I made it to the DC Eagle without incident and chatted with the awe-inspiring (among other-things-inspiring) preppyperv as she got the contestant information packets ready for the judges. The deaf contestant, Sir Y, had said in an e-mail that he’d be there between 6-6:15, but he didn’t show up until about 10 minutes to 7. We went upstairs and I interpreted what the Den Daddy - the adorable Tim Woody - had to say to the contestants (there were five total). After that we had to hang out at the club bar on the second floor while each contestant went back upstairs to interview with the judges. Sir Y was fifth, so we had a nice long wait, and I got to help Tim Woody write the “funny question” cards. (Which Smurf would you make your bitch, and why…which president would you want to screw, and what scandal would arise, etc.)

The interviews were supposed to be over by 8:30, but they took a really long time with each contestant. I half-chatted and half-interpreted down at the club bar (where pegsioux stopped by), trying to let Sir Y decide for himself what conversation he wanted to join in on, and trying to relax and slip in my own comments from time to time. It’s not easy to interpret socializing at these things, because the contestants are supposed to be bonding and making friends (there’s a brotherhood award at most events), and it’s kind of weird to have five leathermen socializing - and there I am, a girl, in the middle of it all. It’s also not easy to balance interpreting what the hearing people are saying, and letting the deaf person get a word in edgewise. Fortunately they did want to include him, and of course the Gallaudet protests came up, etc. Finally it was our turn to go upstairs, and I was asked to get in place behind the judges’ table before Sir Y came into the room. He made a good impression, I think, and I felt like I did a pretty good job. It’s hard to interpret that kind of thing, because he is supposed to be making an impression on the judges, and they are hearing a female voice coming from behind them that is obviously a little bit later than what he’s saying due to lag time. So whenever there is a deaf contestant, I always work really hard to be perfect, because I want to make him look as good to the hearing judges as he deserves to be. To my surprise, the last question they asked him was also about the Gallaudet protests - which is not at all related to leather! I guess they just slipped it in because they hadn’t heard a deaf person’s perspective and wanted to know what he thought.

By the time we finished the second floor was open and it was almost time to begin. At one point I went back upstairs to my purse to put on some lipstick, and I heard the tallymaster (makeplayhappen) read out five numbers…and the last one was higher than the others. But I had to rush back downstairs - it was almost time for the contest to start. I had put a stool up on the stage but it ended up being an awkward height so I put it down and just stood onstage - even though I was wearing really bad shoes and my feet already hurt from being on them all day. The first part of the contest went great, we got through the bar wear/intro and formal wear/speech categories just fine. The MC, Frank Nowicki, remembered to hand the microphone to me every time Sir Y was onstage - I’ve had problems in the past with the MC’s trying to hand the mike to the deaf contestant, who usually looks at me and goes “huh?” But Frank is a really awesome MC and he did a great job.

Unfortunately, when it was time for the jockstrap/funny question portion, I had a mishap. See, I was already standing on the edge of the little stage, and I turned around so I could see Sir Y and interpret for him, and he was kind of close so I took a step back, and…I fell off the stage! Fortunately preppyperv was right behind me, and Sir Y grabbed my arm, so I didn’t get hurt although a gasp did come up from the crowd. Anyway, that was embarrassing, and it threw me off for the funny question so I ended up fumbling and having to ask for a repeat and correct myself. And I had been doing so well! But that was the end of the contest, and Sir Y got first runner-up in a very close race - in fact all five contestants were close in scoring. I wish he could have won, but first runner-up is not too bad.

I wanted to get out of there ASAP, because I was exhausted and my feet were killing me. Unfortunately, I had parked in the side lot when I shouldn’t have, and earlier in the evening I had to hand over my keys so the parking attendant (a cute butch who told preppyperv that I was pretty, snort) could move my car. I was told during a break in the contest that my keys were safe downstairs, so when it was all over I tried asking at the bouncer for my keys - no luck. I tried the bartender on the first floor - no luck. So I had to stand around for about 30-45 minutes waiting for my keys, and I was unhappy mostly because my damn feet hurt so much! But if I hadn’t had to wait so long I wouldn’t have been walking out the door just as the supremely gorgeous dawnmarie727 and totally hot worldwalkerdc had been coming in, so I got to see them and that was nice. I didn’t get to stay though - Dawn Marie said I looked sleepy and that I should get along home!

It had turned out that the parking attendant had my keys, so I asked her for them…and she charged me $10 for reasons I still don’t understand. I guess being pretty isn’t enough, and the fact that she wasn’t there when I arrived isn’t enough, and the fact that she moved my car out of her lot isn’t enough…I don’t know. But I dug up $10 and got my car and went straight home.

I didn’t sleep well on Friday night, but I had to get up early for the PCRID conference in Annapolis. I ended up getting there at 8:00, about half an hour before the keynote was scheduled to begin, so I socialized with the co-workers who were manning my company’s booth - and I also chatted with people who used to work for my company but transferred to a rival company. It was good to see them again, at least.

The opening meeting was fun. Janet Bailey did a slide show about the history of RID - nobody has really recorded in pictures just how the profession of interpreting came to be, so she gathered some old photographs she managed to find and showed them off. She also asked those present to dig through their archives and contribute whatever they could find, as she’s hoping to create a book detailing the history of RID and the interpreting profession. She pointed out that even though RID was founded in 1964, nobody really put down “interpreter” on their tax forms until the late 1970’s - prior to that they would always have other duties that were their “real” jobs, and they’d interpret in addition to that. After Janet’s presentation, Lauren Potempa, the current PCRID president (who I co-interpreted with for a meeting some years back), gave a State of the Association speech which wasn’t really memorable enough for me to tell you about it. I earned 0.1 CEU’s each for the slideshow presentation and the speech - in RID, an hour is equal to 0.1 CEU’s, and we have to earn 8 CEU’s in a 4-year period.

The next item on the agenda was the business meeting, which I figured would be fabulously boring. So I went back out to my company’s booth, which had a pretty good location, and chatted with the people there. It turned out one of the people who was supposed to work the booth hadn’t turned up, so instead of milling about and relaxing I got behind the table and actually did work. I was there for a couple of hours at least, which I’m not sure I’ll be compensated for…I know the people who were scheduled to be there got paid for their time, but I think the compliments from the president and HR director (who were there) is all the appreciation I’m going to get. It was fun though, we had a bunch of prizes to raffle off so I had a lot of people coming by to sign up for things.

In the afternoon, I went to a workshop given by Betty Colonomos called “CDI and HI: Who Does What?” (That’s Certified Deaf Interpreter and Hearing Interpreter.) I’ve never worked with a deaf interpreter, so I was hoping to find out about the mechanics, protocol, etc. Instead the workshop seemed to be geared directly to CDI’s (there were several present), and I felt like the hearing attendees were only there so we could tell the CDI’s about our perspective - not to do any actual learning ourselves. Betty was great to watch though, I’d have thought she was Deaf if she hadn’t mentioned early on that she’s a CODA. Unfortunately somebody in the back of the room wasn’t fluent in sign and was using an FM system, and the voice interpreters were seated just a little bit in front of me so for part of the time I had my fingers in my ears so I wouldn’t be distracted by them whispering into the FM system’s microphone. It was an interesting workshop, and I earned 0.3 CEU’s for it, but I did note on the evaluation that I wished there could have been more information for the hearing interpreters who were there.

Afterward I went back to my company’s table to say goodbye, and since one of the people there was supposed to be at the DC Eagle that night I said I’d see him later. I was sleepy from not having slept well but I went straight to the bar, which was very easy - Route 50, where Annapolis is, turns into New York Ave, where the bar is, so I just had a straight shot all the way there.

I went to my company’s main office for my annual review today; it’s pretty much the only time I get over there anymore. I’m basically entirely cut off from them, I knew the office had moved up a floor but I didn’t realize so many of the major admin people had left. I said hi to a few people and then told the president of my plans for going to Gallaudet; he suggested I could stay with the company and work part-time VRS around my class schedule, so I may do that.

My annual review went pretty well. I don’t know exactly how big my raise is, probably between 3.5-5% - they use a mathematical formula to calculate it but I wasn’t there for the math part. I was invited to join a few of the supervisors (including my own) who were going to a workshop at Gallaudet - 0.15 CEU’s for free! Since it would end at 12 and I was taking leave starting at 1:00, my supervisor said I didn’t have to go back to the office. The workshop was about the structure of personal narrative in ASL, and I learned a bit. Next I went to the bookstore and bought a jacket (to replace my ratty old WMC jacket that A’s been bugging me to get rid of) and a license plate frame (to replace the one that broke when I took it off the Saturn). After that I had lunch with my friend :R:, who I hadn’t really gotten to chat with in a long time. I used to see him every single day for lunch because we worked a block apart, but then I started interpreting and he switched jobs and we never saw each other. He got a job at Gallaudet, so we had lunch in his office.

Afterward I went to Fort Belvoir to pick up my DTG food. It only took about 20 minutes to get there, and I was home within about an hour of leaving Gallaudet. I watched the woot-off some more, and ended up buying a Navman iCN 330 in-car navigation device for $200. I’ve been wanting one for a while anyway, and after my adventures in Philadelphia I really wanted one, so I got it. It’s usually about $230-250 elsewhere, so $200 was good. It’s “remanufactured” whatever that means - I don’t know the difference between that and refurbished - but hopefully it’ll work!

It is now 1:15am. I am finally back in bed. I had some…adventures. Much getting-lost and going-crazy ensued. Read the rest of this entry »

The Gallaudet FSSA News blog has posted a request for interpreters to come to the campus. I want to go so bad. I want to be there, be part of it, see what’s happening with my own eyes. I have my RID member card that shows I’m a certified interpreter. I could help. But I’m going on vacation…and there’s stuff I have to get done. I can’t go into the city after work and stay there into the night…I have to be up at 6:00am tomorrow.

I’ve always said my hands make a difference - my hands facilitate communication. Right now, I feel so powerless. Whether what’s happening at Gallaudet is right or wrong, whatever my opinion is or should be…the right to interpreters is a fundamental right, and it’s essential right now. I’m neutral…I don’t know how I feel about the protest, so I’m not biased. But I can’t do anything, because I have previous obligations.

Good luck, Gallaudet. I can’t wait till I get back a week from now and see what’s happened.

I thought today was going to be light, but instead I had the meeting from hell. They dropped it in my lap as soon as I walked in the door - which was before I technically start work - and they said it was going to be three hours long. Well, it turned out to be four hours, but I didn’t have to do the first 90 minutes because the one deaf guy in that session was teleworking anyway. But still, the only reason it ended at four hours was because I started to stretch my hands between phrases, and my deaf clients realized how long I’d been working and said they didn’t need to stay for the rest of the meeting. I think it ended up going on another 30 minutes after we left. It left me functionally brain-dead until about 3:00 though.

Today I am picking up a nice Freecycle score, even if it is way the heck out in what the boonies (people have a pretty broad definition of “McLean, VA” it seems). I’m getting both French Scrabble and Make Your Own-Opoly, which A has suggested I turn into Hello Kitty-Opoly.

Highlights of the weekend included working with fairerhiannon (a delight as always!), meeting worldwalkerdc (all too briefly), and giving dawnmarie727 her present (her reaction was awesome).

Other happenings included buying an embroidered leathergirl t-shirt, trying on a couple of corsets and finding a 26″ fits quite well and a 24″ is not too far off if I keep losing weight, as seen here. It was great to see all the deaf people who turned out, especially some who aren’t local to DC/Baltimore (and Philadelphia/NJ) but who came out to support Michelle in her step-down as Ms. World Leather 2005. (It turns out the current International Mr. Leather is an interpreter too, from Canada - I had no idea!)

Downer moments included the five-hour drive to get there (DC to Philadelphia should be 2.5-3 hrs maximum), and my brain completely shutting off this afternoon when the final part of the contest began. I was up there for about 5-10 minutes and I begged fairerhiannon to switch with me because I was making no sense. I don’t know what was wrong but my brain just wasn’t working. It took me another 5-10 minutes before I was able to relieve fairerhiannon and after that I was a little shaky but I did okay.

It was fun overall. And International Deaf Leather is coming to Philadelphia in 2008!

The morning started with me hitting snooze a time or two, and then when I got up I checked out of the hotel and brought my bags to my car. I got coffee at 7-11 and headed for the workshop. I was a block or two away when I noticed a few women standing around in yellow smocks. I thought “oh boy, they’re going to be handing out literature,” but as I approached I saw their smocks read “Planned Parenthood Escort.” As I approached the intersection, I was astonished to see several dozen protesters reciting the rosary, along with a great big picture of the Virgin Mary and so forth. I went up to two of the escorts and asked them about it; apparently every third Saturday this group comes down after their 7:00am mass to do this. It turns out that the building where my workshop was has the surgical center for all of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, and abortions are done on Saturdays…hence the protest.

I chatted with the escorts for a couple of minutes and they offered to walk me in; I didn’t think I needed it but I let them come along. They ended up leaving me, though, to join a phalanx of escorts that was hustling a young woman into the building. Most of the protesters just kept saying the rosary, but a few walked alongside the woman and begged her not to go inside. They tried to shove literature at her, but she kept her head down and ignored them. The protesters aren’t allowed into the PPSP courtyard, so once we were past the gate the escorts broke away and the woman continued inside with her male friend. I was right on their heels and I could see that the woman was crying; her friend had to go up to the receptionist because she was too upset.

I went upstairs to the workshop room and dropped off my stuff, and I took a cell phone picture looking down onto the crowd. A couple of other students were already there, and one had ended up with literature in pretty pastels while the other had been presented with a tiny stuffed dog that had a note tied around its neck saying something about “don’t kill your baby.” I decided to go back downstairs to gawk a bit (from the safety of the courtyard), and I ended up taking a couple of pictures. As others arrived for the workshop, some were escorted and some were not; the protestors were telling every female walking in - including obvious staff members - that they didn’t have to do this, etc. Another woman from the workshop had a real camera with her, and she took pictures too; I gave her my email address so I will get to see them. One workshop student who was watching with me said she wasn’t sure she wanted to be in a building where abortions were being performed, but she ended up coming in anyway. When the deaf workshop participant arrived, she was guided by several escorts and I followed her into the building because it was almost 9:00 anyway. I explained on the way upstairs what the protestors were there for.

When the workshop began, we spent the first half-hour talking about the protest. The facilitator explained that there is rationale for doing the workshop on protest weekends, and rationale for not doing so; if they are at the same time, she has reasons for warning the participants on Friday, and reasons for not doing that. She hadn’t warned us because she wanted to see how we would respond, because as interpreters we could potentially encounter things like that and it’s good to have examined your feelings beforehand.

The workshop itself was about domestic violence in the morning and interpreting practice in the afternoon. For lunch I had a roasted tofu sandwich I’d bought the night before…at 7-11 of all places! The deli case there had multiple vegan sandwiches from a Pennsylvania company called Moshe’s; I was very impressed, and the sandwich I had was delicious. When the workshop ended I hightailed it back to my car and got on the road as quickly as possible, stopping only to pay $50 (!) for parking and only once along the way for gas.

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