This driving thing is starting to get to me.

I have always had lots of dreams about driving, mostly the same one over and over again, the one where i am sitting in the back seat of a stationary car and the driver gets out and then the car starts rolling down the hill, gathering speed, and i have to lean over to grab the steering wheel and take control. Sometimes I manage to get in the front seat and reach the brake, but other times I just have to do my best from the back seat.

Its a pretty good analogy for my life really. Im often a bit too passive about the direction i go in and only when things start to get rolling or out of control do I realise I have to DO something.

Last night was a bit different. I have been having a few new driving dreams, but last night’s dream was particularly interesting. I dreamt that I was back in Tokyo driving to a party at the Riotous Redhead’s place. No matter that she actually lives in Adelaide… So off I went, alone in the car, just me, in the drivers seat. I drove like it was the first time I had ever taken hold of a steering wheel. Last Sunday, during a particularly eventful driving lesson with James, I hit the gutter upon entry to a tight little roundabout and was so jolted that I jerked my way around the rest of it in a novel steering fashion that involved no curves, only angles. I drove that exact same way in my dream through the tight corners of Shinjuku, the tiny one-way streets of Shibuya and the back-street maze of Nishi-Azabu, ALL THE WAY to the party. I arrived with mild whiplash and a serious case of nerves. The party was great tho, I left it much more relaxed and somewhat tipsy, early in the morning. I did a horrendous hill-start on a dark, steep, narrow street (suspiciously like the one outside Yellow), rolling back very dangerously several times, and finally headed up to Roppongi-dori. As I turned onto the main road, I realised I didnt have my seatbelt on. I wobbled around trying to get it on and attracted the attention of a police vehicle which pulled me over but then sped off in pursuit of bigger fish at the last moment. The rest of the drive home was quite safe, calm and smoothly executed, pleasurable even.

The reason why I am boring you with the whole thing is because I get the feeling that this is past-present-future dream…

• Martine (Kichijoji) said on 07/03/28 at 01:42 AM.....

  You know, the recurring dream that drove me to Japan (no pun intended) was one where I was driving an old, battered little yellow 4 cylinder car, hopelessly overloaded with band-gear, up a dangerously steep slope and never quite making it…..and waking up in a sweat terrified I was going to flip backwards, out of control, down the slope. I realised I was ill-equipped for the job I was doing and that I was seriously over-exerting myself and that it was time to find an easier, more zen-like path for my cute but dinky little vehicle. It happened maybe 4 or 5 times before I sat up and listened.
  As for your dream…. hmmm. Past-present-future? I like it.
  Do you ever listen to the dream analysis show on Triple J? It’s an interesting listen, tho I probably haven’t listened to it for 4 years or so now…

• indigorayz (melbourne) said on 07/03/28 at 10:50 PM.....

  What a great dream! I especially like the ending!

• indigorayz (melbourne) said on 07/03/28 at 10:50 PM.....

  What a great dream! I especially like the ending!

• Ashman (Japan) said on 07/03/29 at 06:15 PM.....

  Best of luck learning to drive. Hope the car was ok, was it James?

• j-ster (home, adelaide) said on 07/03/29 at 06:56 PM.....

  James is completely ok, the king of laid-back. Its Dad who freaks and makes me nervous. Mum keeps telling me to go faster. Its pretty funny…

  And yes, Martine, i do remember the dream show, tho I havent heard it lately and im not sure its still on! It would be available on podcast if it still around, maybe I should check that out. I really believe that the symbols in the dreams are all our own, and that we are able to make sense of them without interpreters, however the dream lady was really good at looking at the big picture, ne.