Fun Friday: What Is Fun These Days??

Well, it is Friday again. This time next week, I will be at work, trying to figure out what I will be doing instead of going through the physical aspect of our behavior management system. I will still be a bit shy of my 6 week, no lifting requirement. Technically, that will be the week after, but I have to go back to work so I have a little bit of sick time left.

I am almost ready to return to my work life. I am feeling better, can move pretty well, but am still having some medical issues. I have to fit in some more tests and things to do before the start of the new benefits year. That reminds me - time to check the benefit sign-up process. It is time, so I have gone through that process and have the confirmation page proving that I have finished it all.

Today's challenge is to see if I can get an appointment with my primary care person to talk about some of the medical challenges that I have left before I head back to work. That means making phone calls to snippy medical professionals (at least, that's who ends up in my doctor's office - no one but snippy people. Let's knock that one off the to-do list. Oh, on hold... Will I get an appointment in the next week? Probably not, but there is always a chance.

On hold right now with the office.

No hold music.

Once I know when I can get in to see my primary care medical professional, I will know what is in store for me for the rest of the day. Perhaps I will work on my art journal - I have an idea. I know I will be eating something or the other. I have to take a shower at some point. I have plenty of things to pick up and put away in various places, but who knows if I will do any of that.

Still on hold. Still no hold music or anything to indicate that they know I am here... It's been three minutes. Four minutes.

I don't know about you, but I have lots of difficulty making phone calls. I am not the sort of person who just randomly calls friends and family members to chit-chat. I call my sister and my mother, and that's about all.

Five minutes. Six minutes...

This is not fun.

Today is supposed to be something fun. I might go see The Fantastic Four at the local theater. I have been waiting to go until the fervor has dwindled a bit, and I think this might be a good time. I like having several seats to myself, and it is very nice to have an entire row to myself. I doubt that will happen today, but you know, it might.

FINALLY, I have an appointment on Monday to discuss my recent medical issues with my medical provider. It is absolutely disgusting that there are limited appointments available for routine care. I got the Monday appointment because of a cancellation - if not for that, then there would not have been an appointment until September. How can that be?

Back to fun things. Now that I know that I have three days before my next medical appointment, I am going to do some more visual aids for use in my music therapy room. I will take some time to think about the tools that I need available to me and my clients for their communication of wants and needs.

That has really been my focus for the past school year - supporting communication. I want to continue this process into this upcoming school year. There is nothing wrong with increasing communication opportunities throughout the music therapy experience. My focus has been on making tools rather than songs, so having the quest of making some song-based TMEs with books as the theme is a good, creative challenge for myself.

My first book is going to be Llama, Llama Mad at Mama. Time to get going and design some stuff to go along with feeling angry, frustrated, and then finding our way back into understanding.

Now, as I am embarking on this quest, there are some things that need to be firmly established.

• I will NOT use any of the illustrations or words from the book other than in reading the book. This is an important thing to realize when using the work of others - you do not get to make money off the copyrighted work of other people!! So, since I intend on sharing these therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) with others and potentially make some money off the ideas, I cannot use that material.
• I WILL encourage music therapists to purchase their own copies of the book. Again, support fellow creators as much as possible.
• The TMEs that I design will have their own, original, and useful visuals that will supplement the book's themes and words. I like making visuals, so I will figure out ways to provide additional things for therapists to use in sessions to reinforce the concepts of the book.

Other than these elements, I am heading into TME design with an open mind and no preconceived notions about what I will end up doing. Let's see how this all works, together, okay?

I am going to head upstairs, get some breakfast, take my shower, and then start with reading the book - several times. After reading the book, I will sit down with my project book and start brainstorming!

After all that, it will be time to head to the theater for my movie. Fun Friday!!