Reality Serum at the Rent-A-Mansion

Some elements in this dream are obvious reflections of real life situations:

• I’m preparing to have a gathering at my place this weekend.
• Last weekend a friend and I were going to take a tour of a mansion but found that it was too expensive.
• I stayed at a hotel with this same friend where the pool was closed due to an “incident” with a child (involving something that resembled - but was not - mud).
• I’ve recently joined the YMCA, of which two of my favorite aspects are the pool and hot tub.

[07-25-2010]

A large mansion in town is set up similar to a YMCA, where visitors can work out, swim in indoor or outdoor pools, and hang out in hot tubs of various sizes. I’m heading over to one of the indoor pools, but the room is flooded and I have to swim to the edge of the pool. Somehow, although level with the floor, the “shallow” end of the pool is less deep than the flooded water around it. I wade over to a group of teenagers and preteens, including my friend’s daughter Jasmine, playing Frisbee across the pool. I can tell that Jasmine has a crush on one of the teenage boys, but he seems to be flirting with me instead, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I swim over to one of the large hot tubs, but find that the walls are smeared with mud. Nervous that someone might think I made the mess, I quickly resort to one of the smaller hot tubs. My Mom joins me, asking if I would mind taking a survey about the “club.” [Apparently she plays the role of a staff member.] She asks me several questions, taking notes on a clipboard. I mention that I’m planning to have a party there that evening, so she takes me on a tour of the areas of the mansion that we will have access to. We’re outside arranging chairs on the patio when we notice a wedding party on the top floor getting rowdy. The bride is leaning out a large open window, as if she might fall out, laughing and obviously intoxicated. Her father is near us on the ground, but somehow he is able to reach up and gently lift her through the window (as if the building briefly shrinks down to a single level, then back up again).

Later, guests are arriving and lounging around throughout the mansion as I continue to arrange furniture and make sure everything is ready. A shy teenage girl [who I recently met at the YMCA] shocks me by insisting on access to the bedrooms upstairs, “just in case.” (Implying sexual activity.) She is relaxing in a reclining chair on the patio as it begins to rain. A leak in the patio roof pours right on her and she doesn’t seem to notice. I ask her, “Why don’t you move out from under that leak?” “Oh, you’re right!” she says, seeming surprised, as if suddenly realizing that she’s getting wet, and moves her chair over.

My friend James notices that I’m still arranging things and tells me that I need to relax. He shows me a drink that he brought and insists that I try it. “It’s called Reality Serum,” he boasts, “It’ll make you see the truth.” I eyed the liquid, which looked like some sort of magical potion in a small glass bottle, and said, “I’m not too sure about that.” He urges me on, saying that I won’t regret it, and leads me to a comfortable, black padded chair. I sigh and give in, relaxing in the chair as he pulls a dropper from the bottle. He squeezes one single drop onto my tongue and I allow my eyes to close. I feel myself relaxing deeper and deeper… then I awaken, realizing that “the truth” is that it was all a dream. ^_^