those are its eyes.

{caution: this nightmare really sneaks up on you.}

Dream (nightmare): I am on the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The water is sparkling, crystal blue, and the cliffs and sand are nearly white in color. The beach is crowded and foreign – Morocco, maybe. I am wading in the water when I see a woman running down the beach. She is shouting, "I need to get to the hospital. I need to get this baby to the hospital as soon as I can."

I look, and I see no baby. I begin to follow her asking, "What baby!?"

She runs up to a lifeguard and tells him she needs to go to a hospital. He looks at her and says, "Yes, you do," and climbs down from his towering chair, pointing her toward a hospital. I am still following her. Another woman approaches her and says, "I had one of those. Don't worry, it'll be OK," and shows the running woman her arms, which look normal.

I finally catch up to the woman and ask her what is wrong. She tells me, "I must have swallowed a centipede in the water. They take over your body from the inside, see?"

She lifts up her arms, and she has huge bulging growths on both of her forearms.

"Those are its eyes."

the meaning of moles & freckles.

Dream (a segment): I am living in a new house, and it is just sort of open, like a big tent, but nice -- like a yurt. My new next door neighbor tells me she is a psychic. She might have been Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis. She invites herself in and sits down on the edge of my bed, telling me she will do a reading. Before I can answer, she pulls out this card with different size holes in it. It looks like a knitting needle gauge ruler. She holds it up to my face and measures my moles and freckles with it.

I say: "I thought you would read my palm or something."

She replies: "This is much more accurate. Don't worry."

pop quiz!

Dream: I forget to register for classes at the local community college, and decide to just show up to the first class anyway. My friend (and old boss), Paul, is in the class. It is Abnormal Pyschology. The teacher is young, and might be Jim from The Office, but I'm not sure. He surprises us with a pop quiz, and I am nervous until I realize all of the questions are about popular science fiction TV shows. I ace the quiz and ask if it's OK that I showed up without registering, and Jim(?) says, "we'll figure something out."

the flaming umbrella.

Dream (a segment): I've taken up performance art, and am nervous about my first group showing. My performance consists of me pouring lighter fluid all over the top of a large black umbrella and lighting it on fire, then holding it above my head until the flames go out. I am standing on the side of the stage envisioning myself on stage, and trying to decide how best to douse the umbrella in lighter fluid – one circle around the top? or drench it?

Rock collecting.

Sunday Nap Dream: I am standing in the office talking to Donovan about what to have for dinner. It is sunny, and the windows are open. I say, "what about quesadillas?" and I hear an echo come from outside the window, mocking me, "what about quesa-deeeeee-uhs?"

I lean out of the window and see one of the neighbor's kids, an elf-like boy with a shaggy haircut, standing in the alley watching us.

I say, "you know I can hear everything you say out here."

He says, "I know, because I can hear everything YOU say. Want to know what you say?"

He has a label maker in his hand and begins typing. He prints out a label and hands it to me. It reads: QUARTZ.

I excitedly show him some of the rocks in my rock collection, including a piece of quartz. He shows me a shiny, black, rock with rainbow swirls. It is lumpy and blob-like. He tells me his dad just bought it for him.