Adjusting Flow

My Dad's a general contractor.  He's built houses and made renovations for folks all over Oahu.  Since I was eight years old up until my job as a Summer Fun leader at the YMCA, most of my time when no mo' school was spent working for Pops.

My job duties began with sweeping sawdusty floors, rolling extension cords, and picking up scrap lumber.  As I got older, I was able to "get promoted" to shoveling dirt, wheelbarrowing cement, and hauling plywood.  My last years working for my dad allowed me to do some simple framing and finishing carpentry.

It was a sucky job.

The one thing, though, that seemed to get me through the day was the music coming from the radio.

Music made the day go faster, offered spurts of motivation when the right song came on, and would facilitate that flow of whatever task the old man had me doing at the time.

I find that even today, music is still a big part of my flow when I'm caring for patients.

The iPod is just the greatest!  There's about 400 songs on my playlist that I labled Adjusting Flow that I set to shuffle and run over the Bose all day.

The playlist is eclectic.  I don't want to settle into just one type of groove-- one rhythm, one genre.  For one patient, I may be adjusting with Crosby, Stills and Nash in the background and the next song to come on may be some Arrested Development.

I do have some new age, relaxation music mixed in, but honestly, those offices that play that type of Yanni-Enya stuff all day-- I don't know how they keep their eyes open and their minds alert.

I'm about ready to end this entry and get ready for the start of my day.  Before I jet, let me give you an Adjusting Flow example.

I'll turn the iPod on, hit "shuffle songs" and these are the first 10 songs coming out of the speakers:

1. Juke Box Hero by Foreigner
2. Carly Rose by Ka'au Crater Boys
3. Honolulu City Lights by Kohala
4. Sara Smile by Daryl Hall and John Oates
5. Stand By Me by Ben E. King
6. 3 A.M. Eternal by The KLF
7. Bright Lights by Matchbox 20
8. Constellations (featuring Jack Johnson) by Kaukahi
9. Levon by Elton John
10. Roam by The B-52's