Dream Journal

I've been having some odd dreams lately. A few of them have recurring themes while others are just plain strange. I figured it's probably time to start writing them down so I remember later, in case they come up again.


In the recurring theme category: I lose my job.

I've had dreams with this theme at least 3 times now. The details aren't always the same, in fact, I don't even remember most details, I just remember how angry and frightened it made me feel.

In one, I got fired because I gave too much information to a contractor who's working for my company, but who has not signed any confidentiality agreement, and to whom I have not been given permission to give full disclosure. That one was weird because the reason for my firing had absolutely nothing to do with my job performance. I don't remember the details of the others. All of them have freaked me out substantially, even though I'm in no real danger of losing my job.


Non-recurring, but just plain strange: I got arrested for driving 38 mph in a 30 mph zone.

That's right... I didn't just get a speeding ticket, I got arrested.

What was strange was the way the police officer treated me. When I saw the flashing lights in my rear view mirror, there was no safe place to pull over right away. I had to drive for almost a mile with the cop behind me before I was able to pull off the road. The cop tailgated and swerved and flashed his headlights as if I was a speeding felon, even though I had slowed to about 25 mph as soon as I saw him. Once I stopped and he got out of his car, he approached me very slowly and suspiciously. He asked for my license and registration. When I reached for the glove box to get my registration, he said "that's far enough right there", and he pointed his gun at me! He claimed that I reached for a concealed weapon in my glove box. Then I got mad. I started yelling that his conduct was horrible and he had no right to treat me this way. So he arrested me.

Perhaps the strangest part was that there was an injured teenage boy in the cop's back seat, and the cop had been on the way to the hospital. The cop told me it was my fault that boy wasn't getting the medical attention he needed because he had to waste his time hauling me in.

I had this dream over a week ago, but I still think of it every day when I leave the office for lunch, especially when I'm driving Joe's car because I know I would have to reach for the glove box to get the vehicle registration.


Recurring (twice so far): Joe and I are homeless.

There's no indication of why we're homeless, and I don't have the same anger or fear as the dreams where I've lost my job. In fact, I'm strangely okay with it. I'm just happy to be with Joe, wherever we are. We sleep on the beach, we try crashing in this weird outdoor hotel or shelter but there are no extra beds, and we camp briefly at a covered outdoor arena, where there are other homeless people sleeping too. In one of the dreams, Joe has to go to New Zealand to get a job. The only way we can get there is to go through Australia. Australia doesn't require passports, so I'm able to get in just fine. But New Zealand does, and I don't have any ID. So Joe has to leave me in Australia while he goes to New Zealand. All I have with me is my purse and a spare pair of flip-flops. I don't know how I'm going to eat or where I'm going sleep. These are all the same problems I had before Joe left, but they were okay because we were together. Now that he's gone, I panic. When the panic wears off, I wander aimlessly.

Obviously a bit of separation anxiety.