"I bet you can't wait to go to sleep … "

I woke up a week ago with five perfectly parallel scratches on my shoulder. They're deep enough to have lasted a week. They're too close together to be from my own fingernails. They rather resemble a cat's scratch, but I do not own a cat. Unless I somehow managed to drag a very sharp fork (with five tines) over my shoulder while I slept, I have no idea from where they came.

I dreamed I got my tattoo a few nights ago, too. Perhaps the same night. It didn't hurt as much as I expect it to.

Last night I dreamed about driving around rural Iowa, trying to make my way toward Dubuque. After stopping to ask for directions and taking a wrong turn down a dirt road, I eventually reached that riverside city. But I couldn't find the person for whom I was looking.

Later, I dreamed I was at Navy Pier with my parents. J. walked in the doors, said "Welcome back" and disappeared around a corner. I went after him, but he was gone.

This is the second time I've had a variation on a "searching Dubuque" dream. I have vehicular dreams that indicate anxiety, but I have no idea what the unfufilling search means.