The really really weird dream show

Sometimes my dreams are more interesting than my life.

Last night I dreamt that while I was still at the newspaper, a friend who is president of a large corporation offered me a job. I would get paid more and work in a much nicer place. For some reason I knew that my newspaper days would end in the near future but I wasn't sure I was ready to go.

I asked what I would be doing and she said that I would be working with people who were recording oral histories. My job was to make sure the recordings had a good ending.

I said I would be good at that because I knew this from my news writing: "Use the best thing first and save the second best for the end."

But then I wouldn't be writing. I would miss that too much.

And I said that I would be more comfortable at the grungy newspaper with the dirt falling onto our desks from the ceiling vents. (This really happened. Every day we would have to come in and wipe the desk calendar off.)

So I went into the office and went to my desk (which in some of my work nightmares has disappeared along with my computer terminal or my lamp and which in some cases is occupied by somebody else) and saw the spookiest thing: The calendar that covered my whole desk, and on which I had scribbled dates and reminders, was still on April.

April was the last month I worked in 2003 before going to Dana-Farber for cancer treatment. I wrote it in my little book. April 4, 2003, last day of work.

I thought I should change it but I didn't do it.

A moment frozen in time.

The night before I had a nightmare that is part of a series about things that have happened to me.

This time it was my skin.

I went to the dermatologist to have her check out a scaly spot on my ankle. (A spot which is actually there but which I'm not supposed to be worried about.)

She said it looked horrible and started slashing at it with a knife. She cut up so much of my skin that I had to wear a cast on that leg. Then I went out with some people to go somewhere and encountered a swamp full of muck. I had no choice but to get the leg thing dirty while we waded through the muck. I was nervous about messing up my skin but we got to dry land and it seemed to be OK.