Another Day... Another Tow

That's right. I heard back from the garage today. The new battery had everything lit up however there is a disconnect between the key and the computer. So my car still won't start. Tonight I had it towed to the bmw dealer in town so that they can look at it first thing tomorrow morning. I wish I had the energy to give you the play-by-play of this whole thing, but I don't. I will say that it pays to make friends with the sassy woman behind the counter at the towing service. Because of that I get a personal phone call to confirm that my car was dropped in the correct place and in one piece. I want to call this woman Betty- but I never got her real name. She is the sassiest and gave me 3 must-do things while I'm in Rochester: Follow RIT hockey (waaay better than the Amerks apparently), check out the Strong Museum of Play (Where they have a kids sized Wegmans----- reminded me of the Grocery Store in the Ag-Ed building at the San Diego County Fair!), and the Rochester International Jazz Festival.

I think I will do all three- she was super sassy and enthusiastic. loving that.

Speaking of the SD County Fair and the Agricultural Education Building/Exhibit, I have to do a shoutout to Holly! Hi Holly! Holly has a fabulous blog about her various culinary adventures (http://hollysdiner.com). I tried her recipe for Albondigas Sunday night and the end product was DELICIOUS!

I took a photo of my big pot of soup because I thought it turned out so well.

I had to improvise, just a little, on some of the ingredients. For example, it seems to be a little more difficult to find a little can of green chiles ready to go. So I found some canned jalapenos and split them up myself. I added a little more cilantro than called for and out of laziness and convenience I used only lean ground beef for the meatballs. Even with a few minor adjustments, this recipe was super easy and tasty. I am having it again for dinner tonight- mostly because after all this car nonsense, I just don't feel like cooking. Anyhow, thanks Holly for the wonderful recipe!

Aside from all this other nonsense, its been a good day. We observed sessions all morning long and I got to participate in a session with a client who will be on my caseload--- very soon! We had a great time. He is very playful and has the best laugh. It's amazing what can be conveyed without using expressive language. I don't know that we said more than the words in the hello and goodbye song.... which believe me, means very few words. We also took a ride today to see about a donated piano and had an inservice on reading music therapy charts. I've got to start digging into those and I have to start being more observant in sessions so I can make my notes and really prepare for taking on clients.

I got home and had mail tonight! My Auntie Lynda sent me a nice card and some Starbucks bucks and my dad sent a package from my apartment in Arizona. The entire box was pretty much my medicine cabinet which I have to say is the most amazing medicine cabinet ever. Forget RiteAid or even CVS. My medicine supply covers pesky coughs, congestion, cuts to 2nd degree burns. Mom and Dad sent a card this weekend with my iPod which I conveniently forgot at home. So tonight I am enjoying my iPod wired through my nice speakers while I work on a few music therapy things and session notes and journaling. Geez. I spend the time to update the blog but usually forget to journal. I've got to get better about that especially because I have to do session notes, monthly reports, journaling! I think I am just now getting an idea of how much work I will be doing outside of my 8-4:30 job thingy. This whole "real" world thing is different. I could take days off whenever I wanted in school. Now I have this responsibility thing. What is that? geez. ;)

With all the car stuff that has happened and figuring out how to take care of myself like any adult, I finally realized that I now live truly by myself far away from home. In Arizona I was far away from home, but there I have a tight knit group of friends who lived 10 minutes away and could come to the rescue say if my car didn't start. A trip home was only a 2 hour plane ride. My closest friend here lives 45 minutes away (which she did drive to rescue me because Enterprise fails). I am just thankful that I already feel like I can count on her. I hope she feels like she can rely on me to help bail her out of trouble too. I think I"m going to make a pot of chili and invite her over for super bowl. Maybe she can explain football to me. Haha. Being away got a little harder in the past week, but its not discouraging. Just every now and then it gets a little lonely. But I kind of think of this experience as one of those moments or times in life that if I don't do it now and do it right, I won't ever get the same chance. So when I get a little lonely, I think of how awesome it is that I get the experience of working and honing my skills, learning to be a therapist, waking up every morning excited about going to work, knowing that I am responsible for only myself (aside from clients) and that this particular circumstance will never happen again. You're only an intern once... even if you never stop learning. Its like I get to see what kind of professional I will be before a bunch of other people get to and that allows me to make mistakes and grow and learn before I have to do the big reveal of Lauren Bevilacqua, MT-BC, R(esponsible)-A(dult).

Anyhow- that keeps me going. And brownies and gummi bears from Wegman's. They have a "Self-Serve" candy selection that is out of this world. :)

Tomorrow I am at the other site and observing more sessions. I'll start taking a more important role this week, whether that's singing along and playing, or just sitting closer in the room. Some clients require more space to be than others. That means MORE chart reading and notes and things! Oh boy. Hopefully my car will be ready to go tomorrow night- because that is definitely when my rental reservation is up. I haven't really come up with a plan for swapping cars, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when it gets here. I guess I'll have to talk to my buddy Rob at Enterprise. The saga continues....