Posts

Fun Friday?? Well...

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I tried very hard to write something yesterday, but I hit an exhaustion wall and crashed against it, hard. I kept staring at the screen, trying to jumpstart my brain into thinking anything other than "I am so tired." So, no post yesterday. We will see if today will be any better. I am still tired, but not as bone weary as I was yesterday. It is Friday of the first week of school and the first week that I am back doing music therapy things. Today is my least busy session day. I only have two groups, but that is one more group than I had last year on Fridays. I hope that the new teacher in that group realizes that the schedule changed and didn't try to come in yesterday while I was sleeping. I would actually be find if we changed the schedule  to what it is during the summer, but I also figured that it was a good idea to follow the schedule as written for a bit. Today is payday, which means that my salary will make a quick stop in my account before heading back out into the...

Website Wednesday: Making a List

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I am currently without something to write about today because I have not made it to my list yet. In fact, I need to write a list of websites that I use often in my work as a music therapist. I wrote about TPT a couple of posts ago, and that is the only website I can think of right now. My brain is a bit scrambled. I am tired. I am not able to think things through these days. Most of this is due to the month off that I had to take for surgery. Some of it is due to having to get back into a work routine. Some of it is due to the fact that I am still in the midst of some medical questions. So, in order to make these Wednesday posts something to actually write about, I need a list of websites. Places that I go when I need resources. Any suggestions? Right now, all I can think about is the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue. This website has provided me with correct APA formatting for many years - I highly recommend that site for anyone who is having to write any sort of academic paper. If ...

Best Laid Plans

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Guess who had to miss the first two hours of work yesterday because she left the overhead lights on in her car and drained her battery? If you guessed me, then you are correct. I had all sorts of plans for those two hours, but I was not able to complete those plans. I started the first day with clients in a fog of frustration. The first session that actually happened (because I was five minutes late for a group that is almost ALWAYS 10 minutes late to the session but not yesterday!) was the one with "that client" and "that other client." They both made it through the session, doing the bare minimum, but NOT engaging in screaming, tantrums, or aggression. WIN!! I then finished the other three sessions on my schedule and poured myself into my car. The battery worked, so I went home. One of my specialists called last night and left a message. I have to call him today. That increases my stress level a bit, but I will do it so I know what is happening.  Anyway... I am go...

#MusicTherapyMaker - Finishing Projects Up

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I had lots of energy yesterday - don't know why and REALLY want to replicate that energy for always - so I finished several file folders that were just sitting and waiting for Velcro. That's all that they needed - Velcro on the folders, and they were finished. These are not resources for my students (who I get to work with again, starting today!), because they are just a bit too kid-like, but they will go into my resource room and inventory because they are finished.   I also loaded the dishwasher, went to pick up groceries for this week, read a book, ripped CDs to the computer, alphabetized the CD covers in the case, cooked a bit, made chicken salad with cranberries and almonds, and other things that I have neglected a bit. I am hoping that I will be able to walk when I get home after work, but who knows. I had absolutely no problem with my knees the entire time I was home, but now that I am back at work, I am hobbling around like my knees are 90 years old. I have no idea what...

Sunday Song: Fiona Apple - Criminal

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One of the advantages of going through my CD collection and ripping music to my computer is that I am being reminded of music that I have loved over my life and career. One of these songs is by Fiona Apple who was part of the "angry girl singer-songwriter" movement that happened at some point in my past. Criminal  is one of my favorites from Fiona Apple. Okay, let me explain something about me. I tend to find one song by an artist that resonates with me, and I then explore more of the music. I am not always impressed by the other songs that those artists share, but I have many CDs that I got because I wanted a copy of the one song that I love. I used to be part of a CD club - BMG got me many CDs for less than $2 each back when I was budgeting for everything - so I was able to find many of the songs that I loved back then for very little money. (I never really paid full price for any CD.) So, with Fiona Apple, I have a couple of songs that I like and more that I do not like as...

Things I Now Know About Music Therapy That I Wish I Had Realized Earlier in My Career

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I am a proudly vintage music therapist. I have been practicing music therapy for over 30 years now, and it has been an interesting journey. As I am getting ready to transition from a full-time school employee to retiring from that job to something new, I am thinking about all the things that I know now that I wish someone had told me earlier... One of the things that I wish I had been required to do was a introduction to business course. I am starting that process now, but I really wish I had been in the know for my entire career. I am now trying to learn about being a small business owner as I am trying to figure out my next steps. I knew, from the very beginning of my career, that I would never escape the question, "so, what is musical therapy, anyway?" I have had many different ways of explaining what I do, but it has always been interesting to see how people respond and what they ask about our profession. I should keep a tally of the times that I explain my job. That woul...

Frustration - Looking to Turn This Into a Fun Friday

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Oi. My return to work yesterday was frustrating from beginning to end.  The day started with a smooth trip to work. I traversed the 50 miles from my house to the facility parking lot without difficulty, and I entered the building to find my room pretty much the way I left it. For some reason, the stereo had been removed which negated about 50% of the sub plans that I had left. There were chairs everywhere, but no major holes in walls or things that looked too bad - at first glance. Later investigation revealed that someone had knocked over a soda or a cup of coffee on the top of one of my cabinets that was just left there, so there is now a thick residue there that I will have to figure out how to clean because I just cannot handle that sort of mess in my space. Okay, not a bad way to reenter the work space after a month being gone. I arrived 30 minutes early (of course) because I needed to go through my emails to see what we were going to be doing for the day. The calendar said th...