Only in Dreams

Umm, Why Do I Keep Dreaming About My Nails?? Vanity? Scandal?!

Within a span of a few days, I had several dreams about my fingernails.  Weird huh? In the first one, I was at some sort of a hearing that was supposedly in federal court in Galveston, but the courtroom looked like an old run down classroom with a bunch of card tables (who knows, maybe this is what it looks like after Hurricane Ike and the Judge Kent scandals – and I’ve never actually been there in real life).  For some reason there are all these people from my high school at the hearing.  At one point, I look down and notice that my nails, which in the dream I had just had French manicured, were all broken and the white tip part was chipped.  In real life I had just gotten my nails done, but painted with one of my favorite warm red colors “20 Candles On My Cake” (I wish!!).  I usually get a more neutral color because I hate it when the color chips, and you can’t tell as much with something neutral.  Whenver I do get a color I am always paranoid about it chipping right away.

 

In the next dream I’m at some sort of party that my friend hosted.  I decide to be helpful and wash the dishes, but half way through I realize that I have totally chipped my nails (this time painted the red color), and then I am very angry that washing the dishes has caused this to happen.

 

I don’t think I’ve ever dreamed so prevalently about my nails, so I decided to consult dream dictionaries.  These are usually not entirely helpful because the words they include are not always sufficient to describe my dreams, but they can be interesting.  So here’s what a variety of dream dictionaries had to say about dreams involving fingernails:

 

To dream that you broke a fingernail suggests that you are trying to avoid some situation or get out of a responsibility.  Or, the dream may reflect your self image – you are overly concerned with how others perceive you.

 

To dream of polishing your nails is a warning against impulsive behavior that could lead to a scandal.

 

Dreaming of well-kept fingernails symbolizes your intelligence and ability to learn, and denotes that you are well cultured and have a high literary mind.

 

Well, I really don't care all that much about what other people think of me (or how they think my nails look), and I hope there aren't any scandals brewing on my horizon.  And I generally am pretty good about accepting responsibility.  I just like for my nails to lok nce, is that too much too ask?  So maybe according to my dreams I'm striving for intelligence, culture, and a "high literary mind," but I guess I'm just not there.  Oh well, I'll just get my nails done again and maybe I'll be one step closer.

School Daze

This past week I’ve had several vignettes in dreams involving being back in school in one way or another.  In the first one, I’m with my sister in some sort of field on a college campus.  There are these crab-like insects that keep attacking us.  They attach themselves to our arms, and as soon as we pull one of them off, another one jumps up to attack.  Then I notice as my sister is pulling one off of her arm that it is leaving a syringe stuck in her arm.  Weird.  And gross!

 

In another dream segment the same night, I’m in my sixth grade classroom – well, it doesn’t look exactly like it really looked, but in the dream I’m basically back in elementary school, and we’re all throwing our books all over the room and running around acting crazy.  Sadly, this is something we often did in junior high right before the teacher started the class.  Very mature, I know, but we were only in junior high after all.  But in the dream, while we have been sixth graders running around, we suddenly turn into ourselves now, and there are students that actually are in sixth grade at this time.  That’s about all I remember about this one.

A few nights later I dream that I’m in high school, and I have totally zoned out on the beginning of a new semester.  I don’t have any books, and I don’t even know what classes I’m taking or what my schedule is.  Then I’m walking around an empty hallway with one of my sister’s friends.  The principal or a teacher stops us, and my sister’s friend is getting in trouble for something, but we don’t really know what she was doing wrong.  She just keeps laughing and laughing, and each time the principal keeps writing her up and she is getting in more trouble.  Then I start laughing a lot too, and think that I’m probably also about to be in trouble for whatever it is.  But then that’s all I remember.

There's No Facebooking in Church

I’m in a very large Baptist Church.  There are not many people there, but at the front the preacher is preaching away and there is a choir singing and dancing.  As more people being to shuffle in, I notice everyone is wearing different colored, yet coordinating, outfits.  It’s almost like they were all part of a wedding party, and had different styles and colors of fancy dresses and suits to choose from that all go together.

 

Then I get on my blackberry and try to access Facebook.  But every time I try to log in, I am redirected to a website for the church.  I keep trying and trying obsessively, but each time I am sent to the church website. 

 

So what is this dream trying to say?  Facebook is the devil??  Perhaps.

Traveling Woes

As a preface to this dream, I must explain that I am a perpetual over-packer.  As a girl scout, they taught us to “be prepared.”  Well, I must have taken this very seriously, at least when it comes to packing, because prepared I am for almost any foreseeable contingency.  Ironically, even though I always have multiple clothing options, I usually end up unsatisfied with what I packed.    Regardless, whenever I’m going somewhere, I’m sure to be in tow with lots of stuff.  This can be extremely annoying when it comes to having to haul all of my “preparedness” all over the place.

 

So, in this dream I’m attempting to lug around an overly stuffed suitcase as well as a rolling computer bag.  When it’s time to board the plane, we have to walk out on a very narrow plank to get to the plane.  This plank appears to be above water, but whatever it is over, it looks like it would be a long way down.  I’m maneuvering my bags in the high heeled shoes I’m wearing, and I start to wobble.  Next thing I know, I’m falling off the plank.  But luckily it turns out to be a short fall, and I land on very soft cushiony mats.  Also, once I am down there, I realize there are two other people who have fallen, one being a random girl from my high school that I haven’t talked to since and didn’t really care to talk to then.  We end up getting in a car and drive around trying to figure out a way to get back up to the plank.  I thankfully ended up waking up and didn’t have to worry about getting myself out of this debacle.

 

I actually had this dream a couple of weeks ago, but it seems a little eerie in light of the plane that took a swim in the Hudson River last week, especially because I was sitting at the LaGuardia airport when this happened.  It’s definitely a surreal feeling to know that your plane is flying over a river that another plane crashed into only hours earlier.  The flight attendant told us to look out the window when we were flying over the river because we might “be lucky” and be able to see the plane in the river.  I didn’t have a window seat, so I didn’t see it.  That’s not really something I want to see anyways!

 

Somebody Get Me Out of Here

I knew this would happen.  Although I know I had very vivid dreams, one morning last week I woke up and couldn’t remember anything.  It was all gone.  This hardly ever happens to me, but of course, start a dream themed blog and then you’ll stop remembering your dreams.  But I have a feeling that what I heard on the radio during my prolonged snoozing was better than what I was dreaming.

 

By way of background, a morning radio show in H-town that I love listening to does a segment each week called Roula & Ryan’s Roses.  It is basically a way for people to find out if their significant other is cheating on them.  Roula calls in pretending to be from an online flower store, and says the putative cheater has been selected to receive a free dozen long stemmed red roses that can be sent to anyone on their behalf.  She has them give the name and a short greeting for a card, and more often than not, the person sends the roses to someone other than their significant other.

 

So I’m still pretty much asleep while the girl who called in is explaining her situation, but I catch a reference to the thriving metropolis in North Texas that is my hometown, and then hear how someone is hoking up with their cousin.  Oh no.  This can't be good.

 

Apparently this girl’s boyfriend drug her up with him to attend a family reunion in my hometown.  After that, he started constantly texting and talking to his cousin that he saw at the reunion, so the girl thought something might be going on.  When they ask him who he wants to send the roses to, sure enough, it is the cousin!  Please, can you get any more redneck!?  The guy starts rambling and babbling and, in true fashion of someone who’s just been caught cheating, starts turning it around on the girl and getting mad that she put it on the radio.  But basically he admits that he is having an affair with this cousin, and insists that she is his cousin through marriage.  Does that really make it better??  Maybe if there’s no blood relation, but still, who starts an affair with someone after seeing them at a family reunion?  And do you know how many times the radio station here has mentioned WF, TX – never.  Of course the one and only time they do would be in connection with an affair that may or may not be incestual.  I’m thinking its things like this that caused me as early as the ripe old age of 8 to have the distinct feeling that I had to get out of that town. 

 

 

 

Mean Girls and Murderers

Now for the second and third dreams in the vmars trifecta.  In both of these dreams, I’m again Veronica Mars, but yet also still me.  I’m walking through this really crowded mall type area, and I see the sister of a childhood friend.  Using my super detective and deductive skills, I realize that this girl has a bomb in her hair that could obliterate the whole place, and it is about to go off.  Luckily I’m able to catch her in time and prevent the bomb from detonating.  Now, it’s up to me to figure out who put this bomb in her hair.  I start my investigation and realize that it’s going to be difficult because apparently she has been not the nicest to a lot of people - to put it mildly, so there are tons of suspects.  I then start questioning all sorts of her sorority sisters and other people just like I’m taking their depositions.  And that’s all I remember about that one – I never solve the bomb-in-the-hair puzzler.

 

But in the third dream, I’ve totally solved who the murderer is.  I don’t know who has been murdered, when, why, or how.  All I know is that I am the one who’s solved the mystery everyone has been wanting to solve.  I’m on my way to find my/Veronica’s dad (who is the town sheriff) to let him know, and this journalist accosts me and demands that I tell her who the killer is.  Then the journalist pulls a gun on me to try to get me to tell.  All I can do is ask the journalist whether it’s ethical to try to get information that way.  Apparently this evasive technique works, because the journalist decides to back off.

 

Don't Stop Believin'

I’m at a karaoke bar, and my friend says to me, “You should sing Kiss by Prince.”  I say, “WHAT? Kiss my grits??”  This is followed by laughter.  A lot of laughter.  Laughter so hard your stomach hurts.  The kind of laughter you haven’t experienced in way too long.  Laughing so hard you start to cry.  And this actually isn’t a dream.  This is a true story.  Maybe my finding this so hilarious is a sign that my life is too dull.  But hey, sometimes you just have to laugh.

Fast Cars, Boys in Santa Suits, and a Clear Lack of Motivation

I’m at some sort of recruiting party, and I am really wanting to leave.  There is another dinner after this party that I’m also supposed to go to.  I don’t want to go to that either.  So I say my goodbyes and make my way out the door, saying that I’ll see everyone at the next place, even though I know I probably won’t.  And this whole time my dad is urgently calling me because he is really stressed out about us needing to return a movie we’ve rented.  Apparently it is a week late.

 

Then I’m in my car driving away, and this hoard of really mean and angry children come running up to my car and start banging on the hood.  I really don’t like it when people touch my car while I’m driving.  This is a total invasion of personal space to me.  I think you can actually file a tort claim against people for assault or battery even if they are touching your car and not you.  I vaguely recall learning something like that during the first year of law school.  Anyways, I quickly throw the car into reverse, but end up going way too fast.  I can’t really control the car very well and am about to run into a building.  I often have dreams where I’m driving but go out of control.  I think it’s because I’m a bad driver in real life.  These dreams can be pretty scary and make me feel a lot of anxiety.  I usually end up waking myself up and feel very relieved that I haven’t actually crashed my car into other cars, poles, houses, etc.

 

The next dream I have is one that occurs after my alarm has gone off and I’m supposed to have gotten up already.  I also have these type of dreams a lot because I often sleep for an hour or more after the alarm.  Basically I’m sleeping through what is supposed to be my workout time.  In this dream, all of the sudden a bunch of guys are scaling my house and are up to the window of my bedroom on the third floor.  And they are wearing these odd Santa suits.  Then all of the sudden my blinds are opened, and they can see that I’m in my bed.  They start knocking and yelling at me, so then I finally get up.  I walk downstairs to a house that is mine in my dream, but is nothing like my real house.  Then I find that my secretary and one of her friends live downstairs, but I never knew that.  There are also all these people all over the downstairs and in the backyard.  I have no idea what they are doing there.  But I am most amazed by the huge backyard I never realized I had.  I am just thinking why have I never let my dog play in this big yard?  Then I finally get up, in real life, after my hour of snoozing.

Veronica Mars and Boob Jobs

Two years ago at about this time of year, I decided to start a dream log.  I had the idea of writing a book mixing in dreams with reality, inspired largely by a trio of dreams I had relating to Veronica Mars – also known as the best show ever.  I sketched out a mere two lines worth of notes about the three VM dreams, and continued to keep up with the dream log - for about three days.

For any of you who haven’t watched the show, go out and buy the DVD’s!  VM has some of the smartest writing I’ve seen on television, and movies too.  The characters are well developed and endearing.  The eps feature individual as well as season-long mysteries that will keep you guessing and surprise you.  While it probably errs on the girly side, I think most anyone would appreciate the show.  Truth be told, Veronica Mars is kind of my hero – she’s strong, sassy, super smart, and has the best bad boyfriend of all time!  The third season is not quite as stellar as the first two – it tries a little too hard with the sarcasm, but seasons 1 and 2 are golden.  And don’t even get me started on the CW’s decision to cancel the show after the third season, opting instead to pursue quality shows like Farmer Wants a Wife.   

Anyways, back to the first installation of the VM themed dreams.  Of course the details are sparse, seeing as the dream was two years ago and I have only two lines of notes.  In this dream, I’m Veronica, but also still me if that makes sense.  I’m flying in a small plane with my/Veronica’s ex-boyfriend Duncan, and the plane keeps dipping in and out of a lake we're flying over.  And we’re talking about how I have to go get a good friend out of jail - even though this friend in reallife would never be one to wind up in jail (this part wasn’t in the notes, but came back to me).  Then we’re at some kind of pool, or maybe the lake, with a bunch of other people, and a nemesis walks up and informs me that I would need a boob job to pull of the bathing suit I’m wearing! 

 

That’s all I can remember, but the “you would need a boob job” comment is interesting for two reasons (other than being maybe a little unjustified).  First, about a year and a half before I had this dream, I received a random “compliment” (from a lady at a seedy bar in Galveston no less) for "keeping it real" and not feeling the need to get big fake boobs.  Um, thanks, I guess.  And why was she even looking or feel the need to comment?? 

Now fast forward about another year and a half from this dream to Kristen Bell (actress who plays VM and, well, doesn’t have the largest chest) starring in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  She plays an actress in a TV crime show, and totally makes fun of herself by lamenting about how her show got cancelled.  Worried about finding another role and the pressure to have (and show) the perfect body, she says “I don’t have the frame to support plastic surgery – I would tip over.”  Could my dream have been a psychic envisioning of the self-deprecating commentary to come??

Word Play

Is anyone else best friends with dictionary.com?  I find myself consulting this handy source many times a day.  My vocabulary is just not quite as expansive as I would like for it to be, and I’m often not sure if the words I chose accurately convey what I’m trying to say.  Enter dictionary.com, my main source for word verification.  I’ve tried subscribing to Merriam-Webster’s word of the day emails, which are somewhat helpful, but usually just get buried along with other non-must attend to today emails.  And the words are often pretty basic, which doesn’t really serve to expand my vocabulary.  Or there are words that I just really have little use for – such as the word of the day for January 1, 2009 – frigorific (meaning = causing cold, chilling).  First of all, this sounds like one of those pop culture-ish slang combination words that I would like to avoid (chillax, for example).  Plus, who has use for a word like frigorific in Texas - unless used in an exaggerative manner to describe the temperature dropping into the 40's or 50's?  Anyone have any better ideas for vocabulary expansion??

I know, I’m already veering from the dream theme, but an enhanced vocabulary will certainly make for more descriptive dream telling.