Dream Fragment

I am often haunted by dreams that I didn't bother to write down, since so many of my dream motifs repeat themselves, or else the dream was long and hard to remember, or I was in a hurry and didn't have time to record it.

The fragment I keep remembering involves being in a gigantic terraced garden at night. The garden was part of a large college campus, and in the dream I found myself walking around the campus, going into the theater, walking through halls I wasn't supposed to be in. At some point in the dream--the most vivid in my memory--I am lost on the terrace. Because it's dark, I am having a hard time finding my way back home.

Napping in the Baggage Claim

It is late afternoon, and being autumn, it is completely dark out. I'm taking a late nap, and I open my eyes briefly. My window looks directly out onto a baggage claim conveyor belt. I see a Timbuk2 bag go by and at first, I think it's mine, and I leap out of bed to retrieve it. As I wake up a bit, I realize it's not my bag, but one that I recognize very well (from a logo sewed onto it)--it's my ex's bag. I also recognize her suitcase alongside it.

I throw on my clothes and run over to the platform, where my ex is standing, waiting for a train. I say a cheerful hello, which I know is odd considering we are not on speaking terms, but I figure it's such a crazy coincidence that I might as well make something of it.

We stand looking at the stars and the cloud formations for a while, and catch up. Of course, we are laughing a lot. I tell her a story about my newest housemate, and how I'm always talking about him. After a while, she announces she has to get on that train, so I bid her farewell. By now it has gotten a bit late, and I realize I need to stop into a drugstore so I can buy a thank-you card. I'm in a plaza that opens right into a Walgreens, but unfortunately, they close early. I debate whether or not I want to walk to the next one that is open.

Bombs in the Air

I am in a large group of spectators, looking up into the sky. Next to me on one side are friends and family, and on the other, a young man, maybe 20 years old. The man (well, boy) and I are making out. We periodically look to the sky to see the first of three large-scale bomb detonations that are taking place today. The first two aren't supposed to be particularly scary or impressive; we're all just here because it's a historical moment.

The boy and I are making out rather enthusiastically. At one point I tell him, "But you're just a boy...and I'm just a girl." I feel a bit of ambivalence; it's clear he's just a bit of crumpet for the day.

I overhear someone in the crowd say that the 3rd bomb is a nuclear weapon. Why I believe him, I'm not sure, but I mention this to my friends. "What if it is a nuclear weapon? Are we really just going to let this happen?" I think to myself, maybe I should write to the President and tell him, but I can't imagine he wouldn't already know this. It seems clear that this is a done deal, and all we can do is just wait for it. I look to the sky, bracing myself for the inevitable moment of doom.

Groundhog Day

James Husband

IRL, I lay down to take a nap around 4 p.m., with laundry going in the dryer and mentally preparing to cook dinner in the evening.

I dreamt that I was waking up, putting on my clogs, and moving about the room looking for my clothes. I could hear James Husband emerging from the adjoining bedroom. He was my housemate. "Fancy seeing you here. You're almost never around." As soon as I spoke the words I realized I hadn't woken up yet, and was still asleep on my side.

I woke again, put on my clogs, and looked around at everything I needed to do. I had a series of posters I was going to put up around my room, in my parents' house; I was decorating it, trying to re-do the whole thing, after getting rid of a lot of the furniture and starting over again. The task seemed incredibly daunting, and I felt the urge to return to bed, when I realized I still hadn't stirred, was still asleep on my side, still drooling on the pillow as I had been all along.

I dreamt about putting on my clogs again, and looked at the clock. It was nearly 8 p.m. I felt horrible that I had slept so long, but as I thought this I realized I still had not actually awakened. In fear of dreaming the whole thing again, I forced myself out of deep r.e.m. sleep. It felt much forcing myself to the surface of a deep lake. I stood up quickly, still groggy, and saw that it was only 5:20.

The Store Next Door

I am living in an apartment in a complex that is situated over a quaint outdoor shopping mall. It is christmas time, and for some reason, I am walking around looking in the shop windows. All the stores are closed, yet lit up on the inside, and I am in danger, but I'm not exactly sure of what. One of the things I notice inside one of the stores is that there are some incredibly, ridiculously valuable gems hidden among the items in one of the windows, and I know that they are actually gifts for all of us at the hospital I work in, but if anyone looks in the shop window and sees the gems, they're going to be stolen.

Suddenly, I am at work. I am in a back part of the hospital, and I open up a door looking for some stock. The door opens onto the warehouse area of a very large chain pet store that is next door to the hospital. I see an absolutely enormous bag of Jonny Cat cat litter, which must be where the stock comes from that they use; I get confused at first because I think I've stumbled upon the stock that we use, but I'm wrong. At that moment, one of the managers of the store comes up to our door with an employee that he needs to have a talk with, and tries to come in our back room. "NO WAY," I tell him, "just because you are next door does NOT give you the right to just barge in to our hospital and use our facilities. This is private property!"

1972 P.O.S.

I am on Broadway Avenue in Oakland. I'm on my bike, and I need to make a left turn, so I decide to do it from the left turn lane. All of a sudden, I'm waiting to make the turn in an old white VW Squareback,  but the shifter lever (attached to the steering wheel) has completely broken off, and I can't change gears. I am a little panicked, because I can't seem to move, and I miss the first light.

I decide I have to find a place to roll the car to a stop. I make my way to the right side of the street, right behind a couple who are trying to park a burgundy-colored car, and I roll up to park behind them, but I'm a little too close to their car, and a good four feet from the sidewalk, but I can't put the car in reverse. I consider getting out and pushing, but decide I'm much too headachey and tired.

I take the bus home, where I ask my dad if he can ask my aunt's husband if he'll come help me fix the gearshift. He agrees, and then my aunt and her husband ask each other what time it is. They look at each other and say "Oh, well that leaves plenty of time for sex." I scoff at this, and complain that the reason I never like a particular t.v. show is that the couple characters were constantly talking about having sex. I then imitate the couples saying this to one another, and I'm very annoyed.

Storage

I am with my parents, and we are going to clean out our storage unit. The unit is actually rather large, the size of a small apartment, and is broken up into odd sections. I am concentrating on a section that has a lot of books, which I am going through to see if there are any that I want. At one point, I am trying to pick up my clothes and put them in a suitcase, but I'm having a hard time. It is getting late, and we are trying to get another load in the truck and get out, but for some reason, my mom doesn't want to leave without vacuuming a pantry-style door clean of dust. I am really annoyed with her for keeping me awake so long, just to do something she could do another time.