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!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Whoo this month has gone in a flash. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we were able to stay home. While we had the traditional thanksgiving dinner, there was an element of simplicity of this years annual feast. Today we went to the care center where my gradfather stays. He has Alzheimers and cannot remember who we are and cannot feed himself so either my dad, uncle and grandma go to feed him lunch. After we fed him my brother and I played an intense game of scrud, a sort of pool variation where the goal is to keep the eight ball moving and use the other ball to hit it. It is a lot like tornado or horse in basketball where whenever you let the ball stop or it goes into a pocket, you get a letter. Once you spell out scrud you lose...duh duh dunnnn! So obivouly my brother beat me in almost all rounds...emphasis on almost...but then we went to a local Navajo diner, and we had navajo tacos etc. After that we went to my grandma's house and watched 17 Miracles....if you have not seen it go see it, where I, of course, balled my eyes out. We returned home and now we are here and I am typing this for entertaiment...YAY!!!

My Dramatic Enterance to the Deaf Ward

     So today, my mom and I went to the deaf ward that is in our neighborhood, and we watched the primary children do their primary program. I learned a lot of new signs that is used in the ward/church language. After the Sacrament Meeting, we talked to a brother in the ward and asked where you can learn sign easily. He recomended that we go to the comunity college in our city. While we were talking to the man, I reached down to grab my scripture when...(dramatic music cue now...) I lost my balance and fell. Apparently everyone around us saw me fall and jumped, and my mom looked over to see only my empty shoes where I was standing only moments before. As we were walking out another brother in the ward asked if I was okay, and when I confirmed that I was fine, he replied with kind of a cheesy grin that he knows CPR. Need I remind you that this converstation was in pigeon signed english? Of course I could understand some of the signs, but most of the time they were too quick to catch...except the CPR bit. On the way home my mom and I laughed the whole way home about my clumsiness, and how much I tend to drop things and fall over.( sometimes I even fall on somebody else, and my friends never let it go...sigh...Yesterday I went to a local university and when I fell again, I ended up in a guy in my class's lap... and now my friends are convinced that "I fell for him"...I swear that it wasn't on purpose....but he was kinda cute...:0) ) All I need to say in my introduction to other is three facts:
1. I don't understand a lot of ASL
2. I am clumsy...
3. Did I mention that because of my clumsiness I am a great source of entertainmant for others?
Well we will have to see what else will happen today and in the very near future...

Wow it been quite a long time...

     So today I went to a science fair at a local universtiy for those who were interested in science...which I am. I loved today...it was so much fun to hang out with all of my AP Chemistry class, and when I mean all of my class, I mean all of my Class. We seriously have like only 5 people in my class. I was pleasently suprised when all of us were in the same semiars. The different seminars that I went to were the Computer Aided Drug Design, Genomics, and other possible pathways with science. There were about 850 people there today, and we all went for a campus tour. Overall this day was so much fun, and I would like to do it again next year.

My Fun Trip Around Town...Taking Pictures...

     So today my dad and I went over to the trax station and took pictures of the train coming. I also took pictures of cars and later went to the dog park to take even more pictures. I am taking a photography class and my assignment this weekend was of motion and action. So the train was an example of motion action, the cars were an example of pan action and the dogs at the park was another example of stop action. Below are some of my aboslute favorite pictures that I took today...Hope you enjoy.



For some reason red just seems to show
up better...



TRAINS!!!!!





This was at the dog park...and my personal
favorite



Just another random picture of yours
truly



This little girl was soooooo cute!!!!!





Not much going on...just lots of homework

I don't know about you but this last couple of weeks have flown by! I wanted to apologize for not posting for quite some time...I still have tons of homework, and I still am liking school. Well there is not a lot more I can say for now, hopefully I can come back later and update...

Well Hasn't It Been a Long TIme?

     Today was one of my friend's birthday. So a bunch of my friends and I went over to her house to watch Tron and eat ice cream. I has been a good day that I can remember. I have such a great group of friends. Such a strength there is when you are around friends who lift you up when you're down, and who help you be the best you can be. I love having a small group of friends around me. Granted I do have a lot of friends or what you would call aquatainces and people who you smile at when you see them, but I think that having a small group of friends is more beneficial than have a lot of friends that you don't confide in,. It is great to have confidantes to trust in that you can definatly count on to be there for you.

I am ready for this day to roll onward....I am Ready

      So I am ready to get going on the day. I have already taken a test and am finally fully awake. Hopefully I can get some sleep...So next week we have a Date Night for laurels and we were supposed to ask someone to the activity. So, does anyone have any ideas that I could use to ask a certain someone? (probably my brother or something) I kind of want it to be casual, but I want him to think a little bit to find what I am really asking. So anyone, anyone...now would be a good time to respond to me...

I Have A Cold...Ya Know What I Mean?

     So over the week, I have been suffering through a beginning-of-the-school-year-cold, and I am miserable. I had a runny nose all day, and have a sore throat. Overall there is a time of year that always get you when you start school again. I am tired, have a sinus headache that won't go away. Again there is a lot going on.hopefully I can get over this cold soon because I am getting really annoyed.

Zuccini Bread Anyone?

     I was just wondering if anyone has a really good zuccini bread recipe for me. A family in our ward gave us two huge zuccinis and cucumbers each. I have been taking cucumbers for lunch with me, but I don't know what to do with those darn zuccinis sitting on the counter by the window. So here is the question...Does anyone have any recipies for zuccini like zuccini bread or stir fry etc.? Thank you!!!!

Well, I am At School... Doing Nothing...Waiting for the Morning Bell to Ring

     So here I am, at school, waiting for the bell to ring. Of course there is other things that I could be doing, so I decided to answer the call for more blog posts. Well here it is...I love school, but I am swamped with everything that I have to do, so I will make this brief. My favorite classes is Seminary, of course, who doesn't like it? I also like AP Chemistry, but I have the most homework from that class. I have other AP classes, and I am nervous/scared-to-death for the test. I hope to be able to post more soon, maybe later on today, but I will need to get back to my English homework right now...

Sunday Afternoon, Well Whatdaya Know?

      So I am going out to the middle of nowhere tomarrow with my lovely family and buffalo...stuffed buffalo that is...for our family outing for the Labor Day holiday. Hopefully I can get all of my homework done in time for the test on the History chapter I was supposed to read this last week...and well we'll see how that goes. I learned how to do a couple of signs from my ASL class. I like it so far, but it has been a busy week at school, and my mind is going blank so I will just continue on with another subject...SWIMMING! In case you didn't know I am a swimmer...competatively that is...and  I have been on my High School's Swim Team. To answer the question of will I swim  next year the answer is, sorta. I know that is not direct, but with my busy schedual I probably will not be able to do it this year. I will, however, not neglect my swimming skillz yes with a "z", and swim on my own. Well that's all folks! Hope you have a good Sunday!

It's the Weekend, and I Plan to Enjoy It

      Yay! It's the weekend and I am so excited to sleep in. Yay! Good news there is only 174 day of school left over...okay that's a lot, but again like I said there is a lot of good things going on this week. I look forward to my bed...which reminds me that I need to get to bed at a good time tonight....goodnight!

Math Notes...Sounds Fun Right???

     So I have been extremely busy these last couple of days, so I probably won't be able to post everyday(ahem) not that I do anyway...Anyway, what up these last couple of days? Well let me tell you....overthelastcoupleofdaysIwassuprisedtoseethatIactuallyhadhomeworkonthefirstcoupleofdaysandIhave
beendoingthehomework.ThebestthingaboutyesterdayandtodaywasthatIfinallygottogotoallofmyclasseswithouthavingto
refertomyschedualalotofthetime. So as you can see yesterday and today were all in a rush...I have gotten a lot of homework from my AP Chemistry and AP US History classes. Well naturally there are going to be substantially more homework than last year, and funnily enough my English teacher reminds me of my grandpa with a huge sense of humor. Yes, humor. We're reading the Scarlet Letter in English and we were acting it out. Unfortunately no girls in the class volunteered to be Hester Prynne. If you don't know what I am talking about I suggest that you read the Scarlet Letter...just skip the 35 page long introduction. Anyway, it was haiarious because he was telling the boy that was "Hester" to," Glide, James, glide...no no no you're doing it wrong...can we get a girl to do this?...No? Well, I guess that I will do it myself...(audible sigh)" I love this teacher but he scares me to death. We'll have to see how this year will turn out. For now, over and out. Ooh I found out how to take math notes finally today in class. Amazing yes?