What Dreams May Come

I really can't explain what the hell is up with my subconscious these days. I know I said I wasn't going to keep documenting my weird-ass dreams, but I can't help thinking maybe somebody out there has some insight on this absurdity. Amateur dream analysis? Anyone? Here are two more for you.

One: A couple nights ago, I dreamt I was in prison. It was nothing like OZ or Prison Break or anything like that (I’ve actually never seen either of those shows; I’m just guessing for lack of a better reference point). No, it was a reasonably habitable and friendly, no-bars sort of place. There was a common area that looked a whole lot like the church basement where we had school events and sloppy joe dinners when I was a kid, and the whole lock-in thing seemed to be on an honor system more than anything else. I have no idea why I was there, but it seemed to be for some sort of political protest or civil disobedience kind of thing as opposed to a “real” and heinous crime like killing or stealing or whatnot. I actually met a very nice young man there who I seemed to be connecting with quite well, and when I woke up, I immediately felt sad to have lost him. (I surely hope this isn't my brain's way of suggesting I start looking in more unconventional places such as prisons for new boyfriend candidates. I'm really not even close to that desperate right now.) Perhaps strangest of all, though, was the fact that I was in custody (you know you want me to say it: “I’m incarcerated, Lloyd!”), and yet, my biggest (and possibly only) concern was how I was going to send my mortgage payment in from the fake church basement prison. Yes, even in my dreams, I'm an overly responsible and boring dork. Perhaps what my subconscious is telling me in this particular case is that I need to let loose and get out more.

Two: Last night, I dreamt I was visiting my parents at their house in Wisconsin. It was late at night, and I went downstairs for a drink of water, and when I turned on the light, I woke up my infant baby sister--an infant baby sister that I do not have, mind you, and an infant baby sister who was, for some reason, sleeping in a crib in my mother's office off of the kitchen instead of in a proper nursery or bedroom upstairs. She cried for a bit, and then called out clearly, "You've left me alone in here too long! Come hold me!" So I went into the office to pick her tiny self up out of the crib, whereupon we had a meaningful chat in clear and grown-up words that infants generally aren't able to articulate. I asked her if she wanted to go to a movie tomorrow, and she replied, "I'd like that." She then explained how she always felt she didn't get a chance to really know me because I was at college when she was born. I graduated from college nine years ago, so perhaps baby sister had some sort of stunted-growth disorder and maybe that explains the age-inappropriate linguistic ability. Still, I have no idea what to make of this.

In that same dream, I found myself with a need to look up some topic or other, and I went to my parents’ bookshelf for a reference book. The reference book I was looking for (and, of course, unable to find)? Wikipedia. That’s right; I was looking for a bound, printed version of Wikipedia. Again, I am a tremendous nerd, even when I’m asleep. Lord help me.