Contrary to what the title of this post is, this won't be my confessions of how I dream of going to Hollywood to become a famous actor or actress or director or... sound... mixer... anyway.
No. I had an insane dream about a week ago and I can't shake it.
Allow me to set the scene here. (Assume that everything I say from this point on was in my dream, unless otherwise stated.)
I was watching a movie by myself. The movie starred Matthew McConaughey. He worked as a member on a cargo ship, while the vessel was carrying something like oil. You know, not important cargo at all.
Like most movies, the film goes from calm to intense so abruptly I almost get whiplash. While one second it is serenely moving toward its destination, in the next frame the cargo ship explodes! And who is the lone survivor, left to drift out to sea on a tiny lifeboat? That's right. It's Matthew McConaughey. Alright, alright, alright!
Unfortunately, Matthew was severely injured in the explosion. He's pretty cut up all over his face and his left arm is hanging on by a couple of ligaments. You can literally see the tendons in his arm where all the flesh has been burned off. This is some gruesome stuff. I'm pretty sure this dream is rated R. At least PG-13.
As he is floating in the middle of the ocean the heat is relentless and he begins to lose hope. His lips are dry with thirst and his eyes are half closed - a mixture of seasickness and exhaustion. A breeze picks up, but he doesn't even notice. When the wind starts to make the water choppy, the little lifeboat begins to sway more and more. The waves grow and grow until the lifeboat tips over and Matthew McConaughey falls out.
He's swimming under water and trying frantically to reach the surface. It is now that Matthew's voice begins to narrate the scene. He starts talking about how he was trying to swim with all his might. But in his frantic paddling he used too much force and his fragile left arm fell off completely. As he continues to scramble, kicking his feet and waving his right arm around uselessly, you can see his left arm slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
As he's swimming he makes a pained expression and inexplicably all of the skin on his face peels off in one even strip. His narration at this part was, and I quote, "I knew my face peeled off because I could feel the salt water entering my nasal passage. And it hurt like hell."
While I'm watching him scramble for air I can feel myself start to panic. Will he make it? Do I have to watch him die? Then, seamlessly, it's not Matthew drowning anymore. It's me. I am four feet under water and using every ounce of strength I have to make it to the top.
Fortunately, I have all my limbs and my face to aid in my survival. I remember being aware of this fact and thinking I was in much better condition than he was to be swimming. But as I flailed my limbs, I got nowhere. I knew that I was swimming correctly because my grandma had taught me when I was a kid. But there was something blocking me from getting to air. I knew I was running out of time so I started a fight between dream Nicole and semi-conscious Nicole.
"Just take a breath."
"I can't. I'll only breathe in water."
"But you have to breathe."
"I can make it to the surface."
"No, you can't. You're not going to make it."
"I have to or I'll die in the ocean."
"Breathe! Breathe right now!"
"It will only be water and Matthew said it hurts like hell!"
That's when I woke up, desperately gasping for breath. I'm not sure if I was holding my breath in my sleep or if I was panting because I was panicking. Either way, it was one of the strangest dream experiences of my life.
Author's Note: This is when I tell you that my greatest physical fear is drowning.
No. I had an insane dream about a week ago and I can't shake it.
Allow me to set the scene here. (Assume that everything I say from this point on was in my dream, unless otherwise stated.)
I was watching a movie by myself. The movie starred Matthew McConaughey. He worked as a member on a cargo ship, while the vessel was carrying something like oil. You know, not important cargo at all.
Like most movies, the film goes from calm to intense so abruptly I almost get whiplash. While one second it is serenely moving toward its destination, in the next frame the cargo ship explodes! And who is the lone survivor, left to drift out to sea on a tiny lifeboat? That's right. It's Matthew McConaughey. Alright, alright, alright!
Unfortunately, Matthew was severely injured in the explosion. He's pretty cut up all over his face and his left arm is hanging on by a couple of ligaments. You can literally see the tendons in his arm where all the flesh has been burned off. This is some gruesome stuff. I'm pretty sure this dream is rated R. At least PG-13.
As he is floating in the middle of the ocean the heat is relentless and he begins to lose hope. His lips are dry with thirst and his eyes are half closed - a mixture of seasickness and exhaustion. A breeze picks up, but he doesn't even notice. When the wind starts to make the water choppy, the little lifeboat begins to sway more and more. The waves grow and grow until the lifeboat tips over and Matthew McConaughey falls out.
He's swimming under water and trying frantically to reach the surface. It is now that Matthew's voice begins to narrate the scene. He starts talking about how he was trying to swim with all his might. But in his frantic paddling he used too much force and his fragile left arm fell off completely. As he continues to scramble, kicking his feet and waving his right arm around uselessly, you can see his left arm slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
As he's swimming he makes a pained expression and inexplicably all of the skin on his face peels off in one even strip. His narration at this part was, and I quote, "I knew my face peeled off because I could feel the salt water entering my nasal passage. And it hurt like hell."
While I'm watching him scramble for air I can feel myself start to panic. Will he make it? Do I have to watch him die? Then, seamlessly, it's not Matthew drowning anymore. It's me. I am four feet under water and using every ounce of strength I have to make it to the top.
Fortunately, I have all my limbs and my face to aid in my survival. I remember being aware of this fact and thinking I was in much better condition than he was to be swimming. But as I flailed my limbs, I got nowhere. I knew that I was swimming correctly because my grandma had taught me when I was a kid. But there was something blocking me from getting to air. I knew I was running out of time so I started a fight between dream Nicole and semi-conscious Nicole.
"Just take a breath."
"I can't. I'll only breathe in water."
"But you have to breathe."
"I can make it to the surface."
"No, you can't. You're not going to make it."
"I have to or I'll die in the ocean."
"Breathe! Breathe right now!"
"It will only be water and Matthew said it hurts like hell!"
That's when I woke up, desperately gasping for breath. I'm not sure if I was holding my breath in my sleep or if I was panting because I was panicking. Either way, it was one of the strangest dream experiences of my life.
Author's Note: This is when I tell you that my greatest physical fear is drowning.
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