Stress Dreams

I get these dreams where the same motif appears when I'm stressed out. Stupid things like trying to drive the car sitting in the wrong place - like the back seat. Spending the whole dream looking for a clean bathroom. Getting on an elevator that shoots past the right floor.

Lately they are slightly different:

- helping some new refugees try to buy clothes - they don't know their size, are stymied by the cost and each get talked into a store credit card in order to get a discount. After the second one, I get the store manager who tells off the sales clerk for giving credit to someone who is going to drown with the interest in a few months. It is also Christmas Eve (a common theme in my stress dreams) and I am trying to finish up these transactions before the stores close.

- a bizarre dream of trying to figure out which "people" are really computers. Shooting them works at first, but then we realise that they have gotten smarter and have started booby trapping themselves to blow up if shot. For some reason I don't actually shoot anyone - but I travel with this person who does the shooting. The stress of not being the shooter is so much about me being a control freak

- lost at York University. My mom and brother come to see a lecture of a favourite professor. My brother goes upstairs to get gum but doesn't come back. I go to look for him and get lost - I know which building I'm supposed to be in but can't figure out how to get there. All the students I stop and ask are night students who have never been in the building I am looking for. I am in a total panic as hours have passed by, we are all separated and I have not taken my cell phone.

And today an afternoon nap has left me with this one (my sermon put me to sleep!). I drive to the church scheduled to preach. The church doesn't look quite the same but I see people I recognize. They give me a white robe to wear. I'm not happy about that - white looks ridiculous to preach in! I try to get the thing on but the arm holes are sewn shut. I curse the pageant director for sewing the sleeves shut in an effort to make angel costumes at Christmas (which makes total sense if you think about them as wings). Meanwhile, I realise I'm running a bit late, there are very few spots at the front to sit and I'm wedged in. I'm surprised to see we have gone the route of drama and sit through a bizarre African inspired offering. I realise at this point that my sermon is sitting on the passenger seat of the car. I try to decide which is worse, whinging it without my notes or leaving the packed church in the middle of service to retrieve my script.

- I also had a funeral home dream - the funeral home that my relatives pick is absolutley crammed with history but also the most chaotic combination of function and display. Old stained glass windows, sitting areas for tea, different rooms where people wait to go to the main chapel for the service. It is run by some old Scottish lady who is actually the cleaner for the church next door. The place is a nightmare and I can't remember why but I walk out of the funeral for some family reason refusing to attend.

- a hospital dream where I still work at the hospital sort of. I get interviewed by a new safety consultant who asks me questions about fire safety. The interview takes place in an open area and the lab techs behind me are whispering and not being very kind. I finally turn my chair sideways but they continue. I insist we move the interview somewhere else. In the new room we are in the interviewer starts clutching his chest. I ask him if he is having a heart attack and then ask if he wants me to call a Code Blue. I pick up the phone but for the life of me I can't remember the number for a Code Blue. I end up going out into the hallway screaming at nurses and techs that I have a Code. They laugh, the few that look like they are concerned at first then start to laugh. I freak out running down to ER to try to find a nurse. I then figure out that the whole thing was BS and it was actually a test to see whether employees felt comfortable in empowerment and confrontation. I promise to sue the b&&&#d for the mental anguish he has put me through - I spend the rest of the dream trying to figure out if it was really a test or if the guy actually died.

I am hoping that after I preach these dreams will go away, I don't normally have so many for so long - these have just been over the past week and they leave me feeling very unsettled - and tired!

Etsy

Oh no! I have been introduced to this website called Etsy. Its like ebay but you buy the goods without bidding. Saw some cool things and I have found I have a fondness for old syrupy greeting cards so I bought a few. They are practical because they can be used and they end up cheaper then store bought as long as you are careful with the shipping costs.

I spent so much time on their last night - but it didn't interupt my work because I was supposed to be sleeping!

Where Have I Been?

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. I had a great birthday, had lunch with a friend and the time flew. Another friend had a successful surgery. Ooh, I got a glass teapot with those flowers that "bloom" in the water. I have wanted one for a while.

Its been a fast few weeks. Preached and have another date this Sunday. Still have one easy peasy paper to do which really should have been done last week. I vow to have it finished soon!

Spent the afternoon working on my WillowdaleCares church network. Creating a registration form for churches who want to join. And I got business cards last night. I'm a bit worried that this will fizzle but I have back up plans and lots of ideas for community ministry in the fall!