This blog, unlike meryl’s notes, shares more personal information since the purpose is to educate people about leading a life with little hearing and using technology to hear differently. However, I’ve yet to determine whether or not I should share the bad feelings or experiences with which I contended as a person with communication challenges. Would it be too personal? Would it be viewed as “feeling sorry for me” thinking?
That’s not why I would report it — I’d be sharing that so people get inside the thoughts of a person in my situation. Thinking and doing are two different things. It’d be quite an eye-opener to know what people are thinking. Oh, I know that’s called telepathy and Deanna Troi can do it, but I can’t do it and I don’t know what everyday people are thinking.
How much should a person reveal about herself in a blog or in these intros? I’m an open book, for the most part though I omit my kids’ names, which is why I refer to my kids by their gender or age.
Religion and politics are two other topics I avoid. Too much of a hot button, though I’m respectful of other’s beliefs. Also, I don’t talk about my office job or the company for obvious reasons. But if you’re looking into LD or data, drop me a line. No, I’m not going to do a sales pitch or anything. I’m bad at that stuff.
Bloggers share varying degrees of information. The blogger decides what’s best for him, but what about those that are comfortable sharing many things — but want to know where the boundaries are for safety’s sake? My notes blog doesn’t cover me often because I’m not self-absorbed (not that I am saying bloggers are) and I don’t have an exciting career or celebrity friend or whatever that people would want to read about. Even if I did — I respect my friends’ privacy and it’s their place to share information, not my place. Besides, there’s People Magazine, TV Guide, and Wil Wheaton for that stuff.
I envy friendships where friends can talk to each other about anything. The Friends and Charmed folks have such a friendship, but I know that’s a work of fiction. Not many people go beyond the usual small-talk, “Hi, how are you?” conversation. I have three good offline friends, but only one lives close by and she has no time for a quick visit. So a conversation with the other two is always catching up rather than detailed.
This blog, unlike meryl’s notes, shares more personal information since the purpose is to educate people about leading a life with little hearing and using technology to hear differently. However, I’ve yet to determine whether or not I should share the bad feelings or experiences with which I contended as a person with communication challenges. Would it be too personal? Would it be viewed as “feeling sorry for me” thinking?
That’s not why I would report it — I’d be sharing that so people get inside the thoughts of a person in my situation. Thinking and doing are two different things. It’d be quite an eye-opener to know what people are thinking. Oh, I know that’s called telepathy and Deanna Troi can do it, but I can’t do it and I don’t know what everyday people are thinking.
I do know that when I first meet someone whom I don’t understand well, he treats me like an uneducated person who understands little. Far from the truth — but communication challenges do put a person in a different light. But when I understand someone well, the real me comes through. Rather than a person struggling to interpret what a person is saying and feeling like a person who doesn’t speak the native language.
That’s one reason why I’ve been apprehensive about attending conferences. Because I’d be meeting wonderful people I might not understand. Experience dictates chances are high I’ll meet a few people that I’ll have trouble understanding. It’s not the person’s fault though I worry he’ll be offended if I admit I have trouble understanding him.
A study indicates lipreaders only understand about 33% of what is said and it makes sense. So, go back and read this — reading only every third word. See how much sense it makes. Add to that a conversation with a handful of people and man, it gets worse.
A friend of mine went to a foreign country in which she knew little of the language. She went to a local? house for a meal and a visit, then went back to her hotel, exhausted. She said that she learned why I’m fatigued after conferences or long meetings. Following and trying to understand a conversation is tiring. So conferences are a tough place for me to be especially since many speakers are hard to follow and understand.
Sorry to say — but I have more trouble understanding men than women in general. No, it’s not the facial hair. Just the way it is. Over time, I hope the cochlear implant will help me understand more people. It’s going to take a while for the brain to get better at interpreting sounds said many different ways.
There. I confessed I have trouble understanding people. Not an easy thing for me to do especially to a person’s face. I just nod and go on so I don’t look obtuse.