March 19, 2014

Busy Day at the Office

March 19, 2014

There are slow days at our office and there are days that are swamped.  Sometimes it doesn't seem like there are many in the middle of those two extremes.  I had a lot of bookkeeping things I needed to handle yesterday: sending the state sales tax deposit, paying bills, working out some discounts on things we bought at the trade show in Dallas, finding inventory information for Ron, and a variety of other things like that. 

About noon I realized I had not taken my antibiotic that morning, so I headed home to get that and detoured on the way to buy some tamales at Ybarra's Tamales.  I needed to eat something when I took the pill so I had my lunch of tamales while I was home and then returned to the office.  Ron had several customers when I got back and the rest of the afternoon went that way. 

Often when I tell people I have a Cochlear Implant, they ask, "Is that what Rush Limbaugh has?"  The answer is "Yes".  Rush has done a lot to educate the public about Cochlear Implants.  Those who listen to him on the radio think he functions very well with his implant.  He does, but...  If you watch his show on the computer, you see a slightly different story.  If I mention that I have trouble on the phone, people may say, "Well Rush does fine on the phone."  Rush is using the same system he used while he was deaf.  A typist is typing the call onto his computer screen as he hears if on the phone.  It is rather like how closed caption TV works.  He hears much of what the person is saying on the phone, but when you watch him, live on the computer, you can tell he is often pausing, to read the screen.  He depends on that.  Once in a while his pause will be so long that it is noticeable to the caller or the radio audience and he will explain to those listening that he had to read it on the screen.  There are also times he misunderstands what is said.  He is so representative of what happens with the implant.  Users can function but all the additional aids they can get make life easier.

The reason I brought up Rush and his Cochlear Implant is that yesterday on his show he mentioned an event that he normally attends and strongly supports, but said he would not be attending it this year.  He talked about how hard it is for him to hear in that type of setting.  It was to be a dinner for a huge crowd and he talked about how he could not hear a thing at the event last year.  His description was right on the mark to what I experience.  I could totally identify with his experience and was glad he explained that to his audience, although he was making another point at the time and it may have gone unnoticed by many of his listeners.  He talked about feelings of embarrassment at not understanding what was said, and of just trying to smile at the right times and having no idea what had been said.  So true.

Again, Ron had to work late.  He does the taxes for several family members and it is that time of the year.  He completed a couple of those last night.  At home, I completed - very little.  I ate supper and worked briefly in the yard and then fell asleep reading.  It was almost midnight when I woke up and moved to my bed where I was then wide awake, so I read for a couple of hours.

It is strange at the office with my sound processor, if I am running the machines, it lowers the sounds and I can still get a little of the other sounds around me - not enough to understand conversation, but some.  If Ron is using the machines and I have my back to them, the sound processor cuts the noise down completely and I can't hear the person I am talking to.  This happens when I am waiting on customers.  There are two microphones on the sound processor and one is sort of toward the front (near the top) and the other is toward the back not far from the other one.  There is a program on the processor called focus that turns off or down (I am not sure which) the back microphone, but that program has some other limitations that don't make it the best choice at the office.  They recommend it for restaurants or church, etc.  I have not really found that it helps me in those settings. 

Since I fell asleep last night very early, this is being posted Thursday morning, but it is the Wednesday blog - if you care.  Hope to do one tonight.