Last night I had a mixture of what I'd call a Classic Zombie dream and a home-renovation dream. The zombie part hewed amusingly to the basic zombie movie tropes*. I was in a house with a lot of other people [Group Living trope alert!] when we realized that there were zombies approaching outside and then milling around, true to form, outside the door. I don't remember any gore or anything, but there was a fair amount of panic before we settled down to divvying up domestic tasks after realizing we were stuck in the house for the long haul.
The house renovation part was, I think, in the same house, although I'm not sure if the plans were being made during the zombie apocalypse, before, or after. They involved putting skirting around a pier-and-beam foundation (like our real-life house), and we pretty much settled on using sturdy 2x4-like wood and painting it red, which seemed like a wonderful idea in the dream.
*I know this because I'm married to someone who has a fondness for the occasional zombie flick, not so much as to be fanatical but enough so that I got a good score on one of those "would you survive a zombie apocalypse" online quizzes.
Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zombies. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
weird miscellany and zombie shooters
I had the weirdest and wildest dreams last night, but I won't be able to do them justice, partly because my memory is a little hazy. Of course there was a group trip, a rather epic one involving travel on a giant bus with my mother and various random people from my past. I tried to find a seat, but each option presented problems. There was a very back row facing backward, which I thought would be okay although I don't like facing backward in a vehicle. But when I tried to sit down I discovered why the seats were empty: it really only worked if you hunched over or lay down across several seats, because of the combination of window and ceiling heights. Then my mother pointed out that there was a row of seats running up and down the left/driver's side, facing out sideways. I didn't like that option either because I thought it was dangerous. I was worried about the lack of seatbelts and what would happen in the event of a side collision*.
I finally sat down (in a rear-facing seat, but in the middle of the bus) next to a guy with a baby. The guy looked vaguely like Sean Bean, and I didn't really interact with him because I was distracted by the baby, who was dangling in front of me without any apparent support (although this didn't seem odd). Acting on reflex, I took the baby and set him on my lap, at which point I realized that he was actually a small freckled boy, maybe 6 or so**. I started talking to him rather animatedly, which surprised me since I'm not normally one of those people who makes over small children (not that I have anything against them, I'm just not the one who runs over and starts talking baby talk to them).
I'm not sure if this was the trip destination, but the next thing I remember I was at a house on a very steep wooded hillside. This was surely inspired by watching several historical British dramas recently featuring those long-term (by modern standards) visits in which a group of random highbrow people would descend on a manor house. There were a lot of people around, a few of whom I knew but most of whom I didn't, and I was trying to navigate the bathroom-use system because I wanted to take a shower.
I had laid claim to a bathroom (one of a pair in an odd layout: they were on a stair landing near the entrance, and had white louvered Western Saloon type doors) and was just about ready to take a shower. I don't remember all the details, but the owner of the house (who I think was the Sean Bean lookalike from the bus) arrived and made it clear that his routine was to use this bathroom at this exact time for his ablutions. So I apologized, gathered up my stuff, and went to wait outside.
I don't know if I ever got my shower, because the next thing I can remember was being outside. I realized that something odd was going on, but it took me a while to grasp the basics (I never did understand the details). In a nutshell, there was a shootout between some people, at least one of whom was a doppelganger of the host. This doppelganger had been activated by some action or event, but was apparently a chronic presence who appeared every so often--locked in semi-permanent conflict with the host.
The most fantastical moment involved a zombie-like young man propped up against the exterior wall. He had appeared to be dead, actually nailed to the wall by a gunshot. It became clear, though, that this was just a disguise to hide in plain sight--as the doppelganger (or maybe the host, I couldn't straighten out their identities) rounded the corner, the young man practically exploded from his position flat against the wall, shooting the doppelganger/host. I finally realized that this was a dangerous situation, and I started running/rolling down the hill. I'm not sure how I managed to avoid all the huge conifers, but the pine needles made a forgiving surface on which to roll, and when I had gotten to the bottom of the rather deep ravine I looked around and appreciated how beautiful it was, even though I didn't know how I was going to get out of there.
At some point a couple from my parents' church made a cameo appearance. In real life, this man has very straight, wiry hair that grows straight out from his head in all directions, and he favors a buzz cut of varying length. In the dream, he had curled his hair in a foppish late-18th-century/early 19th-century style***, and had caused some kind of unnamed scandal of medium-level seriousness. In real life, his wife has a rather old-fashioned haircut styled in a way that might be described as marcelled. In the dream, my sister informed me that he shared her husband's hair woes and that was why she always wore it quite short and curled in a standard "old lady" helmet style.
*I don't want to delve too deeply into this recent dream concern for vehicular safety.
**Nor am I going to meditate on the recurring theme of small boys.
***Thank you again, British historical dramas.
I finally sat down (in a rear-facing seat, but in the middle of the bus) next to a guy with a baby. The guy looked vaguely like Sean Bean, and I didn't really interact with him because I was distracted by the baby, who was dangling in front of me without any apparent support (although this didn't seem odd). Acting on reflex, I took the baby and set him on my lap, at which point I realized that he was actually a small freckled boy, maybe 6 or so**. I started talking to him rather animatedly, which surprised me since I'm not normally one of those people who makes over small children (not that I have anything against them, I'm just not the one who runs over and starts talking baby talk to them).
I'm not sure if this was the trip destination, but the next thing I remember I was at a house on a very steep wooded hillside. This was surely inspired by watching several historical British dramas recently featuring those long-term (by modern standards) visits in which a group of random highbrow people would descend on a manor house. There were a lot of people around, a few of whom I knew but most of whom I didn't, and I was trying to navigate the bathroom-use system because I wanted to take a shower.
I had laid claim to a bathroom (one of a pair in an odd layout: they were on a stair landing near the entrance, and had white louvered Western Saloon type doors) and was just about ready to take a shower. I don't remember all the details, but the owner of the house (who I think was the Sean Bean lookalike from the bus) arrived and made it clear that his routine was to use this bathroom at this exact time for his ablutions. So I apologized, gathered up my stuff, and went to wait outside.
I don't know if I ever got my shower, because the next thing I can remember was being outside. I realized that something odd was going on, but it took me a while to grasp the basics (I never did understand the details). In a nutshell, there was a shootout between some people, at least one of whom was a doppelganger of the host. This doppelganger had been activated by some action or event, but was apparently a chronic presence who appeared every so often--locked in semi-permanent conflict with the host.
The most fantastical moment involved a zombie-like young man propped up against the exterior wall. He had appeared to be dead, actually nailed to the wall by a gunshot. It became clear, though, that this was just a disguise to hide in plain sight--as the doppelganger (or maybe the host, I couldn't straighten out their identities) rounded the corner, the young man practically exploded from his position flat against the wall, shooting the doppelganger/host. I finally realized that this was a dangerous situation, and I started running/rolling down the hill. I'm not sure how I managed to avoid all the huge conifers, but the pine needles made a forgiving surface on which to roll, and when I had gotten to the bottom of the rather deep ravine I looked around and appreciated how beautiful it was, even though I didn't know how I was going to get out of there.
At some point a couple from my parents' church made a cameo appearance. In real life, this man has very straight, wiry hair that grows straight out from his head in all directions, and he favors a buzz cut of varying length. In the dream, he had curled his hair in a foppish late-18th-century/early 19th-century style***, and had caused some kind of unnamed scandal of medium-level seriousness. In real life, his wife has a rather old-fashioned haircut styled in a way that might be described as marcelled. In the dream, my sister informed me that he shared her husband's hair woes and that was why she always wore it quite short and curled in a standard "old lady" helmet style.
*I don't want to delve too deeply into this recent dream concern for vehicular safety.
**Nor am I going to meditate on the recurring theme of small boys.
***Thank you again, British historical dramas.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
zombie lambs
I had a really weird and disturbing dream just before waking up this morning. I wasn't clear on all the details, and I think there were some double meanings/significances that I barely caught at the time but now can't remember.
It started out nicely enough. I was in a beautiful open field that sloped up on three sides to more wooded areas (there was a road in the distance at the uppermost point). I was just walking slowly and enjoying the scenery when I noticed a deer. At first I thought it would run away as I approached, but it didn't because it was very intently searching for something. Rather creepily, it almost brushed me as it went past in its quest.
I was a little alarmed and hoped that it didn't have some kind of dangerous rabies-like illness that was causing it to throw caution to the wind, but I soon realized that she (it was a she) was looking for her fawn. Just when I realized this, the fawn hopped into sight, but kept on going after something further up the hill.
It turned out that the fawn was going toward what looked like a group of lambs. All very idyllic, right? Almost syrupy-sweet? BUT. When it got to the group of lambs, I saw that they were writhing around on the ground in various zombie-like states (I guess my fears of a malicious infection were well-grounded, if misplaced). Some were motionless, apparently having died from their malady, others were wriggling around weakly, and still others were aggressively jumping at the fawn and trying to bite it.
As if that weren't disturbing enough, I suddenly found that I was responsible for either a small child or an animal (a dog? a kitten?). I really can't remember what my child/pet was, exactly, but I suddenly had to protect some sort of relatively helpless being from the zombie lambs. The whole thing was extremely creepy. I think some of the animals may have had speaking parts too, but I can't remember what they may have said.
It started out nicely enough. I was in a beautiful open field that sloped up on three sides to more wooded areas (there was a road in the distance at the uppermost point). I was just walking slowly and enjoying the scenery when I noticed a deer. At first I thought it would run away as I approached, but it didn't because it was very intently searching for something. Rather creepily, it almost brushed me as it went past in its quest.
I was a little alarmed and hoped that it didn't have some kind of dangerous rabies-like illness that was causing it to throw caution to the wind, but I soon realized that she (it was a she) was looking for her fawn. Just when I realized this, the fawn hopped into sight, but kept on going after something further up the hill.
It turned out that the fawn was going toward what looked like a group of lambs. All very idyllic, right? Almost syrupy-sweet? BUT. When it got to the group of lambs, I saw that they were writhing around on the ground in various zombie-like states (I guess my fears of a malicious infection were well-grounded, if misplaced). Some were motionless, apparently having died from their malady, others were wriggling around weakly, and still others were aggressively jumping at the fawn and trying to bite it.
As if that weren't disturbing enough, I suddenly found that I was responsible for either a small child or an animal (a dog? a kitten?). I really can't remember what my child/pet was, exactly, but I suddenly had to protect some sort of relatively helpless being from the zombie lambs. The whole thing was extremely creepy. I think some of the animals may have had speaking parts too, but I can't remember what they may have said.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
the zombie horde
I had a series of weird dreams this morning in between repeated snooze-button punchings. In the first, I had been obliged to attend a high school reunion and was not happy about being there. In hopes of avoiding being seen and having to fill people in on my current news, I escaped to the library (not my actual high-school library but a dream library). The rows of shelves were very low, about shoulder height, which dismayed me since I couldn't conceal myself without hunching over.
I was still vainly hoping that I was somewhat hidden when I noticed that a group of older people had come in. I'm not sure what they were doing there, but they had some connection with the reunion or with some other event that was going on. I sensed that they were trying to get away from the action and into a quiet spot. However, lined up evenly spaced between the rows of shelves, they just looked alarming. They all had salt-and-pepper hair in exactly the same shade, were all about the same height and weight (short-to-medium height and skinny), and they all moved very slowly and had vacant looks.
I shouted, to no one in particular, "look, it's the zombie horde!" In real life, of course, this would be extremely rude and not funny at all, but in the dream it was absolutely hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing and congratulating myself on my wit. I was also relieved to have had a bit of comedy to take my mind off my undesirable situation.
I don't remember much of the other dream, except that the protagonist was a rather nondescript man in his mid to late 30s. He had somehow gotten himself employed as a telemarketer, calling up a narrowly defined target demographic (doctors or engineers, something like that) to try to interest them in some very specialized consulting service. Of course none of them were interested, which made him hate the job even more. He was sitting at his desk trying to assemble his lunch, which consisted of sliced turkey lunch meat, sliced cheese, and some kind of flat bread*, and having a meltdown. He was yelling at his boss about having to call these people who weren't interested, how that wasn't what he wanted to do, etc. etc. I really felt sorry for him, because I knew that he was highly educated and had gotten himself into this job by mistake and necessity.
*This was undoubtedly thanks to a recent viewing of the remake of The Prisoner, wherein the only food available was "wraps" (I recommend it, by the way--the program, not necessarily the wraps).
I was still vainly hoping that I was somewhat hidden when I noticed that a group of older people had come in. I'm not sure what they were doing there, but they had some connection with the reunion or with some other event that was going on. I sensed that they were trying to get away from the action and into a quiet spot. However, lined up evenly spaced between the rows of shelves, they just looked alarming. They all had salt-and-pepper hair in exactly the same shade, were all about the same height and weight (short-to-medium height and skinny), and they all moved very slowly and had vacant looks.
I shouted, to no one in particular, "look, it's the zombie horde!" In real life, of course, this would be extremely rude and not funny at all, but in the dream it was absolutely hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing and congratulating myself on my wit. I was also relieved to have had a bit of comedy to take my mind off my undesirable situation.
I don't remember much of the other dream, except that the protagonist was a rather nondescript man in his mid to late 30s. He had somehow gotten himself employed as a telemarketer, calling up a narrowly defined target demographic (doctors or engineers, something like that) to try to interest them in some very specialized consulting service. Of course none of them were interested, which made him hate the job even more. He was sitting at his desk trying to assemble his lunch, which consisted of sliced turkey lunch meat, sliced cheese, and some kind of flat bread*, and having a meltdown. He was yelling at his boss about having to call these people who weren't interested, how that wasn't what he wanted to do, etc. etc. I really felt sorry for him, because I knew that he was highly educated and had gotten himself into this job by mistake and necessity.
*This was undoubtedly thanks to a recent viewing of the remake of The Prisoner, wherein the only food available was "wraps" (I recommend it, by the way--the program, not necessarily the wraps).
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Rough Transcript
When I woke up this morning, I tried to describe last night's dreams to David. It went something like this:
We were being chased by someone like the Dollhouse people, because I had helped free some of the other people and I had pulled my own Matrix jack-thing out of the back of my head, but had been faking it. They discovered that I didn't have it, and I ran away and they started chasing us. You and I went to the Riverview to hide and watch a movie. (David: "Hiding and watching a movie sounds like a great idea!")
And there were zombies at some point. (David: "Dreams are always better with zombies.")
...And... I was going to get married! (David: "Hmmmmm.") But to a girl. The wedding was going to be in three weeks, and we were experimenting with how my hair was going to look. It was going to look pretty awesome, actually. But I was already thinking, "Okay, I can just go ahead with this, because clearly I've thought out this decision, and it will probably be fine. And divorce is not that big a deal, anyway, if it doesn't work out. Or I could call the whole thing off... I still have three weeks..."
We were being chased by someone like the Dollhouse people, because I had helped free some of the other people and I had pulled my own Matrix jack-thing out of the back of my head, but had been faking it. They discovered that I didn't have it, and I ran away and they started chasing us. You and I went to the Riverview to hide and watch a movie. (David: "Hiding and watching a movie sounds like a great idea!")
And there were zombies at some point. (David: "Dreams are always better with zombies.")
...And... I was going to get married! (David: "Hmmmmm.") But to a girl. The wedding was going to be in three weeks, and we were experimenting with how my hair was going to look. It was going to look pretty awesome, actually. But I was already thinking, "Okay, I can just go ahead with this, because clearly I've thought out this decision, and it will probably be fine. And divorce is not that big a deal, anyway, if it doesn't work out. Or I could call the whole thing off... I still have three weeks..."
Monday, August 24, 2009
zombies and their superior sense of smell
(my surroundings have seeped into my dreams)
i was living/staying in some sort of a neighborhood/community where everyone knew each other. the neighbors congregated at the house i was staying at after we were alerted that we were in danger of being attacked by zombies.*
when the neighbors made it to my house, we began boarding up the windows and doors with wood and various pieces of heavy furniture (it was a very anxiety-ridden dream, the kind where you can *feel* the adrenaline pumping and it kind of hurt). most of the neighbors hung out in front of the t.v. while i stressed over every possible point of entry. luckily, hyde and kelso from that 70's show** were there to help me. at one point we found ourselves in the garage, looking out though a crack. we could hear a chainsaw and we were trying to determine if it was a neighbor in need of help or if it was too late.
eventually the zombies closed in on the house and we were all doing our best to keep them out when it occurred to us (not sure how) that zombies had an extremely sensitive sense of smell, especially for unpleasant smells***, and that we could use this to our advantage****.
.................................................
* this part of the dream was likely influenced by a conversation where i compared preparing for a hurricane to preparing for a zombie attack. I was informed that one does not get advanced warning about zombie attacks.
** my youngest brother watches repeats of that 70's show incessantly.
*** this part of the dream was influenced by a conversation i had with my cousin and her husband about how the women in the family have very sensitive noses, especially for rank smells. the husband reported that my cousin complains of his gas "even before it leaves my pants".
**** yes, i am aware that zombies would need a functioning brain in order to actually be able to smell.
i was living/staying in some sort of a neighborhood/community where everyone knew each other. the neighbors congregated at the house i was staying at after we were alerted that we were in danger of being attacked by zombies.*
when the neighbors made it to my house, we began boarding up the windows and doors with wood and various pieces of heavy furniture (it was a very anxiety-ridden dream, the kind where you can *feel* the adrenaline pumping and it kind of hurt). most of the neighbors hung out in front of the t.v. while i stressed over every possible point of entry. luckily, hyde and kelso from that 70's show** were there to help me. at one point we found ourselves in the garage, looking out though a crack. we could hear a chainsaw and we were trying to determine if it was a neighbor in need of help or if it was too late.
eventually the zombies closed in on the house and we were all doing our best to keep them out when it occurred to us (not sure how) that zombies had an extremely sensitive sense of smell, especially for unpleasant smells***, and that we could use this to our advantage****.
.................................................
* this part of the dream was likely influenced by a conversation where i compared preparing for a hurricane to preparing for a zombie attack. I was informed that one does not get advanced warning about zombie attacks.
** my youngest brother watches repeats of that 70's show incessantly.
*** this part of the dream was influenced by a conversation i had with my cousin and her husband about how the women in the family have very sensitive noses, especially for rank smells. the husband reported that my cousin complains of his gas "even before it leaves my pants".
**** yes, i am aware that zombies would need a functioning brain in order to actually be able to smell.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
yoga vs. zombies
Just before I woke up this morning, I dreamed that my husband and I were with a lot of other people in a public place (park?) when a big demonstration/revolution broke out. We were sitting on a blanket on the ground, and there were two girls there who thought they'd take advantage of the ruckus to put the moves on him. This did not sit well with me, and I decided to fight the more egregious of the offenders (the other one, who didn't seem to have her heart in it, later turned into Amanda Bynes*). When I started to fight this girl it became clear pretty quickly that I was going to have to get in better shape to defeat her. She was all firm and quick and didn't have any flabby flesh that I could get a hold on (apparently my fighting technique depended on grabbing and restraining, then hitting, and if I couldn't grab and restrain all was lost).
I realized that her evasive movements were very yoga-like and decided that I needed to work on my yoga moves in order to beat her. I started doing moves and found that I was in much better shape than I thought. Everything went very smoothly and I started to feel serene and capable, to the point where I felt like maybe this girl and I could just work on our yoga together and forget the fight. Since this was just before I woke up, I woke up feeling really great.
That was much better than the night before, when I spent ALL NIGHT dreaming about zombies**. The dreams weren't all that scary, but I kept waking, going back to sleep, continuing to dream about zombies, waking up annoyed that the dreams were continuing, etc.
*This really baffled me until I remembered watching an episode of The Office the other day where Kelly referred to her as a "comedian".
**Thanks to someone who will remain nameless, not only did I dream about zombies after being exposed to a Teen Zombie Comedy (don't ask), but I apparently have the necessary knowledge to survive a zombie attack.
I realized that her evasive movements were very yoga-like and decided that I needed to work on my yoga moves in order to beat her. I started doing moves and found that I was in much better shape than I thought. Everything went very smoothly and I started to feel serene and capable, to the point where I felt like maybe this girl and I could just work on our yoga together and forget the fight. Since this was just before I woke up, I woke up feeling really great.
That was much better than the night before, when I spent ALL NIGHT dreaming about zombies**. The dreams weren't all that scary, but I kept waking, going back to sleep, continuing to dream about zombies, waking up annoyed that the dreams were continuing, etc.
*This really baffled me until I remembered watching an episode of The Office the other day where Kelly referred to her as a "comedian".
**Thanks to someone who will remain nameless, not only did I dream about zombies after being exposed to a Teen Zombie Comedy (don't ask), but I apparently have the necessary knowledge to survive a zombie attack.
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