Here in Katie’s Head

Earlier this year, I realized I could manipulate the likelihood of having lots of dreams (and remembering them!) at night by how I arranged my pillows and blankets.

And because my subconscious isn’t terribly cryptic (makes sense — I can’t hide anything in my waking hours either), I learned a lot of things about myself through those dreams. How I really felt about certain people in my life. The roots of my anxieties. Concerns about starting new relationships. It was fascinating.

I managed to achieve another series of dream-filled nights recently. A few very silly ones. One that made me feel a little guilty for some of the walls I’ve put up. Another that was my worst nightmare of what I might find if all the walls came down — the end result was hilarious in a sick, twisted way.

And then it got cold.

So I got out the Super Cozy Blanket of Awesomness and slipped it into my bed. The Blanket of Awesomeness can make you fall asleep instantly if you touch it. And since its return, I have slept like a rock, every night. No tossing, no turning, no fretting about things that happened during the past day. Just zzzzz.

I can stay up late, get up early and I’m not even tired the next day.

(It’s really a shame that the Blanket of Awesomeness is far too warm for year-round use. And it appears that it’s discontinued. Bed, Bath & Beyond isn’t selling it anymore and the manufacturer’s website doesn’t list the product — Brand: Downtown; 50% Acrylic, 50% Cotton.)

It is, however, putting an abrupt end to a lifetime of instant rise-and-shine behavior. Never before did I need to linger in bed a few extra minutes.

Sure, it’s Friday night and I should stay up late doing Friday-night things, but oh, I can’t pass up on some quality time with my blankie.

Posted: 10:48 pm · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation, Consumerism · Comments: None

Just moments before my alarm clock was scheduled to go off this morning — at a wee hour of the morning that I was previously unaware of, because the departing flight of Katie’s First Business Trip is scheduled before freaking sunrise — I woke up from an incredibly awkward dream.

Love Interest was there. We were having a good time, doing what we do best, until suddenly my world started crashing down around me. Figuratively.

I feel like I should call him up and apologize for how badly things went.

But that would probably be more awkward than the actual dream.

A special note to my subconscious: Way to ruin my day. And the setting? A bit ambitious, don’t you think?

Posted: 3:59 am · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation · Comments: 3

And last night I had my annual “wtf is wrong with my subconscious?” dream. The wtf-factor comes from the fact that whatever part of my brain is responsible for dreams is about as good at storytelling and plot as I am (really, really bad).

So last night, the Dream Center decided to try its hand at a scary dream. You know, for the sake of mixing things up. Because I haven’t seen a ton of horror movies, it has pretty limited material to draw from. The result was hilarious. (Don’t tell it I said that.)

The scene: I am in a house. A crazy house where I live. I stay upstairs the whole time, in a strange sort of sitting room off of, I think, my bedroom. There’s also a bathroom connected to this room. It looks like classic Katie interior decorating, i.e., bare walls and clothes on the floor.

Introducing scary factor #1: Things that should not be there

Omg, the clothes on the floor aren’t mine! They are…someone else’s who has similar taste to me, so maybe I should just keep them or something. Oh, wait, this is supposed to freak me out. Sorry, Dream Center, yeah, this is totally scary. Every once and a while, I see other things that shouldn’t be there. A stray drop of blood in the sink? CRAZY!

Introducing scary factor #2: You still live at home…

I hear my mom’s voice somewhere in the background, presumably talking to one of my sisters. SCARY! But since I’ve got a freaking suite to myself, I’m not finding this particularly traumatic.

Introducing scary factor #3: …and Mom won’t leave you alone

At this point I’m sitting around, totally bored, but Mom pops in every couple of minutes to look for something. I point out the clothes that aren’t mine, but she’s similarly unfazed.

Introducing the final, most scariest factor ever: Your face

I go into my private bathroom to bask in the luxury of having a private bathroom, and while admiring the cool mirror next to the door, I see my face is kinda breaking out. I’m examining a zit on my chin when my alarm clock goes off.

The scariest thing my subconscious could conjure up with was a tiny little zit. Pathetic.

Posted: 7:27 am · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation · Comments: 1

I’ve had two dreams in the past week that seemed to be hammering at a particular theme (vaguely, that I want a boyfriend and/or a close guy friend I can have long conversations with — except way more complex and Freudian).

And because everything comes in threes, I was dreading the final chapter. I had a hunch at how the trilogy would wrap up, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

So a couple nights ago, I used my special dream-brewing strategy to get it over with. The result?

That night, there were two giant, fire-breathing dragons in my dream. One was pissed and trying to kill me. The other turns to me and says, “You know, he’s got a point.”

I’m not finding any hidden meaning there. Sometimes a dragon is just a dragon, right?

Posted: 9:40 pm · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation · Comments: 3

So through trial and error, I have uncovered the perfect configuration of blankets, pajamas and sleep positions that leads me to have crazy dreams every night and remember them.

I used to go years at a time without remembering a dream. Something changed in the last year-ish, and suddenly I’m dreaming again, albeit sporadically. And this week? Several each night.

Monday morning, it was a very long dream that involved me going to church (???) with a friend who introduced me to this guy who was pretty much the archetype of every guy who went for me in high school and college. He drove me crazy and it took me a good hour to decide I had to get rid of him.

Tuesday morning, it was … you know, that one ticked me off. It was too preachy, but I got the point.

And this morning, special guest appearance by Cary Elwes! His best comedic performance to date, in my opinion.

Posted: 7:08 am · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation, Silly Things · Comments: None

There is a recurring dream I’ve had several times during college, with slight variations each time. The basic idea is that I’ve arrived at the location of the final exam for a course I’ve never bothered to study for — in fact, I never even attended the lectures.

In the first dream, it was Chem II, shortly after I had suffered through Chem I in real life. Another time, it was an introductory art history class, and an old high school friend was there too. This morning, just before my alarm went off, it was fashion.

I know, weird. I think this one was actually a midterm. It was an open-book exam, and all our books were fashion magazines. But there was a take-home component (we had to make a web page?) that I hadn’t done either.

So in the shower this morning, I was pondering the meaning of these dreams. This one clearly was a subconscious self-critique on (a) my hubris as a student, and (b) the excessive amount of Project Runway I’ve been watching.

And perhaps it’s fitting that today, the day I go fill out all the paperwork I need so that I can graduate in May, I have this recurring bad dream.

And then I realized I do have an exam today.

Fuck.

Posted: 8:27 am · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation, School · Tags: anxiety, dream analysis, final exams, midterms, recurring dreams · Comments: 2

We’ve been talking about finding ways to jump on the podcast bandwagon in the newsroom. (And I’ve been quietly ranting that we need to make sure we’re doing this for non-bandwagon reasons, and I think they’re listening.)

Then I had a dream this week about trying to set up KUJH-TV video podcasts. I’m working even in my dreams.

I get a vacation soon, right?

Posted: 9:45 am · Category: Amateur Dream Interpretation, Geek, Work · Tags: bad dreams, podcasts, Work · Comments: None