I am Hard of Hearing...You Got a Problem With That?

Last week I came down with the typical beginning-of-the-school-year cold/flu, and like any other time that I get sick, I lost a little bit of my hearing. Usually I regain my hearing within a couple of days after recovering, however this time it was different. This year, I came down with a really bad cold, and a slight fever, and as predicted, I lost a little bit of my hearing. I dealt with it for the last week. It wasn’t until today that I noticed that things have not been improving at all over the week, in fact I didn’t notice it until this morning that I only had about 15% hearing in my right ear. I had met up with a few of my friends, and we were talking when I realized that I was only catching a few of the things my friends were saying. I noticed that I was mostly reading their body language and facial expressions. Once I asked them to repeat themselves and they looked at me as if I was a three year old. Not only was this annoying, but it terrified me. I was stuck in the middle of the hearing, and deaf worlds, and I was alone. Here are a few things that I can think of to help those who are Hard of Hearing and Deaf:

•  Look at the HOH or Deaf person when you talk to them. Not only does it signal that you are talking/signing to them, but it also eliminates the confusion that can sometimes rise from glancing at someone else, or looking somewhere else.
  
•  Make sure you have their attention. If you don’t we won’t hear you and you will feel ignored when that is not the case at all.

• If you are talking to someone who is HOH and know ASL, when they ask you to repeat what you said, sometimes it is very helpful to sign as you repeat what you were saying to get the message across. 

• When we ask you to repeat yourself, speak a little louder and a little slower. 

• When an interpreter is present, still maintain eye contact with the person that you are talking to, not the interpreter. 

I learned these the hard way…by experiencing it myself. Please give these suggestions some thought when faced with these situations.

Happy Birthday's and Happy New Job's

     So yesterday was my birthday and I am proud to say that I have a bunch of wonderful and amazing friends. It was ironic as they were trying to have a surprise birthday party, but I knew better than to not suspect something, however we had a lot of fun. We had cute individual strawberry shortcakes, ironic because I am short, then we played a lot of fun games in my backyard. It was a pleasant day, and I couldn't ask for anything more.
     Moving on, my mom was called as our ward employment specialist - someone who finds jobs and encourages those who need one to pursue  it. And being dutiful as ever badgered me to find a job (which I was anyway). I finally got an interview at Culver's - a gourmet fast food place typically found in the Midwest and is now spreading elsewhere. Any way...I was hired to work and so now I have a job...Yay!
     So I thought that I should catch everyone up for the summer...Sooo go swimming and eat ice cream...you deserve it

Amy

What does Society Teach Us Today?

     Society, the one thing that most teens are looking, striving and thirsting to fit into. High School is a prime example of this concept of being acceptable to society...Unfortunately, many people have a hard time understanding that society will always look down upon you no matter how hard you try. There is a time when we realize this and decide that having a mile of makeup on your face to cover any "imperfections" is unreasonable. The only one who can criticize  you is yourself.
     Society today teaches the teenage girl that their hair has to be black, pin straight, or have perfectly formed spiral curls in order to even be noticed. How sad is it that the girls begin to notice when they have gained a single pound. I think that this is absurd. There is no reason that you should maintain a 135 physique throughout your entire life. I have heard of stories of women today that they wake up before their husbands, straighten your hair, and pile on the makeup, just so their husbands don't have to see their true personality, and face. Isn't that just sad?
     Now, don't get me wrong, I do not mind when a girl's hair is nicely done, and looks clean, and makeup is refreshingly light, however, it is when they begin to become obsessed with their appearance that they forget who they truly are, and don't spend time developing talents. Unfortunately there are men out there who begin to do the same. There is a delicate line between beautiful and revolting. In my high school, I notice these things all of the time. Occasionally I do my hair, and possibly add a little more makeup to my daily routine, but only for a special occasion. Usually I am a mascara only, tee-shirt-and-jeans, and pony tail kind of girl. When all I see is the makeup and false eyelashes, and the mile high teased hair, only then do I get extremely annoyed. I want people to see who I really am but a teeny tiny bit enhanced.
      All of the supermodels out there today have normal lives and look like one of us, it is the hours spent in front of a mirror with teams of professional makeup and hairstyle artists surrounding them do they become the person that we see advertising toothpaste. Even then they are computer generated and altered. Apparently the acceptable thing is to be stick skinny, have perfectly white teeth, extremely blue eyes, and not have a pimple in sight. I bet you that if you met a supermodel that wasn't doing a photo shoot, you wouldn't think of them as a supermodel.
     Now can you see the difference in standards the society today teaches? Instead of serving others, gaining an education, and doing your best in everything you do, you spend hours getting ready for school that you will just wash off later in the day during your shower. Personally I find it a waste of time and money that you could be spending for something more lasting than false eyelashes and hot pink lipstick.

The Case of the Missing Screen Protector

     Last September I had the oppertunity to go to a science fair at a local and well known university, and for the reasons of keeping where I live vague, I will not disclose the name of the University to you...anyway, freebies were given away with information about the school and the different areas of study. While waiting for our buses to come and pick us up we took a tour of the massive campus...Okay, going back on track, they also gave out a flyer for a contest. The contest was basically a survey that you would complete and a lucky person would be given a brand spankin' new 4th Generation iPod Touch. Well not really thinking about the winnings, I completed the survey and entered it into the contest. Well 4 weeks later, I got emailed saying that I won the iPod!!! Well, I got it as a Christmas "gift". So now that you know, here is the perplexing case...Once we were settled down after Christmas, my family went to a Best Buy and got a Zaag screen protector for the iPod. On Tuesday last week, I also got a new slip case for the Ipod, and plugged in the thing for the night. I guess you could say that I was tucking in my iPod, and went to bed. I sometimes have a hard time waking up and often wake up after my alarm, so I have a backup alarm on my iPod, so when it went off , I noticed that the ipod was feeling smoother than normal. I thought nothing of it, rationalizing that my sheet's texture made my fingers used to them, and then on my school bus, I realized that my screen protector was completely gone! I remembered having the protector the night before, but there I am sitting on the bus without an screen protector. So after school, I searched endlessly to try to find the screen protector. Then I decided that my growing mass of laundry in the corner needed to be addressed, I tackled that project. About 40 minutes later, I was putting the clothes into the dryer when  there it was...my screen protector!!!Stuck to the side of the washer!!! So there it is, my story for the day!

What Irks Me the Most? Ah Well Where to Begin...

     Lets just say that life is full of people with certain habits, and certain behaviors that sometimes annoys the golly goodness out of people! Something that really annoys me is the simple fact that what ever you do, try and work hard at, there will always be another that does that very same skill without any effort at all on their part! How hard is it that when you work your patubies off and are proud of what you do until you realize that your competitor and ultimately your better has done nothing to prepare compared to you. For example, lets just say that you are unhappy with your body image infront of others. You try your hardest to exercise, stay active, and eat good foods. You get adequate sleep and closely watch your stress levels. Yet, as much as you try, you still have those extra 20 pounds that you wish would be gone. At school, you see your perfectly fit friends laughing away, and secretly you wish you didn't take up the whole desk at school. Then you get depressed, because you heard one of your friends mention how little sleep they get, and not to mention the junk food that they are eating all of the time. What even drills in the depression is the fact that they are still stick skinny. WHY on earth does that always happen?
     What also bothers me is that those sick thin people also worry about fitting into their prom dress...yeah right...like they have anything to worry about. I am not neccessarily the fittest person by today's vouge magazine standards, but of course I face ridicule at school, at the store, and sometimes even the church I go to. As I am involved in the Deaf ward, I am constantly faced with a more blunt community. Yes they will discribe me as fat. That is the simple truth. Do you know how hard it is to find a prom dress with sizes above 10 and modest? Do you know how annoying that is?  Anyway I am finished for today...definately more rants later...Haha

Is the Stop Kony Campaign a Scam?

     I am sure that most everyone has heard of the STOP KONY 2012 campaign that has been circulating all over facebook, which began last Monday the 5th of March. I, having the uncanny ability of  not checking facebook, email and even, ahem, blogging as much as I should, did not see the KONY 2012 until Wednesday. When I saw the video, I was, indeed, very emotional as many of you that I would assume would also be. The video consisted of a young man with a wife and son who, for the last 10 years has tried to stop Joseph Kony who has kidnapped and forced many children to become soldiers and sex slaves. The presentation of the video on facebook was extremely well done and professional. The one thing that lingers on my mind is, "Where on Earth did this man get the money to create and produce this movie?" Indeed this has weighed heavily on my mind for the last week. If, as the movie claims, all proceeds go to Uganda and help build schools and shelters for the children, then where does this middle class man get the financial provisions to create a multimillion dollar video?
     On Thursday this week, a news article was published in a newspaper that states the mission of the STOP KONY campaign, and in the last third of the article it states "Less than 40 percent of donations are spent on direct services, according to the organization's financial statements. The nonprofit's three founders collectively make $262,000 a year." (Stuart) Oh my goodness! That's why there is the money to make the video to make even more money! If these figures are correct, then the founders have made enough money to create such an expensive video that has become YouTube's top pick for YouTube Trends.
     Another blog, authored by a 100% pure Ugandan person, has stated her opinion of the campaign. She believes that Invisible Children Corporation does not seem exactly as helpful as it calims, and,according to her, there is no talk of the atrocities of Kony as she visits family in Uganda. She also stated that Kony has not attacked any villiage for the last 6 years.
     So, for my final opinion of the STOP KONY 2012 campaign is this: Kony should be stopped for his heinous crimes, however, I do not trust my money to go to the ICC. The STOP KONY 2012 campaign is playing off of the emotions of naive and caring teenagers, hence the location for the video launch...the one place where most teens today are found...Facebook and Twitter. All in all, I will personally choose to not donate my $30.00 to the ICC and will. instead give it to the LDS humanitarian fund. While I do support the cause for the arrest of Kony, and not donate doesn't mean that I do not care, when I really do, BUT PLEASE note where your money is going and invest it wisely.
                                                            Amy

P.S. I just realized that I actually wrote something serious....well, until next time y'all! (emoticon cue now)

YEESH I Met a Potential Predator....

     Don't freak out I am still here but let me tell you a scary tale....So while I was reading my textbook for AP US History, my new Ipod blinked and showed me that I had a text message. I am using the free app called TextFree by Pinger. I all of a sudden saw a number that I didn't recognize, so I asked who it was. I conversed for a while and then went to show my mom what had just occurred. I then saw what kind of danger I was really in. Well he/she/they never did text back from the moment that my mom set them/him/her straight. So now you know...NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION!!!! IT COULD CAUSE HUGE POTENTIAL DANGER!!!! NO MATTER HOW VAGUE YOU ARE, YOU COULD STILL BE STUCK!!!