Friday, March 16, 2007

gym class heroes, rolling rock and facebook

I've been living in Johnson City for about 8 months now. I'm beginning to come to the realization that there isn't anything for me here in this town besides earning my master's degree. The closest friends i've made here are from my interpreters and although I'm starting to talk to more people from my classes and i'm beginning to network as well. In spite of all this, I'm still lacking a social life that is independent of my sister's.

There's been a lot happening since the last time I posted an actual blog entry. I made it through the fall semester and am now trying to survive the spring semester. There are some courses that I'm enjoying but they're not any easier though. I like the teachers that i have though. Believe it or not i do like sanderson in my database class but i'm not too fond of his lectures. Tarnoff continues to be my favorite teacher even though I bombed my first project in his class this semester.

I'm also taking my first graduate class this semester. Its challenging which is nice. The thing about having this workload is that it'll effectively prepare me for taking graduate classes full time next semester and prepare myself for the work that I will have coming. I'm not used to writing papers, especially those that are related to technology and businesses but it will be a good tune up.

I've also started using transliteration in my graduate classes. For those of you that don't know what transliteration is, it involves the use of a transcriber typing almost all of what is being said to the best of the transcriber's typing and receptive abilities. I am happy with my services so far this semester. Not only do I get to read what is going on in classes, i also get a transcript of my transcriber's typed notes emailed to me later that week.

Its a very dramatic change compared to having sign language interpreters in my class. With interpreters my eyes tend to get tired after long periods of time especially with lectures. When I consider the situation that I'm in, i think that i've chosen the right services because i take a class before my graduate class with the transcriber and sometimes there would be a lecture before my 3 hour graduate class so therefore it offers up a change of pace in terms of reception of the course material.

I should explain how transcribing works in the classroom. there is a transcriber that types nearly everything that is being said in the classroom. It works between two laptops wirelessly, I read what is being said on a laptop provided by disability services. There is a software program called typewell and it allows two laptops to communicate wirelessly between each other and read what the other laptop is typing.

This is not intended to be anti-sign language interpreters because I still wouldn't want to take all my classes with a transcriber. I love how I am able to interact with my classes through my interpreters as opposed to through the transcriber. It seems more natural to sign and communicate with the teacher and class through the interpreters as opposed to having to type what I want to say to my teacher in my graduate class. This particular awkward situation happens almost every week when the professor calls on me to answer one of his questions.

In that situation i am aware that there is some lag time with what is said verbally and then typed. The teacher calls on me and asks me a question. By the time he has asked me the question, the first word is just then being typed on my laptop computer. I can detect the awkward silence while the class waits for me to answer the question through the computer and wait for my transcriber to voice what my answer is. It feels so unnatural and weird that I am restricted in how I interact with the classroom and even small groups.

Yet for a 3 hour night class I wouldn't have it any other way because this is a lecture intensive course that relies on notes from the lectures in the classroom. Because of this I'm doing fine in my first graduate course ever and should get through it just fine.

As for my other experiences in Johnson City, my job at Salsarita's is going alright. Serving toppings on burritos and tacos has never been more exciting. No one really gives me a hard time even if i have to ask them to repeat themselves, whether it be my manager, co-workers or customers. I try to give the best service I can give them and they usually respond understandingly and start working with me.

I have no complaints about Salsarita's. The food is good, its laid back, but of course anything after Giant Eagle would be laid back. I can put the tvs on any sports that I wanna see usually. For example today at work i just switched the tvs to the NCAA tournament and there was no fuss. Yep its nice.

In spite of all this, i remain lonely. I will admit I'm hungry for some socialization that will spawn itself and start branching out into more options for me. This is the case for a deaf man in a town where deaf events are very very limited and deaf peers or signing peers are few and far between especially those that are at my age. If i could travel to knoxville or atlanta I would but money is an issue at this point in my life that it restricts my traveling expenses.

I was in ohio last week for a few days on spring break. I was talking to my mom about the girls i've been with. Its starting to get weird because now she's criticizing me for the girls i've either dumped or just "lost." I'm not in my 30's or anything, i don't think i'm old enough to have my own mother start criticizing the relationship decisions that I make. It's insane but there are several factors that go into the decisions i've made about relationships or the girls i've dated. I'm pretty picky, to say the least. I've only dated one girl since i've been in town and I don't anticipate there'll be much more girls that I date while i'm here. In order to be "Louis Material" a girl needs several traits; intelligence, personality, willingness to learn sign or knows sign language, is open-minded, and is aware of the need intimacy in a relationship with me.

Yeah it also helps if that girl lives within a 25 mile radius, and I doubt I'll meet a girl like that by the time I'm done at ETSU. This shows why I'm so anxious to move to a large city where there will be a large and deaf-friendly population, unlike the one in Johnson City. There are three dream spots that I hope to go to after my time at ETSU, they are Washington D.C., Columbus, OH and anywhere in the Bay area of California.

But my priorities will go to wherever i get a job offer from. I need to get a job first and I hope it's going to be in a large city. This is where i'm commiting the rest of my future to. My time in Johnson City is going to be short and sweet, regardless of the outcome.