Work Dream

Last night, I had a very bizarre, very real, very freaky work dream.  Now for anyone trying to understand this dream, you'd have to understand my job.  So, in a very neat nutshell, I crank out JMU's Orientation publications.  Namely, The One Books, are one of my responsibilities.  I work with my closest friends (departments across the university) to make sure all of their information is accurately represented to our incoming first-year and transfer students.  These books are basically a checklist of "pre-college" items that need completed, as well as a sea of information to be completely informed about the JMU experience.  As you may imagine, my email inbox is like walking through a minefield.  Anyway, after all of the revisions from across campus are in (and three proofs later) I (and others in the office) read and reread the text until it all becomes a blur and eyes turn red and dry out.  Yesterday, we got our final proof  of The Transfer One Book prior to printing thousands of copies.  Based on a teeny tiny bit of anxiety, the below dream took place.  It all seemed so vivid that I woke up in a panic.

Miranda* had come up to give me her last revisions, the day Sarah (name not changed, as well, she likely does not read my blog and even if she did...she has already read about this ridiculous dream) left for vacation (this actually occurred, today).  Miranda had one totally new page that was supposed to be the new cover, on a piece of gray cardboard.  It was called ‘More Muffins Monday’ and had small clipart muffins as a border.  I told her I didn't think it made sense (at all) but maybe we could put it further back in the books, but not the cover.  She said she wanted all the families to know that since Summer Springboard (Orientation program name) Mondays were to be large, they were having muffins those days, as an extra perk for those braving the crowd.  (Some context would probably be helpful here.  Due to a change in summer work hours, all of our Orientation days run Monday-Thursday.  Previously, Mondays and Fridays had been large days, for families clumped those days into a weekend.  It makes sense for those traveling from afar and those wanting to not miss work during swing of things at work.)  It had to be on the cover, because it was more important that the rest of the book, she said.  I had tried to talk her into just stuffing a half sheet in Springboard folders for Mondays, but she wasn't having it.  As Sarah AND Tisha (my supervisors with The One Books) were gone, I made an executive decision to “lose” the muffins page and not include it in the books.

Fast forward to getting the actual books printed…the cardboard cover muffin page was not included.  Sarah comes running up to my desk to ask about why that particular page was not included…to which I respond something along the lines of “It was about muffins, Sarah…I didn't feel like it fit the theme of the books.”  To which she gave me a glare and said that they all needed reprinted.

*Name has been changed to protect the innocent that actually did nothing wrong.