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Dream Journal: Film Crew Dinner & Sleepless Sleep Over with Laundry

Film crew dinner with Amazon Indians

Ink and watercolor in sketchbook (Larger)

I did these dream drawings right after I woke up, sitting in bed with a special SAD light (see previous post) propped up on my lap, shining on my face. My friend loaned me her spare light to see if it helped. I’m not sure if it was the lights, the sunny day, the hour at the gym and walk in the sun afterwards, but I’ve definitely been in a much better mood today than I’ve been in weeks.

Last night’s dreams were quite strange. The one illustrated above was about a dinner party with a film crew, including the director (at the head of the table) and two Amazonian Indian women who had just participated in a ritual that the crew filmed for a documentary.

One woman was displaying the scratches/lashes on her back she proudly received during the ritual. The other was mostly just displaying her boobs.

Maybe I’ve been watching too much of the TV show Bones on DVD about a forensic anthropologist? Or maybe it’s from listening to the National Public Radio series about the Ganges River (that I converted into the Amazon) and combined it with the interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with film director Jason Reitman and scriptwriter Diablo Cody.

Sleepless sleepover with pile of laundry

Ink and watercolor in sketchbook (Larger)

In this dream I invited Martha over for a little slumber party (huh?) and then remembered that I needed to vacuum because there was cat hair everywhere. I was still cleaning when she arrived so she hung out downstairs helping my mom plan some wonderful menus involving roasted pork. (I have no upstairs, my mom doesn’t live here, and she doesn’t cook, especially not pork.)

I still hadn’t finished vacuuming but realized there was laundry everywhere and so started piling it up on the spare bed to get it out of the way. Finally we said goodnight and Martha went right to sleep. I didn’t.

This dream happened right after Kate and I talked about meeting in person the next time she comes out to San Francisco (Kate turned into Martha in my dream). Having guests always seems to bring up those darn insecurities about not having a fancy home and other general unworthiness (that I can usually overcome with a little pep talk to myself).

In reality, my house is usually tidy, organized and there are no piles of laundry. There is the cat fur problem though, which I tend to ignore longer than I should…but I just warn people not to wear black to my house since it’s a cat-fur magnet.

13 replies on “Dream Journal: Film Crew Dinner & Sleepless Sleep Over with Laundry”

I really enjoy your dream drawings. Re the slumber party (huh?), that’s so funny. I have that reaction too to some of the hairbrained things I dream! I can really relate to the insecurities and unworthiness (I just know we should meet!). My parents house was always untidy so I NEVER brought friends home and now I worry about having visitors when my house is, not show home certainly, but not untidy.

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Your dreams are always so entertaining, Jana! I love these drawings, they’re so expressive. Your expression lying in bed awake is priceless!

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Usually I tune out people’s talk about their dreams (not on purpose) but I love this, especially with the illustrations. They sound like my two types of dreams: either surreal or anxiety-induced ~ though my anxiety dreams are almost exclusively about being late or not finding where I need to go. And I think it’s time to get myself a SAD light. The exercise and long walks on sunny days are my favourite solutions.

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I really enjoyed these posts and I love the illustrations that go with them. I wish I could remember my dreams, when I do, I usually have lots of very short ones that would make it impossible to draw!

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Well, sweetie, I’d feel right at home with the cat hair! I don’t vacuum often (hurts my back, yeah, that’s the ticket…), and it does tend to build up! And now that it’s polar fleece weather, and I LOVE that stuff, I’m wearing a fair amount of hair (mine) and fur (theirs) out into the world!

Aren’t dreams fascinating? I quite enjoy mine, usually illogical though they are. No upstairs, no mom there, and no pork, eh? Wonder what THAT was about! 😉 (I took a course in Jungian dream studies once and can’t resist wondering, anyway!)

By the way, I used to have the SAD problem badly, too. Long walks outdoors, when I could still DO that, were the cure, even on cloudy days–I guess enough UV rays got through! Now I spend as much time in natural light as I can, even if it means crowding the windows or painting outdoors all bundled up. I never got one of the lights, but I understand they DO help! Let us know?

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Dreams are so strange sometimes. As to your home, it’s wonderfully comfortable! I hope the light helps and I am sure the bit of sun and getting out helped!

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Felicity,
I often have that feeling when I read your posts too. Even though we come from very different backgrounds we seem to fight the same demons! My mother’s house has piles everywhere–she has a terrible clutter problem so I tend to go the opposite way and keep thing pretty bare.

Kate,
Same reason I don’t vacuum enough–hurts my back too. I laughed at your polar fleece comment! I was going to write in my post about how it’s like velcro with cat hair and it becomes completely impossible to remove the hair from it. I had a couple fleece clothing items which I finally tossed as they looked more like fur than fleece!

Casey, Andrea, Jess, Mudspice…thanks for your nice comments. I’ve been a lot cheerier since it’s been sunny and I could get out in it more.

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Ha – too funny! Unfortunately, I never fall right to sleep: wish I did. I love the sketch of us, and your other dream is a hoot too. I have not had a dream I remembered in a really long time. Wonder why?

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I love the idea of the wheeze with the SAD lamp. I wonder if your brain said it doesn’t matter that she’s got her eyes closed – we’ll just pretend she’s on the beach having a snooze in the sun!

I’m also really very excited about this Bones programme – I didn’t realise that the Kathy Reichs books had been turned into anything else. I’m an avid reader – although I don’t remember my visual image of Temp Brennan looking quite like the one on the website! I’m pretty sure it’s not over here yet – so I now know to look out for it!

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Your dreams make me laugh. I would love to have my own personal “dreamtranslator”, because the things we dream fascinate me. I dream almost every night and then I’ll ask my husband what he dreamt and he says nothing, while I’m telling him a whole fable! I can’t believe it! My dreams were always the stories I told my girls when they were little and they hung to my lips! Now I only wish I could give colour to mine like you do! You’re like Nina..its’ wonderful to express your imgination like that!
ronell

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You, dear Jana, would fit right in here at my home. Who needs to vacuum when you have paintings or drawings to do? And I’ve heard that “no outfit is complete without a little cat hair.” I’m enjoying reading your blog and seeing your drawings, sketches and paintings very much!

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