I spend way too much time on the computer. I live alone, and I live in a new city. I don't many people. So as soon as I get home, I check email, and surf the 'Net. It's addictive. I love the concept of the world being at my fingertips. I just type in a word, and off I go to Italy, or England, or to read classic novels, and listen to music.
I have some favorite sites that I return to again and again. Since I love to cook, I check out lots of recipe sites. One of my favorites is Hungry Monster. One can find recipes, restaurant reviews, and lots of other useful information about food. You can even submit recipes.
As a music therapist, my passion is music (one of them anyway!) So I check Overstock.com when I want to order a CD. Overstock has a good selection of classical, delta blues, and hard-to-find genres. I have listened to Internet radio for several years now. I recently discovered a great site--Live 365. This site carries stations for every genre imaginable--literally thousands of stations! And it's free! Check this one out!
My other passion is the printed word. It was love at first sight when my sister introduced me to Classic Reader. Here you will find literary works that have passed into the public domain. It's a reader's paradise. I am working my way through Louisa May Alcott. That good lady's wholesome fare does a body good! Or it does mine at least. One will also find Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, and Mark Twain just to mention a few. I am in Chapter 4 of Twain's "Roughing It". What a fabulous writer he was! I wish I could be 1/20th the storyteller he was.
So you know what I will be doing this evening. Who knows where my fingers will take me--Yours, Fannie Ryan

So what's next? I moved to Nashville almost two months ago, and have been working in a music therapy-related field. This is what I worked toward for years. Was it worth it? Yes! I love what I do. I love my clients. They are the reason I drag my butt to work every day. It sure ain't for the money. And I would like more opportunities for hands-on stuff with clients. I spend a goodly portion of my day in meetings that get bogged down in minutia, and doing paper work. Such is life when most of your clients are served my Medicaid. I have come to the conclusion that Medicaid exists for one purpose, and that is to take the life of innocent trees! I stay buried in paper most of the time. My work is rewarding because what I do matters to my clients.
I shouldn't make comparisons between where I am now and the facility where I did my internship. But folks at the old place make quite a bit more than I do and I do about 3 times as much work. And I still don't get to do much hands-on stuff. A regular lunch hour would be appreciated as well. But no one else gets one, so I won't complain about that. There are a lot of things I would change if it were possible. But I can't, so I pray the "Serenity Prayer" a lot. And I also pray, as Father Tim in Jan Karon's Mitford Series does, "the prayer that never fails"--"thy will be done". Things may not be perfect, and no situation is. But God is teaching me about serving Him where I am, and remembering that my work is my calling. And while I don't know why He put me here, I am, as a good friend reminded me, strategically placed by God where He wants me. I will continue to seek Him about what He wants me to do, and ask Him to reveal His purpose for me here. And I will strive to give thanks for all things and be content in all things. And most of all, trust God with my future. I must remember that there is joy in the journey! Yours, Fannie Ryan