WHAT I ENJOYED THIS WEEK . . .
- Baking and decorating Valentine’s Day cookies with Nick.
- Getting excellent advice on how to move forward and improve in my interpreting skills from mentors.
- Attending a silent weekend (not meditation; ASL only).
- Watching a Deaf stand-up comedian perform live.
- My first time standing on stage and interpreting speakers instead of music. I went for over 30 minutes on my own, I believe.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK
- Yes, the Deaf community was involved in the Super Bowl, but once again, things didn’t go in a way some folks found satisfying (you can read the transcript).
- I’m watching Price is Right, and I don’t know if the dude got his script wrong or what, but the announcer said, “Eat your way to health with 4 sticks of butter!”
- I won a drawing and got a DVD that helps you practice fingerspelling.
WHAT I WATCHED THIS WEEK
- My Bloody Valentine (1981)
GROUP ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK
- Signing Olympics — competitive games enjoyed in the Deaf community
- Workshops on: AI Ethics: past, present, and future; civil rights for people in the Deaf community, getting started as an interpreter after graduation; nutrition in ASL; and ethics
REACTIONS TO MY REVIEW
Reactions to my review of Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby: largely, folks felt like Irby has narrowed down her audience such that the newest book is not for them. However, if you’ve liked her previous books, you can always skip the chapters on the Dave Matthews Band and Sex and The City.
FORTHCOMING REVIEW
SHOPPING AT THE LIBRARY PHOTO
None, I was at the silent retreat all weekend!
Grab the Lapels 
Have you slipped to Sunday afternoon permanently?
People who stay too long as head of an organisation seem to govern for themselves rather than the members.
Looking forward to Villette, a good addition to our study of Gen 0/New Woman
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The last few weeks I managed Sunday morning, but this week I was out in the middle of nowhere with some spotty WiFi.
Something I learned about VIllette: make sure you get an edition that translates the French. Bronte uses it frequently, and in Biscuit’s copy the French, which often included pivotal information, was never translated in footnotes.
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Looking forward to your review of Villette! I haven’t read it for ages but when I first did, I preferred it to Jane Eyre – it might be time for a reread for me. And well done on your first time interpreting speakers on stage! That’s an impressive feat.
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Jane Eyre is quite a dramatic story compared to Villette, so I can see why you would prefer the latter as a very reasonable woman yourself!
Thank you for the congrats 🙂
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Hahaha, I want to eat my way to health with copious amounts of butter!
Sounds like an enjoyable weekend!
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Right?! That butter comment about killed me. I thought I totally misheard, but there it was.
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Your weekend sounds and looks like it was lots of fun! Your cookies look great too, and yummy 🙂 All of your workshops look like they would be really interesting!
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I’m still finding little Valentine’s Day sprinkles around the coffee table from when we decorated them.
I’m always excited by ethics workshops because while there is a Code of Professional Conduct, it’s all about how you apply it, being fair to everyone involved, and doing no harm.
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A silent weekend devoted to ASL. Sounds like a great way to develop your skills. It also looks like you had a lovely cohort of people to do it with. Loved the pics. And did you get all the jokes that Deaf comedian made? That would be a mark of your developing skills too.
Love the cookies you made. And, you won a drawing I need to know more about this. I don’t usually read reviews of books I haven’t read, but given Vilette is a classic, I will probably break my rule. I look forward to reading your post.
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I did understand the comedian. He also knew his audience, and that we were mostly students of interpreting, so I don’t think he included anything too overly complex. There were d/Deaf people in the audience, too, though.
The drawing was at the silent retreat, and I won a DVD of fingerspelling practice. Lately, my fingers don’t want to cooperate, which feels like a backslide, but we’ve talked in class that as some skills improve, others do not because we are focused on one thing at a time.
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That’s great Melanie re the comedian. And yes, I understand that about skills – they’ll all come together with practice and confidence, won’t they.
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Looks like a great week full of great people. And congrats on your 30 minutes of interpreting, that’s amazing! Looking forward to your review of Villette, I’ve been itching to read that one for ages.
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I’m interpreting the speaker again on Friday (two days), so we’ll see how it’s different from the international students I interpreted (because they are younger, English isn’t their first language, etc).
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How was the silent retreat? Was it hard to not talk? I feel like this would be impossible for me to not talk for two whole days, but also strangely soothing? Was it calming or challenging?
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I accidentally talked the first morning in the bathroom because I slept weirdly. Other than that, it was fine. I’m pretty immersed in ASL anyway. I do not speak in half my classes.
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Looks like a fun weekend! The cookies look great! I haven’t read Villette but I’m open to the possibility.
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It’s one of those older books that I find it easier to get on with, as opposed to some Austen, which tends to keep me at a distance.
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You seem to have had a fun crew alongside you in the weekend. Interesting to read that article about superbowl – it does raise a lot of questions about the ethics of the organisers
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I wonder how long the d/Deaf community will continue discussing the Super Bowl. When they want something changed, history has shown they are proud protestors!
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