Attachment, root canals, and oppressiveness.

Right now, I should be working on a paper...a rather major paper. One that is, in fact, worth 70% of my grade in a class. One that needs to be about 16 pages in length. One that is due next Wednesday. One for which I, thus far, have about 3 pages written. If you are as good at math at I am, that means that I still have approximately 13 pages left to write. So, I am, of course, doing the logical thing at this moment - taking the opportunity to write in my ever-neglected blog.

Hey! It's 1:11 am! Make a wish! (Guess what I just wished for?)

So, I am currently finding myself anxiously attached to this paper I am writing about applying attachment theory to my practice as a clinical social worker. Ironically, the client about whom I am writing displays behavior indicative of an anxious attachment. Frankly, I should feel fortunate that I get to sit here and stew over this paper, rather than live the life she does. I'm not sure if that's an ethically acceptable statement for me to make, but, well, I just made it. So, there. Social workers aren't perfect people.

All this damn writing about attachment has, once again, made me think of my own "attachment story." It's funny how one's perception of one's life and past can be so fluid and malleable. Maybe it's only that way for people who are getting their MSW, though, since this program requires so much damn self-reflection. Self-reflection is good, but I think I'm getting too much of a good thing.

On another note, this morning I had the lovely opportunity to go to an endodontist and have them attempt to give me a root canal. I say "attempt" because I, apparently, have a very difficult tooth. I went to the endodontistry clinic at OHSU, simply because it is so much cheaper than going elsewhere. Who cares if it's a student doing it? There are faculty members readily available. Plus, I have no dental insurance, and I'm relatively broke. So, anyway. The student performing my root canal called over two separate faculty members to come look at my tooth. They were both stumped. One of them said, "Wow. This is the tooth of an 80-year-old, not someone her age." There are, supposedly, 3 canals in the tooth they were working on - and, in 3 hours, they were only able to locate 1. 1! So, I have to go back in a couple of weeks for them to finish working on the one canal and to see if they're able to find the other two. Perhaps the 2nd time will be a charm...? If not, I may have to have some scary-sounding surgery where they peel back my gums. Yikes.

In other news, I am still running the student government. I wish like hell I could get out of it, but I don't think that's an option. Yesterday, I held a meeting of the graduation committee, wherein my only goal was to find some sucker to head it so that I could absolved of that responsibility. A lot happened at that meeting, but here is the story of note: In discussing who should be the head of the committee, one of the people present (I'll call her "Jean") turned to one of the other people present (who I'll call Marge) and said something to the effect of, "Well, it seems like everyone's really busy. I mean, I know that you have 4 kids." The rest of the conversation went like this:
Marge: I have 4 kids...so what?
Jean: So, you're probably really busy.
Marge: So, I have 4 kids and that means I can't head this committee? Do you see how oppressive you're being to me right now?
(silence in room)
Jean: Um, well, I guess I was being oppressive.
Marge: Yeah, you are.
Jean: Sorry.
There was some more that happened after that, but the main comment I wanted to record is above. It's amazing to me how, despite the fact that we're all social workers, people still can't think of ways to communicate that are effective. Like saying, "Well, yeah, I've got 4 kids, and I'm busy, but I could still handle heading this committee" instead of accusing someone who was trying to empathetic of being oppressive. Being a parent must be one of her "hot button" issues, or something. Good grief. The good news, however, is that I got out of heading that committee. Yay!

Okay. Enough distraction. Back to the paper.

p.s. I'm listening to the new David Gray CD right now - it is lovely...very nice music to write to. (I apologize for the bad grammar.)