noseplug

This was the first night that I tried the method I discussed in my Method of Loci post to help with dream recall. The first dream felt relatively long and vivid, and when I woke up (around 1:15am), I packed it away in a plain red shoebox. Only now I can't remember what I packed or any details about the dream, except for that I put something in there that resembled the bow of a miniature shipping vessel. Just the bow, as if it was cut off. It was silver or dull light gray.
After this dream I felt pretty good about myself, so I tried SSILD and overdid it a little, to the point that I couldn't get back to sleep for quite some time. I didn't get back to sleep until 3am, and I think this contributed to me forgetting any details about the first dream except the one item I packed in the box (a standard red shoebox, with a separate lid [not a folding one-piece box]). I think at one point I tried to write on the lid with a brighter red magic marker, but I can't remember what I wrote either.

I remember that the next dream was an FA, but when I awoke I didn't have any details to pack into the orange shoebox.

The next dream was the first of the night that I could remember. I was with friends/classmates in an auditorium (it felt like a college, but the auditorium was bigger than my college). I think this was linked to one of my old classmates asking me in WL to come to a graduation party. The non-WL DCs and I stayed there for a while, listening to the lecture and discussing something. At the end I walked out but had to come back for my backpack, which was a dull greyish-brown and black, and was slouched on the ground against the seats in front.
The next scene was a relatively smooth transition, and it felt like the same auditorium, but it was merged with the fellowship hall from my old church, except there were black double doors for the exit and they were mostly glass. A kid from my middle/high school who was intensely socially awkward was kind of harassing an older female teacher. Their dynamic reminded me of the receptionist at my current job and one of my more annoying coworkers. I try to help, and he leaves, but he's at the glass doors again in a second, although they won't open.
Somehow, I exit through the front doors of my old church.
I put a scrap of cloth from the schoolbag and a pencil (reference to socially awkward kid) in the yellow shoebox.

The next thing I remember, I'm in an office with white walls and wooden features, standing with one of my coworkers. The office seems more like an office on campus than from work. He's asking for a raise, at least once every month, as well as "some kind of advancement". The office has white walls, wood floors, and large picture windows showing some greenery.
The scene then cuts to a long hallway with tall ceilings, cream walls, wood beams, and warm recessed lighting. This may be the outside of the office. There are no windows and although it feels very closed off, it's not uncomfortable.
I didn't pack anything in the shoebox for this.

Next I'm in a yard (the music bldg from campus?) walking by huge oaks with sprawling branches and roots. I'm stepping over the roots with some DCs. The branches and roots and even patches of grass are all covered with these bright green caterpillars that seem like a mix between leaves and larvae. They have curling antenae and they're flailing and oscillating. This scene feels like it lasted a while, I talk with the DCs.
Next I'm approaching the courtyard for a dormitory or hotel. The walkway is made of the same red stone as my current apartment's courtyard. All over the walkway, there's a thin coating of crushed green caterpillars. It looks like pollen on the sidewalk on a spring day. There are caterpillars here and there and I'm forced to step on them. The feeling is repulsive. By the entrance to the dormitory, I see a young Romanian boy (adolescent) with missing teeth and a hat, evocative of Titanic.
I put a chunk of the red stone and a few caterpillars into the green shoebox (this really helped with recall later on).

In a school room with my girlfriend, the lighting is blue with some dull warm yellows. There's a mentally handicapped student (older than us - looks late twenties to thirty). Although all of the students are in their early twenties, it feels like a middle or high school class. There are traditional seats as well as what looks like a shop in the back.
The mentally handicapped guy has now morphed into two people - a younger, thinner man in a red shirt (the victim) and a darker, more sinister figure with an automatic gun. The man in red is forced to kneel behind the shop table. I have a handgun in my hand, but classmates grab my shoulder and don't let me use it. The man with the gun approaches the shop table. I now have a butcher knife from my own kitchen, but still they grab my shoulder and don't let me stop the man. The man says "Final countdown. Aye aye," and then starts shooting. Up to the point right before shooting, the victim has been kneeling with his back straight, proud. But at the last moment, he ducks and tries to escape. The man keeps shooting him and the gunshots don't sound right. The man keeps saying "Aye aye. Aye aye. Aye aye," over and over as he mows this guy down. The bullets make thunking sounds as they lodge themselves into him. I don't know how to describe it -- it was like shooting cheese? The whole time this happening I'm drifting towards wakefulness and I think about how much that must hurt, and start imagining the sensation; it's quite vivid.

I put two eyeballs with the trails (think Neversoft) in the shoebox ("Aye aye"), and this was enough for me to remember the rest -- it was quite jarring.

Side note -- I've been keeping a pretty good DJ and actually had two more LDs this weekend, but it takes me some time to revise it for posting on DV. I'll try to be better about this in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading!