Saturday, December 21, 2002

get together

Today was AWESOME! I got to see my 3 deaf friends that are from Colorado, a deaf friend that lives here, my interpreter and the teacher we all had when we were at the deaf school! That was awesome. I haven't seen the 3 from Colorado in about a year and half, so it was GREAT seeing them again. We had planned on having Kevin, Aaron and Robert over, but they didn't show up. We were unable to get a hold of Kevin and Aaron, and Robert had a wrestling match so he couldn't come. DAMN! But we're going to plan another get together in the summer, so hopefully EVERYONE will be able to come this time!

I might be going out with the 3 from Colorado later on, to see another one of our deaf friends that we've known for a long time. I did see Heather on Monday but we didn't get the chance to talk or anything since we were busy being trained on how to use the online relay services and the new equipment.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

WYHI video conference

WYHI Video Conference today was FUN! I wasn't just a participant, but I was able to HELP out this time. Since I'm a HUGE computer person at the site here, they wanted me to help out and everything. So on Monday afternoon I was trained on how to use Sprint Relay Online and Video Relay Service, CapTel Telephones, etc. Sure learned A LOT!
I saw very few of my old friends either at the site here or on the TV screens from one of the other sites. We had 5 sites throughout Wyoming, and the deaf students (those that were NOT taking finals) went to the site closest to them, and we saw each other on TVs! That was cool.
We got to talk to Santa through the video cameras on the television, we talked to him using the Sprint Relay Online, Video Relay Service, and the CapTel! The Sprint Relay Online I will definitely use for sure. Won't use Video Relay since I only have a 56k modem and my Webcam isn't at all that good.

Saturday, for sure 6 deaf/hard of hearing students (including myself) will be getting together, along with the interpreter Jo and our old teacher of the deaf Janine. Janine is an outreach consultant for the deaf throughout Wyoming now instead of teaching in a classroom for deaf students. Anyway, we're all getting together on Saturday just to hang out and visit with each other, remember all the fun times we had in the past and that kind of thing. There is one more student Jo and I are hoping to get in contact with to come on Saturday. His mom doesn't exactly know what Aaron is doing so we're working on getting to him. But I'm sure he'll come. Should be a fun day.

I MISS THE OLD DAYS! I miss being around my deaf friends everyday, I miss being at the deaf school, I just miss the past. I miss all of my old deaf/hard of hearing friends and everything. There's quite a few that I haven't even heard from in a LONG time and I REALLY want to get in touch with them. Hmm..... Hopefully one of these days!

Friday, December 13, 2002

it's almost Christmas and I get to see some friends

Next Monday, possibly in the afternoon, my interpreter Jo and I are going to be learning how to use some of the newest technology/equipment that is not even on the market yet. WYHI (WYoming Hearing Impaired) Video Conference is on Wednesday, so we gotta prepare for it! I'm going to help set up the equipment and stuff. Should be a good day! Being around deaf people at NCHS in the WEN room, seeing other deaf people and friends on the television screen as they are from one of the 4 other sites for the Conference. Last year was pretty cool, and this year is the 2nd year of the Video Conference. Come to think of it, the very 1st one was in February or March THIS year... lol anyway...

AAANNNDDD!!!! I get to see some of my old friends that have moved, next Saturday! YEAH! I've gotten in touch with my friend Josie again online, and Jo and our friend Janine were planning on a small get-together with all of us. So I emailed Josie and we did some discussing. She told me that she and her siblings Lisa and Jonathan will be here in town the 20th through the 22nd. So Jo and I decided to do the get-together on the 21st. Now we need to get in touch with Janine, and our other friends Robert, Megan, Aaron, Kevin, and possibly even my good old friends from my early childhood, Will and Erik. I am definitely looking forward to next Saturday!
I haven't seen my friends in such a LONG time! Especially Robert. Haven't seen him since maybe 3rd or 4th grade right before Christmas break. Would be nice to see Wyatt, but I don't think it'll be possible seeing how he lives in Nevada with his dad and step-family. I haven't seen him since I think 7th grade.... I don't know. But I do miss him, and wish I can find a way to get in touch with him. At least it's nice to know I'll at least be seeing most of my old friends! I really do miss being around deaf people, but most especially my old friends.
I mean, I've basically grown up with Will and Erik when I was still living in Sheridan. Will and I have been friends since we were 2 or 3. His parents and my parents got together since my parents needed advice on how to raise a deaf child since I had just became deaf at the time. That's how Will and I got to be friends. As for Erik, I think Will's parents introduced my parents to Erik's parents... Anyway, the 3 of us basically grew up together while I was in Sheridan. Erik's still in Sheridan and Will goes to the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson, AZ.
As for Josie, Lisa, and Jonathan, I've been at the deaf school here in town with them for YEARS. So I grew up with them too as well, even if we did have our problems. Lisa and I used to get it on quite a few times back then, but things have changed in the last few years. As for Jonathan, we were in the same classrooms every year. Same teachers, most of the time same classes and stuff. We did even take a few classes at the public elementary school that's attached to the deaf school together. With Josie, she was the older one, and the one I went to whenever Lisa and I had problems so she could help solve them.
Robert, oh man, he was my childhood crush basically! Up until the time he moved, he was in 2nd grade and I was in 1st. And I still remember the "4 Little Pigs" play we did at the deaf school... Robert and I were the sweetheart pigs. That was fun.
Aaon, he showed up at the deaf school in our 5th grade year and stayed with a co-foster family as his family lived in Cody. We got along pretty well, and soon enough I had developed a crush on him. He is HOTT today and I still have a crush. I only see him at WYHI, and it sucks!
Kevin, boy I haven't seen him since 5th grade! He moved to Great Falls, MT to go to the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind. Poor guy. He's been through A LOT his whole life. He still doesn't have very good english, writing and reading skills. He still can't talk with his voice very well. He's never had a very good family life since he was deaf and his family just did not know how to deal with it at all. Jo told me some things about him the other day that I NEVER knew before! No wonder he hasn't done too well in school!
Wyatt, I've known him since I was 4 I believe... I just don't remember all that though. The only real time when I remember being around him was the first time I was at the deaf school. Turns out that we had been in the same class or whatever at the University of Wyoming when we were about 4, like preschool classes for deaf children or something... I don't know. I have this picture of the two of us, we're so tiny and we're both dressed up as clowns. It's cute. We've been pretty good friends over the years at the deaf school. Then in 4th grade, he and his mom moved to Laramie to live with his grandmother. Then in a year or 2, his mom died from lung cancer, and I saw him again at his mom's funeral. I felt so bad for him, he no longer had a mother. After the funeral, he moved to Nevada to live with his dad and step-family. He's came back to town once ot twice to visit his brother Jeremy, and we've gotten the chance to hang out and play some video games together. I even learned a few tricks from him with one of the games! Last time I had a GLIMPSE of him, that was a couple of years ago. He was back in town since Jeremy was getting married and he was the best man. He never even saw me then.
I sure had some pretty good times with these people as I was growing up. So I am really happy to see most of them. A few other old friends, I wonder how they are doing today. Laura, Chris, another Gene...... I have no idea where they are and have no way of knowing how they're doing.

Today after school I started thinking about the cochlear implant thingy.... I found the folder of the pamphlets and stuff that my mom got from the deaf conference that was held in Sheridan that we attended. I looked through it and started thinking about the whole thing. Just last year I was against cochlear implant, deciding that I don't need to fix my hearing or anything like that; that I was perfectly fine of my deafness and proud of it. Sure I'm still proud of being deaf, but I've just been having thoughts again. I decided I was going to do some more research on the cochlear implants and see what I think. If I do decide to go for it, it probably won't be for a few years or so. We'll see what happens.