Druncles

I had a conversation this week about how everyone's got at least one "druncle" - an uncle that gets drunk at family events and causes a scene, possibly groping his female relatives and cursing loudly. I don't really have that uncle. The closest thing I have to a druncle is my dad's brother, who I hear drinks quite a bit, but who has never caused a scene at any family events I have attended. Of course, it probably helps that we don't serve alcohol at our family events. That substantially lowers the druncle potential.

I got some bad news about Uncle Ron this morning. He has terminal cancer, and they don't think he'll make it to see 2008. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm sad, of course. I am trying to remember what he's like since we only saw him once every three years or so. It took him a while to get it together, but at this stage in his life, he has a good job, he has been married for almost 10 years, and by anyone's standard's, he is successful. I remember when I was 4 years old, we visited him in New Orleans, and he gave me Mardi Gras coins. I think I still have those somewhere.

I think I'm mostly sad for my father. He lost his dad in 2003, his mom last year, and now his little brother is dying. He lives in the Middle East, so he's trying hard to come home as soon as possible so he can get here before it's too late. Besides my brother and me, Uncle Ron is his closest relative. Once he's gone, my dad will be the only one left of the family he grew up in. He's way too young for that to be the case. I really hope he makes it back in time to say goodbye.

So I am preparing to have to fly to Jackson at the drop of a hat sometime this week or next. Jonathan probably won't come, but for the first time since early childhood I feel comfortable enough with my dad's family that I don't feel like I need Jonathan there. I wish there was more I could do besides just wait for the phone call.

PhD Applications

I sent my first one off last night, and the next one is due on Monday. It was extremely scary to hit that "Submit" button. Now the waiting begins...

Car Closure

Heard from our insurance company today re: Dolores. They totalled her. We expected to get about $2,000 for her, and we would have been pretty happy with that. To our delight, State Farm is giving us $4,054.02! Unbelievable! There's no way we could have sold her for that much money. Maybe having our car stolen wasn't so bad after all.

Deportation Dream

Jonathan and I were in a French airport, on our way to visit our friends in France. However, when we tried to go through customs, they wouldn't let us through. We had to fill out some forms, and there would be a committee meeting to vote on whether or not we would be allowed in the country. I was wandering around the airport looking for a Diet Coke when the guy who had taken our application walked up to me and said, "I just wanted you to know that I will be recommending very strongly that you two be sent home tomorrow." I asked him why, and he said, "Americans are obnoxious." I'm pretty sure he added something else about how he didn't want American missionaries in France. I said something like, "Explain to me how us visiting friends here for a week hurts your country." Then it was the next morning, and we were still in the airport waiting to hear. There was a really nice French guy who was very friendly sitting in our seats, and he asked me where Jonathan was. I said, "Probably off getting deported, you ass." Then we had a really nice conversation, and then I noticed that like half the airport was wearing "Team Clark" T-shirts, like they all wanted us to win our little battle.

The End.

Another Animal Mutilation Dream

I was on a "Survivor"-like show, and I had to kill a rabbit. The one I had was a white rabbit, and it was already partially skinned, but alive. I decided the quickest and most humane way to kill it would be to slit its throat, so I took out a knife and did it. The rabbit kept twitching, and I could feel its heart still beating. I decided to cut its head off completely, but the knife couldn't cut the spinal cord. I felt terrible because I didn't want the animal to suffer, but I just couldn't cut through the bone. I stopped cutting, and the rabbit sat up, alive. There was blood everywhere, but somehow, the rabbit's fur was still white.

Here's the analysis:

Hunting:
Looking for something you lack, such as information, knowledge, enlightenment, power, self-confidence, self-esteem, relationship, job, etc.
An attempt to feel more powerful by dominating less powerful beings, based on feelings of powerlessness or self-hatred

To dream that you hunt and kill an animal, signifies that you are trying to repress or destroy an instinctive part of yourself.

Rabbit:
Vulnerability, sensitive, running from problems, fertile or proliferating.

In our dreams, rabbits can represent luck, quickness, fertility, pregnancy, or magic. However, they can also symbolize the dreamer's lack of consciousness or awareness.

Skin:
To dream that you or someone else is skinless, suggests that you are having difficulties in sensing your emotional and psychological world. You are experiencing anxieties about how you are being perceived by others. You need to look beyond the superficial and find the sensitive truth about yourself and about others.

Animal Fur or Skin:
Protection from or fear of an undesirable social experiences or harsh environment
A need to feel powerful over one's environment (often based in feelings of inadequacy)
A sense of entitlement or self-righteousness
Primitive attempt at self-preservation
Lack of compassion or reverence for living things

Decapitation/Beheading:
To dream that you or someone else is being beheaded, signifies poor judgment or a bad decision that you have made and regretted.

This dream suggests that the dreamer is losing control. In a decapitation there is a dramatic and violent separation of the head from the body. Under normal circumstances the mind controls and directs the body. This dream suggests that the dreamer may be under the control of his bodily drives and may be separated from rational thoughts and feelings. Disassociation may be occurring in regard to some behavior or issue in life. However, this dream may have other meanings. This includes excessive concern about punishment and indicates that there may be severe pressure and anxiety in the dreamer's life.

Spine:
Ability to support and stand up for yourself. Inner strength, perseverance, maintaining integrity.

To dream about yours or someone else's spine, represents your support system and responsibilities.

Resurrection:
Something or someone being resurrected can represent the following (actual, desired, feared, or imagined):
A new beginning or a rebirth, such as the beginning of a new phase or project
A transformation, such as through personal growth or some sort of personal makeover
A second chance

Anxiety, anyone?