The Dream Factory Strikes Again
Started: Monday, July 18, 2005 08:21
Finished: Monday, July 18, 2005 09:03
The past few mornings, I seem to be remembering more dreams than usual, and being inspired by them too. So again, I'm taking what I can remember and recording it in words. Plus a few other thoughts.
I had just moved into a new town, and I wanted to move my money from the evil Wal Mart bank to the community co-op bank. But doing so required a bit of paperwork and persistence. I was determined, so I kept asking until I got referred to the person in a position to do it.
My account was opened. My money had been transferred. I wanted to get more involved, volunteer in the coop, and become a part of the great things that were going on. But I had less than $100 in the account. Not quite enough to survive the week, it seemed.
Wal Mart was offering a special bonus if I moved my money back to their bank, plus it was easy and convenient to do. I decided to do so temporarily, until I could get my next paycheck. My account with the coop was closed, and my money went back into the Wal Mart bank.
Immediately after having done so, I regretted it. Horribly. This isn't what I wanted. I went back to the community coop and asked if I could re-open my account. They seemed quite upset at my indecisiveness, and said it would require some work. Also, since I only had $80 to transfer back in, they were shaking their heads at why I would go to such trouble for such a small amount.
I tried to explain that even though that was all I had now, I would have more to deposit in the future, but that wouldn't happen until the end of the week when I got my next paycheck.
Finally, they said that it could be done, but in order for it to happen, I would need to write a formal letter of apology to the board of directors. I was relieved that they were letting me back in at all, so immediately I found a pen and paper and began to write.
But the sentences wouldn't come out right. I kept trying to edit and improve it, and the words were getting all jumbled up. The paper in front of me was the only one I had, and it was turning into a mess.
I gave up, and again appealed to the two men who had received my application, said that my letter wasn't coming out right, and asked if there was any other way, or could I write another letter. Time was running out. The day was almost over.
They took me into a meeting room, where a representitive from the board of directors came to discuss my case. She said I would be allowed to rejoin on a probationary basis, and began explaining more of the benefits. Everything sounded good.
[jumbled images, faded impressions]
I half awoke. My eyes flittered a few times, I looked at the clock, and went back to sleep. It was 7:forty-something. I closed my eyes again. Daytime would return soon.
8 o'clock. 8 o'clock. My shift tonight ends at 8 o'clock.
It's almost 8 o'clock!
I opened my eyes again. The clock read 7:59. A KeanuReeves-as-Neo moment: Woah.
The clock turned 8. This had to be a signal. As memory of the dream returned, I knew at least a couple things:
- Time to turn in my volunteer application form without further delay. I need to do this.
- I still do my banking at big evil Wells Fargo; though I do have some vague qualms about holding my money in such a large and potentially corrupt institution, I'm somewhat reluctant to switch to anything else. The inertia of a long standing account is there, they have branches in every major city I've been to in the last 5 years, and there's a Wells Fargo ATM on seemingly every block around Lincoln.
- I seem to have an almost pathological wish to become a part of a good community effort, yet so often, when opportunity presents itself, I flinch and retreat. This was reflected in the dream.
- Indeed, my shift will end at 8 tonight. PM, that is. The synchronicity of having those words echo in my dream, and then waking up seconds before the clock changed to 8 seems to an indicator of something. Maybe on a subconscious level, my sleeping brain has far more precise time measurement than I realized.
Now I'm ready to be up and about. Another day has just begun.