The Book of Love* - Part V

 My book list continues with a very lean month indeed!

This month we have moved house and I lost my job, so I have had a lot of other things to occupy my time other than reading. I have also been doing a bit of reading for my PhD, but I decided not to add those things to my book list early on because I thought it would just confuse the issue. (I am tempted to add some of those books this month however, but I will resist.)

21. House Rules - Jodi Picoult

sourced from google images

I find Jodi Picoult to be an easy read when things are stressful and there has also been a lot of press among the music therapy community about her latest book Sing You Home, which has a character that is a music therapist.

But I
I love it when you sing to me
And you
You can sing me anything

*The Book Of Love - Peter Gabriel

Happy Birthday* (... belated ... with lots of cake)

In all the confusion of this past month, what with moving house, losing my job, celebrating the special birthday of my beautiful partner, along with working and generally living ... I forgot to acknowledge the anniversary of my blog.

On May 2nd 2010, I wrote my first blog post

I started this blog to document the journey of my PhD. Those that have been reading along will remember the first few posts about where my interests lie as well as the beginnings of some thought processes. This was short lived as the study did not take off last year.

 I have returned to study this year, but it has been slow going with everything else that has been distracting me from it.

Regardless of this, I am pleased to have taken the leap and created this outlet for myself. I have covered a wide range of topics in the past 12 months, and have enjoyed getting the feel for my own writing as well as sharing some of the fun times and inner thoughts.

Thanks for coming on the journey. I hope it will continue and with some more dedicated time, will expand and be true to the reason I began. I also have a goal for the next 12 blogging months to become more involved in my blogging community, so watch out for me commenting all over the place!

Anyway Happy Birthday little blog. Onwards to Becoming Dr Doc...

Fly me
Out the window.
Somewhere far away
news on the radio happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday

*Happy Birthday - Concrete Blonde

Making Your Mind Up*

Even with all the events that have taken place in the last few weeks, I have managed to make some slight progress with my study.

I realised (with the help of my supervisor) that I was taking on too much. I wanted to try and understand the process that occurs for groups or individuals within a community music therapy session or throughout a community cultural development project. I got quite stuck on this for a while and then I realised this had taken me away from my original objective when I began, which was to find a way to ensure the voices of vulnerable individuals and communities are present in evaluation.

I had to decide which of the two areas interested me most, and giving voice really came out on top for me. So my working (still to be refined) research question is:

How can we ensure the voices of vulnerable individuals or communities are present in evaluation?

There will be some sub questions that will need to be addressed in order to answer the question, but I am working on what these are and how many of my questions are important. (something for another post I think)

For now I am working on my epoche, which is an interesting experience as it lays out plainly what has led me to this question and which of my values influences me in the way I approach my work. 

You gotta play around
And soon you will find
That there comes a time
For making your mind up

dont let your indecision take you from behind
trust your inner vision
dont let others change your mind

*Making Your Mind Up - Bucks Fizz

Across The Universe*

Dear Universe

Thanks heaps for the lovely new house to move into next week...

 

Does it mean you have to take something away?

The last week has been a major rollercoaster. We got a new house to rent and it is lovely and in the area we wanted. Three days later, I found out that due to funding, I will not have a job after June!

What can you do? I do trust the universe and I always put my wishes out there, so now I have to trust the universe has plans for me that include a fantastic job in my very near future.

Breathe...

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me 

 *Across the Universe - The Beatles

Bat out of Hell*

Photos from my walk this afternoon

I was actually running along when I took this shot not that you can tell!

It's a bat colony next to the river

 Like a bat out of hell

I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you

*Bat out of Hell - Meatloaf

The Book of Love* - Part IV

I have been joining in with somewhere along a winding path to count the number of books I read in a year. I recently tried to link back to the book list at the above blog via the blog button and then by going straight to the blog. It appears the blog has been closed.

I am enjoying myself however and will continue to record what I am reading each month. I have also put a list on my side bar.

15. The Weight of Silence - Heather Gudenkauf

sourced from google images

16. Golden Buddha - Clive Cussler

sourced from google images

17. Bird by Bird - Anne Lamott

sourced from google images

This was a great little book and very inspiring and quick and easy to read. It made writing a novel seem easy! I know it isn't, but I thought I could do it if I really wanted to. I found heaps of things that I can apply to writing my thesis, and am putting them into practice already. I highly recommend this book to those that are writing no matter what it is. I have had the kernel of an idea for a children's book for a few years, and it also helped to flesh this out a little - even if I should be writing my thesis, not a children's book!

18. The Brain that Changes Itself - Norman Doidge

sourced from google images

I had started this book last year, but I didn't get very far. It is a really interesting book about brain processes, and how we can always build new pathways. I knew that it was possible to build different neural pathways having worked in brain injury rehabilitation as a music therapist, and knowing that  music is a medium that can assist the brain to do this.

19. The Innocent Man - John Grisham

sourced from google images

This is John Grisham's first true crime novel. It is well written and an interesting account of the events that happened in a little town called Ada in Oklahoma, in the 1980's.

20. Today's Best Non Fiction -  Readers Digest

sourced from google images

This is a book of 5 non fiction stories

• The Railway Man - Eric Lomax. This story is about a young man who loved trains and was a POW during the second world war. The story described his torture and life following.
• A Plague of Caterpillars - Nigel Barley. This story describes the circumcision ritual of the Dowayo people in Cameroon.
• Katharine Hepburn - Barbara Leaming. An interesting biography that examines Katharine Hepburn's life from the perspective of her family.
• The Romanovs - Robert K. Massie. Describes the end of the Romanov family
• Raising Lazarus - Robert Pensack, MD & Dwight Williams. This is a first hand experience of a heart attack and the aftermath.

Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb

*The Book of Love - Peter Gabriel

Home Among The Gum Trees*

The Time has come!

It's definitely time to move!

After this and this, then this and this.

We have been back and forth many times about whether to move or whether to stay, we have been told by our landlords (who have sold the house and are waiting to settle) that the new owners want vacant possession. We are not sure if they can legally do that at this point, but what we know is that we will have to move. I might be in 60 days, or it might be in 120 days, but whatever happens the outcome is determined now.

In one way it is good because we have flip flopped about the decision so many times since last august when we found out the house was to be sold. I kept saying the time was not right. 

Well guess what - the time is right now. We are excited and tomorrow will be spent looking at potential rental properties. We want to move as soon as we can, and begin a new phase in our lives. It is exciting. There have been a few changes lately that have been pointing to this and now we can see our way to moving.

Bring it on!

Give me a home among the gumtrees
With lots of plum trees
A sheep or two, a k-kangaroo
A clothesline out the back
Verandah out the front
And an old rocking chair 

*Home among the Gum Trees - John Williamson