Monday, January 5, 2009

Bad Dreams

The other night I had a very vivid dream and when I awoke I couldn't seem to shake it. It started out being my normal confusion of a dream where who I am with keeps changing at random as does our location. I was North of San Francisco for some reason and I needed to find a zip car (rental car) because I had a performance later that night. I was in a huge rush and was very anxious in my dream. While I'm running out to find a car I am in New York. Somehow in my dream this makes complete sense to me. We (I have no idea who I was with.) were running up to a building that we thought might be the correct location to find the car when suddenly I hear a horrible loud boom in the distance. I look up and the skyline is suddenly mushrooming up in an explosion of smoke and fire. It was enormous. I stood there looking at it in shock. Then it was like a wave of heat from the fire hit me and I realized the whole island would soon be ablaze. The person I had been running with pulled me into the building we were headed towards in an effort to find safety. Inside we found an empty area of cement floor and walls with stairs to more of the same. There was nowhere to go and I came to the realization that we were going to die there. This is when I forced myself awake. I don't die in my dreams. I often wake up and force my dreams to go another way but for some reason I could find no solution and in this story in my head that is the only ending I have. Sure now that I'm completely awake I can think of any number of things that could suddenly happen. I should go running for the river and swim to Jersey. It's too late though. I needed to dream it. Does anyone else have this problem? Do you have dreams that are so troubling you can't get past it?

Once my mother called me at an odd time and said she just needed to know I was okay because she had a dream I killed a man and boiled his head to hide the evidence. Yes, I said my mother had this dream. I had a nightmare as a child that an alligator ate my brother. I woke up crying and wrote a story for school about it. Why are the good dreams so hard to remember comparatively?

24 comments:

Farmer*swife a/k/a Glass_Half_Full said...

I hate bad dreams. Especially, if they involve my children. And, then the being chased type where no matter where you go, how fast you run, what weapon you have -- the bad guy is still following you and you can't be rid of him.

All the while everyone else is going on about their lives as normal. Never mind the freak chasing the scared woman!

I could go on for hours and pages....

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Holy cats, your mom dreamed that????
I wonder if you sleep better when Casey is around?

GMEyster said...

My bad dreams usually consist of me falling, which always jars me awake. Mostly I have weird dreams. My most vivid weird dream was of being chased by a platypus that began talking to me. It was almost hostile and I asked it to stop talking to me, but it didn't. And then it morphed into Cameron Diaz. She looks like a platypus to me.

Boiling a head is pretty gruesome. Love that your mom just thought you did that, in an off-chance way.

Anonymous said...

That was some dream your mom had! I'd probably call you, too ...just to be sure...
I've committed murder in my dreams. I've been framed for murder in my dreams. But the worst dream I have on occasion is my husband doing something stupid and hurtful, like cheating. I wake up so ANGRY at him, and there he is, lying peacefully asleep beside me. In truth, he deserves that peaceful and innocent sleep, but my dream was so "real" that I wake him. And I'm still mad at him half a day later, for no good reason. (He has had dreams like this, too, and wakes up mad at me. It always ticks me off because I did nothing wrong!)

Jay said...

I have some really weird dreams. I used to have really violent dreams growing up. I don't have them so much anymore, but do still sometimes have dreams that leave me unable to go back to sleep or feeling really troubled for most of the day.

Dreams like yours, where you're trying to find a way out or a solution to a life and death situation are always bad.

Tall Lanky Jew said...

That is odd. I too had an odd dream last night. Seems to be contagious!(sp?)

Ken said...

I usually have about a 10 or 15 minute....what the fuck, after a bad dream, but then let it go.

The mind is a very strange place, even stranger when left unchecked without eyeballs in the night.

Reb said...

I seldom remember dreams good or bad. I have had a few lately with one or the other of my parents. I hope that doesn't mean I will be seeing them soon, considering they are both dead.

Michael Knight Rambo said...

I love having disaster dreams. An explosion once got me out of a boring shift of dream work.
And whenever I die or get shot or something I always just get back up and look for a hospital or bandaid or something.
In this morning's dream I was riding an old man scooter in the library and didn't hear what the librarian was telling me but realized later my scooter was three months overdue!!!
Why do I get all the good dreams?

Dianne said...

I almost never remember dreams. I only know I have a bad one because my jaw hurts - I grind my teeth something terrible

I think really bad dreams are a way for our bodies to tell us to rest more

Anonymous said...

It's just a dream. Random images, sounds, smells, memories all mixed together as your brain fires oddly during REM sleep.

They mean nothing and you should enjoy the crazyness!

BBC said...

Most times dreams are just your brain playing with itself when you and others are not trying to control it.

And I think that it's stupid to try to figure them out and what meaning they might have in them. And it's really stupid to let others tell you what they mean.

Mostly they just mean that you want more sex so fuck until your brain is too tired to do anything else other than get some frigging sleep.

furiousBall said...

i had a dream just like this except it was you and tink having a pillow fight in your undies

Knight said...

Farmer*swife- If I had kids to worry about I'm sure I would have nightmares all the time. It's always worst possible scenario.

Gary- Yeah, she had that dream several years ago but I still think it was funny. Sometimes I sleep better with Casey around.

GMEyster- A hostile platypus? That is kind of amazing and horrible. You obviously have a great imagination to even come up with that.

Kcinnova- Those unfounded cheating dreams are the worst. If you are having a sleepy morning it's hard to remember what is real sometimes.

Jay- I used to have dreams where I was violent a lot more in high school. I guess it's the only place to act out your anger.

TLJ- Man I hope not or we could start a vicious cycle.

Micky-T- It sure does get awful dark in there when nobody is in charge!

Knight said...

Reb- At least there is a place you can go and still see your parents even if it's your own head.

MKR- I wish I had dreams like yours where you take off with wild abandon and if something happens it's only a flesh wound. I miss feeling invincible.

Dianne- I agree with you. The really bad dreams always seem to come when my body won't sleep properly. I grind my teeth too and now have TMJ Syndrome. You can buy a mouth guard that helps while you sleep but it takes some getting used to.

Mike- I know they mean nothing but try telling me that while I'm in the dream. If it feels real in your head your body is going to react. You don't exactly wake up feeling rested.

BBC- Hey I never asked anybody what they thought my dream meant. I don't think it means anything. I was posting about dreams in general and wondered why I don't remember pleasant dreams that well. If anything I think the heat in my apartment was too high and it made me dream of fire.

FuriousBall- So when Tink and I have pillow fights it sets the city on fire? That's cool. It's like we share a super power!

Real Live Lesbian said...

Yep, I do have troubling dreams sometimes. The funny thing is those feelings continue into my real life. Like I'll be pissed at my gf all day long over something she did in my dream. Somehow, she doesn't think this is fair.

Happy New Year!!!!

So@24 said...

Yeeeikes.

These dreams are the worst.

What would our friend Dr. Freud say about these?

I also though the dreams where they seem almost real and even after you wake up, you find yourself still slightly livid at the situation

Moooooog35 said...

I dream of Jeannie.

That's all I've got. Sat here for 5 minutes and came up with that.

My apologies.

Schmoop said...

I dreamed one time that I posted a comment on your site that was really boring, said nothing that added to your post, and ended it with the phrase, Cheers. Cheers!!

captain corky said...

I had a dream last night that my leg was cut up really bad and I was loosing a lot of blood and not doing anything about it. Later in the dream I was physically fighting with my father. Not fun at all.

Dashiell said...

In 50 percent of my dreams I am a Woman. The weirdest one was when I was a 10 year old Japanese girl hunting a dragon in a misty castle trying save my little brother...

Knight said...

RLL- I know what you mean. Sometimes if I get mad at friends I have bad dreams and then I'm even more mad over nothing!

SO@24- Freud would have me in the padded room by now.

Mooooog35- Seriously? My post was so inspiring you came up with I Dream Of Jeannie? Shit.

Matt-Man- Jeez, you and Mooog are making me feel pretty lame.

Corky- That sounds like a miserable dream. Do you wake up in a cold sweat?

Dash!!!! - Unusual dream. I think it's that kind of creativity that destins you to work in the arts.
Please tell me you are starting a blog.

Dashiell said...

I am but I have only begun. http://slapdashiell.blogspot.com/

tt said...

I hate dreams...mine are never good. And why is that??? I dunno know...
I keep dreaming that Lovee leaves me. Ugh!! I wake up crying or screaming and he just rocks and pats me back to sleep. silly...stupid...dreams....I hate em!