you beat them back but they drag you in

Well, it's 8:30am on a Wednesday and I am playing HOOKY.  I haven't done that in a long time and it's something I really don't believe in doing much... but every once in the odd while, a "mental health day" seems only fair.  We were at our sailing course until 10:00 last night, and not home until 11:00, and not in bed until 11:30, which is way past my normal bedtime.  So we agreed to take a day off together and get some sleep.  Which is probably exactly why I awoke at 6:30 this morning and wasn't able to get back to sleep no matter how much I wanted to.  Aging sucks.  

Today is going to be a working vacation for me because I desperately need to finish an assignment for one of my Psychology classes.  Having been trying to interview Shawn in a way that seems natural and unrehearsed while still hitting all the objectives has been extraordinarily frustrating for me (and for him too, I am certain, particularly after the tenth take of the same conversation).  He's such a mouthy creature it is impossible for him to just answer my questions seriously.  Instead he has to make jokes, tease me, and generally make a nuisance of himself.  He also changes his answers every time I ask the questions so I can never reliably predict what he's going to say and prepare myself for the next question set.  The whole thing is exasperating on many levels, the greatest being the fact that I KNOW it's more reflective of a real counselling session to not know what your client is going to say and to have to make up the questions as you go along, ensuring they get you the information you are seeking.  However, in a REAL counselling session I would also not be thinking to myself that I had to make X number of declarative probes, X number of open ended questions, X number of transitions, and X number of summary statements.  The whole thing is really rather absurd.  I understand it as an exercise in making sure we understand the various styles and forms and how to use them.... but coming up with an interview that fits neatly and evenly in each category is a real challenge.  So armed with the certain knowledge that Shawn will always throw me for a loop when he's freestyling, I am now in the process of writing him a script that he will read from so as to give me some hope of completing this assignment.  I have my work cut out for me.

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