Conference!

Phew. We're back from conference. We got in about 5:45 last night and I was asleep by 7:30. Unfortunately, that meant I was up at like 6:30 this morning but its given me a chance to get caught up on my e mails and blog posts.

So. Conference. Wow. It was amazing. I met a lot of really wonderful people in addition to seeing some excellent (and maybe not so excellent) sessions. I did learn a lot and had a lot of fun! Kari and I had a ton of time to discuss in the car, but we decided we were more laid back and relaxed and let more of our personalities come through especially when we were hanging with our supervising therapist. We were keeping everyone, including ourselves, laughing the entire time. Here's the day by day:

Thursday: We woke up early and took our sweet time getting out of Rochester. Of course I had to stop at the ATM and get gas before really hitting the road which left us leaving Rochester about an hour later than we had intended. We made it to Pittsburgh in time for opening ceremonies. Opening ceremonies were great. The keynote speaker is a professor emeritus at Duquesne University and she was SASSY. She's lived and worked in Pittsburgh for many years and had a lot to say in terms of the history and land and the connection with our field. She also had some students there who made up a little ensemble: cello, guitar, two violas and voice and played some live music. At first I was kind of thinking that the whole thing was a little hokey, but the cello started to play and that changed everything- the timbre and rich tone. It was fantastic. Kari and I skipped the first session and instead went to the second session of the afternoon about Self Regulation and children with autism. The joke being that I need to learn how to self-regulate. Which is true, I started talking to this girl from Pennsylvania about how amusing I thought the state is and thankfully Kari jumped in when the girl looked really confused. We decided that together, we can self regulate-- apart not so much. The video clips from that particular session were very different from the type of music therapy that I'm learning. So it was uh.. interesting.

After the first session that we skipped to get oriented, check in, and unpack the car, we went to a plenary session about the work that music therapists are doing by combining performances of professional contemporary and classical musicians in the pittsburgh area. The professional business meeting was held after - by which time Kari and i were STARVING. And we are the same in that when we don't eat, we get crabby and easily distracted. So the meeting was a little taxing, but we booked it for the hotel restaurant buffet before we had to be back for the internship fair. At the time of hte internship fair- where prospective students can come, get information, ask questions etc, the Slippery Rock Jazz Band played and the conference hosts gave swing dancing lessons- it was a fun event. I saw a friend or two that I met at the national conference in San Diego so we got to catch up over at the cash bar and I met a few new people too. We went to bed pretty early- around 10:30 to be up and ready for Friday.

Friday- had a leisurely breakfast and Kari and I decided to divide and conquer sessions. She went to a session on guided imagery and music while I went and learned about community music therapy. Then I went to a session on Taboo Topics in Music Therapy- or Things good little music therapists don't ever talk about. Topics included burnout, frustrations with clients and staff and others in our field, differences in our field, just to name a few. We had two pages of topics by the end of the session. That was really interesting and nice to know that a lot of people go through feelings of, say, incompetence or guilt even though no one is talking about it. The presenter was also a hoot and half. I really enjoyed it. Kari went to a session on marketing strategies for new MT-BCs aimed at new professionals and students. She said it was okay. Lunch break- we wandered out of the hotel and hopped over to Einsteins Bagels for a quick bite and hurried back for a session on Clinical Improvisation techniques. We had heard about the presenters from being on the music therapy listserv and so we were both curious. It was okay- but felt very basic. We use the exact same techniques and books in the internship here. They did do demonstrations of each technique which was helpful. That group of sessions were followed by another business meeting which went quickly and left us plenty of time to go out to dinner. We went to Buca di Beppo for dinner with our supervising therapist. It was a blast. BUT we had to get back to the hotel by 8p.

On that last night of Conference there is a dessert bar and karaoke night- but its unlike any karaoke night that I've seen. They have an in house band made of up music therapists- amazing musicians. They have a list of songs that they play and people can sign up and sing with the live band. Everyone attends this particular event, even if its for 5 minutes or the whole 3 hours. It was a hoot. The dessert bar was also fantastic- ice cream, toppings, fruit, cookies. We met up with some of the people that we met the night before. Kari said goodnight and I stayed to hit some of the jam rooms with my new friends. If its anything I've learned from these types of events its that I will surely talk to anyone... if you can imagine. how precocious. Anyhow, we walked into this jam room and it was kind of dying. This one girl was playing this slow depressing radiohead song on the piano- which the string players liked but everyone else was starting to clear out. So we took over- naturally. I hopped on the piano and in my best tribute to lisa rae, started with a little classic tunes with Ain't no Mountain High Enough going right into I Gotta Feeling == songs I could just pull out of the hat. But it changed the whole energy and other people got up and led songs and stuff like that. It was a lot of fun. I stayed until 2a when I remembered that I had to be up at 6.

Saturday - we woke up, begrudgingly, but opted to have a leisurely breakfast and skip the first session of the day. Then we went to a session on The Field Of Play and responding to clients within that framework. The Field of Play is a theory of music therapy created by Dr. Carolyn Kenny. It is pretty much the coolest thing I'd heard all weekend. I had read the book a while ago for a paper that I did at Chapman- but now I realize that I understood so little of it. The way the presenter explained it made so much sense- it made me really excited. Then I made Kari stay for the entire closing session because I wanted to see if I would win any door prizes. but I never win anything.

I am so glad that I went this weekend. It gave me new energy and it was fun to see a different region and to have that experience. We were all upset that our ITD could not come with us. I met a lot of great people and even some who are working in this area. There's one guy that I met who actually lives in the town where I work on Tuesday/Friday. He's going to show me the town- which I'm told consists of one bar and main street. I was excited to meet someone else (aside from Kari) who is close to my age and place in school that actually is in the area. It was nice to make some friends in this region. We'll see what happens. It was sort of weird starting out because everything was so different than the regional conference and people that I am used to. There were doppelgangers every where- meaning people who looked and acted like my friends in the Western Region. It was sort of wild. But at the heart of the whole thing, no matter what, the people are great and its always a good time at these sorts of gatherings. People are excited about what they do- even those who have been in the field for 30+ years. That is so encouraging to someone like me, someone just starting out on the journey. I could be one of those people who still loves their job 30 years from now. So the entire weekend is draining and tiring but I have come back with an increased understanding, new friends, and renewed energy. I love it.

Today I am looking forward to just resting and having some down time before the week begins. Its supposed to be a "normal" week. Its the week before Western Regional conference in Vegas so I know that I will have quite a bit to do in terms of making copies of things and getting my little ducks in a row. The great news about that is that Casey, my friend from Chapman who also transferred, has decided to come to conference! I'm so excited that she is going to be there. So I am taking today to just be zen before other conference stuff begins and end of the month paperwork!

I've got to eat a little snacky and unpack! Have a great Sunday everyone!