pressure, interestingly enough I tend to become very calm in a crisis, and I at least had enough brains left to realize that if I stood nearer to something with the scent of the Ring, he might not be able to smell the difference between us.  I remembered that I had touched the cloak in my back storage pantry immediately after touching the Ring, which is why I had put it away in the storage closet in the first place.

So I sneaked sneakily down the hallway to that room, opened the pantry door, hid myself around the corner of the bookcase and tried not to breathe, all in a matter of a few seconds because your damned attacker never gives you enough time to make any plans!  I was followed momentarily by the Wraith, who I heard poking at my rustly dress in the hall with his sword.  He glided into the room, and I waited in suspenseful dead silence for him to sniff around awhile.  In a life or death situation you always seem to be running out of time, except when you're hiding.  THEN time stands still, and it can't be over fast enough.  He came very close to me at one point, and took a jab near the bookcase with his sword, but ultimately focused on the pantry as I'd hoped.  Seeming very pleased with his discovery, he screeched and made off with my cloak.  Lousy thief.

I waited there a few seconds longer to ensure that he had left, feeling relieved but not too relieved, because in the movies the bad guy always comes back when you're overconfident.  I put on some black pants faster than I've probably ever put on pants, grabbed my other cloak, threw my backpack over my shoulders and high-tailed it outta there, trying to guess which direction Gandalf had gone so I could catch up, because of course he would have been sensible enough to get Bilbo out of there without me.

No Ringwraiths in sight, I bolted out the door like I was crossing a freeway, and promptly bumped directly into Gandalf (for the second time).  Because, like all good friends, they wouldn't leave me behind and were coming to check on me.  Poor little Bilbo looked even more scared than I was, which I suppose is understandable when you're the main target of all evil in the land, and presumably they'd just evaded eight Ringwraiths as opposed to one.

Looking irritated and worried (for the second time), Gandalf grabbed my arm (for the second time) and covered my mouth with his other hand so that I wouldn't scream from the sudden surprise of crashing into them.  He was about to say something to me, when he looked up behind me, and his expression fell in fear.  Bilbo's followed.  I started to glance in the same direction...

...At which point I awoke.  Darn.

But my skin had the same tingly feeling as it'd had after my first dream.  *Shudders*.

Have I really been writing this for over 3 hours already?  Jeesh.  The end.

 

...

 

[Arcadia]

That is one detailed dream! I used to have them like that, back in my 20's. Now I guess I just sleep through them ???? I called a lot of mine "frustration dreams" because in them I'd keep trying to do something (like get dressed) and everything kept happening to delay me. So my main sensation upon waking was frustration. Great.  

[Carol the Dabbler]

10 hours ago, Artemis said:

Though I've never been a quick thinker under pressure, interestingly enough I tend to become very calm in a crisis

Me too -- though it had never occurred to me that those two traits seem contradictory.  I can't stand to have someone standing over me (either literally or figuratively) when I'm trying to get something done; it makes my brain seize up.  But I do tend to keep my head when the situation is inherently time-critical.

10 hours ago, Artemis said:

feeling relieved but not too relieved, because in the movies the bad guy always comes back when you're overconfident.

I'm like Arcadia, don't often recall my dreams nowadays.  Either I used to remember them more often, or more likely I'm currently remembering a lifetime of remembered dreams.  I don't offhand recall having any recurring dreams lately, though, so I guess things have changed in that regard.  Either that or I simply don't remember them?

Anyhow, that was one wild dream!