Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Category: Uncategorized

  • Dust Bunnies Captured at Deaf Mom’s House

    I’m famous for my ability to fake cleanliness at my house.  I thought I did a pretty good job of preparing my house for a football party on Sunday.  We had a couple of families over and eleven kids roaming around.

    My friend Joanne, a gal who doesn’t fake clean, jumped up and down with excitement about halfway through the party.

    “I caught a dust bunny!  I have it on camera!” she exclaimed with glee.

    Indeed.

    An hour later, we discovered more dust bunnies as the guys moved the couch in an attempt to find the missing remote.

    The dog, I think, was just happy that we found a long lost steak toy.

  • Marlene Brady, Job Coach

    Marlene with student

    Marlene Brady works as a Job Coach at Hinsdale South high school in Illinois.  Marlene is part of a vocational team that consists of two other Job Coaches and a Vocational Coordinator.  The team works to prepare deaf and hard of hearing students to transition into competitive employment.  

    “I have a tremendous passion for the students and I want to help them have the same sort of positive learning experiences that I had in my young adult life,” said Marlene.  “My goal is to get students to realize the importance of what a vocational program can do for them.  I want to be able to make a positive impact on the students’ lives.”
     
    Marlene attended Gallaudet University but left before finishing her degree.  She was undecided about a major at the time.  After leaving Gallaudet, Marlene worked at several different jobs.  She worked as a Data Processing Operator at a bank, as a Patent Clerk in Intellectual Property Law at Argonne National Laboratory and as an Outreach Specialist of a Domestic Violence program at the Chicago Hearing Society.  “I took career courses and training at each of my jobs to gain my educational and work experience,” Marlene explained.
    One of the biggest hurdles that Marlene faced when looking for jobs was the communication barrier. “Before the Americans With Disabilities law was passed, I had no access to interpreters for job interviews and meetings when I needed them,” said Marlene.  “I relied on writing notes or lipreading, even though I missed out a lot of detailed information without an interpreter.”
    When Marlene went to work at the Chicago Hearing Society, she found that there were no communication barriers on the job from day one.  “It was my first time working in the Deaf Community and I felt a tremendous burden lift off my shoulders.  It was the best day of my life!”
    Today, Marlene enjoys her current employment as a Job Coach.  She challenges deaf and hard of hearing students to overcome communication hurdles by utilizing different strategies in the work environment.  “Often a student’s biggest fear is how to communicate with employers,” said Marlene.  “In the transition from school to work, the students learn that they can’t depend on family members, communication facilitators or interpreters on a daily basis.  I make sure to provide communication tips to improve their everyday communication and build bridges between the deaf/hard of hearing student and the employer, so that beneficial work relationships can be developed.”
    In 1989, when Marlene was working at a bank, she met and trained a high school student from Hinsdale South who was accompainied by Candy Butler, a Vocational Coordinator.  Nineteen years later, Marlene is now working with Candy at the high school.
    “What a small world,” said Marlene.  “Candy Butler inspires me to work well past my abilities and to have the confidence to handle any task given to me.  She respects me as a person and appreciates the job that I do.”

  • Come and Join Us for Mom’s Night Inn

    Manicures!
    Manicures!

    Imagine kicking back with a room full of moms. Moms who are raising deaf and hard of hearing children of all ages. Moms just like you.

    Yes, that’s right. If you’re a Mom of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, you’re invited to join a bunch of us gathering for Mom’s Night Inn, hosted by Illinois Hands & Voices.

    What’s Mom’s Night Inn? It’s a weekend retreat/workshop filled with crafts, manicures, massages and…chocolate. While we’re having fun, we’re exchanging our stories, learning from one another and learning from deaf and hard of hearing adults.  This year, we’re going to examine what we’ve learned on this journey of raising deaf and hard of hearing kids.  We have a panel of deaf and hard of hearing adults who will be sharing how their parents’ choices shaped their own journey and career choices.

    Julie Vassilatos, a mom who attended last year for the first time, took the time to write about her experience and pretty much sums up what you can expect from a Mom’s Night Inn:

    Mom’s Night Inn, January 2008

    The upcoming event will be held on January 24th and 25th, 2009 at the Hilton Lisle/Naperville hotel.  And guess what, that hotel has a pool and a hot tub!  If you want to join this fantastic event, you’ll have to hurry and register by December 15 to take advantage of the early bird rate.  After December 15, the rate goes up.  Space is limited– we like to keep it small enough so that we each get to know each other.

    Mom’s Night Inn Flyer

    Mom’s Night Inn Registration Form

    From last year’s Mom’s Night Inn:

    Ice Breaker Activity
    Ice Breaker Activity
    Panel of Parents/Children
    Panel of Parents/Children

  • Uncovering Written Memories

    I was going through a pile of papers and the hand-written essay caught my eye.  It was an essay written during my freshmen year at a local community college.   I sat down to read it and was instantly transported back in time.  I received an “A” on this essay, probably not so much for how it was written (because I see many mistakes and ways it could be written differently) but more for the story it shared:

    Even now, seven years later, I can still remember the first time I met Mike.  I was eleven years old when we drove up to our newly bought cottage.  As we settled down, a slightly balding man walked over and introduced himself as Mike.  That was the beginning of a special friendship that was rather slow in forming [at first].

    I cannot remember much of the first four years.  I was a very shy girl then, but Mike’s friendliness won me me over.  I was like a turtle, coming out of my shell when Mike was around.

    The shell really broke when I began to show a serious interest in [water]skiing.  Mike’s son used to waterski competitevely and Mike used his knowledge to encourage me.  He gave me the encouragement that I wanted so much from my own parents.

    He taught me a card game called “Casino” and we spent many a time together winning and losing to each other.  He was dubbed “The Champ,” and whenever I would win a game, I would  [strut around and] call myself, “The Champ.”  But never for long, because he would win back the title in the next game.

    Mike had a great sense of humor.  I always remember summers full of laughter around him.  He would put on airs of a big-time gambler, strutting around wearing his favorite hat from Las Vegas.  The expressions he used, his movements, never failed to bring out a laugh.

    There was a serious side to him.   Family bickerings always clouded his face.  He never let anyone know what he was thinking or how he really felt during those days.

    This summer, Mike got sick.  I hardly saw him during the summer.  No one knew it was serious until his son-in-law told us that Mike had cancer.  I was stunned.

    A few weeks after I found out, I went to see Mike in his office.  I was shocked, for he had grown thin and pale.  It was the first time that I realized he was not going to get better.  It was the last time I saw him.

    Mike died last week and I lost a very special friend.  As I sat in the church at his funeral, I thought of the good times and the bad times.   I replayed his smile, his laugh, and all the scenes of summer that came to my mind.  One particular scene stands out:

    I remember him standing under the maple tree and telling me that I was going to be the first girl to barefoot (waterski on my bare feet) on Christie Lake.  I laughed at him then.  Early this summer, I did it–but Mike was not around to share the glory [that first time].  When he finally came to the lake for a short visit, he sat in the boat and saw me barefoot.  I’ll never forget the proud look on his face.  That was the best memory Mike could have given me.

    Karen and Mike
    Karen barefooting

                       

  • Being Deaf–And Thankful

    I’m thankful I’m deaf.

    I was thinking that to myself on the way home from the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf  fundraiser last night.

    Now wait a minute, Karen–isn’t that a little crazy?  Wouldn’t life be so much easier if you had hearing in the normal range?

    Sure.  Yeah.  A little easier, perhaps.

    But here’s the thing: I’m living an incredibly rich, full life.  And that life includes people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind and hearing.  When I was growing up, all of my peers were people with normal hearing.  I had a childhood flush with a variety of friends, but man, I had to work hard to access every conversation.  So I’m thankful for learning American Sign Language when I became deaf at nineteen, because that’s the moment the world opened up for me.  It didn’t seem like it at the time, because I was thinking it was a pretty crappy hand that I was dealt back then.  I hated wearing the hearing aid 24/7, but the silence was more frightening to me.

    That silence came in handy when kid number one, two and three arrived.  They were loud.  Turning off the hearing aid became a thing of bliss.   And when kid number one, two and three lost their hearing, for a time, I wasn’t thankful. 

    But today–today, I’m thankful.  I look at my three kids and can’t even imagine them as kids with normal hearing.  The hearing aids they wear are as much a part of them as their eyes are brown.  The biggest difference between me and my kids is that they’re growing up with a sense of pride and confidence about being deaf and hard of hearing.  I was the opposite– I bluffed and hid it every chance that I could when I was growing up.

    Sure, there are days when I want to toss out the IEP papers and not have to remember who’s the head of the IEP team for which child.  Sue, my friend who is a mom of three kids– one deaf, one hard of hearing and one hearing, tells me how easy it is with a child who can hear.  No IEP, no IEP meetings, no searching for peers who are deaf/hard of hearing, no fiddling with technology, no stomping floors to reach out.  A little easier, perhaps, but that’s about it.  

    Last night, when the evening began to wane, I was sitting around a table watching the hands fly back and forth and thinking to myself, I’m so thankful for the path in my life that lead me to all of this.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

    CSDVRS Team at MCLD
    CSDVRS Team at MCLD
    Karen and Howard Rosenblum, MCLD
    Karen and Howard Rosenblum, MCLD

  • Bryen M. Yunashko, IT Consultant

    Bryen M. Yunashko is known as Yuko to his friends. For the last nine years, Bryen has been self-employed as a consultant in the IT field, specializing in open source software, especially Linux. “I focus on server set ups, file systems, email management, and desktop management,” Bryen explained. “At any given time, day or night, I could be discussing a project with developers in China, Europe, India, the U.S., anywhere.”

    Bryen was recently elected to the openSUSE Community Board and is probably the first ever Deaf-Blind member of a Linux-based board. “I started using Linux some years ago after I got frustrated with some of the restrictions and limitations I faced on Windows. I also ran for board because I wanted to ensure that accessibility users also have a strong voice in the open source world.”

    Bryen is actively involved in working with developers and packagers in making sure that all Linux-based software is accessible for people with disabilities. “I’m an active member and leader of the GNOME A11y Team,” Bryen said. “GNOME is a desktop environment in Linux and ‘A11y’ (A plus 11 letters plus y spells accessibility) stands for accessibility in computing. By getting into A11y, I’m taking charge of my own destiny. I want to be able to be sure I can continue to work with computers as long as I live.”

    As a child, Bryen attended the St. John School for the Deaf until it was closed in 1983 and then transferred to a high school in Evanston. “Roycemore was a challenge for me,” said Bryen. “After eight years living at St John’s, this was a complete life change and culture shock for me at a young age. Not only was it more challenging in school, but the sudden loss of my Deaf family due to the closing was traumatic for me.”

    Bryen was diagnosed with Usher’s Syndrome Type II in his mid-twenties. He has some central vision that allows him to view a computer screen, but no peripheral vision. During our interview, I asked Bryen, “What do you use to access the internet?”

    “I use a computer!” he joked.

    Ah, I walked right into that one.

    “I use a large screen, 24-inch monitor and Linux is good about having built-in accessibility so I can resize what I need properly,” he explained.

    Bryen entered college at the young age of sixteen, attending Gallaudet and California State University at Norridge. After college, he became involved with the Deaf Entertainment industry in Los Angeles and then worked in Database Management for UCLA. He left college before obtaining his degree, but hasn’t ruled out the possibility of pursuing formal education again. “There’s always continuing education, especially in the IT field. It is a never-ending challenge.”

    What did your parents do right, when they were raising you? I asked Bryen.

    “What a loaded question,” he said, with a smile. “I think the two things that stand out is that my parents always tried to ensure I had the best education possible, and my father, even at a young age, always engaged me in conversation about current events. I’ve had a love and appreciation for that ever since.”

    Bryen has some advice to share with deaf and hard of hearing students who are considering career choices:

    Keep your options open. Don’t focus so hard on just one career goal. Make sure you have diverse knowledge and awareness in multiple fields. The career of your choice today may not exist tomorrow and being well-rounded is key to sustaining yourself in the long run.

    More about Bryen:

    Bryen Yunashko’s Professional Website

    Chat with Bryen

    Interview with Bryen and the OpenSUSE Board

    The OpenSUSE Board Speaks

    OpenSUSE Elects Community Board

  • When Life Vanishes in a Flash

    Once in a while, life sends a punch out of the blue. This morning was one of them:

    I met Susan Quandt at the SOBCon’08 in Chicago this year.  During one of the breaks, we sat together and we discovered we had some things in common, including involvement with non-profit boards and fundraising for non-profits.   I remember Susan’s advice vividly:  “Choose your board carefully.  You can’t afford to have anyone on board who isn’t a team player.  Everyone has to give 110%”

    Susan was excited about being filmed for the Oprah show and talked about her day spent at the Oprah show.  I shared my Oprah moments with her– getting to meet Oprah after a show and thanking her for providing interpreters and the Letter to the Editor that was printed in the “O” magazine.   You can view Susan on the show here: Real Life Stories of the Law of Attraction.

    Later that afternoon, Susan and I ended up in the same small group reviewing commercials made using Utterli:
    SOBCon 08 046

    Every now and then, life also gives you a jewel that shines, and Susan was one of them.  In the short amount of time that I spent with her, I learned that she served on several non-profits, taught at a college, managed work and a family and had several projects that she was working on at once. I remember leaving our conversation thinking, “Wow, this is a gal who has accomplished so much and really embraces life!”

    I’m so sad to hear this news because I was so looking forward to meeting her again at SOBCon’09 and chatting more. My heart goes out to her family.

    SOBCon 08 042

    Susan with Denise Wakeman from The Blog Squad.

    Dr. Susan Quandt Memorial Tribute

    News Story

    Five Things I Learned From Susan Rae Quandt

  • John Denver Song Makes Me Think of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children

    I spent the afternoon playing around over at Overstream, learning how to add captions to a video.  I figured that it was time to learn, especially since Stephen Hopson and Glenda Watson Hyatt will be joining me to present at SOBCon’09 and we’ll be talking about web accessibility.

    I selected a John Denver video, Children of the Universe, since I know that song by heart.  But there was another reason for me to choose that song:  it always makes me think of deaf and hard of hearing children.  How different we all are, yet we are all brothers and sisters.  As different as we are, we make up one universe. 

    “To understand that life is more than always choosing sides.”

    It’s captioned. Enjoy!

  • Five Things–About Me and Social Media Happiness

    I haven’t done a meme in a long time and this week, I’ve been tagged by Glenda, Todd and Sue for two different memes.

    I’ll start with the Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me:

    I Hate to Clean

    My Mom and Flylady are twins separated at birth.  When my Mom gave birth to me, somehow the DNA in my genes failed to get the cleaning gene passed on.  But I can fake clean pretty well.  When my friend Beth stopped by at the end of summer we somehow got to talking about keeping houses clean.  I mentioned that I hadn’t mopped my floor since, oh, early May.   She gazed at the wooden floors in disbelief.  “But how come they look clean?”  I shared my little trick of vacuuming now and then and wiping up spills when they happen.  Now you all know my dirty little secret. Now you see why I want Flylady to move in with me?

    I Have a Terrible Addiction

    I have a new boyfriend.  His name is Twitter.  Joe knows all about him but he thinks he’s just some guy passing through the night.  I love Twitter because I can participate in every conversation and never feel left out.  He tells me the latest news, gives me compliments and once in a while we get into arguments– but we always move on to the next exciting thing.  

    I Am Not Organized and Neither Are My Kids

    That’s another gene that stopped with my Mom.  As of today we are searching for:  one lost paycheck, two library books, one school book, one phone (again!!), one homework assignment and my makeup bag.  Oh, and the dog lost her chew toy, too.

    I Enjoy Helping Others

    Nothing gives me more pleasure than to connect with others and help them in some small way.  Monetary gifts are often long forgotten, but kindness lives on for years.  My email box is filled daily with people asking questions about being deaf/hard of hearing or raising deaf/hard of hearing kids.  I have been mentoring for several years and provide online/phone mentoring as well. 

    I Can Cook Pretty Well

    For many years, I had the reputation of not being able to cook all too well.  It started when Joe mentioned to his brother that I burned a meatloaf in college.  So for years, no one ever asked me to bring appetizers or cook anything.  That was fine with me.  Over the years, I’ve gotten better and better at whipping things together and I’ve even taught my Mom a trick or two (usually she’s the one teaching me!).  This summer, I did a lot of cooking up at Christie Lake and I found I actually enjoy it.  Of course, there are some days I still make some mistakes and I’m sure my brother Kenny remembers the salty frittata that I served him at the lake.

    Now on to Todd’s meme, Five Reasons to be Happy About Social Media:

    1.  I am meeting people that I would have never had an opportunity to meet/chat with outside of the cyber world.

    2.  Social Media is a virtual watercooler that I can access (most of the time).

    3.  I work from home and social media gives me the opportunity to connect with people throughout the day. 

    4.  I’m meeting people around the world, like Joanna Young over in Scotland, Glenda Watson Hyatt in Canada, and Alex Fayle in Spain.

    5.  Social Media introduces me to current topics and trends, something that I can’t often access around me via conversations and parties.

    I’m leaving these memes open to anyone who would like to join in.

    Have an amazing weekend!

  • A Neat Gift: GiiNii Digital Picture Frame

    A picture of Christie Lake appears on the GiiNii Digital Picture Frame that is sitting on my desk. I sigh as I look outside at the cold wind rustling through the dried stems of the tall grass and then back at the warm sun gleaming on the lake.  Another photo appears–Lauren and her friend are jumping out of the pontoon.  The photo fades away and the three beautiful purple Columbine flowers show up on the screen.  Instantly, I’m transported back into Colorado and I remember the path along where the Columbine peeked out from a flower bed.

    Yes, that’s right, I’m gazing at my brand new toy, a seven-inch digital picture frame that holds up to 568 photos (at 2 megapixels each) thanks to 512 MB of memory.  The frame has a wedge design with a matte-silver finish and it sits right on top of my desk.   I can plug in this baby to my hard drive and download my photos directly to the frame or play my photos directly from a memory card.

    Every now and then, I’m asked to review a book or a product.  For many years, I wrote at Epinions and recently at Viewpoints, so I do enjoy product reviews.  Whenever I’m excited about a product, I like to share it with my readers.  The GiiNii Digital Picture Frame is one of them.

    The frame is simple enough at first– simply plug it in, turn it on and you’ll immediately see three pre-loaded pictures rotate.  There are four buttons on the side that control the different features.  The digital frame can play pictures, music and videos.  It also has a clock and alarm built in. 

    As soon as I opened the User Guide, however, I knew I was in for some trouble.  The guide has pictures but it isn’t very user friendly.  For example, one of the pictures shows a power button, but the button is referred to as the “G” button in the rest of the guide.  I have found that the best way to navigate through the features is by actually playing with the buttons and following the selection prompts on the screen.  The GiiNii website has videos that explain the features, but the video is not captioned.  I emailed the company to see if they could provide captions for the instructional videos and I’m waiting to hear back from them. 

    The resolution is a crisp 800 x 480 and the memory reader supports SD, MMC, MMC+, MS and XD.  The slide shows can be shown in the order that the pictures are loaded or randomly and the transitions between each slide can be customized.  The GiiNii frame has speakers for MP3, WAV, WMA, AVI, or MOV playback. 

    Needless to say, I really like this digital frame.  When the snow starts falling in Chicago and the temperature plummets, I’m simply going to close my window blinds and watch my digital pictures transform me to warm places.

    If you want to do the same, the GiiNii frame can be found on Amazon or at Target.  MSRP is $120 but is available at a bargain price of $79.95 on the Amazon link.

    Or check out the sales here: