Second in Command and Miscellany

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I am surprised at myself. Off and on, I may only wear the CI (cochlear implant) and not wear the HA (hearing aid) for various reasons. I still have the high-pitched edge to the voices when I wear the CI alone. It never ceases to amaze me how both the CI and the HA compliment the other and make things sound “natural.”

Sometimes the phone rings when I am fresh out of the shower. (Yeah, it rings a LOT. Mostly junk (telemarketers) that wasn't worth the effort to answer.

Wet hair...

I would grab my HA (I am not comfortable using the phone with the CI ear yet) to answer it. (In any case, it’s not recommended to get the HA or the CI wet.) Usually I may wear the HA by itself until my hair is dry enough to put the CI on. During those times, I find that my better ear, the HA ear, is no longer my “better” ear. It’s demoted. Second-in-command.

My oldest daughter can see a remarkable difference when I am only wearing the HA. I am deaf. I get sounds. I get speech. I just don’t hear as well as I do with both the CI and the HA. (How did I manage the last 10-15 years?) I guess I just didn't realize how much effort it was until the last two years or so. You just do with what you got.

I love how well-rounded my hearing is with both the CI and the HA. Amazing.

Recent CI moment:

I was sitting at the kitchen table, back to the bright window, when I heard a “pinging” sound. It was repetitive. Ping...ping...ping. I look at the dog, but she is curled up into a croissant-shaped puffball. It couldn’t be the clock. It’s not the same sound. What is it? I am alone in the house. No one else could be making that sound. It took me about two minutes of focused, where-is-the-sound-coming-from concentration to realize what it was. I stared at the vent that leads to the basement. Bingo.

The dryer!!

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Maybe a button from one of the jeans was knocking around in the dryer as it rotated. Ping. Ping. Ping.

I would have had to be within a few feet from the dryer to hear that. Now I was hearing it through the vent in the dining room. Not on the same floor. How cool is that?

(BTW, I found out that the HLAA (Hearing Loss Assoc. of America) convention of 2010 will be in Milwaukee!! How cool is that?) :)

On the home front:

We have one less dog in the house. :(

Topaz is at “training camp” for hunting. It’s a bit quieter around here. He’s the “barker” of the two. Onyx doesn’t really bark much at all, only when she really, really had to go outside or when she had enough of being outside. And when she wanted water/food. I've noticed that she seems to bark more now, though. A "Topaz" influence? Maybe.

Hubby took him in on Monday. Today he went out to visit him to see how the training was going. Topaz is learning commands. He's learning the "pointing" position really well. He says that he's just another person to him right now because Topaz has to been listening to two trainers. (Topaz, we hope you don't forget us.)

Onyx has an open sore on one of her back paws. She's been licking that wound a lot, and now it's swollen. Hubby will take her to the vet to get that looked at. Whew. Hope the owie isn't too badly infected.

It just seems like the year is passing so fast. Soon Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. Angel is already practicing for the Christmas service in school.

It doesn’t feel like 2008 has been around here that long. I guess that’s a sure sign of getting old. I hear that all the time. LOL.

Flare is still doing great and has settled in high school life. She still bikes/walks to school. Occasionally, she’ll get a ride from Hubby if it’s raining or from the neighbor. She is so looking forward to watching the Twilight movie when it’s ready to hit the theaters.

I have been in a funk lately. I love to read. I used to read a 300 page novel within three hours, give or take a few minutes. My eyes get tired of reading within two hours and I don’t read half as fast anymore, it seems. Sometimes I’m rereading a paragraph because after I read it, I realized I lost track of who was talking or I am re-reading the same line. I have to keep my finger at the beginning of each line so I don’t do that. Note: I don’t always have to do that, though, but it helps if I want to keep track of where I am.

Right now I am reading “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer. I have about a hundred more pages left to read. I like the author’s writing style. She's not afraid to write fragmented sentences and has fresh similes.

The girl really knows how to write. I wish I could write like that. I just don’t have the imagination. It’s well thought out, too. There must be an outline of a sort to go by.

Not much has been happening that's exciting or news-worthy.

HUGS