1650 Tired

Sunday, January 20, 2008

I goofed and drank caffeine at about 9 pm last night. As a consequence, I couldn't get to sleep. I had to be up and moving by 9:30 this morning.

I spent most of the not-sleeping time reading a boring book, working crossword puzzles, or wandering around the kitchen. When I finally did fall asleep about 7 am, I had one of those really weird dreams, so it wasn't good sleep. My tail is now dragging.

I don't remember much of the dream, but some parts I do remember. There was a floating walkway on water. Lots of people. I was sort of with a man who had two or three children. We saw a shark in the water, but then it went away. The man decided to go into the water to swim, and then I sensed that the shark was back, a little way out, although we couldn't see it. The children were about to join their father in the water, and I walked quickly toward them, calling them, to prevent their going in.

I was calling them with a high-pitched trill, to attract their attention and curiosity. I was fully aware that that particular sound would attract and excite the shark, but I did it anyway because it was important to get the kids. I did not warn the man that the shark was back. I don't know why. Just as I got to the children, the shark attacked the man. He was screaming. I hustled the kids into a speedboat. Even though the man was underwater being torn apart, we could still clearly hear him screaming as we sped away.

Another scene, later. I had been injured somehow earlier in the dream, and a doctor in a jungle had stitched up some deep cuts in my right arm. In this scene, I am going down corridors, opening doors, looking for something. I finally find a young person with whom I am supposed to continue the search. I had forgotten the injury to my arm until the young person asked how it was. I said it must be almost healed by now, and I unwrapped the bandages to show him/her. The cuts on the forearm were closed and healing, stitches dissolving on their own. But then when I unwrapped the elbow, I found that the entire inside of my elbow was a palm-sized hole, no tissue, I could see right down into the elbow workings. It wasn't infected - it just wasn't there. I had nothing clean to rewrap it with, and got worried about infection. So I bent my arm up tightly to keep the hole covered.

Even though there's a lot of the dream I can't remember, one thing I do know is that I had a dog throughout the dream. It was sleek, solid black, muscular, looked sort of like a whippet or Manchester terrier, smaller than a whippet but bigger than a Manchester. It was with me constantly, tight to my right calf, never more than a foot away. It turned when I turned. It was very comforting having it there. It (he?) and I had a strong connection.

When I woke up, my right arm was tightly bent, fisted, close to my chest. Must have been that way for a while, because it's still tired. I practically had to pry it straight.

What meaning, if any, does the dream have? I don't know. I'm amused by the dog, though. I have often thought my NJ friend is very Doberman-like. Strong, dark, muscular, intelligent, protective, good to have on your side in a fight. But also liable to snap when pushed, a bit unpredictable, unfathomable. Compare the three breeds below.



Whippet:






Manchester Terrier:





Doberman Pinscher:

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