An update

I'll do a bullet list since it's been so long without an update..almost three months...ughhh..

• I made my first trip on my own.Went to London , to stay at a CI friend , who also is a very dear friend to me , but the trip was both exhilarating and scary.Had to face myself in a few ways , and some of my biggest fears had to be tackled head on.I'm glad I did the trip , but I also feel half-regret that I did it.Does that make sense? I'm still processing it...I've learned some very HARD lessons, and I have to reinforce them so some things won't happen again...
  
• Also , when I was on the trip , I made a point of visiting Chinatown and the Chinese parade.While I did not see it - too much of a crowd , and me and one friend were very unnerved from that, it was quite the hearing moment to hear the fireworks and the crackers!I also tried Chinese food.It was DELICIOUS.
  
• While at the trip , I could understand almost everyone except my host , which had me frustrated to the highest point.We made it work , communicating via other ways , but I was resenting myself for that the entire trip.Feelings were run a big high...
• Since the trip though , even if it was in London , and I talked almost exclusively in English with a few exceptions , I've seen a LOT of improvement in my speech and my hearing.The most scary was today's speech session : I had to do my usual exercise - where speech recites from a text , and I have a xerox of the text and I follow along and repeat..well , today I did not have a xerox , we did a new text too , and other than having a few repeats, I could hear her..I had to look at her for a few new words , but that was it.That was scary and exhilarating , and when the session finished , I was feeling like it was something I must be dreaming..
• My laptop broke when I got back...since it wasn't worth it to get it fixed , I acquired a new one instead , but meanwhile , I had to make do with loaners for two weeks..I was TIRED of loaners.I got my new laptop yesterday , activated the warranty and I've set down to work that has been neglected for a LONG time.
• I celebrated my birthday while in London , twice.It was a very nice birthday , and actually the kind of the birthday I wanted - even if I never told my friends that , they DID ask me though what I'd like , but I would evade the issue.I always feel embarassed when they're putting attention on me , that's why.But , it was just what I wanted , with an additional surprise :)
  
• I have a new sound : I don't like hearing myself type on this laptop , it's a bit noisier.But , again , my old laptop was an store-brand that lasted 3 yrs , while this one is a well known brand , and I hope it'll last me for at least 4-5 years , if not more!
  
• My telecoil link broke last week , and I had to order a new one.I went today to get it , but they told me at the courier site , that I should have gone to a different shop...HUH?but yours is the closest to my home? I got confused.She told me to call...ummm, HELLOOOOOOOOOOO? she got it after a few repeats , thankfully.She told me , but you can't be deaf! You have impeccable speech! LOL.She decided to get it delivered in her shop , and I'd get there tomorrow to get it.
  
• Braces are going good.I was afraid they'd break while in London , and that wouldn't been the best thing , but they lasted ,and now I'm on a bit of a different regime..put some retainers myself , every morning.That one is clearly hard! Every time I remove one to replace it , I can't help myself but yawn really hard , lol!
  
• Today it's Mardi Gras day in Greece , which is a tradition to bake or fry things , mostly meat and whatever else we will deny ourselves in Lent.We're also in the swing of pre-Lenten Carnival.While walking to speech I saw several families in the pavement having meat on coals , the smell preceding them a block or two.Meats , sausages , steaks , bread , fries , souvlakia , whatever you'd want to eat , was on coals.I also saw SEVERAL motorbikes that were from delivery food places all over the way , one nearly mowed me in the way back! ( In my defense , he was going the WRONG way in an one way street! ).The Mardi Gras harks from the olden days in Greece , where we used to bake meat in fire , and the smell was the food of the Twelve Gods.
  
• Since I was ill the last few days , I'm not going to celebrate Mardi Gras , but stay in , and make a cake for the Carnival party I'm going to , tomorrow.Yummmm.I haven't decided what I will dress up as.
• I've been reading a book about American history , and it was VERY interesting..I haven't finished it yet , but I keep underlining things , googling details , and also , using my iTouch's dictionary apps for new words.I also have been catching up on news, and it's been quite the thump on earth.

That's it...Off to make the cake for the party :)

Which part of not hearing , they don't get?

WARNING : a mini rant ahead.Yes.so , if you are officially disgusted from rants , please go elsewhere.Duly noted.

You still here?

Gosh..well , let me start...( and tell me if I get out of hand , please )

So , last night I was enjoying my chatting online ( as much as I could , that is , as I was feeling a bit miserable from something else ) and generally having a blast in chatting and surfing..When a chat popped up in Greek :

" (name removed ) : Hey , how are you? "
" Me : I'm good , but been better.What about you ? "
"(name removed ) : I'm good , just tired from yada yada yada.Hey , check out this song! "
" Me : I'll save it to listen to it later , probably tomorrow."
" (name removed) : Why? this song is pretty awesome! "
( me in the background , trying to not gnash my teeth )
" Me : well , my ear's off , as I'm not feeling too well , plus I always remove it by 11 pm ( it was closer to 1 am then ) and stick it in the dehumidifier.So , I'll get you back on that."
" ( name removed ) : But I thought you were hearing now.What's the point of having the op if you do not hear"
( what ? I DO hear , I just did not want to hear THAT particular moment , plus , CI isn't THAT sort of a miracle that will let you hear at all times.I'm still deaf )
" Me : ( insert a long winded explanation about the limits of CI , but explaining it still is a miracle and I have choices when to wear it and when not.Insert example of next doors construction which has been driving everyone batty but me , as I can plop my ear off , yada yada.Plus still deaf as a wall.I just hear a heckuva better than pre-CI.)"
" (name removed) : but just hear the song.it's awesome"
" Me : (irked) which part of my explanation did not get?(choice word here , as I'm losing my patience ). "
" (name removed) : uhhhh , why are you pissed off with me?Did I do anything. "
( me just goes offline at that particular person.Gotta love the appear offline at THAT person in MSN Messenger )

At that point I ranted to a CI friend , who calmed me down , but I still am annoyed with (name removed).
Maybe if I pretended to my friends that CI doesn't work , they would leave me alone.Yeah.Problem's that I'm too honest.And that I always celebrate every little sound.And I want EVERYONE to know it.
When will I get over my ire?Who knows?Which might be , ten minutes later , a day later , or a week later , or never.We'll see.

You see , I can forgive pretty much a lot of things , but being thick , isn't one in my list.Sorry.

rant over.

And since I'm talking about loving to hear.What I'm loving this time , is just talking with my nephew.I'll talk to him , and he'll babble back to me.When he does that , I just want to eat him up.

And , I just know he'll accept me , deaf or no deaf , as I'm his auntie and he knows , even now , in his baby-ness , that I love him entirely to bits.

Good morning to you!

Rain rain rain

Haven't written lately...

I've been a bit frustrated with my CI lately..

But since I changed in the higher , louder map ( the one that I avoided for a bit , since it was giving me headaches after 2 days ) I've been able to listen more!

Today , I really LOVED listening to the rain!
I also am able to hear the buzzers even if the buildings I'm out of , are in BUSY roads.That has me dancing in glee!
Yesterday , I had two very nice phone chats , one with my aunt , and one with my mom! I could understand a LOT more..it was just a matter of letting my brain get used to the higher map , and after a couple of weeks I'm doing really well!


I've been busy , since I'm organizing a trip next week , and also another one , hopefully in February.

I'm off to hear my favourite song , and hear the patter patter of rain!

News , finally :)

Haven't posted since start of the month...well , I got snowed under with work, even if I don't have a proper job yet.

Still have speech 2x a week , it's been slow but sure work, I'm really seeing a difference lately , and I might stop it later this year. I don't mind going to speech therapy , it's something I always had to go to , I view it as a staple of my obligations, but it sure is a money eater! I've started watching parts of greek shows , and to repeat what I catch there..It's hard work , but I've kind of outgrown the Rosetta - it's EASY for me now ( two years ago , it was the bane of my existence , it was SO frustrating! what a difference two years make! )

I also had to go and spend a weekend with my family , helping them with notary/elections stuff.Sunday was really long too , I had to write a LOT , and it's been tiring.
I also am going to college - last semester I tried reading from home and doing online material.Didn't work out much , so I'm going as normal again.I've noticed a big difference though in my hearing.In the labs , I used to hear all 25 pc fans whirring away and it drove me completely CRAZY.This semester , I don't even notice it, they also installed silentier fans , but I do hear them , it's just when I concentrate to the professors talking or to my own work that they fade out completely.And I also can understand the professors a lot better ( still relying on lipreading ) but I can get more than before.And it's not as tiring as it was with my HA.I guess I'm just a slow achiever, and I had kind of been disappointed in the CI at first , but two friends said to me " Give it time , you're only two years post op " and " Every person progresses differently " and they were right! :)

Braces are going great :) My teeth have straightened a lot now , still going to appointments every month, last month I got the lower braces tightened a lot , and it was really annoying for the first week , I had been surviving on whatever soft I could eat.


Also , a greek channel decided to caption one of its GREEK shows.It was a surprise for me , as I didn't expect that :) it's a weekly show , and I'm on episode 3.LOVE it , even if it's on the sad side.I love stories.Histories.Everything.It's based on Hislop's book "The Island" which is sold on amazon :)

Sorry for not blogging that much , but I've been busy - I also have been made DeafVillage moderator , which keeps me busy , plus I prefer Facebook and chatting to catching up with my friends rather than blog , but I really don't want to neglect it either :)

Did I mention that I love my alerting system? It's been totally worth it's money.

till next post.

ps , I installed Disqus for comments under , I was fooling around.Do tell me if you like it or not :)

Coping at college with CI

Ooookayyy..another post :)

I've been busy since August , to be honest..and every time I'd get a blog started , I'd get sidetracked.

Hmmm , this seems to be a popular excuse in the CI/deaf blogger community lately! :P

I've been trying to restart college duties ( lessons started this week ) and to remember everything I've forgotten.

But I've been seeing progress.
Pre-CI , I used to have this professor in some lessons , and he'd had a stroke from an accident I think , and the result is that one side of his face is paralyzed , or at least not functioning like it used to.

Problem is, these sort of people aren't lipreadable.At ALL.I remember I used to struggle.I remember I'd curse my bad luck - he's a good teacher really , it's just that I needed clarity.Ugh.

Well , this semester I got alloted in one of his lab classes ( every Friday ) and I had the first class this Fri.

I was in for a surprise.

First , since it was the first day , he had to get roll.I used to keep close attention on roll , trying to not miss my cue , but I usually failed.I'd have to stay behind and ask for him to mark me.

Well , not this time.I was distracted , typing away on the lab computer.I hear my surname , and my hand goes up automatically.Then I realized , WTF ? Did I just do THAT like a hearing person?

Wow.I smirk to myself, feeling like I was in cloud nine.

Lesson starts ( and no , I don't have any FM ) and he starts talking , giving out his email , laying out lesson guidelines.I used to get nil with him, and I'd go by the whiteboard cues to try and orient myself, or take cues from anyone that was beside me.
Another surprise.

I could get 50% of what he said , as long as I had even a sideways view of his face.IF he walked around , I'd be totally lost.

Is there a cloud higher than nine , people ? I'd like to know.Because it was where I was! It still was hard.I still struggled.

But it was easier than pre-CI.A.helluva.lot.easier.

I still got out with the usual headache and a paper that is due next Fri.But I was feeling better than usually am feeling.and not as lost.

Cue in today.I had another lab class today.

It was a total disaster.Three professors , the two mumblers , the one that wasn't was talking all the time on his cell phone.And I didn't advocate for myself.Not good.

But the tail end of the lesson was completely hilarious.

I was trying to get started on the paper that's due for the 18th , when professor's phone started ringing, bothering me.At the same time , my iTouch dinged , alerting me on something off FB.Professor asked me to turn off my cell phone.I told him it's not a cell phone ( my real phone was on vibrate anyway ) and that his phone was AGAIN ringing.He did not believe me.(He had it in his briefcase , and the ringing was muted in the classroom noise , but my CI picked it up )

I insisted he goes and check it.He did.It was indeed his phone.He eyed me , a bit suspiciously.As he answers it , his eyes go wide , and he realizes I'm the one that I walked out on him almost two and a half years ago , when I was suddenly alerted for surgery on my ear.
I think he realized that I hear a lot better.Ha!

Alerting Systems

For a long time , I've been researching alerting systems to install in my flat.

I might have the CI , but essentially , I'm deaf . I do hear enviromental noises , and speech ( and my speech discrimination is going up slowly but surely.
Also don't forget..when I'm sleeping , or in the shower , or even just taking a break from hearing..what happens ?

At first I thought I'd get the cheaper option - a Geemarc alerter device with a remote doorbell.It was only 100€ in Greece.
I was told that the remote doorbell might be stolen , and anyway , I couldn't drill anything outside my door.There was still also the downstairs door buzzer to consider.So that was discarded.

Back to square one.

It was only this or the Bellman Visit 868 system in Greece.
The latter works a different way.The Door transmitter is hooked up beside the actual doorbell , programmed and it 'remembers' the sound of the doorbell to transmit an alert to the Bellman 868 receivers ( it also can be expanded with a baby monitor, fire alarm , telephone monitor , etc ) and has a host of receivers to get what suits you better.A friend loaned me the grey small pager to try out , and I got the Door Transmitter , hooked it up and I tried out the whole system.It works beautifully, dispelling all my doubts that I had initially , since it was completely wireless.It works like a charm ( had it for two weeks now , works better than I even thought! )

A thing that Bellman should make is a plug option for the travelling people ( in the age we live , where everyone travels , it's a must ! ) and also something that would be installable in the bathroom without needing any plugs. ( I , for one , do not have ANY plugs in the bathroom , or , at least any that are working , LOL ) And it would work with a battery ( with the ability to be switched on when you get to the bathroom to save up battery juice ! ) but maybe I'm dreaming.Who knows.

I'm researching my next options to be honest.I'd love to have money to fully outfit my condo , but I had only enough money for one door transmitter , and I'm planning to get another for the buzzer , sometime soon.Then next, who knows , it'll be based on what I'll learn.

Sea urchins,snorkeling and ear!

Hello!

This summer is progressing quite well for me, and I'm currently at my parents , having completed another yr of speech therapy. *smile*

I loved every min of summer so far , doing late night chats with my online buddies , catching up with some long lost friends ( thank you FB! ) and in general enjoying all that summer has to offer.

On August 1st , we celebrated my father's birthday , it was just a simple meal on our boat , wishing him happy birthday , and doing a lot of swimming.I even snorkeled with my dad to get sea urchins for him and mom to eat their gonads , which are a delicacy here.We also got mussels , and few other sea things that I don't know the name of! Also , we learned that it's kinda uncomfortable to step on them..

I also found that a frustration I had last year with snorkeling has been somewhat eradicated.I couldn't wear my mask last year bc the back portion was directly over the implant , and it allowed my mask to leak water , leaving me very frustrated.This year , it was almost non existent , probably my implant has settled a little more in my skull , or I got more muscle over it , who knows? There is still some minimal leaking , but it's not THAT annoying.I got a new annoying thing though..The lower portion of mask that covers the nose , is a bit tight there to not leak water in my nose , but , with the braces , leaves my lip a bit numb! it's not a big problem , but I did manage to get myself drenched when I attempted to drink water immediately after removing it! LOL.Well , the wet people fear no additional drenching! I also decided to get an Ear Band-It if I can to see if I can resolve even that minimal leaking!

While snorkeling , I did see some woods and I deduced they were probably from something getting sunk there.Stones and stuff were partly obscuring them.I also saw some fishes , and I dove to scare them away , LOL.

In the afternoon I went to visit two of my aunties up at nana's house , which now is summer house for mom's siblings , and we had fun visiting , and later , I walked to another house , to see my primary school aide ( she was tutoring me after school ) that I had till 4th grade ( she was vacationing there with her two kids ) and , my , how time flies.It was a bit emotional to catch up with her , but , I was deaf as my battery had died , and I tried to change it ...and I let it fall! Oops , old clumsy me! It wasn't switching on after a fresh battery , so , I was like , hmm I probably forgot to charge it.Out comes a battery holder and disposables ( I always have a six pack for emegenercies , I'm kinda forgetful sometimes ) .Nada.I start panicking.

I had to send it Monday to the office for repairs.Ick.I was deaf until yesterday , and , my , it was a hard time for me.I couldn't hear , I couldn't hear music , and communication was quite the struggle.A lot of misunderstandings , and when it got dark , I couldn't lipread much.It got really lonely quickly , but my CI friends in FB rallied and tried to lift my spirits , and everyone was really happy when I announced I got my ear back on yesterday.Now I've double taped it on my ear , and I'm not going to change batteries again when I'm on the go.I'll try to sit down and be careful , as I don't want to go through THAT again.

I did make some observations though.While deaf , I lost all control of volume of my voice, I was speaking quite worse , and I was having some words muddled.Mom's patience was REALLY tested since Sunday! Not to mention I missed listening to music.Haha.

The problem was that the contacts in the controller , that are for getting power from battery , were dislodged, and they fixed that.Thank god it wasn't something more serious , as I do not have a back up ear.Plus , four days without hearing were a bit much for me!

I also decided that using long coil for when I'm out and about will solve some problems , like the likelihood of falling off me , esp when I'm on boat , ick.I do have one of Kyley's long coil pouches but mom decided to wash it , and , um , washing machine decided it was a tasty morsel and ate it.LOL.But before that , a week ago , we went calamari fishing , and I was wearing my ear with long coil , and it was just...nice , to not worry about my ear , and worry abt my balance ( it was really rocky that day , we kept swinging constantly. ) and abt getting inked from calamari.

I should add that babyworn option doesn't work too well on the boat , for two reasons.One , I know that Freedom's somewhat water resistant , but I do not want to take ANY risks.My head gets sprayed unless I stay in the cabin , where it's hot and stuffy.Second , I don't have anywhere to pin the battery portion so that the wire won't bother me , as I usually I am only with swimsuit on there.I do use all three options where I see fit , and it's just nice to be able to have that flexibility.

I do want to file a bit of a complaint though.What was Cochlear THINKING when it designed Freedom? it's been quite a host of problems for me.My most recent complaint was with the battery prongs breaking off easily.UGH.Also , I tried to get a solar charger for my things so I'll be able to charge them on boat ( ipod , phone , etc ) and , the one I wanted , had only an USB option , and I thought , no problem , it fits all of my needs...except..yup , Freedom batteries.UGH!The N5 charger does charge from USB however , so when I get upgraded it'll be one less hassle!

I also am going to purchase a new battery , with the hope that it'll be my last Freedom one and when I need new ones , I'll have to get N5 ones! A girl , can dream though..I can't upgrade till I'm 5 years post surgery , and every 5 years since then!Another 3 years...*mutters*