What are your dreams about?

Quote: Wizard

I had a weird dream last night. It didn't really have a plot but kept wandering in search of one. At point point I was in a casino and looking at a new form of roulette. There were 38 eggs in one of those things you see in arcades where you try to grab a toy with a claw. However, in this case where was a fake chicken on top. When the dealer called "no more bets" then the chicken would cluck and one of the eggs would fall down a chute, the dealer would open it, and it would reveal the winning roulette number. Then the dealer, of course, placed the egg back in the pool, because roulette is a game of independent trials.

Ah, someone else dreams about chickens... ;-)

I guess sooner or later all of us have a weird dream that we really remember. If I remember my dreams I often forget them by mid-morning; but I wrote this one down after getting up today. I have the feeling, though, that I was going to remember this one no problem.

We were in Rhode Island. We were interacting with Italian-Americans living there, especially one family. Two men lived in the family and one of them, who seemed to be in his 50s/60s was mentally ill and interacting with him was a pain, although he was mostly harmless and we were nice to him. I'll refer to him as "the guy". Most of the dream would be about needing to get something done, it would get all screwed up often due to this guy, then we would try to leave but couldn’t ever seem to leave. I can’t remember the different things we were trying to do at all except at the end we were using some machine to cut up a stack of 8.5x11 paper 'just so' and the guy had nice equipment to do it with. Unfortunately we didn’t get what we wanted at all due to his nuttiness and again unsuccessfully tried to leave. It was definitely a Groundhog Day thing. I couldn’t remember most of these little projects, and I think I remember this one because it was the last one in the dream. I do however vividly remember early in the dream that the guy, who often tried to be nice, said he had a lifetime supply of the soft drink “Tab”. [what? do they even make that anymore?] He wanted to give me some, but I declined, never liked the stuff. On one of our attempts to get away, though, I discover he has stuck a 6-pack in the car anyway. I’m thinking, what the hell, might was well drink them, but I discover that all the cans have been opened. He was taking sips or drinking half, then “saving” the rest. We just look at each other and say well, he’s ill. I give the cans to some kids who just happened to be collecting recyclables.

Some other fuzzier things that I don’t have that kind of detail on: We were eating well, which we usually do in RI, the seafood is great there for real. We seemed to be eating some really good Italian too, which is not hard to do there either. The Italian family was proud of Italian sexiness, and the one woman in the family was sexy too. Any wondering I had about 'where that is going' never seems to fully develop. These two aspects of the dream I think were repeating themselves on a revolving basis. The other man was shadowy, always in the background, I never get a good look at him or get to find out what he is about at all. He doesn’t seem useful. The woman is often unsettled about something, sometimes almost frantic, but this is fuzzy.

Factual matters: We do sometimes visit RI where my wife used to live. She still has some friends there, but no one fits this profile. I have no dread of going there, or fear of being anxious to leave. The people we know the best have some health problems now, but no mental illness.

Key things for Face to focus on: [j/k but naturally I do hope Face replies].

*seems weird, but I am confident the "Tab" thing is important, it was early in the dream but unlike the rest of the dream vividly experienced and I feel I would have remembered it without effort much later, which is unusual for me. But Tab? Really? What the hell?

*the shadowy other man is important, even though he is only in the background. I didn't get to know anything about him, but I wanted to, he seemed to be key to getting past the 'problemish' part of the dream, the Groundhog Day-like inability to just be able to leave.

*the food and sexiness things seem less important but details I do remember. I think I remember cutting up the stack of paper only because it was just before I woke up.

PS: we don't know any Italians there.

What do you think?

I think the "guy" actually had a lifetime supply of either Del's Frozen Lemonade or Eclipse Coffee Syrup and was throwing the Cosa Nostra off his trail by claiming it was Tab and pretending to be insane... :-)

Quote: odiousgambit

Key things for Face to focus on: [j/k but naturally I do hope Face replies].

I agree, this looks like a job for Face. I'm curious to see what he has to say about this one. :)

Quote: chickenman

I think the "guy" actually had a lifetime supply of either Del's Frozen Lemonade or Eclipse Coffee Syrup and was throwing the Cosa Nostra off his trail by claiming it was Tab and pretending to be insane... :-)

A la Kaiser Soze? :)

Quote: Tomspur

A la Kaiser Soze? :)

Yep!

You’re killing me =) Again I must remind you, translating dreams for others is largely folly. They’re far too personal for someone outside yourself to understand.

My ignorant attempt at Wiz’s dream was made slightly easier due to my knowledge of his personal information. He has written about his father before, he gave info about his connection to the school where the tragedy took place, I was aware of the news reports… even with that knowledge I likely missed the mark, but it made an attempt possible. Yours, OG, is very difficult.

The very poor translation would be just by looking at the facts presented. You’re in a place you don’t want to be. You can’t seem to leave it. You have “a guy” that is there who is supposed to be one helping you reach your goal (leaving). He has the things you think you need to accomplish this task (a fancy paper cutter). He also has “value” in other ways (lifetime supply of Tab, wtf? XD). You recognize this “other value” as being negative in your life. You don’t like Tab, and it’s not even the value it appears to be, as by his actions, he has ruined it (taken sips). There is also a man you can’t see. You feel he is the answer to your goal, but you don’t know him, can’t reach him, whatever. This could all be what is described here. You have a problem you can’t get out of, you’re addressing it in a way you know isn’t helping, and you know the way out is right there, you just don’t know how to get there. Until you do, you repeat the problem day after day.

That could be it. But the nature of dreams makes such a straight forward explanation feel wrong to me. They don’t often come across so logically, and the times they do, there’s usually no question as to what it means. You’d not need or even ask for a translation, you’d just wake up and know.

If Tab felt important, it probably was. But the Tab isn’t Tab, not in your dreams. It’s representing something. What it represents isn’t something I could possibly know. What is Tab to you? How do you feel about it? Maybe you feel like it is a generic substitute for something real, that would change what is represented. Maybe it takes you back to a time in your past, that time in your past would change what it represents. Does any of this make sense? It’s so hard to explain that I wonder if I’m making sense.

Take me and fishing. Y’all know me and fishing. But if I were to have a dream where fishing had meaning, that meaning could change depending on a myriad of factors. Sometimes fishing means hope and accomplishment. Sometimes fishing is an escape. Sometimes fishing is a means of production. Sometimes fishing is the pursuit of the unattainable. Sometimes fishing is a source of frustration. Depending on where I’m fishing, there could be a strong tie to Jax, or my Father, or my dead uncle, or my grandfather, or my childhood best friend. Fishing in one of my dreams would not mean “fishing”. It’s just used because the things it does in my head are similar, make a connection to, the issue my brain is currently fighting. That connection is emotion, and only I know how to make those connections. It’s the same way that shooting a wolf that turned out to be my son was really just worry about my decision making abilities. Logically, those two ideas have no connection. It’s not until you understand the emotions I have about these two ideas that the connection can be made. And you can’t know my emotions. Only I can, just as only you can with yours.

OK, pondering this, this was good.

Since I was wondering if you would try, I put some stuff together too, lemme think

sorry it is such a silly thing with the Tab

OK, the dream and my take on it. I was reluctant to admit to myself that I had a weird dream about RI because it's likely at some point I'll find myself in RI visiting. But I have concluded it is the only explanation. We'd only go so long before visiting; the main couple we know are a bit older, and are having health problems. I think it would be a long time before a funeral kicks in, but you'd have to be a lamebrain not to realize that can come sooner than expected too. It's even possible Michael talking about his Dad prompted something unconscious. That they aren't Italian but Jewish instead, I can't explain, and this threw me for a while.

I enjoy trips to that area, usually working in a visit to Mohegan Sun too. The food is great in RI for sure. That certainly explains part of the dream; maybe guilty feelings came in with this aspect. We would be mixing enjoying ourselves with possibly visiting at an unhappy time; the dream maybe 'groundhogged' me to make me return to real, less pleasant, reasons we were there.

Reluctantly, I think 'the guy' has to be this man, who is the person with the illness that might overtake him soon enough. It isn't mental illness! Why did my brain switch it into that? He is a guy who is into projects alright; his wife is now getting frustrated with the messed up projects, maybe I inserted myself into that frustration somehow.

Quote:

There is also a man you can’t see. You feel he is the answer to your goal, but you don’t know him, can’t reach him, whatever. This could all be what is described here. You have a problem you can’t get out of, you’re addressing it in a way you know isn’t helping, and you know the way out is right there, you just don’t know how to get there. Until you do, you repeat the problem day after day.

I think I figured it out now with your help here. We feel his children are not stepping up to the plate and are not recognizing the sea change. They have been a bunch of needy-as-adult types, expecting help all the time, and now are not properly transitioning into the reality of forget-that-now-I-need-to-help-them. In our opinion anyway [and they aren't the worst I ever saw]. So shadowy guy represents the family generally, the failure to materialize into this new phase. Perhaps I have anxiety that we'll be expected to step in too much, that would be unlikely but the type of thing that can cause anxiety.

Like that?

As for the rest of the dream, mostly I am left with the big problem of the soft drink. Again, it was a big deal somehow. I can't crack this.

Quote:

You recognize this “other value” as being negative in your life. You don’t like Tab, and it’s not even the value it appears to be, as by his actions, he has ruined it (taken sips)... If Tab felt important, it probably was. But the Tab isn’t Tab, not in your dreams. It’s representing something. What it represents isn’t something I could possibly know. What is Tab to you? How do you feel about it? Maybe you feel like it is a generic substitute for something real, that would change what is represented. Maybe it takes you back to a time in your past, that time in your past would change what it represents.

I had an Aunt who liked Tab. But surely that is a complete dead end there.

It has to do with 'the guy'. Other than that I can't connect the dots. I probably wouldn't have remembered the dream too well except for this, and I may never crack it.

Anyone ever had one of those dreams where a ton of activity occurs, yet you wake up and find that only a few minutes have passed? That just happened to me. Weird.

Also, I think Face should seriously consider doing business as a dream interpreter. I personally know 3 people who would pay to have someone interpret their dreams, and I'm sure there are plenty of others out there. Offering a service like that actually makes a lot more sense than those stupid psychics (some of whom make a lot of money).