First off, some news – I’ve had some promising developments on the paper front. I spoke with a university professor at a party recently who is looking forward to seeing what comes of my Web 2.0 experiment and my work with BB. It’s been a busy couple of days, but I wanted to report on my most recent session.

When BB arrived, his appearance was disheveled. It seems he had gone out drinking with his friends and wasn’t allowed back into the co-op last night. I asked if he had given any thought to what he might do if they refused to let him return entirely. He said his friends would of course help him out, but I encouraged him to think about what meaningful work he might engage in to help him find a new life after his time of transition is complete.

We talked about how to meet people and appropriate conversation topics. He seemed to be following along and finding the experiment useful until I brought up the subject of his attitudes towards women. I asked him to pretend he saw a woman working next to him at the coop, writing a letter or cutting flowers in the garden. I told him to pretend she looked up at him and smiled. What should he say after she introduces herself? Should he shake her hand?

He got that distant look in his eyes again and said “they stay with you, don’t they? Even when they’re gone, they’re still in your head. They never leave.” I asked him what he meant. He started talking about death and how it’s a relief and how everyone deserves to die. He grew more and more agitated and only calmed down after I returned the conversation to other matters.

There is clearly much to investigate on this topic, but I need a way to do it that helps him continue to speak freely.