Watashi no yume wo miteimasu ka?

I am wicked tired today. I'm having one of those mornings that is accompanied with a headache and what feels like jet lag. Weird.

I've been going hard-core this week with judo. I've got a test next Saturday and Yoshida-sensei has scolded me several times. He's making me practice everyday. I'm OK with that, but it's really making me tired. The other side effect I've noticed has been really vivid, strange dreams.

Last night I dreamed that I was with a small group of people (I don't remember who was with me, but I know I wasn't alone.) in a developing foreign country. We were walking through what I imagined to be farmland with a fair share of marshes mixed in. We were told to be careful of the hippos. If we scared them, they'd chase us down and chomp on us with their big jaws. Even though we tried our hardest, we did upset the beasts and that started a long and sweaty chase scene in my head. I remember being stuck at a fork in the road, and I was determined to take the high path, even though it lead to a thicket of Dorian trees (which I had on good authority to know that hippos adore the stinky fruit). We finally found respite in a rickety shack that was trying to play it cool and pass of a cafe atmosphere. Just as my crew and I settled in and ordered some fruity drinks, two young women walked in and sat at a table. The TV happened to be on and showing mug shots of the women. They were wanted for murder. It became obvious that we saw the pictures, and them and they weren't happy about that. That event started another chase, and stressed me out about having to go back into hippo territory. The dream finally ended when someone I was with found the skin of one of the ladies' murder victim under a rock in the ocean close to where we were swimming.


Random, right?


The night before I dreamed I was leaving Japan, but heading for Papa New Guinea and I hadn't told anyone at home in Colorado that I was going. I was starting a new project out there and it would keep me away from home for two years or more.


The night before that I dreamed I was in a horrible fight with a friend from here. We were physically beating on each other in a handful of public places and I remember really, really trying hard to hurt her. We only made up when we saw someone we both knew and have a joke about. He was wearing really tight pants in my dream. That is the joke.

I don't know why I'm having these dreams, nor do I know why I am able to remember them with such detail. All I know is that they are adding to my fatigue. But, the test will be over in a week and I'll go back to my twice-a-week routine. I bet the freaky dreams will curtail too.