Not Like Christmas

I got a call from D late one evening. She wanted to go to dinner or hangout. I had already eaten dinner, but told her I would keep her company while she ate. I could hear a man's voice in the background of the phone call, which I guessed was her new husband. He just got home. She asked him to take care of the kids while she went out. We were still on the phone decided where we wanted to go, whether we wanted to meet there or have only one person drive. I was in the car anyway, driving over to her house; I figured it was the half way point to anywhere we wanted to go. I told her I was on my way. She told me to go back home, she would pick me up since it was her idea to go out.

I got of the phone and took a quick left to see if I could turn around. I drove through a narrow driveway between two buildings and came upon an open field. You couldn't quite see this area from the street since the buildings shrouded it. In front of me I saw a very tall tree decorated with Christmas tree lights on one side - even though it was far from Christmas (felt like September/October). There were other trees in the clearing; they moved like people. I could tell I wasn't the only one looking at the trees. Other people were watching from the windows of the surrounding buildings. I got out of my car and took a few pictures with my cell phone of the trees standing around a campfire. Then I think they noticed me. I quickly snuck back into my car and closed the door quietly, though it didn't close all the way (open door symbol on the dash was lit). I saw a tree coming towards me, so I decided to slam the door and make a run for it. I drove very quickly down another alley between the buildings, making a right turn back on the street. I wanted to call someone and tell them what I had just seen, but decided I could only tell someone face to face.

First Day on the Job

I was in a car with a guy, at first sitting very close to him holding hands in the truck as if we were dating. But then he said something I didn't like, so I moved over to the passenger seat. We drove approached a campus, which had lots of buildings with interesting architecture. I hand him the pass to get on campus. He had been there before, but it was my first time. The guard lets us through the gate and we drive to one of the buildings on the left. We take our equipment (in black suitcase-type boxes) and carry it upstairs. We stop in the first room. I take something from the box to begin cleaning the equipment. The person in the room takes the other piece of the equipment and hooks it up to their camera to do its work. I introduce myself to the person in the room as the new service tech. When we are done, I give the person the receipt and go to the next room through an adjoining door in the wall. This room is much smaller. A man of Middle Eastern descent is sitting on a small room talking on a cell phone. He sees me and acknowledges me by nodding his head. A person sitting in his chair to get a picture taken gets up and leaves the room. I put the black box down and open it, then turn to clean the equipment. He has the phone to his hear and uses one hand to hook up the other piece of the equipment to his camera. Then he gets off the phone and stands up to introduce himself. He hugs me and tells me his name is something that begins with an S. He says I could call him a more American-sounding name, but I try to pronounce his name twice in the correct way. The man sits back down. Then a younger man comes into the room asking about the receipts we give out. I could tell by S. reaction that this guy goes around begging. I had the feeling the young guy was trying to steal the equipment so I started to move in front of the box in case he tried to steal it.

Dream Within a Dream #2

I was sitting at a table - a dinner or luncheon with other people from tango. JH was sitting across from me, as were another VC and DF. DF had his arm in a yellow sling from his accident (In reality he had fallen out of tree and was in the hospital. Before the dream, I was thinking about visiting him and taking him some music, but I didn't have another pair of headphones. Then I fell into this dream). I saw him sitting across the stable and then thought that I didn't need to visit him in the hospital if he was already out. Behind me sat a woman selling knickknacks - magnets, pins, buttons. I had looked at them earlier (perhaps another dream I don't remember), but this time decided to buy something. She showed me a few things - magnets with flag decorations and Obama slogans - but she wanted $20 for them I thought she had showed me a lapel pin before that was only $5 similar to the one she was wearing, but she claimed she didn't have any more. I got the feeling she was trying to fleece me so I said to her "Thank you. I changed my mind." She looked disappointed, but I turned and looked away.

I woke up in my bedroom, still dark outside, but I could tell it was early in the morning. I started writing in my journal (there was a light at the end of the bed). There were some names written on the inside cover of the notebook. I was sitting up on my knees on top of the covers. Then I remembered my laptop was on the bed, probably in the same place where I was sitting. I lifted up and put my hand underneath me to feel a crack in the top of my Macbook. I lifted up the cover and turned it on. I felt relieved to hear the tone as it came on. I stretched out on the bed thinking about if I should get up. I was thinking about text messages I sent out one friend in LA and one friend in Iowa, but who had not replied. Then I heard the text message sound from my phone. I thought it might be the friend in LA up late responding to my text after his kids fell asleep, but when I reached for the phone I woke up.

Dream Within a Dream #1

(I had this dream and wrote it down when I was on vacation. Just posting it now).

In a bedroom talking to my ex-bf. He is seated in a small race car telling me a story about someone he knew who needs to kick their brother out of the house but can't. He didn't understand why because the brother is causing hardship. I told him I could relate to that story due to the experience my mom had with my uncle. I draw the connection for him - brother situation - hard to get rid of a sibling - felt obligation to help them. At this point in the dream, the ex turns into my brother, LT. So then I say, "If you were to live with me for a while, to get on your feet or something, I would take you in. You're my brother. Of course I would do that." LT replied, "But I would at least do things around the house, contribute a little bit, try to find work as soon as possible." We continued our conversation and walked into the hallway. We were almost to the living room when we hear the doorbell ring. Through the frosted glass part of the door, I could see two dark figures. I bent down to look through the clear part (under the etched glass design) and see a guy carrying roses. I told my brother it is some guy trying to sell something. Immediately, my brother and I dropped to the floor, so the men outside couldn't see us. We tried to to stay really quiet and wait until they went away. But one of the men looked under the frosted part of the glass through the clear part and saw us huddled on the ground. LT and I started to laugh and the dream faded.

I thought I was waking up in the hotel room in Barcelona. My friend, Bre, was sleeping in the twin bed next to mine. I saw something blue insect over her bed near the window. I thought it was on the window curtain, but it was suspended in air. The insect moved closer to me. I saw it was a spider, blue and black. It landed on my bed and started crawling. I looked at the night stand next to the bed to find something to cover it up or hit it with. I reached for it, but couldn't see my hands. Then I realized I was still dreaming.

Went back into a dream - in someone's home looking around at a closet and an archway with detailed drawings around it, almost like hieroglyphics or another ancient language. I turned around and the TV was playing a scene from a video or movie. There was a girl at the train station waiting for her friends. They came - a couple - arguing or having a disagreement or discussion without acknowledging her. She was very sad in the video - almost crying but her friends didn't notice. The song, Because of You by Kelly Clarkson, was playing in the background (NOTE: I have not seen this video). I went to sit down on the couch with a little plate of something to eat in my lap. A voice entered the room, "What is that?" referring to the video/movie on TV. I was with a group of colleagues from my old job - Mo, Rob, & Jules, and two other people (male and female). The woman who spoke was a Black woman in her mid-50s, with glasses and long dreadlocks going gray. She was dressed in Kente cloth or some other colorful dress or wrap from Morocco or a similar another country. She sat next to me on the sofa. We explained about the song - Kelly Clarkson won American Idol, etc. I could tell she didn't watch much TV or listen to music. We were there to ask her a question about something. Mo was seated on an ottoman to my right and asked her the question - something about music. He addressed her as Dr. Fain. We were there so she could tell us which one of us - Mo or me - was right about a debate we had. I said that I wish I had the music with me, but then Mo reminded me that I had sent it to him and he could access it on his phone. Then I remembered another song or piece of music I had a question about. I started to ask Dr. Fain, but then realized I may have already sent her the question via email. So I said I may have contacted you separately about another piece of music. She nodded her head yes and told me she received the email. I apologized to Dr. Fain and said, "I've been having trouble remembering things since the birthday." She nodded and smiled. Then said something about how I didn't look as old as my mind was. I looked around the room and saw Rob and the other guy (I knew he was older than me), then looked at the other female across from me on another ottoman (I knew she was younger than me). Not including Dr. Fain, I was the third oldest person in the room.

Primping Ain't Easy

I was trying to go on the date before I had to meet with friends for a study session. I called one friend - had her on speakerphone trying to get the time we were meeting to study. She went into this long explanation about why we had to start at a certain time. I was half-listening to her while standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom doing my hair for the date (my hair was long and relaxed). I twisted the back of my hair into a French roll using Bobby pins to secure it down. The front part of my hair I swept up into a ponytail, twisted the hair to meet the roll in the back, then secured it with Bobby pins. I didn't like how the the front of my hair looked, so I took the Bobby pins out, redid the twist, and then secured it again with the pins. Just as I finished my date, Michael (never seen him before in real life), came into the bathroom to get me. I took his hand and led him toward the front door. I thought about telling my mother where I was going, but then realized I was an adult and didn't need to say anything. We walked out the front door, but I had trouble closing the screen door behind me.

Bad Owner

I came home to an apartment I shared with a roommate (my ex). I was rushing to get ready to go back out again. My roommate needed the place to himself. I was trying to get ready, then suddenly remembered I had a dog. My dog was a black Labrador retriever. She came out looking a little emaciated and dehydrated. I had forgotten to leave out food and water for her all day and did not walk her before I left that morning. I was apologizing to the dog, thinking she would be mad and not come to me, but she was still very sweet and just happy for me to be home. I filled her food bowl with extra kibble from the bag and filled up two bowls of water. I still did not have enough time to go for a long walk, so I asked my roommate if he could let her out for five minutes, so she wouldn't go in the apartment. I felt guilty for rushing out again.

Overreacting?

I was standing in line in the cafeteria at work. It is some special occasion where they have made a lot of food. I am in line with two other people (one male, one female). I see the cafeteria workers lift the aluminum covers off the food. Almost every dish was made with beef or pork, two things I do not eat. I started getting angry about it, since I had waited so long for food only for it be be something I couldn't enjoy. I start talking to the person next to me very loudly, saying how on special occasions the out to make something ever one can eat. There was nothing for vegetarians. My turn comes and the person behind the counter asks for my order. I ask him to tell me what each dish is even though I know they are all made with beef. I ask if there is anything with chicken. He tells me there are pre-made chicken sandwiches, but nothing hot. So I have to order that. Then he asks if I want a vegetable. I see collard greens, but I can also see chunks of pork swimming in the juice. Frustrated, I just ask for banana pudding (even though I don't like it), since that is the only side dish not cooked with pork.

I am expressing my frustration to my friend. People are starting to look at me, but I really don't care. I get up to the front to pay for the food, saying loudly that I should only get charged the price of a mean that includes a side and not extra for the dessert since there were no sides I could eat. A male friend comes up to me and tells me to calm down, which makes me more upset. I am standing a little bit away from him when the woman representing the company overseeing the catering comes over. She is complaining loudly about the "chicken head" that is making such a fuss over the food, saying "She needs to keep her mouth shut!" and other threats. The woman goes to the other side of the room without realizing I am the woman she is talking about. I walk closer to my friend and ask him, "Am I overreacting". I think on big occasions like this they out to have something for everybody and not just what is easiest for them to make. I see he has the woman's card. She works for Deloitte Touche Tomahatsu, a company I worked for before (though they don't do catering in reality). I know if she causes trouble, I can contact my connections there to back me up. The woman comes over again, this time acting more professional. I introduce myself as the chicken head she was complaining about before. I say I will hear her explanation about the food even though I know everything she will say to me is just her being polite and not how she really feels. I can tell from the look on her face she is embarrassed to know I overheard her ranting.

Scene switches: I am driving in my car going down a hill on my way to work. I am still upset about the cafeteria incident and am writing the complaint letter in my head. I know my complaint letter will upset the head of food services and will be brought to the attention of my boss' boss, GH. I imagine GH will tell my boss, JT, to get me under control. I decide that if JT is told to fire me, I am okay with that.

Distracted

I was at a hotel where I saw a college friend, NC, in the lobby. I liked him and wanted to give him a hint of my interest. So I walked over to the couch where he was sitting and sat right next to him. I sidled up next to him, making our arms and leg touch. He was told me some story and we both laughed at the ending. I took the opportunity to slip my right arm through his left and lay my head on his shoulder. Then my cell phone rang It was my other friend, AC. She was telling me about this football game we were watching on TV. Some ridiculous play happened which changed the outcome of the game. She was also gossiping about the people she saw there. All this time, NC was rubbing me on the back and shoulders, sliding his hands down and around my waist. I could barely concentrate on my phone conversation. I wanted to know whether he was interested in me, but things were going much better, much faster than I had expected. AC was talking, but I wasn't paying attention. Several times she paused for my reaction and I had to throw in a "Really?" or fake a laugh I thought was appropriate. Finally, I told AC I'd just have to call her back.

Old Flames, New Flames, Old Friends

I was in a small room with my ex-bf. We were sitting next to each other on a twin bed. Things were building slowly between us - we held hands at first, then held each other, then a bit of fondling/groping, then kissing. I was stretched out on top of him when he asked me what I wanted. He said I could have anything I wanted. We flipped over so he was on top. I whispered I wanted him inside me. He immediately got off and said something like, "See that is your problem. You're too fast." I was upset at first, but then realized that I was moving to sex before I really knew anything was there.

Scene switch: I was coming home - lived in apartment 625 in building 79 of a group of apartment buildings. I had a lot in my hands and had to balance my bicycle on my hip while I checked the mail. I carried the mail, other bags and the bicycle to my apartment, opened the door and went inside. Two seconds later, I hear a knock on my door. There was a cute guy (about 5' 9', caramel skin, head shaved bald) standing there. I had dropped something on my way to the apartment and he was returning it. I felt an attraction there, but just said, "Thank you" and quickly closed the door. I was thinking I should have at least asked his name and where he lived in the building. Then I heard another knock on the door. He saw some mail for my apartment on the floor when he was checking his mail and thought he would return it to me. This time, I asked his name, shook his hand and asked where he lived (724 in building 81). His name was something I never heard before - I asked him to spell it (Knaan - or something like that). Just then I recognized him from somewhere else. I looked at his face again and he turned into a girl I knew from elementary school that I just friended on Facebook (long dreadlocks). I asked if the K name was the real name - knowing that it wasn't. She looked at me funny. I said, "Michelle, don't you remember me? Pamela Taylor from elementary school." Then she realized who I was.

Aunt Pam to the Rescue!

I was driving down a familiar street (looked like Sepulveda Blvd in West LA). I needed to make a left turn onto another street (looked like Venice Blvd). There were two lanes turning left. At first, I was in the outer left turning lane behind a black horse. I looked at the cars in line to turn ahead of me and saw a few other horses in the lane. These horses had riders and were facing in the direction traffic was going; the black horse was riderless and facing backwards - toward my car. The look in the horse's eyes made me nervous. He looked like he could bolt at any minute and I didn't want him trampling my car. So I moved over into the inner left turning lane. It was a better move because there were fewer cars in that lane. As I pulled up to the intersection, I could see there was construction on Sepulveda south of Venice. Cars in the other lane could only go left or right; they couldn't go straight. The light turned green and I made the left turn onto Venice. I drove a little further then wound up at this rec center nearby.

My mother and sister were already there. They had heard on the radio about an accident involving many cars and a school bus. My nephew was on the bus heading to a field trip. The next thing I knew I was talking to him on the cell phone. He told me the bus skidded off the road and was stuck in a ditch. I asked if he were okay; he said yes, but the teacher had passed out. I asked him where he thought the bus was sitting. He didn't know his exact location, but thought the school bus was pretty close to the museum. He remembered passing a sign that said Chapel Hill. I was looking at a map, while he told me this. I found the museum on the map, which was not too far from the Durham-Chapel Hill line. I knew I could drive over there and get him faster than he would be brought back to us. I headed out - my sister was taking her time in getting ready - so I left her behind. I got to the car and thought that I may not be able to take him back since my sister wasn't with me and the people on the bus would only let him go with his mother. Then I remembered the teacher had passed out. I could pretend to be his mom and nobody would know.

Parting of the Young Crowd

In an old building - maybe an old hotel. I walked up 2-3 flights of stairs. As I leave the stairwell, I see a White woman with a her toddler in a jogging stroller. She eyes me suspiciously. I hear her say to the child, "We have to take the stairs because the elevator is so slow." Just as I leave the stairwell, I hear the ding of the elevator and think to myself, "If she had only been patient." I hop on the elevator and take it up to another floor. There are lots of people standing in the hallway. It is hot and the building has no air conditioning. I see a Black family - mom, dad and two teenagers - standing outside a door (from now on the rest of the characters are Black). They are locked out of their room and waiting for someone to come and open the door. I was with my friend, CC and two other people. A small crowd gathered behind us. We had to walk through the other side of the building (the east side) in order to continue going up. The buildings were connected via a covered glass walkway with two sets of glass doors. I could see through to the other side of the building - a larger crowd of young people were on the east side waiting to pass through to go downstairs. The east side crowd outnumbered the people behind me on the west side of the building. I looked back to see if there was an exit sign pointing to another stairwell. I asked the mom of the locked out family if there was another stairwell. She said something like, "I wish. That would be too easy."

I looked ahead of me at the crowd of youngsters on the other side. There was no way both groups could pass through the hall at the same time. Since our group was smaller, I thought we could pass through first and then they could be free to walk through to the other side. I pushed my way forward to the west side glass doors and pressed a button to talk through a speaker. I asked the kids on the other side to stand back and make room for us to pass through first, and then, we would return the favor. I saw the kids move to the sides of the hall and make a pathway in the middle for us to go through. Before I went through the doors, I asked the mom to make sure the other group had space to walk through the hallway like they were giving us, but when I looked behind me, I realized that may not be necessary since there weren't many people on our side of the hall and we could pass through easily to the other side. I started my way down the walkway to the east side. My nephew (or another kid) was with me. The rest of our group stayed behind the west side glass doors to see what would happen. The glass door on the other side opened automatically as we approached. At first, the kids were making room, then a few of them started spilling back inside the middle. I paused and then moved back to the other side of the door. I had to press a button to force the door to close. I looked behind me - the people on the west side were still behind the doors, watching to see if I could get through. I turned around and spoke into the speaker at the east side doors. I told the kids I was going to give them time to settle down and regroup - to make space for us again. The kids calmed down and then made a path for us to walk through. I hit the button again and the doors opened. My nephew and I walked through the crowd. The kids looked excited, though not to see us. We walked through the crowd to the top of the hill, and then, turned around to look down on the others as they passed through. My friend, CC and the other people in our group, walked through - waving to the crowd. The kids were jumping up and down as if my friends were celebrities that they had been waiting to see.

So Close to Hoochie Class

I was carrying two very large books back to the library. Each book was about 3-4 inches thick. I could barely wrap my arms around them. There were about 5 -6 other people walking in the same direction to the library. The people ahead of me would open the door and then each person behind would hold it open for the person behind. Since the books were in my arms, I had to use my feet and hips to keep the door open until the next person could hold it open for themselves. The books kept shifting in my arms. I held onto them until I got to the library. The library had two sets of glass doors - first set went outside and the second door went into the library. There was about 6-8 feet of waiting space in between. As I walked through the waiting space, the books slipped from my arms. I held one under my chin; the other one slipped down. I tried to hold on to it as it fell past my hips and the slipped to my knees. When it finally fell on the floor, I said to myself, "I was so close."

Scene switch: I am standing in the living room of my childhood home (post renovations). I was on the laptop signing into my online class. I got to the page and it listed two course in which I was enrolled. I checked the first class (began with R) to see if the instructor posted any materials to read the day before the class began. The website was designed with pictures of scantily clad Black women (as seen in any rap video). Written on top of the pictures were greetings and questions from the students enrolled in the class - like graffiti wall. I knew I didn't want to talk this class. Messages from the instructor scrolled across the top of the page. I read that the class was fully enrolled and many people had committed to attending (which was normal). I thought I needed to drop the class soon so someone on the wait list could get in.

Cleaning, Searching, Seeing, Accepting

At the beginning of the dream, I was riding the bus. I had gotten off the express bus from work and got on another bus to go to tango class. My friend, SO, got on the bus and sat nearby. I suddenly remembered we were going to get out of class very late. At first I thought I should have driven, but then thought maybe another friend, JH, or SO's husband could drive me back to my car. We got to the studio, but the class hadn't started. It took a while for the teacher to arrive. When he did, I realized that the room (which looked like a bedroom) was very messy. I had to move things back in place. There was a small table in the middle of the room that had to be moved back behind the bed. I also pushed the bed to be flush up against the table. I was trying to move things back in place and two other tango students, KS and CC, came to help. I apologized for things being such a mess, for not cleaning up before class started.

I went out of the room into the kitchen to get a drink of water. I ran into two women I knew from college. I was surprised to see them there. We hugged. They asked me where the bathroom was. I knew the place had a bathroom along one of the hallways. I walked them down there and saw my freshman college roommate, JJ, coming out of a room. I said half-jokingly, "JJ is in Raleigh, North Carolina and she didn't tell me?" JJ looked guilty, but didn't say anything. I realized if JJ was there, then the AKA sorority must be having a meeting in the house. I continued to walk down the halls. I remembered the house having two bedrooms on the floor, each with it's own bathroom inside - but they were not open to the public. I thought the public bathroom was one of the doors at the far end of the hall, but the doors I opened were not the right ones. I finally found the bathroom when I walked back to the beginning of the hall.

I walked back to the other side of the house and saw Rev. L, the campus chaplain from college, from across the room. I felt compelled to talk to him. In the dream I knew he was already dead (died at least 10 years ago in reality) and had been sent to talk to me. I walked over to him and he led me to his office. While following him I saw my hands, my body, and my feet in the dream. I made a point to touch my body. I named each thing aloud as I looked at it in the dream, "I see my hands. I see my body. I see my feet." (Saying it aloud seemed more conscious than the rest of the dream). Rev. L and I walked into his office. It was a small room, with a desk that took up most of the room. The desk was cluttered with stacks of paper. The room had a large window, a small whiteboard/chalkboard, and two chairs. We each sat in a chair - the window was to the right of me. (I saw my knees and my hands again.) Rev. L showed me transcripts of people whose names I did not know/remember. He told me these students started with me and needed to graduate. I asked him what he wanted me to do. He asked me to read their papers. He explained they started the research so long ago that many of their ideas have already been made into laws. I got the impression I wasn't supposed to critique the papers too much - just read them. I said I would do it. I said told him I would do whatever it is he would have me to do.

Accidental Secret Angel

I was driving on a snowy road following a friend of mine. I had a vantage point of the road from overhead, even though I was still driving my SUV. There were 3 or 4 cars ahead of us. I saw my friends car swerve, go slightly off the road and then get back on. I tried to slow down by taking my foot off the gas, but when I came to the same spot in the road, my SUV did the same. We continued down the road talking to each other on the phone. Then one of the cars in front of us slammed on the brakes. She tried to go around, but skid and flipped her car landing on the roof. I tried to slow down and my car flipped completely over landing on all four wheels. I got out unharmed and tried to rescue my friend who was disoriented. Some strange guy came up to my car and tried to go after her but I pulled a gun to protect myself. I felt like I was just pointing my fingers like a gun, but I could tell to him it looked like a real gun. He didn't think I was going to use it. So I made a sound like I was cocking it back and heard the click. He still didn't believe I was going to shoot, so I said bang bang and he was actually shot. I ran upstairs in the building nearby and ran into a college classmate. At first he didn't believe I had gotten into an accident, then I told him again - sent the thought to his mind - and then he did. He went to help my friend.

Scene switch: Another man was after me, following me, trying to kill me. He said he knew my secret. I made a finger gun. He shot at me but his bullets didn't hit me. I pointed my finger at him and shot him about 5 or 6 times before he went down.

Scene switch: With another guy that I liked. We were trying to have sex in a room where my brother was sleeping. We were on the floor in front of a chest of drawers. The guy reached in for a condom (looked like part of a fishnet stocking). He knew I was an angel or had some special powers and wanted to have sex with me. I clapped my hands above my head and created a force field around us, which blocked sounds and made us invisible to people on the outside. I could see my brother sleeping in the bed (like the one in our childhood bedroom). He kept looking over as if he heard a noise, but I could tell he didn't see us having sex. I was on top and the guy was laying on his back. I pulled him to sit up inside the force field to make sure he was completely inside. Then my brother got out of his bed and walked out the door looking for us. I had to be quick to bring the guy to orgasm before we had to go back. Then I heard other people looking for us, so I clapped my hands again and made the guy disappear. I grabbed his pants and walked out the door throughout the house, pretending I was looking for him and saying he must have gone for a walk.

LASIK recovery at home

I was at home in Far Rockaway after LASIK surgery. I came upstairs from my hiding spot in the basement with my goggles on. I surprised family by being home. My mom was happy I had LASIK, brother, sister and nephew were there. I hugged all of them. I went into the kitchen and saw some guy in the dining room mirror who looked like my father. I went to hug him, but realized as I got closer it wasn't the same person. The cornea flap in my left eye kept coming up. I felt it undo itself. I could see in the mirror that it was flipping up from the bottom and I couldn't flip it back down. I was getting really nervous and wanted to call after hours care. At first, family said to wait, but then I said, "No, I want to call right now." I was calling 411 and asked for Duke and the operator gave the wrong number. I realized I was calling from NY. Decided to use my cell phone to make sure I was calling 919 to ask for Duke after hours number. I remember the number ended in 1111. I was looking frantically for the post-operation paperwork in my bags. I just found the paper and then I heard this song that I had only heard before on a show I was watching on television with my sister.

Parking, Calling home, Dialing the wrong number

I was somewhere killing time. I drive in and out of the parking garage of this building two or three times and then would go to a cafe. The last time I went into the garage, I hit the garage door opener, but the rolling steel door did not go up all the way. I thought my SUV could fit, and it barely got through the opening. I went to park, but stopped so I could decide which parking stall to choose. There were a few spaces open in front of me, but I didn't want to other people to park in front of me because I thought I would need to move for them to get out. But when I pulled closer to the space, I could see there was another way to get out. I saw cars come down a ramp from higher floors, drive around the corner to exit on another street. So I parked, got out and went into the cafe.

I saw a clock - the time was 6:47. Suddenly I remembered my writing group was meeting at 6:30. I was already late. I started to call the workshop leader on my cellphone, but then I got a call from home. I answered the phone and heard my brother say, "Where is it?" I didn't know what he was talking about. I was frantic about getting to the workshop since I was already late and asked if I could call him back. I called the workshop leader's number. It took three or four rings to her answer. I feared she might not because the group was probably working on the first prompt. When she did answer, I apologized for being late. I didn't introduce myself and wasn't sure she recognized my voice, but she said in a low voice, "Hello PT". She said I could come for the second part.

I tried to call my brother back on the cell phone, but I didn't get through. When I looked at the phone, I realized I had dialed the wrong number. I tried dialing on a land line and still kept dialing the wrong number. The key pad was sticky - so I would press a number once and the same digit would appear on the screen two or three times. My friend came to help me, but the numbers still came out wrong or transposed - too many 7s or 8s. I finally decided to use the voice command on my cell phone.

Unemployed...almost

Sitting in the unemployment office waiting for my turn. I'm sitting next to a woman who reminds me of LP. She and I are talking. Based on the question she asks, I can tell she's been here before. We are sitting on a long bench that almost feels like a pew. The unemployment worker is in the pew in front of us. He hangs his clipboard over the back of his pew and turns to us. LP asks for certain benefits, including a bus pass. He gets to me. I say "I am not unemployed yet, but it is inevitable." I ask if there is anything he could do for me before I get fired, but there isn't.

Peeling off layers

Taking a shower in the bathroom in the basement of my mother's house. I turned on the water trying to get it hot before I got in. I started taking off my clothes - bottoms first and then my shirt. I had so many layers of clothing - took off about 8 or nine different tops before I finally got to the tee-shirt, tank top and jog bra I had on the bottom. It was frustrating because I knew I was wasting hot water and needed to get some place.

Weight loss, dogs in the sand

I'm sitting in my office at work and overhear three colleagues talking about another colleague (KQ).  One of the men is saying that KQ is always eating, but needs to lose a little weight.  I don't hear the other two say anything in her defense.  KQ comes in my office with tears in her eyes because she has overheard the conversation.  I take her for a walk outside and tell her I heard the same conversation.  I tell her the guy is an a--hole and she shouldn't listen to him.  He's 42, still single, out of shape and doesn't exercise. KQ tells me what hurt more was that the other two colleagues (her friends) didn't say anything in her defense.  I say it is hard to say something in that situation.  She asks me what I would say.  I tell her I would have thrown it back in the guy's face - tell him he's not in the best shape either.  But that is because I know how he is and the other two colleagues think he is so smart.  

We walk back to the office, which is near the beat.  We have to go up stairs to cross over a covered bridge to get to the other side of the pier.  We go down the stairs and end up on the beach in very deep sand.  It is very difficult to walk in.  I see a dog covered in sand.  I can't really tell if the dog is alive.  I think I see it blink, but cannot be sure.  KQ is walking ahed of me and now another colleague, YS, is with us.  I fall down in the sand and see another dog.  I have trouble standing up and have to get on all fours.  The dogs perceive me as a threat and start to move.  I realize I have to stnad up.  I crawl to the edge, past the sand and KQ and YS slowly help me up.  We walk down the path with the dogs following us until we walk past the public bathrooms.  They turn around and go back once we are out of their "territory". We walk back to the office.  I wanted to tell KQ that she has gained weight and offer to work out with her, but the dog situation threw me off.

I get back to my desk and start to work, but I can tell it is late in the day.  I heat up something in the microwave and then some guy brings me food.  YS and KQ come by and invite me out.  They say they've checked my calendar and I am free.  I say, "I don't have tango or anything?" - they tell me I do not.  I try to bring my two meals with me one is some Indian dish with chickpeas and the other is linguine with clams sauce. Both meals are in pouches which make it difficult to carry.  I try to balance these without spilling their contents as I head downstairs.

Scene switches, I am in the car with a man that is my husband and our son (about 9 or 10 years old).  We are in the back of a limousine.  I say something about my beautiful boy.  It feels like we are in a foreign country.

Car insurance on the island

JL was supposed to get me a pair of headphones, but he forgot. He told me how to get to the place that sells them - drive to the other side of the island to the end of the road. I also needed to mail something, so I was going to the post office as well. I got in the car and took the highway to the other side of the island. I saw a red sign for the east side of the island along the side of the road. The other side of the island was dark and deserted with very few cars on the road. It had snowed. I was going faster than I should have been going in the snow. I got to a roundabout, but the right side of the roundabout was blocked with an orange cone, so I went to the left. I took the turn too fast and lost control of the vehicle. I was flung out of the car and aw the car flip over and crash into a tree on the driver's side. I walked through the snow, picked up the car and turned it over to put it right side up. The drivers side door had a big dent in it, but the car was still driveable. I got in the car and drove to the next intersection, but was unsure which way to go to get to the post office. A woman driving by asks me something and I ask her how to get to the nearest post office. She told me to go back to the one in the city on the other side of the island. It was open later and had 20-30 people there. She said the one on this side of the island was probably closed. It seemed too far to drive back with a damaged car. I tell her about the accident and show her car. I become nervous because I do not remember if I purchased insurance. We walk back to the car and look for the printout from the rental place (Hertz). I find the receipt and see I have purchased insurance. - $68 a day for the car and $40 a day for insurance for a total of $131 a day for the rental. I am relieved.