The Case of the Missing Hearing Aid

Now I can laugh about it but it wasn't funny when it happened!

Before I bring you up to date, I went back to my first post about this incident which I posted almost 2 years ago on December 7, 2007. wow. I didn't realize it was that long!

This is a copy and paste of the second paragraph from that posting. You can read the whole thing here if you want.

More than two months ago, before I went to bed, I put my hearing aid on the nightstand beside my bed. I normally put my aid on the dresser with my glasses but it was one of those nights I was especially tired. I did take off my glasses and put them on the dresser but after I was already in bed, I realized I hadn't taken off my hearing aid. I was too tired and didn't want to leave my warm bed so I just removed my hearing aid and put it on the nightstand next to me. That was the last time I saw it.

Back to today. I found it! For almost two years it has been lost and all that time it was practically staring me in the face.

Yesterday I shampooed my carpet that runs through my living room, dining room and hallway. Since I only do this once a year or so, I do a thorough job of it. I remove as much furniture as I can and get everything off the floor. In one corner of my living room, I have a low wood table. On top of that, I have the TV I use only for VP (video phone) purposes. Under that table, there is a large wicker basket. It is just filled with old magazines that I haven't looked at in... well.. two years? I know Merry (one of our our cat) likes to curl up in that basket and nap. The heating vent is also in that corner so its nice and cozy on cold winter days.

Anyways, yesterday I pulled out that basket and went through the pile of dusty magazines. I got all the way to the bottom and couldn't believe my eyes... there was my long lost hearing aid!!!! It was certainly dusty but looks just fine. Wasn't chewed up or anything! I haven't yet tried it on. I'm sure the battery is no longer good.

I have since purchased a new hearing aid that cost me an arm and leg since I lost this one so now I have two! I just happen to have another hearing aid mold for the opposite ear laying around so maybe I'll play with the idea of trying two hearing aids to see if I can tolerate that or not. I have tried twice to use two aids at the same time over the years but couldn't stand so much noise surrounding me. But, maybe if I give it another chance within the quiet of my home, I can teach my brain and ears to accept it. It wouldn't hurt. If it doesn't work, I just go back to what I had all this time.. just an aid in my right ear.

Sometimes its nice to just do without and have total quiet. This is what most of my day is. I normally don't even put my aid in unless I'm leaving the house and must face the public.

As for how my aid got in that basket... I can only suspect one of the cats removed it from the nightstand that night 2 years ago. They might have played soccer with it a little bit and then for reasons only they know, took it to that wicker basket under the wood table where the VP sits.

Now I can laugh about it!

Two Words Why I Love Facebook!

EQUAL COMMUNICATION!

That is why I love Facebook! I think of Facebook as a coffee house. There are groups of people sitting here and there... people coming in and coming out...some stay for awhile and some just pop in to say hello, look around and leave again. These are all people I know. Each group is having its own conversation and at any time, I can "butt" in and participate in the conversation or I can "lurk" around the edges and just "listen" to the others chat. I can even start my own conversation and see who comes and joins in.

I love Facebook because I can HEAR/read every single word same as every one else. I am not missing snatches of conversations. I am not laughing a fake laugh and not having a clue what I'm laughing at. I am not adding a comment to a conversation only to find out they are now discussing something else. I am not attempting to lipread conversations bouncing from one person to another and each time it "bounced", the subject changes. I am not frustrated with feeling "left out". This is my experience being the only Deaf in a hearing group.

With Facebook, I can be as active and participate as I want to. I LOVE hearing/reading the little comments of my friends and seeing what they are up to that day. Are they having a good or bad day? Can I rejoice with them over a blessing? Can I give them a virtual hug if they need or maybe some counsel? Can I just smile and laugh with them for a few minutes?

I've been on Facebook I guess 6 months or so now. A friend or two got my started and then I learned how Facebook would benefit my business so many business friends became my "friends". I have hearing and Deaf friends on Facebook. I have church friends and business friends on Facebook. I even have a few friends from high school and college on Facebook. Just recently... starting last week in fact... my family - both on my husbands and my side... joined Facebook. WOW. I had suggested this to them months ago but at that time, they were not so keen on the idea. I'm happy to hear that something caused them to change their mind. Now I can finally participate in conversations with my family... something that is not always easy to do in person. The fact that my side of the family is scattered in 4 different states and I'm the only one here in Michigan means we don't see each other in person much. I can finally say I have family on Facebook too!

Best of all... I love Facebook because it allows me to be myself... doesn't matter if I'm hearing or deaf... on Facebook...we are ALL equal!

While only people I know can become my friend on Facebook, I do invite you to become a fan of my business page....BienleinDesign Finds

See you on Facebook!

Proofreading in a dying art....

I often do newsletters for church or clients so I am familiar with proofreading mistakes that sometimes happen. I got this list of proofreading gaffes in an email today and it just makes me laugh! Thought I would share and give you some chuckles too. I do not know who originally put this together so unable to give proper credit. Enjoy...


Proofreading is a dying art, wouldn't you say?

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!! They put in a correction the next day.
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Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No joke, really? Ya think?
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Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that's taking things a bit far!
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Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
What a guy!
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Miners Refuse to Work after Death
No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's!
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Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works any better than a fair trial!
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War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!
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If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Ya think?!
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Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Who would have thought!
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Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
They may be on to something!
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Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?
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Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
He probably IS the battery charge!
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New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Weren't they fat enough?!
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Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
That's what he gets for eating those beans!
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Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?
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Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Chainsaw Massacre all over again!
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Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Boy, are they tall!
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And the winner is....
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Did I read that right?
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Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle). We all need a good laugh, at least once a day!

How Great Thou Art in ASL

How Great Thou Art is one of my top favorite songs. I can never get through it without tearing up and just sobbing. The third verse especially is extremely powerful.

This video was done by Ronaldo Feliciano. Ronaldo is the Deaf pastor of Tampa Baptist Deaf Church in Florida. Even if you don't know ASL, you can "see" the music in his soul!

Pause a moment from whatever you are doing and stand in awe of the Almighty God we serve!

Back to Blogging and Summer Movies

wow... I didn't realize I haven't been blogging in too long of a time. I need to get back into the habit. Its interesting how summer brings new routines and habits. For instance, since I work from home and have my own business... www. bienleindesign.com... I do not have set hours that I have to go to bed or wake up. I'm SO blessed!

My kids are teenagers so they are pretty much on their own and share many of the same habits I have... stay up late and sleep in in the morning. Unfortunately, my husband MUST wake at 3am as he starts work at 4am so all years around, he is the only one who still has set hours.

I rarely watch TV and even when I do, I am often doing something else at the same. I am reading a book or I am doing business related stuff on the laptop or maybe ironing. I just can't seem to SIT and DO NOTHING. To me, that is a waste of time. But... during the summer, I change.

Since I don't have to be awake at a set time to get the kids up and off to school, I have been doing the following routine for about a month now... I work on business related stuff until about 10 or 11pm. During that time, I'm not normally on the computer but I could be cleaning up or reorganizing my inventory.. I'm selecting the items I plan to post the next day...I take photos of those items or I pack up sold items for shipping the next day. Always something to do. I'm normally on the computer only up until about 3 or 4pmish.

So, anyways... at around 10 or 11pm, I force myself to stop. Now is my downtime. I find the remote and just browse through the Guide until I come across a movie that looks interesting. I try to pick one I haven't seen before, that has at least 3 stars rating and that is closed captioned. It really bums me to find a great movie and then discover it is not captioned or the captions are so screwed up, its not worth it.

I watch almost anything but I'm not a fan of the overly violent, gory or incredibly stupid movies (most of those DON'T get 3 star ratings!) or westerns. I like science fiction and most of anything else! I especially love Turner Classic movies - those in black and white! I try to do nothing else but just watch the movie. So far, I have not fallen asleep during a movie. I go to bed when its over and that is normally around 1am.

Of course, all this will end starting September when my kids are back to school and I need to get up at 6am again. Thus the routine changes with the calendar. No more late movies until the next June rolls around. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy catching up with old movies while I can.

I want to add that I never go to watch movies in the theater - mostly because none in my immediate area offer captioned movies. We don't often rent or buy movies either so I am years behind in watching the movies that won all the awards and such. That is not a big deal at all to me.