Thread: The Deadly Month of April

Fact: Did you know that the number four is considered somewhat unlucky in Japan? "Shi", the word for the number four is also the word for death in Japanese; which is why "Shi" is often replaced with "Yon" (which also means four). "Shigatsu" is the month of April in Japanese--which is the fourth month of the year. I dub April "Death month."

I have a bad feeling about the month of April...

Call me crazy, but it's true. I've been having these crazy ass dreams during the last five days of March and the first nine days of April. Some scary, some violent--others are both. I had a dream the other day that I was followed home and somehow these two guys got past the security door at my apartment complex. I get my door unlocked and before I can enter my home, I'm held at gunpoint. I woke up at that point. By the time I went back to sleep--hoping the dream would be a different one--I found myself in the same dream but being shot several times. That woke me back up quickly!

I think it's because my work schedule changed for this month.

Every Thursday, I work from 1pm to 9:45pm which sucks because, I hate traveling on foot or via bus past 9pm. I've been robbed/attacked way too many times (I carry a kick ass knife now because of which). I don't go out at night unless I'm traveling in a pair/group, or if I'm getting dropped off at my apartment building. I think I'm gonna cab home on Thursdays. My neighborhood isn't horrible, but I don't trust the night. Not to mention, I'm still techically in North Minneapolis (Brooklyn Center is half a block away and is a watered down Minneapolis). I have to bus through the neighborhoods that I got jumped/robbed in. Maybe I'm just reading too much in to my dreams.

Zen teachings say that when we dream, it's because our minds aren't calm/clear. Other friends and co-workers of mine tell me that the older you are, the more in tune with your instincts you are; which makes you worry more about survival--keeping yourself safe... No, alive. I'm at a fork in the road. The rational part of me says that it's no big deal, that I just need to calm myself and keep carrying my knife. But the irrational, "I'm not only learning by experience but over-reacting at the same time," defensive part of me says to be prepared for impending doom.

I suppose only time will tell me whether or not this month ends without a hitch.