Monthly Archives: May 2008

Airport Story

I’m at the airport waiting to check in to fly from New York to Minneapolis. I wait in a long line to check in and get my boarding pass. Once I’m through the line I realize that I’ve forgotten something at home, so I keep my bag with me.

I drive home through streets with a thick sheet of ice on them. The car slips and slides across the lanes.

When I get home I frantically pick out some clothes to wear. I have a whole closet full of pants and sweaters in different colors, but it’s hard to pick out new combinations that match with my shoes, and I wind up wearing the same things all the time. I choose a couple of different outfits and race back to the airport.

When I arrive at the airport I check my watch; it’s about 5:45 and the flight leaves at 6:05. I dash down a long hallway, like in a hotel, and get to a junction where I need to follow the signs to my gate. The sign pointing to Gate 6 leads to a door, and when I open it I see that I have to go down a long flight of stairs. I look around to see if maybe I’ve gotten the directions wrong, but it turns out I have to drag my bag down the stairs with me. I’m super annoyed about this.

I return to the gate and ask if I can still check my bag before the flight leaves. There is another man in line ahead of me and he’s still checking in. His last name is McGrane too even though I’ve never seen him before. When I hand over my frequent flyer card to the gate agent he looks at it and says it doesn’t look any different from the card belonging to this stranger. I respond “It isn’t, except the name.”

Four Vignettes from Minnetonka

1.

I am back in high school and am walking between classes across a lawn with a bunch of other students. I see a gold chain lying on the ground and I turn around to go pick it up. Chris E. sees me pick it up and comes over to see what it is. It’s a gold pendant that has the letter “E” monogrammed on it. I suggest that it might belong to Ellen S., but when I show it to her she says it’s not hers. I tell them both that I’m going to give it to Kathy in the office to hold on to in case they find the real owner. I don’t want them to think that I am planning to steal it.

2.

I am at a party after school with a bunch of students and teachers. People are relaxing in an outdoor seating area and everyone is drinking some beer. I have a pot pipe stashed away and I take it out and start smoking pot. Everyone is obviously shocked by this and I can see people pointing and snickering. One of the teachers, Mr. L., comes over and pulls me aside to talk about it. I get really angry and start yelling something about “Richard-fucking-Nixon watching over me!”

3.

I decide to go visit Leigh R. at her home in Minnetonka so I can confront her about how mean she was to me when we were kids. She lives in the same neighborhood as she and her parents did when growing up. When I get there she’s extremely welcoming and very pleasant to talk to. We discuss how our lives are different. She has two boys who are getting close to high-school age now themselves, and she talks about how she and her husband will still be very young when they graduate, and how they will have a whole other life in their 40s and 50s. Her husband is Hawaiian and both the boys have Hawaiian names. I talk to her about my life in NYC and how many women have kids when they are 40, but I think that’s not for me. I compare the size of my kitchen with hers and it’s amazing how much smaller my appliances are. She is taking care of a neighbor’s three kids and we are all sitting together in the kitchen. The kids are very quiet and we read them a story, and I think maybe having young kids is kind of fun.

4.

I am with my mother and father in the parking lot of IHM. The church is burning down but my mother doesn’t notice. My father and I walk around the building to inspect the damage. Most of the building is still standing, but the area overlooking the parking lot is nearly gutted.

Coffee Shop + Bic Pens + Abortion

I’m living in MInneapolis and I walk to work through streets lined with little shops. I stop to buy coffee at a place I’ve never been to before. I order an iced coffee and pay for it.

As I’m leaving the cashier comes over and says that I haven’t paid enough money. I become extremely irritated with her and make a big show of getting more money out of my purse. I dump everything out of my wallet onto the counter and start counting out dimes and nickels to give to her.

When she asks me why I’m so annoyed, I get really embarrassed. I tell her in a soft voice that I’m pregnant. She can’t hear what I’m saying and she asks me to repeat myself, and so I say it again in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. People turn around and seem shocked. I’m so humiliated by this that I grab a few quarters and hand them to her, and then grab my stuff and dash out of the shop.

When I get to work I have an RFP for Bic pens to work on. My office is in a big cubicle farm and I wander among the cubicles to get to the office supply area so I can get some different Bic pens and pencils. I return to my office and make an appointment at the doctor for that afternoon so I can have an abortion.

I walk through the hallways to go visit the doctor. Along the way I run into a man who I know from the past, maybe someone I knew in high school. I’m too focused on getting to my doctor’s appointment to talk to him, even though he repeatedly tries to engage me in conversation.

When I get to the doctor’s office the receptionist tells me that my appointment time isn’t until much later in the afternoon. I get agitated and ask her if there’s any way she can fit me in earlier. I am eager to get this over with.

To kill some time before my appointment I go next door to a cafeteria. The guy who I ran into in the hallway earlier is in there having lunch, and I have to talk to him anyway. But it’s difficult for me to find anything to talk about, since I can only think about how badly I want to have an abortion and I don’t want to tell him that.

Hair ornament

I’m at a party or an event and I put my feet up on the table to relax. I take my shoes and socks off and scratch my feet. Tim sees me with my bare feet on the table and I’m embarrassed.

Tim brings me an elaborate sculpture that is black and red and gold. I think it’s a hair ornament or a belt buckle but it’s really too large to be either. I hold the sculpted metal up against myself to show that it is too large for my hair.

The subway is never the way it is in real life

I meet Josh at an office where we’re supposed to do some work. I’m planning to take the train home but he lets me share a black car with him.

The next day I go back and meet some other people in the office. There is a tall Scandinavian man working in the office and I flirt with him. He flirts back and says he thinks he might want to marry me. Turns out he is already married to an Asian woman and they have an infant. I sit with them in the cafeteria and hold the baby for her.

When I’m ready to go home I go over to the subway. The station is attached to a shopping mall and is served by a couple of different lines. I get on the N train but it is going the wrong direction, and I wind up at the end of the line. I go to look at the map and realize how far out I am. I try to plan my trip but I can’t figure out if the N/R/Q or the B/D/F will get me home faster.

The company is supposed to provide transportation but my Metrocard either isn’t working or they’re expecting me to use my personal card. I call someone in customer service and she’s rude to me and then hangs up on me. I stare at the time on my phone, shocked that she just hung up. When I call back she is angry with me in return. She says I should just use the Metrocard that I have and it won’t be a problem.

Working at a Law Firm

I take a position in a law firm because I am unemployed, possibly out of work due to a recession. My boss is crazy and it seems that we’re all slightly afraid of him. My first task is to dole out some kind of gloppy paste-like substance onto plates in a particular S-shaped pattern. The paste is hard to work with and I don’t do a very good job.

Next I’m supposed to file an affidavit about a car being stolen. It seems like Sherri has asked me to help with this or it’s her car that is missing. As I am going through the files I come across a statement from Neil implicating me in the car theft. I look around to try and staple the documents together but none of the staplers are working and I have to use a paperclip.

Tom Wolfe

I’m at Sherri’s new house. It’s a palace, except it’s incredibly gaudy. I’m supposed to be impressed by how much stuff they have. I take a tour and comment on how they have an escalator that curves. Curving escalators are really difficult to pull off.

There’s a store they’ve set up at the exit to the house where you can buy their cast-off items. I rummage through some goods along with a few other women, but we all agree the prices are too high. I am embarrassed that they want us to buy their used stuff.

I go to lunch with their family in a big library. I’m asked to go and pull a book by Tom Wolfe off the shelf. But I can’t find the book, I can only find photocopied sections of his books. I bring back a stack of these photocopies to the table, but I’m horribly embarrassed. The father condemns me for not bringing the book back.

For the love of god I am dreaming about Powerpoint

I am reviewing a slide presentation with Ed. The slides have a heading at the top and the bottom of the page, and Ed has created an animated circle that moves between the headings to call attention to them. Everyone who reviews the deck agrees that the effect would be nicer if he had used a square instead of a circle. I volunteer to reformat the slides.

I am working in a restaurant or a bar that is crowded with people. It’s hard for me to get it to work because people keep jostling me and I don’t have a mouse. I am frustrated by trying to get it to work the way I imagine it.

The presentation is about Prince, the pop star. He looks radically different in the photos, he’s not as made up and his hair is long. The document includes a lot of information about his charitable activities.

Live Action Text Adventure Game

I’m playing a live version of a multi-player text adventure game. It takes place in a large convention center or a space with a number of rooms. The goal is to find and collect certain objects and then remember what their purpose is in the game. For example, there’s a tube that lights up and I am supposed to remember to give it to someone at the proper point in the game. I’ve obviously played this game a few times because I discuss with some of the other players what the purpose of each item is.

Then the game turns sinister. I wind up trapped in the space with people who are trying to kill me. I have a family and there is another family that we’re in combat with. I try to steal some medical supplies from a pharmacy, like I need some gauze and tape.

No Apology is Forthcoming

I’m back at the University of Minnesota for the fall semester. It’s beautiful and the weather is absolutely perfect. I joke that they plan it that way, to get people hooked on Minnesota before the winter begins.

I’m having lunch in the cafeteria with an asian woman. Her boyfriend is a strapping Minnesota blonde. He proposes to her with a ring of small pale blue stones. I’m really happy for them but she’s not happy about the proposal. I take the ring and put it on my own finger. I’m wearing my wedding band and another ring that is a larger diamond. I experiment with how they should be positioned on my finger and decide that the new ring looks best on the inside, even though I should technically wear my wedding band on the inside, closest to my heart.

I find an ancient manual typewriter that prints in an elaborate cursive script. I want to use it to communicate with Jai. I think that if I can type what I want to say to him, he will listen.

Jai and I are driving in a car around campus, looking for a place to park. I ask him what is wrong and why I haven’t heard from him in so long. He gives me a number of lame excuses and I don’t really accept any of them. I finally tell him that I think what he did was wrong and I’m really hurt, and I think I deserve an apology. After a while he yells at me and says that no apology is forthcoming. I get really angry and get out of the car, slam the door, and storm off.

I have to walk around to find a way to get home. I see a sign directing me to the “Steppe” stop on the New Jersey PATH train.