Ron... We're on Mars!

Friday, 06 September 2013:

I am on Mars. I see black velvet sky with more stars than I have ever seen. I can't make out constellations. The world around me is illuminated by the starlight. I can see the red and blue hues that have become familiar to me from the images returned from the Mars Rovers. I am a little overwhelmed, excited, bewildered, but I maintain my composure. There is a low outcropping ahead with a few exploration tools (I see a rock hammer). I am accompanied by a man, a fellow astronaut, Ron. It is night, and we sleep under the stars. (No, no romance here! It's all business.)
"Ron," I say, "We're on Mars!"
No answer.

When I awake, it is still dark. In the distance to my left, I see the peaks of two shield volcanoes which appear to have been dormant for a very long time. The image is in grayscale, and there is shadow between me and the peaks. The mountains appear to be floating in the inky sky.
"Ron," I say, "We're on Mars!"
No answer.
"It took me a day to get my mind together, but I am ready to get to work. I guess we should start collecting rocks."
I look around. I notice that we are not wearing bulky suits nor helmets. We are breathing the air normally. My mind starts racing with thoughts, How can this be? Where is the oxygen coming from? In front of me, just beyond the rock outcropping with the hammer, I can see daylight and trees through what appears to be a doorway.
"Actually," Ron replies, "before we do this," he indicated the rocks with the hammer, "we need to cut down these bamboo." He walked outside and down the cement steps. "These aren't actually bamboo, but the leaves will harden into shards and fall making it difficult to ..." [accomplish some manual labor task in the wooded grove, I wasn't listening... there are TREES?]
"Yucca," I say. They aren't yucca, but it's the first thing I thought of. The trees are short, only about twelve feet (4 meters) tall, with rough black bark. They taper toward the top with sparse green palms... PALMS! I just figured that out! There are three, maybe four, of these palms growing just inside a wooded grove of trees.
"Do they cut easy?" I ask.
"Not really. There's a machete," Ron gestures toward a small machete in the grass near a.. magnolia?


So, after waking,  I'm thinking... if this is Mars, we aren't the first ones here. If it isn't Mars, this is reminiscent of the alleged Moon Landing Hoax* that supposedly took place all on a Hollywood set... This is very Hollywood set...

*Please do not misinterpret that... I am a HUGE supporter of NASA and space exploration, and I firmly accept and believe that Apollo 11 astronauts, and later others, have landed on the moon, and that we have successfully landed unmanned craft on Venus, Mars, and Titan.

too many dreams

Friday, February 15, 2013

Oops! I forgot to log my dreams! I dreamt all night last night while I was seriously sleeping in a deep sleep (my body was healing from a strenuous hike two days ago.. at least I AM recovered!)

I remember ...(these all run together like a very long dream. I do not recall waking between nor any breaks between. Underlines mean I was thinking this in the dream.)

>>There is a pillow .. round, small floral design .. it jumps off an armchair to prove it is interesting like (that other pillow that is squarish and shades of blue patchwork. Soon it has changed into a nearly identical pillow in shades of hot pink, but climbs back into the chair and converts to a yellow/gold rectangle with a wide burgundy stripe (Arizona State Univ. colors). It seems a bit sad? ...I am watching a movie with a man and woman in bed in the morning. He turns to her and says, "I wish I could just stay here forever!" She is probably a witch/sorceress, and replies that he will stay for the rest of his life. (dun-dun-DUNH!) Neil Patrick Harris (actor, Doogie Howser MD, How I Met Your Mother) is lying on the seat of an antique car with the blue patchwork pillow under his head. A friend replaces it with a down-filled pillow and comments that the woman wants him to be comfortable. He at first accepts and connects the seatbelts around his legs and torso (so as not to roll into the floorboard if the vehicle were to stop suddenly) and tells the friend to drive while he rests. Then NPH gets out with the pillow saying he "doesn't want to be comfy" and he wasn't unhappy and doesn't want things to change (oops! I think I just figured that part out! funny how writing stuff down makes you hear it out loud.. and then "whoops! there it is!")
I am at the mall with my mother and older sister. My sister has parked her SUV far from the building (probably at my suggestion to park in "boat parking"). A black entertainer (that I should know, but, sorry... I can tell you who it WASN'T!) ... at a mall and convention area. He was joking about the 'Cosmo girls' at the reception desk clinging to their coffee cups complaining they were cold. I smiled and sassed "Did you tell them to come to your show and dance around?" (I hope he's a musician?).. I am holding a puppy. It is short haired and floppy eared, maybe a Dachshund, but more like a Basset Hound. I might be working a kiosk? A woman approaches with two friends. She greets me first (oh! bad customer service!). I respond and she insists that I not stand up (because I am holding the puppy and she isn't really shopping with me, she's killing time). She complains about shopping with others. I laugh that I can totally relate! I tell her that I hate shopping with my mom and older sister because I never get to look at anything and spend all my time trying to catch up to them. But, my younger sister and I are great because even though we separate early, we will run into each other about every three minutes. We are just in sync like that! .. The lady seems impressed that there are suitable shopping partners...

I am walking back to the SUV. It's dark now. I can barely make out the vehicles. I am looking for the bumper stickers on my sister's SUV. Is that it? no? Mom and sis are following me. We get into the vehicle. ... My sis and I are driving towards downtown (must have dropped Mom off at her house? We are at the stoplight just past her neighborhood). The light is green, but there are still cars moving along the cross street through the intersection. A green motorbike pulls around us. The man is carrying a wrought iron parkbench on the motorbike. He scoots across the intersection. I notice that while our direction has a working traffic light, the cross street's light is out. Once traffic clears and our street goes, it could be a long time before the others can go again. A white Cadillac on our left turns left and clips the motorbike. I get out and run across to see if he is hurt. The bike has a flat tire, but he's not too upset about it. I suggest to my sister that since she is going right by the city park, she could give him a lift. She makes an excuse, and the man didn't seem to want a lift anyway, so no harm-no foul? My sister gestures toward a coffee shop on the corner away from downtown. It sports a Motown mural pink, orange and brown, and the name "Desperate"(?). She says Mom told her I have been to that coffee shop. "No," I tell her. "I go to that one," I point toward downtown (Roasters, the one across from the courthouse).<<

OK, maybe that is all I can remember? I was awakened at noon by a surprise visit from my niece. I had no idea I had slept that long, especially without waking intermittently!

I need paper...

I should really keep a journal next to the bed like I used to! ... here's a few cold clips I can remember as I ready for sleep again...

(1) last night (Friday, January 25-Saturday Jan 26, 2013):
In response to an actual Tweet I sent to +Tom Cruise (even though I am 1:57.6K (followers on Twitter), you follow me and that makes me smile!) .. Tom replied to me (you may be 1 of 57.6K, but you are 2 in 3.3M (fans on FB)*...* -Tom)
I think I woke up too fast from that one, or I would have remembered more of the message (the *...*)! I did grab my phone to see if it was true... not yet. But, it is true that I follow Tom on Facebook from two personal profiles.. and My Little Crochet Shop! Tom is awesome!)

(2) a few nights ago, but less than 7 nights:
I was crossing a rock-strewn creek with a man (let's use the word "guy" meaning between the ages of 25 and 50, but physically fit and attractive for 50). We are collecting treasure from an island in the middle of the creek (ok,creek might be too small, but my vision of a river is too big). There is a table set for a large dinner party, and I walk around the end counterclockwise. Now, the guy and I are running in the woods. We have rifles? There is danger. We look for safe places to hide according to the danger (which can change). We duck behind a wooden shed in the woods to hide from a dinosaur (imagine T-Rex) headed our way. I ask him, "Is this really where you would want to hide from that?" No, so we split up and look for depressions in the ground like ditches or holes where trees have overturned. I am thinking about other dangers like fires and floods that might change my mind about where to hide.

(3) I did dream about Mr. Cruise on at least one occasion this week.. several nights ago. I remember being in a room with a fireplace and Tom and I were lying on a mattress on the floor. Voluminous ivory linen sheets. It is morning, but not early morning. People are stirring about in the house. The door to the room is open. I remember being anxious about that, but seeing a woman pass by in the hallway (was that Nicole Kidman?) and not even giving us a glance, I relaxed (Well, okay then!)... sorry, no details for you here... 
THEN .. Tom and some other actors are in a bar scene where one guy hands Tom a half filled glass of beer and Tom is supposed to chug it. I am somehow assisting the production. The director hopes to do this scene in one take. Of course, it doesn't. After the second take, Tom switches to water and editing will make it look right. After two takes with water, Tom says he can't drink this water... the take is in my hometown, and the tap water is not bad, but not great. I go to the (MY!) refrigerator and pull out the Brita pitcher of filtered water and say, "Oh, here, Sweetie! I've been holding out on you!" Tom takes the pitcher, looks at it, and turns shaking his head.
Somewhere in the middle up there where Tom is switching from beer to water, there is a short actor (under 5 ft tall, maybe under 4ft?) who has taken some liberties with his costume and added my green tablecloth and a purple scarf as layered shawls. The director just allows whatever, because this actor is a bit of a dramaqueen (the bad kind) and everyone just goes along with whatever. Now, these items were ACTUALLY in my dining room at the time... so if my walls were red brick instead of yellow drywall, it could have been my house?

Odd, huh?

One long dream... or many little snippets?

Okay, so I found myself sleeping literally with my eyes open for the last few nights. Don't know why, but I have, therefore, been staying up past 2am and falling asleep around 3, for a complete 8 hours. Well, I get up around 8 to let the dog out, but then I return to bed ... and some STRANGE dreams!

These are snippets, although I do not recall a break in the action... they all ran together as a single story (sort of) but I lost the segues and I can't put them back in order. Here goes:
_________
I am outdoors. I am carrying something, but I see a large brown butterfly in the tall green grass near a large tree stump. It might be dead, so I plan to collect it for my niece's bug collection. I go (to the house?) and put down whatever I am carrying (lightweight, miscellany) and return to the butterfly. There are two. The second is definitely alive, and stirs up the one I have my eye on. It moves and transforms (maybe just by folding its wings) into a thick green insect (like a large emerald grasshopper- looking bug). It's not dead, so I leave it...Walking back to the house, I am carrying a small plastic container with three small eggs. They are blue and brown and muddy looking. I am happy even though I didn't get the big butterfly, I collected these three eggs. Someone (?) meets me outside the house. I put the small bunch of flowers I am carrying (?) in a clear glass vase that has a couple inches of pearl and red flattened marbles in the bottom. The flowers instantly turn a beautiful shade of aqua and white that contrasts well with the marbles! I go into the house and hold the container with eggs. I think of a color, and the eggs turn that color! I try this many times with different colors, and even produced yellow tulip buds! Pink and light blue are by far the easiest; yellow is not difficult. Fuchsia (bright pink) is tough, and purple is never vibrant. I show my niece, S, what I can do. The eggs are replaced by a knitted dress for a girl. I ask her to call out a color. She replies with her own name (Sammie). I focus on her name, and the dress becomes orange and bright pink striped! She names her cousin, and the dress again changes to a new color scheme! My mother watches in amazement to my right, we are facing Sammie's closet.
_________

I walk in on my father and his friend discussing the weather. They are not distressed, but curious and confused about the wild variations across small regions. I look out the window to see dark low hanging clouds that extend nearly to the horizon. I see funnel clouds, I think (?). Watching closely, I confirm to myself that is what I see, but they are distant (for now?), and I do not feel threatened. Wondering what else I will see, I watch the horizon intently. There are boats in the foreground, and I see a boat bob into view on the horizon. A tsunami approaches quickly. As the wave builds... [you know how you can see jellyfish and seaweed in the wall of a wave? keep that in mind] ... I see a dragon in the wave! The wave crashes, and the water rushed under the boats in the marina, and under the pier and docks, and under the bed where I am sitting with my dog. Just bobbing everything up... no real problem. Not even scary, really. I muse about this for a second, and (in my dream, now!) I wonder what must be really going on that I am dreaming my bed is bobbing up and down! ... so the wave repeats, dragon, boats and all.
_________

I am going for a hike with some new friends. We are leaving from Raleigh, NC, and our leader tells the group we are walking to Wilmington (NC?) ... [not walking distance from Raleigh!] We walk through a ballet class (less than ten students?), but we are able use the side stairs without crossing the dancefloor. The stairs are an escalator. I worry, because it has been a long time since I have used this route, and I don't remember how to exit. The woman beside/behind me explained the plan, but at the bottom, we are on this large wheel (like a carnival ride?) operated by Johnny Depp. When our seat gets by the exit, the gate briefly opens and we jump out. Except, I'm too slow, and the gate hits the gatepost, stopping the ride. Johnny Depp simply asks me to check the few gates behind me are closed, and he proceeds to reverse the wheel a bit so (my) gate will close properly. I go with the group through a short walkway that is flooded with about six inches of very cold water! We all trudge through, and outside we start our walk to Wilmington. The brick walkway is somewhat inclined and has steps every now and then. I realize I am gliding... like controlled hydroplaning! There is water on the walk due to everyone tracking it out of the previous section, but I am the only one gliding. I have impeccable balance! "Heidi's the pacesetter here!" the guide calls out to the group. I see a pile of gear to the right of the walk and I step over to it. There is a baby seat (like a car seat for a child) on the downhill side of the pile. I remove it to reposition it higher. Just as I get it in place, a young man falls in the water pool and sends a surge upstream that absolutely drenches the seat! I say aloud, "If he had just done that a few seconds earlier while I was holding it up!" (disgusted, maybe, but not angry).... I climb onto the bunkbed (part of the pile of gear?) and jump down from the center, nearly landing on a plush toy of the Aussie Haircare purple kangaroo. ... and we're walking...

________

I am outdoors in a parking lot (?) by a drive-thru window. I see three terracotta gardenstone turtles (mine!) in the driving lane, and cars are driving over them! I ask aloud, "Who put the turtles in the (drive-thru)?" My older sister admits that she did it. I go to retrieve them and put them back in the grassy area, but I am distracted by a woman and a child hastily collecting cement garden stones and stacking them in her van. I go over to her and report that the turtles are mine. She allows me to take the two cement turtles and tells me some might already be on the van. My mother comments that she would like to start putting the turtles on her porch. I think to myself how ridiculous this is, because she has one turtle already, and it's a very small porch! Mom helps me look in the van, but we didn't find any more turtles. There are other gardenstones, I see some like fish, but no more turtles, and NONE in the van! The passenger compartment is filled with other stuff, and a compartment under the passenger seating is accessible from the rear. This space contains Avon boxes (anyone who knows an Avon Representative knows about Avon boxes!) and a case of bottled water. Mom takes a bottle of water (?) as I tell her we have to close it up. The woman has started the van and is ready to drive away! We hastily close up the van, but the upper right window is not secure and items will fall out. I chase after the van (low speed, still in parking lot) and close the window. Now inside the van, I help secure the inside vinyl window with hook-and-loop tape. The girl (teenager) in the seat has two long straps (leather? size of Slim-Jim jerky or Pupperoni) and asks what they are for. I presume they are to tie the cargo to a hold in the front of the van, but they are too short. So we don't use them.
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IS THAT A WEIRD ENOUGH MORNING FOR YOU?? NO WONDER I AM AFRAID TO CLOSE MY EYES AT NIGHT!

Mother leaves in haste; Spills cargo

So last night was a strange one! After dreaming about a man I have had a crush on for a long time and think of every day was sitting at my kitchen table sans shirt (and maybe just in his tighty-whiteys?) and flirting with me across the table. ... in case that wasn't strange enough... I had another dream...

I am apparently in Raleigh with some school friends, but I am preparing to go home to Graham. I am not 100% committed to driving back today, but I am getting my things together anyway. If I don't go today, I will drive tomorrow, but there may be someone expecting me to come back tonight (not the guy in the dream above, someone I care much less about). I could ride back with my mother, as she is taking some things over to my younger sister who also lives in the greater-Graham area. My father is loading boxes of stuff into the white van. Mom starts the van and calls out to me (over her shoulder) that she is "...leaving now and (my father) can ride with me or whatever." I answered that I was planning to ride with her, but she was already driving away. That's when I saw the back doors of the van were still open! I ran through the house to try and head her off before she got to the road, but I was too late! She was able to pull straight into the street, and making a left, the van nearly tipped over as all the cargo shifted and spilled out the back!
    Mom was so mad she got out of the van and stomped into the house. My older sister and I stared at the van and the spilled contents in the street. Just then, a truck (?) drove into the van breaking it into. We started to gather up the stuff in the road. A burgundy van drove through the wreckage (in the same direction as the first vehicle... from the right to the left) and incurred damage to the driver's side as it drove past the half of the van that was in the road, and kept going! I cursed at the burgundy van as it drove away.
     My father ran out and saw the mess, and turned back toward the house. "Hold it right there!" I shouted to him. "This is your second oldest daughter, Heidi, standing here! And this is your oldest daughter..." He had not asked what happened, or anything! In retrospect, he probably knew enough of the story when Mom stormed back into the house that no further explanation was necessary when he saw us picking up the pieces. I took a box of things into the house and let Mom know I was willing to take her to my sister's, and that she probably needed to pack an overnight bag. She agreed and went to gather her things.

New Year of bizarre dreams

The moon is not yet full, but the strange dreams have started! First, I thought it was because I slept crossways on the end of the bed with my head pointed south instead of the usual west orientation. Maybe, since the dreams started Thursday night, it has something to do with current solar activity. Actually, on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, I could not stay asleep. It was like I was expecting something to happen. Thursday, I volunteered to help take down Christmas decorations at the Ronald McDonald House with two other PartyLite consultants. I felt fine until I got home and I was exhausted!

So Thursday, January 5, 2012: (I’ll have to get my journal out, oops!)

Then on Friday, January 6, 2012:

The most disturbing dream was me lying in bed with the man I have a deep affection for. (That’s not the disturbing part!) The sheets are maize, like brown mustard, not bright yellow. As I snuggled closer to him and kissed his neck, he became a different male entity whom I recognize (?), and he said, “You don’t have much time left.” Puzzled, I laid my head on his shoulder. A moment later, I was awakened by the original man who was now lying on my other side and talking in his sleep. He was having a bad dream.

I woke him, and he told me, “You were on fire, and I couldn’t save you!”

I asked where we were.

“At home.”

“What happened to the animals?”

“They are all all right. I put them in my pocket, but I couldn’t put you in my pocket. Why haven’t you eaten? You were supposed to eat!”

The second man I saw who gave me the ominous message was no longer in the room.

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I later dreamed I was driving a big red motorcycle. When I start the bike, leg rests come out from the sides of the bike and cradle my legs and feet on either side of the front wheel. It was a new vehicle to me, but I drove it around all day running errands, going to the store, etc. After my last stop at a convenience store, I spoke to an old classmate (biggest flirt, Angela T.) and backed the bike out of the parking space next to a red Mustang before starting it. Maybe I don’t know how to drive it in reverse? Maybe I am too nervous about maneuvering the new bike close to the pretty car? When I get to the end of the parking lot, there is a STOP sign. I totally forgot how to brake the bike! So I let off the accelerator and glided around the left turn putting my left foot out for support. Oh, I remember! Brakes are on the handlebars! Safe ride.

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Another dream I had the same night: I was riding a hoverboard like the one in the Back to the Future movies. I was specially selected as one of many people to ride the board and complete travel missions including time travel. When I was riding around the “base camp” (a city in the sky), I noticed I was only a foot or so above the ground. When I left base to go on a mission, I was above tree top level (although the trees and neighborhood below are reminiscent of Pixar scenery) and that made me nervous. So, I repeatedly told myself that the real ground level was only a foot or so below me and was transparent. Furthermore, I was privileged to be asked to do the missions and could be replaced if I couldn’t handle it. 

I saw others who were zipping around on the hoverboards. I slowed as I arrived at my destination: a castle or resort style building. I nearly stumbled on the ledge because I grazed a tree branch during my landing. I stepped off the board and crossed the street. I was talking to myself: Hey! I know this place! This happened right before I met Rich! We talked about it!  (Rich died a couple of years ago, and I confirmed (to myself) that I am not emotionally distressed by the mission.) **in reality, this “place” happened in 1981, five years before I met Rich**

I approach the entrance to the corner café that has a big poster on the door. “1981” and some words I didn’t read. I am expecting a meeting of some brilliant minds to talk about time travel and other super-intelligent topics. Some young men approach at the same time. We enter together; each with our hoverboard tucked under our arm. There are three cafeteria style tables in front of us. I am not sure how to proceed. One of the guys shoves the first table and makes a way. I notice the floor is wet and possibly sticky as from spilled sodas. Other young men are already in the café and are showing off their skills in a mock boarding competition. A man in his 30’s (?) sits at the counter. I recognize him as the owner or at least the leader for tonight’s assembly. It doesn’t look like what I expected.

            “Am I late, or…?” I asked.

            “You are late,” came the reply. “We will start soon when the others arrive.”

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Mom comes down the stairs in a light panic. She insists there was an earthquake, and wants me to look it up online and verify it and find out how long it will last, if there will be more, and such. I didn’t feel it. I go to her kitchen table and go to the USGS Earthquake Hazards page. There is no report of an earthquake for our area. I refresh the page. Nothing. There are some postings for other countries, but not here. Then I notice the leaves on the small trees in the neighbors yard start wiggling! The USGS updates that (our area) has registered an earthquake, and then the site changes over to a gaming site.  I “go back,” but I can’t get the page back. I retype the address in the browser, but it’s “currently not available.” I’m telling Dad that Mom says she felt the earthquake before it happened, but I don’t know how.

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