Dreams in my Dreams!

I don't think I am actually present, but I find myself in what seems to be some sort of restaurant or pub. I am in a dim corner following a conversation going on between a group of girls sitting at a circular table that seems to be no less than three feet away from where I stand. One girl in particular is Ariel, a childhood acquaintance whom I remember from homeroom in 6th grade. I hear her saying something along the lines of "everyday, I have to visit my dad by the dumpster and feed him ham" to which I'm thinking, "what the fuck?"

I connected her words to the idea of having to go through hard times, which I find refreshing, considering I've always gotten the impression that she was fairly well off. At some point, I become aware that she is just as into dreams as I am (I don't remember if she said something to cause this realization, or if I just randomly got a feeling ...) and I conclude that the the whole 'feeding dad ham in the dumpster' thing was probably something from a dream she was describing. Still, I am pleasantly surprised that dream recall seems to be a hobby of hers.

The next scene I can recall: I don't know exactly where I am - it seems that I am still in the pub with Ariel and the other girls, but there is now some kind of computer in the room (on a food service cart, I believe) that we are gathered around. She shows off her dream website, and we are reading white words on a deep blue (possibly starry?) background that are in the form of karaoke lyrics (moving down the screen, words being highlighted as I read them). I find this odd, but am mostly focused on reading what is apparently one of Ariel's more recent dreams.

At this point, I am in a totally different scenario - I find myself in the deli where I work, when a random girl (customer) wants my attention. As I am looking at her, I notice that she has a very simple kind of pretty face - very natural, with long, blond, unmaintained but yet still lovely hair to match. She doesn't want anything from the deli - she wants to inform me of a tornado that went through her community. Throughout the dream, I have this lingering feeling that I am working on some kind of 'project' and that this is apparently why this girl came up to me with the information she's currently presenting - she's 'heard' about my 'project' and wants to help.

After she presents the facts, I begin to ask questions that seem to make her uncomfortable for some reason. ("what community do you live in?" is the only one I can recall. I feel like some of these questions were on a more personal level however, but I don't know that for sure.) She's still answering them, but is obviously a little nervous, as opposed to the excitement she expressed while presenting the facts.

***

I didn't notice not being able to read in the dream (karaoke website scene), but I've always heard that it is impossible to. I can't for the life of me remember what I had read, but am fairly certain that I understood in the dream, as I remember being intrigued by it ???

As for finding the idea of Ariel struggling in life refreshing ... irl I do often wish that some friends from my past could have had it rough. We are worlds apart now - it's hard for me to relate to people who still see the world in terms of black and white.

On a different note ... I've always thought of Ariel as naturally adorable, which probably also inspired the naturally pretty girl in the last dream.

Speaking of the last dream: I think the 'uncomfortable' feeling was my mind's way of expressing the way I often feel when it comes to expressing deeper feelings irl. Within the dream, I was the confident one pushing the questions and, while noticing her uneasiness, not allowing it to affect me. Irl, I am more often either too uncomfortable to express what's on my mind at all, or too uncomfortable to go on once I notice that I am making someone else uncomfortable.