Tsunami

I'm pretty sure I was reading some Lacan-esque French theory, something about a sea lion/regular lion and a polar bear, and recognizing the Other or some such business. I'm not sure if I was studying this while at the beach, or if the elaborate literary metaphor sort of just came alive for me, but at some point I was definitely being rocked by the waves.

The tide on this U-shaped beach was coming in, though, and I decided I was done with the water. When the waves pulled back, a whitish pebbly beach was revealed at the bottom of the U, and I ran across to get the backpack(s) and corkscrew (?!) that I'd left there on a ledge. Back on the other side, the door to the hotel/apartment/dorm was locked, so a beach employee (?!) kindly let me in. It was an odd sort of industrial-looking stairwell, so as she was in there with me, I asked her whether I'd be able to get out on my floor. She was assuring me that I would, just as she received a message, which I couldn't decipher, on her radio.

"Up!" she said to me. "Up! Run!"

"What happened?" I asked, as I started up the stairs. "What is it?"

"Up, up!" she shouted, pushing me. "Go!"

I was struck by the realization that we were trying to make it to higher ground, because a tsunami was coming. I tried to run faster, taking two steps at a time, but my legs were tired and then we started to run into crowds in the stairwell, also trying to get up to higher ground. They were quite orderly and not pushing or shoving--primarily just polite and a bit bemused.

Suddenly it got darker in the stairwell, and I realized the wave was coming. There was a window in the stairwell, separated by a gap of several feet from where I stood on the stairs. As I looked out, I saw a wall of water rising, in incredible colors--glowing sage-y green, then golden, then red. It reached up to a few inches above the window, and then sank, and I thought, with relief, that we were all going to be fine. But then came what I instantly knew was the Second Wave, higher than the first, and I could feel the foundations of the building shaking. This wave filled the window with incredible sparkling droplets of water, glowing red. I thought to myself that I might well die, but even if it did, it would be after seeing the most beautiful scene of my life--and that it would be okay.

Snippets

I had a lot of very strange dreams last night, many of which I can't remember. Of the ones I can, here are some snippets.

I had a series of dreams (interspersed with waking up and turning over) that involved updates on the legislative session in the state of Texas. I kept dreaming that I was reading/seeing/sensing various movements in the Austin government. I was both bored and confused by this in my sleep.

Then I had a strange and terrible dream that the top layer of skin on my right hand was peeling off, in the manner of post-sunburn peeling. It was really gross and I was afraid my boyfriend would yell at me, that he would think I wasn't taking care of myself. I tried putting lotion on it, but the skin was coming off in one big sheet, so lotion didn't really help.

Then I dreamed that a coworker and I were going to attend a coronation or inauguration. He decided to wear a large silver earring, in the manner of a pirate. I kept my mouth shut, as he obviously thought it was a good fashion choice.

Then I dreamed that I was poking around in a crumbling, falling-down house with passageways and tunnels. In one tunnel, I discovered a large number of new-looking backpacks set out, as though on display. I thought that there were a couple of nice ones that I'd like to go back for. One was a kind of cream color with a retro-style red trim. I was vaguely disappointed when I woke up and realized I couldn't go back for them.