Flight to California

The travel to California was long yesterday. I started with a 45 minute drive to the airport, stopping to drop off the pager at work. A 50 minute flight to Detroit which left later than it was supposed to and a run to the 5 hour connecting flight left me famished with no time to grab a bite. Of course the plane only had snack boxes left by the time the attendant reached seat 31F. Radical measures were called for and being sure it was 5 O’clock somewhere, I ordered wine with my snack box. After my makeshift meal, I pulled out my iPod, put the seat back a bit, put the headphones on and cranked it up. (People, I’m already deaf, don’t do that if you’re not!)

Awesome sound filled my right ear which has a T-Mic on the Harmony and makes using headphones very natural. The left takes a bit more work to hold the small earbud like headphone up to my microphone which sits slightly above and behind my ear. On the left I use a PSP processor with that older C1 cochlear implant. The music sounds so much better with two that I hold it up there until my arm starts to ache. About that time, I realize this experience might be worthy of a long over due blog post.

So here I am at 30,000 feet, writing on a mostly blank avocado ad page in O magazine so that the thoughts actually make it to the blog rather than being left up there in the ozone. Who would have guessed that inspiration would come to me up here when all I have is a magazine, book and iPod at my seat and the laptop is stowed someplace over head. I didn’t keep it with me as I sat down because it’s just plain too big for air craft use and the battery lasts about 2 minutes. Note to self: time to retire that 5 year old laptop and get a snazzy new lighter and faster one.

It’s very cool up here listening to Neil Diamond looking out the window at all the circles down below. I didn’t know they farmed in circles and I’m told later by a new CI friend from Massachusetts that they are irrigation circles. The circle makes me think of the UFO crop circle I just put on my Facebook Farmville farm game and thinking of Facebook is making me realize that it is probably why I haven’t updated my blog lately. I spend too much time playing Farmville and listening to the cows moo and the chickens cluck and all the other animal sounds. Have you played Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook? If not, I don’t recommend you start, it’s too addicting. But, I love it when it says “Excellent”! Maybe you have to be deaf to truly understand what an amazing thing it is to hear these sounds and words!

As Neil Diamond sings “I am I said, I am said I…” in my ear, I think “Yes, I am deaf and Yes, I hear”! Hearing is possible with these amazing devices called cochlear implants. Many thanks to Advanced Bionics for sticking with the research and development until music is enjoyable and speech is clear!

The views out the window are amazing on this plane ride. It is so clear and I have a constantly changing landscape out my window as I listen to music. Snow covered mountains and red canyons, brown desert areas and areas that are clearly covered with trees. Majestic! Now, I believe I will sign off since Carole King is singing “I feel the earth move...”. Ummm, lets not go there.