Last night I had a vivid dream that was mostly inspired by the book I've been reading, Caitlin Sweet's "The Pattern Scars".
In the dream, there was a Sorcerer who was capable of entering peoples dreams and influencing the person through the dream. Something had happened to me and I believed that it has been done by this Dream Sorcerer, so I went to another person with expertise on dreams who taught me the basic defensive awareness in dreams and painted a symbol on a dagger, so I could carry the dagger into the dream with me.
That night, when I laid down to sleep, I envisioned my dream self as leaving my body and standing sentinel behind the door. Sure enough, late at night, the Dream Sorcerer slowly entered my room, except this time, I was ready. I stepped out from behind the door and grabbed him across the chin, pulling as if I was exposing his neck. He immediately raised his hands to claw at my hand and to protect his throat. With his arms thus raised I stabbed him three times in rapid succession upward into the armpit, aiming to slice the axillary artery.
He screamed in his dream self and in his body, back in chambers. When he screamed and his dream self vanished I woke with a start. I grabbed my spear and dashed out into the hall, running down the hall toward his room with everyone else. As we burst into his room, he was sitting up in his bed, ghastly white, eyes wide with fear.
I now had all the proof I needed as to the true identity of the Dream Sorcerer so, without hesitation, I plunged my spear straight into his heart, killing him instantly, pinning him against the headboard of the bed. It was right after the death blow that I woke up.
Showing posts with label Caitlin Sweet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caitlin Sweet. Show all posts
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A Better Day Than Expected
Today was a better day then I expected. I started the day with a work schedule full of meetings - five hours of meetings, from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, so I knew that I would have to settle in for a long day. I think that is one area where our expectations can come in handy.
Since I knew what the shape of the day was going to be, I was able to prepare, both physically and mentally, and as a result of that preparation the day itself went pretty smoothly. I even managed to finish an audit task that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this afternoon, and then promptly volunteered to help another employee finish the same audit task, which I will wrap up tomorrow morning. I thought about doing it tonight from home, but decided that I would not push it - it was a good day, I will accept that and move on.
My plan tonight is to read some more in The Pattern Scars. I am about two thirds of the way through the book and probably two or three hours of continuous reading from the end. It has been an interesting story, but it is a little slow and meandering at points. I think that is a risk in fantasy and science fiction novels - sometimes the author just gets wrapped up in describing the world they have so lovingly constructed that they forget to move the story along. To me, it is all about the story - tell me a good tale and that forgives many sins.
It was a beautiful and balmy day here in California. Tonight is simply gorgeous, about seventy five degrees right now, an hour after sunset. I've got the patio doors wide open and the windows wide open and a single fan spinning in the hallway to insure a smooth flow of air through the entire apartment. Even though the weather is so nice, we are still in winter here - and we'll most likely get two or three more rain storms before we reach spring, but the plants, trees, and flowers are already rushing toward spring and blooming. Like I said, simply beautiful.
Lately my dreams at night have been full, dense and crowded. I would not call them anxiety dreams - more like they are simply very complicated. I wake and all I remember are dream fragments. My subconscious is definitely churning in frenzied circles and we'll see if the dreams take any coherent form over the next couple of days. Though the fragments are interesting, like stories, I much prefer the dreams that have a strong narrative center. I guess I even prefer life to have a strong narrative center now that I think about it.
I spent about an hour on the phone with my step-dad tonight. He is in the final two weeks of his stay at the convalescent hospital and he should be released to home sometime around the 20th. He is looking forward to it and he is definitely in much better shape then he went in. Hopefully he learned the all important lesson about staying on his medications and watching after his own health. He and Mom are seriously contemplating moving into an assisted living facility there in Winner and I am all for it. It will allow them to keep their independence and yet at the same time have some services provided to them or available to them.
The whole question of aging parents is a difficult one for me, as well as for many people. My instinct is to charge back and to take charge and help - but, I am fortunate enough to realize that isn't the solution. Yes, I am prepared to give them whatever assistance they need, including moving back to South Dakota - but at the same time, it is not something that you can force on them, they have to choose it, and it would doubtless involve some complex negotiations on the part of all parties because they are not yet at the point where they need someone to run their lives for them, All they need at this point is some assistance - and being headstrong, like we all are as a family trait, that assistance is going to have to come on their terms. As much as I'd like to make decisions for them, I can't and I shouldn't. As John-Roger said, "We must allow other people the dignity of their journey."
Since I knew what the shape of the day was going to be, I was able to prepare, both physically and mentally, and as a result of that preparation the day itself went pretty smoothly. I even managed to finish an audit task that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to finish this afternoon, and then promptly volunteered to help another employee finish the same audit task, which I will wrap up tomorrow morning. I thought about doing it tonight from home, but decided that I would not push it - it was a good day, I will accept that and move on.
My plan tonight is to read some more in The Pattern Scars. I am about two thirds of the way through the book and probably two or three hours of continuous reading from the end. It has been an interesting story, but it is a little slow and meandering at points. I think that is a risk in fantasy and science fiction novels - sometimes the author just gets wrapped up in describing the world they have so lovingly constructed that they forget to move the story along. To me, it is all about the story - tell me a good tale and that forgives many sins.
It was a beautiful and balmy day here in California. Tonight is simply gorgeous, about seventy five degrees right now, an hour after sunset. I've got the patio doors wide open and the windows wide open and a single fan spinning in the hallway to insure a smooth flow of air through the entire apartment. Even though the weather is so nice, we are still in winter here - and we'll most likely get two or three more rain storms before we reach spring, but the plants, trees, and flowers are already rushing toward spring and blooming. Like I said, simply beautiful.
Lately my dreams at night have been full, dense and crowded. I would not call them anxiety dreams - more like they are simply very complicated. I wake and all I remember are dream fragments. My subconscious is definitely churning in frenzied circles and we'll see if the dreams take any coherent form over the next couple of days. Though the fragments are interesting, like stories, I much prefer the dreams that have a strong narrative center. I guess I even prefer life to have a strong narrative center now that I think about it.
I spent about an hour on the phone with my step-dad tonight. He is in the final two weeks of his stay at the convalescent hospital and he should be released to home sometime around the 20th. He is looking forward to it and he is definitely in much better shape then he went in. Hopefully he learned the all important lesson about staying on his medications and watching after his own health. He and Mom are seriously contemplating moving into an assisted living facility there in Winner and I am all for it. It will allow them to keep their independence and yet at the same time have some services provided to them or available to them.
The whole question of aging parents is a difficult one for me, as well as for many people. My instinct is to charge back and to take charge and help - but, I am fortunate enough to realize that isn't the solution. Yes, I am prepared to give them whatever assistance they need, including moving back to South Dakota - but at the same time, it is not something that you can force on them, they have to choose it, and it would doubtless involve some complex negotiations on the part of all parties because they are not yet at the point where they need someone to run their lives for them, All they need at this point is some assistance - and being headstrong, like we all are as a family trait, that assistance is going to have to come on their terms. As much as I'd like to make decisions for them, I can't and I shouldn't. As John-Roger said, "We must allow other people the dignity of their journey."
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
An Elementary Evening With Pattern Scars
A very ordinary day at the office, which was very nice. I ran into a bit of a wall today as I maneuvered through a series of back to back meetings. I often feel that I could significantly improve my working day if I could just figure out how to go to fewer meetings. Unfortunately, I find myself deeply engaged in a company that has a strong culture of meetings.
Outside of work, I cam home tonight, took a nap (interrupted again), then a nice hot bath, then a pair of family phone calls, and I've spent the rest of the evening watching three episodes of Elementary back to back. That is an excellent show - Lucy Liu and Jonny Miller have great chemistry and it's a well written show, full of the quirky details that I love in television or a movie. Once I finish this last episode, I am going to spend the rest of the evening reading in "The Pattern Scars", which I am about half way through.
Outside of work, I cam home tonight, took a nap (interrupted again), then a nice hot bath, then a pair of family phone calls, and I've spent the rest of the evening watching three episodes of Elementary back to back. That is an excellent show - Lucy Liu and Jonny Miller have great chemistry and it's a well written show, full of the quirky details that I love in television or a movie. Once I finish this last episode, I am going to spend the rest of the evening reading in "The Pattern Scars", which I am about half way through.
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