21.8.10

Jersey Shore

I am just back from fist pumpin' with Ronnie, Vinny, The Situation, Pauly D, JWoww, Sammi, and Snooki. My family took a vacation to the Jersey Shore before going back to school/work for a long time.

So many things happened in Jersey that I wanted to blog about. I couldn't believe many things that I saw. Pretty much all of these were from the boardwalk.

First, there had been a tram car going up and down the boardwalk carrying lazy people, and they are driving it on the boardwalk WHERE people are actually walking. I was amazed to see that they had no kind of signal on the tram to let deaf people know they were coming up from behind. They kept announcing, "Watch the tram car please", repeatedly. Ok what about people who can't hear that? The boardwalk t-shirt stores had a joke shirt about tram cars, which had an image of a duck being hit by the tram car. It could've been a deaf person. I was amazed at this, and I really wanted to test it out to walk in their way to see what they would have done. And give them that slap in the face that I'm deaf.

The boardwalk stores, what a pain in the arse. We all know how the workers of boardwalk stores are. There was loud announcements about their rip-off deals or music blaring. How do you communicate with that?! My mom is hard of hearing, and had to practically yell at them to talk. Who was the genius that said it was ok to blast music in stores everywhere nationwide?

Also in one store, I was looking at the tee's designs because they are fun to look at. One guy came up to ask me if I needed help, in which my dad who was with me at the time replied to him that I didn't. About 10 minutes later, the same guy approached me again talking to me the entire time behind my back while I was alone (my mom came in middle of it when she came to ask me something). What part of "she's deaf" you didn't understand? I have came across that before in my life. People hear that I am deaf, they either keep talking to me like that's impossible for anyone to be deaf, and/or talk louder (yes, even maybe YELL). Really? If they can't understand that I am still deaf and nothing will change, I'd say for those people to go back to school, IDIOTS.

15.8.10

Is the sand real?

Earlier today I strolled down memory lane with my mom and brother. My brother had brought up a quite funny memory that occurred in Williamsburg, VA which I thought to share with all of you. My family had went on the traditional summer family vacation to Williamsburg, VA out of interest with the colonial days history and Busch Gardens.

This particular memory had occurred at a museum, I do not remember the name. The only thing I remember about it was the colonial history of Virginia. There was only one part of the entire museum that I remember so well.

This exhibit had been a beach scene (don't remember why)... with the whole set up with beach theme, sand, etc. My brother and I had went up to the display. My brother was perhaps 10 years old at the time. My brother had the curiosity of whether the sand was real or not. I was standing right next to him, with a sign in both of our faces that clearly stated, "Do not touch the display".

My brother had touched the sand, then he walked off to my parents while I stood there still looking at the beach scenery display. When I turned around to meet rest of my family, I was faced by a staring audience. Why were these people staring at me?

I wandered clueless to my family. As we left that exhibit area, I had found out that the alarm went off when my brother touched the sand on display. It made a buzzing noise that lasted a few minutes which apparently got people's attention. Unfortunately, it wasn't good for me being deaf at that time as my brother left me there to take the blame and be stared down by people.

Funny? Someday I'll have a huge revenge lined up for him :) Of course, out of sibling love.

By the way, the sand wasn't real.

3.8.10

"Miss! I'll take that cart!"

Today I went to a store to get a pair of this high heels I've been craving to get. Once I walked out of the store (of course, after purchasing the shoes), the store alarm went off.

Now, that's one thing about being in Rochester with the awareness of deaf community. I walked out, and I always have the tendency to walk slow anyways ONLY because of that. A lady pushing her baby in a stroller motioned me to look behind me which I did and the cashier apparently forgot to remove the security sticker on shoe box.

I experienced this in my hometown at Victoria's Secret store. I walked out after purchasing several things from the semi annual sale (yay!) and the alarm went off. Of course I didn't know, and kept walking. Later on, there had been two ladies that I knew through my mom in the store when the alarm went off and apparently the cashier yelled non stop at me while I wandered off clueless. That's what I despite. People always assume that EVERYONE is hearing. You can not always depend on that. After hearing that, my immediate reaction was that I felt humiliated for being that clueless girl walking off from someone yelling. I shouldn't even be feeling humiliated, when it should be that cashier girl from Victoria's Secret because she is the one who yelled at a deaf person!

I cannot say how many incidents I've came across in my entire life when people assumed that I was hearing. Another incident that I recall was at the grocery store parking lot, where I was walking the cart to the drop-off area for carts. An older man was yelling at me "Miss, I will take that cart", "Miss!" then after several attempts he yelled "Jesus Christ!" which at that point, my mom heard him and yelled "SHE'S DEAF!". I recall turning around after dropping off the cart, the only thing I saw was that man raising his hands in the air out of frustration but I had no idea. Then I saw my mom yelling at him, then I saw his face sulk from the expression of being frustrated. He apparently was embarrassed and continued walking towards the store.

Also in Virginia on a family vacation, I was using the computer at the guest house office at my hotel resort. My brother was sitting on the couch behind the computer desk where I was IM-ing my friends. At that time, I was perhaps 15 years old. A girl who was around my age came in, and I was focused on IM-ing with my friends, clueless that she had begun to talk to me. She was asking how much longer I would be on the computer. After getting no response from me, she said "whatever" with an attitude and stormed out of the room which got my attention. I looked at my brother in confusion and my brother told me what happened. Although, my brother sat there and didn't say anything... I was upset at him that he didn't put the slap in her face that I was deaf.

How am I suppose to feel every time these incidents occur? It always make me feel like it is my fault, after all I am the deaf person. This wouldn't have occurred if I was hearing. This kind incidents have always brought me down because it makes me feel like it is my fault and it also keeps shoving the fact that I am different in my face. For these people that did got the slap in their faces that I am deaf, who knows if it changed their perspective? I think people may forget after a while, and go back to doing the same thing - assuming that everyone is hearing.