Battle for Freedom

I'm at work. I've had suspicions about a weird machine which is used to control minds. I get a call from HR telling me it's time to schedule a dentist appointment. I find it odd that HR cares at all about when I have my teeth cleaned. I head over to the site and notice that there are not any choices about where I go for my appointment. It becomes clear to me that something is awry. I recall the mind control machine and decide I need to do some research into this dentist. First, though, I schedule an appointment with my dentist. I figure I'll cancel with the company dentist later.

So I head over to the dentist department to examine their facilities. I see the mind control equipment and realize that my fears have come true. The company plans to use mind control on all the employees. I'm not sure what I can do about this problem. I end up getting a call from someone about my access into the dental facilities. I get myself out of trouble by explaining that I was checking on my appointment. Somehow I get in touch with a secret society who is also aware of the mind control devices. I notice that someone from the company has infiltrated the meeting so I attempt to explain her motives to the leader. He doesn't listen to my claims and the group follows the leader. I notice that he has some device on him which seems to be controlling him. I rush forward and rip the device from his person. He is free from whatever was controlling him. Now he directs his people that the woman is evil.Over time I make friends with people from the group. Some of them are disfigured. One of them looks like an elephant and is very strong. Another looks like a bear.

One day I walk out of the complex and notice a mine where lots of activity is taking place. I sneak up along the bank beside the mine and I notice some key people from the company (I'm more convinced it's a community rather than a company now) are discussing plans for the controlling/cloning of the people in the community. I try to watch them secretly, but I notice they look up in my direction occasionally. I believe I am hidden, but I am not so sure. I duck down out of sight, but I sense that someone is approaching my position. She sees me now and I know I'm in trouble. I make a break for the other bank and the mountains beyond, but I don't think I will make it. Then I see my friends approach. They are coming to my aid! I continue to make my escape while they move in for the attack. After I have had a chance to recoup myself, I head back over to the mine. I spot the leader of the company crawling away from the mine, trying to sneak away. I jump on him and begin fighting him. The fight is fairly intense, but I am victorious. I believe I put him down permenantly. Then I see two of the main professors from the mind controlling team and I take them out as well. Now I begin to head into the mine. I see bodies scattered about. Some are the enemies, some are my friends. I check every room for a mastermind, expecting a deadly encounter, but I never find it. Eventually I walk into a room with what appears to be someone lying in bed. I jump on the bed and uncover a robot. The robot appears to be powered down, but I feel a sense of fear. This robot is responsible for creating a clone army based on the DNA of the residents of the community. I head back towards the mine entrance and along the way I notice a control panel. I find the settings for the cloning and set every category down. I basically set it so that any clones created will not be viable. Then I exit the mine.

Upon exiting I see complete chaos. The residents have formed what appears to be two factions and they are fighting against each other for control. I run through the craziness, looking for my friends. I find some people who are acting friendly towards me and speak with them. I am not sure exactly how it happens, but the two factions come to an agreement and one of the people becomes the new leader. I am not particularly fond of the leadership, but I was not wanting to take on the responsibility myself so I go with it. Eventually it is clear that the leader is corrupt and must be ousted. I lead the overthrow and am instated as the new leader. This isn't what I wanted, but I feel it is necessary. My leadership is well received. The last thing I remember from the dream is flying on a helicopter to the top of King Cheops' pyramid.

Gabby Hartnett, Baseball Player

This dream is an odd one. I remember bits and pieces, but I don't recall the exact order. All the small pieces of the dream seem related, though.

There I am, Gabby Hartnett, outfielder for the Oakland Athletics. Nevermind that the real Gabby Hartnett played catcher for the Cubs (a fact I just found out this morning). We seem to be losing quite a bit of late, though according to the standings we're still in first place. The gap is tight. A teammate of mine is having a conversation with me where he basically tells me he tries to do everything opposite of the way I do it. He tells me my technique is all wrong, but he does mention that it works for me. I'm a bit confused by that, but I let it roll off. Now we're having a meeting with the commissioner of baseball. He talks about an expansion they did a few years back, adding some new team to the league, but that now they have to contract. There's a team that is going to get eliminated. The thought going through my head is that the Washington Senators are going to be contracted. It's never clear in the dream which team it is. This, of course, is bad for all the players because fewer teams means fewer players. So there's going to be some players leaving the majors. I'm worried about this not because I'm a bad player, but because I'm not a very popular player. For some reason all the players are reallocated across the teams, rather than just reallocating the players from the contracted team. My name never appears on any team so it's clear I've been cut.

Now I'm in school. It appears I'm much younger, though I believe I'm still Gabby Hartnett from the Oakland Athletics who got cut. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But the impression about the class is that I'm a very good student and tend to get A's especially in math class. This class is a Physics class. On this day, the teacher is passing back a test we took previously. My memory of taking the test is pretty clear. It was an open book exam and consisted of about 7 questions. The questions did not seem physics related, however. When I get my test back, I'm at first pleased because I think I did well, but then it becomes apparent that I scored a 32 on it. The test says "See me" in German, I believe. I have no idea why my teacher would be grading a physics test in German, but that appears to be the case. Well I'm very displeased by this. I find myself examining the test deeply and when I look up from it, I notice the class is gone. Where did everyone go? My thought is that they must have gone to the theater for some special event, but I'm not exactly sure. Now I'm worried because I'm missing something important because I was dwelling on my poor test grade. The next day I ask the teacher for assistance. He says he's very busy and can't help today. I ask about tomorrow. He says he's still busy. I ask about the next day. He become irritable. I ask about the next day and the next. He becomes irate and it's obvious he has no intention of helping me out at all. We get into a shouting match in class where he eventually tells me to go to the Principal's office. I tell him I'm going there on my own accord, not because he's telling me. The class cheers at this. On my way to the Principal's office it's clear the whole school know about what happened. I get people patting me on the back, cheering me on. When I arrive at the Principal's office he's teaching a class. I find this odd, but I take a seat on a stool next to him. I start to say something, but I decide to wait until he's done teaching. There's some sort of fractal drawn on the board and discussion in the class seems to be centering around that. After a discussion goes on for awhile, one of the students raises his hand and suggests to the Principal that he hears what I have to say. I explain the situation to the Principal. While I'm explaining the situation, I'm thinking that I really should be taking care of things myself rather than whining to the Principal about it and I almost expect the Principal to respond in the same way. He tells me that I should go back to class. I shouldn't have been sent to him. Well that is a victory for me. Or is it? When I get back to class I explain to the teacher that the Principal sent me back. He didn't see any reason for me to be there. The class senses my victory over the teacher, but the teacher is unfazed. He responds by telling me that the Principal may not want me to see him again, but that he runs the class. My grade depends on what he thinks about my performance, not what the Principal says. So, in fact, he is in control. I realize he's exactly right and a sense of hopelessness surrounds me.

Now we're outside. The teacher has been spending his spare time building an archery range near the school. Somehow the Principal gets wind of this. Whether I told him or the Principal found out on his own, I don't know. The teacher is sure it was me. The Principal tells the teacher that he is not spending his time well and Archery is not a part of the physics curriculum. The teacher tries to explain how important archery is, but the Principal will hear no part of it. Then the techer mentions that this is the burial site of one of his relative and therefore his to build as he wants. The Principal orders students to start ripping gravestones out of the ground so he can build a small schoolhouse for the teacher to teach in. Under protest, I assist. I'm very uneasy about pulling people's gravestones out of the ground for this purpose. I mention knowing some of the people whose graves I'm pulling out. The Principal is unconcerned. Then a schoolhouse is placed in, crushing the gravestone of the teacher's kin. The teacher looks horrified.

Now I'm on my way home. I'm thinking about how everything would be different if I wasn't so poor. When I arrive, I find all the doors are locked and there's this woman inside who won't let me in. She is the girlfriend of a relative, perhaps? I don't really know. She claims that the house is hers now. I bang on the door a bit and try going in the side. The door is blocked by some laundry baskets, but I push hard enough and break in. She tells me to get out and that this is her place now. I tell her she's crazy and it's not her place. Eventually she calms down and it becomes clear that she needs me for something. We end up taking a trip somewhere and end up in a bar. We both head to the restroom and she knocks on a bathroom stall. There she gets herself a fake id. Apparently it's some sort of felony id which indicates that she was previously in jail. She doesn't care, though, because the id claims she is 21 and that's all she cares about. I'm not really sure the purpose of the id, but we end up at a baseball type place. Apparently she is somebody of importance in the baseball world and the team is willing to allow both her and I to stay with them. My job is to do with ballpark maintenance. My thought is that I will be able to impress the team with my playing skills so they'll want me on the team. The team I'm working for is the Philadelphia Phillies. I know this because the ballpark I'm working at is Veterans Stadium. I'm sorry I didn't bring my camera along because it's nice to see Veterans Stadium again (I visited there as a kid). I remember that I have my Treo with me. I take a few pictures. It's clear that I'm in a time period where digital cameras have not yet been invented. The person I'm walking with is amazed by the technology. I don't make a big deal about it and put the phone away. On the field they need me to clean up the dirt. It's not very smooth and the pitcher's mound is in disarray. I try to find a rake to use, but the ones they have are not going to work on the mound dirt. They just make lines in the dirt rather than smoothing it out. As we're walking to the mound, the guy I'm with gives me some new shoes to wear. They are rubbery tennis shoes. A very odd design, but they seem to fit. I notice some boots laying on the ground labled "Gabby Hartnett". I question whether I'll be doing mascot work, but the guy assures me I won't be. I look around for something to use so I can cover the mound and make it easier for the pitcher to get a grip on the surface. I find this matt and pull it over to the mound. It is a nice surface and I think it will work nicely. The pitcher comes over and wonders what the heck I've done to the mound. I tell him to give it a try. He does and is very impressed. For some reason I think this discovery will help my chances of joining the team. I spend the game over by the foul line and the Philles have a successful game. That's about all I remember from this dream. The question still remains whether I played again.

Babysitting

I'm walking through an apartment complex when I hear some voices. They are angry voices and are arguing. When I come to the entrance where the voices originate, I see three black children. Two are around 6 maybe and the other is around 4. The youngest is a girl while the two older children are boys. The apartment is bare and there are no adults in sight. My main concern is for the little girl who is picking up lots of bad language from her older brothers. I elect to invite the girl over to my place until her parents return. One of the boys objects to this and wants to see my place and make sure everything is okay with his sister. It's not as it sounds, however. His motives are not so pure. He simply wants to see what I have available for him. My childhood dog, Nutmeg, is there and both children become enamoured immediately and elect to stay. The kids are more work than I had bargained for. They both are bratty, though I maintain my cool. The dream has the children switching between the black children and two of my cousins (Colin and Carolyn). I finally decide it is time for them to leave. Their parents have not yet returned, but I have had enough. Getting them to leave is a very difficult process. Nutmeg is certainly glad to see them depart.

Work...

So many odd events led up to the end of this dream that I can't remember, I only remember the last scene.

I'm at an office Christmas party, and I think it's Delta. Some people are very upset, very sad. They were just told they are being fired and replaced with Indian contractors. Somehow I know that there are some openings for which I am being considered.

Two Indian contractors walk up to me, a man and a woman, they are both very nice. They congratulate me and welcome me to the team. I'm very happy. I stammer out that I didn't know if I'd get the job, but I guess this means I did. The guy goes on about how he's happy to be working with me, and says he knows I'm good at structs, and I reply, saying stuff about SMI and ST.

As the party breaks up and we're walking away talking, I'm nervous about what I say in case he decides I'm not very smart after all and decides not to take me. He senses this, and explains that I shouldn't worry, since I'm not in the same category as the other people that were let go, and that they're looking forward to working with me, and they've only heard good things about me.

I wake up very frustrated and can't get back to sleep. I think about how everyone always tells me that... how good I am, how they had looked forward to working with me, etc. And yet for years I have been under-utilized, un-promoted, and now I'm out of a job. I wish people wouldn't tell me that, since now I believe it's probably not true. If it was I wouldn't be out of work while I look around and see people I have long considered to be "faking it" to go on working, and hear others sing their praises. Makes me think that people must get a "collective conscience" type of idea on how good or bad someone is, and just work from that, even though closer examination could reveal the truth.

But since it's 4:30 a.m. and I've been awake for an hour and will probably be awake for the duration....I guess I'll post this and get some coffee.

The Coffin

I'm at a party and I've been drinking too much. I have a bunch of friends over and we're listening to music and such. My dad is very displeased with this and it becomes apparent that my mom has died and this is a post funeral party. Or maybe it's a post viewing party. But I haven't viewed the body. I feel horrible that I've been carousing with my friends during this event and I appologize to my dad. Then I head downstairs and begin emptying my drink. The emptying of my drink is almost a ritual. I find there are rose petals in my drink and I'm spraying it down upon the ground (inside the house, oddly enough). I'm up high and I attempt to get some of the drink into a pot which contains some beautiful flowers (obviously meant for the funeral). Everyone has gone to bed. I'm to sleep in the living room. The coffin is just through a door, possibly on the deck? I sneak into the room with the coffin and consider the fact that I haven't seen the body. I'm nervous about opening the coffin, but I decide I need to see. I carefully open the coffin and pull apart a cloth covering the body. My mom looks peaceful. Then I notice that she's breathing. Someone has mistakenly believed her dead! She opens her eyes and talks to me as though she's just awakened from a nap and isn't laying in a coffin. I'm amazed and happy that she's alive. I get her out of the coffin and head into the living room so I can take her upstairs and show my dad and sisters that she's alive. When I get out into the living room, my dad is in there. He's sort of floating over the floor. At this point I become uneasy. People don't float. Is he using some sort of wires to suspend himself? He calls me upstairs and I realize that I can float, too. Now I'm sure this isn't real. I'm dreaming that my mom is still alive. It's all wishful thinking. I'm rather distraught at this and I find myself next to the open coffin again. I had been sleeping. The body is stiill laying peacefully in the coffin. She is still dead. I carefully put everything back in order within the coffin and close it. I hear someone stirring in the living room so I slide the coffin back where it was. Then, on my knees, I sneak back into the living room. My dad is standing there observing my odd entrance, but he doesn't look confused. I think he understands how difficult the death is for me and knows I needed to be out there. We exchance a few knowing glances and he walks around looking like he has a purpose, but not really accomplishing anything. I feel a sense of emptiness. Then I awake.

Band Party Voodoo House

My old band has decided to get together and perform for our friends. The bass player Stan has made arrangements to rent an old house for our party from a nearby church. We are downtown in some old city, probably New Orleans or New York. The city is a bit run down but still quite beautiful to me. All of my friends look like they did fifteen years ago. The drummer Trey shows up in typical style with a beautiful girlfriend and asshole buddies. The lead guitar player pulls up in his red Trans Am and is eager to plug in his amp and make some noise. I find myself repressing angry feelings toward the both of them for breaking up the band.

Stan shows up looking frazzled from working that day and takes us all to the church to get the keys to the party house. The church is not having service but there are several people milling around the place. The head of the church was some type of voodoo woman and there were stone sarcophagus around the alter area. There is some confusion about the rental of the house and it turns out that Stan made arrangements with some flake that answered the phone instead of the proper person. He has also greatly under paid for the rental. We try to correct the problem, but the house appears to be booked and is very expensive to boot.

There are allot of people gathering to see the show and the day is waning. I am stressing because we have not played together in a long time and I am worried about remembering the songs. I want to get in some practice time. We decide to go setup in the old house anyway and people are starting to drink and get excited. I am excited too. I feel very young and alive.

Things start to get fuzzy at this point. Some people from the church are mad that we are using the house. It turns out that they are some kind of cult. They have long robes and the head lady is quite crazy and angry. I am afraid that they will call the police on us. I seem to remember being back in the church and hiding. I was being chased. I sensed that there was something bad about the stone coffins and was afraid some ancient evil would be released. Thank god I had to get up and pee.

Bar Craziness

I'm at a bar. I believe it's a combination between Suburban Tap and Jocks and Jills. All the waitresses know me there and stop by to say hello from time to time. For some reason I order quite a bit of food while I'm there. Like 3 appetizers, a main course, and dessert (ice cream, I believe). I'm there for a long time. I get the feeling I arrived fairly early and have been hanging out there all day. I mention to one of the waitresses about the poetry I've written and she convinces me that I need to do a reading the next night. Interestingly enough, it has actually been planned for awhile and they've been advertising for my poetry reading. I'm stuffed and the appetizers arrive. They arrive late because there was some confusion in the kitchen. Not sure what that was all about. So there I am sitting at this table with all these appetizers and I have no desire to eat any of it. A few waitresses come over and sit with me and I offer my appetizers to them. They are very enthusiastic about it and start eating. When my bill arrives it is for 94 dollars. Not a cheap dinner experience for one person. At this point Gordon enters the dream. Apparently he is ready to pay his bill as well. He complains about his 11 dollar bill being high and then I explain that I've got a 94 dollar bill. He is completely shocked. Poof! Gordon is gone from the dream again. Now apparently there was some band playing that evening...or they were setting up a stage late in the night. I don't really remember which. But anyway, I'm starting to have second thoughts about the poetry reading. I keep it to myself, though. When it's time to leave, I find myself with lots of things to carry out to my car. The waitresses have packaged up some food for me. I think it's cake. For some reason I have luggage with me now, so I ask if some of the waitresses can help me carry my stuff out to the car. They assist me and I head off for the night.

The next day I've decided there's no way I'm going to do that poetry reading. I decide it's best if I just avoid the place altogether. I think I miss the time of the reading, but I decide I'll go into the place anyway. I'm sitting in a booth nervous that someone will ask me to perform the poetry or complain that I missed the time. Eventually I get a "fuck it" attitude and figure that I'll just tell them I didn't want to do it and leave it at that. That's about all I remember from the dream.

Epic Battle

There are war elephants, the kind from Lord of the Rings, and there's a huge battle gearing up. Suddenly the side I'm on is entrenching behind a wall, with boulders and stuff protecting us. A bunch of coworkers are with me. The enemy, which outnumbers and outguns us, is pouring into position in their own area opposite us. It's like we are facing eachother behind two balcony walls in an outdoor mall area, but on a vast scale. As we entrench, there's one guy on our side who's panicky, and he's whining and scared and stuff.

Then they attack, they start lobbing huge flaming fireballs using a trebuchet. We watch as one flies towards us, right where we're hiding. It slams into the wall with terrific force, and I feel a tremendous shock as the whole fortress shakes, and I'm holding on to the wall trying to keep it together. Then we're almost neck deep in water for some reason. Maybe the panicky guy wet his pants, we're not sure, but he doesn't want us to get rid of the water because it's comforting to him. I don't listen to him, and open a crack in the wall and the water rushes out. Then more flireballs are launched by more trebuchets.

Now, suddenly I'm discussing an archeological find I'd made. I discovered the hadrosaur, and wanted to give the honor of discovering it to the panicky guy because it might boost his confidence. But someone, some being or entity who's in charge of such things, informs me that that's not right since the panicky guy didn't deserve credit for discovering the hadrosaur. The being, for some reason I think it was female, said that for truth and justice's sake, I should give her the credit instead because it's only right, so I did. As I walked away I thought of how odd it was that in order to maintain truth and justice I had to give her credit instead of the panicky guy, when neither one really discovered the hadrosaur.

Then I try and get back into the battle, I open the elevator and see my wall I was hiding behind, but how to get to it without getting shot. Someone I know from TPF was there, trying to give me instructions. As I peak around the doorway, an enemy combatant draws a bead on me and fires. I duck back in just in time, and I think about how I'm pretty invincible, as if I know that in my dreams I'm some sort of super soldier or something. I go to the next level down, and am ready to make a dive for it to get behind the wall again. Then I notice that in the courtyard below, a lot of people are milling around, like there's not a battle going on. Then I realize with horror that some of the people milling around are the enemy soldiers!

Suddenly, Allen Powell is there and he's on the enemy's side, and as he sees me a look of shock comes over his face. He informs me that if anyone sees me they'll shoot me on sight. He takes me over to a table where I'm hiding my face, and informs me that the battle is over, and that it was a massacre, and that most of my side were killed in the attacks, but many, many more were killed outright after the enemy had breached the fortress and were walking among them with impunity, just stabbing and slaughtering everyone. Allen shudders as he talks about all the arms and legs and heads laying around in a big pile. I wonder at it all, and how inconceivable it is that my side should have lost and all my friends are dead.

Can't Remember

Should have posted this earlier...now all I can remember are two parts of this dream.

First, I was in an office, different from my own but some of the same characters. Someone, I think Glen, is coming around asking for certian forms that should be filled out. John and I tell him we don't have those forms, and have never heard of them. He informs us that all programmers on all teams always fill out a form for every bug fix or load we make, and put those forms in a file in our desks. But Judy never told us about that, and we realize that she's been keeping this information from us, and now we have no forms.

Second, now I'm with the same group of people from work, only we've gone overseas and we're at some mall or something in a foreign country, and we're sitting around in a food court or something. There's a strike going on with one of the stores and the strikers were crowded around the checkout counter. I'd read about the two sides to the strike, and I guess had thought it was obvious that the strikers were doing the right thing. Someone makes an anouncement about it on a loudspeaker, and when they mention the strike, I start clapping loudly for them and give them the thumbs up, to which the strikers smile and return my thumbs up. Suddenly I'm aware that the few dozen fellow wsp folks with me are not clapping along, and there's a cold silence. All the other people around me were against the strikers in order to show respect for the hosting country. Then Nick is sitting beside me saying "now why do you think they should be on strike" and he starts arguing with me.

I wake up in a cold sweat.... it's a long time before I can get back to sleep. I have to read a book about bigfoot or something to forget about it and fall back asleep.

Can't Breathe

I was in an auditorium, or something like it, at a college maybe. An old girldfriend walks by and I get her to come sit with me. I'm drinking a beer and don't want her to smell it on my breath. She and I talk for a while, then I look at her and say "you're very beautiful", to which she protests, saying we can't get back together. I tell her I don't want to get back together, we don't have enough in common, but that she's still beautiful. Some other people I know are sitting around, and a play is about to begin.

As the play starts, I'm sitting next to my father, and I'm having trouble breathing (this is a real life problem I have sometimes, had it since childhood, and in fact was suffering from it all night but didn't have an inhaler). I felt very weak and told my father. He didn't seem too concerned. I asked him why not and he replied that he had never really believed I ever had anything wrong with me, thought it was all in my head. At this point I started ripping off my shirt and t-shirt, I felt they were too constraining and I couldn't get a breath. I eventually collapsed and was so weak I couldn't move. They stopped the play and closed the auditorium, but instead of carrying me out, they carried me to the back where all the actors and stagehands were milling around.

Now they weren't too happy with me, and since I was laying there like I was dead they started rummaging through my pockets and stealing money from my wallet. I finally spoke up and told them to put that back, which they did grudgingly. Then they all started abusing me, calling me names and poking at me and stuff. I got my cell phone out and tried to call for help. For some reason I called *69 but hung up when I realized it was wrong. I then called 911 and started to tell them my plight, but just then the ambulance and police arrived so I hung up. Unfortunately the cop didn't seem to care much about me, and joined in with the others. As I lay there struggling to breathe and struggling to move one guy was sticking a stick at my butt and I told the cop to tell him to stop, the cop said "it's not a stick, it's a matchbox" so I said "well make him stop poking me with ANYthing." And I complained because the cop was supposed to be protecting me. Then I called my father on the cell phone and told him the problem but there was silence on the other end. I said "are you there" and he said "Yeah I'm here" in an irritated manner, but it was obvious he didn't care and didn't want to be bothered and wasn't going to do anything, so I hung up.

Now Katelyn started crying and we heard her in the monitor and that woke us up. I was so tired and really did have trouble breathing that my wife got up with her. Then I immediately started dreaming again. I dreamed my sister-in-law carried Katelyn and put her in my bed, and my shirt was off, and instead of paying attention to Katelyn I became engrossed in a wild chest hair that was encrusted with some sort of paper stuff, and so I began to pick it clean, then I realized Katelyn had scampered off and went back to her own room.

This morning my wife assured me no one brought Katelyn into our room.

Cable Installation Gone Bad

There was cable work to be done. I don't really know what was getting installed, but the procedure seemed simple enough. Sarah was with me for the installation, though she didn't have any idea what was going on. She was very inquisitive about the process. So much so that she began to get annoying and grabby with the cables and switches. At one point I gave her a shot at solving a problem and putting some cables together and she had no idea what she was doing. I finally got fed up with her presence and yelled at her to get out so I can get some work done. I appologized for being so short, but I really wanted to get the job finished.

Cut to a meeting room. I'm there with my co-workers. Judy is asking a consultant why he wasn't teaching Leroy about network configuration. As it turns out, the previous segment of my dream turns out to be me playing the consultant, and Sarah becomes Leroy. So it was the consultant who yelled at Leroy to get out. Well this just wasn't good. Leroy apparently needed to learn this stuff. So now I'm in the role of the consultant, answering for this heinous crime. Basically my response is that Leroy is an incompetent buffoon who doesn't know a thing about servers. There is some agreement about the room, though the implication is that Judy is not satisfied with this response. I then explain that I was concerned about completing the project on time with Leroy there and that I can fully document the process. At this point it is clear the consultant is on a little sandy island, and perhaps island is too strong a word. It is then explained how he had to flee from Leroy and ended up stuck in the ocean because of it. There is some feeling of understanding about the table.

Now Nick, Paula, and Glen are magically present on the tiny island with me. Vacation? I don't know. But it is clear we want to try to swim back to the mainland. It seems as though I can breathe underwater and Nick explains to me that it's much better if you breathe the water in and out, but that you can still drown without oxygen, you just won't feel it coming. An odd situation. So we're swimming when I find myself unable to surface and realizing that I am going to drown. I attempt to flail my arms desperately and splash some water about, but I fear my companions may not notice my absence until it is too late. Then I feel someone pulling me up. It's Nick. He had seen my flailing and saved me from my drowning. I thanked him profusely for saving my life. And that, I believe, was the end of the dream.

Cheerleading

I'm in a cheerleading contest with a group of cheerleaders. We're doing our warm up before our turn to be graded. We always do our routines impromptu, and go through a warm up, watching the leader, and trying to imitate him.

As we start our warm up, I notice the judge is looking at us, and timing us. Then he comes over and says "times up", and the leader says "what the hell is going on", and the judge says "that was your routine, and your times up". We try and convince them that that was only our warm up, not our routine.

Then we make a decision, we go ahead and start doing the routine anyway, even though the head judge is trying to usher us off the stage. I tell him that it won't hurt anything to let us perform, and if he wants to judge us on our warm up instead of our routine, that's his choice.

We start our routine, and I'm following the leader, and we're all going through these weird movements and gyrations. I and the other cheerleaders on our squad are like one step behind the leader all the time, as he does odd stretchy things. I get the feeling that the crowd is cheering for us.

Horrible

I'm on a ferry or some kind of big boat crossing a channel. My 2 year old daughter falls over the rail and into the water 60 feet below. I immediately dived, surfaced, and began looking for her! I was frantic! I couldn't find her, it was night, I couldn't see her, I swam around and around.

The big boat going past had caused a huge current that was pulling me away from where she fell. I saw a floating dock and tried to make for it. A boat was coming to rescue me, maybe they would help me find her.

I woke up.