@Bookish Bohemian: As someone who is to start her first round of IVF in January, I too, appreciate hearing from others who have had similiar struggles. It gives me an idea of what to expect...and some hope. Good luck on your fourth!
@Frau Blucher: Voting in Florida too. Most of them were appointed by Jeb Bush and tend to be conservative - I plan to vote no to most of them.
@Stagtasticfantastic: Huh? "I have no sympathy for the deaf community stuff" - what a way to devalue my community. I respect your desire to see deaf children implanted, but please don't belittle the deaf community when making your case.
@NifTnudel227: Hearted you for this comment. Well said.
@lorax42: I had a friend like that in high school too - only this one, she'd make comments about how much prettier she was compared to me and would revel in stealing the guys I liked. I can't believe I once thought friendships like that were acceptable, and now I realize (and I wish I did then) that she was truly the ugly one, not me.
I know that invisibility all too well, but in a different context. I'm deaf, but can lip read and my speech is legible for the most part. Often times during my interactions with hearing people, I often times find myself wearing the cloak of invisibility. One case in point: when my husband (deaf) and I went to a car rental place with my hearing sister and her husband. My husband and I, having made the reservation, approached the employee about picking up the car. Upon finding out that my sister can hear, he immediately ceased any attempts at communicating with me or my husband and directed all inquiries to my sister, including asking her for *our* credit card number, which car *we* had wanted, and so on. I tried to direct the conversation back to my husband and I to no avail. Unforunately the loss of empowerment occurs quite frequently among the deaf when in the hearing world. It sucks and is in no way amusing.
Okay. Rant over. Thanks for listening folks.
@Dora_NYC: Yes yes yes - the acronyms - I gave up on those boards partly due to the fricking acronyms. And the constant referral to sex/intercourse as the baby dance (or BD, if you will) always drove me up the wall. Jeebus. The baby fairy dust complete with itty bitty sparkles did not help at all.
@banana_grabber: I too recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility - after two years of trying, the book finally helped me figure out what was going on with my body and gave me a sense of empowerment when visiting the infertility doctor.
@Sodypop: Oh it so sucks! My husband and I are going through the infertility struggle right now, but like you mentioned, I think the ordeal actually has brought us closer (although there has been moments when the opposite seems to be happening). I don't know if we'll end up with a baby or not, but our marriage has definitely become stronger. One of the very, very few upsides to this whole infertility thing.
Good luck to you and Mr. Sodypop.
@banana_grabber: Yes! Recently I discovered ‘Taking Charge of Your Fertility’ and highly recommend it. My husband and I have been trying to conceive the last two years, and all that time, I’ve been fumbling around, trying to determine when and what was happening (my old doctor told me that intercourse on Day 14 was the key to getting pregnant and I stupidly didn’t question him). But after reading TCOYF and taking my temperature daily the last 2 month, I’ve become more attuned with my body and like you mentioned, empowered, especially when I go to my infertility doctor appointments.
@mjaylee: I think Bush's wars did *much* more damage to our country and its values than this bill will.
@Triana Orpheus: Thanks! From someone Who Can't Hear All That Well.
@thecameralovesyou: No, it isn't your hormones. The father's letter *was* the most powerful ones I've heard; even the brother's, although short, brought about a new round of sobbing/tears from me.
@Eleanor Ramilly: I too love Jackie Chan, mostly for the following video... His signing is pretty eloquent for someone who probably had to learn his lines on the fly.
@Crackers in Bed: That, that! Instead of creating my own work, I find myself spending hours on the Internet looking at other people's work in the name of "research". I'm not one for resolutions, but in 2010, I'm cutting back on the internet and make sure I make some time for creative work that doesn't start with a website address.
@amypee: Thanks for sharing! I'll definitely be writing an email of support to them.
@legaleaglerunner: I'd be annoyed too, if I had to babysit at the last minute because my daughter decided it's more important to drive to a town hours away just to confront a guy who was rumored to be seeing someone else than to be with her baby, like Farrah did in the last episode. Seems her priorities need work - but then again, when I was 18, mine weren't all that great either. However, I didn't have a baby in the picture then (thank god!).
@toadaleh: Thats it - I'm no longer reading his crappy site. What a loathsome asshat.
I'm shocked. Shocked. I was hoping she'd get better. She was very good in '8 Mile'. RIP, Murphy...
@Hooplehead: I acted in a movie which was directed by a deaf and blind man ("No Talking Allowed") - there were very little safety issues to be had. I don't think people realize just how much deaf and blind people are capable of doing, and that includes stage acting (and even on a RAISED stage). There would be very minimal safety concerns - I mean, there has to be safety concerns on stage regardless of an actor's sight and hearing abilities, and after working with Matt Daigle on his movie, I can say with complete assurance that a deaf and blind actor in the cast would not be much of a hinderance. So I'm not sure if I agree with your point, but do see where you are coming from.
