ARGGGHHHHHH!

I swear, I think trying to get my dissertation proposal defense scheduled is apparently an exercise in psychological torture and I wonder whether it is a test of whether or not we are able to handle such things, as psychologists. In addition to members of my committee reporting various days and times in which they are unavailable, my chair has apparently disappeared from the face of the earth, because he hasn't responded to my emails or to my phone calls. Maybe he is avoiding me. So I still have no idea when my dissertation proposal will be or who will be in attendance.

My mom made is safely back to Tennessee, after a plane delay. The long weekend with her went by too quickly. Rebecca enjoys my mom so, so much. It's delightful to see the two of them together, because it is so obvious what a mutual admiration society they have for one another. I've always thought that it is a wonderful thing to have someone who believes that you could absolutely do no wrong, and Rebecca has that in her Grammy. Last night, Rebecca was in rare form, even for her. She literally laughed the whole way back from Brea to Chino Hills. She found everything Grammy did funny, everything I did funny, and everything she did herself to be absolutely hysterical. Rebecca has a cute little girly giggle, and she often accompanies it by putting her hands over her mouth. Then she also has this deep belly laugh that is sooo un-feminine. She's added the phrase "oh wow" to her repertoire, and she is also saying yucky (although it comes out as "ca-ca", which happens to be a word I absolutely detest). My mom and I had a great time shopping. Most of our shopping was for Rebecca. We bought some things at Janie and Jack on Saturday, and then they were marked down on Monday, so we got price adjustments on them and ended up buying some more. My mom also helped me tremendously in getting things organized for my internship applications. I needed to coordinate all the packages for the people who are writing letters of recommendation for me. I have different letter writers for the different types of sites (e.g., forensic, neuropsych, counseling centers) to which I am applying. So I got all of those things organized, with her help.

Today, I had a busy day back at Casa Colina's inpatient unit. I saw a pretty demented gentleman. Sadly, his family had not really recognized the extent to which he was impaired, so it was kind of a shock to them how severe he really is. The news that he isn't safe to be alone, at all, ever, and the news that his drivers license will be revoked was not pleasantly received. I also saw a gentleman who was quite hard of hearing, and so I was yelling his whole assessment to him. Passersby were probably wondering why some woman was yelling a story about a 3 alarm fire causing $2 million in damage, injuring 7, but killing no one. They probably thought I was a patient.

So it's going to be fast and furious this next week and a half before we go on vacation. I am still praying I can get my dissertation proposed before I leave, but every passing day makes that less likely. Regardless, I know they're going to let me apply for internship, so in that sense the pressure is off.