Journal Entry - 072812.7

Posted on Mon 10th Sep, 2012 @ 2:20pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD

700 words; about a 4 minute read

(OOC: Slightly backdated, out of sequence. This has been sitting in my saved file for a while, and I wanted to get it posted.)

(Set after dinner with Brian and before Drake's visit.)

Well, I've gotten settled into my new home. The quarters aren't bad, even if they are BOQ. I'd ask for Maintenance to come in and clean the carpet, but honestly, they have far more important things to deal with right now, and I think I might be able to rent one of those robot steam-cleaners to do the job.

I explored a bit of the Promenade this evening. It seems there's an actual bookstore onsite, selling bound books as well as copies for download. I'd be tempted, because I'm a firm believer in low-tech when it comes to preserving information. If the power grid went down, my PADD would be useless to me once its battery went out. On the other hand, I 'd much rather carry my PADD with me than an armful of books and file folders. You have to balance your priorities, I suppose.

I wrote home that I got here safely. It'll take a little while for the message to reach Betazed, though, so I don't expect a reply for a few days.

I had dinner with Brian Windsong last night in the holo-deck. Bit of a risky move; there are some people who would have been offended by not being presented with real food. My culture's not one of them, though, when it's just a casual thing, so I quite enjoyed the evening--and giving the back rub.

I'm wary of moving too fast with him, and I sometimes feel wary of moving at any speed with him at all. He's still grieving for his fiance, and I can't be both his counselor and his lover. I don't want the two to mingle; it's just not ethical or smart.

I sometimes have the feeling that I'm counseling when I'm just having what was intended as an ordinary conversation, and that annoys me. I suppose it is impossible to separate the counselor from the counseling, but I sometimes wish I could. I don't want people to feel that, every time they chat with me, I'm assessing them. The problem is, I am, in a way. It's like breathing, for me; I can't turn it off. All I can do is pray I don't offend too many people by it. Better yet, I pray that they don't notice.

On the work front, I've put in a request to Intel for any information they might have on the Emorites' political situation. If I'm to advise Col. Drake while they're here, I need to learn all I can about those people. I'll also be interested to learn if I can read them at all. Most Betazoids seem to have a universal empathy; they can read just about anyone. Since I'm only half that heritage, I expect to have weak spots, though I've encountered very few people so far in my life who I couldn't read--SCPO Fin'hrik in Intelligence being one of them.

She and I are scheduled for dinner this evening, which I'm quite looking forward to. I very much enjoyed meeting her when she came by my office earlier today. She has a fascinating history and a self-assurance and humor that quite attracts me.

The rest of the staff...I wondered if we were going to have telepathic fisticuffs at the conference table. Not that I could read much of it, but it was not difficult to tell that there were undercurrents of some hostility going on and attempts to rein it in. The Vulcan Marine is a bit of a blowhard. My boss has a firecracker temper, and I thank God her...significant other?...is able to calm her down. I'm unsure what can be done about Tallus; I think he is going to be a person who we will have to meet on his level; the social skills are just not present. I think I shall need to learn much more about him, and I doubt he will readily seek counseling on his own.

Looking forward to the next senior staff meeting...not much.

 

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