I don’t usually remember dreams very vividly, so the one I had last night stands out.  I remember it quite well down to the small details, and it was just interesting enough to warrant writing about.

It started out with me going to visit my parents, who had decided that they liked Saint George (where they currently live) but wanted something different, so they sold their house and bought a tiny little cabin on a lake in the suburbs of Boston.  That’s right, Boston.  They for some reason or another refused to pay capital gains tax on their house sale.  Odder still was the fact that I was arguing with them about paying capital gains tax in a dream.  Perhaps the most confusing part of the situation was the my parents were living on a lake, yet my dad (who grew up on the Mississippi and would undoubtedly buy a boat were he near water) didn’t want a boat.  Never mind the fact that the cabin and lake were located in the Dedham, MA area which lacks both lakes and cabins.

The next part of the dream was where I became frustrated because I couldn’t figure out how to get into downtown Boston.  This was when my subconscious realized that I must be dreaming, because I was telling myself that there is a train that goes straight into downtown (I’ve used it) but for some reason my dream self refused to listen.  Instead I went walking on a road that looked suspiciously like Oregon and set about meeting some neighbors.  I ran into several friends from the cycling team at Oregon, and they decided we should take our BMX bikes (where did those come from?) and race in circles around my parents’ gravel driveway.  We did that for a while and eventually they simply ceased to exist in the dream.  So I went across to the other end of the driveway and walked into a cabin that looked rather small on the outside but was pretty much a mansion inside.  This family had something like 14 children, one of which was a rather attractive girl my age (or at least was attractive in the dream – though I don’t think she’d be my type in reality). Problem was, there was a large pool table in the way so I couldn’t make my way over to meet her, instead we just stared at each other.  Yeah.

So I guess this girl’s father figured out what was going on (or not going on due to the pool table) and decided that I should go shoot guns with him.

I have no doubt this part of the dream occurred because I watched a clip of Conan O’Brien last night.  Conan wanted to interview Hunter S. Thompson, but the only way he’d agree to go on camera with Conan was if Conan came out to a remote field with him to drink whiskey and shoot automatic weapons.  So he did.

So we went out to a large empty field in what was otherwise pretty much a dense Massachusetts rain forest.  We shot guns.

At this point it was morning (in reality) and I was becoming slightly aware of the fact that I was waking up, but I seem to have this ability to draw out a dream even when slightly conscious, and I was curious where it was going.  I was about to actually get to meet this girl, but then a phone call from a friend (in reality) woke me up.  The end.

So now, the multiple choice interpretation.

The setting must mean that:

a) apparently I didn’t get out enough in Dedham, MA

b) my subconscious thinks that Oregon and Boston are the same place

c) I’m supposed to move to the triangulated centerpoint between Saint George, Oregon, and Boston – Somewhere in Western Nebraska

I got into an argument about capital gains tax in a dream because:

a) I’m a nerd

b) I take tax evasion very seriously

c) I’m a nerd

I refused to listen to my inner sensibilities regarding a train ride into Boston because:

a) Lucid as I was, my dreaming self is very stubborn and wanted to do things my own way

b) Then the plot would have turned out completely differently and probably lacked bikes, girls, and guns

c) Who wants to waste time riding a train in a dream?

I ended up riding a BMX bike around because:

a) I have not yet found my true calling in the sport – riding tiny bikes around short curcuits trying to get air

b) There was a lack of road bikes available for riding

c) It’s a dream – it can’t make too much sense

The poorly placed pool table represents:

a) A good segue into the opportunity to be a man and shoot guns

b) A dire warning that girls just like to play games with you

c) Meeting women at bars (that generally have pool tables) doesn’t usually work out

I was attracted to a blonde with too much makeup because:

a) She looked like she could be from Western Nebraska – see above

b) She was the only girl in my dream my age and I’m desperate

c) I’m an idiot

I’m generally inclined to go with abcaba, which means that I should move to Nebraska and become a tax auditor.  There I’ll pick up BMX racing and meet a manipulative blonde girl that will make my life miserable.  Sounds like fun!

Tags: dream