I drempt I was in my den, being told by Arthur C. Clarke that I should have built a second story above the room.

I tried to tell him that there wasn't the foundation for a second level, and he insisted that with the proper steel I-beam framing, it would have been possible, and still should be done.

I'm not sure why the esteemed science fiction author was giving me unsolicited building advice, but it made me feel guilty for not having the forsight to have done "correctly" in the first place.

This is the first dream I've remembered in a couple of weeks, mostly because I've been too tired to recall anything but the slightest twisted fragments of images, most of which were disturbing enough to make me wake up before getting too much into them.

The last memorable dream before that was being a passenger while driving with my friend, and we had missed a freeway exit and gotten onto the wrong freeway, due to my bad directions. We ended up driving into a totally non-freeway place, like a the middle of a department-type store, and there were people with shopping carts we had to dodge all the way as we drove through. I had my eyes mostly on her, as I was worried that she would be freaked out about taking the car through a mall, but she seemed to be fine with it; probably better than I would have been, dream or real life.

In fragments, I remember dreaming about being in a restroom stall, trying to keep people from looking in as I hid from them. I think I might have been undressed too, which added a whole other level to why I didn't want to be seen.

I also remember taking someone to a secret hidden room, in quite a panic, while being pursued by someone or something that was very close. I think I got to the room with them, and tried to lock the door, but was unable and whatever it was got in.

I've had a few bits where I was trying to pursue someone, and find them before they got away and take them somewhere. Might have been related to the previous fragment.

A common connection to this one has been previous reoccuring dreams of doing this in version of my old high school. I never actually find the person, and alwaysdecide to leave, and have to sneak past the principals and assistant-principals to get out of the school before it's locked up, even though in the dream I know I am no longer a student there. I usually end up having to sneak through a gap in a fence before I'm seen.

The new twist has been doing this not in my high school but in other locales. In the last fragment I remembered, I'm not sure where it took place.

It's quite annoying to have just enough of a dream to wake up scared and not be able to go back to sleep immediately. It's like the worst of possible dreaming scenarios. Certainly everyone would like to have a nice long positive fantasy dreams nightly, including me, but I'd even take nothing over short and disturbing.

Some people say they can control their dreams, and kind of run the show while in REM. I've only been able to do that about 2 times ever, and only sort of. I remember having a "flying" dream where I could recall I was dreaming, but I didn't really fly as much as glide and bounce of the ground a few times. I even recall wondering in my dream why I couldn't fly even if I knew it was a dream and thought I could control it. It was very disappointing.

Well, off to bed. We'll see how tonight goes.