Catching Ducks

I almost forgot:

Happy Birthday Sotosoroto!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

You're old!!

Recently my friend Zanda described me as talking "nineteen to the dozen" -- meaning I use nineteen words when other people would only use twelve.

I don't know what she's talking about. I'm not talkative at all. Jack and Soto will back me on this, right? Right?

[insert crickets chirping]

Sigh.

Remember that test I was freaking out about a couple of weeks ago? I passed! Yay me!!! :) :) :) :)

Rule #9: Get to the point!

ring, ring

Good afternoon, Jane's Boutique, how can I help you?

Hi! My sister went to, uh, Dallas last year? And she bought this hair clip thing? And, umm, it, you know, it's really cool, but I can't find it here, and she's not going back to Dallas again, because she was visiting her boyfriend's parents, but they broke up, so I really want to find it here, you know? I've looked all over for this thing, but I can't seem to, you know, find it anywhere? Do you have it?

What exactly is it?

Oh! It's really great. It's this great color of purple that totally matches my favorite shoes and it works really well in my hair, 'cause, you know, my hair's really fine so I have a hard time finding clips that work for me. You know?

Um... yes. What else can you tell me about it?

Well, my sister found it in this great store in downtown Dallas that she went to with her ex-boyfriend's mom and her sister, and she -- my sister, that is, not my sister's ex-boyfriend's mom's sister -- said the store was really great and had lots of cool stuff, and they had a bunch of these clips, and the sales clerk at the store said they were really great, especially for fine hair, which my sister has, too -- I guess it's a genetic thing, 'cause our mom has really fine hair, too -- so my sister bought a couple, and she loaned me the purple one and I really, really want to find another one, so do you carry them?

I'm not sure. We have several different types of hair clips. What exactly does it look like?

Well, it's made out of this weird wood with this cool pattern, but the thingy is metal and....

-------------------------------------------------

AAARRGGHHHH!!!!!

I don't mind it when people describe the item they're looking for (assuming they don't know a name for it). It's the long-winded explanations that drive me batty. GET TO THE POINT!!! Tell me what you're looking for, and I'll tell you whether or not we have it. For example:

ring, ring

Good afternoon, Jane's Boutique, how can I help you?

Hi, do you have a purple trellip hair clip?

Yes, we do.

OR...

No, I'm sorry, we don't carry those.

OR...

Trellip hair clip? I'm not familiar with those. What do they look like?

Oh, well, they're wood, but the clip part is metal and....

-------------------------------------------------

See how simple that is? See how much time you're saving us both? Just tell me what you're looking for. If I'm not familiar with it, I'll tell you that, and you can give me more information.

Don't tell me why you want it.
Don't tell me where you first saw it.
Don't tell me where you heard about it.
Don't tell me that you lost the first one and just have to replace it.
Don't tell me you loved it as a child and now want it for your kid.
Don't tell me that you just have to have it because your sister, who just had a baby, would love it, and you really want to get it for her because everyone's been focussing on the baby lately and you think she's been neglected and you remember how difficult it was when you had your first child who's going to be entering first grade next year and....

I. Don't. Care.

More importantly, it's irrelevant to whether or not we have the product. The fact that you need it desperately for your child's science project that he started this evening and is due tomorrow is not going change whether or not we have it. It's not like we're keeping a box of trellip clips behind the counter and waiting for the people who really "need" them, and hiding them from everyone else!! We either have it or we don't. Your life story isn't relevant.


(P.S. For those of you who have fine hair and purple shoes: I made up the "trellip clips".)

I finally saw Episode III yesterday. I was underwhelmed.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. Maybe I was in a bad mood, maybe I had too many people tell me how wonderful it was (and therefore built up my expectations), but I didn't really like it. Some bits were good, and it was fun to watch Anakin go all crazy-evil. But overall? Meh. I'm sure it's heretical, but I preferred Episode II. (Of the newer ones, anyway. "Empire" is still my overall favorite.)

I don't even think I'm going to see it again, which is just... weird. And sad. :(

Ok, obviously Dr. Hibbert wasn't in my store, what with him being a cartoon character and all. But this guy laughed just like him! I heard the guy talking, and he had this really deep voice, but when he laughed it was just like Dr. Hibbert. Crazy!

When I started this blog a couple of months ago, I put down "soon-to-be sign language interpreter" as my job.

Today I had my first paying job as an interpreter. Guess I better remove the "soon-to-be"!

After two years of ASL classes, followed by two years of interpreter training, I am done!!! FINISH, as we sign in ASL. I can't quite wrap my brain around it, though. Today was the last day of class, and it was one big party. All 30-ish of us graduating had class together every day for two years, so it was really hard to say goodbye. We had four hours of class today, and at the end we were still lingering. I finally left when my ride dragged me out of there. But I cried and cried. It was so bittersweet. Half "Hooray, I'm done!!" and half "I'm going to miss everyone" with a dash of "Omigod, what'll-I-do-now??"

I'm so proud of my friends (and myself) for finishing. Looking back, it amazes me how far we've (I've) come. It was such an amazing experience, both in terms of what I learned and for the friendships I made. I consider all but three of my classmates to be my friends. (And those three are...well...unpleasant.) Some of the people I met are so amazing. One woman is 43. She used to be a drug addict, living on the streets. She got clean, is raising her deadbeat sister's kids, and went back to school. How awesome is that? One of my other classmates is actually my cousin, and it was so wonderful and interesting to get to know her outside of the family. She's six years younger than me, so I always thought of her as a little girl. But now she's this amazing, wonderful, brave, silly, strong, independent, take-charge, creative woman, who happens to be a hell of an interpreter.

I have so many wonderful memories. I think I'm going to look back on these years as some of the happiest and most eventful of my life. I met one of my best friends in the program. I met my roommate in ASL classes. I came out shortly before the second year of the program. I moved, changed jobs, found a career I love, and made a lot friends. I struggled, kept going, and accomplished things I never thought I could do.

And now it's over. I'll keep in touch with a couple of people, but it will never be the same again.

Ok, now I'm crying again....

The test is tomorrow!! I'm not ready, I'm not ready!!!

Ack! What if I fail???

Ok, well then I'll take it again in 6 months.

But I don't want to take it again! I want to pass it this time and get it over with.

EEEEEEEKKK!!!!!!