Dream #197 (April 30, 2010)

I apologize for the brevity of the past few dream. I really have not had much time for this lately, which, I guess, is a good thing.

Last night I was sitting in a Irish pub, watching the night's entertainment (nothing shady). I was sitting at a round, wooden table drinking a mug of water (I always get water) as a bunch of leprechauns were square dancing on the stage in the middle of the pub. It was quite delightful.

After I left the pub (I stayed and watched the leprechauns perform several different numbers, though they all seemed to be very similar), I walked into a town that, instead of streets, was connected by water. I saw Dori Walterhouse walking on water, and I was not all that impressed.

Then I awoke.

Dream #196 (April 29, 2009)

Another short, highly summarized dream.

I wandered the eerily empty streets of Michigan City. Nothing happened. This was interesting because I was planning on going to Michigan City the next day (though this is not interesting to most people, it is interesting to me, for my dreams don't typically have anything directly to do with my life.

I awoke this morning, in case you were wondering.

Dream #195 (April 28, 2009)

This will be short.

I was playing with my dead dog, Sadie, in the back yard of my parents' home. We played fetch, we dug holes together, and we ran around.

That is all that happened before I awoke.

Dream #194 (April 27, 2010)

I haven't really thought about how close I am to my 200th blogged dream until today.

I dreamed that (I hope my 200th dream will be more interesting than this) I was watching a thriller in a large, dark theater. I have no idea who was sitting next to me, but whoever he was (I guess I do have an idea of who sat next to me; he was a guy), he got in and out of his seat and walked in and out of the theater more times than I remember. Come to think of it, he was wearing a plain, Kermit-green shirt, and he had long socks that when up past his knees.

Anyway, the film was about some sort of detective (it was in black-and-white), and this guy walked around in a trench coat asking people questions. The sound quality in the theater was very poor, so I could never make out what anyone was saying at any given time.

Eventually I awoke, before the film had finished.

Dream #193 (April 26, 2010)

This was interesting.

Last night I was, in my dream, at Prairie Camp. I was walking through the woods there with my little brother, for we were preparing for a group game for the campers. Suddenly I stumbled over a large hole in the ground, which I had never before notice. My brother (Mike) and I leaned over the hole and examined it. Without warning, a large, naked figure leaped out of the hole and began growling at me, trying to bite my ankles. I ran behind a tree so I could get a good look of my pursuer. Interestingly enough, it was a clone of me. My brother and I were very confused, especially since my clone was acting like a fox (that is what I thought in my dream).

Then, nonchalantly, Kevin Chupp approached me and informed me that my clone was raised to act like a fox, but could quickly be taught human ways. He had a leash in his hand that he put around the wild version of me, and we all walked together to the camp director's house. When we should the clone to Carrie (the director), she informed me that she liked that version of me better, and could make more use out of it. That made me a little angry, especially after all the work I had put into camp, so Mike and I drove home.

Then I kind of switched to a different dream. I arrived home after just returning from camp, but Mike was returning from his trip to Florida (where he is currently vacationing). However, our parents were not home. Instead, there were four guests at the kitchen table (two older men and two older women), eating a large dinner. We asked for some food, but they refused to feed us. Because we were both exhausted, we walked down the hallway to go to bed. However, the ring leader of the guests informed us that they were each going to sleep in separate rooms, and that we would have to go back to Prairie Camp (which is about an hour away from the house) if we wanted to go to sleep. Then he locked us in the garage.

We snuck back into the house by going out the doggie door and into the back door, and we both fell asleep in the lobby of the house (which does not exist). Then, in my dream, I had a dream that I was in the lobby with the main cast of "Seinfeld." We were all laughing and having a grand ol' time.

Suddenly I awoke. Now, this is rather odd. I was kind of conscious, but I was still in the lobby of my house. I knew that I should probably wake up in real life, but I refused to do so. I decided instead, after checking the time (which read, incorrectly, 3 A.M., though I convinced myself that was the actually time), that I would walk to the city.

The sky was cloudy and the streets were empty. When I arrived at the town center, I found a skateboarder and a roller skater.

Then I awoke.

Dream #192 (April 25, 2010)

Well...

I was a ship captain marooned on a lonely island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I was living in a very nice house, but I was, like the island, isolated. Because of this isolation, I had some nasty sideburns.

For part of the dream, I wandered about the house, wasting my time. Then I decided to be productive, so I took my dog out for a walk atop the islands mountains. When I was up there amongst some beautiful trees, I noticed a large, raggedy ship docked on the opposite side of the island. Had that been there all along? Because of my sailing experience, I knew for sure if there was a boat, I could make it back home.

After a long hike down the mountain, I made my way to the the opposite sore. Sure enough, the boat was in very good shape. I ran, with my dog by my side, back to my home to gather my belongings (the run didn't take nearly as much time as it should have). I threw some of my books into my backpack, along with the many loose journal pages I had written there over the years.

Then I awoke.

Dream #191 (April 24, 2010)

I almost forgot to post this.

I was a a large youth convention (similar to 3DYC). I was walking around a fancy hotel with Kody Heffelfinger and Morgan Ferch (neighbor), and we were exploring all of the fun arcade games that were set up (the lighting in the place was odd, for there were bright spotlights on all the attractions, but the walkways could barely be seen). There were so many fun thing that I can't remember them all, but here are a few: pinball, ski ball, plastic ball pit, inflatable bouncy things, claw machines, Pac-Man, and Whack-a-Mole.

After walking through and playing the various arcade games, accumulating many tickets, we decided to take the elevator down. There were tons of people everywhere, so we had to wait in a long line to get into an open elevator. Then, a man with a wheelchair, who looked very pathetic and sad, rolled up from behind us and asked if he could cut us. We allowed him to do so, which made us wait for another elevator (his wheelchair took up much space). When we boarded the next ride down, I found Katelyn Presnell there, along with a friend of hers that I must have created myself. We talked as we rode down the thirty-or-so flights, and Morgan and Kody sort of disappeared from the dream.

When we landed and exited, I saw the man who was once in the wheelchair walking around a large fountain, in a perfectly normal way. Was it really worth all that hassle and deceit?

Anyway, as I tried to talk to Katelyn, a very tall and skinny white dude palmed my head like a basketball and began to pull me away from the conversation (literally). For some reason, Katelyn was unable to alter her course (I think her friend had an appointment of some kind), so we had to raise our voices louder and louder until finally we were to far apart.

I was completely in the hands of the tall guy, and I had no idea where he was taking me. About a minute later, he leaned his head down and told me, right to my face, that he had to go to the bathroom, and that he would leave me outside while he did his business.

Then I awoke.

Dream #190 (April 23, 2010)

This was kind of fun.


Last night's dream had a particularly odd set-up. I was in a dark room in a large hotel, but that is not really where the dream took place. As I sat in near darkness, I had in my hands a sort of advent calendar (though it was not for advent). Each time I opened one of the parts of the large cardboard thing, I would pull out an item that would coincide with the main part of the dream. The very first thing I pulled out was a stingray.

I was the aqua blue stingray, and I was flying around in an indoor field. There was another stingray, an orange one, and it too was flying around (there was no water and much grass). Then I pulled a whale out of the advent calendar thing. In the surreal world, the whale was locked in a closet full of water. Now, from this point on, until near the end, I remained in the other world as the stingray.

Not only was the whale locked in, but everything in the indoor field was imprisoned. All three of us (the stingray me, the other stingray, and the whale) wanted freedom, but we could not attain it. We were also starving, because we were only fed seaweed. The person who fed us this grotesqueness was an elderly and evil woman. She waddled in with the food, dropped it off, swore at us, then waddled out.

We were growing tired of this lifestyle, so the other stingray, the whale, and I devised a plan. We would trap the old woman and steal her keys.

The next day, when the old woman came along, we were ready. As she unlocked the cabinet in which the whale was kept, the other stingray and I stabbed her in the back of both knees with our tails, and the whale sucked her into his mouth. We helped the big guy out of the cabinet, then he spat the woman into where he was formerly imprisoned, and we locked her in.

We had succeeded. We realized that we forgot to get the keys to the indoor field from the woman, but it didn't matter, for she left the door open. We all flew outside to a green and beautiful field. It was expansive, and there was only beauty there. Far more animals were walking around, mainly horses, but there were also many schools of fish that swam by every now and then.

As the three of us former captives flew about, we began to grow hungry. The other stingray and I saw a school of fish and began swimming for it, ready to eat our full. However, we were stopped short by the whale, who informed us that he was a vegetarian and pacifist, and he did not want us to murder any innocent beings. Frustrated, we let him have his way, because there was no way we could out power him.

A couple of short days went by, and I was getting increasingly hungry. Finally, I folded and ate some fish as they swam by, trying to be as discrete as possible. However, the whale caught me, and tried to stop me. He even sucked me into his mouth as punishment, spitting me out a minute later.

I could not stand this vegetarian whale any longer, and neither could the other stingray, so we came up with another plan to get what we wanted. We guided the whale into the indoor field where we were once imprisoned, then we shut him in there.

Well, our victory was short lived, for the whale released the old lady, who then locked all three of us up in the cabinet where we held her. It was very uncomfortable.

My mind then returned to the dark room, where I was looking at a miniature of the cabinet, bursting at the seams because of its contents (a whale and two stingray).


Then I awoke.

Dream #189 (April 22, 2010)

I'm having a hard time remembering my dream.

All I know is that I woke up this morning after, in my dream, being in my kitchen with a bunch of other people.

I'm sorry that I can't remember the rest. Substitute teaching seems to make me forget my dreams more easily.

Dream #188 (April 21, 2010)

Here.

I spent the entire dream walking through an unending high school hallway.

For most of the dream, I did not contact a single person, and the only lights that were on were the occasional security lights, which all had a bluish fluorescent look.

When I finally did run into some people (not literally), I set a bad example. They were all junior high aged, and they were all staring at a pop vending machine. I asked them what they were doing, and they told me that they didn't have any money, but were very thirsty.

I told them not to worry, then proceeded to kick and punch the vending machine until several drinks fell out of their slots into the grab pit. We each helped ourselves to a soda (mine was grape flavored), and I then went on my way.

I walked alone through the hallway for the rest of the dream.

I didn't pass anything else exciting, and I eventually woke up.

Dream #187 (April 20, 2010)

My mind is not really on this dream right now, for it is filled with many other things. However, it is pretty interesting.

I was in a house last night. It was very narrow and, though it had a staircase, it had neither a basement nor an upstairs. This dream was very two dimensional, for I only had one view of the hole house and the action (a view looking from the back of the house to the front of the house). Anyway, it was the middle of the night and I was sitting in the kitchen with my mentor, an elderly African American man who was also my little brother (Mike) from a parallel universe (don't ask). He wore a glowing green metallic band that wrapped around his bald head and often flashed. The alternate (very alternate) Mike was telling me tales of his journeys through space, which I could visualize. He was the captain of a large black and shiny green spaceship that had almost a web-like design (I wish I could give a better description). Well, his ship was taken over and, barely keeping his life, got out of the ship via an escape pod and found his way to my universe and planet. He told me all these thing to warn me, for the alien race that had attacked him were planning on destroying all of the Baughman families from all of the parallel universes known to them.

Then, without any delay, an explosion in the wall of the house sent alternate Mike and I flying across the room all the way to the bottom of the pointless staircase. When the smoke and ash cleared, a weird looking creature with a crazy laser-gun walked through the hole and destroyed alternate Mike. As he was dying, he handed me a special gun that shot hot chocolate (it even had a whipped cream attachment on the front). I was a little disappointed in his last action, for I had no idea what the gun could do. However, when I shot it at the odd creature, he melted away within a few seconds. Then I saw something strange outside. It was some sort of hole in time, where glimpses of the alien shooting a hole in the wall were replayed. It was very mind-bending, so I approached it, which sucked me into it.

I found myself on alternate Mike's spaceship. He was still alive, and everything was running smoothly.

Then I awoke, which was kind of unfortunately, for I was very curious to see what kind of story my mind would create from that sweet introduction. Well, I had to wake up sometime.

Dream #186 (April 19, 2010)

I remembered this dream when I woke up, then forgot it later when I went to write about it in the afternoon, then remembered it again before going to bed. By the way, when I forget a dream, I forget all aspects of it, but when I remember a part of a dream, I typically recall nearly all major details.

Anyway, last night I wandered about the exterior of a large stone castle as Derrick Collins shot a short film along a walkway that ran around the permitter of the place. There were about four people throwing around a large foam square (this square was about three times bigger than the people throwing it). They would catch the square and hold it above their heads for a short period of time, then throw it again. When the square was being held still, a projector shooting from a castle window would project an image of a stone wall upon the square, creating a weird illusion. This went on for quite some time. I asked Lyndsey Tschetter (a former Bethel College classmate), who was acting in the film, what it all meant. She had no idea and thought it was kind of a dumb idea.

I decided to enter the castle because there was a reception taking place inside, and I was hungry. I walked inside, then into a stairwell, which was packed with people waiting in line for food. I didn't know anybody, and we were all uncomfortably close to each other.

Finally, I reached the bland, carpeted room at the top of the stairs where crackers and shrimp were being served (not quite the meal I was expecting). After I grabbed a plate of food, I saw Wyatt Smith (former paster of a church I attended, and father of some friends of mine), and he shook my hand. Then, after the shake, he held out his hand again and said, "Thanks for stopping by. I'll see you later." Thinking the shake was intended for me (foreshadowing), I took his hand in mine, yet again, and shook it. Then, laughing, Wyatt informed me that the shake was intended for another person, Emily de Araujo (sister of former Bethel College classmate, and friend, Eric). Wyatt then shook hands with Emily, but I, to cover up my foolishness, told Wyatt that I, too, had to leave the reception because I had to catch a flight (a complete lie). I then walked down the stairs from which I came, which were no longer crowded with people). That was a strange choice for me, for I didn't get to stay for the main meal, and I didn't really make myself look any better, for I ate and ran.

After I ran, I awoke.

Dream #185 (April 18, 2010)

There was much more to this, but I have forgotten it due to the early awakening I had to go through this morning.

In the middle of the night in a campground (a fairly familiar setting to my dreams), I was leading a big group of people. The most interesting thing I can remember about the dream is that it felt very movie-like, almost as if it were scripted (though I did not know what was going to happen next). I find it odd that I can remember the feelings I had during the dream, and not the content.

The only other things I can remember are somebody dressing up as a ghost and a lot of spiders crawling around.

Sorry.

Dream #184 (April 17, 2010)

This will be very short.

I was walking around in my house last night (in my dream). My house looked similar to my house in real life, but there were some key differences. In the kitchen, there was a fireplace. The hallways were much longer. I don't think my bedroom had a ceiling. Instead of carpet in the hallway, there was checkered tile. I can't remember why I was pacing about, and I can't remember if I did anything meaningful. I apologize.

I awoke this morning, disappointed.

Dream #183 (April 16, 2010)

I'm getting back into the filmmaking mode.

Last night was a fairly long story that was all connected. At the very beginning I walked along a back road, surrounded by cornfields, in the middle of the night, and met Caitlin Geeslin, Morgan Lewis, and Austin Burnette in a little blue car that belonged, in the dream, to Caitlin. We all sat there together and talked about the day and had a good time (the details were not interesting enough for me to remember fully). After the good time had passed, we went our separate way, vowing that we would return again to that special spot every night.

Well, the next night came around (I skipped the rest of the day in my dream). However, I was spending time with Kyle and Kody Heffelfinger and my older brother Matt. We were by ourselves at a drive-in theater, watching a hip hop documentary that Kyle had found very interesting (the only thing I remember about it is Mos Def as the narrator). Even though the film was excellent, I tried to slip away, unnoticed, so that I could hang out at the secret and special place, just as I had vowed the night before. As I almost slipped into darkness, Kyle caught me and asked why I was leaving such a good movie. Guilty, I stayed and finished it out.

Afterward I ran all the way to the special place, only to find Caitlin driving away, leaving me all alone.

The next night came. This time I was working on a film set with a bunch of elementary-aged kids and Doug Miller (my Cinematography professor). Each kid was in a different costume, representing some sort of made-up animal. It was a very trippy film. (I won't go into too much detail) Doug and I filmed an hour's worth of difficult shots, including long monologues, one delivered by a kid in a blue octopus costume, and the other by a young girl in a white Jackalope costume.

Then I looked up and noticed Caitlin in her blue car, with Mary Fish in the passenger seat (I was envisioning this, for the car was not in the house in which I was filming). Apparently Mary had taken my place in the group, which made me feel very sad. I didn't even try to go to the special place that night.

The next night came about. Doug and I were still filming that weird kids' movie. After shooting an odd scene in which a kid dressed as a spider climbs around a brick fireplace, followed by an even stranger scene in which a kid dressed as a goat man threw knives at a regular child, I checked the DV tape in the camera. I then noticed that I had taped over half of the footage from the night before. I felt that horrible feeling I always feel when I do something irreversible. I was so flustered that I quit working on the project altogether, leaving Doug there to fix all the problems alone.

At that point I desperately needed the company of the secret special place people. I ran out of the house I was filming in, and ran down the back roads surrounded by cornfields in the middle of the night until I reached the special place. Nobody was there for me.

Then I awoke.

Dream #182 (April 15, 2010)

I have a lot to write about in a small amount of time.

The first segment of my dream took place in a rented house where my little brother Mike and I were living while visiting Regent University. The white house had a beautiful garden and driveway, which wound around for about a quarter mile before reaching the dirt road connected to it. Even though I was visiting Regent, I kept running into people from Bethel College, like Neil Silveus and Kevin Chupp. Oh, I ran into them at the airport, which I believe looked very similar to the South Bend Airport (you may be able to tell how tired I am from this out of order and confusing writing).

Nathan Galvez, who actually goes to Regent, picked Mike and me up from the airport, and he took us to that nice rental house I described earlier. Then we sat our bags down in the living room and began to play cards. When Nathan left, which was some time after Mike went to bed in his bedroom, I went into my bedroom. Inside was a large television and a bunk bed. Brandon Surma (high school classmate) was in the bottom bunk eating Resses' Pieces. I climbed into the top bunk, watched a little bit of basketball, then went to bed. As I tried to sleep, Surma kept trying to talk philosophically with me. However, I was able to fall asleep anyway.

When I woke up in the morning (in my dream), I hit my head hard on the ceiling. Brandon was gone, but Mike had walked into my room. For some reason, he had transformed into a strange creature, what I called a "wormhead" in my dream (which is how I referred to that worm head guy in "Return of the Jedi," Jabba the Hutt's assistant). Mike was pale white with a few neon blue spots on him, and he had a large wormy tail coming out of the back of his head. I told him that he should die so that he could come back to life as himself (this seemed very logical to me at the time). However, he was too nervous to go through with it, so he accompanied me to the airport in that condition.

Then I switched to a different dream. I was at a high school basketball game, but instead of bleachers, there were theater seats, and the seat that I chose was different from everyone else's. It had a golden crown on the back of it, and the armrests were gold-plated. I did not know what that meant, but I was curious. As the home team announced its starting lineup, I realized who was sitting around me. My mom was to my left, Mike was to my right, Kelsey Minix (my little brother's classmate) was in front of me, and Morgan Ferch (neighbor) was behind me.

When the lights went back up, everyone was ordered to stand for a song of worship. I then remembered that I was in a private school, so this was normal practice (in the dream world). The first worship song involved a lot of clapping, and it was too long as usual. The second song was a song entitled "Hallelujah." Right when the song began to play, my gold crown chair elevated until it was ten feet higher than the other chairs (I was now sitting in it). Then a spotlight shown upon me, while "Hallelujah" was still being sung, and the chair began to swing and spin all around, like a carnival ride. Apparently I was a special spectator. Finally, when the song ended, the chair lowered back to the ground.

Then I awoke.

Dream #181 (April 14, 2010)

I apologize.

I have forgotten the bulk of last night's dream. I do remember walking around a South American city, and I believe I was either a photographer or journalist (or a photojournalist). I want to say that I was writing a pretty big story, but that could be the influence my brain is having upon the faint memory of this dream.

Again, I apologize. As you know, I did wake up this morning.

Dream #180 (April 13, 2010)

Short.

I dreamed that I was in high school band at Oregon-Davis High School (the place from which I graduated). The current teacher there was instructing the class, and it was, in my dream, his first day there. For some reason, the classroom was very dimly lit. Anyway, the instructor had everyone play a classical piece together and, instead of playing the baritone, I played the trumpet. To my surprise, I played it like Miles Davis (I actually thought that in the dream). After class, I went into the office of the teacher and informed him that the baritone was actually my best instrument.

Then I awoke.

Dream #179 (April 12, 2010)

Taken.

Last night I was walking down Indiana 23 in the middle of a gorgeous day, minding my own business, when an old blue car unexpectedly stopped in front of me. Out of it came two young women (both attend Bethel College, though I don't know their names). The shorter girl, who had blonde hair, was carrying a shotgun in one hand and a crossbow in the other. The taller of the two girls (with black hair) was carrying rope. I submitted to them and allowed them to tie me up and throw me in the back seat of the car.

I rode in silence for a few minutes, then we arrived at a house that looked very much like the house of my parents. The girls dragged me inside and threw me in a closet by the front door of the house. After a while of sitting in the darkness, I was again taken and dragged to a room that looks very much like my bedroom. There I was questioned by the blonde, who was still holding her weapons. After she asked some generic questions regarding who I am, I began to ask her why she was committing such a crime. I told her that I always thought her to be the kind-hearted, home-schooled type, innocent and pure. My questions seemed to catch her off guard, and she was unable to answer me. She sat down and put her head in her hands.

This gave me a chance to escape. By then I had already managed to free my hands and feet of the weak knots that had previously bound them, so I jumped with my behind out of my chair and sprinted out the door. As I ran away, I turned back to see if the blonde was pursuing me. She indeed was, and she seemed determined to stop me in any mode necessary.

Luckily, because of the weight of her weapons, I was able to outrun her, and I made it all the way to the blue car, which I proceeded to hot wire (I really have no idea how that works, but I pulled it off anyway). I drove away as fast as I could.

It began to rain, so I decided to go to a baseball game (that may not seem like a logical progression, but that is the thought process I went through, for the game would surely not be as crowded in the rain). The field looked like a track from a distance, but it was indeed a baseball field.

My friend Neil Silveus was playing left field when I arrived, and I walked over to the fence and began telling him of my adventures. After a bit, he explained to me that he was in the middle of a game, and could not chat much. So I went over to the concession stand to get myself a hot dog. On my way, I ran into Matt Boyle and Brandon Porter (high school classmates of mine). In my dream, Matt had long hair and a flowing beard, and was wearing a red Hawaiian shirt, along with jean shorts. He and Brandon waved to me, but we didn't stop and chat.

After they passed me, I realized that I should probably call 911 and tell them about what had happened to me earlier. I pulled out my track phone and dialed the number. The first time I tried, I got a busy signal. Then, as I began dialing the number again, I saw the blonde and the other girl/woman (I don't know when a girl becomes a woman) approaching me, weapons in hand. I quickly dialed the number again and was connected to a prerecorded audio clip directing me to press various numbers for different options. Unfortunately I had poor reception, so I could not understand what to do. By the time I hung up to try again, the girls had caught up to me. They took me and put me in the back seat of the old blue car again.

For some reason, they left my hands free, so I dialed 911 again. My older brother answered, and I acted as if I were not asking for help by telling him of a fishing trip I recently had taken (hoping the 'fish story' would trigger his suspicion).

Then I awoke.

Dream #178 (April 11, 2010)

Yet another dream.

The first action I remember is pulling into a drive-through ATM, with my little brother Mike with me, and purchasing a $300 short-term credit card/gift card. Immediately after I did so, Mike scolded me, and told me I wasted a bunch of money and informed me that the credit card/gift cards were very over-priced and very obnoxious.

After that incident, I drove over to a nice neighborhood and parked my car. My little brother and I walked out and sat on the steps of a nice house next to Kyle and Kody Heffelfinger. We began discussing how the older woman across the street was very nice to people, but if somebody did not ask her to be nice, she would disown that person.

Then the walls of that woman's house disappeared, and she was revealed, helping young kids make their dinner. Then one of the kids tried to do something without her, and she kicked the little boy out of her house. The poor kid walked over to us, displaying with his face how pathetic he was. However, we had no compassion for him, and he walked away.

Then I awoke.

Dream #177 (April 10, 2010)

This related slightly to the film I watched the night before ("An Education").

I spent the first part of my dream on a long journey in a flying ship that floated over an unending forest. Much of this part of the dream was almost a montage, with very short portions of the journey lived out, while the rest of it just appeared in my dream memory. Besides exploring various types of trees and talking to members of the ship's crew, I had only one very exciting episode.

This took place when we landed to restock the food supply. We were in a large woodland city (the houses were built into large evergreen trees), and the city's greatest archer challenged me to a duel to the death. I had not choice but to accept, for the city punished those who turned down the challenge, and that punishment was often life in prison or death. We were placed in the thick woods (a portion which slightly resembled the woods in my backyard) and each given a bow and five very fancy arrows. When we were left alone, the renowned archer immediately began attacking me. His first three shots hit the trees that I ducked behind. I was sweating profusely as the archer (who had long flowing blonde hair) walked confidently in my direction, bow drawn and pointed at me. I wanted to try to fire back at him, but I knew that if I did, he would surely get a successful shot off before I could even aim.

His next shot hit exactly where his last arrow hit. I knew then that he had just been playing with me all along, saving his last arrow for the kill. I had to do something unexpected, to throw him off, so I jumped at him and sprinted in his direction. Then, as he drew back his bowstring, I fell to my back, kicking up my right foot. The man fired as I did so, and I managed to kick the guy's arrow out of its path to my head. I now had time to load my bow.

As the great archer walked backwards away from me, I fumbled through my arrows, picked one out, placed it on the string (after three unsuccessful attempts at doing so; the string was hard to see in the dim light), and fired at him. That first shot was a dud, for it went about five feet in front of me before sticking in the ground.

However, to my surprise, the archer began sprinting away from me as fast as he could. I chased him through the woods, all the way to where my flying ship was parked. There I finally caught up with him, but by then he had already forfeited to my captain (who looked like the guy from Reading Rainbow). The captain smiled, then informed me it was time to leave. I climbed up into the boat, and it took off.

Then I transported to the future, where I was back at school. Now, this school was Regent University in my dream, but it was located in a big house instead of on a campus. Also, I appeared there mid-semester, so I was far behind in my studies. Unfortunately, the first day back was test day, and I got a 72% on it, which is the worst grade I've ever received (by the way, each student got his/her own room for the test, which was kind of nice). I knew if I wanted to graduate I would have to work extra hard on my homework.

I immediately locked myself in my room and began studying hard for my one class that I was registered for (in my dream, I only needed 3 credits to graduate). Then Professor Garcia, who apparently was my professor in the dream, told me he was very disappointed in my recent grades.

Then I awoke.

Dream #176 (April 9, 2010)

This was fun.

I don't remember the first part of the dream very well. I was in a plantation house acting in what I thought was a "101 Dalmatians" remake. I was dressed up in a big suite (though I didn't realize until the end of this part of the dream what the suite actually was). In the scene I was ordered by the director to sneak through a large door into the dining room of the house. After a couple of takes of this simple action, I was directed to enter a large room with the other 100 dalmatians (or so I thought). However, when I walked into the room, I discovered 10 Winnie the Pooh's walking around. It was then that I realized I too was in a Pooh Bear suite. Then I switched over to another dream.

In the next part of the dream (which I remember much more) I took part in an attempt to beat the record in a very popular game (in my dream world). With the assistance of Mike (my little brother) and Kody Heffelfinger (his friend) I had to throw rocks at large, transparent, blue stones that were similar in shape to Mancala pieces (though they had a two-foot diameter). These stones were 'placed' throughout a large one-room building (it was the middle of the nigh there as usual; I could tell because the enormous windows looked out onto a crescent moon and thousands of stars). Some of the stones were on ledges, some were on the ground, and some were floating magically in the air. When the time started, I immediately started throwing small rocks at the large blue stones. When I hit my targets, they disappeared from the room and added a number to my total score, which, almost like in a video game, was visible at the top of the room. Now, Mike and Kody were not allowed to throw any rocks at the stones, but they were allowed to fetch my rocks for me and search for the hidden blue stones.

As the time came close to running out, Matt Erdel (Bethel College graduate) walked into the room to see if I would beat the record. Nobody had ever collected all of the stones, but I was coming close. Finally I hit every single stone I had found, with a little time remaining. However, the display on the ceiling showed that there were still hundreds of stones left to be hit. Then Matt Erdel pointed to a small floating orange key. I grabbed it and ran over to an above-ground swimming pool and unlocked the cover, revealing the missing stones, which were being held in several black trash bags. I pulled all the bags out and smashed the stones on the floor. Right as the time ran out, I smashed the last bag. Not only had I broken the record, but I had also found and captured every single stone. A bunch of money began appearing in the swimming pool, and it was all mine. Matt Erdel was a little jealous of me at first, but eventually he congratulated me with sincerity.

Then I awoke.

Dream #175 (April 8, 2010)

I don't remember much from this dream.

I began the dream in an airport. I was sent there by my superiors in order to meet my fellow operative on an upcoming mission. Interestingly the airport looked very similar to the hotel in Toledo, Ohio in which 3DYC (Three District Youth Conference) was held last year (I worked there for the three day event). I was surprised to discover that my fellow operative was Amy Ennis (coworker at Prairie Camp). When we found each other we left and hopped into an unmarked white van and drove off into the country (I found it odd that the airport was located in the middle of a woods). Our mission was to save Carrie Badertscher (my boss at Prairie Camp). Apparently she was being held hostage by some small rebel group that had gained much power recently (in my dream, not in real life).

As we were on our way, we were suddenly ambushed and overtaken by a mob of mask and sash-wearing people.

Then I awoke. There may have been more to the end, but it is not in my memory at this moment in time.

Dream #174 (April 7, 2010)

.

I dreamed that I was living, with a bunch of other young people from America, in a European city that was made for short people. All of the ceilings were low, and it was difficult to move about. Even the vehicles were tiny. I lived in the suburbs in an old neighborhood that consisted of several small houses of many different colors. Most places were made of stone, and there were absolutely no yards.

For most of my dream I was doing my laundry in a small room with a yellow and red throw rug. When I put my clothes in the dryer, I walked over to a friend's room (there was a lot of ducking under doorways, bridges, and ceilings in the process). This friend in my dream is not really a friend of mine in real life (she played Jane Eyre in the musical of the same name that I worked on; she may be the girlfriend of a person I used to know from Bethel College, but I really know very little about her). She was knitting a sweater while rocking in her chair. When I entered her room, she told me to sit at her fit whilst she told me a story. It was as if she were an old lady. Anyway, while she told some story about a woodsman living in a Medieval city, I played with action figures while half-listening.

After a while, I returned to my place, passing many other acquaintances on the way, and I found my clothes all dry.

Then I awoke.

Dream #173 (April 6, 2010)

Interesting.

I dreamed that my little brother Mike and I were taking part in a series of alternate realities in which he was the Joker (from the Batman cartoon) and I was a life-size Batman action figure. Some of the details are a little muddy, but I do remember playing through at least three scenarios. The first took place in and around a castle in the Middle Ages. Mike tried to bomb me as I attempted to scale the castle in order to defeat him. The second scenario took place in a dark bathroom. I was laying in the bath water, still dressed as Batman (and still an action figure), with the curtain blocking my view from the rest of the room. Then Mike (the Joker) stormed in. However, Mike was a small action figure, so he was much less scary than he was in the previous scenario. After I drowned him, I entered the third scenario, which took place in my front yard. I was still Batman, but I was wearing my green Woolen jacket atop my suit. I don't remember the outcome of this scenario, for it ended abruptly.

I was taken into a different dream. I was walking around Meijers (Wal-Mart's competition in northern Indiana) with my sister (I don't have a sister). She had red hair and a kid. Tom Marks (my friend Stan Marks' father) walked up to me and told me that I had no prospects in life and that I was not a hard worker. Then I argued with him, explaining that I was working three jobs trying to survive.

Then I awoke.

Dream #172 (April 5, 2010)

I remember a lot more this time around. However, due to a lack of time today I will need to condense this dream slightly, leaving out a few minor details (mainly those regarding setting, for I could describe that all day long and not give a complete image of what I saw).

Where should I begin? Last night's dream was all over the place. I believe the first section took place at Regent University. I was sitting in my apartment on this particular day, brainstorming ways to punish all of the bullies at the school (I may have mixed up elementary school and college). Then I had an idea; I would form an alliance of underdogs and together we would take down the bullies, one by one.

I called the first meeting by sending out tons of emails to Regent students that I knew were tired of being mistreated. Next thing I saw was a shopping center parking lot full of the people whom I had called together (which included many stranger, along with De la, Jordan Miller, and Jonathan Ayee). We were all laying in a circle, on the asphalt, preparing our minds for the tough road ahead of us. Then I came up with the idea to dress up like giant candy bars. The rest of the team seemed to be up for this (though it took a little persuasion for Jordan Miller to accept this fairly outrageous proposition). So, we stopped in one of the stores and bought several different chocolate bar outfits, most of which were colorful and nonexistent in the real world. To top off the outfit, we all put on enormous orange cones atop our heads.

Then the bullies came from all around the shopping area, surrounding us. Some were carrying guns, others had large chains, and still others were armed only with their fists (which were powerful enough to justify not having a weapon). Apparently my plan of baiting the bullies worked (though maybe a little too well). I really did not know what I was going to do next.

Well, somehow my dream either skipped ahead, or went into an alternate reality. I was inside of an enormous building (this place could house 100 warehouses at least), with a very high ceiling and more beds than I can estimate. I was, before waking, sleeping in my bunk next to Kevin Chupp and Stan Marks (both Bethel students). I was very thirsty, so I decided to get up and get a drink of water. In my dream, though, I was unfamiliar with the layout of my living quarters, so I did not know where to go.

I walked out of the section of room I was in and tried to find a fountain or a kitchen or a sink. In the process, I passed the beds of several people I know, including Caitlin Geeslin, Nathan Galvez, Jonathan Ayee, and Jordan Miller (all Regent students). Then I entered the biggest room I have ever seen. There were towers of bunk beds reaching up and over 100 feet in height, with a person on each one. There must have been thousands of people in there (if not more). Then I found Kevin Chupp (which does not make sense, since he was back in my room sleeping) in a bed listening to a large pink iPod. He began to show me some very good folk rock music, and we listened to that for quite some time.

Then I realized that I had a meeting with the bullied people (the same people from earlier in the dream). I left Kevin and ran outside, hopped in my car, and drove through pitch black to another enormous building. I entered the place and found that there was a class going on there (taught by Keuthan, and the place looked similar to a chemical plant that one would view in an old super-hero cartoon), so the meeting took place in a side room, with all the usual people, with a couple extra (Nathan Galvez and Caitlin Geeslin). Unlike the former group that actually was created to defend weaklings being tormented by bullies, this anti-bully group was more of a get together and talk group than a take action group. All we did was talk, about trivial things, and we threw some popcorn in the microwave, ate it, and watched a movie.

Then I was in a different dream. Instead of being at the anti-bully meeting, I was at a gnarly old house, very small, in the middle of the night, playing the trumpet. In real life I struggle to accomplish this feat, but I was having no problem in my dream throwing down some sweet bluesy trumpet solos. An old African American blues player was in the other room, hollerin' the blues as I played it on the trumpet. We were quite good, and when the song was finished, the old guy walked into the room I was in, patted me on the back, and said, "Boy, you can really tear that thing to pieces."

After the two of us smoked some cigarettes (I do not partake in these in real life, but it seemed natural in the environment I was in), I decided to go home with my trumpet. My house was ten miles from where I was, but I went by foot regardless.

After about a mile, Caitlin Geeslin pulled up beside me in her car, rolled down the passenger window, and asked if I wanted a ride. Because I was tired, I accepted.

Then I switched to yet another dream. Instead of playing the blues on the trumpet, I was the drum major of the Oregon-Davis High School Marching Band, and I even wore the ridiculous oversized, fuzzy hat, and I twirled a baton. I was leading the band in an upbeat song that resembled something one would hear at a college basketball game. However, the setting was very odd. We were all marching in a field of tall brown grass, with nothing else in sight. We were also marching toward another marching band, John Glenn High School's marching band (led by Adam Pearish), as if we were about to fight an old school European battle.

Right before the two bands collided, my father called me and told me that my older brother had accidentally shot himself in the head and would soon pass away. He had purchase a handgun and, on that very same day, accidentally set it off while it was in his pants. The bullet ricocheted off the floor and into his head. He was in the hospital, still alive, but they didn't give him long to live. I couldn't believe that a stupid accident could have such painful permanence.

After thinking about the news for a few moments, I awoke.

Dream #171 (April 4, 2010)

Sorry.

I don't remember much of this dream at all. The only thing I can recall is an image of me marching down an old town, playing my baritone.

I know there was much more to it, but I cannot bring it into my conscious right now.

Dream #170 (April 3, 2010)

Another interesting dream, probably a result of what I ate about an hour before bed combined with my already strange subconscious.

The first dream took place in some sort of odd overpopulated version of Greenbrier (near Virginia Beach, VA). It was the middle of the night, and I was parking my car in the parking lot of a two story Taco Bell. Actually, the Taco Bell was on the second floor of a two-story building. The first floor was an empty, wallless place with a dirt floor.

After I parked the car, I climbed the trashy metal stairs up to the Taco Bell, expecting to meet my friend Nathan Galvez there. When I got inside, I was surprised to discover that the Taco Bell doubled as a club in the middle of the night. There were all kinds of bright and colorful lights flashing, and there were all kinds of occasionally visible people dancing and eating tacos. However, none of those people was Nathan Galvez. As I searched for him I was often embarrassed by taping strangers on the shoulder, mistaking them for people I know.

After many failures I returned to my car and drove around aimlessly for a while. When I could not find anyone, I called Nathan. He informed me that he was indeed at Taco Bell, so I turned the car around and went back. When I got back, I went to the first floor instead of the second, thinking I would have better luck there. I was wrong. I only found pillars and dirt.

Then I was suddenly in a different dream. I was sitting through a college lecture on the stage of a theater. On this stage were many theater seats, and the curtain was blocking the students from seeing anything. Only a few moments into the lecture, the professor (wearing a brown sweater-vest and glasses) left the front of the class and drew back the curtain, revealing a blue sky with white clouds. We were in the air.

Then I was taken into yet another dream. Now this is very strange, both hard to follow and hard to explain. Anyway, I was in a Tim Burton film. Even so, I had no idea what was going to take place next. It was as if I was watching the film and being in the film at the same time. I was even critiquing the camera shots and other movie elements as the dream progressed. To make things even more strange, I was a six-foot-tall Kermit the Frog wearing a pirate's outfit, and Nathan Galvez and I were walking through the eerie first floor of the Taco Bell in the first part of the dream. As we walked through, several ghosts passed by us, not acknowledging our existence. Everything was in black and white except for me and a few occasional uses of color. Then a Christmas tree attacked Nathan and I. Though it was in black and white, it had a red Santa hat on. It quickly wrapped Nathan and I up in its branches and began choking us.

Then I awoke.

Dream #169 (April 2, 2010)

This is short.

Last night I was in the basement of Koontz Lake Missionary Church teaching a course on lighting for drawing with a pencil. There were only about five students in the class, two of which I knew (my neighbor, Morgan Ferch, and Katie Schewnk). After handing out the lesson, I went into a dark closet and sat in silence. A little while later, Morgan knocked on the door and asked for assistance on behalf of her and Katie. They were struggling with seeing all the characteristics of the light in the room.

I first pointed out the dimness of it, then indicated that the light had a warm feeling to it, for it was amber and soft. I then pulled out a Polaroid camera and took a picture, giving it to Morgan as I explained that the photo could be used as a reference to what they should draw. Then I returned to my closet.

Then I awoke.

Dream #168 (April 1, 2010)

Here.

The first part of the dream was a surreal adventure through a giant jungle (or maybe I was just small). I was the captain of a bunch of young men, and Kody Heffelfinger was my assistant. Together we led the teenagers through the jungle as we searched for a hidden temple. The entire world we were in was covered in giant leaves, vines, and trees.

After climbing up a giant vine about 200 feet, we reached the top of the leaves. When we did so, we noticed our enemies, which were a bunch of short goblins in armor. We knew that we had to hurry across the leaves if we were to avoid a violent battle. So, with me in the front and Kody in the rear, we leapt from leaf to leaf. There were several close calls, and I believe one of our companions slipped and fell into a green abyss.

After an exciting journey across the leaves, we found a vine that we could slide down, back to solid ground. I had everyone else go first. When it was my turn, I cut the vine from the leaf so that the goblins could not follow us. I took a breath and swung on the vine toward the ground. I don't know how I survived.

When I reached my companions, I was surprised to discover that they had discovered the ancient temple, which resembled an old elementary school near my parents' home. Were we in the future? I did not find out.

I switched over to another dream in which I was a volunteer police officer. My partner, Adam Pflugshaupt, and I were on a dock on a the ocean. Though the town we were in resembled something out of the 1800s, Adam and I were watching a Muppet movie on a portable DVD player.

As we were enjoying ourselves, the police captain called and informed us that we were to take over a dangerous case in the stead of Bo Ennis. I did not understand this, for Bo is a great police officer (in real life and in the dream). However the captain insisted that Bo had a poor work ethic and struggled too much with depression to work on that particular case. I grew suspicious, because I knew Bo to be very good. I was also a little angry, for I was enjoying the Muppet movie Adam and I were watching, which involved sword fights, pirates, and puns.

Shortly after the captain called, I awoke.