The calm before the storm

Tap tap tap. Tuh-tuh-tuh-tap. Tuh-tuh-tuh-tap. Tuh-tuh-tuh-tap.

Ignore that, if you can. Or give me A Look, whatever. That’s what Jase does. It’s the sound of me tapping my fingers on the table and I’m told it’s Annoying. Why am I tapping? Because I’m waiting.

Adam Hills – better (three years) late than never

A pretty cool thing happened to me a few weeks ago. Have been meaning to blog about it.

You see, I’ve always been a big fan of comedy. (Surprised? Seriously. It’s true!) Every year in April, we celebrate the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. From the age of 17, I was a regular patron. And not just a regular patron. An obsessed one. I used to pore over the guide in The Age on the day it was released. Circle everything I wanted to go to. A few years later, public liability insurance brought the prices of the tickets higher so I had to be more selective. But I always made sure I at least saw my two regulars – Wil Anderson and Adam Hills. Why? They went to the effort of writing new material every year. And they are funny.

My new favourite sound

OK, people keep asking me … yep, I’ve heard the baby’s heartbeat now! A sweet little sound that I’ve burned into the memory but can’t wait to hear again.

Inspired by David Helfgott!

When it comes to playing the piano, no living person inspires me more than David Helfgott. So what a treat to see and hear him perform live in a solo piano recital at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday night.

I’d never been to this venue before – it opened while I was deaf. I used to walk past it a bit sadly, wishing it had opened during the years I had normal hearing. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to be able to attend and hear a performance there. (Insert spontaneous applause for the miracle of cochlear implants!)

Bionic Ear Institute – the television interview! As promised!

A few blogs ago, I mentioned our meeting at the Bionic Ear Institute had been partially filmed by the ABC, for a program called ‘Art Nation’.

I’ve mentioned the concert project plenty of times, but in case I have new readers ... the Bionic Ear Institute have teamed up with a group of composers, lead by Robin Fox. The composers are learning all about cochlear implants and are trying to create pieces of music that people with cochlear implants can enjoy. The pieces of music will be performed at a concert in Melbourne, in February next year. It will hopefully be recorded so we can share the experience with cochlear implant recipients around the globe.

The first meeting between composers and CI recipients took place in early October. The film crew from the ABC were present for part of it. Aside from filming part of the meeting, they also spoke to a few cochlear implant recipients afterwards, myself included.