~ PerCusSo ~

Last Monday, I saw Ayumi off at the Changi Airport. I was alone. Lydia, Handoko, Peter, Huishan and others were not free to see her off.

Over there, there were many Japanese parents, mostly mothers and kids.. Exchanging letters and contacts with one another.. Most of the teachers, like Ayumi, were going back to Japan. They might not go back to Singapore again, except for Ayumi. She will be back to Singapore again in May or June.

Well, I’m happy for her. She got married to Mr. Lucky Guy, Stephen. Ayumi is a great lady, she knows how to cook delicious meals!! Hahaa… She’s going to be the PR here. I wish her and her darling all the best to their endeavours..

I hate Singapore.. I can’t wait to leave Singapore..

Life here is so tough! What I’m doing now does not hold any future here for me. It has been 4 years since I last graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Nothing has been achieved so far..

Most of the people piss me off… They say that they will help those in need. But they do not help at all. They never do anything to help… SO FAKE!!

I hate Singapore..

Goodbye to the CableTV!! It’s time for me to unsubscribe to this CableTV.. I really love these shows very much, especially for the HK dramas. Well, I need to cut down on my expenses. At the same time, I hope to save money.. It’s a good thing for me anyway. And, I must work harder for my dream!!

KEEP IT UP THIS WAY!!!

TOP 10 – Reasons for Learning Sign Language

10… You can communicate through windows.

9… Sign Language is a 3-D language.

8… You can sign with your mouth full.

7… Hearing parents can communicate with their deaf child.

6… You can sign underwater.

5… Sign Language is a neat way to express yourself.

4… You can communicate across a room without shouting.

3… Sign Language is beautiful.

2… You can make friends with deaf people.

1… Sign Language brings together hearing and deaf people!

Darby J. Leigh was born deaf and can sign and speak fluently. Darby says that losing his deafness could be terrifying a change as waking up with a different gender, and believes that more time needs to be given cohlear implant studies.

By Darby J. Leigh, 27, Graduate Student
“Myself, personally, I’m often asked, you know, if I could take a pill, that would somehow overnight make me into a hearing person, would I take it? And my answer to that question has always been, no, I wouldn’t. Because, again, like I said before, I value…I very much value the experience of being me, and my deafness has become, you know, an integral part of my own identity, which, I would have no desire to remove. I think… I mean, the idea is terrifying. And I think it’s no different than asking a hearing person if they’d like to take a pill to make themselves deaf overnight. You wouldn’t do that. Nobody would want to wake up as a completely different person. I wouldn’t want to wake up with a different skin color. I wouldn’t want to wake up with a different gender. I’m used to who I am…
The cochlear implant issue is a very sticky one in the deaf community right now. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about it. I am very uncomfortable with implanting infants… I think we need a lot more information, and we need a lot more research about long-term effects, about sense of self, about emotional growth and maturity of children who have implants. If you’re an adult, over the age of 18, then, you know, I think so. I say go ahead. Whatever you want… Where do I put deaf people with cochlear implants, as far as deaf culture or hearing culture? I give every deaf person the right and opportunity to identify themselves…
I do believe that every deaf person with a cochlear implant, with a hearing aid, or with nothing at all, is a member of the deaf community. The deaf community is all-inclusive. It is everyone who has a hearing loss and experiences the world in that specific way.”

Hmm, I totally agree with this person. This makes alot of sense… If anyone asks me this question if I were given the opportunity to hear again, I would gladly reject it. You know, I’m happy to be Deaf and it’s part of me. Again, I see it as my life challenge and this gives me alot of experiences and wisdom.. Ha, I see myself as an unique person with a such character. Not only me but everyone, they are special in their every way and/or character…!

Hmm.. That past week was really bad. A spate of bad luck.. You know, I got scolded by the boss last Monday. Stressed by Lydia last Wednesday. Irritated by some people at KFC work last Friday and even just now. Hope next week will look better for me..

I’m just informed that Huishan got her interview/test for her application on the Digital Media Design course tomorrow. Hope she can get through it well..

GOOD LUCK, HUISHAN! *praying hard with my clasped hands*

Glad that our misunderstanding has been cleared between Mdm Mary and me. She’s partly at her fault as well. She has admitted her mistakes in her email. Nevermind, we hope to solve these problems and work together towards making the children realize their music potential in themselves..

LILY GOH, you must DO WELL in your job!! WORK HARD!!!

Today was my bad day at work!

I got a lecture from Mr. Teow this morning. What was happening now? There was alot of mis-communication among Ms. Mary Lim (teacher-in-charge), Mr. Pisit (the other band instructor) and me. Actually, through email and SMS, I asked her one or two week ago to send the letters to the children’s parents so that there will be practices during the March school holidays. So far, she denied it. Again, I asked her for the band listing of members so that I could follow up with their attendance. It all happened two weeks ago. In the end, she didn’t give me anything that I wanted. She just complained to Mr. Teow about me. I came late on that day. Yes, I know I was wrong. But I wasn’t late every Saturday. She was not there every Saturday, how did she know that I was like that? I didn’t understand why she did it..

And, as for Mr. Pisit, he told him the different things about me. I’m really surprised! I thought Mr. Pisit and I agreed to teach some certain kids the song as I asked him to. That’s sharing the work. I do not understand why he said in that kinda of tone. I guess I must clear the misunderstanding between both of us this time.

After having the lecture from Mr. Teow, I went to a place where I could think of my resolutions to these problems. Somehow, I felt so sad, thinking that I was “back-stabbed” by them.. Perhaps, most of the problems were caused by me. Or come to think of it in a positive way, it would be my lesson to add to my music-teaching experience. Due to my deafness, there was alot of mis-communication. Again, it was partly my fault that I didn’t cc all those email correspondences to Mr. Teow so that he could stand for me when anything bad happens. At the same time, I didn’t plan properly for the band. These are my resolutions to them this time and meanwhile, I hope that I can manage this work alone, even though there are the other band instructor and the teacher-in-charge assisting me. I cannot depend on them all the time!! I MUST prove them wrong!!! I can do it!!! I can teach!!!!

LILY GOH, BUCK UP!!

Deaf Students Feel the Music
From: Salem Statesman Journal, OR – Jan 14, 2004

Salem Academy’s percussion ensemble pays a visit to Oregon School for the Deaf.

TARA MCLAIN
Statesman Journal

In any other audience, it would be rude to talk through a performance.

Not this performance. And not this audience.

Elementary students at the Oregon School for the Deaf were thrilled by the vibrations of a percussion ensemble Tuesday. As teens from Salem Academy Christian School snapped, tapped and rapped on their instruments, the children’s hands and faces were busy expressing their owners’ excitement.

With the first wallop of the bass drum, broad grins spread across the young children’s faces. They put their hands on the bleachers to better feel the vibrations from the tympani, cymbals, bells and snare drums before them.

“I want you to listen for the loud and soft, and listen for the fast and slow,” Kami Hettwer, director of the percussion ensemble, said as a teacher translated into American Sign Language.

The percussion ensemble is new at Salem Academy, and Hettwer was looking for venues to perform. She has some experience with music therapy and thought the ensemble would be a good way for the deaf students to experience music.

Kindergarten student Kasala Hunter mimicked music-making motions of Loren Sheets, the snare drum player. Lucio Huerta wiggled on the bleachers and let out yelps of joy.

The students come from across the state, and range in age from 5 to 21.

Some stay in the dorms during the week and return home on weekends; others are driven to the school from around the Mid-Valley.

The children have varying hearing abilities. Some have hearing devices; others have no hearing, said Charlotte Iliff, elementary and middle school supervising teacher.

“Could you hear it?” Hettwer asked after her group played “Simulating Assimilation.”

“Could you feel it?”

The children nodded.

When the ensemble finished, Hettwer invited the 20 children to make their own music.

A cacophony of fun ensued.

Lucio raced to the timpani and beat out a triple-forte rhythm. Next was the bass drum, where he banged with the intensity of a marching band. His teacher, Margaret Boyd, could barely keep up as he rushed to the snare drum, then cymbals, then bells.

His huge smile was as constant as his beat.

Copyright 2004 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon
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