Dream Journal: Building houses (or worlds)

[hrj]

I think it must be all my friends who are in the middle of buying houses, but I had a homeowner anxiety dream this morning. My house was an enormous rambling place with lots of "owner-built" additions and modifications. I had just gotten a housemate who brought a vibrant and spontaneous social life with her (consisting mostly--for some inexplicable reason--of people hanging out on the Making Light blog). I was in the middle if introducing myself to the sudden crowd and laying down some house rules (like: "knock before you walk in the front door" and similar) when a massive rainstorm hit and pieces of the house started crumbling and exposing structural flaws. Which the crowd of strangers began eagerly pointing out to me and explaining how I could have fixed or prevented them. And then a leak started pouring through the roof and I started to cry.

When I posted this over on fb, it was pointed out to me in comments (and I had come to the same conclusion independently) that this may not actually be a homeowner anxiety dream -- although it borrows the symbolic language -- but an about-to-have-my-novel-published anxiety dream. A vast horde of complete strangers (as well as people I already know and respect) are about to "walk in" to my world without knocking and (at least implicitly) start critiquing the architecture, the furniture, the wallpaper, and the dinner menu. But dammitall I built that roof and I know for certain that it will not leak. So take that, you insecure subconscious!

Comments

[xrian.livejournal.com]

(Knocks on woodwork) nope, solid construction all through.

Are you ready to deal with fans dressed as Barbara?

[hrj.livejournal.com]

If it turns out that there are readers who so enjoy my world that they want to cosplay in it or create fanfic and fan art for it, I will do my best to take that as the compliment it is.