I had an odd dream the other night.

Everyone's heard of the dream where they find themselves in one of their old classes and completely, woefully unprepared for some life-trajectory-altering test - oh, and they're naked. Well, I had the Bizarro World version of that dream. There I was in class, all studied up, uber-prepared to be tested, and fully clothed . . . and no one would even acknowledge that I was there, let alone give me the test. I was George Bailey fumbling around Bedford Falls trying to get people to interact with me to no avail. (Coincidentally, I went to college near and spent much time in New Bedford, MA. Ok, weak aside, but I was thinking it and thought I'd share.)

Now, most any psychoanalyst worth their weight in salt (or today's dearness equivalent - gasoline, I guess) doesn't invest much worth in most of the theories of Freud anymore. (Would you just look at the cover of the version of The Interpretation of Dreams that I own? Penis envy? Anyone?) Nevertheless, there is still something to be said about Freud's observations regarding the unconscious mind. So, keeping in mind the caveat that "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," I sometimes try to figure out what my mind is up to, dreaming those bizarro dreams.

My theory is that this particular dream is directly related to my current employment situation. You see, back in November, I decided to become a freelancer. I've been pretty pleased with the decision - work seems to be coming in steadily, I like doing what I'm doing, and my stress levels have gone way down - but I think there's a certain part of me that's just not feeling challenged enough or feels like I have something to prove to someone (who I'm not sure). Interesting, but I'm not going to worry about it too much. I don't miss the work challenges of my former job, which were more a source of stress than they were a means to prove myself in any soul-satisfying, positive way. I think what I'm actually craving is a creative challenge. Happily, one of the things with which I've been most satisfied with this job change is that it gives me more time for creative pursuits, and this little blog is sating at least a small portion of that creative hunger!