Oooh Christmas

please christmas don't delay!!

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/tabletop-shuffleboard

this would support my new fascination.

Hey... its a sport, right?

Wedding Registries

One day while I was working at the SD County Fair, I stormed into Holly's office and said:

"If I had a blog where I wrote about how I see the world, today's topic would be all about wedding registries."

Today's post is about wedding registries. When I said the above statement, I was getting ready for 2 weddings that summer. It was my first experience with a wedding registry and gift buying and it drove me bonkers. Some close friends are tying the knot early next year and its time to start perusing their registry in prep for the big day.

Nevermind that many of my friends my own age are engaged, getting married, and/or already married. Nevermind that topic. :)

Wedding registries make me absolutely crazy. I understand its for the couple as they start their life together. They need a set of plates and serving dishes, a meat tenderizer, a stainless steel garlic press and muffin tins. What really gets me is how much you have to pay.

You mean I could pay $60 for a cheese board? $15 for an ice cream scoop? $40 for a pan (for a couple that doesn't cook)? All the way up to... $299 for camping gear (how often do they go camping)? how much for luggage?

Holy Toledo. Side note: I never understood the saying Holy Toledo. I've driven through the heart of Toledo (an accident but it happened). It isn't very glamorous.

In the meantime, I've decided to go with something a little more original, useful and not on the registry. :) That's how I roll.

A Little Philosophy

We had a nice Thanksgiving and wonderfully delicious dinner and time with family. In the meantime, I've picked up my music therapy books again. I'm getting materials ready just in case I get that interview and in addition to playing and practicing, I'm trying to keep my mind sharp. So I picked up this book.

"The Inner Nature of Music and the Experience of Tone." It's a collection of lectures by Rudolf Steiner - a philsopher who greatly influenced Paul Nordoff's idea of tone and (as I'm finding out) music therapy, use of the voice in therapy and composition.

its a fabulous book. some of its a little out there in terms of what he thinks about existence and consciousness. But the stuff on tone is amazing. Anyhow, I read this lecture today where he talks on and on about vowels vs. consonants.

Vowels, he says, is the connection to the spirit, to the experience of the more primitive stuff- raw emotions

Consonants are like the body, the instruments.

The vowels (or breath) pushes against the consonants in everything- they go side by side but they also dissolve into one another. He also says that when you go from earthly being to something greater, the consonants disappear and you are left with vowels, with one song, one universal song. It reminded me of a sort of Music of Spheres kind of idea. He says that speech is like the consonant and it derived from singing (the vowel)-- so that our original form of communication happened in song. So when we sing we go back to communicating on the level of vowels, of spirit, of beauty, of the aesthetic, of the raw emotions. Its a longing of wanting that spiritual connection back. Similarly, Nordoff emphasized the importance of creating melodies that mimic speech- in intonation, pitches and rhythm! pretty cool.

"When man speaks, he makes use of his body: the consonant element in him becomes the sculptural form of the body; and the stream of breath, which does not pass into solid, sculptural form, is used by the soul to play on this bodily instrument."

Anyhow. He brings it all together at the end (at which point I got really excited) and says, "if on extracts from the human being the breath, which the should makes use of in order to play on the instrument in song, ... the art of music, of song, arises." This made me think. The consonant or the body is like the container for the spirit (much like the therapeutic relationship is a container). The breath, the song is that direct connection to something greater. So I'm pondering on this and keep reading and he says this:

"Two types of spiritual beings fuse their activities. One brings forth and shapes the instrument, the other plays on the instrument." FUSE! FUSION! a bringing to together of the instrument (body) and player (soul/person). Sort of like INTEGRATION --- like what Nordoff and Robbins say (in their first book!) that in music the person becomes organized and integrated in their musical activity and it becomes the doorway to something more, to a peak experience, to a new awareness of themselves, a sense of accomplishment, a new connection.

I got really excited about that. That breathe and spirit connection to the body (the here and now) in someone that is wanting that (for whatever reason or goal) that's the beauty at the core and at the center of being! Thats when we see a client come alive in the music. He/She is connected to what/who they are on that deeper "more primitive" essential level.

Whoa.

Then I got more excited because as I was thinking of that quote: "Two types of spiritual beings fuse their activities. One brings forth and shapes the instrument, the other plays on the instrument." FUSION. Two Types of beings fuse their activities. Maybe it exists on a more "literal" level in music therapy. Maybe the role of the therapist is the being who brings forth and shapes the instrument (the person, the experiences) and the other who plays is the client.

That means that its our job to create opportunities for the player to play and get the most out of their instrument. Its our job to create opportunities for the player to discover all of the sounds and manners in which to play. Its our job to create opportunities for the player to find delight and joy in fusing together with another person, and additionally, fusing together with the music. It says nothing about the two beings making each other do a certain thing. Its simply a fusion, an opportunity, a moment. You can't make a client choose to fuse or choose to change or choose to try something. its ultimately their choice. BUT we can constantly bring forth opportunities and shape moments that are conducive to developing the instrument, song, client, moment.

Man. this is cool stuff.

Ravioli Fest 2010 pt. 2

Okay.

Spread filling on one half of the dough. You fold the other half over.

The small rolling pin is the form. That makes all the little squares.

That's about 160 ravioli (give or take a few).

The special cutters seal the edges and voila.

We then place them on cookie sheets lined with parchment and pop them in the freezer.

We rolled 6 batches and made about 1,050 ravioli. It is exhausting and a ton of work, but it is completely worth it!

Ravioli Fest 2010 pt. 1

The set up:

The cuisinart, tons of flour and some other stuff. We made 6 batches.

Usually my sissy makes the dough. It's her job and she always makes perfect dough. It took us a couple of batches to get the balance just right.

The other part of the set up includes the ravioli board and pins.

The board was my grandmother's and it came across the isthmus on the back of a donkey a really long time ago.

I got the full story from Dad--- its a seasonal favorite. Just ask.

the dough has to rest a while before you can roll it out.

Rolling it out is more of a stretching process. you have to get the dough big enough to put stuffing on half of it. You stretch it out around the long rolling pin and roll the pin (haha rolling pin) to make the flour fly. I'm not sure the exact reason, but its pretty awesome.

Check out this beauty. I did this one.

My Day at the VA

Hey y'all. (That was in my best Paula Deen voice)

Today I observed a music therapist at the VA in Menlo Park. My Aunt's friend currently volunteers for the music therapy group there. And boy, is it a hoot! The vets were fabulous and there are some characters in the group. It was nice to see music therapy in that form and it was nice to see the vets enjoying themselves, singing and participating in the conversation. I had a lot of fun interacting with them.

I had a chance to have lunch with the music therapist and talk with her about how she got her job, where she started, school and difference in thought. We do things very differently. She was really nice and actually has a connection to another music therapist that I plan on meeting with next week! Small World around here apparently. It made us both laugh.

Speaking of laughs... there are some funny music therapy comics out there. Placebo Domingo... hardy har har.

The big ravioli day pictures will be coming up soon. We've been busy here in our house.

Coming soon!

New Motivation

Okay. So.

Its been a busy few days.

I met with a family friend and from that got a ton of ideas, a few more contacts, and a brand new degree of motivation. I really need to start building my network around here, starting with music therapists in the area. They have been hard to find and there has to be a few more that are hiding. I've been working on that. I've emailed a few people to see if they would be available to meet and/or talk. So far, I've gotten 2 yeses. That's a good thing.

My sister is building me a website for all of my therapy stuff--- and eventually my piano stuff. I want people to search for music therapy and have my name come up. Its going to look really nice. Yesterday (while I was listening to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Audio Book) I did a ton of copy to send to her. I've been looking at websites I like and websites I don't like. I have to admit, that has been fun.

I am however, looking for a great domain name for my website. Something with "music therapy" in it- like a business name kind of thing. So far the best idea I have had is "laurenisawesome.com" Apparently that isn't appropriate. A lot of people use their name like Lauren Bevilacqua Music Therapy Services... BUT how easy is it to misspell bevilacqua? KB was thinking maybe: laurenmtbc.com But we were also concerned about random letters....

So I am officially opening it up to you all at this time. Calling all of you creative people out there!

One other thing- I am very close to getting a meeting at a private organization that provides education for kids with disabilities. I got connected through my friend's mom who is currently a teacher there. She took one of my cards last weekend to bring into work and yesterday (!) I got an email back asking for my resume. I guess this place is interviewing a few candidates in the next few weeks. I am hoping to just score a meeting with the organization to show them my stuff and trying to remain optimistic, but realistic about the whole thing. So happy thoughts that I might get this meeting/interview.

I accomplished a lot yesterday- my room is clean and laundry is just about done. Its made a difference in my productivity (case in point- yesterday) and I feel like I am better able to take care of business. After all of my work yesterday, I am celebrating this morning by taking my dad to go see Harry Potter. Hmm... maybe its more for me. :)

Have a wonderful Friday and relaxing weekend!