Escape from the Dream Zone

I've been having some really unusual, vivid dreams recently.

Long ago, I learned that I am a lucid dreamer, able to intentionally shape the form of my dreams. I do this when good dreams go bad -- in the midst of a nightmare, I can change the outcome of the dream. Admittedly, once in a while they get away from me and more often than not I deliberately allow a nightmare to run its course. These often involve people with whom I have an emotional connection and I want to see if they are going to be safe or if I need to be aware of something back in the "real world." And, of course, some dreams are a pure mishmash of the previous day's events and thoughts and hopes and require no intervention whatsoever. Some are pure nonsensical fantasy and these are the ones I cherish the most.

I will also mention that I have a really high incidence of deja vu, which I attribute to my ability to lucid dream.

The other day, I dreamed about an old friend of mine, Tim Ganoe. Tim is my age, a tall, large-build bear of a man who has been a paramedic for decades. When I first met him, he was a cop and a paramedic. In my dream, Tim invited me over to see his new house. The house was really a mansion -- dozens of extravagantly furnished rooms, ostentatious, expensive, and completely unlike Tim. I was immediately suspicious.

Midway through his tour, Tim's new "roommate" came home. He was a dumpy, overweight, pasty-faced, completely unattractive guy. If there is a complete opposite to the kind of person Tim usually finds hot, this guy was it. Nice personality? Forget it. The roomie started screaming that Tim hadn't finished this chore and that and wondering aloud why he had time to socialize with me.

It suddenly occurred to me that Tim was this guy's houseboy. Mystery solved, I woke myself up.

Warning: The next dream has some sexual content and my not be appropriate for all blog readers.

Last night's dream was equally bizarre. It involved a guy I know from the ViewAskew Board. I wouldn't say I know this guy particularly well, but we met and partied together earlier this year, along with a couple hundred other "Boardies."

In my dream, we were at some VA event, although not the one we attended recently. We were at the hotel and there was a party going on. Somehow, he and I and two gorgeous women ended up in an adjoining room, having sex. And not just sex: hot, sweaty, acrobatic sex. Here's the kicker: he and his lovely lady were across the room from my beauty and me. And although I remember seeing the two of them go at it, there was no contact between the couples.

The sex was fantastic! It was, perhaps, the best I've ever had (in my dream, anyway.) Afterwards, we emerged into the next room, party still raging in full force, to the cheers and admiration of the revelers. At some point, the thought entered my mind that he paid these supermodels to have sex with us, but I didn't care. I remember telling people to stop applauding and congratulating us, but secretly I lapped up the attention. I woke up singing some ridiculous rhyme that is now lost to me.

Weirdness. Freud would have a field day with that last one. I don't know why the sudden onset of these vivid dreams, unless it has to do with the fitful sleep patterns brought on by my back pain. I'm not taking anything for the pain, so the dreams aren't chemically-induced.

Anyway, we had our first snow this week -- nothing measurable, just wet flakes flying around. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and having the holiday meal with my friends the Lelands. After that, it's a week of vacation. Bring it on!