My brain earlier today: “I wonder how many minutes in life I waste just because I am deaf.”
This new, random thought caught me off guard. Could it be possible that all this time, my life has been inefficient and a waste of valuable minutes because of my deafness? All my life, I have had the same thoughts that come and go, like these:
I could be making dinner faster if I could just use my ears to hear what is being said while I cook.
I could be writing notes in class efficiently rather than staring at an interpreter because I’m afraid I’ll miss something that will be on a test.
I could be reading a good book instead of looking up lyrics and trying to hear/learn how the lyrics go in a song I fall in love with.
I could be learning so much more at work if I could overhear discussions about projects and so on.
I could be finishing my work faster at the computer if I could talk to my co-workers across the room rather than having to walk over and lipread.
I could lay in the complete darkness enjoying intimate conversations rather than having to turn on some kind of low light.
I could be more in tune with current events if I could hear the radio or overhear people talking on the train.
I could laugh along with everyone at work, if I could just hear what they are laughing about.
I could have my hamburger ready if I could just pop out the cell phone and call the burger joint ahead of time.
I could watch all the videos on the internet with 100% understanding if I could hear because they don’t have freaking captions.
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.
But now, 29 years later, I have this BRAND NEW thought about minutes being wasted as a deaf person. People talk about how much time we waste sleeping away our life, how much time we waste on a computer, and such.
I started to calculate the minutes. About 5 minutes per dinner, 365 days a year, times how many years I’ve started cooking. About 2 hours a day at work, times 260 days a year (excluding weekends). About 2 minutes per text or email message rather than using the phone, times holy shit, forget it. This math will never be accurate!
After doing silly calculations, my brain thought, “But you have the magic of even having a mode of communication! If it wasn’t for sign language, cued speech, or ability to write/read/lipread. you wouldn’t have communication at all!” Then, “Saz, you’re not at your accounting job at the moment! What are you calculating for?” So true, my mushy brain. So true. Sure I lose many minutes or take longer to do stuff, but things could be worse. Much worse.
So, how many minutes do I waste in my lifetime being deaf? None. Having the ability to communicate at all is a blessing. And, I’m lucky to even be able to talk and hear pretty good to the point where some people forget or don’t believe that I’m deaf. Being ALIVE is even a bigger blessing.
Hello Internet, family, friends, and those little teeny ants in the web! I’m back from another trip, only this time it wasn’t anywhere exotic as Aruba. Instead, this trip was full of happy quality time with family, which made the trip awesome. One of my gazillion cousins got married! I wish her a happy lifetime with her beau!
There were some crazy moments, but nothing I would ever be embarrassed about, because my family just ROCKS. We danced all night long at the wedding. Even my fiancé danced with tissues overflowing his pant pockets due to bad allergies, and I love him for that. My dancing was probably the butt of the joke, though. Because my tinnitus was flaring, I couldn’t wear my hearing aids. So, as a result, my dancing was probably out of tune! Maybe I looked like I had some kind of electric shocks all over my body. Electrifying!
I’ve got a funny story that I’ll throw out here. While we (bridesmaids, groomsmen, and newlyweds) had our pictures taken, I had a conversation and misunderstanding with another cousin about her dogs.
Me: What’s the name of your dogs?
Cousin: Dunkin and (crap, I forget her other dog’s name!)
Me: SUCK-IT?!!?!?
*laughter all around*
Cousin: Nooo, Dunkin.
Me: Suck-it? Whaaaaaat? I don’t understand.
Cousin: *fingerspells* D-U-N-K-I-N.
Me: Ooooooooooooooh. Haha I thought you said Suck-it. Can you imagine saying “Come here, Suck-it! Get your treat…”
Cousin: *laughs*
Me: You should have named your other dog Donuts. Dunkin Donuts!
Before y’alls think I’m crazy, go to the mirror and mouth the words Dunkin and Suck-it. Pretty similar when lip-reading, huh?
Aside from all the craziness, we have a new addition to the family. Meet Eston.
Seriously, Eston just blew me away. He’s so cute. He’s gonna have ladies lining up his door! CK and Alli, I figured you’d get a hoot out of the Yankees outfit! I don’t care about the Yankees or baseball in general, but this little dude makes me want to go to a Yankees game to cheer them on!
This morning on my way to work, I had to take a detour because a tree fell smack onto a busy road. Then, another road was closed. The roads were littered with tree branches. I’m thinking to myself, what the heck happened? Apparently all through last night while I was asleep, heavy rain and wind was hard at work. The storm resulted in school delays, power outages, and even evacuations. Currently, we are still on a flood warning and watch. The morning commute is crazy.
But, the best part about all of this? I didn’t hear one thing all night long and slept like a log.
Queenalpo wasn’t kidding when she said that this was THE new shit. Turn up that subwoofer, and prepare for a good American Sign Language (ASL) show!
I’m just so in awe of how the ASL completely blends in with Marilyn Manson’s “This Is The New Shit” song.I have NEVER seen anything in ASL that goes with the music perfectly. The word “perfect” isn’t taken lightly with me. When I say perfect, it’s a big deal. Seriously. I even checked the lyrics just to be sure.
You have got to watch this. I’ve watched it about 5 times already, and I’m still in shock at how good this is. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if I start signing along and copying his moves, just like I did for Paula Abdul and New Kids on the Block (don’t laugh, please, they were THE shit, too!) way back in the day.
Warning: the song has a lot of colorful graphic words in it. If you don’t like that, don’t click on the video link.Also, another warning: this video/song can totally get you addicted!
I came to work this morning to find that the suite next to mine had a problem with their alarm. Their alarm wouldn’t shut off, so all it did was produce this ungodly noise of a loud siren. Everyone at my work could barely hear anyone talking or even the phones, because all they could hear was the freaking loud alarm.
Guess what I did while walking to my office? Of course, I turned off my hearing aids. The world became silent. No sirens, no nothing. I ate my breakfast in peace.
