Zeitgeist

“The general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.”

This Weeks Notable Mentions:

After ten years of working in a field with emotional and behavioral disorder clients, I finally was at the receiving end of some temper tantrum blows. The ten year old was visiting our program, and three quarters of the way through the day, got violent.

When I was called to help I imagined it was for someone I had a rapport with. These situations are talked down, soothed, needs heard and met. Rarely is a physical restraint the direction you want to go: This intervention was going there.

I was told he was a biter and a hitter. For most of the intervention I was in the clear. Then sure enough, I got mine. A scratch on my leg, pulling on my black jersey dress, an open mouth hoping to land a bite...fortunately this windy day, I had my hair in a knot and low heels. The father could not arrive soon enough to pick up his son. Clearly stated, his son needs a higher level of care. There is a history that contributes to his behavior, and once the trauma of his past is reconciled he will be fine.

After work, my friend and I went to Zeitgeist to share a pitcher of Stella. It is his first year in the field and I said as my last year in the field, I couldn't believe a ten year old landed a punch! The sun came out and fortunately it was not too warm. The gravel courtyard, wooden picnic tables, and andy gumps on a hot day make for a terrible stench at this favorite beer garden.

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My friend was in town to defend his dissertation. Although a year ahead of me, we were scheduled to graduate at the same time. The whole year he asked, pulled, and prompted me along. I had done everything a year ahead of schedule. When I got to the dissertation, I decided to pause.

He was going to cram for his defense: I laughed, does that ever work?

Instead the emerging cognitive psychologist and me walked along the semi busy street, had a drink, played video games, and pool. The next day went with out a hitch. He crossed the line and entered a different realm of academia. It was a moment and I was happy to share it.

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You hear of phone calls that are momentous, and this week I had one. Seems a think tank, that I had met the first two years of my doctoral studies wanted to know how I was doing. What that translated to was very generous funding for my remaining days of dissertation writing...