Can't be true, i'm the first commenter, Woohoo!!!

At least it wasn't two different shoes. That is bad.

I didn't even know I HAD a brown sock!

Not much of a comment above, except how silly am I to be the first commenter?... I kind of hate those late mornings myself, but I usually run late when I get stuck on the computer when I should be taking a shower and then not allowing enough time to perfect my new eyeliner technique I got at the MAC counter this weekend!

I would love to hear the convo you had with the psychologist this a.m. Care to share?

Did you maybe knit the brown sock and forget to knit another one....

I wore a large hair clip, you know the kind the stylist uses to hold your hair while they cut it? I use them to keep my hair out of my face while I apply the spackle! Anyhoo . . . NO ONE TOLD ME THAT I HAD A YELLOW/GOLD/BRONZE HAIR CLIP IN MY HAIR. I guess they think that I am *that special*. Maybe a quick check in the mirror would help me.

Been there, done that, directed the movie! On the bus one fuzzy morning, I noticed that I had my "house shoes" on with my semi-professional business wear. You know those shoes, the ones kept by the door to take out the trash or meet the pizza delivery guy, or go running to find someone to kill big nasty bug? Yeah, those.

You GO with the 25 minute shower!! I can take a quick shower (7 or 8 minutes long) but that means I don't condition my hair or shave or do my face cleansing regimen. It takes at least 20 minutes to do everything!

PS. That Frankie is the most gorgeous cat in the world! So PRETTY!

Hi sweetie! Finally a topic I know something about! ;o) A psychologist is someone with a PhD in psychology. They did an internship in a mental health clinic of one year (at least?). A psychiatrist is an MD with a specialty in psychology. They can prescibe DRUGS!! A certified social worker (CSW) is a bachelors' degree in Scial Work (right?) and an MSW (masters' in social work) has (duh) a master's degree.

Anyone can call themselves a "therapist." There are no educational requirements for that. I'm not sure about the licensing parts.

I haven't been in the field in a long time so please feel free to correct me. Plus, I'm post-menopausal and have teenagers so a large part of my brain has fallen out.

Love you, Laurie!!

One morning, back when I had a roommate I was afraid to wake up by turning on lights in the morning, I was running late and just grabbed two black shoes off the floor and tore ass, barefoot, out of the apartment. The shoes: one normal black loafer with a slight heel (totally law firm appropriate) and one of my woo-hoo-going-to-the-bar-and-don't-my-legs-look-sexy-with-these-more-heel-than-substance-shoes.

Did you at least get some free advice?

I once made it all the way to work wearing two different black shoes...with two different heel heighths....and I HADN'T NOTICED. Maybe that's one reason I switched to a career in medicine: all the shoes are white and flat!

I was mezmerized by the still life with Frankie and started making sentences out of your board game titles....Sorry, you don't have a Clue; that Operation Monopolized my Life.
I would totally be on-time everyday if I could get out of bed with my alarm(s).. but yeah...
Love You 30 minute snooze button.

Welcome to More Than You Really Want to Know!

"...Is a psychologist really a doctor or is it just somebody who is paid to give advice without any real medical or scientific training?"

As Liz R. mentioned, a psychologist (PhD) is a doctor who undergoes a tremendous amount of schooling, with some medical/biological training, who cannot prescribe drugs. Psychologist focus on the mental and emotional side of mental illness. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe drugs, and generally focus on the chemical/biological side of mental illness.

"And do you suppose a psychologist ever gets tired of people telling them the same problem over and over and they want to shake their patients by the shoulders and tell them to get over it already?"

Yes. Absolutely. Reason #362 why I decided that a career in psychology was a bad idea for me.

"And is there a kind of psychologist, perhaps a certain discipline of psychology or something, who can listen to me for an hour at the end of which time he will present me with a list of things to do to make my life perfect, preferably in bullet-point format? Maybe a powerpoint presentation? Yes! A powerpoint presentation!"

Yep. They're called behavioral psychologists. I'll warn you though...it's not as easy as it sounds. :)

Funny you should mention psychiatry and all... My career change is taking me into therapy work!

While I don't know how it is in other states, in my neck of the woods (and several surrounding states) you *have* to be certified by passing board exams (as well as educated properly) before you are allowed to use the term therapist/counselor. You also have to be re-certified, and continue your education, to remain a therapist.

Which means I have even more exams to wrench my guts over (and drink more gin!) before I get the title. Yippee!

And no, I will not be able to prescribe meds, unless it's support your local winery... and knit more.

Hi!
Oh Laurie- I'm with you on the slow pedestrian thing. I SWEAR those same people come and congregate to either placate small children, stand stock still to look at the ceiling or window shop DIRECTLY in my path when I've got a connector flight and it's all the freakin' way across the damn airport!
I also think that in the state of California (where you have to be licensed to BREATH practically) you MUST be either a member of the clergy (who have counselling and internships as part of their quilifications-at least for mainstream churches) or have a dgree in psychology and a jillion hours of internship to be called a marriage and family therapist. Pretty much ANYTHING with "therapist" behind it- massage, family/marriage, colon (yep- we got those), music, the list goes on and on MUST have a liscence or you're in deep trouble.

You realize the mismatched sock thing will probobly become a crazy internet trend now don't you. There will be wild reports of pink matched with lime green and brown slacks (om - slacks? what am I 65?).

My daughter is gettin' her edjamacashun in psychology (Phd.), so I get free sessions ALL THE TIME! :-) Come on over. My kiddo will treat you to a hour or two of sessions. She's cool like that!

I believe in MO (where I reside), Psychologists will soon be able to dispense prescription medication....some type of new law that is suppose to pass.

Matching socks are highly overrated anyway. I moved downtown so that I could walk to my office, thinking of how nice it would be to start my harrowing workday with a refreshing stroll, and how I'd get a jump on the day, because I live SO close, I'd get in early every single damn day, and I would be just SO productive.

I've been sleeping in a little more every day since the big move, two years ago. Today, I woke up at 9:30. I am technically supposed to start work at 8:30. There seems to be a fly in the ointment...

I heart Frankie.

(DON'T TELL SOBA!!!)

You work behind a desk, right? That's what desks are for. You could wear rhinestone cowboy boots and nobody would notice!

well, nobody except for the psychologists, that is ;)

Maybe it's the masochist in me but I loved helping people with their problems. Strangers come up to me sometimes and talk about stuff that you wouldn't believe. I really don't mind.

I only stopped working to be a stay at home mom and hope to return someday. If my health cooperates with my plans.

frankie is the cutest cat ever!!!!

I know an adorable frenchie bulldog by the same name, and today is her birthday. what a lark!!!

My daughter wears non-matching socks as a fashion statement. Of course, she's 10, but she could be onto something.

Numerous behavioral psychologists have already made lists of things we must do to be perfect, starting with a guy named Moses. His career basically consisted of 1) promulgating list 2) complaining that no one was following it 3) warning of imminent smiting due to 2) 4) saying "now, see there, what did I tell you?". Nothing has changed much.

Here in California, psychologists have two years pre doctoral and 2 years post doctoral training (supervised practice in conducting psychotherapy)before they are licensed to practice. In addition, they have to conduct an original piece of research, write the "dissertation" and then defend it in front of a committee - all this takes about 6-7 years before they are "priveleged" to take the licensing exam!

Have I ever wanted to shake a patient? In 25 years or so, only a couple of times, and in both instances, a parent who was harming their child in some manner...other than that, I love what I do everyday...

That was the brown sock seeking revenge for having been forgotten. She wants her other half, clearly, and until you find it, she'll haunt you. Don't freak out! Maybe the male brown sock's still in the washing machine. And maybe, just maybe, my other half (or yours!)is wearing it!

I'm gonna take my pills now, excuse me. ;-)

I love Frankie. She's a star.

What's wrong with 25 minute showers? I love to just stand there and let the water run down my back. Ahh warm.
Snooze buttons are the absolute best.

I wish someone would shake me sometimes. Seriously.

drewsky

me thinks you is a little kinky

But it's cool enough to wear socks! That's somethin'!

at least your priorities are straight: adequate sleep, long shower, then work on time. power to the snooze button.

Please forward that Power Point Presentation to me. I call myself "Psycho" for a reason. I know what my problem is I just don't know how to fix him (oops I mean it).

Isn't there a brown hanger in your closet to go with that sock?

I'm totally not a morning person, however I've never gotten out of the house mismatched. I usually notice any little wardrobe malfunctions while walking my dog.

Although I did one day wear the size strip on my jeans all day long around the office. It wasn't until I was going home and a total stranger in the elevator said something that I knew it. Sure, that'd be fine if my size didn't involve two digits!

Pet peeve... Walking towards a groups of people who walk side by side and they don't give you any space to walk so you end up smashed up against the wall.

And have you seen these? DELIBERATELY mismatched socks! You could be on to something!

http://www.flaxart.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/Flax-FlaxArt-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewProductDetail-Start;pgid=PIEgM0ujXE0000YiF5_8pRpf00007XP8zWeh?CatalogCategoryID=&CatalogDisplayName=&EA_SerializedQueryUUID=h4HAqAoPwsUAAAENyfBlhsc6&JumpTo=OfferList&ProductNo=0&ProductUUID=CZjAqAoPfB0AAAEL4RQ%2eWWT5&ResultCount=32

Drew, I am always more than willing to shake you. >:-)

Auntie, there is no reason to get out of the shower while there is still hot water.

What a shame tourist season never really ends in California. o.0 Although, I am found of the out-of-towners who slow down to make a left in the middle of the bridge. I'm always willing to stop if they promise to actually turn.

Let me tell you a funny story. On my first day of work at our school some years back (I think it was 4).. I was soo nervous about making a good impression blah blah blah. That I put on two different shoes. One was black, and one was brown. They werent' the same shoe, but simmilar in style. I never noticed, until someone said something at lunch. And then I heard someone else say "well,I noticed but I didn't want to be the one to tell her." (sigh)

I simply LOOOVE Linda Hamilton. In Terminator, and do you remember that Beauty and the Beast show that she used to be on with Ron Perelman? I was SOOOO in love with that show. What was it called again?

Laurie: you + me + Drew + Vacation together = my putting together a power point presentation WITH bullets and lots of lists for you to check off. All you have to do is promise to actually DO THE THINGS ON THE LIST.

Well, I'm an educational psychologist with a concentration in educational technology, so I could do the Powerpoint part of it. On the other hand, I'm not a "real" psychologist...but I'd listen and come up with a plan for your life anyway! (Educational pscyh. is generally offered through colleges of education and focuses on how people learn.)

Hm, I am pretty sure a power point presentation is the ticket to making my life better. That, and space bags. You know, space bags?

Hey don't sweat it on the sock sitch -- my mom once wore one navy shoe and one black shoe to work. . . and it was her first day!

Imaginary Maggie: The show's name was Beauty and the Beast.

Re: slow walkers. My mom, (Erma Bombeck the Second) used to say, "Either walk or stand still, but DON'T try to do both at the SAME TIME!!"

Thanks a pantsful. I now have "I Missed the Bus" in my head. At least YOU, I presume, had your pants on the right way.

"I was up - HE WAS UP - but I laid back down
Thinkin I could chill 'til the time came around
And I did - HE DID - but a little too long
Cause when I woke up yo the bus was gone"

You could learn a thing or two from these wise sages.

Don't you just hate mornings like that....Getting out of my morning routine just ruins my day...at least until I decide that it's not worth the hassle getting downtown and I call in to say I'm taking a day of my use or lose leave....(those damn Government workers)

I have given up on ever finding parking at the Metro station. But, then, I have many Issues with the Metro.

Frankie is such a cutie!

I worry about the mis-matched shoe thing a lot, because I have insanely huge clown feet, and can rarely find shoes I like in my size, when I do find a nice shoe, I buy it in every colour the store has, because I may never see another like it again. I have three pairs of suede pumps, one pink, one green, one blue. All under the bookcase in the hall. Which is dark. In a rush, of a morning, I count myself fortunate if I have one left shoe and one right shoe, better yet if they're on their respective feet.

I have to agree - Frankie is quite a cutie. We don't see enough of her...

And what's wrong with a 25 minute shower? Sounds about right to me!

That anonymous post was me. Darned PayPal futzing up my cookies and I had to clear the whole lot of them. Now I'm logged out of everything. And can I remember my passwords? Of course not, I can barely get dressed without incident.

Instead of an alarm clock, I set my stereo to turn on when I want to wake up. Not only can I set the volume higher, but I also can't hit the button and rolllll back over. Of course, I've also learned to sleep through NPR, modern rock and classical music, but (some) progress has been made...

This morning I woke up and thought it was Saturday. I nearly cried when my husband said it was Tuesday!

Laurie, I just got word from Dr. B that she has finished her squares. She is the first one to show me pictures. Here you go:

http://www.blathermagather.blogspot.com/

So you're reading Lolita, huh?

Ummm.. I am totally impressed you could find two socks that matched enough that color was even an issue. I can never find two socks that share the same branch of the sock family tree.

And I did get tired of hearing my clients problems - which is why I am no longer a therapist - and really wanted to hand out to do lists, but self actualization is a bit more explorative than all of that. Needless to say - it was good that I made a career change before I started 'telling' clients what to do.

Why on earth would you want a PowerPoint presentation? Booorring!

A good therapist tries to help you see your own life more clearly. It's more like they're trying to teach you to drive a car while you're already behind the wheel during a snowstorm, and all your cats are loose in the car. It should be a practical application on how to improve your driving so you don't hit the snowbank.

(exploring the psychology of procrastination via blog-lurking)
I am so sock-blind in the morning that I actually gave up on buying anything but butt-loads of the same style socks in either white or black once a year. That way I never have to hunt for a match outside the white/black genre.
I suppose that it's some kind of karmic payback that I then married an uber-organized runner who buys VERY expensive running socks by the pair and WOE BE TO THE LAUDRESS (me) WHO LOSES A SOCK TO THE LAUNDRY GNOMES!!
I try to explain that the Gnomes of the Laundry demand sock tribute and that it's useless to resist- but he just insists that all socks be paired and returned. (sigh) I swear, that man practically NAMES each one...

If you noticed that the socks didn't match before you met the Psyco.... you could have told him/her it was a test to see how many people noticed and told you (Miss Manners says that you shouldn't tell people about mistakes in thier clothing unless it is immediately repairable or indecent).

First - so good to see the gorgeous Frankie again. For some reason she reminds me of Ava Gardner. Second - So, you wake up late, heart a-flutter. You take your shower, de-tub, drop your towel, bend to pick it up and you have an unexpected situation. Your moist behind attracts the moist plastic shower curtain - shwoooooop! Result? Very moist wedgie! Third - relax those cheeks, slow down, and back to First, because as Abbott and Costello knew for starters - you'll get there anyway. (Back to First?)

Just have to throw in my 2-cents on the whole psychologist thing... A psychologist is someone with a PhD OR a PsyD.

Thank you for your time. I know return you to your regularly scheduled comments...

1) I've done the two different-colored shoe thing... not fun.

2) When/if you find that magic psychologist, PLEASE share!!!

Once I left the house with two different shoes...they were the same style but different colors. Only one person noticed, thank G-d!

Laurie. I TOTALLY ADORE that chair in the background of the picture of Frankie. (I totally adore Frankie too, of course.) But that chair! I love! Was I born in the 70's? You bet! :)

My psychologist has his PhD and even has hospital hours and does rounds in the pediatric psych ward. Unfortunately, he deals with a lot of little kids with very, very big problems, but he's very good at it.

i just noticed frankie has a very PERT nose.

Ha. I always blame the wardrobe malfunction on the snooze fairy - you know, the one who gives you 10 mintutes of sleep but takes 20 minutes awake back? Whilst you sleep, she is secretly replacing your attire with the articles of clothing the dryer gnomes took during the Regan administration.

Also - should anyone comment on the Snooze fairy's wardrobe magic, I just say, "Huh? Didn't you know? its all the rage in Paris this fall!"

:)

yet you had time to take a pic of the guy on the sidewalk? you must not work for the tardy nazis my hubby works for ;)

Oooo. You made me think of the numerous times I was hauling ass down Market Street in SF trying to get to the Transbay Terminal in time for a certain bus. Stupid tourists were always trying to block the sidewalk. I may have taken a few out along the way. Not really sure because I never looked back. One thing learned from horror movies is to never look back when you are trying to get away from somewhere; it just slows you down and you may end up tripping on a tree root or some uneven sidewalk because you weren't looking forward. Then you're toast.

And my question is, "The cats know what one's normal rising time is. They are always quick to make one awake before the alarm rings on any other day. Where are they on these days?" Humph.

i thought about you today while i was giving my cat a dropper full of antibiotics...how much made it into him i dont know...how i got two huge bleeding scratches on the back of my calf...who knows! it was just one big wrestling match in there...now i have to do that twice a day for like 20 days or so! it isnt pretty!

kick him in groin and say " be-gone ! "
*** it's a survival issue.

People I run over?

Those who get on the moving walkway in airports and stand, perhaps waiting for the attraction like at Disneyland, and who don't get out of the way (walk left, stand right, people) when I say excuse me really loudly.

Yeah. You know what I mean.

And have you ever noticed that the people who congregate in little groups (to smoke,usually) invariably do so at a spot where the sidewalk narrows b/c of a mailbox or streetlight? Is it some primordial impulse to cause maximum annoyance?

Love the light effect on the cat. digitalartphotographyfordummies.blogspot.com

Throw in three kids and replace work with school, and you've got my morning. Well, except that with a newborn almost constantly attached to my chest, the grooming thing is going steadily downhill these days. Good to see someone still makes the time for it...

My husband's best friend is married to a psychologist, and meeting her was pretty much worth the price of admission to the marriage. Nothing like sharing crazy husband stories with a psychologist who can speak freely (and who also married a crazy person, BTW).

My actual psychologist, who is great, didn't ever shake me, but occasionally gave me one of those looks that said, "...OK, now you're just being stupid..." Luckily, I was able to pick up on that! HA!

In fact, I believe that cognitive-behavioral psychologists very nearly do give you a list of things to do to make your life perfect - at least, they give you assignments to change your distorted thought patterns. No kidding.

aside from all of that psych bizness and talkity talk, are you reading Lolita? i loved Lolita. yes, its a little perverted, but Nabokov is a genius. fyi, Vivian Darkbloom is really just Vladimir Nabokov all switched up. most of the names he uses are really other characters in the book. i love it

I'm glad so many people have so eloquently and conciselty talked about Psychologists. My Dad is one, and I've had to explain it so many times before. I tend to go on for too long, too. Frakie's beautiful, btw.

P.S. Three years of therapy, life not perfect. But life is good, nonetheless. Better than pre-therapy.

I went to a psychologist once.

I had a problem, and I was trying to fix him, and reached the psychologist on the phone by mistake, and she offered me a free half hour consultation.

How can you turn that down?

She did, indeed give me a list. It only included one item, but I applied her advice, and my problem was gone in less than an hour, and that problem has never returned.

You can beat the sock gnomes...this really works even if it sounds stupid.

My husband is a runner (like Susan's) and he's so fanatical about his socks that he numbers them. (Like all 1s can work with each other; all 2s were bought the same date; etc.)

When we got married, I gave him a box of big safety pins to set on his dresser. He pins each pair of socks together when he takes them off. They go in the wash together and either the gnome eats both socks (and my hubby doesn't know he has a partnerless sock) or said husband gets back already paired socks from the wash. At which time, he can fold them as he pleases for his drawer. He likes this method so much that he's now pinning his dress socks too. It makes it easy when he's sleepy or rushed in the morning because lookalike navy/black/brown socks are already paired.

Oh, Frankie is so pretty! We don't get to see her much!

Yeah, that's me, too, Laurie - if I'm late, I still have to go through my whole routine before I can leave the house. You got some funny posters here, I love reading the comments! They're *almost* as good as your own posts! Not quite, though, you're still number 1! :)

I'm glad that so many people chimed in on the therapist question as well. As someone who's gone to therapy for a long time and been to several different therapists, I sort of take for granted that people know what it's all about!

I think one of the most helpful things that therapy has to offer is treatment for mental illness. And I'm not talking about dramatic illnesses, either. Everyone gets depressed, feels anxious, and has moods that sort of swoop in on them that they have trouble dealing with. Therapy is a fantastic way to get help separating these things from yourself, the thing that you actually have control over. That's where all the schooling comes in, because they can recognize symptoms and make diagnoses that you wouldn't be able to on your own.

In addition, it’s a good way to deal with the stuff that's not an illness, your habits and the way you look at yourself and the world, and to tease out WHY you may have developed bad habits in the first place (overspending, picking the wrong people to have relationships with, self-sabotage of various kinds, etc). No matter what triggered it, your experiences, an underlying illness or just your natural-born personality, once you've figured it out honestly and dealt with it you actually have a chance in hell of making some changes.

A therapist can't tell you how to fix your life, but if you have a good one and you go into your sessions prepared to be honest with yourself, they can help you figure out why you’re messing it up in the first place.

Claudia, using safety pins to outwit sock Gnomes is the best idea I have ever heard!

You are funny and awesome, lady! I just started reading your blog and wanted to say how much I enjoy it.

So, hi! And: I really enjoy your blog!

Cheers,
Emma

OK, I could have lived to the end of my days without knowing about the bunny boiler. I'm glad I've never seen that movie!

Schnozz, we were actually required to watch Fatal Attraction for my Abnormal Psychology class in college. We (the class and professor) diagnosed Glenn Close's character as having Borderline Personality Disorder. Pretty much all or nothing, no in between emotions/reactions. Kind of scary, huh? (And can I mention that I didn't really want to watch the movie, because I was afraid it would be too graphic for me?)

Five words for you, m'dear: FIVE YEARS OF GRADUATE SCHOOL! :-) That's what us psychologists have to go through - if we're lucky. For most, it's 6 or 7 years. But it's worth it. I could go on about the different types of therapists (because there are big differences in the way we do things), but I won't bore ya. If you (or anyone) wants more info, feel free to drop me a line!

And did you know Nabokov was an accomplished lepidopterist? (moth/butterfly guy- hope I spelled it right). I am pretty sure he even has a butterfly named for him that I think he discovered.

Two words: Doctor Phil.

I don't think he's right for everyone, but I'd pay HUGE money to see him have a go at you, Purl.

I have this sneaking suspicion it would end with HIM weeping into a tissue after you ask him, "How's THAT working out for you?" Then you'd both dissolve in tears, as would the stagehands and camerapersons, and it would be a weep-fest.

Drew - shaken, or stirred?

Hey, CAP, want a visitor in early December...?

I sure wouldn't mind a copy of that presentation when ya get it...

I spy boardgames in the Frankie picture! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who still likes playing them!