I was in Florida on business. I had a meeting at the Toyota HQ which in this dreamland was near the airport. The city was not specific. It was strange to have a meeting on December 31st but there I was.
After my meeting I had to go pick up my rental car from the hotel and drive it back to the car rental location at the airport. Strange I hadn’t dropped it off before the meeting so I could just hop on my flight afterwards. As I headed to get an Uber I saw my colleague Kim who could give me a ride to my rental car at the hotel. She was picking up her car from the rental location. Then the dream shifted slightly.
My parents and sister were in town to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes play in the bowl game there. They were there for three days and enjoying staying at a luxury hotel, going to see the parades and do all the other fun things that come with a trip to a college football bowl game. I wish I had known and made preparations to just stay with them there and enjoy these things myself but I had a flight back to SFO. In the waking world I could easily change and get it figured out, or have planned ahead but in this dream world I had to get back to San Francisco.
Then the dream shifted again and I was a student wrapping up a six month “study in Florida” program (imagine that! 😛 ). I was in my dorm room packing but only had a small carry-on sized suitcase and it looked like all the new clothing I had acquired would not fit into that suitcase.
Looking out the window I could see across the alley and into another dorm room. In that room were an aggressive bunch of boys who always stuck together. One of them was Matt C and when they saw I was looking said something to me and I responded back. They then ran over to my room looking for a fight but I had known these guys for years and never had a problem so I calmly greeted them. They then realized they were being stupid and left.
I then went out to run a few errands. Outside seemed more like a European walkway only for pedestrians with businesses lining both sides, a water fountain, street musicians and that sort of thing. At this time I realized I could not find my phone and then the anxiety really spiked and the dream story converged. I was both there on work and as a student. I had to finish backing and check out of my student dorm as well as catch the upcoming work flight back to SFO. My parents and sister were in town but I had no way to contact them AND I had an aggressive bunch of bullies I had to be careful around.
I believe both of these are due to anxiety in my subconscious that is letting itself be known through the dream world. The first part with my parents in town but not being able to join in the fun or stay with them was sad. I imagine part of that has to do with only seeing them once or twice a year when I fly back to Ohio. It is sad to leave but we always have to return home to the Bay Area. This part of the dream was most likely the result of having to say goodbye.
The part about the mean boys comes from my childhood. We had a small class of only 24 so we all had to interact and deal with each other. There were two, sometimes three boys who were the “alpha.” They were the best at sports, got girlfriends and were mean to other kids sometimes. I was athletic but not the fastest, strongest and certainly not the biggest. So I didn’t get picked on (except for 2nd grade) but also not on top of the pack either. I guess the second part of of my dream are those feelings resurfacing.
It is amazing to consider what the subconscious is and how it can speak through the dream world. As far as I know I’m one of the very few who can remember their dreams. The trick is to catch those last fragments as soon as you wake up. You hold on to those fragments and piece the dream together working backwards. Then you think about it to help solidify it in the short term memory until it can be written down.
