Monthly Archives: March 2008

Big Love

I’ve been married into a polygamist Mormon family and I’m trying to escape. The lecherous father keeps coming after me.

I pass by Chloe Sevigny in the hallway and avert my eyes like I don’t know her, and she looks offended. Later I see her again and apologize, saying that I know we’re working on a project together. I explain that I’m a nobody and she’s Chloe Sevigny, a famous actress and international fashion plate. She laughs and we become friends, and we go shopping for hideous clothes at the department store.

Taking the subway home from a party

I’m at a party with Josh. They are handing out sheets of stickers as swag, and we make fun of them because they are sort of dumb-looking and useless.

We decide to get manicures at the party. There is a whole outdoor area that is set up like a spa, with places to sit in hot tubs and have your nails done. There is also a table where some gaudy looking earrings are for sale. We learn that the earrings were made by Swedish people, and I comment that they aren’t worth what they’re charging but the labor costs are high.

We leave to take the train home. When I get to the turnstile I realize I don’t have my wallet, so I ask to borrow Josh’s Metrocard. The subway station is huge and cavernous, more like the hallways in a sports arena. I look at the signs and realize I can take the 7 train to the east side instead of taking the 1 downtown and then walking over.

The 7 is deep underground, and to take the stairs down seems like it would take forever. I notice an elevator with two rough-looking workmen in it. The door is closing and I race to catch it, but I miss it. I push on the elevator button to see if I can get it to open again, but they’re gone. In retrospect I am relieved because I would have felt unsafe riding the elevator with them. When the elevator returns I take it down to the platform level.

When the train comes I get on the same car with the workmen from the elevator. I strike up a conversation with them and rest my foot on the seat suggestively. The subway cars are ancient, like from the early 20th century.

There is a large group of people from the Middle East or East Asia on the train. One of them appears to be a king or a man of high status. A handler comes over and asks us politely if we will move because the car we’re in is reserved for the king. I get very angry and shout at her that this is a public conveyance, open to all.

When I get home my father is very angry about the fact that they house is dirty. He is mopping the floor furiously. I take the mop away from him and take over the cleaning job. He tells me I need to accept that I know better, that I know how to do better than this.

Eating at a restaurant with friends and family

Marcelo has moved to a new apartment on the outskirts of town, in a more suburban environment that is close to some water. It also seems to be near an amusement park. I don’t understand why he would want to live all the way out there. but he seems to really like it. In fact, he is buying another apartment in the same building so he can combine them.

I go to visit him out there and we go to dinner in a restaurant. There seem to be a number of restaurants on the ground floor of the building, like a hotel. My mother and grandmother join us for dinner.

My mother and grandmother point out that another guest of the restaurant is my cousin. He is standing in line with a few other people, including a woman that seems to be his girlfriend. I go over to introduce myself and we give hugs hello. We have a friendly and animated conversation and agree that we should meet again soon. I give him a hug goodbye that goes on a bit too long, and then a kiss on the cheek which seems somehow inappropriate because he’s my cousin. I give a hug goodbye to his girlfriend and she seems nonplussed.

I return to the table so we can order. I look at the menu and choose a salad that is quite inexpensive, like $4, and I wonder if it will be enough to eat. My mother suggests that we share an order of beef rolls. These seem to be a specialty of the restaurant and they have all different kinds. They have one that is like a beef and cabbage roll, and another that is Moroccan style with raisins. I want to order the “pizza style” roll, which is basically a piece of beef that has been dressed with toppings and cheese like a pizza and then rolled up. I am pretty sure my mother won’t want to order this, but I ask her anyway. While she is reviewing the choices the lights in the restaurant go out so she can’t see the menu.

My Mother’s New House

I am visiting my mother and she lives in a new house. The house is fabulous, opulent. There are many cases and display areas for expensive art and pottery, and my mother shows me around and points out all the decor. It is lovely and very appropriate, not over-the-top and tasteless.

I am planning to catch a flight to Los Angeles and I say that I will pick up some jewelry for my mother while I’m there. She describes what’s she’s looking for; she wants gold rings with semi-precious gems like moonstones in them. I decide to take a shower before I leave, and the shower is in the middle of the room, with a round curtain enclosing it.

As I’m about to begin showering, a number of groups of people start coming in and out of the room, and I feel uncomfortable about using the shower in the middle of it all. It seems that people are coming from overseas for a competition that maybe has something to do with all the art my mother owns.

A group of young women arrive and they seem like the “mean girls” to me. They are making nasty and insulting comments about some of the other contestants, particularly about other young women who are not as cool as they are. Then an older south asian man arrives and they are particularly cruel to him.

St. Paul

I am driving in a car with Bob. I tell him I want to go to a record store in St. Paul, but I can’t remember the name of it. I’m wracking my brain trying to think of the name, it’s on the tip of my tongue, but it always eludes me. I’m frustrated and a little bit embarrassed that I can’t remember it. I feel uncool. We got to McDonald’s for lunch, which is kind of gross.

Then I’m in a bookstore in St. Paul with my mother and Harry. I have a feeling like this is the place I was trying to remember earlier.

A little boy

I’m walking through a fancy three-story apartment. It’s almost more like a museum or a private club than a home. It’s not fussy, the decor is very modern and sleek. At first, the apartment seems impossibly large to me, but after I walk through it a few times I start to see how all the rooms fit together, like I see things from a different perspective. For example, I might see one room when walking in one direction, but then when I come back another way I realize it’s right next to a different room.

I do a load of laundry, but I only put one or two undergarments in the machine. When I come back later, they have been removed from the washer and put into the dryer. I think my father moved them.

A young boy about 5 or 6 is walking through the apartment with his father. He is very well-dressed and wearing expensive sneakers. I talk briefly to the father and then realize it’s time for me to go. I notice the boy has disappeared and I keep an eye out for him as I’m leaving.

As I reach the exit, I notice that the boy is in the bathroom, and he motions for me to come and help him. I’m a little hesitant, but he makes it seem urgent. The boy has pooped in his pants and needs me to help him clean it up. I tell him that his father will come down and deal with it, but he insists that he needs my help immediately, and that all I have to do is take the poop out. His pants are lying on the floor and I walk over to inspect them. I grab some tissues and remove the feces and flush them down the toilet.

Working at Apple

Evan and I are working in-house at Apple. Toby and Anne L. work in the same building as we do and I’m trying to network with them to get advice.

Toby is really helpful to me so I want to send him a token gift. I decide to send one of the Chinese Christmas ornaments I bought last winter. I pull the top off of the globe and wonder if I could stick a joint in there for him as well. But I decide not to and just send the package via interoffice mail.

To mail the gift I go and sit at my “real” desk; I don’t usually sit there because I’m always in meetings. While I’m there I decide to clean up some papers and generally organize things. I find a document about designing Macs that I think is terrible. I try to complain about it to HR but the bureaucrats there don’t understand what I’m talking about.

Michael Eisner (who has some connection to Apple via Disney) takes me to Disneyland to ride on the rides. But they aren’t really Disney theme park rides, they’re more like old-fashioned county fair rides.

I call Anne L and ask her for help with recruiting. We start discussing the recent rise in the stock price, and she makes it sound like she really made a lot of money. While I am on the phone with her, I can also omnisciently see her stock trades. She made about $2800, which is a nice dividend but it’s not like she’s rich.

I put on lipstick so I look nice before one of my meetings. I’m too fat and I can’t squeeze by someone in the hallway and I’m embarrassed.

We have lunch in Steve Jobs’ office. I’m very nervous about meeting him, but no one else is. Lunch is set up on a table in his office, and I am unsure about where to sit. I change places and accidentally drink someone else’s water.

Taking a college class as an adult

I have a new client that I am pitching or beginning work on. The client is with RF and it seems to be a collaboration between several offices, like maybe the Austin office is involved.

There is a class at the U of M that somehow deals with this client or covers a related subject, and so it is decided that I should take the class. The class is very large and takes place in a big lecture hall. The instructor is a middle-aged woman with dark hair and glasses.

I turn in my final paper and receive a grade of "D." I’m very upset by this, and embarrassed that my work colleagues will see that I got a bad grade. I speak to the instructor and try to explain that the work I was doing for my client was different from what she expected from the final paper. What I want is for her to let me submit one of my presentation decks as additional work and maybe that will raise my grade.

Afterwards, a party for the whole class has been planned. We walk outside to go check it out. As we walk I bump into a college girl who’s walking in a pack, and we have words about the incident. I ask her "if it would be possible to walk through here without getting rudely bumped into." She accuses me of being a stupid college kid. When I respond that I’m not in college, I’m 35, she and her friends jeer at me.

I get to the restaurant where the party is taking place. When I arrive, only a blonde-haired guy and Susie are there with me. The restaurant has set a long table for us to sit at. Susie and the guy sit down next to each other, and I want to sit in the middle between them, but instead I take my place at Susie’s left.

Another student from class arrives, an older Asian man. He’s drunk and yelling at the entrance. I go over to try and get him to leave. He grabs me and kisses me, and as we stand there he tries to force himself on me. I struggle to cry out for help but I cannot make my voice work.

A Visit to Seattle

I’m in a city that looks like London but I think it’s Seattle. The streets are all narrow and cobblestoned and dark, and the old buildings are shrouded by trees. There are lots of charming stores and coffee shops. But I still say that I don’t like the vibe and I prefer New York, even though the city is very appealing.

Sherri says she is moving her family from Seattle to San Francisco. We are browsing through shops and moving between spaces. We sit in a large group in a circle with a bunch of other people, in a space that might be a cafe but it seems more like a children’s store. My chair ricochets out of place and I slam into someone else, almost like bumper cars. I apologize profusely as I’m sure it hurt to be hit like that.

Ellen S. has a very young child and then gives birth to twins less than a year later. She must have gotten pregnant again immediately after giving birth to the first. I wonder how she and her husband are going to care for three children who are all infants.

I run out of money and I need to go to the ATM. When I go I have to take out a loan. I am left with the understanding that this is all the money that will be available to me, there isn’t any more. While I’m anxious about that, I’m also strangely relieved.

Sleep, Memory

Sleep, Memory by Allan Coukell

Scientists have known for 50 years that the brain handles short- and long-term memories in different ways.

Now researchers in Boston are contributing to a growing understanding of the role of sleep in transforming memory.

Interior decor explosion

We’re rearranging the Bond offices and everything is in cubicles. But the cubicles are sort of oversized and arranged, and so they’re not unappealing.

I’m driving in a car with a native american man as my chauffeur. All of  a sudden a truck explodes in another lane and a million shards of metal come streaming towards us, and I duck.

20 Year High School Reunion

I’m driving in a car with my mother. We are going to visit Sue W, a friend of hers from when I was growing up. I become very upset in the car and throw a tantrum.

I go to my 20th high school reunion. I greet people I know and give everyone hugs. The reunion is held outside in a grassy area with picnic tables, but there are also indoor spots where you can buy things.

I say hello to Steve L. and we walk around and talk to each other. We stop and say hello to Sherri and I give her a hug, but then keep walking. I am drinking a vodka soda. Steve and I go inside for a bit but then decide to go back out because he wants to introduce me to his wife.

I leave my drink behind and then realize it too late. When I decide I want to purchase another drink I realize I have also left my purse behind. I tell Steve that I will catch up to him and his wife later, and he walks off across the grass to meet her.

I go back in to where I left my purse and look for it. Inside I meet a handicapped couple who are misshapen and deformed. I hug them hello too, even though I don’t recognize them.