9:00AM
I keep having these weird dreams. Or maybe they’re not that weird, they just seem weird for the times that we’re in.
I dreamt about playing basketball in the park, and seeing five or six people fight over the rebound, everyone wrestling for control. I dreamt about moving in with a new roommate, who was a woman, and looking outside my window to see a young John Dickerson (a famous American journalist) playing basketball with some other guy. I dreamt about how many of these people shouldn’t be so close to me, as we have to practice social (physical) distancing during these times. Then I woke up.
I guess it’s not so strange to dream about people interacting. I think we’re incredibly social animals and so that makes sense. And if dreams are what some have hypothesized they are, a way for us to practice real-life scenarios, then this is my living out of the future.
Yet it just further reminds me how strange these times are. This is day 21 of writing, which means it’s probably day 40 or more of quarantine, as I started a few days or weeks after. I don’t think we humans were built to interact only with the same two to three humans on a daily basis. I was watching a show on CBS this last Sunday where the comedian Jim Gaffigan talked about how he missed strangers—before the pandemic, he didn’t mind them much, but now, he almost craves interaction with them. I hear that.
In a way, the dreams seemed almost like a virtual reality escape, where, during the day, I’m only allowed to interact with two other people (my parents) and yet in my dreams, I could explore the full range of humanity. I think in the dream last night I even saw old friends from high school. I’m socializing more when I’m asleep than I am when I’m awake. Maybe that’s why I’m so tired.
I wish we could figure out how to do testing and tracing so that we could open up this country again, and to do so carefully and orderly. I enjoy the psychological exploration of being cooped up, seeing how it impacts my dreams and daily existence, and yet, I sincerely miss people—friends, strangers, and everything in between.
I don’t know why we haven’t figured out testing and tracing and other countries have. I don’t know if it’s a logistics issue (country is too big), a rebelliousness issue (Americans like to dodge the rules), or an honesty issue. I don’t know.
I want to start dreaming in the day as well.
9:10AM
