Been a busy few days! WYHI last Friday was a lot of fun. Sure was fun seeing all the kids skating at the roller skating rink. Some were just learning how to skate and needed some help, while others skated flawlessly with no problems. Sure had a great time chatting with some of my former teachers and interpreters, and other folks who are in the deaf education field. The open-captioned movie showing of Rio 2 was fun as well. A very cute movie, I liked it. Friday was definitely a great day! By the time I got to work after WYHI, I was tired, and worn out when I got home. So tired that I really shouldn't have been messing with kitchen appliances... uh, oops, made a mess out of my cherry smoothie with the small Ninja blender.
Saturday, there was Deaf Ice Cream social at the Dairy Queen. Many ASL students showed up to practice their ASL skills with the local deaf community. I always like to go to the DQ socials, enjoying ice cream and socializing. Well, actually, I like going to any of the deaf socials going on. Just getting out and socializing with the deaf community is always fun! And eating out is always a bonus for me.
This morning, I saw my CI audiologist and had my CI processors adjusted. Audie and I talked for a few minutes, so she could find out how I was doing with my CI, volume levels, etc. Ended up bringing down the volume in general a bit, so that I can get off the 8 o'clock position with the volume wheel (now I'm at about 9 or 10 o'clock position) and still have the option to turn down the volume if needed for noisy situations. The higher frequencies were also brought up some more. The first year with the CI, I just could not tolerate the high frequencies at all; it was just too much and overwhelming. But over the last year/year and a half, the audie has been slowly increasing the higher frequency levels a bit at a time, so that I could get used to them. Hopefully now I should be able to hear emergency vehicles from a bit of a distance instead of being extremely quiet while right next to my car. My hearing with the CI was also briefly tested in the sound booth (beeps/tones) and apparently I did pretty well with that.
When I go home, I'm also to switch over to my brand new never opened T-Mic, just to see if I get better clarity or if the original T-Mic (which I've been using for 2 years now) is still clear enough. If everything sounds the same between new and old T-Mics, then I'll keep on using the old one and keeping the new one for back-up/replacement for when one of my older T-Mics (I have two, one on the Harmony and one with the T-Com for the Neptune) finally bites the dust. My mom came to my appointment this morning, since it's been a while. She didn't really know what was going on though. She's not quite familiar with the process of programming the CI, the different programs and options available, etc. Was still nice that she could come though!
Anyway, both Harmony and Neptune are the same again basically. Same programs. P1 is the old P2 on the Harmony, P2 has the adjusted volume settings and higher frequency level gains, and P3 is the same as P2 but with Optima added on.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Set for Fall Semester!
I am all registered for the fall semester at the college! Will be re-taking PreCalc, this time the redesign course with the instructor I had for Elementary and Intermediate Algebra (also redesign courses). Let's hope I do better and get a better grade for Radiography. Looks like I'm shooting for Radiography again next year. Also registered for ASL 2, General Psychology (online), and a PE course. Should be fun times, right? Yeah! I went to the college's Health Science Center on Tuesday after work to register for a time slot for advising day, only to find out advising day was the following day! Whoa.... So I got to see my advisor yesterday, and discussed a little bit about the math (she knows I was having trouble and worried about the grade) and that sort of thing. Will have to remember I still need a Computer Science credit as part of the college's general requirements for graduation, so I'll take that class Spring 2015 (and any other filler classes to take while waiting to reapply for Radiography and keep the full-time college course load going).
Been kind of a busy week, with all the running around I've been doing it seems. Had to take my dog up to the vet today for a quick blood test, see where his bromide levels are at and if there's anything else that's since popped up for whatever reason. Was told the test takes about 15 minutes, but I still haven't gotten an email from the vet yet.... Will give it a bit more time. In the mean time, sent off the dog's prescription for more bromide potassium from 1800petmeds.com.
My ASL instructor is also interested in having her dog trained, so we might take the same dog training classes this summer if it works out. That should be fun! If it works out, I'll have someone that I know, and she could possibly even interpret for me a bit at times if needed. Either way, it'll be fun.
Tomorrow is WYHI, yay! Should be fun to see all the deaf and hard of hearing students from all over the state coming together for a day of fun! Roller skating, open caption movie showing. Should definitely be a lot of fun. I've always loved going to WYHI, and being able to interact with other students with a variety of hearing loss levels as a kid myself. Great opportunity for students to make new friends, connect with old friends, socialize, and just be themselves. I've been to plenty of interesting WYHI's myself while growing up.. A Deaf Russian theater group came one time, and showed us some of their Russian signs, which was neat. Deaf magician, a Deaf theater group from the U.S., Billy Seago was a guest and showed the kids how to be expressive and interactive with their signs, etc. WYHI is now only held once per school year, whereas when I was in school myself, it was twice a year (once in fall, and one in spring). There were 2 or 3 WYHI's that were done via webcams from different base locations (I think 5 or 6 locations), and that was interesting as well. Kids got to learn more of the technology and resources available to communicate with others via webcams and such. I may no longer be a K-12 student, but I still enjoy going to WYHI, sometimes to help out, but mostly to socialize and have fun.
Now, regarding Optima and my Neptune... I think I know why Optima didn't work all this time. I had Neptune on Program 1, which does not have Optima added to it. I am always getting Programs 1 and 3 mixed up! I'm on Program 2, and put in a fresh battery yesterday at about 10:15 a.m., and it's still going today. How much longer will it last, I wonder? With a non-Optima program, an AAA battery lasts me about 14-16 hours. D'oh! Don't know why I didn't realize I was still using an old program on the Neptune and not P2 or P3. P3 is too loud, so I'll stick with P2.
Also, today is World Meningitis Awareness Day. I was 2 when I had HIB meningitis in November of 1987. That was what caused my deafness. No one should ever have to suffer from this horrible illness. Vaccinations are available to prevent most strains. Be educated and proactive in preventing meningitis, if possible! Visit Meningitis Angels and the Meningitis Foundation of America websites for more information on the different types of meningitis, and of the vaccinations that are available.
Been kind of a busy week, with all the running around I've been doing it seems. Had to take my dog up to the vet today for a quick blood test, see where his bromide levels are at and if there's anything else that's since popped up for whatever reason. Was told the test takes about 15 minutes, but I still haven't gotten an email from the vet yet.... Will give it a bit more time. In the mean time, sent off the dog's prescription for more bromide potassium from 1800petmeds.com.
My ASL instructor is also interested in having her dog trained, so we might take the same dog training classes this summer if it works out. That should be fun! If it works out, I'll have someone that I know, and she could possibly even interpret for me a bit at times if needed. Either way, it'll be fun.
Tomorrow is WYHI, yay! Should be fun to see all the deaf and hard of hearing students from all over the state coming together for a day of fun! Roller skating, open caption movie showing. Should definitely be a lot of fun. I've always loved going to WYHI, and being able to interact with other students with a variety of hearing loss levels as a kid myself. Great opportunity for students to make new friends, connect with old friends, socialize, and just be themselves. I've been to plenty of interesting WYHI's myself while growing up.. A Deaf Russian theater group came one time, and showed us some of their Russian signs, which was neat. Deaf magician, a Deaf theater group from the U.S., Billy Seago was a guest and showed the kids how to be expressive and interactive with their signs, etc. WYHI is now only held once per school year, whereas when I was in school myself, it was twice a year (once in fall, and one in spring). There were 2 or 3 WYHI's that were done via webcams from different base locations (I think 5 or 6 locations), and that was interesting as well. Kids got to learn more of the technology and resources available to communicate with others via webcams and such. I may no longer be a K-12 student, but I still enjoy going to WYHI, sometimes to help out, but mostly to socialize and have fun.
Now, regarding Optima and my Neptune... I think I know why Optima didn't work all this time. I had Neptune on Program 1, which does not have Optima added to it. I am always getting Programs 1 and 3 mixed up! I'm on Program 2, and put in a fresh battery yesterday at about 10:15 a.m., and it's still going today. How much longer will it last, I wonder? With a non-Optima program, an AAA battery lasts me about 14-16 hours. D'oh! Don't know why I didn't realize I was still using an old program on the Neptune and not P2 or P3. P3 is too loud, so I'll stick with P2.
Also, today is World Meningitis Awareness Day. I was 2 when I had HIB meningitis in November of 1987. That was what caused my deafness. No one should ever have to suffer from this horrible illness. Vaccinations are available to prevent most strains. Be educated and proactive in preventing meningitis, if possible! Visit Meningitis Angels and the Meningitis Foundation of America websites for more information on the different types of meningitis, and of the vaccinations that are available.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Random ramblings
Oh yeah... Forgot to update my blog lately with the ongoings of college life. Turns out I didn't get accepted for the Radiography program this year. They didn't like the grade I had for Pre-Calc (a C), so I would have to retake Pre-Calc and get a better grade if I want to reapply next year. Still debating if I want to try for Radiography again next year, or if there's another direction that I could go in. I need to see what else the college has to offer. I do think Audiology would be neat and fascinating, but I'm not sure I want to go through all the schooling. I don't know yet. At least I can focus more on getting the basic requirements out of the way. Still need to take psychology, and P.E. Were there other courses I still need to take? Um, I'll have to find that out. Advising day is coming up soon I believe, so I can find out then. The college also offers Psychology of Deaf Persons, which I'm rather interested in taking. Would have to take general psychology first, of course, before I can register for that class.
ASL has been going great, for the most part. There are a few students who do not seem to take the class seriously, and will have side conversations and forget to sign during class. Not very respectful. ASL isn't an easy-peasy class, for those who might think it is. Oh no, it can be hard! Just understanding the grammar structure of ASL is challenging. That's my biggest problem with ASL, I can't remember all the ASL grammar rules. It's based off the French language or French Sign Language, rather than the English language. It's hard for me to turn English off in my mind and convert to ASL grammar. I've literally have had English crammed into my head at the deaf school that it's been quite challenging for me to make the transition. But it's been a fun class, interesting... just interacting and practicing with other students, and making the ASL instructor freak out when I bring up SEE signs during class has been fun. And this class of ASL students have been SPOILED in terms of exposure to deaf people. The evening class is when deaf people are very likely to pop in and visit, so that's been fun too. I plan on continuing with the ASL courses offered at the college, and will sign up for ASL 2 in the fall, and continue on from there.
Also, English... we have to write a 8-12 page paper on a topic of our choosing, which will count as our big Final. Of course, I got to thinking of different deaf or cochlear implant related topics, and settled on "Why is the Deaf culture against babies and young children getting implants?", and have a variety of sources at hand to help me with this paper. I plan to cover some of the history of deaf culture in the United States, the backlash against Alexander Graham Bell and his oral method and mistreatment of the deaf, controversies over technology among the Deaf (hearing aids, CI's in general, and now CIs in young kids), that sort of thing. I'm pretty excited to work on this paper. I have books, documentaries, contacts with the State Department of Education-Education of the Deaf and HOH, audiologists, various articles and resources online... should be a fun project!
Have been in contact with a dog trainer on facebook, finding out costs and whatnot so I can get my crazy dog trained and hope he'll have better manners. I certainly have the free time this coming summer, since I didn't get into the radiography program, so I'm gonna work on teaching him some manners! He's such a brat outside when there are other people around sometimes, it needs to get better. He'll bark at anyone that he doesn't know, even little kids. Meanie... No, I get he just doesn't know who they are, but there's no need to be so rude! The trainer does group classes for 6 weeks, and also offers personal one-on-one training. Group classes would be cheaper, and Bryan would certainly be exposed to other dogs and learn how to socialize better. But at the same time, I think one-on-one would be better, just because of my deafness, and that way we could focus more on problem areas that needs working on (his jumping on everyone, I still haven't been able to break him of that habit). The trainer also has experience with training dogs to be hearing dogs as well, so that could be useful. I'm sure my neighbors would appreciate not having to hear Bryan bark up a storm every time someone knocks on my door (practically scaring off pizza or UPS/FedEx deliveries!).
CI Audiologist from Denver is making another trip here later this month to do appointments with her Wyoming clients. So I shall be seeing her on the 25th at... 10 a.m. I believe it was? Something like that. She should have a new laptop with the updated software for AB implants, and we can figure out if something went wrong when she tried loading up Optima on my Neptune. Couldn't hurt to add Optima to my Harmony as well, even though I do get 2 days use out of a PowerCel Plus, and about 16-18 hours on the PowerCel Slim. And I swear, as soon as the pool on the apartment grounds opens for the summer season, I'm taking the Neptune for a swim! Have had my implant for 2 years and I still haven't swam with the Neptune yet. I'm going to fix that this summer! Still wish I could get the Naida CI from AB.... 3 more years before I can upgrade, and by then there should be an even newer BTE processor available from AB. Awesome!
ASL has been going great, for the most part. There are a few students who do not seem to take the class seriously, and will have side conversations and forget to sign during class. Not very respectful. ASL isn't an easy-peasy class, for those who might think it is. Oh no, it can be hard! Just understanding the grammar structure of ASL is challenging. That's my biggest problem with ASL, I can't remember all the ASL grammar rules. It's based off the French language or French Sign Language, rather than the English language. It's hard for me to turn English off in my mind and convert to ASL grammar. I've literally have had English crammed into my head at the deaf school that it's been quite challenging for me to make the transition. But it's been a fun class, interesting... just interacting and practicing with other students, and making the ASL instructor freak out when I bring up SEE signs during class has been fun. And this class of ASL students have been SPOILED in terms of exposure to deaf people. The evening class is when deaf people are very likely to pop in and visit, so that's been fun too. I plan on continuing with the ASL courses offered at the college, and will sign up for ASL 2 in the fall, and continue on from there.
Also, English... we have to write a 8-12 page paper on a topic of our choosing, which will count as our big Final. Of course, I got to thinking of different deaf or cochlear implant related topics, and settled on "Why is the Deaf culture against babies and young children getting implants?", and have a variety of sources at hand to help me with this paper. I plan to cover some of the history of deaf culture in the United States, the backlash against Alexander Graham Bell and his oral method and mistreatment of the deaf, controversies over technology among the Deaf (hearing aids, CI's in general, and now CIs in young kids), that sort of thing. I'm pretty excited to work on this paper. I have books, documentaries, contacts with the State Department of Education-Education of the Deaf and HOH, audiologists, various articles and resources online... should be a fun project!
Have been in contact with a dog trainer on facebook, finding out costs and whatnot so I can get my crazy dog trained and hope he'll have better manners. I certainly have the free time this coming summer, since I didn't get into the radiography program, so I'm gonna work on teaching him some manners! He's such a brat outside when there are other people around sometimes, it needs to get better. He'll bark at anyone that he doesn't know, even little kids. Meanie... No, I get he just doesn't know who they are, but there's no need to be so rude! The trainer does group classes for 6 weeks, and also offers personal one-on-one training. Group classes would be cheaper, and Bryan would certainly be exposed to other dogs and learn how to socialize better. But at the same time, I think one-on-one would be better, just because of my deafness, and that way we could focus more on problem areas that needs working on (his jumping on everyone, I still haven't been able to break him of that habit). The trainer also has experience with training dogs to be hearing dogs as well, so that could be useful. I'm sure my neighbors would appreciate not having to hear Bryan bark up a storm every time someone knocks on my door (practically scaring off pizza or UPS/FedEx deliveries!).
CI Audiologist from Denver is making another trip here later this month to do appointments with her Wyoming clients. So I shall be seeing her on the 25th at... 10 a.m. I believe it was? Something like that. She should have a new laptop with the updated software for AB implants, and we can figure out if something went wrong when she tried loading up Optima on my Neptune. Couldn't hurt to add Optima to my Harmony as well, even though I do get 2 days use out of a PowerCel Plus, and about 16-18 hours on the PowerCel Slim. And I swear, as soon as the pool on the apartment grounds opens for the summer season, I'm taking the Neptune for a swim! Have had my implant for 2 years and I still haven't swam with the Neptune yet. I'm going to fix that this summer! Still wish I could get the Naida CI from AB.... 3 more years before I can upgrade, and by then there should be an even newer BTE processor available from AB. Awesome!
I-Angel Sound training available on iPads/iPod Touches/iPhones for auditory rehab! Fairly simple and straightforward app.
been working on my ASL/Deaf/CI related DVD collection. A couple of movies from ASL Films, both very good films to watch! 100% pure ASL, no sound.... fun to watch, for sure! I ordered "The Legend of the Mountain Man" which has Sean Berdy and his brother in it several months ago, another good movie to watch!
Ordered more color caps for my Harmony from AB in February I think? Buy one set, get one set free deal! Now I need to get more color caps for the Universal Headpiece so the match the Harmony color caps. Yup!
And Deaf Jam just arrived in my mail box the other day. Saw this with open captions for WYHI 2 years ago, and now available on DVD for home viewing.
Oh and just for fun, see that teddy bear with purple hearing aids? His name is Rudy, and my aunt Brenda made him special for me. Well, she made teddy bears for all of us kids, each with a different colored sweater. When I unwrapped Rudy, I thought it was the neatest thing ever, and very awesome of my aunt to make him his own set of hearing aids. He originally had tan and pink hearing aids (tan hearing aids with pink earmold type), but a cat of ours destroyed them.... So she had to make a new set, which have held up since. I found him in a bag full of stuffed animals one day and just had to put him up. I love this bear!
Ok, have I rambled on enough by now? I think so. :) Happy Easter weekend!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Colored tubes!
I finally broke down and ordered some colored tubes for ear molds from Emtech Laboratories (an ear mold maker in the United States). They have a variety of tubes for sale through their online shop, including colored ones. They've been selling the colored tubes for several years now. I was pretty excited when I got the padded envelope in my mail box the other day from Emtech. I used the green one for St. Patrick's Day.
Next... to get the colored hooks from Phonak for my Naida hearing aid... for even more colorful fun! I emailed my hearing aid audiologist about this, but haven't heard back from her in more than a week, so I will have to try contacting her again.
Next... to get the colored hooks from Phonak for my Naida hearing aid... for even more colorful fun! I emailed my hearing aid audiologist about this, but haven't heard back from her in more than a week, so I will have to try contacting her again.
rainbow of colors!
green enough for St. Patrick's Day?
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Throw Back Thursday
Here are a couple of photos of me (preschool age, around 1990ish) wearing this..... FM system/auditory trainer/assistive listening device. We were living in Winner, S.D. at the time. Just thinking back on it, and having to wear that thing strapped to my chest, wow. Sure is interesting to see how technology has changed since then, with hearing aids and FMs being much smaller and much more advanced now than they were then.
Here is even a short video footage. My mom is checking the FM unit to see if it works. Apparently I couldn't hear her at first!
I remember, when I first started at the Wyoming School for the Deaf, kindergartners wore the same system that I was using in the photos and video posted here (older students used a different system I think?). I think it was by first grade when I (and the rest of the WSD students) wore the COMTEK FM units from then on, wearing fanny packs to hold the receivers. Teachers would have a fanny pack or pouch to hold the transmitter. Whew.
holding Pretty Baby. Owner was a friend of my mom's and a florist, and I loved this bird.
at the pre-school demonstrating how my hearing devices work.
I remember, when I first started at the Wyoming School for the Deaf, kindergartners wore the same system that I was using in the photos and video posted here (older students used a different system I think?). I think it was by first grade when I (and the rest of the WSD students) wore the COMTEK FM units from then on, wearing fanny packs to hold the receivers. Teachers would have a fanny pack or pouch to hold the transmitter. Whew.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Radiology Observation
I completed my observation of the radiology department at the hospital yesterday. It was a different instructor taking me around to different areas to observe different things going on, and discussing things with me. He wanted to be sure a radiography job would be a good fit for me, considering my deafness. He's never worked with anyone who was deaf or hard of hearing in the medical field, so he had no idea that some deaf people work in different sorts of medical fields. One thing he was concerned about was the phone use, so I told him there were captioned phones available that could possibly help with that. He was also concerned about how much I hear or don't hear in certain situations. There are situations, like going into the ER or OR with the portable X-ray units, which could be tricky hearing-wise. But I do have an FM unit (I told him I had an assisted listening device), so I could either put the transmitter on the person doing the talking (or place it on something close enough to that person) to hear a little better, and of the different programming options I have on my CI and hearing aid. At the end of the observation, he felt a little better about my wanting to go into radiography. If I get into the program, graduate and get my degree, I don't necessarily have to work in a hospital setting; there are clinic settings that might be better for me. Who knows!
But anyway, the observations were rather interesting. Saw a couple more CT scans (one of the head and neck; another of the abdomen), various X-rays (ankle, hip/pelvis/spine, chest portable, regular chest), a fluoroscopy swallow study, interventional radiography where a team remove a filter from a vein and an interventional/fluoroscopy where they were trying to figure out why patient was having the issues he was having.... Definitely saw a lot in the 5 hours I spent in the radiography department. I still feel the radiography career would be a good job for me, regardless of my hearing issues. Yes, there will be issues that might arise, but I will do whatever I can to remedy those situations (like getting a captioned phone to use in the radiography office, using my FM unit, etc.). I've also looked at other jobs in the medical field, like physical therapy, respiratory therapy, etc. I just feel like radiography will be a good fit for me. I really appreciated that the instructor would lead me to a quiet area so we could discuss what I just observed, discussing my deafness and solutions for possible scenarios where hearing would be tricky, etc. He was truly curious, not aware that there were special technology developed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Got my 8 hours of observation time done, paperwork has been signed off! Now I need to answer the questions, explain the different radiography areas I observed, etc., make sure the application is properly filled out, and have everything turned in by Feb. 15th. They will let applicants know if they've been accepted to the program or not in April. In the mean time, I'll have to keep on top of my school work, and get good grades!
But anyway, the observations were rather interesting. Saw a couple more CT scans (one of the head and neck; another of the abdomen), various X-rays (ankle, hip/pelvis/spine, chest portable, regular chest), a fluoroscopy swallow study, interventional radiography where a team remove a filter from a vein and an interventional/fluoroscopy where they were trying to figure out why patient was having the issues he was having.... Definitely saw a lot in the 5 hours I spent in the radiography department. I still feel the radiography career would be a good job for me, regardless of my hearing issues. Yes, there will be issues that might arise, but I will do whatever I can to remedy those situations (like getting a captioned phone to use in the radiography office, using my FM unit, etc.). I've also looked at other jobs in the medical field, like physical therapy, respiratory therapy, etc. I just feel like radiography will be a good fit for me. I really appreciated that the instructor would lead me to a quiet area so we could discuss what I just observed, discussing my deafness and solutions for possible scenarios where hearing would be tricky, etc. He was truly curious, not aware that there were special technology developed for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Got my 8 hours of observation time done, paperwork has been signed off! Now I need to answer the questions, explain the different radiography areas I observed, etc., make sure the application is properly filled out, and have everything turned in by Feb. 15th. They will let applicants know if they've been accepted to the program or not in April. In the mean time, I'll have to keep on top of my school work, and get good grades!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Another semester down
Got through another semester of college! A in intermediate algebra, B in human anatomy, government, and English comp 1010. Whew! Also got the first half of the radiology observation done in December as well (second half will be in a couple of weeks). Observing the radiology department at the hospital was interesting. I had my FM with me, wore the Neptune with the FM receiver plugged in and all that. I kept the transmitter on me, and just followed the instructor around, doing my best to follow what he was saying, and what others in the department were saying as well. Got to observe an ultrasound being done on a gentleman's arm (checking for blood clots), a CT scan of another person, a couple of different type of X-rays. Instructor asked if I wanted to observe an MRI and I had to decline, due to the cochlear implant. I emailed Advanced Bionics later and they confirmed that I cannot be in an MRI area at all with my CI (I also forwarded their response to the head of radiography program at the college as well, so she knows I cannot include an MRI observation on my application). All the information I was told, it was all kind of overwhelming. Whew. But I got through the morning.
Got through the holidays, which had its crazy moments. Christmas Eve with all families over at my mom and stepdad's house was nuts. A FULL house, with kids running amuck. It was all fun though. Sis and I exchanged stockings (yay we did our sister stocking exchange!), and funny enough, we both got each other the wooden peg games, which was hilarious. We definitely know each other well haha.
Am registered for the Spring 2014 semester. Let's see if I remember what classes I signed up for... oh yeah.
Pre-Calc Algebra (online); English Comp 1020 (online); Human Physiology (online), BLS for Healthcare/CPR (on campus); ASL 1 (on campus, evening class). English and human physiology I need to take in general to graduate from the college, ASL will fulfill my culture credit (and it couldn't hurt to try to improve my ASL skills, I'm rusty and still have trouble converting English language structure to ASL language structure). Will still need to take PE, Psychology, and maybe another class or two just to graduate from the college in general. Deadlines for applying for the Radiography program is Feb. 15, and hopefully my midterm grades will be good enough. The CPR class is done with (originally I signed up to take it Feb. 22, which is after the application deadline, and then decided I should take an earlier class if possible, so I signed up for yesterday morning's class instead!).
Did the CPR class yesterday. Got through it just fine. No interpreter, no captioning. I didn't request any accommodations for any of my classes this semester. ASL I'll be fine, no problem. And the instructor and I know each other so we'll get along just fine. CPR, I've taken CPR a couple of times before so I had an idea of how it's done (there were some changes since the last time I took CPR, but no big). I did buy the book for the CPR class, reviewed it the night before. We watched a video in class, it wasn't captioned but it had random bits of text here and there. I used my FM, and I got through the class just fine. The video showed how to do the CPR on adult, kid, and infant, then the students each got to practice on the manikins. Not a problem!
College classes don't start up again until after MLK day, so I still have some time to enjoy a break from school. Of course, I'm still working in the afternoons, and hanging out here and there. Will possibly start getting my textbooks needed for classes soon enough, will call Vocational Rehab one day to make sure the paperwork/vouchers have been sent to the college and that sort of thing. Will also be receiving the Pell Grant again, which will help with paying for books as V.R. doesn't cover all of my book costs (they have limited expenses).
I did also get my Neptune back from the audie, yippie! Not sure Optima is actually installed on it. Audie said she added it, but I haven't noticed any improvements in battery life. Wondering if something went wrong somewhere. Oh well, she'll be back up here in town in April so we can figure it out then.
I bought a few of the Little Critter interactive books on my iPad... I can listen to the stories, interact with them, and just enjoy them. Have gone through about half of them already with just the CI alone. I know, little kid books. But, oh how I remember reading some of them as a kid! And it's good auditory practice for me as well. Have slowly been making my way through the audio of The Little Mermaid as well (free classic book I downloaded from the iTunes app store on my ipad ages ago). I'm trying to get more audio book listening in, trying to do some actual rehab with just the CI alone. Oftentimes I go to work with just the CI on, the hearing aid is turned off.
Oh yeah, I made a jack o lantern with CI's for Halloween. Thought it'd be fun, hehe!
Geez, I sure do ramble on don't I? Of course, this does tend to happen when I don't blog for quite a while. Oops! I shall try to update my blog a bit more often, but we'll see if that actually happens. I may start blogging about random stuff every now and then.
Got through the holidays, which had its crazy moments. Christmas Eve with all families over at my mom and stepdad's house was nuts. A FULL house, with kids running amuck. It was all fun though. Sis and I exchanged stockings (yay we did our sister stocking exchange!), and funny enough, we both got each other the wooden peg games, which was hilarious. We definitely know each other well haha.
my dog enjoying the snow
a video project I worked on between Thanksgiving and Christmas
bunch of tapes to go through, whew. Ended up with 3 sets of 8 DVDs for 3 members of the family.
some cookies I made
my new toy. Decided I wanted to get back to videoing stuff again.
Am registered for the Spring 2014 semester. Let's see if I remember what classes I signed up for... oh yeah.
Pre-Calc Algebra (online); English Comp 1020 (online); Human Physiology (online), BLS for Healthcare/CPR (on campus); ASL 1 (on campus, evening class). English and human physiology I need to take in general to graduate from the college, ASL will fulfill my culture credit (and it couldn't hurt to try to improve my ASL skills, I'm rusty and still have trouble converting English language structure to ASL language structure). Will still need to take PE, Psychology, and maybe another class or two just to graduate from the college in general. Deadlines for applying for the Radiography program is Feb. 15, and hopefully my midterm grades will be good enough. The CPR class is done with (originally I signed up to take it Feb. 22, which is after the application deadline, and then decided I should take an earlier class if possible, so I signed up for yesterday morning's class instead!).
Did the CPR class yesterday. Got through it just fine. No interpreter, no captioning. I didn't request any accommodations for any of my classes this semester. ASL I'll be fine, no problem. And the instructor and I know each other so we'll get along just fine. CPR, I've taken CPR a couple of times before so I had an idea of how it's done (there were some changes since the last time I took CPR, but no big). I did buy the book for the CPR class, reviewed it the night before. We watched a video in class, it wasn't captioned but it had random bits of text here and there. I used my FM, and I got through the class just fine. The video showed how to do the CPR on adult, kid, and infant, then the students each got to practice on the manikins. Not a problem!
College classes don't start up again until after MLK day, so I still have some time to enjoy a break from school. Of course, I'm still working in the afternoons, and hanging out here and there. Will possibly start getting my textbooks needed for classes soon enough, will call Vocational Rehab one day to make sure the paperwork/vouchers have been sent to the college and that sort of thing. Will also be receiving the Pell Grant again, which will help with paying for books as V.R. doesn't cover all of my book costs (they have limited expenses).
I did also get my Neptune back from the audie, yippie! Not sure Optima is actually installed on it. Audie said she added it, but I haven't noticed any improvements in battery life. Wondering if something went wrong somewhere. Oh well, she'll be back up here in town in April so we can figure it out then.
I bought a few of the Little Critter interactive books on my iPad... I can listen to the stories, interact with them, and just enjoy them. Have gone through about half of them already with just the CI alone. I know, little kid books. But, oh how I remember reading some of them as a kid! And it's good auditory practice for me as well. Have slowly been making my way through the audio of The Little Mermaid as well (free classic book I downloaded from the iTunes app store on my ipad ages ago). I'm trying to get more audio book listening in, trying to do some actual rehab with just the CI alone. Oftentimes I go to work with just the CI on, the hearing aid is turned off.
Oh yeah, I made a jack o lantern with CI's for Halloween. Thought it'd be fun, hehe!
I keep adding to my skeletons family each year it seems.
Geez, I sure do ramble on don't I? Of course, this does tend to happen when I don't blog for quite a while. Oops! I shall try to update my blog a bit more often, but we'll see if that actually happens. I may start blogging about random stuff every now and then.
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