Intern has been doing increasingly long shifts with me at work. He's not a fan of office work. He thought wherever I go would be as fun as the trips to the puppy park or state parks that we usually do. Alas.... It's office work. He does like his coworkers though.

The Intern... Did a dog park trip today where he met his small sweater wearing friend. Was tricked into going to the vet for his vaccine boosters(he did great, and loved the baby food.) Gained 2 pounds since last month. And is now feeling sick because of the shots he got. Poor baby.

The Intern had his first half day at work today. He was nervous, but very happy to learn where I go during the day. He got to meet his coworkers, and some of the flight crews he's going to protect from bird strikes, then got tons of pets and love from everyone. He also got broccoli tonight.

Today the Intern went hiking. He also proved he can pull me when chasing after a squirrel.

The Intern is displeased, but he appreciates that when he wears the face hugger he gets treats.

The Intern started his orientation and desensitization to the airport, and all the noises that come with it, today with a short perimeter run on a long lead. He also met some coworkers and tenants in our building. He does not like waking up early.

Fell and hit my head walking tonight. People need to take care of their sidewalks in winter. I'm *probably* okay. At least I finally confirmed that I don't let go of the leash even when operating solely on "oh shit" instinct.

I understand why a shepsky is such a horrible combination (still the best dog ever) Take the brains and objective oriented mind of a gsd Put in the "what is rest?" And "you're not my dad" of a husky. Then give them a baby face. Unstoppable.

TIL You cannot cook meat when dog knows you are cooking meat. He will ask for some. Persistently. Repetitively. Without. Break. That's something I guess I gotta train out of him too.

Today the Intern and I reunited And ran during the start of a snow storm And he got blueberries!

The intern craves the eggnog. He is festive. He also craves pulling his babysitter across the neighborhood. The baby will be run heavily when I get back. Pic by (the best puppysitter) @martyturon.net

The next few days I'm out of town and leaving the Intern with his favorite roomie as a babysitter. He made it really hard to leave by snuggling and sleeping in. I already miss him. It's been two hours.

The intern and I are now on the schedule for wildlife control training at my workplace. He is confused if we're therapists or conservationists. He also learned he likes the dog park, and black labs today. Pic by @martyturon.net

Today the intern met another dog, more friends, and is part of the welcoming party for my brother coming back for the holidays. He also learned he doesn't really like carrots.

The intern Met his uncle puppy today (fun!) Met his other uncle puppy today (scary!) Met his grandparents (awesome!) Forced me to do 3 potty walks Did two good repetitions of "sit" And now is pretending to sleep while I watch presentations on personality disorders.

The intern met his doctor today. He thought she was awesome. She thought he was a really well behaved little guy. He even did his vaccines without any issue. Now he gets to meet other dogs over the weekend and try to make friends.

The intern does not know how to Play with pull toys Do basic commands Drink water cleanly He does know How to stare at me when he needs something He likes peanut butter He does not like the golden retriever a few blocks from us (too loud and bouncy)

Update on the new intern He loves smelling everything Doesn't quite trust people on skis Is chill with golden retrievers Hates swarms of puppies He also loves broccoli

In my quest to make my life more difficult (and because I needed an ESA), I rehomed a working dog mix last night. He and I are now racing to see who gets trained as a therapy dog first. He likes blueberries and snuggling. What a guy.

Injured myself the week prior to MFF. Thought I was good. I most definitely am not. Doc visit and (almost certainly) PT in my future. Do your stretches, and when old people say to take care of your body.... believe them.

A thank you to the folks who I ran into at MFF who spent the time and energy to ramble about their interesting funky world outside the con, and share a bit of the same in my direction. Y'all cool people, and you deserve good in your lives.

Back in the saddle with my therapy group. Made massive headway. Still feeling like I can do better, but definitely not feeling like I'm failing.

Rebounded from my hell week. Now to repeat again and again for the next month.

Creating a thread of my day to day was supposed to be fun. Instead I now have a written log of me burning out in a week. Cool, but ugh.

Practice therapy Watch others practice therapy Have someone practice therapy Write about therapy Go to sleep ... Listen to therapy podcast on personality My life is therapy. It's great, but I am so tired.

I am super excited to report that while my peer reviews of my therapy process is coming back as "not horrible" I feel I have so much room for improvement. I'm not perfect, and it's great. I can only improve in my eyes, and I'm super excited to do just that.

Getting to reference "Tell someone you love them today because life is short but scream it at them in German because life is also scary and confusing." in grad school is a thing I didn't expect.

*Panics about a class where b- final grade is failing* *Also so far has a 4.0 since starting the program* *Emotionally still panicking*

I've become my dad I'm looking at project sailboats, and estimating what they would cost to fix up and I'm taking up a new odd artistic hobby (I think this is the 5th one so far) Next up? Adopting the right dog at "the wrong time" if I'm following the pattern

"Why am I depressed? Why do I feel life is hopeless? What's happening? I'm done with my ptsd-fueled crisis.... Why? Why? Why?" *3 minutes later* Oh right.... We're trialing me off my anxiety meds.

Midnight o' clock phone calls from coworkers that involve me walking them through grounding exercises because of how fucked work is now is 1.) Really cool to see that I'm able to provide those techniques and tools 2.) Really depressing that I now have to provide those techniques and tools

Started my collection of theory specific books by grabbing an assortment of reality therapy & choice theory books. Also a fuckton of books on sexuality I now understand how professionals end up with huge libraries.

I love how I'll forget why I'm reading a textbook at late o' clock, or writing papers, or doing all this stuff. Not as in "why did I get into this program?" but instead "Oh that's right... I'm in grad school." I feel like I need to internalize that as part of myself more.

First weekend off on adhd meds and I cleaned all the trash I've been looking at for 2 weeks, got clothes out of my car that have lived there for 3+ months, and started taking action on hobby projects. Better living through pharmacology, I guess.

My therapist got to see me on adhd meds for the first time. Tangents were easier to get off of, my world was clearer, and most obvious of all? I didn't fidget once the entire appointment. Better living through modern medicine. Also it sounds like the countdown is here for terminating therapy...

It is very relieving to have a professor tell you that you're doing great with the material after sitting and going "I don't know wtf I'm doing" all week. Gives me hope.

My new psychiatrist both checked me for ADHD today (I have it) and upon hearing that I was in a counseling program took time to help teach me a bit about psychology and diagnostics from the perspective of psychiatrists vs counselors. Really cool to run into a doc who wants to be engaged in that way.

Prof's comments on my final this term included, "I think you are in the right program and are on your way to becoming a great therapist!" And lemme tell you... After spending the entire course panicking over if I'm able to fulfill the role effectively it's a relief to have that note.

Today's the first day in like 5 months that I just don't have anything. No classes, no work. No emergencies, no plans. Just nothing. And I dunno how to handle that.

Had heat exhaustion Then did finals Now having pizza And then tomorrow doing OT so I can have more time off next week.

Every time I put new strings on my guitar I feel I "broke it" until I play it for like 2 hours and they don't sound nearly as aggressively metallic.

Always a good day when a regulatory agency shows up unannounced at my office on my day off asking for documents. Everything is and was fine, but I picked a bad day to be off and an even worse day to run out of anxiety meds.

Get called into work for a maintenance issue. Flight crew denies maintenance like a patient refusing an ambulance ride. I shrug, do paperwork, order parts for my equipment, then go home. Now I understand why EMTs and paramedics love those sorts of calls.

I am the keeper of the last pride flag to fly over my county's government buildings. I think about that every pride month. It will fly, even for a short while, again this year.

Today management at work found out I'm smart after I laid out the logistics for entering a new area of our market in roughly 2 hours. An area that I specialized in. An area I'm good at working in. An area I don't want to work in. I fucked up.

Look out Functionally gay bisexual rockin' the ace flag comin' through. Don't mind my demi ass. Or do Y'know *Insert glitter here* Real talk tho? Can't wait to wear a rainbow belt to work.

Midnight o' clock comparison of two state's laws regarding assisted suicide is always fun. Even better when you're sitting here as one of the few students who is in support of laws that allow death with dignity Even better when you're using this research to avoid an ethics paper. I <3 ethics.

Reading through my trauma journals from 2023 and holy shit what an improvement in cognitions I've had in the past 2 years. Still fucked up, but major improvements. Change is possible, but holy shit if'n it ain't a haul to get there.

Also, Those short term counseling centers? The ones where they're free for employees or whatever, but they refer you out after ~3 sessions? That "resource center" nearly made me decide that therapy was bullshit. I can't imagine most people's experiences are much different from my own.

Should be; sleeping, doing research on counseling ethics. Am; looking at ways to prove or disprove to myself that I'm not allosexual. This is what happens when my therapist starts a new project with me, and while self exploration and discovery is great I would really love an easy answer already.