August 28

I dreamed that my family was planning a trip to Iowa or Idaho, some state that started with the letter I. I just got home from Philly and the planning was well underway. Some of my family had already left, by way of private planes that they flew themselves. My mom offered to fly me in her plane but after I was unable to withdraw money from an ATM for my ticket (?), I kindly declined her offer. I was secretly nervous that we would crash, considering my mother has never had piloting lessons. We instead go back home and have a huge dinner with the family.

After dinner, we decide to "walk it off" by WALKING to Newport News. Newport News is about a 40 minute drive from my house in Chesapeake, so you can imagine, walking is not usually commonplace. But, we begin walking. The entire time cars are driving by offering us rides, which we politely decline and eventually news reporters start following us (a la Forrest Gump) questioning our motives and asking why we had decided to walk across the city. Things get really interesting when our walk takes on the form of a marathon-- we now have and announcer broadcasting our every move and we even have small crowds forming in bleachers along the highway cheering us on. When we come to a body of water- we panic. There is a small wooden bridge that looks as if it would fall at a moment's notice. We begin to cross it and it breaks. I swim back to where we started and someone from the crowd helps me onto the street and I walk to the other side of the lake (I don't know why we didn't do this in the first place). The rest of my family manages to swim to the other side, but they come out of the water naked and my dad has turned into Tim Allen.

However, we discovered that my sister was missing, at which point the announcer informs us (and the crowd) that she hadn't actually jumped into the water yet- she came prepared and was putting on a wet suit and swim cap and that she would be ready in a moment. As I watch my family emerge from the murky water...I wake up.

August 25

I dreamed I was cast to replace a star in a new musical! The venue was sort of a hybrid between several venues I'd either been in or worked for in including my own high school auditorium. But, for some reason, I was being extremely unprofessional- I couldn't remember the dance steps or my lines and I kept walking through the audience to make backstage crosses. I can remember two friends of mine being in the show with me- Aundrey Ligon and an amazing young lady I worked with a few years ago at Heritage Rep- Erin Farrell. The rest is sort of indecipherable or has disappeared into my subconscious.

August 23

Last night I dreamed I was planning a trip to Switzerland but everything was done at the last minute. (As is my usual way of doing things). I was flying out from NY and I was staying at a my friend Anthony's place in Brooklyn but his apartment oddly resembled a combination of the apartment I had in Louisville and my home in Virginia.

At any rate, I'm packing a really small suitcase literally 2 hours before my plane is supposed to leave. My mom and stepdad (who died back in May) came home to drive me to the airport. I kept telling my mom that I'm gonna be late but all she was worried about was me remembering to bring her back some Swiss chocolates. I tell her that I have to print my flight reservation but instead of doing that I end up getting on facebook to change my status and not even printing my reservation.

At this point, my mom is in the car honking the horn so I rush out with my suitcase and an armful of other junk. My mom tells me to catch the school bus and that it will take me to the airport. I get on the bus and the bus driver ends up being the head busdriver of the city and she has to stop and check on the kids and buses of every other driver in the district.

Then I found out that this bus driver also owns a distillery in South Carolina and she tells me that I can have all the bourbon I can drink for the plane if I just walk to South Carolina and get it. Well, in my dream, South Carolina is right around the corner and I go. Haha. There are a slew of workers in white coats and hairnets and I keep asking them where the finished product comes out and as everyone I talk to points me in the wrong direction...I WAKE UP!

August 22

I was in church with my mom and a friend. I couldn't tell who but it was someone I was used to being around and was definitely not another family member. The minister was giving a speech about what had happened in the previous service- with the assistance of a power point. In this powerpoint, several members of the congregation were being accused of committing sins and being punished on the spot. It was pretty vivid with scenes of flogging and people actually being set on fire!

At the end of the power point, he announced that someone would be punished today for a murder they committed. At that point, an usher walks down the center aisle with a gun and approaches the son of a prominent member of the Diaconate Fellowship and shoots him! However, instead of dying, the accused was given a microphone and began singing a really beautiful love song to God.

As church ended, I exited to find my mother eating shellfish on the front steps of the church with another deacon. My mother is allergic to many forms of shellfish. But, she was unaffected in my dream. By this point, I, for reason, decided to strip down to my underwear and go back into the church a retrieve a musical theatre anthology I had forgotten under the pew I was sitting on. There was a church conference going on so I was exposed to the entire church but I didn't care. My cousin, Juanita (who I never keep in touch with) was in my seat in the church and handed me the anthology from under the pew while I kneeled down under the pew attempting to reach it. They were in a green bag.

So...I eventually get dressed and my mom and I, and my friend, and now a dog are walking towards my mom's car in the parking lot. My sister's friend Brittany White was also in the parking lot with her mom (who actually died several years ago) and 2 small dogs.

I ran into my friend Bethany Wherry and her father, who used to pastor the church I attend at home. They were upset with me because I never keep in touch with them.

I also saw my Aunt Linda on the sidewalk wearing Sally Jesse Raphael style glasses.

Anyway- I was walking to the car and I notice that the car is being attacked by a large stuffed lion. This lion was literally the size of the car. It was alive but cartoonish in nature, almost as if it had been drawn on a canvas and brought to life. As we approached the car, my dog, who was also a cartoon, began barking hysterically to try to scare the lion away. The lion replied, "only dogs that are real can scare me!" He said this several times. The dog kept barking and attacked the lion but then the lion came home with us.

That night, I decide to play with the lion before going to bed. The lion charges me everytime I play with him but is never able to finish saying the entire price. Everytime I played with him after, he depreciated in value.

The Beginning...

So I've decided to start a dream journal today. Mainly because I'm unemployed and bored but more so because I have been having really interesting dreams lately and I want to start chronicling them in the hopes of possibly compiling a narrative.