BCerney

Dream from a nap I took in the evening:

I'm camping with Katey, Robbie, and Paul. I believe we are somewhere out near Mt. Toro. It's dark, and we are running around the campsite. At one point I almost run and jump into a coyote and nearly have a heart attack. There is another family at the campsite, though they are not with us.
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I'm driving my dad's car from the backseat. I have little control over the car, but I continue to drive. I look in the rearview mirror and see an individual's midsection; I can't tell if they are running after me or not. Before reaching a highway intersection I successfully pull the car over.

This dream was a long one, but my recollection of it was all over the place. A few notes worth mentioning:
- I, along with my friends Alex and Robbie, are out in what feels like the middle of nowhere. The area includes: Midwest American farmland, a scary forest, and a house. The house is occupied by a man who my friends and I are associating with and his stepmom (no recollection/mention of his father).
- There is a giant, spider-like bug out in the field. For whatever reason, we set out to go camp on top of the bug. To get to the bug from the house, one must go through the scary forest. Inside the forest we encounter both spiders and monkeys, and are forced to run away/defend ourselves at times. The dangers of the forest make us weary of returning to the giant bug at one point.
- Robbie and I are outside of the forest, debating whether to try and navigate it again so that we can reach the giant bug. Eventually a spaceship materializes, one that would allow us to fly and land on the bug. I see the bug scurry across farmland in the distance. After this Alex and the other guy meet up with us. They have aged, now looking like old men. The other guy says his mom is pissed at him for the college he chose to attend, which I also happen to attend.

I, along with three of my friends, am fighting a guy. Though I don't remember clearly seeing a face, emotionally I recognize this guy as the current romantic interest of an ex-girlfriend. We are wearing mechanized suits, a la Iron Man. Being that it's 3-on-1, we are beating him up pretty badly. I notice that the appearance of our target is changing; he first transforms into my friend Armand, then my friend Bradley.
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I'm walking down an alley. To my right are four arcade machines. One was definitely Metal Slug, one was a shooting game, and I think one may have been Puzzle Bobble. The set-up reminds me of the arcade room at a pizza place in my hometown.

Two dream fragments:
- Myself and a few other guys were fighting our friend Carl, who is an OL in NFL. We fought in a wrestling ring surrounded by a steel cage. Carl beat us without much effort; after the match he was talking smack with a cool, calm, and confident demeanor.
- I'm backstage at what feels like some sort of contest/competition. I see some of the other competitors and start hamming it up, doing wacky dances and pointing at everyone as I enter the room. I eventually start doing some breakdance moves in an effort to impress one of the girls who I found particularly cute. I'm spinning on the ground and eventually find that I'm sliding around on the ground as if there were absolutely no friction. I end up sliding through some doors and around a pillar, shouting "Still going!" the entire time.

1st week of DJ:
- 0 lucid dreams
- 5 dreams recalled
- 2 dream fragments recalled
- 0 reality check attempts
- 0 dream sign recognitions

Comments: I definitely recalled more dreams than I'm used to. I've also been able to focus much better upon awaking, allowing me to recall events from dreams even when they aren't that vivid. Still nothing close to self-awareness while dreaming. My reality checks during the day are improving, so maybe I'll see some progress this next week.

I'm at a BBQ joint called Joe's in my hometown with my brother. I remember thinking this was odd because we don't hang out much.
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We are in Baskin-Robbins, which I know is next door to the Joe's, though I don't remember how I got there. I walk around and sample some flavors. I see a cake ordered under the name "Miss-the-Kiss" (?). I finish my ice cream, throw away my trash, and even pick up the trash of some other people (I used to work at an ice cream shop, so I suppose it was some sort of act of solidarity). I exit out onto the street. As I walk back to the Joe's I run into a group of elderly black men. We stop for a moment and do the what's-happenings and the hows-da-familys; though I didn't recognize the men, I felt as if I had known them my whole life. I get back over to Joe's and there is a big crowd out in front; I found this strange, since Joe's would never be that busy. I looked inside through the window's on the street, and the inside of Joe's had changed dramatically. It now looked like a hip 1940s bar lounge, which I thought was pretty awesome. I see that Joe's now has an NBA Jam arcade machine as well, which I thought was equally awesome. I eventually realize that the people are outside because Joe's is closed for the night. At this point I begin looking for my brother, but I'm having trouble finding him.

I'm in the family room of my parents' house. It's dark in the room, though I can't tell if it's night time. I'm trying to ward off some wild animals that have made their way into the house. Two of the three animals don't look familiar, while the other is a raccoon. I shoo them out the back door multiple times, only to have them scurry back in each time.

I find myself competing in some sort of real-time strategy tournament that involved virtual trains engaging in combat. I was part of a three man team (I don't remember who my partners were), and it was our job to construct a virtual train that could destroy the train of the opposing team. The trains were on the same tracks and were going in the same direction, shooting missiles and lasers and whatnot at each other. The matches would start out in 2D, similar to a SNES or Sega Genesis game, but would eventually grow into 3D (Not sure how to adequately describe this transformation). The tournament was taking place in an area that was similar in style to the block I grew up on, but somehow I knew it wasn't my block (I've had several dreams take place in an area that resembled my block).
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I'm talking to a girl. I didn't recognize the girl as someone I knew, but she he looked similar to a girl I know named Jenna. There was obviously sexual tension between us, but she insisted on keeping her distance because "we were brother and sister". I remember finding this a bit odd, seeing as how I don't have any sisters, but I let the confusion pass.
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I'm lying next to her, softly kissing her. After a while she stopped me, on the grounds that I was "making her sad". At that point I realized that the two of us were now lying what I believe was a hotel room of some kind. Some of my friends (Arianna, Alex C., Ann) were also in the room. I don't remember much of our conversations, but I do remember looking through some luggage, though for what I'm not sure.
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Walking around a corner of the block, I come upon a group of teams competing in the tournament. I see a sign which says that everyone must finish twenty matches before we move on to Paris. I approach a man who I interpret as a leader of my team and ask him what the sign was about. The man is a former substitute teacher of mine; his name escapes me at the moment. We bitch about the organizing body's decision for a little while; he mentions that a trip to the market had to be canceled as a result of the decision.
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I'm sitting in a theater, which seems to be filled with people I know. Radiohead is performing on stage, while video is projected on a screen behind them. After they finish their set a new video appears on the screen, one that appears to be about marijuana. Jorge asks Robbie if he can get him some weed. Robbie says he can, and they work out the details of the transaction.

Recollections of two dreams from last night:
- In the first dream I found myself in Virginia, at some type of campus. I had flown there to visit my friend Ryan. I remember that once I got there I realized Ryan was still working in China. Around the campus I see a lot of people who I went to high school with.
- In the second dream I found myself outside of some sort of guesthouse/hostel/etc., hanging out with a group of people. We were drinking beer and smoking pot when a group of authority figures, none of whom I recognized, asked us if we were sober. I pay little attention to the them because I'm nervously searching for a plane ticket, for I have forgotten when my flight home leaves. I realize that my friends Ann and Alex are among the group of people I'm with. A few yards away I hear a group of people having a rather animated conversation. They are chastising Clancie, a girl I went to high school with, for introducing herself to a guy with a fake name in hopes of hooking up with him later.

I found myself sitting in an old gymnasium with a basketball court inside it. I'm sitting on the stage, looking out onto the court. A guitar ensemble is performing, but I don't recall hearing any music. Next thing I know I bum a cigarette from someone and begin shooting hoops with my friend Alex Coffin. Someone points out that I'm wearing Black Eyed Peas underwear and starts making fun of me. I look down, and sure enough I am. I defend the wardrobe choice, despite the fact that I agree the wardrobe is a funny choice. I walk off the court and over to the wall left of the stage, where I find a menu for what appears to be an ice cream shop. I remember the words not making any sense, but that this fact didn't catch my attention. Next thing I know I'm scooping what might best be described as granola-texture ice cream out of box.

I found myself sitting in the back seat of a car, which was being driven by a friend's dad (Mark Faylor Sr.). Someone sitting in front passenger seat as well, who I believe was female. We were driving around urgently, searching for cheap parking. Eventually we started driving really fast, flying off and on the road, making sharp turns, etc. I remember thinking that we were going faster than is safe, but for some reason I wasn't frightened. At some point I looked out the window and noticed a satellite crashing towards the area in which we were driving. The satellite hit the ground and then flew back up into the air as if it had bounced off the earth (an explosion may have occurred). The next thing I know we have found a parking spot (for 25 cents, according to the sign in front of the spot). I vaguely remember walk into a building and speaking with my friend Robbie Madrid. I don't remember the details of what we talked about, but I believe the conversation mood was light and humorous.