Expressing Myself

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I’m finally owning up to it! IT IS ALL ABOUT ME! At conference I had a breakthrough moment. I’ve been fearful of my ideas and taking them out into the world. I was always wondering what the negatives would be. I was scared of being who I was “CODA” and running with it. This year’s conference helped me to see that I want to be a speaker. “Hearing” people tell me that I have great stories that are also inspiring!

Basically you have to love yourself before you can love others. If I don’t think about my healthy needs and focus on ME - then I can’t focus on others. It’s true, there are studies. You know like when you get on a commercial airplane and they tell you…secure your own mask before assisting others. Same concept!

Photo credit - another fabulous Coda - Sean he also talks about the conference here!

Sometimes I Google myself, and I found this blog post almost 2 years ago from Xanga. Pretty funny now.

Do you know Sean? I really want you to meet him! He is a Coda too. I’m in such a grateful mood these day and must share how Codas can be the most accepting and supportive people in my life, mostly at very unexpected times.

First, I must give you some history. I met Sean at a Coda conference, I don’t quite know which one, but I remember re-connecting with him at the Buffalo Conference in 2003. I was 7 months pregnant so I remember it well. I sat at his table on during the first night’s dinner. He was so wonderful, taking care of me and making sure I had sugar for my coffee. When you are 7 months pregnant it’s the little things that move you. Since that time, he has been a favorite to me. He was the first blogger I knew on Xanga, and I even had an account there. However our paths didn’t really cross much until this year.

Somehow I was asked to participate in the International Coda website committee, headed up by Sean. I said yes right away. In working with Sean on the team we have become closer, he knows so much about tech and online stuff that we clicked. I was very impressed with his willingness to help me in some of the areas of this blog via video. We’ve chatted via Skype and Oovoo having a wonderful time. He turned me on to Twitter - which I’m still trying to understand and utilize.

I had a conference online last month to launch my new ebook - Benefits of ASL with Hearing Children. I tweeted (posted on the Twitter page) about my presentation. During my time, there were several visual malfunctions. I had planned to show my book via my website. So when things didn’t resolve, I just talked about it. I opened the floor up for questions and there was SEAN!!! He got the discussion going on the topic of signing and my eyes were welling up with tears! The support from another Coda that very moment was priceless to me. He knew the benefits and he helped to illustrate it for me. He is also a strong supporter of cultivating sign language interpreters now for future careers due to the shortage.

I want you to meet Sean, not only because he is a kind and generous person, but also because I have invited him to post on my blog. So please post some encouragement for him and check out his blog too. He has some really interesting posts! Like this one in ASL talking about Mac web cams.

And Sean…THANK YOU!

Have you injured yourself while signing?

My favorite sign is “cherish”. I think sign language is beautiful and first learned of this sign when my husband (boyfriend at the time) said “I-Cherish-You” Tell me what is your favorite sign? If you don’t know sign language, tell me your favorite word in English, French, German, whatever! Looking forward to your responses!

It’s almost here, I’m launching this blog with no stops in June. I have an amazing amount of interviews scheduled - both mini and featured interviews. I’ve also asked other Codas to blog their experiences, thoughts and perspectives…and I’m getting responses from all over the WORLD!

I love learning about other Codas both in far away places and right next door. Actually those in far away places end up feeling right next door. I can’t wait to learn about their coda experiences, another culture of Deaf people and possibly the stories of how they balanced the hearing and deaf worlds. Can you guess some of the countries that will be posting? I know some of you Codas might guess, but some will be surprised with at least one or two of those writing up a post.

So where in the world are these Codas from?

I’ve seen this video many times. Fortunately I found it captioned! It’s about how I feel this week with the kids. Completely hilarious! MOM

I did find this video on youtube. It is not for children or the “faint of heart”. I don’t like Marilyn Manson, but I thought this video was done incredibly well.

Ahh, Chicago! It’s really a Love/Hate relationship. I love everything this town has to offer. Everything, except the traffic! Overall, the 36 hour event was terrific. We got a hotel downtown at a bargain. I’ve found booking on Priceline.com will give you an excellent rate at the last minute. We checked in, freshened up and hit the public transit to Wrigleyville. It’s been awhile since I’ve had to navigate downtown and learned the station I wanted was closed. We got off a bit early, and instead of hailing a taxi, my friend Lori says, let’s take that. That? It was a pedi-bike. It looks like a rik-shaw. It was actually very fun, after getting over the weirdness of someone carting us around.

We arrived at Uncommon Ground restaurant. My friends had scored an awesome table outside. We hugged, sat down and chatted. It was if no time had passed in the last 6 months that I had seen them. The food was fabulous. It was time to got to the theater around the corner. We arrived 30 minutes early, sat in the front row (of 4 rows) and stayed late. Sound familiar? Arlene was so beautiful. The performance was moving, due to our common bond of having Deaf parents. Truly vivid and brillant.

Above is Shirley, Nancy, John, Arlene, Vince, Me, Laura and Barb.

Note: to view the pictures better, click on them.

What I find mesmerizing, is in this big bustling city, I was sitting in a small theater. One block away 40,000 people were at The Police concert and on the south side a Sox Game was going on. Throw in the gazillion other things to do, other plays, bars, restaurant, and the Taste of Chicago calculates to be great deal of people. I find that no matter where you are, a small town or a huge city. It all comes down to the company you are with, making it the best place to be. Thanks for a great evening.

My friend Arlene Malinowski, a Coda, will be performing at the Live Bait Theater. I am so excited to be making the 3.5 hour journey (one hour added due to traffic). Tonight there is a group going, and I know there was a group of Codas yesterday too. When you get together with Codas, plan to laugh for a good long time. We are just as bad as our parents, unable to say good bye at a reasonable time, and having to stand in the doorway for another hour with more news and more hugs. Some of us are really bad, staying ‘til 3 or 4 in the morning! I remember one day about 5 years ago. I was feeling a bit homesick or down. I felt like I needed a Coda fix. I didn’t think much of it but mentioned it to a close Coda friend. That night I had a bunch of Codas over, they brought food, we hung around sharing stories and talking. It was amazing how they come into your home and make you feel welcome, in your own home. It was similar to another recent experience. Last February I organized a weekend Coda getaway. The Saturday dinner was in my home, it was amazing how my home exploded with Codas. They all carpooled from the hotel, made their way in the door, found a glass, poured their wine, made them selves at home and I didn’t have to stress. It is a fantastic feeling to hosts Codas in your home. You should try it (wink, wink).

Ok, off I go, I’ll be sure to have an update and possibly a picture of tonight’s show. I’ll be dining before the show with Codas and I’m sure up late with Codas. Where there is one, there are more. I also am very excited (without hubby and kids, woo hoo) to see Arlene’s performance. It’s a Coda topic too. Till Deaf Do Us Part by Arlene Malinowski - Is “happily ever after” possible with Deaf parents, a flustered fiancée’ and a pre-wedding fiasco?