"Kids are dirt wrapped in noise"

I've never done a blog before, as you might eventually or very quickly notice. However, I thought it would be appropriate to start this as I go through this next, shall we say, "journey" through life. I have just moved to Carlsbad, CA for 6 months as I complete my undergraduate degree from Chapman. This includes a 6 month music therapy internship and a board certification exam before I am given the title as Brianna Shaffer MT-BC (Music Therapist-Board Certified). I am currently living with T's cousin, Erica and her three kids, 7-year old triplets: Jason, Zachary, and Kambria.

Well, today was my first day at my new internship. MusicWorx of CA is a non-paid internship out of Scripps Hospital, La Jolla. Yup--I said it, non-paid. Yippee. I will probably do more work during these next 6 months than I did in my 4 years of college. But--even though I don't sound excited NOW, I really am--and am looking forward to gaining knowledge, friendships, and the ability to grow as a musician and as a therapist.

Here is the link to my internship :)
http://www.musicworxofcalifornia.com/
I will be working in the NICU, in a Drug/Alcohol Abuse Rehab Center, on the Scripps hospital floors, with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and hospice.

So...today we had training from 8am-3:30pm at Scripps. This was basic training for ANY new employee at Scripps (RNs, technicians, coordinators, etc). The presenters were personable and interesting. While learning to properly wash our hands, the main gal was going on and on about how important it is to wash properly, don't forget your thumbs, etc etc when she said, "kids are dirt wrapped in noise". bahaha. I found this really funny and very true. Living with 3, 7-year olds has ALREADY proved to be noisy and as I thought about this quote, I realized how many germs children can carry. With 6 months of tough work in front of me I thought, "oh geeze...I don't want to get sick". Long story short: wash your hands for at least 15 seconds with soap.

Amazingly, the food was delicious, service was great, and I got a re-usable Scripps green grocery bag. Wow, I know. I also stole some extra snackies for future days when I need an extra pick-me-up.

Tomorrow, Intern Office at 9am.