I was looking through McSweeney’s Internet Tendency for inspiration on a report I need to write, an unusual site with unusual humor. How could I pass up reading Love Letters of a Closed-Caption Editor and a Telegram Operator? I didn’t. It’s a quick and hilarious read.
The report I need to write can easily become a boring one, so I’m trying to find creative ways to write it and turn it into an enjoyable read.
Love Letters
Religious Services for the Deaf
I’ve always disliked going to services. I can’t follow and I am bored out of my mind. I’ve seen articles like At Synagogues, Services Open Doors for the Deaf as there are a few places that do this. It’s great. I admit a lot of the boredom is my own fault, but we also do the services in a foreign language that I barely read and understand. So sitting closer to the front doesn’t do a lot of good.
Why do I bother going to services? Because it’s the right thing to do. I’ve been going to services for important holidays and special events since I was a young’un, and it would feel wrong to stop going. I try to read a book on my religion while in services as a way of immersing myself into the religion.
Smoke Detectors
When I was six-years-old, I was in a full-fledged burning house fire at my grandparents’ house. Grandma and I were playing cards in the dining room while Grandpa was working in the kitchen, spiffying it up for the upcoming holiday.
One of my fondest memories of Grandma is our card games. I can’t remember the names of them all. There was casino (I think) where you added two cards to equal the amount on the third card. She was the only one I played this one with and I can’t recall how to play it anymore.
Back to the fire. Grandma heard Grandpa yell. I didn’t know what he said, but I heard his loud voice and looked to the direction of the short hallway that leads to the kitchen and saw an orange glow. I knew we needed to get out. I had to push the chair back hard because it was heavy and bigger than me. We headed in the opposite direction that took us to the front door.
Cowboy Who Is Deaf
Yee haw! Would you believe there is a person who is deaf that’s a cowboy? 19-year-old Clint Thomas competes in steer wrestling, calf roping, and team roping. He started competing when he was 10 years old and won the Georgia junior all-around.
How does a person get into the sport of rodeo? His dad was into the rodeo circuit and he has been around horses for all of his life. He learned how to tie a loop with a rope at the age of two. Ride ’em, Clint!
Conference Calls
From job one, I’ve had to deal with meetings by conference calls… long before travel became restricted due to tightening budgets and more technology. I recall attending a regularly-scheduled conference call meeting while working in the FAA.
I used the relay service to call in. It wasn’t easy. I felt sorry for the operator who got stuck with my call. The process didn’t last long. The people on the call knew each other, so there was little need to say your name before you spoke. The operator didn’t know, so I had to figure out for myself based on what the person said. Of course, the operator couldn’t type everything word for word as human conversation went too fast for their hands.
Children's Audio Books
I mentioned before I had been looking for audio of children’s books and I didn’t want Winnie the Pooh or Disney. BTW, John Fielder, the voice of Piglet passed away. Anyway, I got Dr. Seuss CDs: Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
I figured out many of the phrases from reading the books over and over to my three kids especially Hop on Pop, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and Green Eggs and Ham. They’re good CDs. My only qualm is the CD itself and the lack of a front cover. Neither has a cover! But they do have a back cover, go figure. Both have two CDs in the set and it took me a while to figure out how to reach the second CD. It is not your typical two-CD case.
I also have the audio Free the Beagle, a book I just finished reading this weekend. It’s not a children’s book, but it’s an easy-reading and I am hoping it will help. The book comes with the CD. Now there are three books in the series and the author has graciously made all of the audio from the three books available for free downloading. So I got those, too.
Wireless Helps with Staying Connected
I’ve mentioned getting a Sidekick II and you can get your own relay number. These two things make it easier to share my phone number and for people to reach me. The Sidekick comes with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Yahoo! Instant Messenger, so I can stay in touch with family when they’re by their PCs.
However, when they’re not around their PCs, they call me through my personal relay number. The relay number reaches me through AIM. Though the Sidekick has the relay service application, instant messenger works much better.
I have yet to receive a call through this method except for a few wrong numbers. At least, I can put my personal number on my business cards and when I fill out paperwork without having to include the relay number and a long explanation.
You don’t have to use the Sidekick II now that the relay service works with AIM. So whatever device that can use AIM will work. The Sidekick, BlackBerry, palmOne’s Treo 600 and 650 have an advantage since they come with a keyboard. A couple of phones now have a QWERTY keyboard, but not many.
Here’s an article on this topic.
Why I Am Stuck Doing Email Interviews
Donna Talarico writes about her experience in moving from email interviews to in-person interviews. Nothing beats face-to-face meetings as it’s the most intimate way to connect with the person whom you speak. Except for me, face-to-face puts my articles at risk for incorrect information and quotes.
You see, I’ve been profoundly deaf since birth. I rely on lip-reading instead of my hearing. While the Internet may take away the “personal” connections we make in person, it lets me be a writer. Without email, instant messenger and Web sites, getting the interview would become a struggle.
My Eyes
Actually, this entry should be in the whining category. I just feel like I need to rant about it since nothing else works. My eyes have been aching. It gets so bad that I can’t do anything but rest on the sofa or in my room. It comes and goes… even two or three times in a day. Sometimes it comes with nausea. Sometimes, it has tightness around my forehead (like a tension headache). Sometimes the eyes don’t hurt, but the head is tight.
The doctor believes it’s both migraine and tension headaches. It makes sense… but the Excedrin Migraine isn’t working or at least, not keeping it away for even one day. I took the stronger medicine for the first time, so we’ll see how that goes. He warned me it could make me feel blah, which is why I avoided taking it. Close enough to my bedtime.
I am not under any more stress than normal, but I need to feel decent since Paul’s hours are unpredictable as he started a new job last week. Last night was awful. I felt lousy, he didn’t get home till 7pm, one of the boys was being extremely difficult for the first time in a while… I didn’t have the energy to do my mommy job.
It feels wrong to whine when I have a friend who is MISERABLE. Doctor said to call back if the meds don’t work. But I just can’t see the problem being anything else. I go to doctors too much and am tired of making up my hours at work for the time lost to go to appointments.
I’ve been to the ENT and had a CAT scan of the sinuses. Nothing wrong. I’ve been to the neurologist and that’s the one who said it might be migraines without the headaches. I’ve been to the optometrist. No clues.
When I’m in public and people can tell I’m not comfortable — they ask if it’s low blood sugar. It isn’t that either. Meanwhile, I continue experiencing ache in my eyes off and on. I’ve searched the Internet for answers and found none. I even left several messages where doctors provide advice and none have yet to offer anything helpful.
Hit the Road, Jackie
This is an entry for Blogging for Books #12. It’s been a while since I submitted one, so I thought I’d give it a shot. It’s funny, one of the others wrote about her honeymoon to Disneyworld. I had thought about that since my own 16th wedding anniversary arrives on Saturday, June 11. But the trip was a delight — no memorable stories to tell except that hubby and I enjoyed our time together.
But that’s not the story. This is. Pretend the window blurs as you travel back in time to Graduation Day at American University on Sunday, May 10, Mother’s Day. It’s a sunny day in Washington, DC. My stupid hair doesn’t cooperate and looks awful under the mortar board. I’m moody because here I am about to graduate and for the first time in my life, I don’t know what comes next. A job has yet to land in my lap.