You Can’t Fire Me
Posted on October 25, 2007 Posted by John Scalzi 12 Comments
Probably because so many friends were recently let go at AOL, I had a dream in which I was being laid off at some sort of organization that was a mash-up of AOL and the Fresno Bee (those two being the real jobs I had, back in the day). The funny thing is that in my dream, I am what I am now, which is a freelance dude who works on contract from time to time. So when the guy came in to tell me I’d been laid off, I just looked at him like he was nuts. Which was a nice feeling, even if it was just in a dream.
Left unanswered was what I was doing in an office, where I had apparently worked for years on end, if, in fact, I was a freelancer, but that’s dreaming for you. Dreams don’t actually have to make sense all the way through, or even part way through.
Also, I’m not sure why I was a parrot. That’s probably best left unexplored.
I had the same dream except you were a parrot Jan Michael Vincent. Who went on to star in the remake of Big John Little John.
I had that dream once, too! No, wait….
I’ve been freelance since 1987. I still dream about getting fired from some long-term job.
Get used to it.
According to an Online Dream Dictionary:
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamthemes/birds.htm
Parrots
To see a parrot in your dream, represents gossip. A message is being conveyed to you. It may also mean that you or someone is being repetitive or even mocking you. Alternatively, the parrot can denote a person in your waking life who is eccentric or obnoxious.
[quote]Dreams don’t actually have to make sense all the way through, or even part way through[/quote]
Or, they can make sense, but only to you. I wish stories worked that way…
Dreaming that you’re a parrot, or a wizard professor, means you’re totally gay. For serious. True story.
Well, there is all that rainbow plumage.
Just don’t tell my wife. Because she’d be all, like, “that’s fine, but I get to watch.” Which would totally throw me off.
Wait a minute! You wrote a novel someone finds out they’re really a sheep [If you haven’t read it, it’s Trask, which is why he feels so guilty after eating a woman in a wool sweater], and you can’t figure out why you were a parrot?
It’s a Harry Creek novel waiting to happen!
Just don’t tell my wife. Because she’d be all, like, “that’s fine, but I get to watch.” Which would totally throw me off.
A woman after my own heart. And it throws off my husband too, even with his eyeliner and tight jeans!
I just find it surprising that the Fresno Bee once had a good writer outside of the Sports section. Though to be fair to the Bee, I have no idea if you were a good writer then.
My movie reviews were pretty good. My weekly column, not so much.
Just one question about this dream. Did the parrot perchance have electric blue feathers?