Wednesday: Here it Comes Around...Again and Again and Again...

It is Wednesday. This is my busiest day of the work week, and I have so many other things to get finished right at the moment that I am a bit overwhelmed. In addition, there are other people messing around with things that they should not be messing with, so I have to untangle their messes on top of the ones that I have going. 

Now, I am not perfect, by any means at all, BUT - life is a bit easier when people leave me alone to do my jobs!! Most of my frustration at this time of year comes from other people doing things that are my jobs - and doing those jobs WRONG!! So, I am someone who prefers to work on my tasks without the interference of others, but that's not today's topic. 

Today is all about Wednesdays and how things seem to happen over and over again. I don't have much time to write because getting out of bed was challenging this morning. This happens quite often on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Today, I am thinking that I want to take the trash and recycling out when I am finished with my first job before heading to my second job, so that will mean some time at home. When this happens, I tend to eat at home rather than getting fast food, so I might use my fast food token for this morning instead of this evening. Yep, I regulate how many times I can get fast food per week - two is the utmost limit, and I usually go on Wednesdays and Sundays for that easy fix. On the other hand, if I wait until later this week, I can do something out of the routine. First, though, I have to get through today's sessions.

Today is group heavy. I have six groups to lead today and some of them are second groups in the week while others are first groups in the week. Since I see most of my students twice per week, I have to figure out things for them to do each time they come into the session. When I have split days like today, it means that I have four distinct types of sessions to do.

This is NOT how I used to arrange my schedule, by the way, and it is NOT how I would arrange my schedule if I was allowed to put my own together. I would not have classes two days in a row. I would have first sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays and second sessions on Wednesdays and Thursdays. That sort of schedule makes it easier for me to strategize. The Art Therapist does the same things in each of the two sessions that she has, so having the same students two days in a row is not an issue for her. It is for me, but no one will change to accommodate my needs. I am just expected to change to accommodate their needs. (I am a bit bitter right now about this.) Anyway, after today, I will have completed 14 sessions and will only have five left for the next two days. The way this schedule is set up is ridiculous, but I am hoping that it will change. We will see.

It is time to head upstairs to get dressed and head out into the world. We are waiting for some rain to head into our area this evening, but the temperatures are higher than usual for this time of year and the snow from last month has left us completely. It is really nice, but I know that winter is not over. I still have my go bags in my car and office, just in case.

I hope that tomorrow's post will be more pithy, but who knows?? I am tired right now, so it may just be more babbling... see you then?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear AMTA

Dear American Music Therapy Association: I am debating long and hard about remaining in this relationship. I have been in this relationship since college, and this is not a decision that I am taking lightly or without great cost.  I am not happy with what you are bringing to this relationship. Now, I have been a selfish partner over the past several years - mainly because I am not feeling like we share a common mission anymore. It is easy for me to place the blame on you, but I know that this is not all on me. I have tried to be invested in communication and support and understanding, but everyone comes to a time where enough is enough. I am trying very hard to decide if the benefits that you provide to me are worth the feelings that I have about where I think you and I are going. I am not sure that our destination is the same anymore, and this makes me sad. To be completely honest, I am only in this relationship these days for the music therapy interns. I don't think that is a hea...
Read more

Songwriting Sunday: Repetition

Image
One of the things that I find to be helpful with my client population (children, adolescents, and young adults with dual diagnoses) is repetition of phrases, lyrics, and music. As a result of 30+ years of working with this population in various iterations, I have found that my clients respond the most to songs with three repeated phrases to prime their responses with a different phrase to communicate the important part of the experience. DISCLAIMER: This is not a definite way to write music for clinical interactions. This is what seems to work well with my particular group of human beings. Don't go to your supervisors and tell them that I told you that this is the ONLY way to write music - It is NOT! You have to find what works for your clients and for their clinical goals. Since my clients respond well to this type of song, I tend to write songs in this format more than any other. What I have found is that my clients remember these songs more than the ones that I do in different f...
Read more

Being An Internship Director: On Hiatus

Image
It has been long enough since I have had an intern that I am seriously feeling like I have little to say on the subject. At the same time, I am currently writing Chapter 5 of my general internship handbook, so I am able to write about being an intern and what types of things to think about during this important time in our professional development. It is a strange place to be in, and it is one that is a bit challenging for me. Right now, I have had three vacant internship positions since the beginning of the calendar year. I will have a vacant position next month and that will be an entire year of rejected offers. In the past nine months, I have offered positions to three applicants who have declined. It is interesting how people complain that there aren't enough internship programs, but programs like mine are empty. I guess there aren't enough internship programs that pay large stipends (which mine cannot) out there. I get it. It is interesting to me how we have moved from an ...
Read more