Washington Post

I was in a town in Washington - or possibly Canada. I tried to explain my location to a woman on a phone, and when I looked at the map I had gone north into Canada, but there was a line on the map which said "No Record Beyond this Point". I had gone west through Canada, and the state of Washington was blinking on the map, but I wasn't confident that I was there.

I was at a house, and Matt Damon, Zoe Deschanel, and Darren Criss were around. The house was suburban, and there was a pool in back. The whole thing had an air of incompleteness about it. It was a property, but not a home. I had traveled to this place to write. I was working in an office occasionally? Or at least, I was occasionally in a sort of office building. I got a letter from a woman, handwritten and on some sort of napkin, saying that she wanted to publish my book on female gamers and would offer me a healthy paycheck. Then she called. I was walking around the town, trying to make sense of what she was saying and not sound too happy. I reflected on my book, on my essays, and what still needed to be done. I could not believe that she was going to pay me for a book I had not finished.

When we hung up, I wanted to surprise everyone, so I didn't say anything. Later, at a table by the pool, I announced that I was going to have my book published by...I think I said something like P.T. Waterly? I can't remember. Then Mitch (actor friend), burst out laughing at the name of the publisher. He was making fun of me, and I was crushed that his first response was to laugh at me. Darren Criss gave me a hug, but I didn't feel better. I fell into a sadness because the first reaction was to make fun of my project.

****

This is the second dream in recent memory where I've felt ridiculed by actors I know, even though I don't think of them with animosity.

I do actually have such a book in the making - but it's not very good. I don't think my style is engaging enough - but that would be news for a different sort of blog.