Bad Dream 172 -- Where's My Truck?

In my dream, I'm standing in a construction site.  It's a single level (so far) and the ground is essentially sandy soil with little or no vegetation.  What has been built is a series of concrete walls laid out to form rooms.  So there are openings between the vertical walls which will become hallways and rooms of various sizes.  It's quite a complex layout, and as I will discover later, the layout seems to change from time to time.  Some new walls appear and others disappear.  So it's tricky-to-impossible to find your way through what's been laid out so far.  

It's somewhere near mid-day, and there are construction workers moving about.  I can see them but at no time in the dream to I interact with them.   

I came to the site escorting two people (a man and a woman) who had important business -- either at the site or nearby.  I was to function, not only as a driver, but also as a resource for the two other people in case they needed some additional information on whatever their business was about.  They knew the higher level information, but I knew more of the "nuts and bolts" of the project.  (The dream wasn't clear about what the visit was all about, but I had the feeling that my two colleagues were discussing matters pertaining to the construction project.)

After wandering about through the construction site for a while, I somehow understand that my assistance for additional information would not be required.  So my job was simply to get back to our vehicle -- which was a dark-colored pickup truck -- and prepare to drive my associates back to where we started.  

I don't recall exactly where I left the truck, so I start wandering through the site with a purpose: Find my truck!  

As I move about the site, it becomes more and more obvious that the walls that are going up are also changing.  New walls appearing, others disappearing, some seeming to move or develop holes for windows or doors.  

Twice, as I roam about getting more and more concerned, I pass the place where this new construction meets the existing structure.  In that structure, there are large windows that enable me to look inside.  I see dozens of happy people in a "Holidome" setting of restaurant type chairs and tables with big umbrellas over top of them and a large swimming pool.  I have no idea how this seeming resort/holiday getaway type place will interact with the office-type setting of the construction site I'm wandering around in.  It does not occur to me to try and get inside this existing building to look for help.

Finding such concern and frustration with not finding my vehicle amongst the ever-changing walls, I decide to find the two people whom I brought to this place.  I feel that, whatever they were supposed to do here, they're probably finished and would like to start back to wherever it is we came from.  It's only then that I realize that I haven't seen either of these folks and have no idea as to where to go looking for them.  I think it's highly unlikely that any of the construction workers would know anything about where they might be -- and I haven't seen anyone who looked to be a supervisor.

I'm not panicked by having lost track of my vehicle or these two people.  Concerned, yes, but not freaking out.

Bad Dream 171 -- Hassles in Trying to Give a Speech

In my dream, I am supposed to be giving a speech for my employers at what I assume is a customers office and/or shop.  To get there, I spend the previous night at a hotel (suggesting that the speech site is far away from my home and office).  

The hotel room is somewhere between dreary and Spartan.  It contains a single-size bed that is small and not very comfortable.  The only furniture is an old dresser a small table, and a very simple and uncomfortable chair.  Nothing in the room suggests it is dirty or dusty, just very plain and minimal with nothing added for creature comforts.  

The room is on the fourth floor.  No elevators, just simple staircases winding up the hallways.  I start to descend the staircases in the morning carrying my suitcase when I realize that I may have left the radio on in my room.  I can clearly hear a radio playing somewhere up above me, which might be in my room with the door open or it might be someone else's room. 

I don't wish to annoy any other guests that might be staying at the hotel, so I turn around (me and my suitcase) and consider walking up the several sets of stairs to return to my room to see if the radio was in my room -- and then decide not to bother.  I don't wish to expend the energy to carry my suitcase back up the stairs and then back down.  

Getting outside and looking for breakfast, I pass by several "greasy spoon" eateries.  The food smells quite good and it's probably safe to eat, but I think there will be a light breakfast available at the site of the speech.

As I walk along the street, I see a man poking holes in the windows of a sports car that is parked along my way.  He seems very angry and is yelling at someone inside the car.  He's using what looks like a crowbar for this damage he's inflicting.  I consider getting involved, but decide not to do so.  I don't want to be late for my speech and the chances of getting into a violent confrontation with the man seem quite likely -- and he's armed with a crowbar.

I get to the site of my speech and find I was correct that there would be a light breakfast offered, but all I can find are some very uninteresting looking pastries.  I select the least objectionable pastries, put them on a small plate, and walk the plate to a table.  I put the plate down and go to get something (possibly silverware or a napkin), and when I look back, I see that someone is in the process of stealing the pastries I've chosen.  

Bad Dream 170 -- Wasn't at all Ready

In my dream, I am about to start teaching a class in power plant controls.  Very much the kind of work I did for Leeds & Northrup for so many years.  

This system being described is much smaller than the pulverized-coal utility boilers that would normally be the subject of my course.  And so the course is scheduled to be much shorter.  And I have some familiarity with the technicians who will be my students -- and they seem to be very good at their jobs.  And so, the course should be easy and fun. 

The students are starting to gather in the classroom and I should be going in myself sometime soon.  But it suddenly hits me that I haven't studied anything about the details of this system -- and I don't have any system documentation that would bring me "up to speed" quickly.  I recall what I would have to do to get a copy of the documents, but that would likely take a couple of days at least.  And I normally have a copy of these documents for each student, so he/she can make notes on the drawings and write notes in the text margins.  I don't have anything like that either.  

As a Plan B for today's work, I consider just talking about the equipment we're providing to control the customer's facility rather than the actual work that our system will perform.  But I'm not sure of exactly what we're providing, so I can't use that as a stalling technique.

I think about simply telling my customer contact person (someone with whom I have had an excellent relationship) the truth and asking to delay the class for a day or more.  I can see his face darken and a frown develop: I've let him down and made his job much more difficult.  The major problem for him is that this is a Union Shop and such a delay/rescheduling will allow the Union officials to demand additional pay for these technicians and possibly even days off.  And things like that will become part of his performance records -- with a negative affect on any future raises or promotions.  

Bad Dream 169 -- Couldn't Fix the Last One

In my dream, I'm doing essentially Field Service Engineering work, repairing something like shower heads, but they're not actual shower heads.  The devices I'm working on are located in or near closets (confined spaces) and are located maybe 7 feet up on a wall.  They're small devices -- roughly the size of a baseball -- and they're connected to the wall with a metal pipe or tube of some sort.  The device has both plumbing and electrical connectors.

There are eight of these devices, each located in a different area.  I'm not told what is wrong with each device.  I have to figure it out -- which is one of the great satisfactions of being a Field Service work: when you show up the gizmo doesn't work.  When you get ready to leave, the gizmo does work. 

As I move from fixing one to the next, I accumulate a small group of people watching what I'm doing and supporting my efforts.  My making these things work will make their lives a bit easier.  

And I know that we're approaching some kind of holiday, where most people don't have to work.  And I'm looking forward to being one of those people taking it easy away from work.  

Fixing some of the eight gizmos is pretty easy, as the problem is pretty obvious.  Some require some careful thinking and understanding as to what the gizmo does and how it does it.  

When I get to the eighth and last gizmo, I'm stymied.  It's not at all obvious what the problem is -- and not even whether the problem is with the plumbing or the electrical parts of the system. 

If I had my voltage meter, I would be in good shape as I could fairly easily establish whether the problem was water or electricity.  But I don't have my meter.  

If I had my standard set of tools, I would be in good shape as I could fairly easily disassemble the gizmo so that the problem would likely be fairly obvious.  But I don't have my tools.  

If I understood the fine details of the gizmo operation, I would be in good shape as I could see where the system started to work and where it halted in mid-operation.   But I don't have the documentation I needed.

So I'm completely at a standstill and I know that it's very important that I get all eight gizmos back in operating order before the holiday begins.  And if I can't, I would likely have to stay on the job through the holiday trying to fix Gizmo Number Eight without any support from my home office, as everyone there would be on holiday.  And I had plans for my holiday...

I'm not only frustrated.  I'm not only angry.  I'm completely furious. 

 

Bad Dream 168 -- Teaching Kids the Tautline Hitch

In my dream, I have been invited by Teacher Dottie -- one of my favorite people -- to work with her class of kids -- somewhere between 9 and 12 years old -- to tie one of my favorite knots: the Tautline Hitch.  This knot forms a loop at the end of a rope that can be made larger or smaller easily, but once the rope is placed in tension, the loop will remain the same size rather than slipping to become a smaller loop.  So it can be tied loosely around a pole or other static location, adjusted for length by making the loop the proper size, and then pulled tightly and securely.  It's useful in a wide range of applications and I've used it to tie a wide range of bundles to the top of my car and then drive at 60 miles an hour with absolute confidence I've secured the bundle securely.  

There are roughly 35 kids in the class.  And I decide it would work best if I sat in the middle of the group and demonstrate how to tie the knot.  I start to talk to the kids in the room only to discover that half of them are in this room, but the other half are in the adjoining room, waiting patiently for me to show up.  I pick the larger of the two rooms for all the kids to gather, in part because there is a nice carpet on the floor for all the kids to sit on comfortably.  

For a reason that isn't at all clear to me, I have decided to use one of flute carriers that I've made out of PVC tubing as the static piece around which I will tie my demonstration Tautline Hitch.  It would be a good diameter for the demonstration -- a bit short in length but usable in any case.  But my plan to use the carrier fails because I simply don't have one with me.  And I'm now sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by Teacher Dottie's kids.  (I can see Teacher Dottie standing back by the wall and watching carefully.  She doesn't understand the problem, so she's smiling at us.)

The only thing I have available is a short length of tree branch, which is far from ideal.  It's not very straight, still covered with bark, and a bit too thin to be considered a pole. I think if I don't handle it carefully, it's likely to break in half.  But it's all I've got.

I also don't have a decent piece of rope.  Something like clothesline would have worked okay -- or anything of a similar thickness.  In my mind's eye, I see exactly the kind of rope that would have worked wonderfully well.  What I do have is a piece of badly frayed sisal rope that you might have used 100 years ago to wrap and secure packages.  The frayed elements of the rope will certainly hide any part of the finished knot, making the whole demonstration a rather futile exercise.  

As I begin to talk to the kids about the knot and why it's such a good one to know and use, I'm concerned that I'm going to look really stupid with my gnarly stick and fuzzy rope.  But I'm equally concerned that Teacher Dottie's reputation with the kids might also take a hit.  

I get a couple of sentences into my talk when one of the kids interrupts me with an observation about the flaws in my presentation -- unrelated to the stick and rope issues.  The kid makes a good point, but it badly interrupts the flow of my presentation.  I try to tell him that I appreciate his observation and would like to discuss it with him later, but he wants a response from me right here and now.  I try to return to my talk, but soon the same kid has another observation as to why what I'm doing is not right.  This happens several more times.  The problem for me is not just that he's being disruptive, but that his observations are correct, if not particularly useful for what I'm trying to do.  I know that Teacher Dottie would have an excellent way to agree with the kid's observations but do it in a way that would allow her to continue with what she was doing.  But I haven't a clue as to how she would do it.

The kid's constant interruptions have totally derailed what I was trying to do.  A number of other kids have now retreated from the circle we had formed and were talking comfortably with each other -- about something totally unrelated to tying Tautline Hitches, I'm absolutely sure.  

Part of me wants to "Soldier On" and tie the knot in this lousy rope around this lousy stick -- and then beat a hasty retreat.  Another part of me wants to apologize to the group for being so woefully unprepared for the presentation.  I'm sure that Teacher Dottie can pull the class back together -- once I decide which path to take and pursue it to the bitter end...   

Bad Dream 167 -- Margot

In my dream, I'm sitting at a small table.  A little more sturdy than a card table, but roughly the same size.  I'm sitting across from a female person, who is likely Deb -- my wife -- but I'm not sure.  We're talking casually with spaces between bits of conversation.

I hear my name called from my left and above me.  A woman's voice saying, "Randy??"  It sounds very much as if she's surprised to see me.  Strong accent on the first syllable.  

I look off to my left and a bit up to see who's calling.  And the woman in question is leaning over so we are facing each other quite closely.  She smiles. She gives me a bit of time to recognize her -- which I can't do.  She puts on this "Aw shucks" mopey face to let me know she's disappointed that I couldn't recall who she is.  But there's humor underlying the mopeyness.  

She says, "Oh, so you've forgotten me."  More mopey face that's still being playful.  "I'm Margot."  Mopey face gone.

Now to the best of my recollection, I've only known one person named "Margot," and that was a girl in my classes back in High School.  (We were part of the "Advanced Program" -- being more academically inclined than most of the other students.  So we all took the same classes together.  And thereby got to be more familiar with each other than other students in other classes.)

And my recollection is that Margot was a pretty girl in a soft, subtle way -- unlike several other girls, whose clothes and attitude might best be described as "brassy."  But since she was in my classes, she would be in her 70's -- just like I am.  The woman I'm looking at -- who is now smiling broadly at me -- looks to be in her early 40's.  She's wearing a handsome tailored suit that makes her look she's just come from work.   

I don't recall anything about that Margot -- how she looked, how she spoke, the color of her hair, nothing.  [If I still had my High School Yearbook, I would have looked her up shortly after I awoke this morning, but alas...]  The lady I'm looking at has a very pleasant, warm face and a lovely smile.  She seems ever-so-glad to see me -- but whether or not this is the woman I went to High School with, I can't recall ever interacting with that Margot.  Not that I wouldn't have liked to, but I was quite shy in High School...

I return her big smile with one of my own.  This only makes her smile even wider.  Clearly I would love to spend time with this Margot -- whoever she is -- and get acquainted or reacquainted as the situation called for.  And it is abundantly clear to me that she would also like to spend time with me for the same things.

I take her hands in mine and am tempted to kiss her hands.  She understands this and responds positively.   

But I suddenly recall that I am sitting at the table across from this other person -- and we were chatting amicably before Margot showed up.  I feel that showing any signs of wanting to get better acquainted with Margot could make this other person understandably jealous.  And asking to be excused from our ongoing conversation so that I could spend time with Margot would likely be disastrous.   

After the dream is over and I'm up and moving about, I realize that one of the attractions of getting to know this Margot -- above and beyond the fact that she was an attractive, relatively young woman -- was that she had shown such a strong interest in reuniting with me.  She knew me.  And wanted to know more about me.  

Bad Dream 166 -- Orange Juice for Ice Cream

In my dream, I am standing in front of an ice cream store -- at the window where you can order a choice, pay money, and get your ice cream creation handed out to you.  No need to go inside the store.  I've visited this place before, but am not a regular customer.

Looking at the list of choices, I make my selection.  When it's my turn, I tell the lady inside the window the flavor of ice cream that I've chosen and that I want mine served in a cup rather than a cone.  (Down through the years, I've had cones collapse on me, leak the melted ice cream all over my hands and clothes, etc.) I am informed that the name I've given is incorrect, and then told the name I should have used.  The name "Coppertop" was one of these two names, but I don't recall which -- either the name I asked for or the name I've been told was the correct one.  

Not being fussy about such things, I agree to the second name.  As I'm waiting for my treat to show up, I overhear a conversation concerning one of the people who normally work at this store.  That person not well and she won't be back at the store for some time.  Not being a regular customer here, her name doesn't mean anything to me, although I'm sorry to hear that anyone is not feeling well.  

I'm also told that they can't serve my order to me in a cup, and the reason has something to do with the lady who's sick and therefore not at the store today.  This makes little sense to me, but I'm in no mood to pursue the issue.  I wait a while for my treat to be delivered.

When my order comes out to me, I am handed a glass of orange juice.  It looks like a perfectly fine -- if somewhat small -- glass of orange juice, but certainly bears no similarity to the ice cream I've ordered.  During my presence in front of the store, I've seen several people order ice cream and later handed their ice cream.  My serving of orange juice seems to be an exception to this normal procedure of things.  

(It may be of interest that I am never asked to pay for my order -- either when I place the order or when it's served.)

My dream gets a little fuzzy at this point, and I experience a reprise of being given the orange juice.

I certainly don't want to raise a fuss, and the store has other customers placing orders and being given ice cream.  They're pretty busy.  So I don't feel comfortable even asking why I've been given orange juice and/or asking for the product that I actually ordered.  I understand that if I drink any of the orange juice, I'm committed to accepting all that's happened.  My only way of getting ice cream at this point would be to take the orange juice back -- interfering with the store's line of customers.  No one around me seems surprised or puzzled that I'm holding a glass of orange juice when everyone else is holding ice cream.