Strange dream...

I know I've mentioned it before- the feeling of "cold settling into my muscles" and ending up so stiff and in pain. And it has to be a very cold day for that to happen. I mean, it isn't like I sit here at my desk and catch a chill that immediately invades all my muscles and then camps out in my bones.

Well, not every time, anyway. But it happens. The cold feels like it seeps in and by the time you realize it, you're as cold and stiff as Frosty the Snowman's... nose. Damn, guys, you have a dirty mind.

I've been going through quite a bit of stress lately (well, obviously, because- dammit, Dad!) and my flareups have been all over the place.

So, this dream...

In the dream, I was on some kind of photo walk. That's when a group of photographers of varying skill meet up and walk around taking photos. A lot of photo walks are done in cities (I think the nature hike ones are called something else, but you get my meaning...). So, I was on this photo walk (which is weird in the sense that I don't do photo walks because of the whole "walking" thing) with a group of people I'd never met before. Obviously I knew at least one of them in the dream, because I talked to one person mostly. Some guy who had been on this particular photo walk several times. During the course of our photo walk, we ended up on a cold and windy beach (it felt like Lake Michigan in Milwaukee to me) and after we all snapped photos for a few minutes, everyone put away their camera gear and started taking off their clothes.

I'd been explaining to my unnamed friend how I was so cold that I could barely move. My muscles were frozen and I did the whole "cold settling" explanation. And when he started taking off his clothes, he said: "Since this is your first time, you don't have to participate in this part. Its just something we do- you know, bonding and all."

And like a sitcom, everyone was disrobing and laughing and joking, even poking fun at my obvious modesty. At this point, I said to myself- "Well, this is obviously a dream" because in my dreams, I'm thinner and look a little younger. And I had a fancier camera than I actually have.  In the other types of dreams- I'm as I am now, in my 40s, overweight... So, in this dream, I'm explaining to one of the others that this is so obviously a dream because of my physical appearance. And the group all go into the water. They exclaim and laugh about the chill. And I tell my unnamed friend again that I can't get into the water because of the cold thing. And they're all cool with it and tell me its okay to just wait for them...

And like a sitcom (again)- I see another group of people coming down the path and suddenly, I don't want to be left out and I quickly remove my clothes and shuffle to the water. And the water was really warm. I said: "Wow! The water is so much warmer than I expected!" and everyone chimed in with their agreement.

Then some man called out: "The water is really warm over here!"

Several people groaned and expressed disgust and another man called out: "Everyone stay away from Dave, he's pissed in the lake again!"

I remember thinking: "Aw, Dave, what the hell, man?" and I woke up.

I woke up in my bed, my muscles so sore that I could barely move. I felt like my muscles were that "to the bone cold" and "burning" in pain. I sat up slowly and said: "Dammit, Dave... you had to go and ruin our swim."

So, I've taken pain meds already this morning.

And I'd really like to know what I took photos of on that photo walk before everyone got naked and went swimming.