I have a recurring dream in which I’m young and I’m totally alone. I can’t imagine how I will ever make friends or how I will ever meet a girl who might like me.

In this dream I’m in San Francisco. I’m walking alone through the city. I start going through downtown towards Chinatown, but I make a turn that takes me off in the wrong different direction. I end up in a bleak industrial area that looks vaguely like South of Market. There are no other people around.

The next thing I know I’m walking through Potrero Hill, high above the city. Even though I know there is no street car line that goes through this neighborhood, I see a Muni sign and a stairway. I walk down the stairs into a large underground station with several tracks.

I realize I’ve done this before, and I know I need to figure out which platform to wait on. The line I want to take is the N Judah. But I know the N Judah doesn’t go through this station. So I try to remember which other line I should take.

I finally choose a platform, and I know I’ll have to ride downtown and transfer. When the Muni train comes into the station and stops, I get on it. But as soon as I’m the car and the doors close, I realize I’ve made a mistake. This train is not going downtown.

I have no idea where the train is headed. I don’t know what to do.