I'm suffering from OABS

You know, Over-Active Brain Syndrome?

My dreams lately have been so strange and bizarre, that I wake up feeling like I need to go back to sleep. Things like petting a stray dog only to find out it's a rat, having to stab an old woman in the eye with a chopstick to keep her from killing me, eating live bugs...those are the kinds of things that have been popping up in my dreams lately.

Is there anyway to turn my brain off at night? Seriously. I need less eventful dreams or my productivity during the day is going to disappear due to the overwhelming urge to nap. Help!

My Brain Has Betrayed Me

I have a rather active imagination. I am a writer, after all. It's what we do, this active imagining. However, there is no off switch. I wish there was. I'm mentioned this before. See, when I go to sleep, I lose control of my brain and it does whatever it wants, regardless of what I might enjoy.

Take last night for example. I dreamed...it's so hard for me to put this into words...I dreamed I was in some sort of a sad, dramatic movie. I was a Hooter's waitress (not such a stretch, I know) struggling to make ends meet to finance my way through college or dental hygienist school or something like that, in love with a widower who had some sort of degenerative bone disease as played by Tom Cruise (you do realize in real life the top of his head wouldn't pass my sternum?) Tom's son from his late wife was played by that kid from Jerry Maguire, oddly enough. This kid and his coke-bottle glasses came into Hooter's to tell me his father was in the hospital. His bones were crumbling. Cue dramatic music and tears.

Um...I don't even like Mr. Crazy Couch Jumping, Aliens-Among-Us, I Know Everything There Is To Know About Postpartum Depression. I'd actually prefer to squash him like a bug. And yet, my brain decides to play fast and lose with my dreams and that's where he ends up. Gag.

Is there any hope for me? Will my brain continue to torture me this way? Stay tuned for the next episode of..."The Brain That Dreamed Too Much!"

My Crazy Mind

A while back I blogged about how sometimes I dream these wild dreams that feature my writer friends as the cast of characters. Last night was no exception. Unfortunately, the dream's guest of honor made it impossible for me to remember who else was in the dream. See, in my dream, we were hanging out with Nora Roberts.

Apparently, we were at some writer's con and somehow managed to get invited to Nora's suite (I think it started out as a tour since the suite, in my dream, was actually a restored country cottage - think English country, not Alabama.) After showing us through the rooms - I specifically remember a walk-in closet that had once been a bedroom - we ended up lounging around in another sitting room/bedroom area (two beds, many chairs and a chaise for Nora.) In her impeccable winter white suit, she answered questions, showed us a Better Homes and Gardens or Good Housekeeping mag that had featured her and her garden, introduced us to the three young men who served as her stylists (they showed us purses by some new designer they were mad for) and was generally a gracious and charming hostess.

Not that I expected her to be any different. Granted, this was just a dream, but how cool, right? Guess I should eat chips & salsa, dark chocolate Hershey kisses and pink lemonade for dinner more often.

What did you dream about last night?