Catch Ya On the Flip Side

For the next week, my blogging schedule will be all cattywampus (Yes, spell-check, I really do mean what I say - cattywampus - not campus!). If you are looking forward to a new therapeutic music experience (TME) tomorrow, you will be disappointed as there will be no new TME for at least a week. Instead, there will be some thoughts and musings from my experiences at the AMTA conference.

I am ready, I think, for all of the happenings that will happen at the conference. It is amazing how much time, effort, and energy goes into this time every year. The AMTA National Office staff is already at the hotel, trying to get things coordinated and organized for us. The hotel is probably not only coordinating our arrival but is probably also working with another conference going on. (That seems to happen quite frequently around our conferences.) Anyway, rest assured that the conference will go off well due in large part to the dedication of the AMTA National Office staff members who work REALLY hard to make it happen.

I'm trying to coordinate my own schedule of meetings, CMTEs, meetings, and more meetings. I wonder if I will get to go to any concurrent sessions this year? I thought I was going to, but then I got scheduled into another meeting, so who knows? For me, this time of music therapy immersion has turned into a time of working on challenging problems that face myself and my fellow music therapists in both the present and the future. Does that sound important? I think it is and really enjoy that part of my contribution to our profession. I enjoy serving on committees and boards and getting a peek into what is happening for music therapists brought on by music therapists. It is fascinating to me that there is SO much that goes on in our profession on a daily basis - so much that I am not aware of in my corner of the music therapy world. Conference is a good time to catch up on what's been happening.

I am sure that I will post several times during the conference, but I make no promises about being coherent, making any sense, or bringing you any information about what I've learned during this week. Conference tends to be a time that challenges my introversion, my energy, and my brain. I spend much of it trying to find some quiet time to think and ponder in between rushing from one place to another.

Last year, I was waiting for yet another meeting to start (I think it was the last meeting that I had scheduled). The meeting start time was right in the middle of a concurrent session time, so I opted not to go to a session (since I hate when people get up and leave during my sessions - I hate doing that to others). Instead, I found a sunny window with a tremendous view of both the river and the city of Jacksonville. I sat there with my computer, reviewing the information that I needed to know for the meeting, and simply enjoyed the sunshine. Several people walked past me and interacted with me, and I had a chance to just be for a while. I am hoping to find such a spot - a place where I can still be part of what is going on, but not be right in the middle of everything.

Hey, if you see me, feel free to say "hi" and chat for a bit. Please don't get upset if I have to leave the conversation to go to a meeting. I'll be back in my spot soon and really enjoy talking to others.

If I don't see you, I'll catch you on the flip side.