Enterprise: We Pick You Up

Except in Rochester and On the Weekend.

Yea. According to my new best friend, Rob, Enterprise is a little short staffed and could not do a pick up service today. Wonderful. He tried a little. I guess he made a few calls but he called back saying they couldn't get anyone to come in.

Thankfully, Kari, my co-intern, came to the rescue today! She drove 40 minutes to take me to get a car. Now I'm styling in a Hyundai Elantra. Sassy.

I'm still hoping that the garage will call tomorrow and say that Annabelle is ready to be picked up.

Good Luck to my mom and aunt at the Crossword Puzzle thing this afternoon!!!!

What happens when you leave your lights on?

I wish I were talking about my haunted touch lamp. Nope. I left my car lights on and accidentally killed my battery. I called AAA and they came out and tried two boxes, but that didn't work. So the car had to be towed 30 miles north to Rochester so that I could find a local place. It took about 3 hours- the whole ordeal. My supervising therapist was with me and Kari the entire time, drove us back to Rochester to the car place and then dropped us home. It was horribly embarrassing and some other stuff. But I will save the dramatics. I called this morning and they took a look and it needs a new battery. They can't check for other problems until that happens AND of course, a new battery will not arrive until Monday. So please send good thoughts to Annabelle (the car, of course) that there won't be any more problems. Otherwise I'm going to have them put in the battery and then take her to the BMW place for a spa day. It was a very stressful afternoon BUT was mostly redeemed by the hockey game. As you can see, we had excellent seats for the Rochester Americans vs. Albany River Rats game.

We had a blast!

At least I did... I mean by the time we got there. We missed the first period due to all the car nonsense, but we got there right in time for the start of the second period. They played well. There were 2 fights and it was awesome. It was Kari's first game and I think she had a good time. I know I did. Its been fun hanging out with her. It was dollar draft and dog nights and I am please to inform you all that we tasted White Hots last night.

White hots are a Rochester delicacy so I'm told. I had to look up a little information when I got home last night. This is taken from Wikipedia:

"The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found in Rochester, New York and the upstate area.^[1] It is composed of some combination of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef, and veal; the lack of smoking or curing allows the meat to retain a naturally white color.^[2] White hots usually containmustard and other spices, and often include a dairy component such as nonfat dry milk.

The white hot originated in the 1920s^{[citation needed]} in Rochester's German community as a "white and porky"^[1] alternative to high-price red hot dogs, made of the less desirable meat parts and various fillers; in contrast, modern versions are made from quality meats and generally are sold at higher prices than common hot dogs.

The best-known producer of the white hot is Zweigle's. Even though they were not the first to make the dog, they were "the first ones at the stadium" (according to Robert Berl, the first maker of the Zweigle brand white hot). Soon after Berl began making the dogs in 1925, he secured a contract at the Red Wing Stadium. The white hot has become the official hot dog of the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Amerks and Rochester Rhinosand was the official hot dog of the Washington Nationals during the major league baseball team's first season.^{[citation needed]}

There is an unrelated white German sausage, traditional in Bavaria and popular in the mid-western United States, known as weisswurst, which is made primarily from veal."

Thanks Wikipedia.

Anyhow, the white hots were good. They tasted like sausages and with a dollar draft they tasted pretty good. And the were Zweigles dogs! gee- how exciting. The game was great... the Amerks lost because they pulled their goalie in the last 30 seconds and the other team scored! then the Amerks scored. It was pretty hilarious because people started leaving-- but once the amerks scored that last goal, people were yelling to the rest of their parties to "Hold up. Come back!" Unfortunately they lost 4-3. If they kept the goalie it would've gone into over time. Oh well. We had a brisk walk back to Kari's car and she dropped me home. I did try to find a suitable canadian to go out with at the game- as that is the running joke. Originally I've been looking for a canadian lumber jack to date, but I figure, that a hockey player will do. I could kill two birds with one stone and find someone wearing plaid and faux suede boots at a hockey game. The search continues.

It felt like a marathon day- Oh yea. we did observations and I had supervision with my supervising therapist. The sessions were great and I am excited to add the fellas to my caseload. They are going to be a hoot. One client gets so excited- his face is just so expressive and you can see the crescendo and the excitement build in his face until he can hardly stand it anymore and this huge smile just takes over his face and movements. It reminds me that we are capable of facilitating positive change in people's lives with music and the interactions and relationships in music. Cool, eh?

This weekend's plans have changed as I am currently car-less. I have a rental car set up for tomorrow so that I can get around and to work on Monday. Its horribly inconvenient. But I'm using to today to clean up my apartment, hopefully start on some laundry (if I ever get up off the couch) and taking care of some other music therapy business. I don't know if I'll get as far as the laundry- Sister Act II : Back in the Habit is coming on lifetime right now. We all know how much I love Mary Wickes and Dame Maggie Smith.

So the first month of my internship is now over and it is flying. I can't believe how quick its moving. I'm already participating in sessions, reading charts, and soon- probably the next two weeks- will start taking an even more active role in sessions. Life is moving right along and I'm always trying to enjoy the moment and look forward to the next set of moments, challenges, etc.

The weather has been frigid and I think the change in the weather from cold to freezing has tamed my heater. Its manageable in here now. The lamp is still haunted. At least some things don't change.

Now I'm taking the time to just chill out after yesterday's craziness. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Snow snow snow snow SNOW

This is the view from our office. As you can see, it snowed. And the photo was taken at the time of the day when it actually stopped snowing and instead was just ridiculously windy. Its definitely in the teens- and that's without the wind chill. I drove to work this morning and was rudely reminded that I now live in western New York.

I had a great day today. I started out at a different site. Basically during the week I will be going to three different sites. On Thursdays I stop by one that is on the way to the main site and see a couple of clients. Today I got to participate and actually play the piano in the sessions. Each client seemed to be engaged with me and feel at least a little comfortable. They are definitely breaking the newbie in. We had a lot of fun and I am looking forward to the next session with them. My ITD and I processed a little bit after each session. I was nervous on my commute this morning because I wanted everything to go well... and it did! She said that my instincts were good and that I did a good job. I made a few notes for each client on ways I should practice or elements of music that each one needs. Silly me, each client needs different things and parts of music! No wonder I'm the intern. I have so much to learn from my ITD and the clients! Its sort of a humbling experience to be an intern. It feels like going from being on the top of the food chain in school- being a senior, having gone through the pre-clinical process and a ton of credits- to not knowing any thing and being thrown into a session and trying to pull out the stuff that you know or have been practicing for the last few weeks and to still have so much to work on! I hope that made sense. I had a great time. Afterwards I had time to flip through a couple of charts before heading back to the main center.

It was little slow at the main office today. We did manage to get an observation in and then our ITD had a doctor's appointment this afternoon-- so Kari and I had the rest of the afternoon to read and practice. We did... like good interns. The commute was something else. Tons of snow and wind. Its nice to be able to take my time and enjoy the ride. But I made it home and it looked a little like this. The first is from my commute and the second is what the parking lot looked like upon arriving home.

Tomorrow's plans are still up in the air. We're still on lake front snow advisories until tomorrow night AND the place where we're suppose to observe tomorrow (my usual Tuesday/Friday stop with my supervising therapist) gets slammed with weather all of the time. As a result, I'm supposed to wait until my ST calls and lets us know if we're going down there or back to the main center for reading and practicing. Our ITD has the day off tomorrow. Lucky.

This weekend has a few adventures. If you haven't checked it out, Holly's Diner has a fantastic looking recipe for albondigas (http://hollysdiner.com). I think I am going to try the recipe this weekend-- that means that a trip to Wegmans is inevitable. Kari and I are going to a hockey game tomorrow night downtown. Apparently Rochester has an excellent minor league team and Kari has never been to a hockey game and Fridays in January are dollar draft and dog nights. I think we're going to have a great time.

In the meantime, Dad is on his way to Arizona to deal with all the stuff left in my apartment. That really means that I don't live in Arizona anymore. BUT he will get a chance to hang out with my friends, I'm jealous. He just called to say that its 70 degrees in Pasadena. Thanks Dad. Tonight I get to relax, enjoy my 30 Rock and clean up my kitchen. Woo hoo. Exciting Thursday.

Wednesday

This was taken before getting on the road this morning. The snow is finally back and the cold weather is setting in. When I got ready to leave this morning the sidewalk and parking lot hadn't been ploughed yet. I leave in the morning when its dark out and often get home as the sunsets. Long days, but I'm still having fun. I have to say, I was cracking up on my drive this morning because there are about three songs that play EVERY morning on my way to work. Each are feature below as youtube links. Brilliant.

"One Day" Matisyahu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z50Yf7hFnhA

"Bad Romance" Lady Gaga (The best song to play "name that tune" to... RA)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I

"Never Let You Go" Third Eye Blind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwYEvz5W1gU

These three songs, without fail, play on my commute every week day. Sometimes I feel like this particular region is a little stuck in 1996 or so-- despite the Top 40 radio stations. I can't complain really because I happen to like the music that came from the 90s. Even the soft rock stations here play songs that KBAY was playing 15 years ago, except for Delilah. I only wish they'd play a little Pat Benetar every now and then.

Anyhow, we had a pretty standard crazy Wednesday. We started with sessions this morning- all of which involved the somatron. Its interesting to see each client, with their preferred music, engage in a receptive music experience. Hmmm... maybe I should explain more. According to Bruscia (one of the books I read for internship), there are four types of music therapy experiences: Improvisation, Re-creative experiences, Composition and Receptive experiences. Improvisation includes what you might think of improvisation. It includes experiences like spontaneously creating melody, harmony, rhythm or song... like drumming. Recreative experiences aren't just performance but includes "rendering, realizing, reproducing or interpreting" any existing piece of music with or without an audience, for example sing alongs. Composition involves creating new musical products. Receptive experiences are those that seem passive and involve listening. While in the somatron, clients can feel the music through vibrations and while this can be an active experience... the main musical thing happening is listening. I hope that makes sense. Its interesting to see the client's body language change as they relax and settle, at least for a little while. I can't wait for our own Somatron Inservice so that I can experience what its like to really feel music this way.

We also had our audition today with a client. She had given us two pieces to learn so that she could make an informed decision about who she wants as her primary therapist. I am sad to say that she did not pick me. I've been grieving all day through brownie consumption. This client is so sweet and apparently the decision was very difficult to make. Hey, when it just works it works. My ITD and my co-intern walked in on me after I was 'excused' from the session to me sitting at my desk eating a left-over Bevi Brownie. Oh well. It has been fun to kind of bring up throughout the day. We spend a lot of time laughing in that office already. Its wonderful.

We had a few afternoon sessions. I think some of the clients are getting used seeing us around. We were sized up by a few this afternoon. I'm just thankful that the clients allow us to be in their sessions. Which reminds me. I've been wanting to write a little something on confidentiality. The clients that I will be working with are protected by a number of things-- policies, laws, documents, ethics--- to protect their private information, including diagnoses, what kind of services they receive and all that other good stuff. So while I'd love to paint a clear picture of what may happen in a music therapy session or talk about how diagnoses may manifest in music behaviors, I can't. I'd love to tell you all about it, but I wouldn't want my music therapist or any therapist talking about what was said or what happened in session on the internet. I think that's pretty easy to understand. We had a conversation about this in the office and we looked at the standards of professional practice and code of ethics and how that might (or might not) apply to the ever changing role of technology in our field. Anyhow, I just wanted to say a little something about that.

We had our piano inservice today on the pentatonic blues. So fun! It felt like we really had a chance to play with each other. I am really enjoying re-learning the piano and having the freedom to explore all of the different ways to create sound. Also, I am starting to participate more and more in sessions with the clients on my caseload! Tomorrow I am even playing the piano in a session for one particular intervention. I hope I know enough to provide a good experience BUT as we like to say, It's not really about me. I have to keep remembering that.

My co-intern gave me permission to give her name, so now when I write about the many adventures of the interns it will include Kari. She's awesome AND on Friday we are going to a hockey game. I'm currently looking for various adventures to fill a couple of upcoming weekends. What I would really love to do is find a good time to get out to Boston to see my very best friend Julie. If you think my schedule is crazy, you should see hers! Extra sassy. I'm not exactly sure how she does it and it continues to be impressive. The problem is finding a good time that works with everyone's schedule... sooo.... we'll see what happens with that.

There's a lot I want to see around here and plenty of time to explore.

Well, I have to practice and get ready for tomorrows sessions. Then, I am fully committed to putting in my fair share of couch-time. Happy potato-ing to me!

What a Day!

I was just talking with my friend Jase about how happy I was to have a legit excuse to be asleep by 10pm. He said it was charming- although it didn't sound convincing.

Tonight will definitely be one of those nights. I am absolutely exhausted and already wearing my moccasins and lounging on the couch. I did a lot of observing and taking everything in today. I observed three sessions before lunch, three after lunch and then sifted through two main charts in the last part of the day. I saw so many different and wonderful things. Five out of Six clients we saw today will be on my caseload. Today I just observed but on Friday I will be sitting closer and becoming (hopefully) more closely associated with music therapy. Does that make sense? I hope it does. My brain feels a little like mush today. The clients on my caseload at this particular site range from autistic like tendencies, the entire spectrum of intellectual disabilities (formerly known as mental retardation), to legal deaf and blindness. There is a large variety of behaviors, abilities, strengths and needs. It's a little daunting to say the least, but I'm thinking that the overwhelming feeling will go away.... sooner or later. I am reminded that in music, each individual's personality comes out fully.

Sigh. Did you know its only Tuesday? :)

Tomorrow we have our "audition" with one of the clients. She will make her final decision on who her primary therapist will be after hearing us play through the two audition pieces she provided. Talk about sassy. I'll post the results tomorrow. I know you all must by dying to know who will be chosen. We also have a somatron inservice in addition to more observations. The pace is so fast! Its a good thing I like to be busy.

That's it for tonight.

Boomwhackers!

Today I got to participate in an actual session... well a session and a half. The first session was with a client that I'd never seen before. This particular gentleman will be on my caseload. He's very musical and expressive in other arts mediums--- he's also very playful. He and the ITD were going back and forth with rhythm imitation and exploring the sounds in the room with boomwhackers (pictured to your left here). He turned around and saw me sitting there and invited me to join in the fun. He actually started to swing the large orange one in my direction, so I stuck my foot out. We all laughed and my ITD tossed me one so I could join in the fun.

For those of you who don't know, boomwhackers are pitched tube made of plastic. They are virtually indestructible. Sound is created by hitting the tube against something else, like another boomwhacker, piano, bench, walls, knees, hands, heads... anything at all really. Sound is created by minimal force and movement so using these can create experiences that are fun and provide opportunities for success.

The second session that I got to participate in was with a client that I'd had observed in week one. I actually got to play along side the client using the drum and reed horns. It was exciting to actually be active in the session and start connecting with the clients on my caseload.

This morning we had a chart reading inservice. We learned where to access the main charts, how to sign them out and where to find pertinent information. We observed a few other sessions with clients on our caseload but ones that we had not observed. One of the many perks about this internship is the chance to co-treat with my internship director. I don't know if all other interns have the opportunity, but I think its amazing that we do. I think its wonderful that my ITD has her own caseload and maintains her practice within the facility. Its nice to observe all types of therapists, but I think there is something to be said for being able to observe an advanced level therapist working in this model. Maybe I'm biased.

My co-intern and I also have the opportunity to treat a client together in a 2:1 setting. That, I think, is going to be a blast too.

After sessions and chart reading and more sessions, we watched a video about the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. Willowbrook was an institution for people with developmental disabilities and at one time was the largest facility of its kind. For those who watched the news in the early 1970s, Geraldo Rivera did an expose on the inhumane treatment of the clients and horrifying living conditions at Willowbrook. We watched the original expose with a very young Geraldo and a follow up video made in the 80s. We've also had reading on the subject. That inspired a discussion on the history of institutions and what kind of leaps we've made and what work is still left to be done. Our ITD said something inspiring about making progress in the services provided to people with disabilities. She said that often after watching this video and gaining a little historical perspective, that interns are either "well what can I do, I'm just an intern" OR "I'm going to change the world now!" I can understand the extremes. It seems like common sense to me to think that people with disabilities are first and foremost, people and that they deserve every service and right guaranteed to people without disabilities. So I can understand that someone would feel passionate about changing the system or whatever. I also understand how intimidating it is to start as an intern-- that's where I am! What can I do? I'm just an intern. I don't actually know anything- even after 4 years of studying. But our ITD provided a little clarity by sharing her philosophy on the matter. She talked about how people here act differently towards interns and if we are setting an example by treating clients with dignity, respect, light hearted-ness, and humor, it will remind them to do the same. That creates change. Change can also happen by working with clients and helping facilitate positive change in their lives- whether its in the moment or long-lasting.

I felt fired up after that.

I've decided that its nice to wake up and be excited and inspired about what you do.

Lake Ontario

Today I met up with a friend of mine that I met while going to school at Chapman. It feels really random that we both ended up out here. There is another girl out here that graduated from Chapman that is studying out here as well. But she wasn't available to come to breakfast.

Anyhow, my friend lives about 5 minutes away from Lake Ontario. She's been studying for her Masters at Eastman and has been here since the fall. It's nice because she knows her way around and will eventually introduce me to her friends there. Eastman also throws events like wine tastings and ski trips and she mentioned that she'd bring me along to some of these events. I was really excited to hear this. Its hard to motivate myself to go out and explore the surroundings. But now that I know someone who knows of fun spots and knows her way around, I think that I will be getting out more. I left feeling really happy and thankful that I will

have some friends and support here outside of music therapy- not that hanging with people from work won't be great-- but it will be nice to hang with a different people and have a good time.

After a lovely breakfast and spending time just catching up, she took me to the Ontario Beach Park - literally about a 3 minute car ride and we had the chance to walk around a little bit. It's a lovely park.

There are a few stages, a carosel, and little gazebo things overlooking the water. I've been having a problem with uploading photos to this thing, so I'll have to post these photos to my facebook as a whole (But here are some of them. The photo above is of the lake and little bay by the coast guard building). Beyond the gazebo and far in the distance are all the lakefront homes. My friend took me through the nice neighborhood. The houses are beautiful and so east coast looking. AND real estate here is awfully cheap. I could probably get a lake front home for the same price as a condo in LA.

The Coast Guard house right to the left here.

Its the tall white house and actually there were some coast guard people doing some training drills in the water on tiny boats. There was ice in the water and therefore,

I just didn't understand why people where in the water. Although it was warm. We were walking around without heavy jackets- meaning it was in the low 40s. The wind obviously makes things cooler here, especially next to water, but it was nice to be able to walk around and see what is out there beyond my little apartment and work sites.I had an excellent day hanging with my old friend and seeing a little bit of the sights. She only lives about 20 minutes away. Everything here is like the distance between Gilroy and Cochrane Rd. Everything. Its nice that I am so used to driving. Commuting is definitely not a big deal after going back and forth from Mitty for a few years. I am now thankful for that part of the experience because its definitely prepared me for all the commuting that I'm doing every week.

Also, I have some observational notes about my desk lamp. On the first setting, the lamp makes the most annoying high pitched sound. I can hardly take it. I guess I should be thankful that I can still hear this whiny pitch. It turns on at random times but on more than one occasion it turns on at the exact time that I touch the track pad of my computer. It turns on when I plug things in at the desk. But it also turns on while I'm in my bedroom. I was just getting into bed last night and I could tell that the lamp had turned on. It's bizarre.

Tonight, my co-intern is coming over. I think we'll order in and watch a movie and just relax. She said it'll give her an excuse to get some stuff done that she's been putting off all day. I think it will be nice to chill out. I didn't really feel like driving to Newark tonight especially because I will be back there tomorrow morning. Maybe I will be introducing her to the finer elements of the classic movie musical. We'll see what happens.

Its Sweatshirt Weather!

Its 35 and sunny! This = sweatshirt weather! Its absolutely beautiful. Today I had to pick up some groceries but I took a leisurely stroll through Barnes and Noble. I didn't see anything of note, but it was nice to sleep in and take my time doing something. There has been a lot of "hurry up and wait" with getting to work in the morning, having an hour free to read to practice and then observations or what ever inservice.

Friday was a hurry up and wait. We didn't observe any sessions in the morning. Instead I

took the time to finish up one of my books and jot down a few questions and considerations to bring up in supervision. Our ITD asked to hear them at lunch, so we had a lovely lunch time philosophical discussion of "music as therapy" vs "music in therapy." This comes from one of our books, "Defining Music Therapy" by Ken Bruscia. I had to read this book at Chapman in 2007 and reread it for internship. The book brings up a lot of "problems" or difficulties in the field relating to what is music therapy and what is not and the different levels and areas of practice. There is a lot to absorb and I definitely got something different from reading it this time and it is nice to have the opportunity to go over it.

We observed some somatron sessions in the afternoon (www.somatron.com). Those were interesting; we could see clients be in music in a totally different way. Afterwards we did a "name that instrument" inservice for the sake of calling the instruments the same thing and for understanding the charts. Then we had our individual supervision. I had a startling revelation Thursday night. I need to get in the habit of self-care. Thursday night was really one of the first nights that I realized how different my new reality is and how many changes have happened in only a few weeks. So I am taking note of my priorities, keeping my "Lauren" time for my leisure activities and trips to Wegmans, and trying to consider using the words: "Delegation" and "No." My friend Alli talked me through the whole thing to identify my priorities and all

that. Its lucky that we had that little chat early on before I really was in too deep. ANyhow, my ITD was able to relate and talk out a little bit of what was going on. Its nice to have a developing relationship with my supervisor and that she's interested and concerned with our process and adjustments.

I didn't do much last night. There are plans for this weekend to get together with a couple of friends from Chapman who are studying at Eastman. Tomorrow we are having breakfast. I'm excited to catch up with them and see what's been going on. These two girls graduated a year ahead at chapman and so we left all at the same time. I'm looking forward to it. After breakfast tomorrow, my co-intern and I may catch a movie or see what kind of damage we can do in Palmyra. It looks like Palmyra has some interesting downtown shops that would be fun to explore. We probably should do that before the weather turns! If we end up in palmyra tomorrow, I'll take a few photos. I finally had the chance to catch up on all of my Hulu shows! We had to stop our ITD from talking about 30 rock yesterday afternoon. No one likes a spoiler.

It has been nice to disengage for a while and zone out AND to sleep in this morning AND to do my errands with a leisurely pace. Tonight I'm thinking that it will be a good opportunity to cook and clean in my kitchen and just relax.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

PS. It turns out that Wegmans has an excellent candy selection. I'm having gummi bears for lunch. Yum.

Thursday? Where did the week go?

I think I will make this post short because I have three days of events to journal about. Part of my final paper for this internship has to do with all of my journaling and I always forget.

I will recount today's highlights:

Observations at Geneva were very interesting and not because the sessions were unusual but because we arrived to a rearranged room. Some sensory integration tools and equipment were moved into the music therapy/multi-purpose room. Let's just say, that we got an excellent lesson in compromise, how to keep your cool and explain what you need to others, and professionalism. We moved the furniture around a little bit for today. The space was tiny to begin with, but I think we did the best with what we were given. An excellent lesson. The clients were great, if not a little discombobulated over the new room set-up. One gentleman in particular had my co-intern and I just in stitches. He's hilarious and was very excited to see two new faces in his session. I think he was trying to show off a little. We rushed back to Tymeson for lunch and Bevi-Brownies which were a big hit.

We had another piano inservice today to look at a couple of precomposed songs by Nordoff-Robbins. We learned to listen as a whole and then deconstructive the music in a number of ways. The more comfortable we are with the music and the more we know the music, the more we can use it effectively in session. That includes creating intros and transitions to and from these songs to keep the music going. For some clients, if the music stops, the container for the session collapses... its like knocking the wind out of the music therapeutic process sails.

I like being busy during the day. Sitting in a class all morning and most afternoon was pretty horrible.

I have a lot of other music therapy stuff to do, but when I get home, I just can't seem to focus on anything but internship stuff, like practicing. Its a mix between that and just crashing on the couch. I know I should give myself a little break here because of all the adjustments I've had to make and realistically, my internship is my number one priority. Sigh. It's hard to give myself that little extra wiggle room.

My co-intern ( I may even start calling her by her first name soon--- I just have to get her permission) and I have planned several adventures. We have a lot of similar qualities but are just different enough. Its been fun to get to know her so far and spend time hanging out. We're both the type to just be happy spending time alone but we are both motivated by little adventures, as long as we're not left to our own devices. So we've decided to go on some outings. First and foremost, we are on a mission to get to the nearest Sonic. That very well may happen this weekend. The closest sonic is in Chenango, NY. Other plans on the calendar include the Ice Wine Festival and The "Zoo Brrrew." Those are happening in February. March is already looking like a busy month with the regional music therapy conference in Pittsburgh for a couple of days, a former intern coming out to visit and then the western regional conference in las vegas-- that leads right into April.

That's like the halfway point! Geez. This is all happening so fast!

The next week or so brings on a whole ton of observations but also an inservice on chart reading, more practicing, another piano inservice on pentatonic blues and more observations and more chart reading, and then more observations and more chart reading. I will probably get to start participating in sessions (just a little bit) by next week!

Time to eat and sleep! I'm exhausted.

Definitely Dragging today...

Whoa. Today I am totally dragging. Its only 7pm and I am exhausted.

Today we had a computer class. It was okay. We learned about logging in, saving files on the network and using outlook. I knew a lot of what he taught, but it was still kind of nice to get a refresher. We finished a little early, so I invited my co-intern over to hang out before she headed all the way back to Newark. It was quite lovely. I prepared some Bevi-Brownies to take with us to Geneva Day Hab tomorrow. I made her sit in the other room while I prepared this timeless and old secret family recipe. They turned out to be delicious- as always. I gave her a little brownie bite for the road.

Tomorrow we are observing in Geneva for the first part of the day. My co-intern is excited because the clients will will see are going to be on her caseload. I've been talking up the Bevi Brownies to my ITD, so we will find out how well they are received tomorrow. Tomorrow also brings another piano inservice. We'll be looking at the pentatonic blues and some Nordoff-Robbins hello/goodbye songs. Did you know that tomorrow is already Thursday? geez. This short week has definitely been short.

Tonight I'm just trying to catch up on some other music therapy stuff and reading and practicing, but I am definitely dragging. Being in a classroom lit by fluorescents all day is draining. Plus I have a late night conference call with some people on the west coast tonight. Please wish me luck in keeping my eyes open, but mostly luck in being able to get up and going tomorrow morning. This whole time difference thing is making this whole 'get things done on the west coast' thing very difficult. Plus I realized that all of my music therapy mail is going to Arizona and I forgot about a change of address thing... hmmmm. Sorry Mom and Dad, I was supposed to remember to do that when I got home. Some time during the next few weeks I'll have to call for my Member number and change of address stuff I think. Now I'm just typing with my stream of consciousness which means that I will stop here.

I'm excited to see more music therapy tomorrow. Its hard to go from observations to inservice type stuff- like computer class this week, first aid and cpr next week kind of thing.

Okay. That's it.

Hope all of you Californians are keeping dry and driving sanely!

The quickest way to get rid of an ear worm

You're probably wondering, why is this post so early in the day? Well, we have an early day today! However, I will still be busy with my reading and definitely a couple hours of quality practice. On Tuesdays, our ITD works at one of the FLDDSO facilities in the morning and then goes off site in the afternoon. She does some private contract work through a school district on Tuesday afternoons and it was not appropriate to have interns observe these sessions. We did however, observe 4 very different sessions this morning at the E. Henrietta facility. All of those clients will remain on our ITD's caseload. The energy is different this week. Starting off after a long weekend was tough. My co-intern and I had yawning matches between sessions. The sessions were dynamic, but definitely on a different level than my first week. I think its the reality now settling in. The first week is over and now its time to settle into a routine. I do like routines.

The last client we observed requested "Here, There and Everywhere" as her last song and I now can't get it out of my head.

So I ask, what is the quickest way to get rid of an earworm? An earworm meaning a song that you just can't get out of your head.

My mom's old standby: "Strangers in the Night" but in 3/4 time.

I've had significant success with this method, although sometimes I get Strangers in the Night stuck in my head to replace the previous song.

A suggestion from my co-intern: "Bennie and the Jets"

She says this song works so well because most people only know the "B-b-b-bennie and the Jetssssssssssss" part. Sing that part once and the earworm is gone forever.

I'm currently taking other suggestions as this happens to me quite frequently. If you have a sure fire way, please feel free to share.

In other EXCITING news: I received my Wegmans Shoppers Club Card in the mail and officially broke it in Sunday afternoon. I saved $1.00. I am clearly on my way.

Yesterday I had a chance to Skype with my friends Stacey and Maggie in Arizona. They were wearing flip-flops. If they ever read this blog, they will know how much I enjoyed our Skype date. Apparently my posts are too long for Maggie to read and she will require cliff-notes. What a pain the ass. Maggie starts classes today and I will miss meeting up with her and my other friends in the MET lab or before classes. Now that ASU classes have started, I think the reality of my new routine will officially sink-in.

I'm catching up on some reading this afternoon in addition to do a spot of laundry. Oh! My new shoes arrived in the mail today courtesy of Zappos. They are perfect. I needed a good pair of brown shoes with good soles, made for cold and sloshy climates. My rocket dogs just won't do the trick here- at least not until April.

Tomorrow my co-intern and I have "Computer Class!" Basically we have to sit for 8 hours to learn how to use our email accounts, access charts, and save things appropriately. Oh well. At least it will only take 10 minutes to get to class tomorrow.

Oookayy, that about wraps it up for today! Happy Tuesday!

The Haunting

My touch lamp is possessed.

I was vegging last night on the couch and all of a sudden my touch lamp on the desk turns on. There are three settings- low, medium and high. It went through the cycle about 5 times last night before I decided to go to bed. I woke up this morning and saw a soft glow from this front room and realized that it turned on again in the course of the night.

I've determined that it indeed has a mind of its own. As a result, I'm entering into a period of scientific observation to determine if the light turns on in response to events occurring in my apartment. For example, the lamp turned on while I was watching TV last night. Does it only turn on while the tv is on? Does the lamp turn on when the windows are open? I don't know. I'm going to start a data log. Its a long weekend and I don't feel much like going out. This is just entertaining enough!

I actually cooked in my kitchen last night and realized that I couldn't find any

smoke detectors. Good thing, because something about the pan and the stove and not having a splatter screen created a nice billow of smoke. I just opened some windows. Sounds crazy to open windows. It's been about 40 degrees and sometimes sunny for the past few days. Snow is melting and getting really slushy... BUT for some reason, even if I have the heater "Off"--- I think its off--- my apartment gets up to 80 degrees. I roast if I don't open windows and allow some air in. I haven't figured out the trick to the thermostat... but someday I will. For now- its nice to just crack a window. I was telling my ITD about it and she couldn't stop laughing. I guess it is pretty hilarious.

Today I am investing in a splatter screen and tongs. I don't have any which makes cooking a little difficult. This means that in addition to going to Wegmans, I will need to make a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond. Its going to be a great day. I need a pillow for the couch too. I did spend the entire morning working on music therapy event stuff. That felt productive. I'll probably spend the rest of the day working on similar documents and making phone calls. It's nice to have some relaxing free time. I am going to try and catch a movie at the little theater here in town. That's it.

Below are photos of my apartment.

Its the Weekend!

Hip-Hip Hip-Replacement! It's the weekend!

And more good news- I passed my PPD test. No tuberculosis. Always a good thing.

So before I talk about Friday's events, I have to take the time to talk about Time Warner Cable. My wireless router has been funky the past two days. It did have power even though it was plugged in. So I'd reset it (unplug and plug back in) and the lights would come on and then shut off again a minute later. Naturally, this really upset me. They took 11 days since my move-in date (Jan. 1) to plug in a wireless router and three days later it stopped working. So I got on the phone to Time Warner and I was NOT a happy camper and I made them very aware. I was transferred to commercial accounts and got a message machine. So I left a nasty-gram. Then I called back and said, "HEY. I got a message machine. I want to talk to someone NOW" so they transferred me to the national help desk... but its still a commercial account. I don't have an account number, nor do I have a phone line through Time Warner. So they transferred me somewhere else. I spoke to four people before landing on Rob. I told him how unhappy and ridiculous this was to get my damn modem fixed and voila! This morning Time Warner came out and replaced my modem. I am feeling very successful about the whole thing. As a result I am updating this morning, while enjoy my morning coffee and enjoying all the internet has to offer.

Okay. Friday. We got there, bright and early, 8am and had an hour free before sessions to read or practice. We have a huge intern manual to get through in the next few weeks. Sessions started at nine. We observed three clients in the morning and two in the afternoon. A few of the clients we saw will be on the intern caseload. It will probably be on my co-intern's caseload as I will be at Doty Day Hab on Fridays. One client is just the sweetest. I named him "Mr Personality" because he is just busting with this hilarious sense of humor. He walked out of the core room with our ITD, looked both interns once over and said, "You're fired." Haha. He also checked periodically in his session to make sure we were taking good notes. He's been on an intern caseload for many years and is used to people observing. If they have pen and paper, they should be taking notes! It was great.

We both got the go ahead from our ITD to continue practicing our improvisation skills. AND we had our first individual supervision. Our supervision time is a chance to bring whatever concerns or questions to the table. We were able to talk about adjusting and the reading and what I've seen so far. I've been kind of concerned, after 24 observations this week, about jumping into being a primary therapist for these clients who have been in therapy for years. I want to do the best I can do for them and as a new intern, I don't really know anything! I think my ITD said it best when she said, "This isn't uncommon. But you have to remember that your clients know WAAYYY more about music therapy than you do. They know what they like and how it has to be. And you will learn."

haha. How true. So a summary of thoughts for the first week? Its been amazing so far. The days are long, but the weeks are certainly going to pass quickly. I am concerned about being able to effectively balance the big parts of my life: internship, personal time, wramta, but I think that is one of the lessons that I'm suppose to learn while I am here. The next 8 months are going to be challenging but I am up for it. I have gone through a lot of big changes and there will be more, but I think I am ready to accept that. I think the extra semester in school made the transition into internship easier-- you that feeling of "its about time that I'm here." Doesn't make it any less overwhelming, but it doesn't keep me up at night. I think I'm going to be really different after internship, in a good way. But we'll see. My friend Stacey, who just finished her internship- woo hoo!- said that I will be surprised about the amount of growth that will happen. Unfortunately, it won't be in height.

I am thankful for the long weekend. Our ITD suggested that we take a little time to process but also completely disengage for a little bit and of course, PRACTICE! Next week brings more observations, practicing and reading. I can't wait to see how sessions next week differ from the ones we've seen this week. In the meantime, I have a list of movies I've been meaning to watch and I need to stock up on my sandwich stuff- well, bread mostly. That means (fanfare, please) = a trip to Wegmans! What a wonderful day to spend my weekend. At Wegmans. That's about it. Oh and Happy Birthday to my sissy. She's old now as of yesterday.

Ooooh it was 40 degrees today

It was warm today! 40 degrees. I never thought I would consider that to be warm. I saw two people wearing shorts today. AND its supposed to stay like this through the weekend. Lovely.

Today we had more observations in Canandaigua and Palmyra. I met two more of my clients at the palmyra facility. I am so excited to start working with them. We spent most of the afternoon there laughing and having a great time in the session. There are some very colorful, creative, and hilarious people on my caseload. I can't wait.

We did observe our ITD in session today with a number of people that will remain on her caseload. They were all very intense sessions- in different ways. One session in particular really stood out. This client experiences music with his entire body and being. Something about the music and the type of music that our ITD played just moved him. You could see his reactions manifest physically. There's a particular motif that the ITD plays that just reels him into the music and he willingly goes there. Sometimes its too much for him to handle all at once. That's what we were seeing. What he feels inside comes out externally, in his movements, facial expressions, the way he's playing, what he's playing. It was focused and serious and well... intense. I don't know of any other word to describe it all. Its like this client doesn't hold anything back in the music. What comes out is so uniquely apart of him and he reveals that so freely. It was an incredible sight to see.

We took a lovely drive to get from Canandaigua to Palmyra through the back roads and past a bunch of farms covered in snow. It was beautiful. Something about all the scenery here just makes me feel calm and serene but focused and invigorated. It's kind of weird, but also really cool. Its so drastically different from where I've lived before and I like that its been affecting me in different ways than say... the Arizona desert.

Spring semester starts Tuesday at ASU and after talking to a couple of friends, I think I'm really going to start to miss them a lot when they start getting back into classes. I think I'm now just getting around to being able to process this whole graduation thingy and how I won't in fact being in Friday afternoon pre-clinical class listening to case conferences and other miscellaneous speakers. I guess the sassy corner will happen without me. :)

BTW- for those of you interested in a little history. "Canandaigua" means "the chosen spot." In the Native American tradition and lore, the fingerlakes are where hands were laid upon the land and carved out space for the lakes. Canandaigua is said to be the chosen place.... for something. Our ITD didn't go into too much detail. Its a cute town. Most of the towns look the same. I drive through five or six on my way to Newark. If you're looking for more history, in the lovely town of Palmyra- Alice Blazey just celebrated her 100th birthday. There was a banner hanging on the fence of a little park along Rt. 31. My co-intern and I both spotted the banner this week. Unfortunately, yesterday it was taken down and I did not have a chance to get a picture. If I live to be 100, I want a banner AND a parade.

You can read about her here:

http://www.mpnnow.com/features/x1689205790/Alice-Blazey-isnt-just-alive-but-living-life-at-100

She seems sassy-- my kind of lady.

Anyhow. We have MORE observations tomorrow (and for the next few weeks!) plus time built into our schedules to practice and/or get some reading done. I have my first individual supervision with my ITD tomorrow and my co-intern and I have our first group supervision to wrap up the first week!

Even though the days are long, I can tell that this internship is going to fly! Happy Thursday.

A New Approach

Today I learned how to play the piano.

Sounds funny, eh? I've been playing for many years and I finally learned.

We had our first piano inservice today where the pentatonic children's scale was introduced. Before we even started playing, my internship director (ITD) gave us six simple rules for learning to how to play:

1. Play Slowly--- for learning clinical improvisation (and any type of music), slower is actually faster.

2. No Pedal --- that was certainly directed towards me

3. No Stopping

4. No Turning Back

5. No Apologies --- which was quickly added to list once I started playing and went too fast and then had to apologize.

6. Play without Fear

If we do the first 3 rules, then we won't have to worry about the last 3. This kind of opened my eyes. I don't think I ever gave much thought to how I approached the piano. Practicing is something that I always knew I should be doing and I never did enough. For some reason today, hearing these rules and being at this point in my life and education really brought new awareness to creating and learning music. It's like learning a new approach to something you thought was very familiar and totally known. It was absolutely refreshing.

My ITD compared all of these inservice days and learning improvisation styles to a basic white cake recipe. They give the tools for an excellent white cake recipe. The first few times you make the cake you have to follow the recipe exactly- and it creates a moist, most delicious white cake. Once you get that basic recipe down, you can add chocolate or strawberries or funfetti thingys. But you can't do that without mastering those basic ingredients. With each improvisational style we'll get the ingredients and tools for the basic white cake and once we master that, we can start getting a little fancy.

So I have to add a 7th rule:

7. Keep it simple

I sat down to experiment with the style we were working in and already wanted to go faster and get really fancy. Yea, that didn't work. It was nice to take a break from all the observations of the day and just get to play. I think I've been doing some of these things when I learned how to be an audition pianist and how to accompany singers. It's when I have to read what's absolutely on the page and practice tiny passages over and over again that I begin to go crazy. Thankfully, with this type of instruction and style of music, I get to infuse the music with my personal creativity rather than demonstrate my mechanical efficiency. That was fancy and fantastic sentence.

After more thought, these 7 rules are pretty applicable to life. Don't go too fast. Don't sustain things that aren't meant to be sustained and don't get caught up in meshing all of the sounds together--- it can get too complicated and muddy. Don't stop. Keep going. Don't completely turn back. Keep moving forward. Don't apologize for being exactly who you are. Live without being fearful. And keep it simple. I'll give this a little more thought, but we'll see how these seven rules work throughout my internship.

Anyhow, It turned out to be a great day. We met more clients and got to observe them in session with the ITD. She has a different style than my supervising therapist (ST). Its also been wonderful to see such life in the clients with whom we'll be working. We met 8 clients today- 7 of which will be on the intern caseload-- we don't know which intern yet. We met one woman who "interviewed" my co-intern and I to see which one of us would suit her needs. She was described as their "Ms Diva" and boy, is she a hoot. She asked us a few questions and gave us some "audition" pieces to play for her next time. She is super sassy. We also observed our ITD working with another woman who both of us interns will be treating together. This client is very expressive and has such a gentle spirit. I can't wait to start working with her and co-treating with the other intern.

I think I'm starting to find my place around here. I know its only Day 3. It's nice to know that our ITD does not expect miracles and for us to be perfect or know everything. That makes me feel better, even though I still have my usual high standards for myself.

Tomorrow is more observations at two new sites. I'll see two more clients that will be on my personal caseload at the second site. Friday we're back at the main center in Newark for more observations and our first formal supervision and group supervision.

For now, I better start practicing--- and slowly and simply at that.

Day 02

Today I went to the second work site in Geneseo, NY. The building used to be the town's high school.

I got to observe some of the clients with whom I will be working. We (my co-intern and I) observed my supervising therapist for three back to back sessions in the morning and one session in the afternoon. The pace was definitely different today. It was faster and I am glad to be in the observation stage rather than sitting all day at a desk looking at a huge binder of important papers. It was good to see music therapy in action. In school we learn to design interventions to target specific objectives that work towards goals. While those objectives and goals absolutely exist here, they are different. The music that is the focus of the session. The music is manipulated, created, and shared to meet the client in the present moment and together the three of them (music-therapist-client) shape the experience- they add to it, take away, change it somehow. It is a fluid and organic experience. We saw four sessions total today and each one was drastically different from the next. Each client needed something different today from therapy. It's interesting observing this style and model of therapy because it is so different from what we were taught in school. There just isn't time in four years (give or take) to delve into all the different methods and models. It is exciting to see a way to do music therapy that is different, exciting and dynamic. Not to say that what we learn isn't-- but I think its like finding that perfect pair of shoes. You can be perfectly happy wearing other styles and prints, but once you find a shoe that fits and totally works for your individual and particular foot you'd never want to wear anything else.

The four clients we observed today are going to be apart of my caseload when I start leading and co-leading sessions.

We also met a ton of people today: physical therapists, occupational therapists, administrators, program directors.... the list goes on. All of them seemed excited and happy to see new interns and offered their help if we ever need it. Everyone has been really welcoming. We finished early. Two of the clients we were supposed to see this afternoon weren't there so we finished an hour early. I had time to stop for some much needed items at Wegmans. They are everywhere.

The weather has been really cold, mostly low-mid 20s plus windchill. This is definitely not what I'm used to, but I'm still enjoying it. I keep telling my supervisor that I will let him know what I grow tired of it. Hopefully that won't be any time soon as I was told today that February-March is when the worst of the weather hits this area.

Things are getting pretty busy. I have a lot to think about for my internship but am simultaneously trying to balance the other music therapy responsibilities. In addition to the usual stuff and upkeep, the western region student board is hosting a special event in a few months and have lots of do and plan for regional conference in April. Phew. The hardest part is finding a convenient time for all of the officers to meet, especially with the time difference. I'm hoping that most of the hard work happens during this observation period. Anyhow. The weather makes it easy to get things done. I don't have the urge to go outside.

Tomorrow I'm back at the main center in Newark. We are observing the Internship Director in sessions in the morning and early afternoon and then we have our first piano inservice. Hmmm, that means I better practice and look over the repertoire tonight. I better get on that. This is the first piano inservice that we'll do, but definitely not the last. I think they happen like every week or something. Maybe every two weeks. It won't be just going over repertoire or improvisation styles; we'll be discussing clinical applications too.

That's enough for today. I'm off to practice.