Thread: The Celestial Toyroom

7/11/2007

# 54: “Almost Caught”

CENSORED, sorry!

7/12/2007

# 55: “(Not) Sneaking Away With AE”

I’m a student at a high school that is superficially similar to my high school. One of my teachers is an extremely attractive woman, dressed in a way I like, and I am following behind her down a crowded hallway, between class periods. As we walk, I “accidentally” bump into her, brushing one of my hands along her leg. I start to apologize, and she cuts me off, saying that it’s not a problem. Moments later, I pull the same stunt, and once again apologize for the “accident”. Again, she waves off my apology. Emboldened, I drop all pretense of mistake, and place my hand on her leg and leave it there.

“You know you can’t do that,” she scolds, taking my hand away from her leg. She stops however, and an evil gleam comes into her eye. She replaces my hand on her leg, and pulls me off to the side of hallway, into a doorway. The teacher finally turns around, and I see that it is no longer my teacher, it is now AE whose leg I am groping.

“Follow me,” she says, winking, and sets off through the crowd, presumably to some isolated rendezvous spot. I eagerly follow, but we are soon separated in the crowd and I lose sight of her. I am slightly disappointed, but figure that I’ll just meet up with her at her office.

I go up to the top floor of the school, where I know AE’s office is. It is located down a long, narrow hallway that is very isolated. I arrive at the door and knock, but no one answers. I am disappointed, but try to tell myself that it is for the best. I remind myself that AE has a boyfriend now and is trying to move on with her life. (This is true in RL, as well.) My disappointment abates, and I start to feel like I have done the right thing.

I remember that I am late for class, and hurry to the classroom, which is located on the ground floor of this school. The class is some sort of Shop class, and the students sit in groups of 4-6 at large wooden worktables arranged around the room. I hurry in and take my seat, and notice that AE is sitting directly across from me. Because class is starting, we are unable to talk about what had just happened, but we exchange looks.

After talking for a while, the teacher tells us to break up into small groups and begin work on our projects. My earlier reservations disappear, and I look forward to getting Amanda alone to continue what happened earlier. I glance at her, and it looks like she is thinking the same thing.

The class stands up and begins to mill around, partners seeking out partners. I head towards the door, expecting AE to follow me. I look back and see that she is still seated at the table, and I walk over and ask her what’s going on.

“Uh, we’re staying in here, we’re not going anywhere,” she says, as though sneaking off to have sex was the furthest thing from her mind. Her tone of voice bothers me, and I respond angrily.

“Well, you just said that we were going to go off and work on our ‘project’,” I say, making sure she understands what I mean. She shakes her head again.

“No, we’re not doing that,” she says severely. I am still upset, but don’t want to cause a scene. I’m sure that she knew exactly what we were going to do, and that she decided at the last minute not to. This bothers me because of the superior way she had rejected my attempts to leave the room, as if the thought had never crossed her mind.

7/12/2007

# 56: “The Band Parade”

I am driving west on L street in my hometown. I am passing the intersection of L and C when I see a line of two or three school buses parked in the east-bound inner lane. I am momentarily surprised, and slow down to see what is going on. I see dozens of kids getting onto the bus. I recognize NR, a band instructor from my middle school as well as my former drum instructor’s wife. She seems to be directing the kids onto the bus.

It dawns on me that this must be the day that the middle school children come to my old high school to give a concert for the school (no such day in RL). I also remember that former band members from my school usually accompany the younger kids in the concert. I continue driving alongside this caravan, heading towards the school.

In front of the buses, I see a line of older people, wearing black graduation-type robes. I decide that these must be the band alumni who will be accompanying the kids. The women’s robes are extremely low-cut, while the men have high-collared robes. As I drive slowly past the processions, I recognize several of my former drum line colleagues. I see AN, JB, and DB. I wave out the window at my old friends, but none of them see me or recognize me. They continue walking in formation.

I pass the last of the black-robed marchers, and come upon a group of marchers wearing what appear to be blankets wrapped around their upper bodies. They are carrying small scepters, and apparently are leading the entire procession. I recognize several, including AK.

After I pass the blanket-wearers, I speed up and continue driving towards my destination.

7/15/2007

# 57: “Incomprehensible Zombie Epic”

(This is probably the hardest recording I have ever had to transcribe. At several points my voice drifts into incomprehensible mumbles; I seem to have fallen asleep at one point, etc. It’s impossible to present this dream as a narrative, but it seems that the zombie infestation situation was a consistent element. Also, several wrestlers are mentioned, though I forgot to record how and when they appeared! Overall, a pretty interesting dream, but not nearly as good as it would have been had it been recorded properly.)

I am in my college town, and there is some kind of zombie infestation going on. However, it is more akin to “28 Days Later” than a regular zombie movie, because the “zombies” aren’t necessarily dead, but infected or crazy, etc. These zombies attack the “normal” people whenever possible.

I’m trying to collect food and supplies to escape the city, but I get attacked by several zombies. I manage to make it back to my apartment building, and manage to get into the garage, locking most of the zombies outside. The few that get in I kill. I look around the garage, and see several dogs wandering around. They are all wearing the special vests that seeing-eye dogs wear. (Recording becomes inaudible.) Eventually, I leave the building and go back outside for supplies, where I somehow meet up with Steve Austin.

We are walking on M Street, and I keep running into people I know. I’m having trouble identifying normal people from zombies, and I usually can’t tell the difference until I am right by the person. I see several people killed by zombies, including MW, an old classmate. This leads to several close calls, but we reach our destination finally, which is a car.

I drive for quite a while, until we reach a large gate. The gate opens for us and I drive inside, where I see my parent’s house. I park the car and Austin and I walk inside. My mom is sitting in the living room, watching three different movies on three different TVs.

Austin and I somehow get into an argument. He thinks I accused him of causing the outbreak. My mom refuses to leave the room, and won’t help us to resolve our conflict.

I finally leave the room, and begin to load several guns. (More happened here, but the recording became incomprehensible.)

Although we’re safe inside the gated area, I feel like it’s important that we leave as soon as possible. A black man and his wife are living with my parents for some reason, and the man has been restrained in a bathroom stall. I notice that Edge is also present, and he seems to be in a world of his own, talking nonstop about the World Heavyweight Championship.

I’m preparing to leave the safety of the house, loading all of the guns I can find and strapping to them my body. Randy Savage is also there, and he offers to accompany me. (Recording inaudible; something about a rocking boat and “Shawn” doing something well.)

7/20/2007

# 58: “High Voltage Basketball”

I am playing basketball with several guys, most of whom I know. I recognize MO, MA, PL and a few guys who I thought of as players from my university team.

We are playing at an outdoor full court somewhere in the middle of town. We begin playing, and because there are so many players, the game is pretty organized, with teams, benches, etc. I begin playing incredibly well, stealing the ball from the Iowa players and making several baskets. I am amazed at my newfound ability, as are the guys present who know me. I was feeling great, because I’m usually terrible at basketball.

At one point, I see that a set of power-lines are drooping down near half-court; they are practically touching the ground. I think about how dangerous this is, but decide that there is little I can do about it. We continue playing, trying to avoid the lines wherever possible. A bit later, the ball rolls under the power-lines, and I know that it is my turn to take the risk to slide under the lines and retrieve the ball. I’m pretty cautious, knowing that I will probably be killed if I touch the lines. I manage to retrieve the ball after a few more minutes, and I am relieved that I survived the attempt. I toss the ball to one of the other players, and we continue playing.

7/21/2007

# 59: “Slumber Party”

I am with JA at the law school. We are working on some kind of project together, possibly for law school. After working for quite a long time, we leave the school and drive to a hotel, where we are shown to our room.

It is a large, luxurious suite. AE is also staying in the room with her “parents”, who I recognize as my old friend BC’s parents. Although I know they are not really AE’s parents, I don’t worry about it.

AE and I are trying to figure a way to get away from everyone to mess around. We try this several times, eventually succeeding.

7/25/2007

# 60: “Night Journey”

I am on a trip of some kind, either a Boy Scout or school outing. At some point, I break away from the group I am with, and pack my bag. I leave the hotel where the group is staying, get in my car, and drive away into the night.

I drive for what seems like a very long time. I have the feeling that I am far, far from home. Eventually, I arrive at a small diner in the middle of farm country. I park the car and walk through the front door of the diner. It is a small place, filled with prefabricated booths. The booth to the left of the front door is occupied by TS (an old girlfriend), her mom, sister and another girl I don’t recognize. I’m surprised to seem them, and immediately look away, hoping that I am not recognized. I walk past the booth with my head turned to the side, but am spotted by Mrs. S.

“Hey Celestial Toymaker, come over here!” She yells, excitedly. Resigned, I walk over and say hi to everyone at the table. I talk to TS briefly, and she is her usual quiet self, though very nice. As I’m talking, I notice that the table behind them is occupied by more people I know, including RW (my old mentor) and JH (a law school friend). RW is sitting with his back to me, and JH hasn’t spotted me yet. I think to myself that they must be on a mock trial trip or something.

I am disappointed when I spot RW and JH, because I had been looking forward to reading a book while I ate, and now feel that I will have to sit and talk with them instead. I say goodbye to TS’s party, and walk away, hoping to go unnoticed by RW and JH. As I’m walking away, I realize that I am shirtless, which I find strange. I’m overcome with embarrassment. I decide to leave, and as I’m walking towards the door, the people at RW’s table notice me.

They call me over, and I wave in return. I tell them that I have to leave, but that I will return and eat with them soon. Not waiting for an answer, I leave the diner, get back in my car, and drive away.

Again, the drive seems to last hours. Eventually, I arrive at a house. Even though it is night, I enter the house, and am shocked to see that the interior looks exactly like my parents’ house. I am stunned, because I am quite sure that this is not my parents’ house. I call out, asking if anyone is home. I hear an answer from the basement, and open the door. I walk down the stairs and stop when I see a woman who vaguely resembles my mom. She is vacuuming with an old-fashioned canister-style vacuum cleaner. The basement, like the rest of the house, is almost identical to my parents’ house.

I ask the woman if she knows where I can buy a shirt. She pauses her vacuuming, thinks for a moment, then answers.

“Well, there’s the WWE store nearby, by the restaurant. You can try there, but I think all they have is key chains and other stuff.” She says. “Or you might try the gas station at the end of the road. I’m not sure if they carry shirts or not.” I thank her, and leave the house. I climb back into my car, and begin driving again.

I only drive for a short while before I arrive back at the same diner I had visited before. I walk in and am surprised to see that both TS’s party and RW’s party have left, even though I had been gone for several hours. I am slightly hurt, because I thought they were going to wait for me. I walk over to RW’s table, and see a folded napkin with my name written on it. I decide that RW must have left me a note, and I pick it up to read it.

The top portion of the note is handwritten, and makes no real sense. The bottom part of the note appears to be typed, and looks like a print-out of an email that RW has sent to all students who have gone on to law school. I decide that they must have left a copy for me to look at. (I don’t remember all of what was in the note, but what I do remember is below.)

“You law students are going to think that it’s unfair, and it is, but the fact is that the law firms are more likely to hire students who live with a roommate. Oh, and AP: I don’t know what to tell you about your father. Maybe you should just dig him up and bring him back to your apartment and try to convince the law firms that he is your roommate.” (AP is a law school classmate of mine who I have barely spoken to. She is not an alumnus of my college, and as far as I know, her father is not dead in RL.) I remember that AP’s father recently died, and I am surprised at RW’s tasteless comment.

7/27/2007

# 61: “Frightening Responsibility”

I have been made responsible of my two year-old niece for a week. She is staying with me in my apartment. I am naturally very anxious and tense about the situation, as I feel unequipped to care for a young kid.

I am out with my neice at a street festival of some kind. My parents and grandparents are also there. I was a nervous wreck, constantly worrying about what my niece was doing. It seemed that every time I looked away or turned my back, my niece would be put into some danger, and all of my family seemed to ignore it, relying on me to step in and save the day.

On one occasion, my niece wanders out into the road where the parade is taking place. I turn in time to see her walk into the path of an oncoming float, and neither my parents nor grandparents even stand, as I dive forward and grab her, pulling her back out of the street and to the curb where we were sitting. I am amazed that my family seems so indifferent and seems to trust me completely to care for niece, something I feel completely unqualified to do!

7/31/2007

# 62: “Hide and Seek”

I am at a high school. I am with a girl who I think of as my girlfriend, an attractive friend of JR’s girlfriend. She is wearing an incredibly tight, short pink dress, and looks amazing.

We are at the high school for some kind of outdoor event. My girlfriend is with a group of her friends on the other side of a large field where the event is taking place. I am with JR on the opposite end of the field, and we start walking over to join the girls. The girls playfully start hiding from us, and JR, myself, and Andre the Giant begin searching for them.

At one point, I become separated from my friends, and find my girlfriend hiding in an isolated row of hedges far from the crowd. We begin to kiss and make out passionately, and I was very happy. I knew that my friends were probably still searching for us, but I didn’t care. Great dream!

8/3/2007

# 63: “The Threat”

I’m with AE, and we are on the outs (as in RL at the time). I am aware that we had hung out a few nights prior to this event, and it did not go well. I apparently had tried to mess around with her, and she did not react well.

Things are a bit strained because of our previous encounter. AE and I are in car, driving around. We are headed for a grocery store in a neighboring town to buy donuts and cookies for my family, but I have gotten lost. She sits in stony silence as I try to find my way, to no avail. Finally, we end up in the bottom of a large quarry, with a dock-like structure perched on the lid of the quarry.

AE and I exit the car, and stand near it talking. Just then, a huge dust storm begins, whipping rocks and dirt all around us. The wind is very powerful, and we decide it would be best to get indoors. We climb up to the dock at the top of the quarry, and begin to explore the structure.

The dock structure is made up of several interconnecting docks emanating from a vaguely Japanese-type building, wooden with paper screens and other oriental architectural flourishes.

When we walk inside the building, I again try to initiate sex with AE by kissing the back of her neck and she responds very angrily, yelling at me.

“That’s it,” she yells, pointing her finger in my face. “If you don’t knock it the fuck off, I’m going to report you for attempted rape!” This terrifies me, as I’m suddenly sure that I am guilty and that everyone would believe her, I think it is very likely that she will follow through on her threat.

AE goes down to the basement of the building to work on a computer assignment, and I decide it would be best to give her some space. I walk outside and stand on the dock, watching the sun set. The dust storm has died down, but the wind is still blowing fairly briskly.

I hear footsteps behind me, and turn to see AE exit the building, her laptop in her hand and a wicked smile on her face.

“Hey, I made a video for you, and everybody’s going to see it!” I am immediately worried, thinking this video must somehow support her earlier attempted rape claim. The video begins playing on a nearby video kiosk, the kind of free-standing video booth commonly found in museums and other tourist attractions.

The video is a strange mixture of cartoon footage and wrestling, edited together in a very manic style. As I watch it, I am confused as to what it means, and wonder why in the hell AE thinks this is damaging to me. As far as I can tell, none of the video has anything to do with me, save one scene that I have forgotten. Despite my confusion, AE is very proud of this video, and repeats her claim that “everyone is going to see it.”

Although the video was meaningless to me, I am scared by her confident attitude, and worry that there is some hidden message within the video that I missed. I am now sure that she is going to accuse me of attempted rape. I decide that I should leave, and I do.

Later, I am back at the dock with JA. I explain about earlier, and tell him about her threat.

“Dude, this fucking video she’s made, she’s saying she’s going to give it to everyone and I didn’t even do anything!” I tell him as we approach the video kiosk.

“Well, let me see the video,” he answers, and I begin the tape. Almost immediately, JA begins to laugh uproariously. He grows more and more hysterical as the video plays, to my complete astonishment. He is practically in tears by the time the video ends, and I wait for him to catch his breath.

“What the fuck, I don’t understand, how is this even about me?” I ask, scared and angry. JA laughs again before answering.

“God, it’s hilarious, dude this is-, I gotta give her credit for this, this is hilarious!” He answers, beginning to laugh again.

8/10/2007 (A)

#64: “Red’s Crown Vic”

I am driving around in my grandfather’s Crown Victoria with JA. It is night, and I think we have just finished moving my stuff into my new apartment. For some reason, JA is driving and I am sitting in the passenger seat.

JA takes a wrong turn, and I get agitated, telling him that we don’t have time to screw around. As he is turning the car around, JA almost hits a pedestrian, and I explode.

“JA, grow the fuck up!” I yell, as we speed past the would-be accident victim.

“Chill out, dude, it’s cool,” he replies, and continues to drive. Up ahead, I see a gate that I recognize as the gate to the local bike trail. A compact car is ahead of us. When the car reaches the gate, the driver somehow reaches out of his window and pushes the gate open wide enough for his tiny car to squeeze through. I’m about to tell JA to stop the car, because I know that there’s no way the Crown Vic will be able to make it through the opening that the compact car was able to, when he hits the gas and the car leaps forward. I am yelling at him to stop, and at the last minute he sees that we’re not going to fit, and slams on the brakes. The large car skids in the gravel and slides into one end of the gate.

I get out of the car quickly, convinced that JA has trashed my grandparents’ car. The damage isn’t even visible, however, and I begin to relax. We get back into the car, with me driving this time. We continue to drive aimlessly around, talking. As I’m driving, I notice through the windshield that the front right fender is crumpled slightly, and I think to myself “oh shit, we did wreck the car!” The dream ends shortly after.

8/10/2007 (B)

# 65: “Adventures in DairyLand”

I am with a large group of people, including my parents, grandparents, PL and JA. We are on a trip to a huge theme park, with a large dairy as its centerpiece. The main attraction, for example, is watching and helping milk and cheese being made.

I have broken off from the main group, and am walking around with Pl and JA and my old boss, JJ. We walk around for a long time, looking at all the sights. The theme park seems to be contained in one huge sprawling structure, with several levels. Everything is white, and walkways criss-cross over and under us. The theme park is very busy, but we don’t run into anyone we know. Eventually, we get tired of exploring, and return to our hotel to sleep. I am unable to sleep, and lie awake for several hours, growing angrier and angrier.

The next morning, the entire group goes outside to the loading dock, and prepares to leave. Although this huge theme park had been bustling with people yesterday, it is now empty and silent, and I am unnerved by this. It seems that we are the last people to leave. We climb into a large Ford Expedition, and hit the road. Because the SUV is so crowded, PL and I have to sit in the very back, in the cargo area. JJ is driving.

The dream transitions and I am riding in a car with my parents, my sister, and TB and his wife LB. We are driving back to the dairy/them park because I forgot to buy cheese the last time we were there. Everyone in the car seems to be in a bad mood. We finally reach our destination, and drive around the huge structure, looking for the right entrance. Finally, we arrive at a loading dock, possibly the one from earlier in the dream, and park. Everyone else stays in the car, while I run in to get the cheese.

I grab a small electric shopping cart, and begin to look around the theme park for the cheese shop. I know that I am to buy several large wheels of cheddar, but none of the shops I see carry those. Finally, I find a shop that sells the cheese I am after. It is on the bottom level of the theme park, in a big open area with marble floors and ornate curved staircases going up on each wall.

“This is a stupid design,” I think. “How I am supposed to get the cart down here to load this cheese?” I decide that I will just have to leave the cart at the top of one of the staircases, and carry the cheeses up from the shop one at a time,

9/6/2007

# 66: “My New Roommate”

I am lying in my bed in my apartment. I have the feeling that it is late at night, around midnight. I hear noises outside my door, and open it. I see two old men carrying stacks of boxes into the bedroom across the hall, which is my office. I walk over to one of the men, and ask him what he’s doing.

“I’m your new roommate, son,” he says, setting his stack of boxes down. I look around the room, and am shocked to see that there is now a bed in the room, along with all kinds of his personal property. The things I already had in the bedroom, like my desk, refrigerator and cabinet, have been moved around. For example, he has pushed my desk against one wall, and is using it as a TV stand. I’m not happy, but at a loss for words. The other old man stands silently in the corner while my new roommate unpacks as if he owns the place.

I’m very confused, trying to figure out why the man thinks he is my roommate. Then I remember that JA is living with me (not true in RL), and I decide that JA must have told the guy he could move in. I walk out in the hall, and see that the door that in RL is my bathroom is now the door to JA’s bedroom. The door is open and the room is empty. Shaking my head, I walk back into my old office, where the old man is still unpacking.

“So what do you do, son?” he asks, putting a few trinkets away.

“Well, I’m a student,” I answer. “I think you’ll like it here, JA and I are both pretty smart, so it shouldn’t be loud or anything.”

“Oh, I don’t care about smart, son, that’s got nothing to do with money, and money is what I’m concerned about.” I realize that this old man is questioning my ability to pay rent on time, and I am offended.

“You don’t have to worry about that, sir,” I say. “We’ll pay rent on time; we always have, even before you got here.”

“Well, that’s all I’m concerned about,” he says, and goes back to his unpacking. I stand there for a moment, once again angry that this guy has invaded my office and is using my desk as a TV stand. I try to think of a way to point this out to him, but then realize that, since I no longer have an office, I don’t really have any place to put the desk, anyway.

I hear the front door open, and I walk down the hall, to the living room. I see a short, fat, light-skinned black girl walk in, followed by an equally short, dumpy-looking white girl. Both are dressed in disgustingly tight, skanky clothes. They are followed closely by JA. He is wearing a black band t-shirt, like a Led Zeppelin shirt or something, and dress pants. His hair has blonde highlights in it, and is all gelled up and spiked. I am wondering what the hell is going on, and JA shoots me a look, warning me not to say anything. He leads the two fatties over to the couch, and they sit down. Then he walks over to me and grabs my arm.

“Shut the fuck up, just tell me if this fucking belt matches,” he says intensely, obviously nervous about his big “date”.

“Well, I would have gone with a brown belt with what you have on, but-“ I answer, and JA cuts me off, ranting.

“Jesus Christ, I don’t have a goddamned brown belt!” He hisses, and I try to calm him down.

“There’s nothing wrong with the belt you’re wearing,” I begin, and he again cuts me off.

“No it’s not, if it was, why would you have said I needed a brown belt?!” he asks, and the dream ends before I can answer.

9/19/2007

# 67: “Zombie Induced Lucid Dream (ZILD)”

I am in my college town. There is some kind of zombie outbreak taking place, and I find myself running from place to place. As in an earlier dream, I had trouble telling the difference between regular people and zombies, which leads to several close calls.

At one point, I am cornered by a group of zombies in the basement garage of my old apartment building. I manage to escape the garage through one of the side doors, and run away. Moments later, I am on M Avenue, approaching my current apartment building. I go inside and fall asleep.

I wake up, and it is now night. I walk outside my apartment building, and see a group of zombies up ahead. It suddenly occurs to me that zombies don’t exist, and that I’ve had this dream before. I realize that I must be dreaming, and I decide to fly. I start to run, and instead of running horizontally, I run upwards, into the air. I continue to run as I get higher, and I marvel at the sensation of the wind on my face. I shout “increase lucidity” a few times, and there is a corresponding brightening of the sensations. Unfortunately, the effect does not last long, and I shout the phrase repeatedly. I am not at a very high level of lucidity; I am aware that I am in a dream, but act mostly on instinct, without much thought or reflection. I continue to run through the air for a few more minutes, looking at the stars above me.

I lose lucidity soon after, and I am back on the ground. Although I remember that there were zombies around earlier, I don’t see any, and I begin to doubt that I was actually in a dream. I wake up soon after.

9/21/2007

# 68: “The Ring Is Alive With the Sound Of Music”

I am watching SmackDown on TV in my apartment. A new wrestler is being introduced with a huge musical-type production. Most of the current roster comes out on either side of the ramp, singing and dancing. I am surprised to see Edge out there, mostly because he has been out due to injury and I am surprised to see that this is how he is returning to television. I am trying to decide if this is supposed to be funny or serious, when I see The Undertaker is also out there, trying to sing and dance. The overall look is hilarious and ridiculous, and I can’t decide if it is serious or not.

9/23/2007

# 69: “Drama Queen Grandma”

I am out at a restaurant with several people, including: my parents, my sister, Aunt PF, Uncle JF, my grandparents, MW (a girl I had had a crush on earlier in the year), MW’s boyfriend, and a few other people my age.

We are in a private room of a restaurant. The walls are decorated with sports memorabilia, and several TVs hang from brackets around the room. Each TV is tuned to a different station, and all are muted. We are all seated at two-person tables which are arranged to form a giant hollow square.

Our food arrives, and we all begin to eat. My grandmother is getting upset about something, and begins to run a guilt-trip of sorts. She is sitting a few tables down from me, near my mother. I’m not sure why she is upset, but I gradually gather that she is upset because we are not talking to her enough. My mom and sister are both upset, which angers me.

I stand up and walk out of the room, trying to calm down. When I come back to the room, my parents and grandparents have left. I take my seat next to my sister, and ask her what is going on.

“They went to talk,” she explains. “Grandma is mad because she thinks we’re all ignoring her or something.” This angers me even more than I was earlier. Just then, my parents and grandparents walk back into the room and take their seats. I can see that my mom is upset, and my anger boils over. I stand up and slide my table over so that I am directly in front of my grandmother’s table.

“Hey sis, is this close enough, do you think?” I yell over to my sister. She gives me a look that is meant to stop me, but I am too far gone. I am upset that my grandma is upsetting my parents, and also embarrassed that Michelle and the other strangers are seeing our family act this way.

“Sorry for my family,” I say to them, and they shrug and explain that they don’t mind, but I can tell that they are uncomfortable. We all sit awkwardly, quietly watching the muted TVs.

10/20/2007

# 70: “Moving Into the Celestial Dormitory”

(This dream felt incredibly long; I felt as though several hours passed in the course of the narrative.)

I am moving into a new dormitory building in anticipation of a new semester. Although I recognize this dorm building as the same building I lived in the previous year, it seems to have moved to a different area of campus, and it also appears to have been recently rebuilt.

The dorm is located outside of the city, in what appears to be a hilly suburban area. The building itself has a very modern look to it, with lots of exposed ductwork, concrete, etc. The dorm is massive, very spread out, but only three stories high. Within the dorm are several other areas, including a cafeteria/restaurant, a gymnasium, and a chapel.

It is moving day, and I am outside of the building, walking with another person. We are dragging the old lawnmower that I used as a kid to mow my parents’ and grandparents’ yards. I know that my parents have driven ahead with the car to begin unloading.

My companion and I somehow get lost trying to find the entrance to the dorm. The area around the dorm is very hilly, with multiple driveways and service roads. At all times we are able to see the building, but we have a great deal of difficulty finding the correct access road. At one point, he and I drag the old lawnmower up a long, winding driveway, convinced that we have found the correct road at last. We turn a corner and see a large house with a crowd of people partying in the front yard. I realize that the road we had been following was actually a driveway, and I am embarrassed.

My companion and I turn around, and quickly head down the driveway. I am becoming anxious because my parents are probably waiting for me, and I do not have my cell phone with me. In the interest of saving time, my companion and I cut through the lawn and head straight down the hill, ignoring the winding driveway.

My companion is carrying the front end of the lawnmower, and I am carrying the back end. My friend keeps dropping his end, and I am self-conscious because we are tearing up peoples’ yards. Finally, we make it down the hill, only to discover that we have gone down the wrong way, and the hill that we just climbed is now between us and the dorm building.

Hurrying, we start up yet another road, only to discover that it is yet another private drive. Again, I see a crowd of people in front of the house, and am embarrassed. I am also more anxious about my parents waiting. We continue to wander around this suburban maze for what seems like an hour, until finally we find the entrance to the dorm.

The inside of the building is just as confusing and maze-like as the outside. Although the building is only three stories high, it is partitioned off into what seems like dozens of levels. As I wander around, I realize that an extra wing has been added to the dorm.

My companion and I begin searching for my room, still dragging the dilapidated lawnmower along with us. I am confused and concerned about my parents. We wander around for what seems like hours, going in circles. I remember (not a RL memory) that I also had trouble finding my room when I lived in this building the previous year.

At one point in our search, we come to a railing. Looking down, we see that we are on a balcony that overlooks a large gymnasium area. Lines of treadmills and stationary bikes are scattered about below. At the back of the gymnasium, I see a pair of ornate wooden and glass doors, which I instinctively know lead to the dorm area. I cannot figure out how to get down to the gym level, however.

We backtrack, trying to find a way downstairs to the gymnasium. Finally, we find a staircase, and descend to the lower level. After more searching, we find the gymnasium area. I am shocked and confused to see that the glass double doors are no longer there. I am trying to decide if there are perhaps two gymnasiums in this dorm, when my companion speaks up.

“Oh yeah,” he says, as if remembering something. “Your parents are probably at Ditka’s.” I remember that “Ditka’s” is the name of the in-dorm restaurant. We abandon our search for the room, and instead begin to search for the restaurant.

Along the way I lose my companion, but manage to hang onto the lawnmower. After about a half-hour of searching, I find Ditka’s, but my parents are no longer there. The restaurant looks like just about every university student union-style eatery I have ever seen.

I resume my search for the dorm rooms. I wander around the ultra-modern dorm for a little longer, before rounding a corner and spying a bank of elevators. These elevators stand in sharp contrast to the modern-style of the rest of the building: they have carved wooden doors and the insides are ornate and carpeted. Something tells me that if I go up in one of these elevators, I will be on the same floor as my room. I hurry over and press the button to summon an elevator.

Almost immediately, an elevator opens, and I push the lawnmower over. I step inside the car, and try to pull the mower in after me. Unfortunately, the car is not very wide, and I have trouble getting the lawnmower inside. After some maneuvering, I manage to get the mower inside of the elevator, and the doors close from the sides.

I ride up the elevator for a few minutes, and hear a ding when I reach the correct floor. The elevator door begins to open, but now it is sliding up from the floor, almost like a garage door. As the door slowly rises, I see a pair of black cowboy boots standing in front of the elevator. I recognize them as my dad’s. Finally, the door opens fully, and my dad steps into the elevator without glancing at me. He seems to be totally absorbed in his own world, and I tap him on the shoulder.

“Oh, there you are,” he says neutrally, which surprises me because I have been worrying that my parents were concerned about my absence. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

I explain to my dad what happened, and he leads me out of the elevator and down the hall to my new room. I recognize it as a different room than the one I had lived in the previous year. The rooms look vaguely like Mayflower dorm rooms.

We step inside, and I see that my mom is bustling around, putting things away. I also see several people who I recognize as relatives (not in RL). These are very obscure relatives, like my dad’s second cousin’s wife, etc. I am momentarily surprised that such odd relatives would spend their day helping me move. My mom seems to notice my confusion.

“Yeah, they came to help us move and wanted to say hi to you!” she says, cheerily. I wave to the relatives, and the dream ends shortly after.

10/24/2007

# 71: “Escape From My Abuser”

I am either an employee or former employee of a very powerful woman. This woman lives/works in an enormous three-storey house which seems to be in the center of town. The house is built on steeply sloping hill.

The woman has apparently invited me back to her house on this night. I am apprehensive about going, because I remember that this woman is dangerous. However, I decide to accept her invitation, and return to the house. I tell the woman that I will stay with her over the weekend.

When I first arrive at the house, everything seems to be alright. I speak briefly with the woman, and then begin to wander aimlessly around this huge house. However, the longer I am in the house, the more apprehensive I get. I sense that something is wrong, and that I may have put myself in danger by returning to this house.

I encounter NE, a current coworker, as I wander through the house. I remember that NE was also a former employee of the powerful woman. NE and I meet up with the woman in a main room of the house, and she begins talking. As she talks, NE repeatedly shoots me looks, as if he is trying to tell me something without the woman noticing. He looks increasingly concerned/nervous as the woman talks. Finally, she tells us that she is going to go take a bath. After she leaves the room, NE grabs my arm.

“Ok, you have to sneak out of here right now,” he says intensely. “Go out the back door, stay out of sight of the windows, don’t let her see you!” I try to pull my arm away but he tightens his grip. “You have to go now, we have to get out of here! She’s just going to start abusing us again!”

As NE speaks, I begin to remember my past with this woman. I remember that she is evil, and that she has abused me in the past. I decide to take NE’s advice, and sneak out. He stresses again that I cannot let myself be seen from any of the windows in the house.

NE leads me down to the basement level where there is a door to the outside. For some reason he stays behind, and I walk outside. It is night, and I am on a back porch of some kind, hidden in the shadows. I look up, and the house seems to stretch up for miles behind me, with thousands of windows, some dark and others bright with light. I think I know which window belongs to the woman’s bathroom, and I continually glance at it as I begin to move.

I am on the lower side of the steep hill that the house sits on. I emerge from the shadow cast by the house, and sneak down the hill. My plan is to reach the bottom of the hill, where there is a street, and walk away that way. I suddenly realize that I am in plain view of the windows in the house. I glance back, and see the woman, staring out of the bathroom window. I can see a look of fury on her face, and I am suddenly terrified. I turn and start to run up the hill, in the direction of the house. I am suddenly sure that the police station is at the top of this hill, and that I therefore must run past the house in order to reach safety.

As I run, I hear running footsteps behind me, and I glance over my shoulder. I see that NE is running behind me with a panicked look on his face. I realize that I have put him in danger by being spotted by the woman.

Up ahead, I can see the police station. Although it is not far away, the steepness of the hill slows us down. We continue running, with NE trailing further and further behind. At some point I realize that he has been recaptured by the woman or her agents, and I feel guilty.

Eventually I reach the police station. It is perched on the top of the same steep hill that the woman’s house sat on. The station building itself lies at the top of a long set of stairs, almost like the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The architecture is very gothic, with many statutes and gargoyles. I run up the stairs, out of breath, and reach the top.

I enter the police station. The interior reminds me of the industrial arts area of my old high school; there is no reception desk or waiting area. It occurs to me that this building must be both the police station and police academy. I look into a room nearby, and see that it is a classroom, with dozens of uniformed cops sitting at desks. A few minutes later, another door opens farther down the halls, and a crowd of officers pour out.

I wander around, looking for some kind of reception area. I walk past a glass door that looks in on a pool which looks just like the pool at my old high school. The pool is full of cops swimming, almost a hundred. I think it is strange that the pool would be that full in the middle of the night (I think it is 2 or 3 in the morning). In one lane, it appears that officers are zipped into black body bags. They are swimming back and forth using a dolphin stroke. I am surprised, but decide that it must be some kind of training.

I continue to wander the halls, and finally come to an area that appears to be a holding area of sorts. I decide that this must be where people wait to speak to the police. Across the room, I see a very petite, pretty young woman with short hair. She reminded me of someone famous, but I cannot remember. I am immediately attracted to this woman. I see that she is crying, and it occurs to me that she has been abused, possibly by a boyfriend or husband. She looks terrified.

A police officer enters the room, and I walk up to talk to him. He cuts me off an begins to ask several questions. As I answer his questions, I slowly remember just how much the powerful woman had abused me in the past. I cannot remember what kind of abuse, but I break down and cry, much like the pretty woman in the room. I am terrified that she is going to find me.

Just as I am about to tell the cop who has been abusing me, he cuts me off, and tells me to follow him. I am confused, but follow him. He leads me back to the front door of the station, where I first entered. I start to worry that this cop is working for the powerful woman, or that he is going to release me and I will be snatched by the woman.

The cop opens a door and tells me to go inside. I find a chair and sit, and he closes the door, plunging the room into darkness. I continue to worry about my fate, while also worrying about what has happened to NE. I become aware that the pretty woman from the waiting room is also sitting in the room, on the floor, with her back against the wall. She is still silently crying, trembling, and I feel an urge to go to her and help her.

I slide across the floor until I am kneeling next to her. She slowly looks up, tears streaming down her face. I take her hand and say “I know more now what you go through than I did before,” referring to the plight of battered women, I think.

“I know, Celestial Toymaker.” She says sweetly, and begins to gently play with my hand. It is a wonderful moment, and I am filled with tenderness and affection for this woman. We sit silently, holding hands and smiling at each other for awhile. I feel protective of this woman, and I feel love for her. The dream ends soon thereafter.

11/2/07 (A)

# 72: “Pet Semetary”

(A very terrifying dream.)

I am driving a car in what I think is my neighborhood. I am stopped at a traffic light at a busy intersection. I look to my right, and see my niece riding a big-wheel or tricycle on the sidewalk near my car.

I’m worried that my niece is too close to the cars. I look around for my sister, and see that she is sitting on the front porch of a house nearby with my mom. Although they are fairly close to where my neice, I worry that they are too far away to keep her safe. I continue to watch my neice, worried that she will ride out into the street.

As I watch, my neice stops her big-wheel near the corner of the sidewalk, and steps off. She walks into what looks like a patch of cacti where the corner of the sidewalk would usually be. It appears that the corner is landscaped for cosmetic reasons. I am sure that my neice will be hurt by the thorns of the cacti, and I also am afraid that she will walk out into the intersection.

I jump out of the car, and run around towards where my neice is walking towards the street. Before I reach her, I realize that I forgot to take the car out of gear, and it begins rolling forward. Panicking, I forget about my neice and run back around, trying to get back in before the car rolls out into the intersection.

By this point, my mom and sister are running towards the intersection, yelling for me to grab my neice. I stop, unsure of what to do. I am almost paralyzed by fear and indecision. I stare at the car, trying to see if it is moving forward or not. I can’t tell if it is, so I continue staring at it, trying to decide whether it is actually moving.

Finally, I determine that the car is actually moving, and I step forward, intending to open the driver’s door and get in. Just then, I hear my sister screaming something about my neice, and I remember that she was in danger. I look over just as my neice steps out into the busy intersection.

11/2/07 (B)

# 73: “Rendezvous”


I am hanging out with who I think of as MG, AE's roommate. This girl is tall and beautiful, dressed to kill, and I am very attracted to her (in RL, MG is short and I am not attracted to her in the least). MG and I are making out in what looks like a one-room apartment or dorm room when there is a knock at the door.

I leave MG sitting on my bed, and I walk over to answer the door. It is the dean of law school. I am not surprised to see the dean, and I let her in. She is furious with me about something, and seems to know me very well.

“I see you’re here with a woman,” she practically spits at me. “With all the trouble you’ve caused yourself at the law school with women and all of the damage you’ve done to your reputation and this school’s reputation with women like this, you should be more careful!”

I am surprised by her anger, and momentarily confused by what she is saying. Suddenly, I remember that I had been caught having sex with a professor in one of the law school classrooms during a lunch break (not true in RL). I am speechless and somewhat embarrassed.

The dean speaks to me briefly about my future plans for law school and beyond, but it is clear that she is still furious to have found me with a woman in my apartment. As the dream fades, she begins to lecture me about my sexual impropriety.

11/13/07

# 74: “Long, Slow Fall”

I am in a classroom, which seems to be on a very high floor of a skyscraper located in Chicago or New York. The room is a generic classroom: tile floors, rows of desks, chalkboard dominating the front of the room, and a teacher’s desk off to one side.

The teacher, a very attractive middle-aged woman dressed in a way I like, stands at the front of the room, lecturing about a book that the class has been reading. As I look at her, I remember that I have been exchanging inappropriate sexual emails with her recently. I have been telling her in the emails that I like the way she dresses. She has responded positively to my messages, and I am confident that she and I will soon begin a sexual relationship.

I look out the classroom windows and see that it is night out. I realize that I am in a night Literature class. We are discussing Bret Easton Ellis’ book American Psycho. A girl sitting to my left raises her hand to ask a question, and the teacher calls on her. The girls asks if the teacher thinks that Pat Bateman ever really existed as depicted in the book, and the teacher shakes her head and tells the girl that Bateman “definitely did not” really exist.

This starts a discussion, and several members of the class begin to raise their hand and give their opinions on the book. I am about to raise my hand to opine that Bateman was probably just an ordinary, middle-class guy, who creates a fantasy life of murder and decadence to validate his own feelings of boring normalcy, when I hear a crash from outside and above the classroom. Immediately after, I hear a terrified man’s scream.

I immediately think that someone has either jumped or was pushed out of a window above our classroom, and sure enough, I look out the window and see a man falling. He is wearing what looks like a black and white checked shirt and a black overcoat. Even though he should be falling fast, I can clearly see the man’s face: his mouth open wide, screaming and his wide, terrified eyes. He continues past the window at what seems like a slow speed. He is flailing his arms, and his topcoat is billowing out from his body.

The man falls past the window, but his screams continue, gradually diminishing as he falls farther. The classroom is frozen in shock and horror. I want to run to the window to see what happens, but I am terrified of what I have just seen. I slide out of my desk and crouch on the floor, fearing that I will somehow fall out of a window unless I am low to the ground.

I can’t stop thinking of the man: who he was, why he jumped, what he must have been thinking as he fell, etc. I woke up shortly after, still haunted by what I had seen and heard.

11/15/07

# 75: “Sidetracked at Work”


I am at work. I am not in my work uniform, but am instead wearing a pair of jeans and an untucked dress shirt. I am aware that I am not in uniform, but I don’t think it will be a big deal.

I am waiting in the back for a table, when JP, the GM of the hotel, walks around the corner and sees me. I am immediately worried because I am out of uniform, but JP doesn’t seem to notice at first. He is nice, but asks several pointed questions about what I had and had not accomplished so far this shift. He is giving me a list of side jobs to do when a customer walks through the front door. I excuse myself, and walk over to the man’s table.

The man orders a bowl of soup and a drink, and I return to the back to input his order into the Micros terminal. JP returns, and again begins to ask me several questions regarding what I have and haven’t done. I tell him that I am working on doing that stuff, but I am trying to take care of my table first. He walks away, and I again wonder why he hasn’t asked me about not being in uniform.

I walk back out to the man’s table, and deliver his soup and drink. He orders a club sandwich, saying “make sure that the turkey is the same turkey from the special today.” I am confused, and he explains that he wants the turkey in the club sandwich to be the same stuff used in the special of the day. I head to the back, ready to enter the man’s order into the computer. On the way, I run into a co-worker, and we talk briefly. Just then, JP once again returns, and asks me what I am doing.

“Well, right now I’ve sent this order through,” I say, indicating my order book. JP looks around, and asks suspisciously “You’ve sent it?”

“No, I mean I’m going to send it,” I clarify, worried that he noticed the lie. I continue over to the Micros terminal, and am interrupted before I can enter the order. I let the person in before me, and just as I am about to input the order, I am again interrupted. This continues for several minutes, until JP walks into the back, asking me if I have entered the order yet. I explain that I’ve been trying to, but that people keep interrupting me and sidetracking me.

This pattern continues for most of the rest of the dream. I am continually distracted and sidetracked, only to panic and remember that I have not yet sent the customer’s order through to the kitchen. At one point, I am outside in the parking area, where there is a Micros terminal for some reason. I have gone outside to take down the customer’s license plate, with the idea that this will help me decide if he receives a discount or not. After several minutes of fruitless searching, I realize that it won’t help me at all to know what kind of car the customer is driving, and I go back inside.

11/15/07

# 76: “Doing the Right Thing”

AE is dressed in an extremely sexy way. We are on a couch in my old apartment, watching TV. There is a great deal of sexual tension in the air; it is clear we both want something to happen but equally clear that we can’t allow it to happen. At several points, we are on the verge of making out or having sex. At all times, however, we manage to stop, pull away from each other, and return to watching the movie. The guilt is very powerful, and it seems to be the main reason we are able to stop before anything starts.
Despite my attraction for her, I am aware that AE has a boyfriend, and I do not want to mess that up in any way (as in RL). Despite several close calls, AE and I manage to make it the entire time without anything sexual happening.

11/19/07

# 77: “Enemy at the Law School”

I am at the law school, on the day before my graduation. The law school looks much like it does in RL, with the exception of a decorative area on the south side of the building. This decorative area centers on a very deep pond, bordered by a concrete ledge. Near the water’s edge, there are several statues and fountains, all made of concrete.

Because it is the end of law school, I have resolved to finally ask MW out (MW is a girl I had a slight crush on during my first semester of law school. At the time of this dream, I was no longer interested in her in RL). I discuss the situation with a trusted friend, and he agrees to help me out.

As I am approaching MW, the dream transitions, and my friend and I are discussing what happened. MW turned me down when I asked her out because of the actions of a classmate of ours. This classmate was someone I did not like, short and fat with a definite gunner-type personality. I am extremely angry that this guy has apparently sabotaged my chance to get with MW, and my friend and I decide to beat his ass.

We split up, and start looking all over the law building for this guy. We meet back in the lobby having not found him. As we are discussing our next move, we look out the glass front doors of the law school and see our target standing near the decorative pond. We rush outside, with my friend reaching our target first.

My enemy is not someone who is physically imposing, and I expect my friend to overpower him easily. However, just as my friend reaches him, the guy pulls out a spray-can of Lysol disinfectant spray. He sprays my friend in the eyes and face, and I hear a hissing sound as my friend screams and stumbles away.

I duck down, and the guy does not see me. I sneak up behind him, and wrap him in a bear hug. As he struggles, I drag him towards the pond, intending to throw him in. We get to the edge of the pond, and I see that there is another concrete ledge below the one we are standing on. This ledge is at water level. I drag the guy down onto the lower ledge, and am preparing to throw him in the water, when he manages to wrestle an arm free. Before I can react, he sprays the Lysol into my face. The pain is immediate and intense. I let go of the guy, and stumble away, blinded by the spray. I am in such pain that I forget how close I am to the pond, and I trip and fall right into it. The dream ends as I struggle to stay afloat.