Friday 1 July 2011

A very thankful deaf day

Today is Thankful Friday.

It is also the first day of July and the cherry on the icing on the cake, is that its gorgeously sunny outside.

This week has flown by. My post-Switzerland funk has slowly been carried away in the haze of sunshine, rumble of thunder and prospect of the fabulous weekend ahead.

And what am I thankful for?

Well, that would be for my readers – yesterday I wrote a piece about considering a text phone and I have had two very useful responses already. Although Im not a technophobe, sometimes its hard to know where to begin looking for solutions to make everyday life easier.

But when you do, or when someone gives you amazing advice, suddenly a whole new world is opened up – like my free fire alarm fitted by the London Fire Brigade, or my Freedom pass and Disabled Rail Card, or the fact that EasyJet boards me with ahead of others – although after Speedy Boarding – to ensure the person I am travelling with can sit by me and tell me whats going on.

Then, theres the amazing little travel vibrating alarm clock I discovered thats far better than any model Ive had before, the lyrics application on my iPhone, that enables me to read along with the music I listen to, all the various apps that help me coordinate, book and run my entire life at the click of a button and tap of a screen rather than by phone, not to mention the fact that I normally get discounted theatre and concert tickets, plus a reduction for the person I am with on account of my deafness.

I know I write about this a lot, but it is amazing. On my flight out to Switzerland recently, I met three fantastic people – one a psychoanalyst, one a mother-of-the-bride who had been over for a dress fitting, and one a director of a budget airline. They were all so interesting to talk to, and naturally, I had to tell them I couldnt hear, because airplanes are noisy at the best of times.

It was only when they asked me how I coped with everyday life that I realised how easy it is to cope these days. So many people are on your side. Even my local MP it seems – but thats a whole other story.

And, so when I roll out of bed on the wrong side – like today – mishear the lady in Superdrug and accidentally answer yes to phone top-ups, mascara and Batiste Dry Shampoo, thus trebling my bill in three swift seconds, I will remind myself that its OK to mishear once in a while – hearing people slip up too, and its OK to be deaf in the city and having fun because the more you look, the more you see ways that make it even easier.

And really, thats all I want to do.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This post just gave me an idea - how about somewhere deaf/Deaf/hard-of-hearing people can share info on all the apps, gadgets, tools, widgets, whatever that helps them in everyday life? I know it will be very useful for a lot of people, especially if they have just been recently deafened. I would definitely love to find a portal like that (does it already exist, do u know?).

I didnt even know about the iPhone lyrics app! i would love to know more about that, please!
what i usually do is google the lyrics, have it open on one browser whilst listening or try and find a youtube clip with the lyrics embedded...i've got hundreds of lyrics saved on my laptop over the years!

Are there anything else that you use daily which really helps (also how did you book an MOT online??) coping with everyday life?

Even after 16-odd yrs from losing my hearing at 9yrs old, i'm still not aware of the techs out there to help me out just a lil bit more!

Here's to a sunny, warm, rain-free weekend! :-D

D

DeafGirly: How I feel about being deaf at work

It's been a whole year since I posted a blog on here. Life's been happening. And I guess I am no longer 'deaf in the city and ha...