Grenades for the motorcycle gang

I'm in a motorcycle store and they are having an open house recruitment for their motorcycle gang. I am really excited about joining this gang and will do whatever it takes to be a member. One of the leaders pulls out a grenade that looks like a water yo-yo and pulls the top off. He yells, "We're gonna show them!" and lobs it into the next room. Everyone ducks for cover. I, as well as two other people, jump into the bathtub in a bathroom. I figure that if the whole building collapses, I will be safe because the bathtub walls are tall enough to protect me. Because it is crowded with 2 other people in the tub, I make sure that my head and torso are below the level of the sides let my legs hang outside the tub. The bomb goes off and it ends up just being a stink bomb, so just smoke and smell. Afterwards, the gang leader addresses the people who haven't run away from the store and instructs us to set off more of these bombs in the city if we are to join the gang. The cops are starting to show up and we quickly disperse out the back door. I stick the bomb in my mouth so as to avoid detection and it turns out that I can eat the outer jelly surface and it is just candy. I'm left with a smaller ball the size of a large gumball with the top still attached. I wander the neighborhood looking for a garbage can that I can set it off in. Everywhere I look, there are children playing or people walking down the street so I can't set it off. Finally, a distraction occurs and I have a chance to set it off. I quickly pull the top and drop it in the garbage can and run off. I ran so fast that I don't even hear the bomb go off. Finally, I sneak back into the store and join the gang. There are only 2 other people that are there, and I ask why there are so little people. The leader just replies, "Ehh, no one was really that interested." We just sit around and pass a pipe around. I guess that gang life is not all that interesting after all.

Observations: This "grenade" reminds me of the water yo-yo that I got from a fair that day, which I somehow felt was unsafe. The next day, we noticed that it started to leak a little when you squeezed it hard and finally I threw it out. Today, while I was writing the post for the dream, I found this article, Water Yo-Yos Banned in New York. Indeed it is a very dangerous toy!! My kids were swinging this thing around wildly and even jokingly wrapping it around their necks. Good thing is has been confiscated. In reality, I have no experience with gangs or stink bombs or anything of the sort!

Green Bingo markers and green dragon tires

I'm walking around MIT near the Student Center with an old classmate who I haven't seen since I was a student there, and he's pointing up at the sky. It is full luminescent green arrows that look similar to Magnetic Bingo markers, but in the shape of arrows. He says, "Can you imagine when we didn't have the direction markers for airplanes and when we used to rely solely on air traffic controllers?" There are thousands of planes in the sky and in front of each one there is the green directional marker that automatically point in the direction that the plane is headed. The other planes can clearly see them and they avoid each other this way. I, myself, think that it makes the sky way overcrowded, but it is the norm nowadays, so I just nod my head. He then says, "Can you imagine if people had the same thing?" All of a sudden the space in front of me is filled with these green markers in front of all the people walking. Not only that, there are cartoon bubbles showing some of their thoughts as well. Now, I think this is too creepy, I don't want to be telepathic or anything, there would be no more privacy with these markers! So I say that I really don't like it, makes things too crowded.

We walk down to Amherst Street and suddenly I stop because this antique car catches my eye. It is covered in a green form-fitting hard leather case and all you can see of the car are the tires. I move in closer and see that the tires are not a rubber tube, but actually an intricate carving of solid green rubber similar to a Chinese ivory puzzle ball. My friend is telling me to come on, but I wave him off because I want to touch this tire and all the cool dragon shapes on it. Suddenly it is clear to me that I must talk to the owner of the car and I know where he is. I walk into a Sloan school building (on Ames street now) and into the elevator. I very deliberately press the button for the 8th floor.

(At this point my daughter walks into my room and wakes me right out this dream. Thankfully, the imagery was so vivid, I didn't forget any of it.)

Brawling in a restaurant for coupons

I'm eating in my favorite Japanese restaurant with my husband, a small framed girl from work (who appeared in yesterday's dream in the minivan) and a heavy guy who I don't know. The food is great and near the end of the meal I'm sitting at another table. There I find a coupon for buy one entree and get one free. I'm psyched, as I love this restaurant and am looking forward to coming back. I look back at the other table and the heavy guy stands up, bends over to pick something up, and then purposely puts his butt right in the girl's face. I get really pissed off watching this and when I get up to give him a piece of my mind, I hear him excuse himself to go to the bathroom. The girl gets up to follow him, and I'm trailing behind her a few feet. He turns to go down the stairs to the restrooms and I watch her push him down the stairs and then jump on him and pummel him but good. Whew, I thought, she can take care of herself, no need in my getting involved. After she comes back to the table, the guy has taken off from the restaurant and he was going to pay for the meal. The waitress came by and because we were so inconvienced by having a fight in their restaurant gives us another buy one entree get one free coupon. We walk out of the restaurant, I am beaming and holding the coupons tightly.

Interpretation: I need to get back to this restaurant, haven't been since my anniversary in July. Magically the mother-in-law called today and offered to babysit this weekend!

Where do I work?

I'm at my old job and working after hours in a second floor conference room. All of a sudden I realize that it is getting really late and they have locked up the building and I won't be able to get out. I remember that you just need to call security and they will help you out. I pick up the phone and try to dial the number but I just can't remember it and I keep pushing the wrong buttons.

Now I'm working at my new job, and I decide for casual Friday to wear my old Fragon t-shirt (left) that I got from the very first day of my old job. When I get to work, all the people from our main customer are visiting and they are all wearing the same shirt. Now I feel like an idiot for wearing it. They are busy setting up instruments and labs all over the building and I keep running into people that I know with the same shirt on. I feel relieved at lunch to be able to go out and escape these people, only as I'm walking out to my car in the parking lot, a whole throng of people follow me and expect me to drive them to lunch. I don't want to be rude so I let them into my silver minivan. I drive around and pull into the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant with corrugated aluminum siding. I ask the occupants whether this restaurant would be OK and one girl from my new work replies that we've already had lunch. All of a sudden I remember that I've already eaten at a different restaurant, and how could I forget that I've already eaten?

Observations: This is obviously a case of mistaken work identity. I worked at my last job for 12 years and my new job for 1 year and can't seem to shake the old job off. In my new job, our main customer, has a joint venture my last company. To give even more details, that customer bought out my group at my last company and laid everyone off. I had to showcase an instrument in their joint venture booth earlier this year and our blue shirts were exactly the same color as their blue shirts so I felt as though I was completely assimilated back. So apparently I'm still holding a grudge against them. I also wore that old t-shirt over the weekend, while visiting a friend from my old work. And I don't own and never will own a minivan!