Well,  now I am working for a company, and my job requires many hours on the PHONE and many Face-to-Face meetings……and well I’m loving it!! I have NO,…..non,  what-so-ever problems with talking on the phone……I just cannot wait to do my thing at meetings…I quite simply feel empowered!

I am getting many laughs out of ppl I know, who don’t know about my implants and what they say. Having said that , it is quite upsetting how many ppl pass their own shortgivings onto the next available handicapped person.

Tragic

Now that I can hear, my wife reckon that I snore more, me no savy? Incedently, i am in an ….what button did i press to make the writing lean over??? BUGGER……OK  I was saying ( this really bugs)  OK as I was saying in a slantly subtle way was that the loverly Katja reckons I am heaps more noisy now that I can hear….and I reckon Great! whats the point of hearing silence..?

I cannot write with this slant so I will have to say Cheers and all the best and this cichly thing willl change your life…………pete

I can hear now and I seem not to have the time to post anything relevant…but I will..soon.

In the mean time my lovely wife  Katja has managed to be talked into climbing a mountain….If you can  help her follow her dream follow this link……………..

www.everydayhero.com.au/katja__gunness

Cheers Pete

Cheers

Pete

Sorry belong me tru.

It’s just……well….say you had a disability and lived with it for 40 years….and you where suddenly cured of this………would you spend your time on the computer telling people about it?………or would you get out there and soak it all in?????

So it’s been a while……..I have not read my previous posts…so if I repeat myself..apologies.But by golly!! How remarkable is this device?? I can Hear!!!! absolutely fantasomundo!!! Gets better day by day.

The Missus and Kids went to Germany for 5 weeks , and I found myself  alone in a big quite house……..We have a few kids, in fact my lovely wife Katja brought another one home from holidays….so we have a few kids more.

I got to admit the first week with everyone gone was bliss. I would get home from work and promptly take off my cochly things and reveille  in the absolute silence. (This is something that only bi-lateral implantees can have the privilege of knowing……..and totally deaf people of course……) And then a few friends who were concerned for my well-being (hey!! I can cook!!)   would knock on the front door…the side door…the back door……..to no avail!!!!  Me? Well I was blissfully unaware. And loving it.!!

Seriously though, it’s actually quite dangerous being  100% deaf. I was cooking a Steak between the footy and beer and I wondered why the cat was going ape-shit!! I put on the chochly thingy and was abruptly confronted with the fire alarm noise blasting away. No fire …just a burnt steak….lotsa smoke and stuff.

Needless to say, when I cook now and my wife is away, I go to my favourite restaurant. Nice people, no fire alarms!

I hear you asking what is the hearing like???……….I need to say this….it may offend some of you……..what??

Sorry..are you talking to me?? I have better hearing than most people I know…….I can hear everything . Amazing.

Many  people have come up to me and said ..

“Pete, it’s good ?”

“Yup”

“I can tell” …they would say ” you look so much more relaxed…..in control”

And  is true. Sounds too good??  Ok.

I guess here are a few draw backs…let me list them:-

1- Being 100% Deaf……not something I will ever get used to.

2-Every day starts with a rush….hard to describe…but when you connect up the processor in the morning it just blasts for a few moments….. I actually         find  myself visually waiting for a quiet spot to connect. The only description that comes  to mind is the way the wheels on a Jumbo jet go from free-floating to 420mph in a split second whe it lands.   100% deafness ….to…. 4 kids making breakfast…….and then the Missus….crikey!!!!

3-I am seriously disappointed with the batteries. They were advertised as lasting  for a few days…if you believe the manual….Realistically…max lifespan belong battery is 15hrs……that means you have to change over every day….pain in the proverbial butt.

4-You can hear the cat. (I say no more)

5-On a operational side……all the swelling has long gone The implant’s actually feel weighty, pronounced if you like. Neither comfortable or uncomfortable…..you just are aware of a foreign object in your head…….all the time. 

A small price to pay  to hear.

Numba 1 bad noise

Without  a doubt, seriously the biggest most aggravating’est, totally grating’est noise goes to the bloody cat!! It does not stop. Meow….meow….meow….MEOW….Meow….meeeoooowwww….MEOW!!!! My lovely wife and kids are currently overseas, and I have been charged with looking after the animals in their absence. Now don’t take me the wrong way, I love the cat. I am currently training it to sit on the second floor balcony balustrade without falling off. I must be a good trainer, as so far it hasn’t.

Numba 2 bad noise

Yup! The cat again!! Daylight is a distant second in this competition.

Numba 3 bad noise

E-Tags. Yup E-Tags. Those small innocuous unseen white things that hide behind the mirror. And you know  the only reason they hide behind the mirror is that we would promptly throw them out the bleeding window if we could get at them.

In my before hearing days (B/H) I could drive pleasantly around the city, ambling along to the Eagles and taking in the sites. Now I am confronted with a “Beeep-beep” every ten minutes reminding me that the RTA has just deducted another $5.50 from the account.  I had work at Manly/ Ryde/ Campbeltown and Rozelle the other day and this is what I heard…..

“well I’m a running down the ‘beep-beep’ trying to ‘beep-beep’ my load , seven ‘beep-beep’ on my mind”

A truly aggravating, and I reckon totally unneccessary noise. Incidently this sound is the closest I have come to finding one that simulates the sound the processor gives off when the batteries are going down. Was a wee bit confused when I first heard it as I had just re-charged my batteries…..” hey hey there pete, whats going on hear?”

Numba 4 bad noise

 People that shout. I mean why can’t people just talk evenly and quietly. I am forever asking people to shhhhh. Not so loud. Crikey the way the do go on…..what do they think? I’m deaf or something??

Numba 5 bad noise

Those little cars with great big shiny mufflers.! By god they make a racket. I suspect it is a phallic symbol thingy for those amongst us who are less en-….. oh well I leave that to your imagination. But hey! What a toss!! If you google the word “muffler” and I quote:

“A device that absorbs noise, especially one used with an internal-combustion engine.” …….well that says it all, quite loudly too I reckon.

Cheers Pete

Well, I am a tradie that specialises in waterproofing. I can waterproof anything….even deserts! …..but not when it’s raining!!

Kinda a Catch 22 if you like.

I mean, I get plenty off calls from people to fix a problem during downpours, but hey!….to fix the problem most often requires a dry substrate. It really is amazing how many people refuse to take this in….really is.

I guess it’s the “buy it now” and “have it now”  mindset that has permeated society. No planning for the future…only reacting to the present.

So having said that, this weather is not only driving me nuts, it is also giving me plenty of time to ponder life, the Cochley Things in my head and what opportunities are available now that I can have a normal* conversation. (* normal to me may, or indeed most positively will not, be normal to most)

Now if you have been reading this blog for a while you will recall I mentioned a Looonnnnngggggg postponed interest in becoming the Numba one boss  of Australia.

Well, I’ve been thinking how catastrophic the current mob are for Australia and all that it stands for ( blame the rain if you like) and I figure it’s abouty time I tossed my two bob in the ring.

So there you go. That’s my plan now that I can hear.

Hmmmmm ……How do I start??

Who do I know………….?

Will keep you posted.

Cheers

Pete

If you are from Sydney, you will understand my frustration with the current weather. It has NOT stopped raining for two weeks now! Aw heck I lie. It has stopped intermediatley…….but have you seen the sun lately???

So much for global warming, Strewth!!

When I was first re-born as a hearer I remember asking Katja:

“Hey! whats that drumming noise love?”

“Thats the rain Pete……haven’t you heard that before?”

“Wow!! Rain?! wow” I replied feeling like the pre-historic caveman when he/she first discovered fire.

Note,  I add the she. Not to be politically correct but it just seems to make more sense if the cooks discovered fire before the dopey hunters…. Well it does to me.

And I remember thinking….”wow how cool is that!…Rain makes heaps of noise!!”

And now I’m thinking….”Bloody Rain! Driving me nuts!! TURN IT DOWN!!!”

For two weeks I have had to suffer, along with the 10 odd million other Sydney siders, the relentless noise of rain fillopping against the roof, the car, the hat, the umbrella….the skull!!

“Just take the Cochley Thingy off ” I hear you say.

Now  THAT  would be silly…I would’nt be able t hear then!!!

Anyway, till another raining day.

Cheers

Pete

But…. I was invited to the annual “Loud Shirt Day” at Cochlear to sit with the judging panel. So I went……

A bit of an eye opener I tell you!! For some reason I thought that the company would be outsourcing the Implant Bit’s and Pieces and then basically have the H/Office as an accounting, marketing set-up.

How wrong can a Pete be??

As I turned up an hour early, the lovely Melanie from their HR department took me for a tour around the complex. They do have the accounts and marketing guys and girls doing their stuff….but then there is the department that looks after the Government regulating bodies throughout the world (where Cochlear operates) and the booths of computer junkies creating and fine tuning  programs for the processor and then the hundreds of miracle workers with ultra steady hands making the super small electrodes under microscopes and the training department that trains and people how to make these things and lots more.

An interesting thing I did note was that even though everyone was busy and bustling, the place had positive happy vibes. Not a single soul I saw was not smiling. Mel the HR girl put it like this for me;

“It’s not hard to smile when we know that everything we do will ultimately have a positive influence on some-ones life”

” To true” I replied

I also gleaned from a talkative soul that the company retains more than 95% of its work force. That the people currently on board,  on average,  have been there for 15yrs +(note: these figures may be wrong and are just hearsay-although if they are then it’s not by much!)

Remarkable figures for any company in todays fluctuating markets.

So then the Judging began…..

We had 6 Judges : Two very loud ladies from The Shepard Centre, another Cochlear recipient and the CEO of Cochlear.

I noticed the CEO’s name was Shaun Hand, and it vaguely crossed my mind that as he progressed up the corporate ladder everyone would look at him at say things like,

” see that bloke over there? He is going places I tell you…..always willing to give a hand”

And so we had to judge the attire of the Cochlear employees. A remarkable lot. Many got into the spirit of things and where attired in clothing that must have taken weeks to put together….no wonder all the Vinnies shops had run out of loud shirts!!

Everyone paraded their kit over an hour or so, whilst we judges merrily chomped away at the delicious cakes and nibblies. My personal favorite was the lass that had police sirens glued to her shoulders, but alas, a democratic judging panel (we all selected our three best) saw her hopes flicker away.

The employees at Cochlear should be congratulated for the spirit and enthusiasm they showed for the event, with all monies raised going to help another child hear the world.

Hear Hear.

Cheers

Pete

No loud shirts there!       (http://www.loudshirtday.com.au/AboutLoudShirtDay.html)

Then I went to the Salvos…..No loud shirts~!!

And then I went to Barnabados-No loud shirts!!

And then I thought …bugger it! let’s get to the mall!! Yippie!!!!!

Colorado - Timberland-DJs – Quicksilver-Billabong-Mambo-Industrie-Best&Lest – Roger Davis -

Rodd&Gunn- Rip Curl-……no loud shirts!!

A typical conversation with the token -eye and lip pierced teenager salesperson went something along  like this line..

“Hi! I need a loud shirt….:

“Just the thing for you Sir” ….(sir?)..”You will love it” it said.

“this is a totally loud shirt Sir” and I”m thinking Kid bring back the 80″s!!  Apparently this seasons colours are Black on Grey. I’m like saying…

“whats loud about this love? and the token pierced teenager would reply condescendingly

“it is it! the grey skulls design is wild against the midnight black ….how LOUD is that??”

I must admit that I grew up as a teener in the 80s’s…..but by golly the stuff that is in the shops now is total crap… a for warning about our kids thinking?…. seriously…why would the current mainstream design be a grey human skull  embedded in the shape of a temple, against a midnight black?? 

Why?

m

Maybe I am getting old…..or maybe the world is..???

After trial and error I was directed to a conveniently named shop called “Heritage Surf”at Manly….where all my shirts came true.

Cheers pete

But I pretend…….

I still don’t get it.!!

Please someone,  explain the difference between a bottle that costs $12 and a bottle that cost $25 and a bottle that cost $64 or for that  matter a 2 ltr cask??

Please………

I ask this because I noticed the other night that when I took the kids and Katja out for mother’s day, and Katja was given the run of the farm, and she chose a $64 bottle of wine to supplement the food…well….when the cork was popped….it did not sound any different from a $12 bottle….

Ahhhhhh I hear you say…

” how do you hear the difference between a $12 bottle of  wine and a $64 bottle of wine?”

My only answer is to ” get a Cochlear implant!!!

Seriously, that’s a new sound for me ……….the sound of the cork popping,!

I’ve imagined that bang! of champers on New Years Eve, I’ve revelled in the imagined sounds of exuberance during graduation, I’ve delved in the seemingly grating sounds of despair……

But now I hear properly. And ….well does the wine pop different when it costs more? Please tell me , I need to know!!

I also reckon a twistie of VB sighs when it’s opened ….

A bottle of gin silently grasps….

A bottle of cab sav gasps…..

And ……..

I need to skol mein wein!!!

Tschuess

Pete

Johnno

You know, I was having a quiet  ale at the local the other day when Johnno piped up and said..

“you’ve changed pete” 

” yeh mate”  I replied  ” Had to..busy day…Had paint all over me”

“No no pete!  I mean you’ve changed since you had the hole drilled in your head”

” Eh? How do you mean?”

“Well you are a lot more relaxed now. You don’t lean forward and stare at everyone’s lips anymore….and that’s a good thing mate…..I could never figure out why you loved my lips so much….we all kinda wondered you know?…”

“Noooo Johnno……you wondered what?” I hedged.

“Well you know……Nah don’t worry…..want a beer?” he replied as he ambled off to the bar.

This got me thinking about some of the ways I have changed since the last implant. There is no doubt I am heaps more relaxed talking to people. Hearing what they say and replying without having to concentrate firstly on what they might have said and then coming up with a reply that leaves enough leeway for interpretation to make sense if I was totally wrong.

And that no doubt lends to a far more relaxed posture when communicating. It’s fun to lean back and ponder what is being said and formulating a decent answer that is totally relevent to the conversation.

But that has a few pitfalls, as more often than not, whilst I am merrily pondering away the person repeats what they said…thinking I did not hear them. Actually I get a perennial buzz out of thinking in my head….” I heard you mate, just trying to figure out if you are serious or you really are that stupid!” No I don’t, just joking……well maybe sometimes.

Just thought I would get this down….got to go

Cheers

pete