Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year's Dream

Last night I dreamed I was working in a white building on the edge of a windswept cliff, above the seashore. The building had long stairways going up and down, and many of the rooms in the building had large picture windows and balconies looking out over the ocean.

I had a job I to accomplish by a deadline, two sets of legal documents that I needed to file with the patent office on behalf of the CEO of our law firm. There were very few people there to help me complete the filings, and I didn't have all the information I needed at first, but through persistence I gradually had everything ready to go.

In order to complete the filing, it was necessary for me to eat two insects, one for each filing. The insects were enormous and dark brown like cockroaches. The front halves of the insects were like praying mantises, and the back halves were like millipedes. They were completely disgusting, but I was determined to accomplish the filing, so I began to eat.

I bit off the head of the first insect. It was crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually kind of good. I bit off more: the thorax, then the abdomen, then the hind quarters with the hundreds of millipede legs. Finally I ate the whole thing.

I went on to the second insect. This one seemed less happy to be eaten. It was squirming around unpleasantly. I bit off its head, but this one was different. Instead of being crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside, this one was tough on the outside, rubbery and gamy on the inside. It continued to squirm and struggle even after I had bitten the head off. It was difficult to chew and swallow.

I wonder which insect the new year will be like?

6 comments:

playasinmar said...

Dreams ...gross.

Beck said...

I'm jealous that you have such vivid dreams that you remember when you wake up... Rarely do I remember such detail. It's not fair!

John Gustav-Wrathall said...

Beck - I've always had very vivid dreams and clear recollections of them. Though I've heard that anyone can remember their dreams with practice. It can help (though is not necessary) to sleep a full night's sleep. I generally (though not always) find it easier to recall my dreams when I am well rested and I wake up naturally. Waking up gradually helps too (lying in bed in an open-minded state). Once you remember even a snatch or a fragment of a dream, thinking more about it usually will bring back recollections of other parts of the dream.

John Gustav-Wrathall said...

Once you get used to paying attention to your dreams, you may find recollection of them coming to you more readily, without any special effort.

Anonymous said...

That is so weird, I had the very same dream on new year's eve--building, cliff, bay windows, sea shore, even a co-worker. But I never saw any insects....

Strange synchronicity.

John Gustav-Wrathall said...

Jadon - That is uncanny. Any thoughts about what your dream meant to you (if anything)?