Angel of Death

2003-07-08 - 7:21 a.m.

PT and the proposed Laurel consulting service.

Hah.

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I had *such* an afternoon yesterday. I went to the Physical Therapy place to get assessed for treatment, and ended up walking out on the guy.

Call me crazy, but aren't you supposed to feel respected and cared for in a medical facility? Shouldn't you feel like your therapist is committed to helping you?

And isn't it reasonable to expect that the therapist will trust the diagnosis your doctor has given, instead of looking disbelieving and contradicting you directly when you tell him what's wrong?

So I picked up my chart and walked out. If I can't trust someone to even listen to me and not act like I'm making the whole thing up, I certainly won't let them put a finger on me. What an asshole.

If I choose to continue there, I get a different therapist, and Bob has made sure the manager knows that I was really unhappy with them. As he says, I'm paying them for their services, and if I don't like how I'm being treated, I should complain.

Treating me in a condescending manner, not listening to me, contradicting my doctor's diagnosis, and acting like they've never even heard of the problem I have, and that I must be making it up is *not* good service.

Asshole. He was really gooby, too. I don't think I'd have been comfortable with him touching me even if he'd been nice. As it was, I didn't have to worry about that - I won't be seeing him again. It takes a lot for me to just cut somebody off like that - I usually just sit meekly and suffer. Two years and seven doctors, though, means that I simply don't have the patience any more to put up with people who won't treat me respectfully. Someone who won't listen is simply wasting my time.

I'm still upset about the whole thing - can you tell?

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Anyway. Hey - I had a wild and crazy idea, and I wanted to run it by you guys to see what you thought before I developed it any further:

I want to set up a Laurel consulting service. At selected events, I'd make myself available in half-hour or hour increments (with a sign-up sheet) to anyone who wants to consult with a Laurel on art stuff. Anything can be covered, from techniques, to ideas, to documentation. Even if I don't know much about the subject, I can offer advice on how to present it so that even people with no knowledge of the subject can understand it.

I aim to bridge the "Scary Laurel" gap - the fear that you're annoying somebody by asking them for advice, and that they'll blow you off. Since the time has already been set aside for you, you can be confident that the Laurel (me) is focused on you, and prepared to help you any way they can, and you don't have to worry that they would prefer to be somewhere else, or that they feel like you're wasting their time.

The discussion would progress at *your* speed - any criticism will be set at your comfort level, and will be checked several times to make sure you still feel that the discussion is productive, not abusive (there are people out there who will not say anything even if they're feeling like they want to cry, because they don't want to piss the Laurel off). No judging forms where you don't have the chance to counter unfair criticism, no "evil Laurel" attacks, just careful discussion of what you've done, and where you need to go. (People looking *just* for praise will be gently turned away. If all you want is an attaboy, I can give you that, but it won't be a helpful learning experience, and there's no need to take half an hour to do it when someone who really wants to get to the next level could use the time more productively.)

Even complete beginners can use this service - say you want to start doing *something* artistic, but you don't know what, or how to go about researching it. We can take the time to discuss what you're interested in, and where you might want to go with it. Heck, we can even use the time for a judgement-free talk about awards you might want to work for, or to discuss fears or objections (or ideas) about the competition/display/publication process.

We'd take notes, which you get to take away with you to remember the things we discussed. I'll even give you my business card.

Think of it as being a temporary apprentice. For half an hour, you get to use me as if I was *your* Laurel. And it's free.

I don't know - do you guys think it's a worthwhile idea? Would any of you guys take advantage of a service like that? I can see it happening at Universities, but I'd like to be able to do it at all sorts of events. I'd make announcements ahead of time so you'd know when I was available. To give everyone a fair chance at being seen, I wouldn't take reservations, but accept sign-ups at the beginning of the day.

(Bob wants me to have a little cardboard sign that says "The Laurel is in".)

Let me know your thoughts, please.

Dorsal - Ventral

Funnier than me: James Lileks

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