Hit and Run

Woke up to this scene this morning. My boss is covering my morning session and I'm hoping to be out and about for my late morning and afternoon sessions. Eck.

There was a business card from the police.... they've already caught the jerk that hit my car and ran... they cited this person... AND the cop was very attractive. Perks to this otherwise lame morning.

SIT DOWN

Sit down you're rockinnnngg the boooatttt (insert four part harmony here).

Another evening of enduring tech rehearsal tonight with the 2nd cast.

What's that serenity prayer again?

Lord, grant me the serenity to change the things I can change,

to play the melody line REALLY loud

and to accept that it may not make a difference to some. :)

Okay--- so that may not be the actual prayer, but I find it mostly applicable.

Actually the kids are great and orchestra is fun to play with. We sit down in the pit and crack jokes, repeat lines, and enjoy ourselves. So far, its inspired a new catch-phrase: "Sha-doink." which comes from really bad jazz scatting. Try saying it out loud and not laughing.

I'm enjoying this experience more than I did in some of the shows I played in high school. I think its because my skills have grown so much since then. Its easier to put together the music (at least for me... with the exception of 4 bars in Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat) and hear where things are supposed to go and generally fake my way through (if needed).... but without feeling the general pressure of performance anxiety. Hit a wrong note? who cares... just keep moving.

and then laugh about it later.

I'm starting to really dive into my presentation today--- after saying that for the past week, its actually going to happen today. I swear. Probably. Hopefully. Most Likely......

Something in the water

I went to this wedding saturday and then two friends got engaged sunday. After some deductive reasoning, I realized there has to be something in the water. I will be running all of my beverages through filters for the next few years, thank you very much.

Although Julie and Nathalie's grandma did tell me (at the wedding) that she was praying for me that I find a nice boyfriend. I'm too "lovely" to have not had a date to the wedding. Apparently, her prayers are powerful (according to Julie). We had a good laugh. I guess Grandma has been trying to set up Julie for years.... currently its with her handsome trainer at the gym.

The wedding was fabulous. It was so good to see my second family and all the aunts and uncles (many of whom I've met over the years) and even see some people from high school. Although this one girl tried dragging me literally onto the dance floor. She was a big hot mess. Anyhow. Julie nailed the first dance song, despite only having time to run through it 2x before. And cocktail hour was a blast. I loved being the background music.

I was at a great table. The couples I was seated with weren't too couple-ly so it wasn't awkward and the band was pretty good. I stayed over to hang with Julie for the rest of the night, took a little 45 minute nap and rolled back into Gilroy around 7a. I don't think I've ever come home from something like that so early in the morning. It was a blast. I slept the rest of the morning and was a couch potato the rest of the afternoon. There were no major snafus and very little drama. Everyone had a great time.

Now that I am all caught up on my sleep... I can focus on my presentation stuff today. And I think I might make some gnocchi. I am looking for a good recipe. Hope most of you are enjoying a relaxing day off!

Your comments have been heard

Sorry folks. I know I said I'd update Monday or Tuesday about my incredibly long day on Sunday.... and its already Friday. My Bad.

Sunday was tiresome with four sessions plus a 3 hour rehearsal. Monday I didn't do anything. Tuesday and Wednesday I practiced and started working on my presentation for upcoming in-services.

Thursday I had a piano lesson and then rushed up to SJ for a run through with the cast and then on up to Julie's to rehearse for her sister's wedding (which occurs tomorrow). I am pretty beat. Tonight we rehearse with the other cast (there are 2).

Anyhow.

Sunday was great. I feel more confident running my sessions and even spent more time than usual planning. I had this great valentines day type of thing going on for one session... and it was going pretty well until 3 out of the 5 people in that particular group were picked up. Soo... the plan went out the window. I am used to that by now... but it still surprises me. Oh well. There's just one session- my last of the afternoon-- that I still feel like I'm not quite doing anything. I am going to brainstorm with my boss and see what she thinks.

I am really enjoying the individual sessions. The client is amazing and works hard to participate. You can't really ask for much more than that. The parents are extremely supportive as well. It makes it extremely enjoyable.

Its nice to be a professional.

On the school front: I have two in-services scheduled! The in-services are scheduled sort of close together which is nice. I have just a couple of weeks. I have put together most of the ppt for the school.... the preschool is another story. I haven't quite decide what I want to do there---aside from really demonstrating age appropriate interventions. Once this weekend is over... I am really going to start refining and polishing and run throughs. Its in the practice giving the demonstrations that I figure out which information can stay, what needs to be cut and what should be added. Sigh. Plus its going to take some time for find some good interventions for the preschool--- that is definitely out of my current range of experience.

for the in-services, my hope is that this opens the door to further talks and workshops. The assistant executive director told me that they were talking with a few other therapists in the area... so I guess my out of this world hope is that they decide that I am the best fit for their program and take it from there.

Ideally I would love to work there fulltime. It's an incredible organization. But baby steps.

I will try and update more regularly, especially as I put together my presentations. I hope to really describe the whole process.

In the meantime, I have to get ready for rehearsal. This includes making sure I have all my cords and things... plus a box of girl scout cookies and a sandwich for intermission. We all know that if I don't eat something that some little kid in a gangster suit and fedora may be in danger if they get too close. ;) Actually the kids are awfully cute and the musicians in the pit are great. I'm having a lot of fun with it. Okay. Off I go.

Crazy Busy Day

Good morning all you early risers!

Today I have:

9:30a Session

11:15a Session

12:15 - Lunch

1p Session

3p Session

Quick Dinner

6p Rehearsal.....

Not sure when rehearsal ends.... what a long day. It should be interesting. The past few Sundays and Mondays, I've come home exhausted.... so now I will be tired and going to rehearsal where I will definitely have to pay attention. I think it will be ok only because I love being in that type of setting and its been awhile since I've been able to play theater.... so I think my excitement will give me just enough adrenaline to focus. :)

I will have a full update on monday..... or tuesday. :) Have a great sunday!!!

Woo hoo!!

The meeting went very well!

We are going to schedule not just One In-service but TWO In-services in the next month= one at the main school and one at the preschool.

The person I met with made it sooo easy. I felt very comfortable talking with her and touring the facility. It'd be a wonderful and amazing place to work. We'll see how this thing evolves.

I am extremely excited to be moving forward. Now I've got to create the inservice materials and presentation and really think about what I want from this whole relationship.

I do like thinking. I've already put together some drafts of what I'd like to say and highlight and I made some progress today..... but for now.... I'll get back to it tomorrow.

Soooo..... I doubled my realistic expectations. Not bad for just a meeting!

Study Time

Hello everyone

Well. Tomorrow is a big day. I have a meeting with the school that I originally approached back in December. They told me, "wow you're resume looks great.... but we've been talking with someone else. If something changes, we'll let you know." A week or two ago, they emailed me and said, "things changed. would you be interested in meeting with us/me (its one lady)?" To which I replied, YYESSSS-- but in more professional phrases.

Tomorrow I have an appointment there to meet and tour the facility! I am nervous and excited. And if we were in a sondheim musical, I'd be "excited and scared." Thank you, Into the Woods. I digress and I also just ate something off of my desk. Thank goodness it was a little piece of chocolate. I guess I should get a snack.

Anyhow! I've got my resume printed and a short powerpoint on music therapy and the way I see it and why it is absolutely congruent with the organization's existing mission and vision. I wanted to create something to leave there and outlined all of the ways that I differ from other therapists in the area. I think I've got a few things up on some other people. For example:

1). I'm a local girl who knows what community means. I've got the garlic festival t-shirts and badges to prove it.

2). I have experience working in a unique model of therapy that is not used often in this area

3). I'm young and fresh out of school (not always what people are looking for, but after discussing with Ty, I see it as a plus). I am looking for a place to grow and an organization to grow into. I'm not set in my ways and all about the creative problem solving.

4). I'm pretty awesome.

My hope for this meeting is to solidify the relationship with the facility and assistant executive director. I want to make a good impression so that they want to find out more and invite me back for an inservice. Thats my realistic goal for this meeting. Thinking outside of the box- I want them to love me so much that they hire me full time and with benefits. Wishful, yes. But I think its good to have high aspirations.... as long as there are also realistic goals to anchor. Its good to be grounded. To some degree, I think its dangerous to expect too much and also to expect too little. So I'm going into it with an open mind and aim to take the next baby step (instead of a gargantuan leap). Unless they want to leap.... then that is okay with me. :)

I'll be looking over my notes and the website for the rest of the evening and trying to sleep. I don't often sleep when I'm excited about something. I'm like that kid in the Disney commercials "But I"m toooo exxcitted to sleep!" Just like that.

I will keep you all posted on my first impressions and thoughts after my meeting tomorrow. Woo. Send me some good vibes if you have the time!

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In other news, I had 3 sessions yesterday. Fantastic but exhausting. I think I am getting back into the swing of facilitating large groups. I haven't really done that kind of stuff since school practicum classes, so it feels like a little bit of a stretch for me. Its a good stretch. I feel like the more variation in experiences that I encounter, the more well rounded and awesome I become (I think that sentence made more sense in my head). :) Its not exactly what I had in mind, but I am enjoying it. Its good to be working (and in my chosen field!) and to be making a little bit of money.

Time to get organized and of course, pick out my outfit for tomorrow! :)

Stay tuned.

And I'm back

I am back from another high school retreat and I am tired. Geez. It was a nice experience again.

What I really want to write about today is something relating to music therapy that I had never experienced before.

When we go through school, we are taught to value the idea of closure. In the 12 week practicum experiences, we were taught that preparing for termination begins day 1. That helps to give the clients a time frame for how long you will be in their lives, how often and what you will be doing. That is important. You don't want the client to be surprised when services have ended. This is really the main concern. But I guess a secondary concern is the therapist's perception of closure and preparing to gain closure.

Closure is extremely important.

In preparing for finishing up internship, we talked a lot about closure. I left with closure on multiple accounts. I left feeling pretty good about my whole time in new york. My friends and relationship, work, and everything I'd learned. What a wonderful little snippet in the timeline of my life.

While on retreat this weekend, I (and 13 other interns) received an email from my internship director to report on the health of one of my clients. This client is beloved by all- such a character. This person always kept us laughing and teaching us new things..... what a wonderful teacher. The email described a sort of freak accident relating to the health of this client and that it wouldn't be long before this client passed away. In fact, this person was probably going pass today or tomorrow. I'd never known one of my clients to die.

I was shocked when I read this. Of course, it was 1a the first night of the retreat and the kids had just "gone to bed" (which we all know means the doors were closed and all the chit-chatting had been reduced to hushed tones). This certainly made the retreat experience a little different for me as I thought about how I felt about the news. I was horribly upset at first. This person wasn't young by any means, but the sudden change is saddening. I think that you always remember your clients how they were when you worked with them. Knowing that this isn't the case anymore I think is the saddest part.

Grief, to me, is any sort of loss. It ranges from losing something material to losing a loved one. I don't think it ever fully goes away, but just becomes less over time. Although the initial shock it what I am reacting to most, I know that my life and training are better for having worked with this particular person. And that there are a lot of other people, including the special club of 14 interns that worked with this person, my ITD and other staff there, that are shocked too. In the meantime, Kari and I are putting together a little remembrance about this client for the upcoming service. I feel good about it and like I can smile and be happy remembering all of the hilarity that happened during sessions and our interactions together.

The retreat was great. Good kids again and great leaders. I feel lucky for being able to go on it again. But I am exhausted! I work monday (3 sessions whoo hooo) and I must fit most of my planning in tomorrow. Oops. :) This month will be busy including a few more hours and children's theater. But I am looking forward to it!