The Nutcracker ballet

Do I have self control?

Sure!

I wait until we get to double digits before I start counting down to Christmas. That’s September 17, everyone. 99 sleeps.

OK … so I’ve kind of been banned from counting down any earlier than that, so maybe ‘self control’ is the wrong terms.

You may as well know now (if you don’t already) that I’m one of Those People who adores Christmas.  Jase has had to enforce a rule in our house. No counting down until we get to double digits, or it’s Just Ridiculous.

Sometimes I get around this rule by counting down to the day that I can start counting down. ;-)

But no need for that any longer! We’re in double digits!

And how did I choose to celebrate?

By going to The Nutcracker ballet, of course.

Note to self

Next time you decide to sing from The Beach Boys Golden Hits at the top of your lungs while you’re preparing dinner, you might want to check that the front door is shut, first. Else those musical sounds might suddenly be accompanied by the door bell, a loud cough (which I’m willing to bet was actually a chuckle), and your own voice saying ‘oh crap’.

Winter sounds

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a lover of sounds. I’ve just been having a lot of trouble finding a favourite winter sound to blog about.

Some people like the sound of rain against the window. They find it soothing. I have nothing against the sound of rain. I just don’t particularly like rain. And I know it’s Not Politically Correct to say that in a drought-stricken place where it doesn’t rain nearly enough, but there. I said it. Sorry. I’m not a winter person. If sunshine had a sound, then I’d be sure to love that sound.

The 2000th Cochlear Implant Celebration - Melbourne

I do love balloons. So when I got an invitation to attend a balloon release, to celebrate the 2000th cochlear implant surgery in Melbourne, I was like a kid at Christmas.

I’d been sent a name tag and was asked to write on the back, in 25 words or less, what having a cochlear implant means to me. That tag would then be attached to a balloon and released at an afternoon tea on the 26th August, during Hearing Awareness Week here in Australia.

I spent that entire weekend writing and rewriting my message on scrap pieces of paper. Actually, it wasn’t scrap paper – it was Jason’s heavy-duty graphic arts notebook. Sorry Jase. I have to write wherever the inspiration takes me. Even if that means later taking you back to the stationery store for another notebook. :-P

My speech for the '2000th Cochlear Implant Celebration'

For the family and friends who wanted to know what my speech was. And for anybody at the event who couldn't hear it properly. Here it is ...

My first musical: West Side Story

So I went and saw West Side Story on Saturday night, my ‘mildly ambitious’ event of the year!

Couldn’t seem to get any sound from the telecoil though – turns out our seats weren’t in the hearing loop after all. Either that, or they hadn’t switched it on.

Given that was the case, I fared better than I could have hoped.

West Side story – my 'Mildly Ambitious' event

In my second-ever blog on this site, I pointed out that I'd booked tickets to West Side Story. The full blog is here (http://back-in-the-loop.blogspot.com/2010/03/theres-mildly-ambitious-far-too.html) but the part I'm talking about is this:



Shh … I’m booking tickets for musical events taking place later this year. If my audiologist finds out, I fear she’ll send me for a pre-implant psychological assessment, quick smart, to quash those Unrealistic Expectations.


Let’s start with Mildly Ambitious, scheduled for around 4.5 months after switch-on. (August 2010)

I am really, really excited about this one! Last night, I took advantage of an internet pre-sale and booked tickets to a theatrical production of West Side Story for August this year. I have always wanted to see this performed – am such a huge fan of the movie! And the best thing is, I had the good fortune of discovering this one in my ‘hearing years’, so I know the soundtrack very well. I plan to watch the movie (captions on!) many times before the show, to refresh my knowledge of the story. The music is a strong feature of this one, but there’ll be plenty of dialogue to break it up, and I also know the lyrics to the songs already. I’ll be sitting in the loop so I can make full use of the telecoil. So I think it’s safe to call this ambitious, but mildly so.