Well....

"that's where we get the water from" as my friend Sorry used to say. I apologize for my absence, I didnt have internet access all week due to being an extra on the deaf-based episode last week and catching a cold I never made it in at work as a media technician therefore no internet access.

Being an extra was a great experience, on the 2nd day King was there and it was so much fun to pal around with her on the set.
Ironically I was telling her how the day before (Monday Feb 12th) that I saw Vincent D' Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe on the set. I commented how Vincent aka Det. Robert Goren never smiled once on Monday nor did he even look in the directions of the deafies. He completely treated us like we were invisible while Kathryn Erbe aka Det. Alexandra Eames smiled a lot and at one point joked with Alexa (the lead guest for this episode) by signing "guilty, guilty" which I thought was great. So anyhoo King and I are walking to the snack area on Tuesday and I just finished explaining to her about Vincent not being very friendly when I looked passed her shoulder, he was standing right next to King trying to cut a hard wheel of cheese, straining a little. King, what a hoot, she grabbed his one arm and motioned thumbs up to his "manly" strength and winked at him. He was so surprised that he just stepped back and looked so embarrassed and left. I was dying with laughter at King's boldness and ironically he did smile finally. Just in case youre wondering, Vincent D' Onofrio was also the fat kid in Full Metal Jacket.

The crew on the set both Monday and Tuesday were great. They picked up signs like "rolling, cut, wait," We were outside most of the time and they handed out feet and hand warmers which did help. I thought it was interesting because some of the extras started to complain but they should've known that being an extra is not glorified work, its basically being a part of the set, background, nothing more. You may catch the back of my head or my hands signing but I would be surprised when the episode airs if you can even identify me?


At one point on Tuesday we were eating a late lunch (btw the food was fantastic, they served huge cocktail shrimp, prime ribs, the works!) Anyhoo a bunch of deafies were sitting together when Deanna Bray sat down next to me without me even knowing it. Once I realized, I didn't say anything because I don't know her and she was talking with King. So I just stayed quiet, at one point she tapped me on my shoulder and asked me who I was so I told her my name and gave her a short summary of my life (former graduate of MSSD, Gally, formly worked at MSD...) she was very pleasant. I added on that my Grandmother, Baba was a big fan of hers and I was excited to be able to tell Baba that I met her on the set. She wasn't egoistically at all and perhaps some day (if she's not SAG) she would want to be in one of my movies?

I also watched A&E biography on Alexander Graham Bell. The reason being as a deafie all my life I have heard how terrible Bell was, being a supporter of oralism over ASL. But the biography I watched changed my mind. Ofc I know he "invented" the telephone although that was recently disputed Reis a German guy was the original inventor but thats neither here nor there. Anyhoo Bell was an inventor of many things and considered himself to be a teacher of the deaf. He believed that mainstreaming rather than residential schools was the key for deaf to succeed. I can see his point of view because while I love Deaf schools, having attended MSSD, the cocoon like atmosphere and separation from the rest of the world cost us knowledge of everyday life. If there was some kind of program where deafies were expose to the hearing community on a regular basis and studied the differences between deaf and hearing culture as well as keep up with the news and current events, the isolation wouldnt be so bad. On the other hand, Bell supported lip reading and speaking over ASL. Which I think is wrong because there is only so far either lip reading or speech can go with deafies. With ASL its as clear as rain when it comes to comprehension. I no longer dislike Bell, I don't agree with his view on oralism but I think his intention were honorable and he spent his life being with deafies. I may get booed by the deaf community but to say he was a bad man is ignorant when he was in fact a successful inventor in many ways and wanted to include deaf people in the public everyday life.

This weekend I spent indoors mostly with Clyde. Having a cold meant having little energy so I focused on re-organizng my crap, I am always doing that! I wish I was more neater and less cluttered but I have been this way all my life. Clyde reminded me of some of the old mascots for kids, like

Give a Hoot, don't Pollute Woodsy Owl

How about Take a Bite out of Crime McGruff
and of course we can't forget Smokey Bear