Conference Updates and Going Old School

Last year's conference haul - what will I get this year??

I am at the American Music Therapy Association national conference right now. I am sitting in my room, eating leftover pizza, and trying to figure out what I am going to do with my day.

I went through the conference schedule on the website quite a bit ago, and I wrote a list of presentations that interested me on (wait for it!) a 4X6 inch INDEX CARD!! I do not use the conference app that we have now, mainly because I don't use my phone that much. I'm sure I'm missing out on something, but I'm content with my old school ways of doing things.

On my [Ahem] index card, I have two choices for this morning - either attending A Quick Reference Guide to Solution-Focused Lyric Analysis in Psychosocial Music Therapy Treatment or Effective Practicum Supervision Using the Integrative Developmental Model. Both interest me, especially from a model/protocol/procedure point of view, but I can only be in one place at a time, so I have to decide where to go and what to do. After I choose my one presentation to attend this morning, I'll be going to the exhibit hall because we have one presentation and then the keynote speech and a business meeting. After that, we have various other things, but there are no more concurrent sessions until 2:15 when I'll be attending Private Practice Workshop: Effective Strategies to Grow Your Practice Without Fear. The next session on my list is Cultural Humility in Supervision, and I plan on finishing my day out with Ditching the Last Presentation of the Day Because I'll Be Absolutely Exhausted! (Don't look for that one in your conference app - the best thing about going old school is that I get to make up my own conference presentation titles for my index card!!)

There are TONS of things to do at conference, and I opt out of most of them. This is usually because I am tired after sitting and listening all day. This evening there are hootenannies (their word, not mine!), dance parties, and concerts, and all. I know myself and my limitations, though, so I'll crawl up to my room, finish up my presentation for Sunday morning, and spend some time in the quiet.

Anyway, I am going to go into the conference world and sit down with my note book and use my pen to write things down. I may spend some time with my laptop but I doubt it. I need to go out to the car to get the rest of my stuff - I have some snacks and several things (like my hairbrush) that I need to get, so I'll be leaving for a bit to get stuff. (I'm also going to find myself that In-N-Out Burger!) For the moment, though, I am going to take my shower, get dressed up in my grown-up, professional clothing, and head out into the world of music therapy professional thought and learning. See you there!